Tale of the tape: Chris Oats
For as long as most can remember, Chris Oats has been considered a top target at the top of UK’s class of 2018 recruiting board as UK looks to add depth at the linebacker position. The consensus four-star prospect had a crazy recruitment that included legit interest from the likes of Ohio State and Oklahoma, but in the end Vince Marrow and the Kentucky program won the battle.
The Cincinnati native hails from the same Winton Woods program that produced All-SEC safety Mike Edwards and for UK football supporters the hope is that Oats can come close to the production that Edwards has brought to Lexington. The tall and skinny linebacker has a ton of talent, but unlike his listed outside linebacker position, his best position on the college level may be on the inside.
After studying the tape, here is everything you need to know about one of Kentucky’s biggest recruiting win of the class of 2018.
Name: Chris Oats
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 205 pounds
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
High School: Winton Woods
Strengths: The first thing that jumps out on Oats is just how tall he is as an inside linebacker. On tape, he towers over linemen so when contact comes you are expecting a high collision. However, he shows some really good flexibility at the point of contact with excellent knee bend that allows him to play with excellent pad level. On tackles he has great leg drive and opponents almost always go backwards. Oats is an excellent striker and there are many “big lick” type hits on his high school highlight films. Oats is very explosive once he gets downhill and that’s a good sign for an SEC front seven looking for a run stuffer. Oats has shown the ability to play multiple positions as his high school had him playing in the middle and also flexed him out to play coverage in the slot. He’s a guy that UK could use at multiple linebacker spots. When out in coverage, Oats has shown a nice ability to diagnose plays and the needed athleticism to make tackles in space.
Weaknesses: When Oats gets rolling, he is really fast for a linebacker but he is a long strider. Therefore, his first couple steps aren’t very quick and he could be susceptible to quick hitting plays from the offense. It’s obvious that Oats is pretty skinny at the moment and it won’t be fair for fans to expect him to play as a true freshman without some huge progress made this summer. The youngster has the frame to put on a solid 20 or 30 pounds but that is going to take time.
Wrap Up
There’s no doubt that Oats has a ceiling that is sky high but his floor his not low. The Cincinnati native has the ability to play any linebacker spot in UK’s 3-4 scheme and will be hard to keep off the field. Even though he needs weight, the athleticism Oats possesses could factor in immediately on special teams. For me, the future for Oats is at middle linebacker as he has the ability to make reads and the physicality to take on blockers and runners in the power game. He also has a sideline-to-sideline speed element that UK hasn’t had at that position in a long time. If he can get on campus this summer and add a solid 10-15 pounds before fall camp, he’ll be a lock to play as a true freshman.