Better Know a Freshman: Jordan Toles

LSU is DBU, but I think LSU’s safety production is actually slightly overlooked in favor of the school’s mass production of elite corners. Between LaRon Landry, Eric Reid, Jalen Mills, Jamal Adams, and Grant Delpit; LSU puts safeties in the NFL. Jordan Toles seems to be next in the Landry, Reid, Jacoby Stevens line of big, hard hitting, sure tackling safeties.

The Story

Being from Maryland, Jordan Toles is from Big 10 country, and naturally received heavy interest from the B1G, with offers from Michigan, Penn State, Maryland, Iowa, and Ohio State. He took an unofficial to Penn State. Toles’ enrollment is a product of Ed Orgeron’s developing focus on the DMV area in recruiting. All the Crystal Balls had Toles to LSU, and they were correct. He was also recruited by schools as a basketball player.

The Numbers

Five-stars (98-110 rating): The top 32 players in the country to mirror the 32 first round picks in the NFL Draft. These are 32 players that we believe are the most likely to be drafted in the first round from each recruiting class. The full list of 32 with five-star ratings typically isn’t complete until the final ranking. Any player with a rating of more than 100 is considered a “franchise player” and one that does not come around in every recruiting class.

Four-stars (90-97 rating): These are players that we believe are the most likely to produce college careers that get them drafted. By National Signing Day, this number is typically in the range of 350 prospects, roughly the top 10 percent of prospects in a given class.

Three-stars (80-89 rating): This is where the bulk of college football prospects are found and it incorporates a large range of ability levels, all of whom we consider as possible NFL players long term.

A high three-star (87-89): is considered a player with significant NFL upside who expect to be an impact college football player.

A mid three-star (84-86): is a player that we consider to be a capable starter for a Power Five football team and an impact player at the Group of Five level.

A low three-star (80-83): is a player that we consider to be a potential contributor at a Power Five program but a probable Group of Five starter with impact potential.

Two-stars (70-79 rating): These are prospects that we consider to be FBS-level players with very limited NFL potential.

247 Composite Rating: ****

247 Compostine Ranking: 0.9650

The Film

Everything about Jordan Toles screams downhill, box safety, a la Kam Chancellor. He is big, strong, an extremely sound tackler, and a good pursuer. He reminds me a fair bit of JaCoby Stevens actually, a big, physical DB who is extremely comfortable playing in and around the box. He’s got a big frame, and I could see Tommy Moffit getting him up to 215-220. He is just that Kam Chancellor style of bruising battering ram safety that is very useful against screens, swings, and the run. I don’t know if he has the raw foot-speed to have the kind of deep range that Grant Delpit had, but he doesn’t have to fill that same single high, centerfield role that LSU used Delpit in.

The Future: Ed Orgeron was raving about Toles, an early enrollee, during LSU’s truncated spring practice period, and he looks to be a starter sooner rather than later.

High End: All-SEC, 2nd or 3rd Team All-American, Early Day 2 Pick

Low End: Solid, but unspectacular starter

Realistic: By all indications, Jordan Toles can really play and the coaching staff knows it. They’re going to get this kid on the field and I think he’s gonna play at a high level.

Editor’s Note:

Junda here, let’s go ahead and talk about Toles the basketball player too. Toles seems to be a more highly rated football prospect than a basketball one. I can’t find much about his basketball recruiting rankings, but ESPN gave him a three-star rating and deemed him the 55th shooting guard in the nation.

Toles said he won’t practice with the basketball team between football season and the conclusion of bowl season, so we won’t see Toles in the PMAC until January, right as conference play begins. I’m curious how much we’ll see of Toles once his focus shifts to basketball. After all playing two sports isn’t a new thing, Kary Vincent runs track and Mo Hampton plays baseball, but those are obviously spring sports.

Toles professional future is more likely in football instead of basketball, so don’t expect him to be a one-and-done type like Naz Reid or Trendon Watford. But frankly, I don’t see Toles being a significant contributor to the basketball team, I don’t think it’s fair to expect serious minutes from a guy that won’t start practicing with the team until they’re 10-15 games into a season. And I would imagine at some point a coach on either the football or basketball staff will get in Toles’ ear and make him see that his future earnings will be in the NFL, not the NBA, and to focus on being a safety.

High End: Overqualified sixth man/potential starter; a Marlon Taylor type of player that may not be much of a shooting threat but can be a lockdown defender and alley oop threat.

Low End: Plays basketball for a year before eventually focusing on football primarily.