From the film room: Cole Beck

Virginia Tech picked up an October commitment from local prospect Cole Beck. What will he bring across town?

We go to the film to break down the 6-0, 174-pound three-star.

Anyone who's familiar with Beck's game or his track exploits should know the main feature of this package is pure speed. It shows up on film, with seemingly every play on which he gets through the first level of defense shows him outrunning a defensive back who had appeared to have an angle en route to the endzone. It is displayed again and again, with run plays, receptions, special teams, and even defense showing that he's on another level athletically than the rest of the players on the field.

He gets skinny to fit through small holes in the first level, and shows good ability to set up subtle cuts downfield and prevent any loss of speed in cutting back behind DBs in pursuit. He also displays solid knowledge of when he will not be able to create an angle, and shows the change of plan to merely truck an opponent and get the extra couple yards.

He can run through attempted ankle tackles with a nice high-step, is willing and able to stiffarm as he bounces outside, and can use a spin move or pure power to get downfield, too.

For a true tailback, he's very capable pass-catcher both downfield and out of the backfield. He has a couple really nice catches where he had to extend for the ball, and that's something he will only get better with when he has more experience.

On defense, he's a very willing hitter, and doesn't give up on plays (which allows him to run things down and in one instance, he forced a game-changing fumble on a ball that was well over his head to begin with).

First and foremost, Beck is used to being the best athlete on the field because of the level of competition he plays. That's going to change in college, where he'll still be very fast, but not in a completely different category. Some of the risks he takes (particularly in regularly bouncing outside) in high school will not be productive decisions in college.

At times in the run game, he seems to be a little impatient. That's because he knows he has the speed to make big plays once he gets past the line, but instead of running up his linemen's backs, he needs to wait a bit for the plays to develop. This is obviously a particularly worrying tendency because it was one that the Hokie running backs had this year.

While he's good at making shallow cuts and maintaining speed, when he needs to change directions more significantly, he often comes to a complete stop, then bursts in the new path. That he gets back to top speed is nice, but you'd prefer not having to stop to make it happen.

Defensively, Beck doesn't seem to have a good understanding of zone concepts (not necessarily his fault or even a long-term weakness, just something he's inexperienced with), and while he's much more comfortable in man coverage, he relies on his speed more than pure technique to be successful.

Thanks to vision, solid jump cuts, and the ability to burst upfield without losing much speed, Beck has the total package to be an instant-impact return specialist. Pure speed is key in the kickoff return game, while that first jump-cut before getting up to speed (and then again, that speed) are key in punt returns. Beck is designed for it.

While there's been some talk of ending up on defense - and he has a highlight on that side of the ball, too - I like what he brings on offense. He's similar to Travon McMillian in style (and, as mentioned above, the weakness of being a little impatient with his offensive line blocking). It'll probably take a year or two to get a full hold on the offense, build his physique, and develop that patience.

From a physical perspective, he's close to what you'd want - if the change-of-direction can be improved given he now knows he won't always be the fastest guy on the field - in VT's offense. He should be an early contributor on special teams, and should see the field a bit on offense before having the opportunity to be an every-down guy as an upperclassman.

If he does end up on defense, it may take a bit more time to acclimate, and while it shouldn't impact his ability to contribute immediately in the return game, it might be wiser to give him a redshirt so that he has more time to adjust to a new side of the ball without using a year of eligibility strictly to return kicks.