Breaking down DeAnthony Arnett

These evaluations, written by Bryan Driskell, are a new feature of VolNation. Please use the ‘contact us’ link if you would like to send suggestions for future featured prospects.

I am still trying to learn just what the new Tennessee offense will look like. There are a few things I am confident of at this point in time. The offense will utilize a variety of formations and personnel groupings. The offense also needs more playmakers. Gerald Jones, Denarius Moore, and Marsalis Teague are good football players, but the Vols need more explosiveness out of their receiving corp. One of the most explosive pass catchers in the country is Saginaw High standout DeAnthony Arnett. What Arnett lacks in size he makes up for with speed, quickness, and explosive playmaking ability with the ball in his hands. He is the type of player the new Tennessee offense needs more of as they transition into the Derek Dooley era. Arnett is also one of the most highly sought after recruits in the country, as we see with offers from Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon, Iowa, Michigan, and Tennessee.

ATHLETIC ABILITY
Arnett is a super quick player with or without the football in his hands. Arnett is able to use his quickness to make defenders miss in tight spaces as well as making defenders look very bad in the open field. He also has tremendous balance, which allows him to cut multiple times in a row and then accelerate when he gets free. This also allows him to stay on his feet against arm tackle attempts. Arnett is more quick than fast, although his speed is still very good. I would not classify the Michigan standout as a true “burner” but he does have plenty of speed. He has the ability to beat defenders deep on the outside as well as beating them across the field on the short, underneath routes. If given the corner or a seam he has the speed to break away and take it to the house. This combination of quickness and speed makes Arnett a truly dangerous player on every snap. If you play him one on one he has the speed to beat you deep. When given the ball underneath he has the ability to finds holes, make defenders miss, and break free for big plays. The Saginaw pass catcher also possesses good leaping ability. He times his jumps well, catches the ball at its highest point, and as he develops more strength his leaping ability will only increase. This leaping ability also allows Arnett to make plays downfield despite lacking ideal size.

CATCHING ABILITY
The 5’11, 160 pound wideout is also a relatively technically sound football player as well. He shows good, strong hands (his hands are relatively big for a smaller player). Arnett tracks the football very well and is relatively consistent with catching the football away from his body. As mentioned above he also does a great job going up and catching jump balls at their highest point. In several clips Arnett also showed the ability to catch the football while working nicely against the sideline and the backline of the end zone. This shows great football I.Q. as well as great hands and concentration. Arnett also does a very good job attacking the football. His high school quarterback throws the ball very softly so Arnett must and does come back to the football quite frequently, which he does. The only issue I have with his catching ability is when he goes over the middle. When in a one on one situation or a man situation he shows no fear going over the middle. There are times, however, when he is working against the zone where he starts to body catch and short arm balls over the middle. To be honest, in his situation I am somewhat understanding of this. As mentioned his quarterback throws the ball very softly. When a ball hangs the last thing any receiver wants to do is go over the middle. It’s a guess, but my guess is this has something to do with it. He shows no near in any other instance, so this is a bit of an aberration in my view.

ROUTE RUNNING ABILITY
Arnett has tremendous potential as a route runner and as a high school junior already shows very good route running ability for this stage of his development. He is a relatively sound fundamental football player with a great combination with his tremendous skill set. His excellent quickness and agility allow him to get out of his breaks with excellent quickness and start working back to the quarterback. One thing most high school players do at the top of their routes is start to lean back which forces them to be very choppy in and out of their breaks. Arnett shows a very good body lean and sinks his hips relatively well at the top of his routes which also allows him to quickly get out of his breaks without giving away the route. This is a great foundation to work with for his college receiver coach. Quarterbacks will love this trait as it allows them to throw the ball as soon as he starts to make his cuts, before defenders have much time to react, knowing that Arnett will quickly be out of his break and be ready to catch the football.

As expected there is still work to be done with his route running ability. Arnett has a double hitch at the line of scrimmage (despite having a pretty good initial stance) that causes him to be late off the line. He is able to overcome that at the high school level thanks to his great speed, but it will have to be worked out at the next level. He also has to learn how to quickly roll cut on speed out routes. He tends to stutter right now which allows defenders to close in on him. It is a technique issue that will be fixed his first day at camp. I’d also like to see him learn to use his speed off the line better. He tends to telegraph all his shorter routes. He flies off the ball and just blows by defenders on the deep ball but on shorter throws he is slower and more erect which is a giveaway to more experienced and talented defenders. Arnett will also have to learn how to attack the leverage of defenders rather than just running straight up field, but this is common for high school players. The fact that Arnett is so quick, fast, and shows the natural ability he does is why I’m so confident he will develop into an excellent route runner. Arnett also shows the ability to use his quickness and speed to defeat the press with relative ease, although there needs to be improvement with his technique as he transitions to college.

SIZE/STRENGTH
The only real issue with Arnett is his lack of ideal size. His height is solid (listed between 5’11 and 6’0) and will not be a problem. His arm length is normal so when you combine this with his good leaping ability I am not concerned about his ability to make plays on the football down the field. The concern I have is that Arnett is very, very thin at this point. This will make it imperative that Arnett continue to refine his route running ability so he can beat bigger college cornerbacks. This will also affect him in the run game as a blocker and it will require that he give great effort against the run, especially when he is in the slot. He won’t use his strength and size to break any tackles, but as mentioned above he uses his super quickness, agility, and vision to do that. My only fear would be whether or not he can hold up with this kind of size. But the one player I compared him to was Mardy Gilyard, who was an All-American wideout under Brian Kelly at Cincinnati. Like Arnett, Gilyard was also a very thin player, but like Arnett he showed no fear on the football field. Seeing this makes me confident that Arnett will also be able to overcome the fact he has such a thin frame.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Arnett is the kind of player the Vol offense needs. Not since Robert Meachum was dominating SEC defenses have the Vols had a player who possessed the potential to dominate like Arnett can. He is a player who can beat teams deep, he can make huge plays after the catch, and he can beat people as a route runner. If you combine the smaller, quicker, and explosive Arnett with the bigger, more vertically explosive players like Da’Rick Rogers, Justin Hunter, Matt Milton, and Ted Meline the Vols could possess one of the more potent and dangerous young receiving units in the country. Arnett’s skills (speed, quickness, vision) also translate to excellent potential as a punt returner. Whoever lands DeAnthony Arnett is getting one of this class’ better receiving talents and a player sure to make things exciting for fans whenever he steps on the football field.

Size: 77

Strength: 65

Speed: 90

Athletic Skills: 95

Route Running: 87

Catching Ability: 85

RAC: 93

Intangibles: 85

Upside: 5

Overall Grade: 5

GRADE KEY

GRADES

90-100 – Elite/Exceptional: Skill set is rare and gives prospect ability to dominate

80-89 – Very Good/Outstanding: Skill set is a significant strength

70-79 – Average: Skill set is solid, not a significant weakness

60-69 – Below Average: Skill set is not a strength for this player and could become a liability

50-59 – Very Poor: Prospect does not possess this trait and it is a definite liability

OVERALL/UPSIDE GRADES

5 – Elite: Player is one of the best players at his position nationally, potentially dominant

4 – Very Good/Outstanding: Player is a potential standout and starter, could also play early

3 – Solid: Player is a potential contributor, could eventually start down the road

2 – Below Average: Player does not possess the talent to be a significant contributor

1 – Poor: Let’s be honest, Tennessee is not going to bring in anyone with a one!!

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