Earnest has been on our radar for a while, and we honestly thought he’d have a breakout year last season. This year, I’m more convinced he’s going to make a big impact, as he’s bigger, stronger, and faster than last year, when he played well on the JV squad. He can flow sideline-to-sideline and has shown excellent play recognition, able to react quickly to what the offense is doing.

Earnest played a lot as a blitzer off the edge last season, but as he gets bigger and stronger, we expect him to play a more consistent off-ball role. He has great potential thanks to his movement skills and play strength. He also plays center, and while he’s not expected to stay at that position forever, it’s a testament to his power and football I.Q.

Earnest’s Junior Varsity freshman film tells the story of an athletically-gifted linebacker who looks like a future varsity star. He has the size, to get downhill to make tackles in the inside running game and the sideline-to-sideline speed to cover the edge on outside runs. You can see that clearly in two back-to-back plays at the :35 mark.

In the first of those two plays, he takes an excellent angle to turn a promising run into a minimal gain. In the second, he comes from much deeper to prevent a touchdown. Those pursuit angles are things we expect to see from older prospects, not freshmen. Once he gets some more varsity film, he’ll find his way into the rankings.