From The Film Room: Jaylen Kelly-Powell

Commitment No. 19 in the 2017 class came in the form of a long-time Michigan lean. Detroit Cass Tech three-star Jaylen Kelly-Powell is the No. 31 safety nationally and No. 8 player in Michigan. What does the film show on the 6-0, 180-pounder? Take a look.

One of Kelly-Powell's biggest strengths is his intelligence on the field. While he's a very good athlete in terms of speed, quickness, and strength, his mind allows him to maximize those skills and that makes him extremely valuable in the secondary or up by the line of scrimmage. He is extremely intelligent and allows him to be in the right place at the right time on nearly every play. Throughout his tape you will find him timing up blitzes perfectly, getting his hands on deep balls, and being around the ball on deflections and loose balls. He simply has a knack. Despite not being the biggest safety in the world he’s physical and solid against the run as well.

It’s tough to identify an actual weakness in Kelly-Powell’s game but his size at safety is a little less than ideal. He’s not a small player at a built 6-0, 180 pounds, but he’s not long and rangy like a lot of safeties are. His speed, quickness, and football IQ allow him to play bigger but a couple inches of length would make him that much better.

Kelly-Powell wouldn't be considered one of those ultra high upside guys because he's not insanely proportioned or ridiculously athletic but he's about as good as you can get in virtually every area associated with his position. He's got good enough cover skills to play corner, he understands schemes well enough to play strong or free safety, and he's strong and physical enough to play in the box as a hybrid linebacker or "viper" in Don Brown's system. He's also an excellent academic student and is going to be a pillar in the locker room and community. Solid is the perfect word to describe Kelly-Powell when it comes to his abilities on the field and his character and work ethic off of it.