Previous entries: Isaiah Tupou, Sol-Jay Maiava, Micah Harper

Specifics: 5'10, 190 pound, 3-star RB from Texarkana, TX

Other offers: Illinois State

Strengths: His vision and acceleration are what stand out the most to me in his film. He sees gaps extremely well, and then hits them quickly. He has some of the most impressive vision I've seen in quite a while, as he actually sees gaps on multiple levels simultaneously. He knows exactly where the initial gap is, and also exactly where he's heading next as soon as he hits that gap. We've all seen plenty of running backs get to the initial gap and then get surprised with a monster hit by a defender as soon as they get there. With Garrett, that is not an issue, I never once saw him get surprised in his film by a defender. He sees the whole field extremely well, and processes it quite quickly. This works really well in combination with his excellent acceleration. There were many plays I saw where he was already up to speed after two or three steps, and he simply got to the gaps before defenders even had a chance to close them. That combination of both recognizing and reacting faster than opposing defenders can is enormously beneficial to a running back, as it allows him to dictate what's happening on the play before defenders can effectively respond. 

The other thing that really stands out about him is his grit and determination. In the state championship game, he was coming off an injury and still not fully recovered, but he put the team on his back and gritted out 254 yards and 3 touchdowns to get his team the win. Most of his team's other main offensive playmakers were either out or battling injuries themselves, so he played the role of an absolute workhorse while dealing with a hip pointer. Watching footage of him from that game is almost awe-inducing, as you can see him consistently out-will defenders even while obviously hurting. He ran past, through, and over defenders repeatedly, and the way he ran reminded me of that gif of Jamaal in the Poinsettia Bowl against Wyoming a few years ago where he beckons to the defender to come and get some. And Garrett runs that way in pretty much all of his footage, this wasn't just an outlier from the championship game. He's the type of guy who will do everything in his power to get his team that yard when they absolutely need it, or whatever his team needs.

Weaknesses: Inconsistent physicality as a runner is the main flaw that stood out to me. It's not that he's weak or shies away from physicality, as I already mentioned, he is more than willing to put his body on the line for his team on any given play. The issue is that one play he'll run through four defenders simulataneously, and then on another play be taken down easily by a poorly-angled arm tackle that should have grazed off of him. And I saw this again and again throughout his footage from multiple seasons. He does appear to have gotten somewhat stronger as a senior,  but even then his strength as a runner was inconsistent. I still saw far too many tackles that he should have run through take him down, just a play or two after he successfully took on practically the entire opposing defense. I don't think it's an issue of effort or determination, I think it's simply that he's not strong enough to keep up that level of physicality and strength consistently. He's not exactly big for a running back, so some time in a college strength program should help him significantly. 

The other issue I saw is that I almost never saw him as a blocker in any of his footage. I don't know if his team chose not to use him there because he was too valuable as a runner and pass-catcher out of the backfield, but I honestly have no idea if he can block or not. I'd expect someone with his determination to be able to do so if needed, but it is odd that there's almost no footage of him as a blocker, throughout multiple seasons. So that part of his game is at least a giant question mark in my mind right now.

How he projects at BYU: He's a running back, plain and simple. The coaches would be foolish to not put him there right away. He does have some solid pass-catching skills, but what he brings to the table as a running back is far greater than what he would bring to the table as a wide receiver. Besides, from watching his footage, he's pretty blatantly one of those guys that absolutely thrives on playing that position. He's a running back in both heart and body, and while it's not impossible that maybe later in his career coaches could decide to try him elsewhere (as he has athleticism and vision that could translate well to multiple positions), it would be a huge shock if he didn't start off as a running back in our program. He could also be used as a kick and punt returner, he did it in high school, and his vision, acceleration, and body control work very well in that role.

Overall thoughts: Don't let the lack of offers fool you, he committed to us before his senior season and completely shut down recruiting after that. He would have easily had plenty of offers besides us and Illinois State had he not done so, and I saw a few articles where other college coaches from states near him bemoaned the fact that he had shut down his recruiting. We need help at running back right now, and Garrett gives us that. He honestly has the potential to be the starter at the position for us this season if he can work on his strength a bit and adapts well to the speed of the college game. Not since Jamaal have we had a running back who is already so close to the level we need straight out of high school. I would be very surprised if we don'e see him on the field this season, and I think he honestly has a very good chance at being RB 1 for us as a true freshman at some point. Now, maybe one of the guys we currently have really kills it in spring ball and fall camp and takes huge strides forward this offseason, but if that doesn't happen, I expect Garrett to be right in the thick of things in the competition for the RB 1 spot this season. He's not a project, he can play right away, so if he can follow in Jamaal's footsteps and improve year to year while he's here, he could wind up with a special career for us.