VIDEO: https://wisconsin.rivals.com/news/week-1-spring-blitz-2021-wisconsin-signee-bryan-sanborn
STRENGTHS:
After 500-plus days without high school football, the sport is back in the state of Illinois. I’ve talked to a handful of coaches - mostly from Wisconsin who are participating in the spring season - and they’ve highlighted the challenges their teams have faced over the last year. It’s great that kids are able to compete again, but there are a lot of practice restrictions and hurdles that schools are working through. With that, the product, as expected, has been sloppy so far this spring.
This was actually Week 2 for Lake Zurich, which fell to Libertyville, 15-6, Friday evening for its second loss of the season. I made the trip down in 2017 to see Jack Sanborn play, and that was a more talented team/program than what I saw Friday. The Bears’ offense struggled to get much of anything going, and the defense was out on the field for a good chunk of the game.
Bryan Sanborn, listed at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, has the prototypical build for a middle linebacker. The three-star prospect has a strong, compact lower base and a powerful upper body. When going straight ahead, Sanborn closes space in a hurry and has good explosion at the point of contact. He tracked plays, fought off blockers and finished tackles really well against Libertyville.
"He's got natural instincts and I think that's probably what his brother had,” head coach Ron Planz told BadgerBlitz.com in a previous interview. "Bryan has a natural understanding of football and has the old-school instincts of playing middle linebacker. And once he decides to go, he goes from zero to 60 so quick for his size. I think that makes him great.
"Once he reads the play and decides to go, it's like he's shot out of a cannon. He just flies to where he's going and with his size and speed, it's usually pretty violent when he gets there.”
Sanborn also saw a few reps at tight end but only had one target on the evening. One of his more productive plays, though, came on a fake punt where the defense followed his movement to the sideline, allowing for a nice inside run that led to a first down for Lake Zurich.
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Small sample size here, but Sanborn struggled in his reads and over-pursued at times. I don’t know if that has to do with lack of reps or preparation, but that stuck out to me Friday. There were a handful of plays where he easily got into the backfield, but the action was moving in the opposite direction. For a player who can do pretty much whatever he wants inside the box at the high school level, I wanted to see a little more patience in how Sanborn attacked the ball.
Sanborn didn’t drop into coverage all that often on Friday, so that will be something to keep an eye on at Wisconsin. But because of his ability to diagnose plays, Sanborn, a three-year varsity starter at Lake Zurich, should be adequate in that department. I also have questions about his ability to move from sideline to sideline at the next level. But in terms of the action that is in front of him, Sanborn has the skillset to be a tackling machine.
OUTLOOK
Wisconsin should have a lot of young talent at middle linebacker this upcoming fall. I don’t know if Sanborn, who had 108 tackles and six sacks in 2019, comes in and competes for time in the two-deep right away like Jack did as a true freshman. But because of his where his body is at, I think he has a chance to potentially contribute on special teams in 2021. Every kid benefits from a college strength and conditioning program, but Sanborn isn’t going to transform over the next 12 to 18 months like some incoming freshmen do. Sanborn's ceiling may not be as high as other signees in Wisconsin's 2021 class, but the Badgers are getting a polished player who will likely be able to contribute sooner rather than later.
One final note here… For a time I felt we had Sanborn underrated as 5.6, three-star prospect. But after seeing him Friday evening, I feel pretty confident that he’s graded appropriately.
WISCONSIN COMPARISON ON THE CURRENT ROSTER
This is a lazy answer, but it’s impossible not to make the comparison to Sanborn’s older brother. The two were both listed at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds as seniors in high school, and they look nearly identical at that stage in their respective careers, especially with that trademark "Sanborn neck" each has.
On the Wisconsin's 2020 roster, Jack weighed 232 pounds, and it’s realistic that Bryan will play at roughly the same weight in a year or two. I’m not sure Bryan steps into a starting role as early as his older brother did, but he’s got a chance to be a very good football player for the Badgers.
