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Dior Mathis - College Football Recruiting 2010 - ESPN

Evaluation

Mathis may have some of the better ball skills and athleticism in this cornerback class. A very quick, fluid perimeter defender with a knack for coming up with the big play. His lack of height is his biggest detriment but he's high-cut and has longer limbs for his short frame. Very fluid pedal and opens and turns very smoothly in coverage. Has great footwork. Can stop-start on a dime mirroring in off-man and flip his hips fluidly when transitioning to run vertically. Body control adjusting to the ball in the air is excellent. Does a great job anticipating the pass and shows outstanding reactive athleticism. Flashes great recovery burst and closes the cushion very quickly undercutting the pass. Understands underneath zone concepts and jumping the correct route. Comfortable around the football and turns into a receiver on the jump ball, often masks his lack of height. Does appear a bit quicker than fast but has good top-end and makeup speed. However, he can get caught peaking in the backfield in man coverages and is susceptible to the double move. Can let get turned, let receivers separate and will have a more difficult at the next level recovering when beat deep. We like his aggressiveness as a bump and run press guy but he will need to improve his upper-body strength as he struggles at times maintaining inside leverage versus bigger receivers. Run support skills are not a strong area. That said, Mathis has the physical tools, skill-set and natural savvy at the corner position to develop into a great lockdown cover guy at the college level. Great prospect and potential stud on special teams as well.