Analyzing new Arizona commit Alphonse Oywak

Photo by Carlos Herrera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Let’s take a deeper look into the Washington-based defender

The Arizona Wildcats have added a new defensive back to the 2020 class in Alphonse Oywak earlier this month. Our original story can be found here.

Here’s a closer look at the new recruit.

Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 185 pounds

School/Hometown: Kentwood (Covington, Wash)

Offers: Arizona, Air Force, Nevada, Oregon State, Utah State

Rankings (per 247 Sports): No. 1,271 overall, No. 119 cornerback, No. 19 in Washington

Highlights:

Brandon Combs: This is another solid addition to the class. Not blow-you-away, but solid.

When I flip on Oywak’s junior film, it very much reminds me of Christian Roland-Wallace. Big, fast, athletic player who is raw—but the talent and potential are both there.

Oywak has the speed to keep up with receivers down the field when playing press man. I love that speed, but it’s his ability to make a play on the ball that stands out. He uses his long arms to disrupt the receiver and swat or catch the ball.

As a safety, he can be just as effective. The first play of his film is evidence of that. He back pedals while watching the quarterback, then quickly turns and sprints towards the receiver. He then proceeds to pluck the ball out of the air in front of the receiver.

Side-bar: during the play, he has the awareness to not back pedal too much, since he’s already playing deep, which puts him in fantastic position in relation to the receiver. More importantly, he didn’t leave his teammate out on an island with no help.

He has great closing speed and can change direction with ease and a quickness. This is in part to his very fluid hips as he has no problems turning them around to get into proper position to defend a pass. Basically, he moves really well for someone his size.

His wide receiver highlights are fun to watch as well.

As of now, I’m intrigued at which position he’ll be better at in college. He has proper press technique, getting his hands on the receiver at the line of scrimmage, and the ability to turn his hips easily. On the other hand, he has the closing speed and quick reaction needed for a coverage safety.

Overall, Oywak does have some things to work on, like adding muscle and refining his overall skillset. It will be interesting to see what kind of jump he makes in his senior season. CRW had a big jump from his junior and senior years, and I’m thinking Oywak will have a similar jump.

Gabe Encinas: Brandon is going with Christian Rolland-Wallace and I’m going McKenzie Barnes here. Alphonse Oywak looks very long with his 6-foot-1 frame and has a mix of man and zone coverage with great reaction time to close the distance.

I think he’s someone the staff can evaluate and decide on whether he can be at safety or corner depending on the numbers. The versatility and size make the raw talent worth it.

I can’t emphasize it enough that Demetrice Martin did a phenomenal job with the corners last year. Alphonse has the size but needs some development. I’m not crazy about the commitment, but I like that the staff is pairing a long, rangy corner with the smaller, physical corner like Crump.

I’m not sure if his recruitment will pick a whole lot throughout his senior year, so the hope is that things go smoothly until the early signing period. Overall I think he’s appropriately ranked and could make a small push closer to the top 1000.

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