Cincinnati Athletics
Alabama Game Week Scouting Report: Cincinnati Linebacker Darrian Beavers
Cincinnati linebackers Darrian Beavers has come a long way during his collegiate career, and not just because he first played at the University of Connecticut before transferring.
Back in 2017, he was a 235-pound freshman being converted from safety. He's now listed as 255 pounds at a school-listed 6-4.
With the Huskies, Beavers played in all 12 games as a freshman, and finished with 15 tackles, three tackles for loss and three sacks. He followed that with another 12 games as a sophomore, including six starts, and had 23 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and a team-leading four sacks.
Between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Beavers transferred and made an immediate impact, playing in all 14 of the Bearcats’ 2019 games and starting 10. He recorded 36 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.
He was even better in 2020, with 58 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, four passes defended, one quarterback hurry and one forced fumble. He was named Second-Team All-AAC.
This season, as a graduate senior, Beavers was one of the six finalists for the 2021 Dick Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's top linebacker. He's second on the team in tackles (91), third in tackles for loss (9.5), third in sacks (3.5) and second in forced fumbles (second). He also had an interception at East Carolina.
Darrian Beavers
Jersey: No. 0
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6-4
Weight: 255
DOB: 7/5
Draft eligible: 2022
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
High School: Colerain
Background
Beavers was a standout athlete and student at Colerain High School. The talented football player played wide receiver and safety, earning the Varsity Starter Award three times. Further, Beavers was named first team all-conference on defense in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, Colerain came second in states after going undefeated during the regular season. The school won the GMC Championship three times during Beavers’s career. More than just a football player, the Cincinnati native was a letter winner in basketball and track. He also earned a 4.0 grade point average during his senior year. After his final high school campaign, Beavers earned a three-star rating from 247Sports Composite Rankings. The same outlet named him the 2034th-overall player nationally, the 157th-best safety in his class and the 78th-ranked Ohio recruit in his year.
Pros
Beavers has a very long frame with good reach and length at the second level. He shows functional strength in and around the line of scrimmage to be physical with blockers. He has the ability to stack and shed in the box when offensive lineman lead block to the second level. The Cincinnati linebacker has some versatility because of his length, lining up as a traditional inside linebacker and offering value to his team as a stand-up outside rusher on occasion. In coverage, he shows really good awareness to understand his zone and let the quarterback’s eyes lead him. Shows good pre-snap communication to his teammates. Has the ability to recognize plays and flow towards the ball in an appropriate manner. Beavers has some suddenness to his game to shoot gaps.
SEE ALSO: Darrian Beavers Mic'd up Ahead of AAC Championship Game
Cons
Hips and overall flexibility look restricted within his movements. As he moves laterally or extends his stride, Beavers looks fairly limited in the range of his sideline-to-sideline ability because of the tightness. He needs to be better and more firm in his tackling efforts when he is outside the box. Whether it is taking bad angles or not committing fast enough to the play, he misses out on a lot of opportunities to make tackles out in space. He also arm-tackled way too often instead of taking advantage of his bigger frame. In coverage, Beavers doesn’t have the foot speed or reactive abilities to play man coverage.
Summary
After spending two years at Connecticut, Darrian Beavers transferred to the Cincinnati Bearcats. The linebacker is a bigger-bodied, lengthy player at the second level of the defense who can also provide some versatility. He shows good intelligence throughout his game, especially in coverage, getting good depth on his drops into zones and being able to read the quarterback’s eyes. He lacks the athleticism and foot speed to have a huge impact at the next level. Despite his size, Beavers struggles with his ability to finish plays off because of inconsistent tackling technique out in space.
Grades
Current value 5.5/Potential value 7.9
BamaCentral Analysis
Beavers plays weakside linebacker while Joel Dublanko (6-3 240) is the middle linebacker. Both are graduate students (there are five on the Cincinnati roster, all on defense including defensive tackles Curtis Brooks and Marcus Brown), giving the Bearcats an excellent veteran presence in the heart of the defense. Dublanko is the team's leading tackler, but Beavers is the bigger player of the two and the key to the run defense, especially against bigger opponents. He had nine tackles, one sack and two tackles for a loss in the win at Indiana, and Beavers finished with six tackles and a half-sack at Notre Dame. Beavers had a season-high 14 tackles against Navy, and a 10-tackle performance versus Tulsa. Considering the size differential against Alabama up front, it's absolutely crucial to Cincinnati that he have a big game.
As part of the buildup to the College Football Playoff semifinal, BamaCentral will profile numerous Cincinnati players as the Crimson Tide returns to the Cotton Bowl. Also check out NFL Draft Bible for more evaluations.
