Cover image retrieved via Ohio State Department of Athletics
Summary
You don’t realize quite how special Ohio State’s Zach Harrison is regarding a physical specimen until you attempt to find an appropriate comparison among current NFL starters. Standing at 6’6”, 269 pounds, Harrison is still growing and filling out his frame projecting additional body mass to come along with his inherent movement skills (running a reported 4.47 forty). This gives Harrison the versatility to defend in space as an edge defender in run fits, holding his ground against tackles and remains cerebral when defending his edge in space, even against the option.
Harrison can also attack the run downhill from the backside, leveraging his natural strength through his wingspan to shed defenders approaching him from the flank thanks to his instinctive timing in splitting run-blocking schemes. Staying upright in run-defense helps to make Harrison a wary piece not leaving his gap exposed.
This upright stature does carry into his pass-rush form though, causing a number of shortcomings that negate his natural athleticism in many situations. Firstly, despite apparent lower-half explosiveness in his forty-time, Harrison does not display the same kind of burst coming off of the snap in-game. Harrison stays upright to hand-fight opposing offensive tackles, sometimes more focused on winning his rep rather than making his way to the quarterback in the fastest possible manner.
Much of the time Harrison will gain the edge by either swiping the outside hand’s jab or outreaching into the chest of the blocker. Using agile footing rather than conventional hip-bend, Harrison makes his way to the quarterback with his hands up and ready to take a stab at the throwing arm.
At his size, Harrison is considered a dual-threat edge-rusher who can plug in as both a 3-4 outside linebacker and 4-3 defensive-end (as he did at Ohio State), but in both roles remains upright in his attack as though he is a rushing 3-4 linebacker still holding responsibilities in his flat. By getting his head down on the rush, Harrison would not only see much of his athleticism which has been held back by his own biomechanical limitations unleashed on opposing offensive tackles.
Potentially most impactful of all, by improving his pass-rush posture Harrison will possess one of the best bull-rushes in college football echoing past images of 2020 NFL Draft prospect Javon Kinlaw (SF). Without needing to absorb technique over time, Harrison will fully utilize his natural measurements to outmatch athletically inferior opposition (especially against IOL in the A & B gap).
Player Comparison: Jadeveon Clowney, EDGE, CLE
One of the only players I could find who brought similar athletic traits to Harrison, former 2014 NFL Draft #1 overall selection Jadeveon Clowney shares a similarly oversized linebacker’s frame at 6’5”, 267 pounds and has similarly unnatural movement skills proven by a 4.53 combine forty.
Using long arms to both wrangle ballcarriers in open space and deflect passes at the line of scrimmage, Clowney is a display of the NFL-readiness of Harrison purely thanks to his athletic measurements. Natural athleticism in edge-rushers commonly translates directly to effectiveness in run defense, a valuable commodity among current NFL defensive fronts (ex: Judon’s NE free-agency contract of 4 years/$56 million).
Unveiled during the tail-end of his tenure in Houston and repeated throughout his most recent teams, Clowneys’ athleticism can be used as a chess piece across the defensive front picking out mismatches with individual offensive linemen. Harrison can be used in a very similar manner with much more room to grow in regards to his selection of pass-rush moves stemming from a swipe move and center-piece bullrush (hopefully).
Scouting Notes
Measurables
6’ 6”, 269 pounds
Reported 4.47 forty
2020 stats (7 games)
14 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 4.5 TFL, 2 PD
Positives
Physical
well-filled frame, muscle mass matches 6’6” frame
lengthy wingspan & reach
natural strength (can manhandle tight ends)
move smoothly in open-field
Technical
active hands, swipes away initial punches naturally
reach makes disengaging first-contact easier
cerebral about rushing lanes in a developing backfield, waits for gap
produces unblocked sacks
Utility
effective tackler (*wingspan)
stays within reach of backs in open space
well-coached, doesn’t overcommit and give up his edge
keeps carrier & pitch within range on option
physicality at the point of attack
Negatives
Physical
lack of elite burst off of the snap
has inherent athleticism, needs to get his head down
fails to effectively translate his strength into pass-rush
Technical
upright rusher, loses burst & momentum when meeting the OL
more focus on winning reps with hands > athleticism
has tools to dominate without technique
limited pass-rush repertoire
little outside of swiping OL’s first jab
NEEDS to add a brutish bullrush
Utility
can play more like an OLB than hand-down 4-3 DE
*pass-coverage unevaluated, lack of snaps*