Fresh off of an opening day win for his Pickering Central team (check out his highlights here), Lorenzo Styles Jr. along with the rest of their updated Top 50 prospects were looked at who they most resemble at the next level.
The comparison that Rival’s Director of Recruiting Mike Farrell gave Styles Jr. was to former South Carolina Gamecock Chris Culliver. You maybe wondering why Styles Jr. has been compared to a defensive back in Culliver, but Farrell seems similarities in their projections as “Culliver was a five-star out of high school, who focused on offense but ended up as a defender in the NFL.”
This is not a bad thing for Styles Jr., as positional versatility is so important for players. Take a look at one of the best corners currently in the NFL in San Francisco’s Richard Sherman. While at Stanford, Sherman was a wide receiver for his first two years before moving over to cornerback his junior year. Fast forward to now and Sherman has a Super Bowl ring, 5 times he’s been to a Pro-Bowl and named to the NFL’s all-decade team for 2010’s. Sherman should end up in Canton as well, so it’s safe to say the move for him went well.
The Culliver comparison has more to do with ability than off-the-field antics, where the former Gamecock has had plenty of issues. Farrell sees Styles Jr. as having the same “speed and shiftiness” as Culliver’s.
The ceiling is high for Styles Jr., as he could end up playing on either side of the ball, but Farrell notes that he “will likely stay on offense.” Regardless, Blue and Gold nation are happy he’s going to suit up for the good guys next fall. Stay tuned as Rivals continues this series and Irish offensive tackle commit Blake Fisher is compared to a former collegiate star as well.