Frank Buncom IV, the nation's 8th-best cornerback, decided to join in the legacy of Richard Sherman on Wednesday by committing to Stanford.
Buncom is the 120th-best player in the nation according to 247 Sports, making him the 2nd-highest ranked recruit in Stanford's 2015 class, behind only wide receiver Trent Irwin.
Buncom, who hails from San Diego's St. Augustine high, is the grandson of former Chargers linebacker Frank Buncom II - a three-time AFL All-Star who is in the Chargers' Hall of Fame. Buncom is ranked by 247 Sports as the 19th-best player in the state of California.
Buncom selected Stanford out of a final four that included Cal, Vanderbilt, and Notre Dame, but he was also holding offers from UCLA, Washington, Tennessee and Oklahoma among others.
He can be found on Twitter at the handle @BeastNamedFrank.
Here's analysis of Buncom's game from SB Nation Recruiting's Derrell Warren:
Buncom is an athlete with great height and a strong-looking frame. Buncom plays on both sides of the ball for his high school team, but his future is likely in the defensive secondary.
Whether Buncom stays at corner long term or slides inside to safety may depend on the scheme of the college he picks. Although physical, his long speed probably ranges from average to above average. At this stage he would probably project best in a cover two or two-man scheme that allowed him to be physical at the line due and having a two deep shell over the top.
On tape, Buncom may flash the most upside at safety. Against the run he covers a ton of ground, often ranging from a single high position pre-snap out to the edge. He's a powerful wrap tackler with great balance and brings hips through contact while surrendering very few, if any yards after initiating contact with a runner.
Although there's isn't a large volume of film with Buncom defending the pass from the safety position, his range, awareness, and short area quickness should translate well.
He's very instinctual as a run defender and takes efficient angles to the ball. Also, he's disciplined and sets a hard edge, funneling runs back inside when playing the cornerback position. At safety, he fills the alleys aggressively. Has plus level closing burst and can re-direct his momentum in traffic to track ball carriers.
Ultimately Buncom has two-year starter level upside at corner, especially as a press-man corner.
Comments
Sounds like the next Alex Carter. I bet Akina will make magic with this guy.
By Garrett Stallins on 01.28.15 12:14pm
Interesting that Pacific Takes views him as more of a safety than a corner.
Corner always seems like a position of need for us, so I hope he can stick there.
By Tim Eckert-Fong on 01.28.15 1:20pm
Big physical corners
Stanford relies more on physical corners than speedy ones. Carter was a nightmare for smaller lighter receivers because of his ability to disrupt their release from scrimmage. The fact that we don’t get beat over the top very easily and have sound safeties, I like him as a corner too.
By layman on 01.28.15 11:09pm
Defense quietly reloading
Every day the news keeps getting better and better. This is exactly what DC lance anderson brings to the table. It’s not just 5-stars but physical hard scheme-based fits that the card is picking up which makes me excited that we could continue our dominance on defense in the near future.
Still think that our DL is wafer-thin and needs more pickups. As ohio state showed in the NC game (cardinal 2012,13 before that), the way to disrupt oregon’s tempo is by dominating the LOS and rotating in fresh set of bodies. But shaw’s style of recruiting is to pick up the best players in their position rather than addressing the need which is all good to hear but will come back to bite us like 2013 TEs, 2014 RBs.
By layman on 01.28.15 11:23pm
Stanford defense in 8 points
1. We must stymie the opponent’s running game while we control their passing game. I don’t want any team to run the ball on us. The only time we really get hurt by the passing teams is when we overcommit to stop the pass and they start running on us. Shut off the run, then start controlling the pass, and don’t give them the big play.
2. We can adjust our defense to our opponent’s strength without changing our basic structure. We have played five-man front for years, and we feel that by being able to angle in either direction, we can attack our opponent’s strength.
3. We want to stay in our basic defense. We are not interested in placing our players in a great number of alignments. If we do, we feel their technique suffers, and technique is the name of the game.
4. We can stop any play if we see it enough in practice. Repetition will stop a play because our players will learn the proper technique to get it done. Do it over and over.
5. We have stunts to stop our opponent’s best plays. Don’t allow them to repeat successful plays. Make them beat you left-handed.
6. We want to blitz from our basic looks, changing these blitzes from week to week and making sure they’re sound so we don’t give up the big play.
7. Increase the pressure as the offense nears the goal line. Now the long play is somewhat eliminated, so we can gamble more and try to force an offensive mistake.
8. Eliminate the big play. You do this through proper rotation, pursuit, open field tackling, and pride.
— Bo Schembechler (http://afcastore.com/products/showexcerpt.cfm?excerpt_id=2839)
Infinite respect for the guy
By layman on 01.29.15 11:04am