4-Star Recruit: John Bonney Commits to Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns have landed another recruit.  4-star safety John Bonney has decided to take his talents to The University of Texas. Bonney joins what many believe is the best recruiting class in the Big 12. [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] 

Angel Verdejo of the Houston Chronicle reported Bonney’s commitment to UT.

According to Verdejo, the Houston native claimed more than 30 offers. However, other sports publications like 247Sports have identified a list of just over 20 suitors. Regardless of the accuracy of either number, when 20 schools (at worst) that include the likes of  LSU and Oklahoma are actively recruiting a player, you know he must be special.

Bonney told Verdejo that defensive backs coach Duane Akina and former Texas star and current NFL running back Earl Campbell were among the many driving forces behind his commitment: “The alumni there are so strong and I felt like I would get the best coaching, especially at my position in coach Akina. There were a lot people involved in this, all the way up to Earl Campbell. He’s a dear friend of my dad and he was an essential part of this decision. I really appreciate everything.”

As one may expect, the decision was difficult for the Lamar High School product. Bonney admitted as much to Verdejo saying “I was going a little bit back and forth, and made the initial decision before the season that I was going to pick Texas. Once it sets in, you kind of go and forth. But this week, I really had time to think on it and pray on it, and I feel real comfortable.”

Bonney makes 24 commitments for the Longhorns, and he is currently the No. 3 prospect in their 2014 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports composite ratings.

Here’s the scouting report by the good folks at the Bleacher Report on Bonney, who doesn’t have blazing speed (4.62 in the 40), but is known as a tough, smart, instinctive player:

Considered a safety by the services, Bonney possesses the type of pure defensive back or cornerback skills that provide some extra value as a prospect.

Lamar uses him a lot in one-on-one coverage on the outside, so he’s not a guy who spends most of his time in deep center field coming downhill to make plays or supporting cornerbacks in coverage — he’s the player in coverage.

It can be hard to tell from views that show the quarterback throwing the football, but from the results, Bonney is able to sit in the hip pocket of his receivers consistently, either doing a strong job of working in press coverage and uses his hands to re-route receivers or flipping his hips well to transition with them. Further investigation of the film reveals that he can do both.

Either way, when the ball is in the air, Bonney displays strong ball skills. He doesn’t appear to come up with a great deal of interceptions — three in 2012 — so the hope is that as he continues to mature and improve as a player, he will turn a few more of those PBUs into INTs, because during his junior season, Bonney got his hands on a number of balls that were possible, if difficult, interceptions.

Some young defensive backs experience struggles knowing when to turn their head to find the football and some then have issues tracking it. Bonney seems to have a natural knack for when to look back and can generally find the ball quickly, then make sure that the receiver doesn’t come up with the catch, probably his most elite ability based on his junior film.

In terms of playing the pure safety position, there’s not a lot of evidence on film, but Bonney does flash some open-field tackling ability, even if he does get a little bit high there some times, can break down to deal with opposing ball carriers, and can deliver some hits when the opportunity is there. Bonney is not, however, a natural striker who can sink his hips and explode through opponents — but that’s not really a knock on his abilities, just to say that he’s not elite in that regard.

There may be a bit of a learning curve for him in college if he’s asked to take on a center-field role, though there’s no question that he could find a home at field corner or nickel corner.

Source: Alex Sims/Bleacher Report

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