SI All-American Candidate Jabez Tinae Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: WR Jabez Tinae
Projected Position: Inside/Slot Receiver
Status: SI All-American candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-1, 190 pounds
School: Burien (Wash.) John F. Kennedy
Committed to: Washington
Frame: Long and lean athlete with a tapered frame. Appears to have some wire strength in shoulders and is somewhat high-cut.
Athleticism: Shows good release quickness off when not forced to deal with press-man coverage. Quickness also shows up in secondary release in the route phase of plays. He has a fair amount of long speed to threaten safeties aligned on the third level. Willing to fight at the point of attack when asked to block and with surprising strength to unsuspecting back-7 defenders.
Instincts: Tinae appears to have a good understanding of route-stemming when releasing. He is athletic to avoid traffic underneath and uses a mix of pressure steps, square cuts and head fakes to create separation. Can pluck with his mitts on the move, and has a large strike zone and good hands through catch point. Solid creativity in RAC-phase with good elusiveness and vision with the ball in his hands.
Polish: Currently almost exclusively aligns inside to the right of the formation and runs a route tree that consists of seams, skinny posts, corners and drags, while also being used on screens and end-arounds. Has the length, release quickness, good understanding of the nuances of route-running to contribute to a college offense’s passing game fairly early in his career.
Bottom Line: Tinae is a very good route-runner at this stage and does most of his damage from the slot. He stems his routes, sets up defensive backs, and has good separation quickness. If he can show he can escape press-man coverage and catch in a crowd consistently at the collegiate level, he will fit as a productive slot receiver in today’s pass-happy game.