Tale of the tape: Cornerback Stanley Garner
Our scouting report series rolls on as we continue to tell you everything you need to know about the class of 2018 commits.
After knocking out two of the most popular prospects on UK’s board, next up is a very long corner who Steve Clinkscale earned a pledge from over the summer. Stanley Garner has a lot of tools and with three upcoming seniors at the outside corner spots, the chance to play right away will be there for the Fort Lauderdale native.
Name: Stanley Garner
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 180 pounds
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
High School: Dillard
Offers: Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, West Virginia
Background
Garner is considered a top 40 corner prospect in the class of 2018 as he played in a very competitive league in south Florida. Garner hails from the same high school that produced current UK freshman Jordan Wright and consistently played against some really good competition. After an impressive performance on the camp circuit, Garner has claimed offers from everywhere but would end the recruitment with a pledge to UK in the middle of August. Although visits to other schools were taken, it never seemed like Garner was not heading to Lexington and it has now been confirmed by him that he’ll be an early enrollee.
Strengths
Much like UK’s current top outside corners, Garner’s size is immediately noticeable as he monsters over every wide receiver he goes up against in high school. In coverage, Garner does an excellent job of using his length as he does not hold and trusts his instincts in coverage. Both on offense and defense, Garner high points the football on both receptions and interceptions. Garner shows some really soft hands and attacks the football instead of letting it get into his body. In run support, Garner shows solid instincts in diagnosing plays and makes tackles on running backs near the line of scrimmage. Garner plays with great effort as the long strider makes plenty of chase down tackles. Garner is really good in pursuit as he sprints from the backside and consistently takes great angles to prevent home run plays.
Weaknesses
Due to what appears to be a lack of sudden quickness, Garner is susceptible to inside routes as he does not what to get burned deep on the outside. In short routes, Garner lacks the explosiveness to come up and make a quick tackle. That could be a significant concern when facing quick passing teams. For a corner of this size, there is not as much physicality as you would like as most wrap up tackles are near the ankles. Garner will need to add strength and weight to hold up against physical blocking receivers.
Moving Forward
Mark Stoops loves big, physical corners and Garner fits this mold. The long athlete has an impressive wingspan and has ton of ability coverage wise. Strength will be needed but he figures to project to Kentucky’s boundary corner spot. With both Chris Westry and Lonnie Johnson returning, a redshirt could be coming as Garner probably won’t be needed on special teams.