Let me know what your thoughts are
STRENGTHS:
After 500-plus days without high school football, the sport is back in the state of Illinois. I’ve talked to a handful of coaches - mostly from Wisconsin who are participating in the spring season - and they’ve highlighted the challenges their teams have faced over the last year. It’s great that kids are able to compete again, but there are a lot of practice restrictions and hurdles that schools are working through. With that, the product, as expected, has been sloppy so far this spring.
This was actually Week 2 for Lake Zurich, which fell to Libertyville, 15-6, Friday evening for its second loss of the season. I made the trip down in 2017 to see Jack Sanborn play, and that was a more talented team/program than what I saw Friday. The Bears’ offense struggled to get much of anything going, and the defense was out on the field for a good chunk of the game.
Bryan Sanborn, listed at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, has the prototypical build for a middle linebacker. The three-star prospect has a strong, compact lower base and a powerful upper body. When going straight ahead, Sanborn closes space in a hurry and has good explosion at the point of contact. He tracked plays, fought off blockers and finished tackles really well against Libertyville.
"He's got natural instincts and I think that's probably what his brother had,” head coach Ron Planz told BadgerBlitz.com in a previous interview. "Bryan has a natural understanding of football and has the old-school instincts of playing middle linebacker. And once he decides to go, he goes from zero to 60 so quick for his size. I think that makes him great.
"Once he reads the play and decides to go, it's like he's shot out of a cannon. He just flies to where he's going and with his size and speed, it's usually pretty violent when he gets there.”
Sanborn also saw a few reps at tight end but only had one target on the evening. One of his more productive plays, though, came on a fake punt where the defense followed his movement to the sideline, allowing for a nice inside run that led to a first down for Lake Zurich.
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Small sample size here, but Sanborn struggled in his reads and over-pursued at times. I don’t know if that has to do with lack of reps or preparation, but that stuck out to me Friday. There were a handful of plays where he easily got into the backfield, but the action was moving in the opposite direction. For a player who can do pretty much whatever he wants inside the box at the high school level, I wanted to see a little more patience in how Sanborn attacked the ball.
Sanborn didn’t drop into coverage all that often on Friday, so that will be something to keep an eye on at Wisconsin. But because of his ability to diagnose plays, Sanborn, a three-year varsity starter at Lake Zurich, should be adequate in that department. I also have questions about his ability to move from sideline to sideline at the next level. But in terms of the action that is in front of him, Sanborn has the skillset to be a tackling machine.
OUTLOOK
Wisconsin should have a lot of young talent at middle linebacker this upcoming fall. I don’t know if Sanborn, who had 108 tackles and six sacks in 2019, comes in and competes for time in the two-deep right away like Jack did as a true freshman. But because of his where his body is at, I think he has a chance to potentially contribute on special teams in 2021. Every kid benefits from a college strength and conditioning program, but Sanborn isn’t going to transform over the next 12 to 18 months like some incoming freshmen do. Sanborn's ceiling may not be as high as other signees in Wisconsin's 2021 class, but the Badgers are getting a polished player who will likely be able to contribute sooner rather than later.
One final note here… For a time I felt we had Sanborn underrated as 5.6, three-star prospect. But after seeing him Friday evening, I feel pretty confident that he’s graded appropriately.
WISCONSIN COMPARISON ON THE CURRENT ROSTER
This is a lazy answer, but it’s impossible not to make the comparison to Sanborn’s older brother. The two were both listed at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds as seniors in high school, and they look nearly identical at that stage in their respective careers, especially with that trademark "Sanborn neck" each has.
On the Wisconsin's 2020 roster, Jack weighed 232 pounds, and it’s realistic that Bryan will play at roughly the same weight in a year or two. I’m not sure Bryan steps into a starting role as early as his older brother did, but he’s got a chance to be a very good football player for the Badgers.
Let me know what your thoughts are
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