Film Look: Breaking Down OSU Recruit Deondrick Glass

Shortly after Deondrick Glass decided to continue his playing career in Stillwater, I wrote a breakdown of the talented, four-star running back. Now that I’ve had some time to watch some more game film of the Katy, Texas native, I wanted to dive a little deeper into what Glass will bring to Oklahoma State.

One game I primarily focused on was Katy High School’s 49-38 playoff loss to the North Shore Mustangs, who would later become the Texas 6A Division I State Champions. Evaluating Glass’ performance against a high-caliber opponent like the North Shore will provide a more comparable analysis to the talent level he will see in college.

Below I will provide a category and then my breakdown of Glass in that specific category based on the game film I watched.

Elusiveness

Glass doesn’t have Justice Hill-level change of direction skills, but he can still make people miss. He doesn’t wow you with his shiftiness in the open field like a Barry Sanders, but he has quick feet and his cuts are smooth, allowing him to get by defenders.

He does an excellent job of getting oncoming defenders off balance enough to break through their tackle attempt in the open field.

Vision

This is one of Glass’ greatest attributes. He is an extremely patient runner and does a great job of setting up his blocks and then running off of them. This is often times a trait high school running backs have to learn and improve upon at the college level, but Glass seems to already have this part of the game down. If someone steps into the hole, as shown in the play below (and replay that follows), he has the awareness and agility to bust the play outside and still pick up yards for his team.

Pass Protection

Glass gave solid effort and made decent blocks in pass protection in some of the film I watched, like the following play.

However, there were also multiple occasions where he missed the block or didn’t give maximum effort.

He seems to lack the feel for where exactly to step up and initiate or absorb contact in pass pro. Although, it is important to note that Glass didn’t get a lot of opportunities in pass protection as Katy was a very run-heavy team.

Glass already has the size and strength to excel as a pass blocker, and he will only get bigger and stronger hitting the weight room with Rob Glass, but he needs to be given the reps and in-game experience to truly improve upon this aspect of his game.

Receiving

Glass was basically non-existent in the Katy passing game. Between his sophomore and senior season, MaxPreps.com only shows him recording four receptions for 25 yards. He was targeted out of the backfield against North Shore, as you’ll see below, but due to some good defense and a sub-par throw, he wasn’t able to come down with the football.

He did get some work in the slot and out of the backfield at the Blue Grey All-American game, shown below, and looks to have a decent hands.

Even though this wasn’t a part of his game in high school, I believe Glass has the athleticism to become a threat as a receiver for the Cowboys.

Balance and Power

Along with Glass’ patience and vision, balance and power are two more of his best attributes. The way he is able to control his body after contact is very impressive.

Glass is rarely brought down by the initial hit and uses his powerful lower body and leg drive to push through oncoming defenders.

As I mentioned above, he has good size at 5-11, 200 pounds, and his frame looks like it could handle an additional 15 to 20 pounds. Glass’ speed along with his power, make him very versatile in that he can be used for short-yardage situations, but also has the ability to bust a big play.

In conclusion, there is some room for improvement in areas of Glass’ game, but he already possesses so much skill, talent and obvious passion for football that I think he will be a future star for the Pokes.