“The positives jump off the film, and you guys see the positives,” said head coach Brian Schottenheimer. “You just mentioned half of them — this guy dissects plays so fast and this guy’s ability to [do it] and shoot gaps, and make plays, and be where he’s supposed to be, and get guys on the ground. Man, the No. 1 of linebackers is to tackle, and to get people on the ground, and he’s excellent at that.
“It jumped off the film at Florida, too, and that’s one of the things we loved about him — was the ability to dissect and use his hands — and he’s actually a really good blitzer as well. He’s good at the line of scrimmage.”
Only two games in, with one start, the former Gator has amassed an eyeball-stretching 19 solo tackles and 35 combined — per the team’s official tally. For contrast, he has only 12 fewer tackles than the team leader in that category, Kenneth Murray, with four fewer starts (and games) under his belt, and only three fewer tackles than Jack Sanborn, another Day 1 starter.
His 12 tackles against the Carolina Panthers were the most in franchise history by a Cowboys player in a single game in his first start since game-by-game tackles began being tracked in the mid-1990s, and he’s the first rookie linebacker to produce more than 12 tackles in his first two NFL games.
That doesn’t mean he is without fault or opportunities to grow, however, because, after all, he is still a rookie with, as noted, only two games under his belt. So when asked about things the Cowboys look for him to improve upon to reach his full potential, Schottenheimer was honest.
“I would say some of the alignments, and he’s seeing formations he hasn’t seen,” the Cowboys’ head coach said. “Think about college, right? I mean, most people in college are running tempo when they’re in either four wides, or two-by-two, three-by-one, and they’re going fast. And so he’s not getting the jet sweeps and all the things. The thing we’re talking about, eye gaze, and eye discipline, and it’s going from 1×3 to 2×3 back to 2×2 back to 3×1. and there’s all these calls that have to come.
“It’s the little things. It’s the details, but in terms of the instincts and the football player, the game comes very, very natural to him and he has an extremely great future.”
Making an impact on both special teams and defense will continue to create a situation going forward wherein the Cowboys will find it increasingly difficult to take him off of the field or to revert him back to the inactives list after seeing what he does best, versus what they tend to struggle with in games, such as missed tackles, and finding a bit of a groove ahead of the looming return of DeMarvion Overshown.
One thing is true of this Gator, and that’s the fact he’s got one hell of a chomp.