We are close to wrapping up our scouting reports for Notre Dame’s 2020 NFL hopefuls and today we look at the second Irish safety wishing for his name to be called during the Draft.
SPECS
Name: Jalen Elliott
Position: S
Height: 6-0 (per the Combine)
Weight: 205 (per the Combine)
Hometown: Richmond, VA
STATS
| YEAR | SOLO | ASST | TACKLES | TFL | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 36 | 31 | 67 | 1.0 | 4 |
| 2019 | 29 | 20 | 49 | 0.0 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 96 | 76 | 172 | 1.0 | 6 |
BIO:
Elliott came to Notre Dame out of Lloyd C. Byrd High School where he featured most prominently as a quarterback. He was targeted by the Irish as a safety–and unlike many others who don’t play their college position in high school–this decision stuck from day one and he was able to flourish. A common theme of these scouting reports is how many of the 2016 freshmen on defense played right away, and Elliott was no exception.
He saw minimal duty in 2016 but then moved right into the starting lineup as a sophomore and would go on to hold down the job for the next 3 seasons. No doubt, Elliott shined the most as a junior where he finished 4th on the team in tackles and led the Irish with 4 interceptions. His senior season was solid but not really a step forward at all.
STRENGTHS:
Three-year starter and senior captain with an abundance of experience. Really strong ball skills. Tracks long passes really well as a roaming free safety. Uses his size and physicality to add an edge to his game. Plays bigger than his listed size. Adequate length for a physical safety.
WEAKNESSES:
Didn’t carry momentum from a strong 2018 and seemed to get lost in the shuffle even as a captain. Slowest 40-yard dash for a safety at the Combine by nearly 0.10 seconds exposes a lack of speed. Not nearly enough of an athletic enough presence close to the line of scrimmage. Good tackler but a concerning absence of tackles for loss and stuffs over a long career.
OVERVIEW:
For good reason a few Notre Dame players tested so well and brought a lot of credibility to the Fighting Irish strength and conditioning program. Unfortunately, the university wasn’t able to bat a thousand for every single player. Elliott has good size and actually performed pretty well in a couple agility drills but other than that the Combine was not kind to him.
It’s going to be tough for Elliott to break through this poor testing which is a shame because by the end of 2018 he seemed like a really quality pro prospect. Was it all just coaching? Did the Elko/Lea scheme make Elliott seem a lot better than he really was? It’s difficult to answer those questions yet now that we’ve seen him test I’m not sure he has the athleticism to hang around in the NFL.
PREDICTION:
Undrafted Free Agent Signing with the Washington Redskins
Let’s see if the football team in Washington takes a chance on a kid from just down the road in Virginia.
More scouting reports to come:
Khalid Kareem
