South Carolina Gamecocks football recruiting commitment profile: Christian Owens

Name: Christian Owens

Position: Wide Receiver/Tight End

Height/Weight: 6'5", 207 pounds

Hometown: Griffin, GA

Rating: Rivals: 4 Star     247Composite: 3 Star        ESPN: 4 Star

Christian Owens suddenly decided to flip his commitment from the Georgia Bulldogs to the South Carolina Gamecocks this afternoon.  He was one of the first commitments for UGA in the 2015, and is a solid pickup for the Gamecocks.  Following the incident involving former commit Michael Bowman, the Gamecocks coaching staff was reportedly looking for a big bodied receiver to take his place, and with Owens being projected as an early enrollee on top of his size, he isn't a bad replacement.  According to his 247Sports profile, Joe Robinson is credited as his primary recruiter, with Spurrier, Jr. acting as a secondary recruiter.

Strengths: Obviously at 6'5", size is definitely an asset for Owens.  He doesn't have the speed to separate himself from opposing defensive backs, but because of his size, he can out-muscle them to make a play.  That leads me to Owens's other strength, his physicality.  Owens is one of those players that you can't bring down on the first hit most times, you see him imposing his will on anyone that tries to tackle him.  Another of his assets are his hands and vision.  He knows where the ball is at all times, and knows where to position himself to make a play.  When you put all of this together, this makes Owens a pretty formidable receiver for opposing teams to handle, and although he certainly has some great ball skills, there are a few weaknesses.

Weaknesses: Like I said, Owens is not a fast guy.  He has enough speed, but not enough to outrun opposing defensive backs. It doesn't impact him a great deal in high school, but he will need to get a little more speed if he wants to become a great receiver in the SEC.  Other than his speed,  he needs to improve on his East-West running.  He is excellent at running North-South, but he doesn't usually try to get to the outside edge, rather he relies on his size and strength to allow him to break tackles.  If he can learn to get to that outside edge, he could be a force to be reckoned with. The last criticism is that he is somewhat light for his height.  Weighing in at only 207 pounds, he will need some time in a college S&C program to bulk up to around 225.

Overall Impression: Overall, Owens is a solid pickup for the Gamecocks, and has the potential to be a major contributor during his career at USC.  He may have to redshirt his first year, especially with USC having a large amount of depth at wide receiver, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was able to have a great sophomore season.  There is also the potential that if he puts on enough weight, he could move to tight end, which might allow him to see the field earlier with Rory Anderson graduating this year.

If you want to check out his highlights, just follow this link:   http://www.hudl.com/athlete/860786/highlights/34492376