Nights Before Neyland: Marcus Goree Brings Positional Flexibility To Knoxville

2024 four-star defensive back Marcus Goree (Cleveland, Tenn.) has been committed to the Tennessee Volunteers for months and has one of the most interesting evals in the class.

One of Tennessee's earliest commits in the 2024 cycle was four-star defensive back Marcus Goree. The coaching staff has ensured that they lock down the state in the first two full recruiting cycles under head coach Josh Heupel, and Goree was a part of the top group of in-state prospects during this cycle. He's got tons of natural ability and brings an intriguing skillset to the college level.

Goree committed to the Vols on February 18, 2023, choosing Tennessee over Colorado, Michigan, Michigan State, and Nebraska. Those four programs feature an NFL Hall-of-Famer turned head coach, an NFL head coach turned college coach, and one of the most storied programs in college football history. Though the rankings and stars may not indicate it, this was a major recruitment and critical recruitment for Tennessee to win out in. They've liked Goree since the staff offered Goree in June 2022 after he camped in Knoxville.

The Bradley Central High School standout put impressive work on tape during his junior season. He played a lot of safety, ROVER, slot corner, and even some outside corner. Goree is a high-level athlete that times a 4.45-second 40-yard dash and a 4.28-second shuttle run. He also boasts a nearly 40" vertical, filling out an eye-popping athletic profile. He measures 6-1 and 170 pounds, slightly below the weight profile you want from a college defensive back, but he has the height and length of an SEC defender.

The agility stands out. Goree can abruptly change direction and shrink space. That agility is especially evident in the red zone. Goree doesn't have the size to drive someone backward in an arm tackle, as previously mentioned, but he explodes off the line of scrimmage and finds the ball carrier before they begin their path. Goree uses both of his arms in his tackling form and throws ball carriers to the ground in the red zone, using every ounce of strength he has.

2024 DB Marcus Goree during his official visit to Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennesse, on June 23, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Marcus Goree)

Closing speed is a big selling point at safety. Tennessee high schools often like to split coverage by sending an in-breaking route 12-15 yards downfield, drawing attention from one of the split safeties. They then send a skinny post, where the target makes a cut from the outside but works more vertically than horizontally. Several offenses ran this look against Bradley Central and got the first safety to jump on the in-breaking route. Goree recognized the route concept in presnap and flew across the field to break up the pass each time.

I like where he stands in zone coverage proficiency. Goree works through his keys and understands the difference between playing a hook and a deep third. There are different principles to each coverage, and safeties that play in the middle of the field tend to mix those up. Goree doesn't. His intelligence enabled Bradley Central to play zone in the red zone, letting Goree stay on the field on passing downs. He was a full-time player inside the twenties because of that coverage ability.

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