Bear Down Wildcats

Gabe Encinas: Arizona gets an athlete. But at the college level it’s hard to project where Kraut could best excel. He plays a heavy role on both offense and defense at Maria Carrillo and is clearly the best player on the field.

I like him with the ball in his hands and I think he is a great playmaker at the high school level. He can be used as an h-back, running back and wide receiver and serve a lot of purposes. But heading into the Pac-12, I’m not sure if that utility workhorse role is available for him. It would have to be a specific and creative offense like an Army or Air Force program to really allow him to thrive.

On defense he seems to fit the hybrid model that would ultimately land him at strong safety. He has a lot of corner film but I can’t imagine that is where he lands. He gives the versatility to float in the defensive backfield if the depth needs him to move which doesn’t hurt. He has a great frame already at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and could fill out to the 210 mark.

He can a hard-hitting strong safety but I’m not exactly where sure where his ceiling is which makes it extremely hard to evaluate. A taller Jared Tevis lite seems to be where I’d lean for absolute best case scenario.

I’m interested to see where he gets ranked once the composite score kicks in. I think he’ll land around 1,600 but my personal assessment would put him towards him around 1,800.

I think he would be an excellent offensive piece for an Army or Air Force type of offense or a big time defensive guy at Eastern Washington, NAU or New Mexico. But for right now I think it’s a bit of a reach.

Brandon Combs: This is an interesting commitment, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Kraut has a ton of versatility, and if you haven’t noticed, that’s the theme for Arizona’s 2021 class. He plays wide receiver, running back, and defensive back for the Pumas of Maria Carrillo. However, he will be coming in as a defensive back for Arizona.

Kraut has good size, 6-foot-2 and a 190 pounds, for the defensive backfield. He should be able to add more muscle to his frame to get him to Christian Young size no problem. To go along with that size, he has long arms and strong hands. His arm length alone makes him a pain for receivers and quarterbacks.

What stands out most to me is his speed. He is deceptively fast and has the ability to run away from people or chase them down. He has a long gait which helps him reach his top end speed quickly. To go along with that speed, he also has quick and crisp change of direction ability. With it, Kraut has the ability to cut on a dime. As Gabe mentioned, he can be a difference maker with the ball in his hands and a large part of that can be attributed to his speed and change of direction.

Kraut’s experience as a receiver has allowed him to be an effective defensive back. He has strong zone, and even man, coverage skills and seems to make plays on the ball on a fairly consistent basis. This is in large part due to his ability to read and react to the quarterback and his eyes. It almost seems like he has a decent grasp and feel for where the receiver is all while looking at the quarterback.

He is someone I see that will see time his freshman year, while at the same time developing the skills he already has.