Breaking Down Rory Anderson

Rory Anderson, TE, 6’4, 200, Powder Springs (McEachern), GA

The combination of Derek Dooley (Head Coach) and Jim Chaney (Offensive Coordinator) brings years of experience utilizing talented pass catching tight ends. Both Dooley and Chaney are former Tight End coaches at both the collegiate and NFL ranks. Last fall Coach Dooley’s Louisiana Tech offense saw two tight ends emerge as their leading pass catchers. Dennis Morris (1st Team All-WAC, led nation’s TE’s in touchdown receptions) and Dustin Mitchell accounted for 59 receptions, 839 yards (14.2 average), and 12 touchdowns during the 2009 season. While coordinating the Purdue offense Coach Chaney saw Tim Stratton develop into an All-Big Ten, All-American, and Mackey Award winning player while setting Purdue’s career record for receptions. Needless to say there will be a need for tight ends who can catch the football in Tennessee’s new offense. One of the better pass catching tight ends in the south is Power Springs, Georgia standout Rory Anderson. Anderson is an speedy pass catcher who also excels on the hardwood.

SIZE/BODY/STRENGTH

Anderson is a tall (6’4) and long limbed athlete that uses long strides to chew up a lot of ground. Despite a thin frame the McEachern end shows a lot of fight, good toughness, and impressive leg drive, especially with the ball in his hands. My big concern with Anderson, and I’m sure one reason he does not possess as many college suitors as his athletic skills should dictate, is his potential to fill out. Anderson has an athletic frame, but it is a thin frame. He has narrow shoulders and a thin build, so I am not sure just how much strength and weight he will be able to gain at the next level. If Anderson is asked to simply line up wide and be primarily a pass catcher this is not a problem at all. If he is going to be asked to be a consistent inline blocker this could be a big concern. As mentioned above Anderson will fight and shows good leg drive as a blocker, but without additional strength and weight gains he will have problems developing into an every down on the edge blocker. On the perimeter his size and toughness is an asset as a blocker and a pass catcher. My hope is that as he stops playing basketball and focuses more on football he will begin to fill out. If his body develops and he is able to gain the necessary weight and strength he will become a solid all-around tight end.

ATHLETIC ABILITY

One only needs to watch a few clips of Anderson blowing past defenders to understand why the Tennessee coaches covet him as they do. The 6’4, 200 pound pass catcher shows excellent speed for a tight end and gets off the line quickly with an excellent first step. His speed should allow him to create huge matchup problems for linebackers and safeties whether he is lined up in the box or out in the slot. Combined with his size, his speed should also allow his college coaches to line him up wide against cornerbacks as well. Anderson is a dangerous vertical threat and will spend much of his college career stretching defenses. Once he has made the catch Anderson also shows the ability to quickly burst and pull away from defenders. Anderson should also be able to use his excellent speed to beat linebackers and safeties across the field on shorter crossing routes, play-action passes, and deeper dig type routes.

The McEachern standout is more than just a vertical threat. As mentioned above Anderson possesses a quick first step as well as impressive overall quickness. He is an agile athlete with fluid hips that allows him to change direction quickly. As he develops as a technical player these traits should allow him to develop into a good route runner at the next level. This agility also allows Anderson to make plays after the catch. What also helps him be an effective after the catch threat is his excellent balance and body control. Once the ball is in his hands Anderson can make defenders miss and when he is hit he uses his balance and constant leg drive to bounce off tackles and break free for extra yards.

CATCHING ABILITY

On top of being an athletic and speedy player Anderson also shows naturally strong and sure hands. The aforementioned body control and balance allows him to quickly and effortlessly adjust to poorly thrown footballs. Anderson is able to quickly dip down for low passes, maintain his balance, and stay erect after making the catch. Most tight ends can go down and make this catch, but few are able to quickly dip down, make the catch, and stay on their feet for extra yards or a bigger play. The Georgia native does a nice job catching the ball with his hands and not being a body catcher. I’d like to see him learn to extend his hands a bit more to the football (while maintaining his soft pocket), but this can be worked on with coaching. With his ability to adjust well to the football and quickly react to bad throws, combined with his athleticism, the red zone is an area where Anderson could really emerge as a weapon. His background as a basketball player should also help in this department. One area for improvement is his consistency with proper hand placement. At times Anderson tends to flip his hands down, which can result in more drops or tipped balls with a quarterback who throws with more zip than what he has experienced up to this point. I would also like to see Anderson be more aggressive attacking the football, especially on vertical routes. He tends to let the ball come to him, which is a common problem with high school players. Against bigger and more athletic players at the collegiate level he will have to learn to come back to the football. He also needs to do a better job of attacking the football at its highpoint on high balls and jump balls.

