Experienced SMB safety Grady Rannow balled out last Friday night in Plymouth but was very fun to watch in my defensive-centric eyes. He was all over the field and did a ton of things well, which included stepping in at RB for some productive carries through the teeth of the Lions‘ defense. He did his best work at safety however, where he broke up a handful of Providence Academy attempted passes on second level throws and showed a quick ability to process and break on the football as a third level defender. Additionally, he brought the boom in a ton of different scenarios, which included coming up to enforce the run, big hits in the middle of the field to break up passes and/or make WRs pay, and even on one of his own team’s INTs, where he cracked the returner and crumpled him to the ground. The physicality, range, and ability to impact both the run and pass game for the Lions was a big part of SMB’s defense holding the Lions to 21 points and zero second half scores.

The 6’1, 190 lb. SS finished his junior season with 56 tackles, 10 TFLs, 4 INTs, 4 PBUs, a FF, a touchdown, and a punt block that led to a TD. Uses his read steps very well in coverage and does a good job of patrolling and making plays in man or zone around the flats and hook/curl areas of their coverage. Rannow also runs the alley impressive in run support and is a strong tackler who can limit plays to minimal gains thanks to how fast he identifies and gets to the ball. Already is experienced and productive in a strong SMB program and sports a good frame that would do well among scholarship competition.

Rannow showed his speed with good pursuit to run down an outside run. He came up aggressively on a pass into the flat to make a hit to force an incompletion.

The junior SMB safety does a good job of staying around the football no matter if it’s run and pass, and has posted two INTs and a blocked punt along with some beautiful tackles around the LOS. I’m a big fan of how he diagnoses the play and gets downhill quickly while keeping his body in a good position. I also like how he attacks blocks with great leverage and how smoothly he runs a j-path when chasing ball carriers to the edge. Rannow is also a strong tackler and a physical force from the safety spot.