Film Don't Lie | Taebron Bennie-Powell
Notre Dame’s safety recruiting has not gone as they expected to say the least. It forced them to pivot and they were able to evaluate Taebron Bennie-Powell in person at camp and quickly decided to offer.
He quickly decided to accept.
His ranking isn’t impressive. His offer list is even less so. That’s primarily because he was a man out of position last season playing outside linebacker with his path blocked by two stud safeties in front of him on the depth chart (Notre Dame’s Ben Minich and Ohio State’s Malik Hartford).
The Irish coaching staff tested him and worked him out at safety and saw enough to be convinced that he’s someone they want in this class.
Height: 6-1 1/2
Weight: 182
Projected Position: Safety
ISD Grade: 86 (3-star)
National Average Grade: 84.8 (3-star)
What he does best:
The advantage of playing linebacker is that TBP was forced to have to take on blocks frequently and he does a really nice job of defeating them. He can be physical with block destruction despite his stature.
He can tackle in space and looks comfortable when positioned outside of the box.
He does a nice job in man coverage and mirroring against bigger receivers/tight ends. He should match up well there.
TBP displays great hand-eye with knocking down passes as blitzer as well. This is slightly different than that, but being able to knock down this pitch and scoop and score is a heck of a play that not a lot of defenders make.
What he needs to improve:
He needs reps at safety, period. They worked him out and saw what they needed to see, but it’s impossible to say he needed to work on this or that when he was playing a different position than the one he’s projected to play in college.
There’s so much unknown about him at the position because of his lack of experience there that we just have to wait and see what the film looks like this fall.
What’s his ceiling?
His high school Lakota West (Ohio) had four blue-chip defensive backs starting in the last two recruiting cycles, including current Notre Dame freshman Ben Minich. His path to start there was blocked and that isn’t a knock on him. It’s just a reality.
Because of that, taking a commitment from TBP is all about projection. He’s a project and Notre Dame wouldn’t have considered him an option if things worked out with the top of their board.
They did just get verified testing from him at camp (and from previous regional camps before that). They worked him out at safety, saw how fluid he was, how he took to coaching, and that kind of evaluation is invaluable.
They also would have never made this move without a strong endorsement from his high school coaching staff and Coach Bolden at Lakota West does a fantastic job of developing defensive backs. He knows talent as well and several of his former players ended up at Cincinnati and all of them turned out to be studs.
I think TBP is a Power 5 player, but I think the player he could be will become a lot more clear after his senior season. This commitment will be scrutinized harshly by fans and Notre Dame probably could have waited until they saw him in the fall before jumping in with an offer, but they could end up looking really smart if he ends up like all of the former players Bolden previously recommended.
The staff had some very good summer evaluations with Minich (also a former player of Bolden’s) and Armel Mukam in last year’s cycle. We’ll see if this one turns out as well as those did.
Who he could be:
Former Cincinnati safety Ja’von Hicks
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