Player Evaluation: Tyler Elsdon

There are certain prospects that are just more fun to watch on film than others. While Tyler Elsdon isn't one of the highest-rated prospects in this class, he is one of the more entertaining to scout due to his highlight-producing abilities. A 6-foot-2, 230 pound thumper out of Ashland, Pa., Elsdon is a throwback sort of player, with the skills and temperament to make big collisions, and more importantly, big plays. With the proper training and development, the savvy young linebacker could become an imposing force for the defensive coordinator Brent Pry.

Important Note: Scouting notes are based on highlight videos produced by commit. They should not be seen as a complete picture of the strengths and weaknesses of a prospect. The majority of the evaluation is based off of physical tools and what positional fundamentals can be gleaned from select plays. As these young men are still in the early stages of their development, projections are based on positive potential and development.

Explosiveness & Burst: Elsdon’s first step is something to behold. He’s less of a linebacker and more of a human missile when he triggers downhill.

His ability to accelerate in one or two steps is the difference between a tackle and a tackle for a loss at the next level. His potential as a run defender is pretty phenomenal and he has the ideal skill set to become a high-end thumper in the Big 10. He also has a controlled violence to him, which makes him an ideal run defender. His ideal size, along with his acceleration and temperament create the kind of collisions that make football exciting to watch.

Positional Fundamentals & Skills: Elsdon is a classically-trained linebacker who already has a very good grasp of the position. From his stance (bowed back and even body lean) to his footwork after the snap (calm, minimal wasted steps), Elsdon is a ready-made run-stuffer with the temperament to be an eraser in the run game. His signature move on tape is to time the snap count and shoot through the gap to create huge negatives in the running game. Despite that, he is not overly aggressive and has the patience to read and sift through the trash at the line of scrimmage in order to get to the runner. He diagnoses plays well and shows the ability to both win the point of attack or scrape over the top of the formation to get to the ballcarrier in the flat.

Shedding Blocks: While this is technically a fundamental of the linebacker position, Elsdon excels to the point that it needed to be mentioned separately. Most linebackers with his size, strength and burst would simply overpower blockers to get to the ball. While he does that, he also shows technical proficiency in the ability to address and then defeat blocks. He knows how to attack a lineman with the proper shoulder in order to keep his outside arm clean as well as the power to shed the block and get more than just an arm on the ballcarrier. He also shows the ability to deploy a swim move in order to quickly defeat blocks and create negative plays for the offense, which is advanced for a high school prospect. He shows a solid understanding of hand fighting as well and has a quick, strong punch in order to win the point of contact.

Flexibility: Elsdon already has a strong lower body complete with well-developed glutes and legs. He's clearly spent a lot of time in the weight room and is likely an advanced lifter who has taken the time to develop his body, as well as his mind. It’s common for young players to focus on strength and speed and spend less time on flexibility. Because of that, there is a tightness to Elsdon, especially in his lower half that limits his stride in the open field. In order to become a complete athlete, he’ll have to open up his hips and learn to play aggressive laterally, as well as backwards in a drop.

Lateral & Reverse Movement: The tightness that he displays on film leads to a certain lack of diversity in his tape. This is not to say that Elsdon doesn’t have the ability to track the ball in space and make plays where he has to change direction, but there are less of them and there is certainly a difference in his movement on those plays compared to his forward movement. Confidence and consistency will come with the development of flexibility.

Coverage: If you combine the first two areas of development, you logically can conclude that if Elsdon is able to decrease his stiffness of movement and show more confidence in both his backpedal and his total movement skills, his abilities in coverage can only improve. Having the long speed to track the ball and loose hips to drop into coverage will be key going forward. Elsdon clearly has the football intelligence to be a complete linebacker and the commitment to develop his body. The knowledge of how to round out his abilities that come with a professional strength and development program could turn him into a complete linebacker.

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Elsdon is on the verge of being a two-down run stuffer already. Much will depend on his adjustment to the speed of collegiate play, but he shows the skills necessary to be a tenacious run defender. If he can improve his overall physical profile, he will become an imposing force in the middle of the field for the Nittany Lions.

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