Ron Cooper reeled in the 7th Bay Area commitment today for the class of 2014 in CB Mazzi Wilkins (6’0, 155 pds.) from local powerhouse Plant High School. Wilkins is ranked by ESPN as the #68 CB, 3-Star 73 and by 247 Sports as the #82 CB, 3-Star 85. Wilkins joins Deiondre Porter (Jefferson/Tampa, FL), Devin Abraham (East Lake/Tarpon Springs, FL), Tajee Fullwood (Tampa Bay Tech/Tampa, FL), Deatrick Nichols (Miami Central/Miami, FL) & Chris Jones (Sandalwood/Jacksonville, FL) as another integral component of USF’s ongoing secondary rebuilding effort.
Wilkins also held offers from UCF, Cincy, UConn, Ball State, Purdue and Syracuse amongst other suitors.
by Matthew Manuri | SoFloBulls.com |
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ESPN Scouting Report:
| Size-Strength-Speed | Wilkins possesses ideal size for a corner — he is tall and long armed. His weight needs to increase but probably will as he matures. Plays with solid strength. His speed is only average but he does have an ability to change direction very quickly. |
| Instincts | Sees the game well. He is capable of changing direction quickly upon recognizing what is going on in front of him. As a zone defender he sees and reacts very well. |
| Coverage Skills | Utilizes his long arms to be an effective man cover guy. Has an ability to stick his foot in the ground and transition from a backpedal to going forward in a flash. His hips are flexible so turning and running is not a problem. Very effective as a zone defender because he gets a quick read and jump on the ball. |
| Run Support | A solid run support player. He will come up and set the edge or chase a play down. A decent tackler but not one who is going to punish when he does tackle. |
| Bottom Line | Wilkins would be a highly sought after prospect with better top-end speed, but his limited speed will likely land him at the lower BCS level where he will find a way to be a very effective player. |
Via ESPN.com