Michigan’s search for taller defensive backs may still be going on in earnest, but sometimes there’s a guy whose skills fit the system even if his height doesn’t fit the profile. Enter Andre Seldon, Belleville’s standout defensive back and one of the earliest commitments in Michigan’s 2020 class.

Seldon was ranked #345 overall in the 247 composite when FBO scouted him a year ago to the day. He is now ranked #222 and has picked up a fourth star thanks in part to some excellent performances on the camp circuit this summer, including winning defensive back MVP at a Rivals camp in Cincinnati and earning an invite to their five-star challenge. 

Most of the talent indicative of a potential five-star shows up on film, and what doesn’t is due to deployment and game situations. David filmed Belleville’s contest against Salem last Friday night, a game in which Seldon didn’t play in the first quarter, then entered at free safety with Belleville up 21-0 and the opponent still looking to run first. Even so, I think there’s enough here that it’s worth hitting the jump, but of course I would say that.

[After THE JUMP: every-snap film, scouting, and a summary]

Andre Seldon Every-Snap Film

Now with 100% more pointing at the guy you’re supposed to be watching

Scouting

[00:19] You can see that Seldon’s reading the quarterback’s eyes and breaks on the ball as it’s released. He takes a nice angle to the receiver to avoid getting outrun. That’s a nice wrap on the tackle, too.

[00:31] Seldon shows good field awareness here, getting under a receiver and defensive back to pursue to the sideline. He takes a good angle and intentionally slows to arrive where the ball carrier is, not was.

[00:47] He gets points for his motor here; Seldon doesn’t have to pursue a run to the sideline when he starts out as a centerfielder, but [/waves hand at film]

[1:30] Another good run defense clip. He comes down in a hurry to support and peeks around a block to find the ball carrier. He loses the runner when a Salem player comes free on the block he’s peering around, but the important stuff (effort, placement, speed to the spot) is there.

[1:48] Seldon reads the screen and switches from backpedaling to running forward on a dime, but the really impressive part comes at 1:54 when he sees the back turns his hips to the right and gets over the top of his teammate to make sure the angle he takes will cut off the back should he get past said teammate.

[2:39] The throw is a lame duck but worth noting how fast he moves diagonally as well as when sprinting.

[3:00] Looks like he’s in man-to-man with the back from the start, but his closing speed is impressive, as is the way he drops the pads and wraps with both arms.

[3:08] Seldon takes the in-breaking route from WR2. His closing speed here is really impressive. He starts off taking two steps back outside the hash and gets himself in position to make a tackle at midfield if this ball goes to the receiver running the drag.

[4:02] Anticipated the receiver’s block in time to get his pads down and hands out and cause an initial stalemate.

[4:16] Accelerates to top speed seemingly right off the hop; you can imagine how that type of quickness could be helpful for a corner.

[4:32] Someday the punt returner is going to be sitting through a commencement address and the speaker is going to say something about not being afraid to take a chance and to not be afraid to fail and he'll think back to this moment and ignore whatever else the speaker says. Seldon shows off the top end of his speed here, and the wrap on the tackle is nice.

[4:59] I’m fairly certain Seldon reads run here but sees an opportunity to hit the receiver and takes it despite the receiver pulling up. He doesn’t shy away from contact and blocks with force, so jamming a receiver should be in his wheelhouse.

[5:17] Seldon changes direction well enough, but what I really like about this play is how he turns and starts to move over a lane in case the gamble his teammate makes on the pick doesn’t pay off. If the receiver becomes a ball carrier, Seldon would be in position to make the tackle.

Summary

Seldon displays quick decision-making after the ball is snapped, routinely reading the quarterback’s eyes from the deep safety position and adjusting based on where the ball is going. As a corner, he should be able to read a receiver’s movements and adjust with similar quickness. He was primarily featured in a run-support role in this game, taking excellent angles to the ball, closing quickly, and wrapping up on tackles (including an excellent one as a gunner on the punt team). He read and reacted so well from the free safety spot that I'm not surprised Belleville deployed him as such; that's where I'd put my heat-seeking missile if I was a defensive coordinator looking to let my playmaker snuff out the run to either side or carry a slot.

We can make a direct comparison to last year's FBO and see that Seldon has made marked progress in some of the areas he needed to develop.

Seldon is adept at some of the more subtly physical elements of cornerbacking as well, getting his hands on a receiver as the receiver is getting into his route and removing them just before it might seem like he’s interfering (see 5:41 and 5:46). He has the speed to eventually excel at trap coverage (which I know if more about reading run, but look at how quickly he closes down and sticks the receiver at 2:25), but he needs to improve the angles he takes in the open field; there were a few times that he went the wrong way in the open field when Brighton’s QB got to the third level.

So from that piece of last year's conclusion physicality comes up, as physicality is a foundational component of his game and will serve him well in press coverage, especially if the strength of his blocks translates to the strength of his jams. Seldon has excellent closing speed, and questions about whether he can translate that to proper run fits were answered in this year's film. Angles are no longer an issue, as Seldon repeatedly showed he could weave through traffic to take the most efficient anticipatory path to where a ball carrier would be. Seldon's punt return touchdown saw him accelerate to top speed in just a few steps, and we can extrapolate from that and hypothesize that Seldon should be able to smoothly flip his hips (based on both last year's film and his run-game performance here) and run with most receivers he'll be tasked with defending in college.