Coach Scott Satterfield is putting the finishing touches on his first full recruiting class. This 2020 class is turning into a very, very good one. Just last week, the Cards picked up a big commitment from 3 Star DE Josh Griffis to help the defensive line. Now, they got some help in the defensive backfield with the addition of 3 Star CB Jamie “Greedy” Vance.
— Greedy Vance🏁 (@iam_jvxiiii) December 14, 2019
The 5’10 155 lbs Vance picked the Cards over offers from Arkansas, Arizona State, Auburn, and Virginia, among others. Originally an Arkansas commit, Vance decommitted from the Razorbacks on 9/22/19. Vance then officially visited Louisville on 10/18/19, the weekend of the Clemson game. He is ranked as the 611th best overall prospect and the 45th best CB by 247sports composite rankings. Defensive Coordinator and Cornerbacks Coach Bryan Brown was his primary recruiter.
Louisville is getting a very physical CB in Jamie “Greedy” Vance. He likes to play tight up on the line of scrimmage against a receiver. He is excellent at pushing receivers around and disrupting the timing of their routes. A few times in the highlights, he completely destroys a pass play because knocks the receiver around at the line and forces the receiver to be late to his spot for an anticipation throw by the QB. Despite his slight 155 lbs frame, he is very strong and you see it when he plays press coverage.
Vance is very fluid in his hips and it allows him to quickly turn to run with a receiver or change direction and stay with them on in or out breaking routes. His coverage skills are very good. He is always step for step with his assigned receiver making very tight windows for the QB to attempt to throw through.
When covering routes over the middle, Vance is very good at sticking to his assignment tightly. This allows him to be in position to pounce on a shallow cross or slant route and knock the ball away without committing a hold or pass interference.
At only 5’10, Vance has good, but not necessarily great size at the position. However, it doesn’t matter because he has a recorded 35.8 inch vertical leap. One play in particular shows how much of a weapon this is in Vance’s arsenal. The WR runs what looks to be a fade route on the sideline. Vance was playing off so he is in front of him. The ball is thrown as a jump ball. The QB underthrows it a bit to give the receiver the chance to go up and grab it. Vance, however, outjumps the taller receiver and high points the ball, nearly picking it off. Despite the WR having what appeared to be superior position, Vance simply used his vertical to negate it.
Play recognition is a very big strength for Vance. He is able to often recognize presnap whether a play is run or pass. This skill is something he utilizes well when in zone coverage looks as well as man. He is very good at assessing the route a receiver is running quickly and making anticipatory plays.
There are a couple of times he recognizes WR bubble screens being set up. One, he initially lines up off the ball, but sees 2 WRs stacked in front of him. He immediately gets tight to the line of scrimmage. As the ball is snapped, he immediately jets onto the offenses side of the line of scrimmage and nearly has a pick 6. He drops the ball unfortunately.
In another play, he is lined up one on one with an outside receiver on the line of scrimmage. The ball is snapped and he opens his hips to stay with his assignment and makes one move back. However, he immediately recognizes a screen to the slot receiver. This immediate recognition allowed him to avoid the block by the outside receiver he was initially covering and get to the slot receiver and hit him immediately for the stop.
A zone coverage example is a play where he makes an interception over the middle. It appears he’s in man at first, but he quickly drops into a zone. He reads the QB and sees the ball is going to the middle. He’s there when his teammate pops the ball up to collect the interception and get a big return.
His high school coaches trust Vance in one on one man coverage a lot. His ability to stick with fast receivers and big receivers makes him a valuable DB. He’s excellent at getting his hands on the ball and knocking it away. There are numerous highlights of him in man, one on one, no safety help, tipping the ball away from receivers or forcing a purposely inaccurate throw by the QB.
One of the best examples of his man coverage is a play where the opponent is on his team’s 21 yard line. Vance is in man, line up one on one on the outside. There is no S in the middle of the field. At the snap, the WR runs a simple go route. Vance stays right on him. The QB makes a nice back shoulder throw and the receiver gets his hands on it; ooks like it will be a TD. Vance, however, had turned his head and was tracking the ball as well. He adjusts just as the receiver does and is able to knock it out of the receiver’s hands. It is an incomplete pass and it was all due to Vance’s skill and determination.
It is important to note his speed and acceleration. These physical gifts allow him to be able to read and react to plays quickly. They allow him to stay step-for-step with both big, long receivers and the smaller, shifty types as well. Even if a receiver does get a step on Vance, he can recover and close that gap quickly.
As a tackler and hitter, Vance plays like a big hitting S in that regard. He loves to hit people hard and does so. He’s a sure tackler, helping out in stopping the run game of the opponent. One play in particular I loved was on a run play. He’s in coverage when the offense runs a play to the right between the guard and tackle. It breaks up the middle, but Vance sees it and is able to get from the sideline to the middle to meet the RB. He wraps him up with a picture perfect form tackle to bring him down. He’s also very good at going low on bigger guys and getting their legs to bring them down.
Louisville is getting a pretty complete CB in Jamie “Greedy” Vance. He can be used both in man or zone coverage schemes, can help out against the run, is very good at recognizing and disrupting plays, and is very physical on the field.
I like him as a one on one CB that will line up tight to the line of scrimmage and will press the receivers physically there. He seems like a guy you can put on a receiver and just tell him to shut them down. If he can become what I believe him to be, you can have him lock down one side of the field and allow the S to shade to the other side more if need be.
Some of what I see reminds me of current Green Bay Packer and Cardinal Forever Jaire Alexander. He plays with swagger, is always in his assignment’s hip pocket, and is just a nuisance on the field for receivers and QBs. The strength, the speed, and especially the play recognition and reaction are just excellent. I imagine he will put on more muscle under strength coach Mike Sirignano. This will just make him an even greater force on the field. If he develops under this excellent coaching staff’s tutelage as I anticipate, he could become a star. The potential, at least to my eye, is there.
With Vance’s commitment, Louisville’s 2020 class is now ranked 30th in the country with 25 commitments. It ranks 6th in the ACC. The Cards aren’t done on the trail either with a few more spots left to fill and some talented players they are looking to fill them.
