Reel Talk: Medlock brings eye-popping speed to The U

One constant issue that Miami fans have had with head coach Manny Diaz is that he hasn’t been able to bring in impact linebackers into the program. That problem is now over with three-star linebacker from Manvel High school in Texas, Justin Medlock.

Medlock is an exciting prospect with most of the tools that you look for in a modern linebacker with an electric brand of football. He was injured for the second half of the season last year, but we’ll look at his film to see what the Hurricane’s defense is getting in their new linebacker.

Medlock has eye-popping speed for a linebacker. Reports are that he runs a 4.50 forty-yard dash and that translates to the field. The burst out of his stance downhill to the ball also suggest that he’s got a great 10 yard split and great acceleration.

With that sort of range, Medlock can be a sideline to sideline player capable of running down the fastest players in the flat with ease. In fact he doesn’t miss a lot of tackles and arrives with great position because he’s so fast.

Despite being a speed merchant of a football player, the best part about the Houston native is his positional skills. He’s obviously very well coached and plays with his head as well as his feet. He has great vision to the ball-carrier through trash and doesn’t overrun plays. He’s patient and reads the play before committing to his gap.

That sort of patience along with his speed make him a modern linebacker capable of holding up under the pressure that offense put on players at his position. It’s also a skill that the Miami defense has been sorely lacking over the last several seasons.

Medlock is a good size for a high school linebacker but the questions about his ability to play through contact are fair given that he’s primarily a speed player. The good news is that he doesn’t shy away from contact and will attack guards head on to secure his gap and work to the football.

This is an important trait to see on film from any young linebacker in general, but especially from such an athletic player like Medlock who could simply run around blocks and still win. While he does do that when he needs to, the Texas native also shows he can play the position in a traditional way.

The only real question about Justin Medlock is how big can he grow? He’s got a good frame at 6-0, and 200 pounds, but he’s not an overly long player in any aspect. He’ll have to work to put on weight, especially in his lower half to increase his strength through contact to maintain his presence on the field. If he could play close to 235 pounds by the time he’s fully mature, he could be a devastating presence patrolling the middle of the field.

Medlock’s game is so good that you naturally begin comparing him to more advanced players so this might be unfair. He’s a very good hitter at the high school level but there are times that he does not make the impact you’d expect given his speed and force upon arrival.

Manvel doesn’t have to be an enforcer going forward, but it would round out his profile. There should be no problem for him to add this to his game as he gets bigger and stronger but there’s always the chance that he will be a good tackler, but not a powerful presence.

Every coach in the nation is looking for young, fast linebackers that can chase, tackle and play in coverage. That is Justin Medlock’s game through and through. What’s better is that as long as he can add the necessary size and power to his frame, he could be an early contributor given how mature his game is. Right now he profiles better as a WILL linebacker than a Mike.

Truthfully he might be able to play any three of the linebacker positions at the next level depending on how he develops. He hits bigger than he is and he’s able to dominate his level of competition. The speed and underneath coverage skills make him a candidate to play in space at SAM if necessary.