Mike Farrell Sports

College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

Scouting the Portal: Kyle Morlock, JQ Hardaway, and More

Portal Scouting Ken Signoretti breaks down Kyle Morlock, JQ Hardaway, and other top portal prospects with comments from Director of Scouting Steven Bailoni

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Kyle Morlock – TE

2022 Team: Shorter (D2)

2023 Team: Florida State

Elite height and frame. Very good arm length. Plays both from an inline alignment and split out wide. Sudden at the snap and at the route break point. Smooth runner that shows good acceleration into his route stem and very good top end speed. Displays very good ball skills through his soft hands and ability to catch out and away from his body from within and outside his framework. Shows very good COD through his ability to drop his hips at the top of his route. Able to be utilized to attack all three levels of the defense in the passing game. Willing blocker that maintains a good base and shows a good level of patience before striking at the POA with good hands. When he is able to get hands on the defender’s chest plate, he is able to sustain and finish blocks.

When engaged while run or pass blocking, he allows his feet to slow and even stop which leads to him becoming off balance when the defender pulls away from him. He has recently committed to play at Florida State, and it is easy to understand why. The traits he shows are those that translate not only to the ACC but also to the NFL. He will be an immediate starter at Florida State and should be an intricate part of their offense and overall success in 2023.

Steven’s Projection:

Some people have questioned FSU’s willingness to take both Bell and Morlock in the portal but any film analysis on either will tell you why they were so excited to land them both. Tight End is slowly becoming the most important weapon on an offense thanks to developments in the modern offense and having Morlock on their side gives FSU a literally massive weapon that should have some designed plays for him, especially in the red zone. Great pickup here to help FSU take the next step in 2023, might not light up the stat sheet with how many weapons the team has now but he should be good for at least 5 TDs while helping a bit in the run game.

JQ Hardaway – CB

2022 Team: Cincinnati

2023 Team: Kentucky

Very good frame with elite muscle definition and good arm length. Good foot quickness allows himself to work laterally to keep himself square with receivers at the LOS. When in Zone coverage he plays with his hips open to the QB and when in Man coverage he displays a solid back pedal before opening his hips to run with the receiver. Plays both press and off-coverage, while not showing interest in being physical from either alignment when encountering the receiver. Shows good acceleration when breaking downhill on a route in Zone coverage and when opening his hips to run with a receiver in Man coverage. Able to stay in phase with receivers by playing with solid leverage and top end speed.

Shows adequate COD which is a result of how high he allows his pad level to get, resulting in wasted movements to stay with receivers. Also displays adequate balance as he ends up on the ground when the ball is thrown his way and when it is not. He is a willing tackler with adequate contact courage as he catches the ball carrier and struggles to get him to the ground. Has recently committed to Kentucky and will be someone who can contribute immediately for them. Will thrive in Zone coverage and can survive in Man coverage but not something I would rely on him in.

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Steven’s Projection:

Someone who I really liked coming out of high school that just didn’t see the field as a true freshman. For all intents and purposes he’s still a young, developmental prospect that can basically be considered a high school signee. He likely needs to go through a bit of the development most kids need entering the next level, i.e. time to learn and catch up mentally plus fill out a bit more in the weight room. I’m not sure he’ll see the field next year, but given his high school film and the time he had at Cincinnati to develop a bit he’s got an outside chance to be CB2 for Kentucky headed into the season and should develop into a good #1 by his junior year.

Marcellus Marshall – OT

2022 Team: Kent State

2023 Team: UCF

Solid height with a good frame and very good length. Shows some sloppiness in his mid-section. Good bend. Displays solid initial quickness out of a 3 pt stance and good initial quickness out of a 2 pt stance. Shows a solid first step and ability to pull and get to the second level or on the outside for WR screens. Able to stall defender’s pass rush and ability to get to the ball carrier in the run game because of his bigger body when he angles it in the defender’s path.

Displays adequate use of hands consistently in both Pass Pro and run blocking. Shoots hands when the defender is too far and it results in him becoming a leaner, making it easy for a defender to knock him off balance and avoid his hands. Stands straight up out of his stance resulting in him consistently losing one on one engages as the defender has better leverage and hand placement than him. Also, because he plays so high that he allows himself to run past his blocking assignments as they slip underneath his block while he struggles to change direction due to his pad level. In Pass Pro he shows adequate foot quickness once he gets out of his stance and stops his feet when shooting his hands at a pass rusher. Gets beat consistently by pass rushers that rush the edge and cross his face back to the inside, which they are able to do because of his slow feet. Big body tackle that plays high with slow feet and adequate hands. Recently committed to UCF and will be expected to come in and compete for a starting spot but will have to show he will be able to hold his own against Big 12 defenders.

Steven’s Projection:

Another first-year player that entered the portal and is more of a developmental prospect. He earned first-team All MAC honors this year but that’s more indicative of his size and strength compared to the average MAC player. The good news for him is he had plenty of film against P5 opponents with Kent State playing Washington, Oklahoma, and Georgia in 2022. I don’t think he starts next year but he proved he was underrecruited and will compete for a starting role by his junior year and provide UCF solid depth.

Tunmise Adeleye – DL

2022 Team: Texas A&M

2023 Team: Michigan State

Very good height that pairs with his elite frame and arm length. Has a filled out upper half and a strong but lean lower half. Very good knee bend and ankle flexion. Good initial quickness and explodes through his hips and utilizes good strike and hand timing to knock blockers off balance. Able to maintain good leverage through his good bend and ability to control blocker’s chest plate and force them to be more upright due to his very good play strength. When pass rushing, he uses a good variety of moves which use both his speed and strength. Displays the ability to remove and replace blockers due to his strength and hand placement when pass rushing and facing the run. Once he gets past blockers on run plays, he shows he understands how to flatten out down the LOS and make a play from the backside. Good ability to finish tackles and disrupt offenses consistently.

Only played in two games this past season which only allows for a small sample size of abilities. Also, when engaged in one on ones with blockers his feet will slow down resulting in the blockers being able to slow and even stall his rush. Committed to Michigan State which he is more than good enough to play for and will be expected to start from day one. If the small sample size, he displayed this year is an indicator of what is to come he will be an impact player on the defensive line for Michigan State.

Steven’s Projection:

Some rumors spurred around his recruitment that he dropped significant weight due to not playing football during the pandemic- it’s hard to separate the signal from the noise here but even if his weight didn’t fluctuate much it’s entirely possible the year off from football put him back farther than expected and he dealt with an injury this season. His high school film was some of the best in the nation and his college film shows all the skills are still there to succeed at this level. I like him to come out and surprise people this year, could end up as a rotational guy at first that carves out a role as a starter by the end of camp with Michigan State.

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