Player Profile: Baylen Buchanan
Baylen Buchanan adds a nice future piece to Tennessee’s defensive secondary, and should be a key contributor from the 2016 recruiting class.
Photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District. Courtesy of creative commons.org.
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Biography
Baylen Buchanan is a three-star defensive back signee hailing from Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Georgia. He is the son of former All-Pro Safety from the Atlanta Falcons, Ray Buchanan. In his tenure, Butch Jones has emphasized guys who possess a great football legacy and Buchanan is yet another fixture in this plan.
Rankings
247Sports: No. 71 CB, No. 791 overall player in the class of 2016
Rivals: No. 41 CB, national ranking N/A
ESPN: No. 64 CB, national ranking N/A
Offers
Buchanan was a highly sought after prospect, accumulating 23 offers. However, after the Vols’ dominating victory in the Outback Bowl, Buchanan decided to make the call in Knoxville. Some of his most notable offers came from Georgia, Louisville, Ohio State, and Oklahoma.
Film
Film Review
Buchanan, like his father, is a very physical defensive back. He was the benefactor of playing in a loaded secondary during his senior year, sharing the field with fellow talented recruits Nigel Warrior and DeAngelo Gibbs. Although he is projected to play safety for the Volunteers, Buchanan played a large amount of his time at corner during his senior year, where he made several head-turning plays. In his film, Buchanan does a great job of supporting the run game — especially on the edges. He sheds his blocks with outstanding quickness and shows no fear in the tackling game. Due to the added depth in Knoxville, Buchanan could benefit from a redshirt, where he can focus on getting both faster and stronger for the college level. Although his rankings are not through the roof, Butch Jones and Bob Shoop should be quite excited about the addition of this prospect. Look for Buchanan to become a fixture in special teams in his early years before he cracks the rotation within the secondary.
Edited by Nathan Odom
Dominic is in his second year writing on staff at TNJN. Along with being a staff writer, he also covers the UT men's basketball beat. He is currently a senior at the University of Tennessee majoring in Journalism and Electronic Media. Follow him @dominiclobianco on Twitter!
