Orange and Blue News breaks down the senior film of all Illini commits leading up to the early signing period Dec. 19 to Dec. 21.
First up is all-purpose running back Kyron Cumby from Plano (Texas). Cumby committed to Illinois in June over offers from Kansas, Iowa State, Colorado, BYU, Texas Tech, Washington State, and others.
We see Cumby in space in most of the clips from his senior film, and that’s where he’s going to be most effective for the Illini. He’s a great fit for the spread offense and can line up at multiple positions. Though he doesn’t have elite quick-cut ability, he’s elusive and makes the right cut at the right time, then accelerates and runs to daylight. He has that extra gear that you love. He can beat defenders to the edge and hit the home run.
Defenses will want to put a body on Cumby before he gets to the second tier. His initial quickness is pretty good, but it’s once he gets up to full speed that he can blow by defenders in the open field. In close quarters, he needs to get his pads lower, and we don’t really see enough inside runs to gauge his leg drive and ability to make yards after contact. Cumby looks for open spaces to run to rather than following blockers. He’ll have to improve his vision, balance, and decisiveness to become more of a north-south guy. He does have a solid frame to build on and a low center of gravity.
You can line Cumby up in the slot, and he has a high upside as a receiver once he tightens up his route running. He has soft hands and if you hit him in-stride he can make explosive plays in the passing game. He can be a real weapon on screens, and he can get deep over the top on wheel routes. Cumby will be challenge for linebackers to cover if you can get that match-up. He’s relying mostly on speed at the high school level and easily gets separation. It won’t take him long to learn how to run more precise routes.
A good comp is Chicago Bears all-purpose back Tarik Cohen. Cumby doesn’t quite have Cohen’s world-class elusiveness, but they are similar in stature and playing style. We believe Cumby will see the field as a true freshman, particularly in third down sub packages. He can become an every-down back at this level once he’s coached up and has some time in a college strength program.
Overall, Cumby is one of the best gets for the Illini in the class of 2019, and a great fit for the offensive system under coordinator Rod Smith. We believe he rates a little higher than his 5.5 ranking from Rivals.com because of his speed and ability to make big plays.
First up is all-purpose running back Kyron Cumby from Plano (Texas). Cumby committed to Illinois in June over offers from Kansas, Iowa State, Colorado, BYU, Texas Tech, Washington State, and others.
We see Cumby in space in most of the clips from his senior film, and that’s where he’s going to be most effective for the Illini. He’s a great fit for the spread offense and can line up at multiple positions. Though he doesn’t have elite quick-cut ability, he’s elusive and makes the right cut at the right time, then accelerates and runs to daylight. He has that extra gear that you love. He can beat defenders to the edge and hit the home run.
Defenses will want to put a body on Cumby before he gets to the second tier. His initial quickness is pretty good, but it’s once he gets up to full speed that he can blow by defenders in the open field. In close quarters, he needs to get his pads lower, and we don’t really see enough inside runs to gauge his leg drive and ability to make yards after contact. Cumby looks for open spaces to run to rather than following blockers. He’ll have to improve his vision, balance, and decisiveness to become more of a north-south guy. He does have a solid frame to build on and a low center of gravity.
You can line Cumby up in the slot, and he has a high upside as a receiver once he tightens up his route running. He has soft hands and if you hit him in-stride he can make explosive plays in the passing game. He can be a real weapon on screens, and he can get deep over the top on wheel routes. Cumby will be challenge for linebackers to cover if you can get that match-up. He’s relying mostly on speed at the high school level and easily gets separation. It won’t take him long to learn how to run more precise routes.
A good comp is Chicago Bears all-purpose back Tarik Cohen. Cumby doesn’t quite have Cohen’s world-class elusiveness, but they are similar in stature and playing style. We believe Cumby will see the field as a true freshman, particularly in third down sub packages. He can become an every-down back at this level once he’s coached up and has some time in a college strength program.
Overall, Cumby is one of the best gets for the Illini in the class of 2019, and a great fit for the offensive system under coordinator Rod Smith. We believe he rates a little higher than his 5.5 ranking from Rivals.com because of his speed and ability to make big plays.
