Friday Night Files: Deion Colzie
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It never hurts to look ahead in recruiting. Often teams that can identify an exceptional talent first have a strong chance of landing that player.
Some of that can be born from players remembering who gave them their first official offer, while some come from teams that find recruits early being able to lay the foundation of a good relationship with them. One of the most important questions in recruiting is, “Who is the primary recruiter?”
Another that often follows that is, “How is the relationship there?” Though most media and fan outlets are often most focused on the upcoming recruiting class, in this case, the 2020 class, coaches are looking at 2020 and beyond. At Athens Academy, there was elite talent on display for the 2020 and 2021 classes.
The Spartans boast a player hovering just outside the Top 50 nationally in 2021 according to 247 sports, wide receiver Deion Colzie.
Colzie is a six-foot-four, one hundred eighty-pound receiver that has a knack for making big plays. That large frame Colzie possesses means that he has a huge catch radius, something quarterbacks love. A ball to Colzie doesn’t have to be perfectly thrown, it just has to be in the area, and he has the size and length to reach for and snatch the ball.
Such a big-bodied receiver is also a nightmare for most corners to cover. A “big” corner is usually considered six feet to maybe six feet two inches tall. That means that during his junior year, the biggest corners that Colzie is likely to face will be giving up at least two inches to him. His age also means that he will likely be taller and thicker by the time he is ready to commit to a college. Colzie already knows how to use and position his body well, getting the most out of every inch of his frame. He is adept at working himself between defensive backs and the ball, effectively boxing them out, forcing them to move around him and miss a play on the ball or try to come through him and risk a pass interference call. Colzie is also an excellent leaper, able to climb the ladder and go get balls that aren’t well thrown or are put where only he can get them. His combination of size, length, leaping ability, and strong hands mean that he can hide mistakes by a quarterback as well as allow a quarterback to take more risks when pursuing a potential big play. A quarterback can force a ball to Colzie with less risk of the other team coming up with it, just because of where he is capable of getting to a ball.
Size isn’t all that Colzie brings into the equation, though. He has also run a laser timed 4.54 forty-yard dash, but that number is deceptive. Big, long players like Colzie are sometimes at a disadvantage when running a forty. There is a lot of technique into running a good forty time for any player, but tall, long athletes like Colzie have to slowly unwind. There is simply a lot of body there to unwind in that forty, and much of that time spent unwinding forces an athlete to run in an awkward position. After watching Colzie in person, he definitely appears to be in the category of players that run faster on the field than they time. A corner that runs in the high 4.4-second range is more than likely going to find himself trying to catch up to Colzie from behind.
Colzie is deceptively fast, and while some of that comes from his long strides, some comes from how smooth he is as a runner. He works easily into and out of his cuts, eating up space without looking like he is exerting much effort. Colzie flows when he runs, and even when he makes sudden cuts, they look less violent than they are, though they still serve the purpose of getting him open.
Against Stephens County, Colzie had his entire toolbox on display, as he put on a show. In less than three-quarters of work, while also playing every defensive snap at corner, Colzie rolled up over 150 yards and three touchdowns. While racking up those numbers he beat multiple types of coverages, double teams, and defenses designed to deny him the ball.
On his final touchdown of the game, Colzie ran a drag from the left side of the formation to the right. There was a bunch formation to the right, and as Colzie drug across he found a soft spot in the defense. He used his speed to get across the face of the safety and pull away from the corner, his body to shield the safety away from the ball, and his strong hands to snatch the ball in for a touchdown. When watching him work, Colzie is a natural receiver. He moves easily and makes plays when he arrives where he needs to be. Colzie showed that he is adept at working the sidelines and playing through contact earlier in the drive of his final touchdown reception. He worked a long comeback route against a breaking corner to keep a drive alive. Despite very physical play by the corner, Colzie shielded him off, muscled to the ball, and kept his feet in bounds for the catch.
As good as Colzie is, he has things in his game to work on. Chief among them will be the development of his routes. Colzie is such a natural, fluid athlete, it can do him a disservice when looking at how hard he makes his breaks. He often looks like he isn’t snapping things off as other receivers, but those breaks are still good enough to get him open. His frame, which helps him so much as a receiver, is something he will have to overcome in this area. It requires better footwork for bigger, longer striding receivers to develop sharper routes. That isn’t to say that it can’t be done, it is simply something Colzie and his coaches will focus on at Athens Academy and the next level. Also, like most high school receivers, Colzie needs to see his route tree grow more branches as he approaches and ultimately ascends to the next level. He shows on his comeback routes, however, that he is able to develop outstanding routes.
The way Colzie works back to that ball on that route and understands already how to use his body to secure a catch, should make college coaches feel confident in his ability to polish his routes to a high level when he arrives in college.
As far as where Colzie will be playing his college ball, that remains to be seen. The hometown Bulldogs are in the picture, as is Alabama. That said, Colzie stated that the two teams recruiting him the hardest right now are Tennessee and Notre Dame. Both of these programs have already designated Colzie as a high priority, and he has an interest in both. Notre Dame is in the midst of exceptional success that has been largely carried by prolific offenses. Colzie would likely feature as a prominent weapon for the Irish as his size sets him out as the type of perimeter weapon that they covet. Tennessee will graduate multiple seniors at the end of the 2019 season, and another, Josh Palmer, after the 2020 season. Tennessee will be looking for playmakers on the outside anyway, but especially as 2021 figures to be the sophomore season for one of the crown jewels of Tennessee’s 2020 class, Marietta quarterback Harrison Bailey.
The twists and turns that are bound to come on Colzie’s recruiting trail are well worth watching, as he is an elite talent that is capable of altering the trajectory of whatever team he chooses.
This is one to keep an early eye on, as Colzie is a player a coach could build a class around.
Photos Courtesy of Jeffery T. Harding