Grayson Howard

A tackling machine with the mentality of an alpha. Size at one point was a bit of a concern, but lived in the weight room winter after junior season and bulked up significantly in the upper half. Ability to close gaps without a doubt a strength at this point in his career. Not only gets downhill in hurry, but will quickly sift through traffic and get outside the hashes to wrangle a ball carrier. Understands how to stack and shed, and can do it at a high level. More importantly, isn’t afraid to crash the A or B gap, which is important for someone that’s only 225 pounds. Diagnosis what’s going on in front of him better than most his age. Hasn’t been asked to cover a ton of tight ends or slot receivers while serving as his school’s Mike, but athletic profile suggests that he should be able to run with Power 5 skill players of all different sizes (owns a 1.69 10-yard split and a 4.49 short shuttle). Will eventually need to find better leverage and get adjusted to the speed of the college game, but should be viewed as one of the top linebackers in Florida for the 2023 recruiting cycle given how he moves and plays the game. Desire to make those around him better also a pretty unique trait in the year 2022. Might need a developmental year or two, but has the makeup of a future impact off-ball linebacker for a Power Five program. Business-like approach to everything he does will likely be attractive to NFL scouts one day.