Georgia Tech Recruiting: Early Enrollee Scouting Profile - CB Gentry Bonds

With two early enrollees in the 2017 recruiting class, CB Gentry Bonds is the second recruit we feature in our scouting profiles of the newest Yellow Jackets.

Basics:

Bonds will be one of six Yellow Jackets on the roster next season to hail from Tennessee. When it comes to his recruiting profile, Bonds is considered a consensus three star recruit. Bonds is considered the Yellow Jackets fourth best recruit in the 2017 recruiting cycle. His recruitment rankings are the following;

Despite his lower recruiting rankings, Bonds had some notable offers out of his 17 division one offers. Schools that offered the Tennessee cornerback include newly crowned national champions, Clemson, along with Duke, Louisville, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.

Bonds was recruited to Georgia Tech by linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator Andy McCollum. McCollum is also the primary recruiter of Warner Robins quarterback commit, Tobias Oliver.

Bonds is another recruit the Yellow Jackets got on in later in the process and succeed in landing a commitment from. Vanderbilt was the first team to offer the Tennessee native back in February of 2015. The Yellow Jackets did not offer Bonds until March of last year and quickly got the Tennessee cornerback to commit in August.

Skill Set:

Passing Coverage:

Bonds features a skill set in pass coverage that will allow the Yellow Jackets to move him around the secondary. His speed and size will allow him to play on all parts of the secondary. A corner who can play both man and zone coverage in the future.

His zone coverage abilities will allow Bonds to potentially move into the safety position as time goes on. However, if the coaching staff chooses to keep him at defensive back, Bonds will have to focus on improving his man-to-man coverage skills.

Rush Support:

Much like Askew, Bonds is a corner who is very sound technique wise when it comes to rush support. He’s not afraid to make hits and get to the ball carrier, a high-motor player, Bonds will only be a weapon for the Yellow Jackets on the rush defense and not a liability.

Intangibles:

A look at his game tapes and it’s easy to tell that Bonds is a high-motor and high quality player. While he does need work in parts of his game, Bonds’s tape shows his ability to recognize a play as well as superb anticipation.

Overall:

Bonds has the ability to be a very versatile player for the Yellow Jackets in the future. A player who can play in several different coverages, formations, and positions. Once Bonds sees the field, he should have a major impact and become a defensive leader over times due to his versatility.

Playing Time:

For Bonds, it’s tricky to figure out when he may see the field. While he has the versatility, size, and skill set to see the field as early as this upcoming season, he also has quite a bit to work on. If he does see the field in 2017, it may be in limited situations focused around mainly zone coverage until he could improve his man-to-man coverage skills.