The early signing period for football prospects in the Class of 2020 is upon us, and Penn State is expected to bring in a larger-than-usual class throughout the day. On the Penn State blog today, I’ll be breaking down each of the signees. Here is my scouting report on an offensive line prospect out of the Bronx, Ibrahim Traore.
Penn State OL prospect Ibrahim Traore. PHOTO BY PENN STATE ATHLETICS
Height: 6-5
Weight: 290
School: Frederick Douglass HS (N.Y.)
Projected position: Offensive tackle
Rating: Three stars by Rivals.com, 247sports and ESPN
Other offers: Indiana, Miami (Fla.)
Projection: From a purely physical perspective, Traore is worth a flier. He’s every bit of 6-foot-5, with long arms, and he looks like he can even add a couple of pounds and still look fairly trim. He’s a first-guy-off-the-bus kind of player. As an athlete, there are some attributes to work with. He played lacrosse at his Bronx high school, and he actually played a more-than-passable defensive end on the gridiron. He used his size to his advantage as a tackle, overwhelming overmatched defenders at the line on a regular basis, with minimal reliance on some of the finer points of being a tackle. He has a lot to build off, but a lot to work on, too. His footwork wasn’t always good, and there are some questions about what he’ll do in pass protection as a college player. Offensive line coach Matt Limegrover might have to rebuild Traore from scratch, but lesser athletes have become solid contributors at tackle at the next level. Traore will need a few years to get there, though, and a redshirt season in 2020 is a must.
Donnie Collins has been a member of The Times-Tribune sports staff for nearly 20 years and has been the Penn State football beat writer for Times-Shamrock Newspapers since 2004. The Penn State Football Blog covers Nittany Lions, Big Ten and big-time college football news from Beaver Stadium to the practice field, the bowl game to National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Contact: dcollins@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5368; @DonnieCollinsTT