Evaluating New DT Commit Cam Murray

The Cowboys picked up their first, and likely only, defensive tackle prospect for the 2016 recruiting cycle over the weekend in Cam Murray. Given that Murray will be the only defensive tackle in this class, that assumes the Cowboys have confidence he can contribute and become a big time player in the middle of the defense someday, even with the other upcoming talent already on the roster.

Murray lines up at end as well as tackle. He uses his size and power to overpower opposing lines. I like that he doesn’t always use his size. He sometimes uses speed to get off of a block. He doesn’t just bull rush, which is something a lot of guys do when they are that much bigger than everyone else. That’s the easy way, it becomes a problem once you get to D1 and the offensive linemen are just as big.

He seems to have good technique and patience for the play. On one play the offense was running a zone QB read, he didn’t rush up field and didn’t bite on the play fake. He read the play and tackled the QB behind the LOS, same thing with a reverse.

Murray does a nice job using his hands. He keeps the linemen at arms length and doesn’t allow them to get fully engaged. This allows him to read the play and shed the blocker quickly.

I don’t see Murray as a day one contributor. He lacks division one size, so he’ll need a couple of years to grow into that 6’3 frame.

Strengths: Height, power, explosiveness, patience.

Weakness: Weight, immediate contributor.

OSU picked up a solid player that should be a nice starter in three to four years, once Daniels and Taylor have exhausted eligibility.