TMI 2008: Jonathan Owens

It's time for another installment of TMI 2008, where we give you a first look at the University of Georgia's incoming football recruiting class. And by "incoming" of course I mean "if they do in fact sign with Georgia rather than knifing their significant other with a samurai sword, they'll be here in a scant 13 months."

Our latest target is Blountsville, Alabama offensive lineman Jonathan Owens. Listed at 6'5 and 280 pounds, Owens committed to Georgia back on June 8th. He's a member of Rivals' Alabama Top 30 (and may join Ben Jones as the only members of the top 30 who don't spurn Tommy Tuberville for Nick Saban (choosing instead to spurn Tubby for Mark Richt). Not that any of us here at Dawgsports take any joy in that. Nope. None. At. All.)

This is Jonathan Owens' pet weimaraner Maggie. She's gonna be a killer in punt coverage, assuming we can get her past that pesky faculty screening committee.

You can see Owens on film in these highlight clips from the Rivals network. There are several things that I like about Owens. First is his build. He's listed at 280 pounds, but it's not a flabby 280. He's got a solid lower body, and looks like he'll be able to handle 315-320 pounds without slowing down. Owens is already an excellent pass blocker. He sets up well, doesn't give up on pass rushers, but at the same time he also doesn't overcommit. That will help him out in college, where even the defensive tackles have a variety of pass rushing tricks.

His run blocking is not as impressive. Owens' feet are a little slow and his strides a little too long when he tries to drive block. But that probably has something to do with the fact that his team doesn't run the ball a lot. He also has some trouble with shorter defensive ends, who appear to get under his pads a couple of times on this film. Finally, his hand position is not ideal. He often gets his hands too far outside and onto defenders' shoulders. That's a holding call waiting to happen.

But without a doubt, I think this guy's a steal. He's already an extremely polished pass blocker with all the physical tools. I think he'll move inside because he doesn't have the condor-like wingspan required of college tackles nowadays. Scouting offensive linemen is without a doubt the hardest job for college recruiters, but Jonathan Owens gives me no reason to doubt our coaches' faith in him.

If you get a chance, you should go visit Jonathan's webpage, which is very well done. In addition to having lots of photos of himself and his visit to Athens for G-Day, Owens talks about his family, his high school team and the process behind his decision to commit to Georgia. Oh, and the aforementioned silver Weimareiner.

Now that's a big Dawg. Welcome aboard Jonathan!