ROUTE RUNNING ABILITY

At this point Anderson is not asked to run a large variety of routes, nor is he asked to run many stop or cut routes. He is more of a vertical and crossing threat at this stage in his development. As mentioned above the McEachern standout gets off the line very quickly, although he will have to learn how to use his hands to avoid getting jammed off the line by linebackers and safeties. His athleticism (speed, agility, quickness) tells me he has a lot of potential as a route runner. Anderson’s speed will automatically have defenders thinking they must cover deep. His quickness and agility should allow him to push defenders vertically and then be able to quickly cut in, out, or back to the quarterback. This will allow him to gain good separation in a short to intermediate route runner. Anderson does a good job already working against the zone. He shows good natural instincts finding holes in the zone as well as getting proper depth behind the second level defenders as he works across the field. There will be technical aspects of the position he will have to learn as well (body position, leveraging defenders, sinking his hips, etc), but his athleticism should allow him to develop these traits relatively quickly.

BLOCKING ABILITY

Despite his lack of ideal size for the tight end position the 6’4, 200 pound end does show good toughness in the run game. He gets off the line quickly and is not afraid to mix it up with defenders. He uses good leg drive to get a push, which helps him make up for his lack of natural strength. Anderson works quickly to the second level, keeps a good base, and does a solid job working his feet as linebackers attempt to scrape or work around him. When blocking inline Anderson needs to stay a bit lower and learn to use his hands better. He flashes quick hands but has to learn to use them as a weapon. Anderson tends to be a body blocker at this point, which is not good for a player who lacks size and strength. He needs to learn to shoot his hands quickly to get inside defenders and then use good leverage and his excellent leg drive to outmaneuver defenders. With more strength will come an ability to get better extension as well. Anderson also must learn to finish. He does a nice job fighting with blockers but does not finish plays off as well as he needs to. He tends to give up a bit too early on blocks thinking the play is over. I want to see him learn to play to the whistle and as he begins to feel himself getting an advantage on defenders to really drive, extend, and finish the block.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Anderson is still a very raw football player, but he does have very good potential. My hope is that he will be able to add the necessary size and strength to compete at the next level. His combination of height, speed, athleticism, and ball skills make Anderson a dangerous player in the pass game. His toughness and attitude make for a potentially sound blocker, but he really needs to gain more strength and weight. But he does possess a trait that is going to be needed for the Volunteer offense. Anderson has the ability to stretch defenses up the middle and make big plays. If they are fortunate enough to land his commitment his versatility will allow the Vol coaches to do what they desire to do, which is move their tight end all over the field. A commitment from Anderson would get the offensive recruiting for the Vol staff off to a very nice start. Tight end is a big need for Tennessee, where the staff is likely to take two players, and Anderson fits the mold of what the Tennessee offense needs. If for some reason Anderson cannot develop the necessary size and strength to be an every down tight end I believe he has the size and athleticism to become a wide receiver. There is no reason the Tennessee coaches could not utilize his size, speed, and ball skills in the pass game. Whether or not he could develop into a full-time every down wide receiver remains to be seen, but there is certainly a role he could fill at the position, whether it is as a physical slot receiver or a tall, vertical, outside threat. Ideally I want to see Anderson develop the necessary size and strength to stay as a tight end.

GRADES

Size: 73 (Height and length are fine, potential to fill out is a big question)

Strength: 75 (Tough player but not overly strong, question how much stronger he can get)

Speed: 88 (Best asset, gets going quickly and flashes big time TE speed)

Athletic Skills: 85 (Agile, quick, and able to make plays downfield and after the catch)

Route Running: 80 (Raw, but not asked to do a lot, has skill set to develop into a strength)

Catching Ability: 84 (Naturally strong, sure hands, has some technical issues that need to be ironed out)

Blocking: 77 (Gets after it, good 2nd level blocker, very good leg drive, just needs to get bigger and stronger)

Intangibles: 83 (Tough kid, plays hard, has to learn to finish)

Upside: 4

Overall Grade: 3.5

GRADE KEY

90-100 – Elite/Exceptional: Skill set is rare and gives prospect ability to dominate

80-89 – Very Good/Outstanding: Skill set is a significant strength

70-79 – Average: Skill set is solid, not a significant weakness

60-69 – Below Average: Skill set is not a strength for this player and could become a liability

50-59 – Very Poor: Prospect does not possess this trait and it is a definite liability
OVERALL/UPSIDE GRADES

5 – Elite: Player is one of the best players at his position nationally, potentially dominant

4 – Very Good/Outstanding: Player is a potential standout and starter, could also play early

3 – Solid: Player is a potential contributor, could eventually start down the road

2 – Below Average: Player does not possess the talent to be a significant contributor

1 – Poor: Let’s be honest, Tennessee is not going to bring in anyone with a one!!

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