Scouting Profile: Dorian Strong - CB - Virginia Tech
Sales Pitch: Long instinctive corner who fits best in a zone scheme. Has the size to play press but average redirect skills make his man projection less than ideal.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Dorian Strong is former WR and CB recruit from the state of Maryland. A 5th year senior, he is extremely experienced with 44 starts across 53 games, logging 400+ snaps in 4 out of 5 seasons. Strong is a two-time All-ACC defender posting strong ball production with 28 PBUs in his career.
Strong is a tall corner with a long wingspan and sturdy frame. He is an average athlete but shows the lateral agility to slide and cut off speed releases at the line of scrimmage. He uses accurate punches and long arms to get first contact in press coverage and control reps. Strong is at his best in zone coverage from deeper alignments. He is a quick processor and strong communicator, who smoothly passes off routes in and out of his zone. He does a tremendous job anticipating routes and positioning his body to give himself favorable leverage. Strong closes down on targets with good punch timing and length to jar the ball free on routes in front of him. He is also comfortable turning and running vertically before rotating his head to find the ball. Strong never put up high tackle numbers, but is a sure tackler who brings his arms to wrap up the legs of ball carriers.
Strong is a high hipped athlete, which limits his speed and lateral agility. He struggles to quickly redirect and attach when receivers cross his face at the line and at the top of routes. It takes him longer than most receivers to throttle down and comeback to the ball, allowing for sizeable separation on routes working back to the line of scrimmage. He doesn’t project well into man coverage schemes due to a lack of quick twitch. Even in zone coverage, Strong can get caught up when trying to flip his hips and turn to drive on routes away from him. Strong has the size to be a plus run defender but struggles to get off blocks. He also comes in too flat with his pursuit angles when closing from deep and doesn’t have the make up speed to cut off ball carriers to the corner.
Strong profiles best as an outside corner in a zone scheme. While he has the press ability to win at the line of scrimmage, his athletic limitations make zone schemes a better fit than man. Strong projects as a late Day-2 pick due his instincts and ball skills as a Cover-3 corner.