Sep 14, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Washington State Cougars head coach Mike Leach during the second quarter against the UNLV Rebels at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Washington State has landed their fourth commit for the 2014 class of the offseason in Zaire Andre from Inglewood high school in Inglewood, California. Andre is a 6-1 175 pound receiver who has the skills and the abilities to make waves early in his career.
When watching Andre’s film I saw a lot of things good things going for him. Andre has the ability to go up and make a catch even as a smaller receiver on the field. At 6-1 he wouldn’t be the tallest receiver on the Cougars but he has the ability to go up and make the catch and come down with the ball and compete at the same level that a 6-4 receiver would.
Off the line I noticed that Andre is able to cause separation and ultimately beat the corner down field leaving him open and alone quite often. When he has the ball he has a great vision of the field, he is able to see where he needs to go and where the blocks are going, resulting in first downs. His speed is another addition to what he already has, after the catch with nobody around he is able to kick it into another gear and win if it were to come down to a foot race. When Andre would go up to catch the ball he was able to grab it and secure the ball at its highest point even making a few circus-like catches, showing off his good hands.
In his film Andre has a lot of clips of him returning the ball which would be a great addition to Washington State. When returning kicks he is able to hit the gaps hard and gain some great yards. He is able to see the holes when the open and fit in them no matter the size. When hitting the hole he keeps his head down and gains yards without sitting back and trying to dance with the defenders. Andre knows that football is a game of North and South running and he doesn’t spend his time going East and West.
Andre is not the type of player who is able to get a lot of yards when he catches the ball with a defender near him which kind of scares me. I noticed that when he would catch the ball and get contacted within five yards of the catch he struggled to get free, but when he did, he was able to turn the play into a lot more than expected.
Andre is a player that, with a little work in a few areas can become one of the top receivers on the team. With the ability to return punts and kicks as well as be a receiver Andre will be a huge addition to WSU.
For a look at how the Cougar receivers line up check out our Early Receivers Post.
In addition to Washington State Andre had offers from: Nebraska, Houston, San Jose State among others.
Below you will find Andre’s junior film.
https://allcougdup.com/hub/offered-wr-zaire-andre-inglewood-ca-highlights/