Scouting report on Trey Palmer, LSU's latest commit
Trey Palmer emerged as a top Louisiana prospect heading into his sophomore campaign once college programs started recognizing his unique blend of skill, speed and athleticism.
As his recruitment progressed, Palmer became one of the most sought after prospects in the nation, reeling in over 30 offers, including the likes of LSU, Alabama, Florida State, among many others. But what makes him so special? Step inside this TigerDetails.com film session to learn more about the most recent LSU commitment.
Each category will be graded on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best score one can receive.
Speed/Quickness: 9.5
Palmer’s speed is his strength—making him one of the nation’s premier deep threats at the wide receiver position. While he does possess somewhat of a long stride, he still possesses tremendous initial acceleration and top-level lateral quickness, which is somewhat rare for a guy with a track stride.
Palmer utilizes his speed and quickness in just about every aspect of his game. He has become really good utilizing the speed release when faced with press coverage, and once he gets on the defenders hip, he almost always pulls away. He is very smooth in his movements, so his speed can be deceptive. Palmer possesses legitimate 4.4 speed.
When the ball is in the air, Palmer shows another gear allowing him to separate from the defenders at the top of his route.
Hands/Ball skills: 8.5
Palmer is one of the better center fielders in the state, and it is evident when watching him track the ball downfield. He has superb body control, allowing him to adjust to make the tough catch, contort his body in air to make a play and work the toe-tap on the sidelines. While he is usually moving at an elite speed, he does so under control, allowing him to adjust to balls thrown his way.
Palmer does a fairly good job high pointing the ball, although it is not one of his strengths at this point of his development. He is more of a basket catcher than a high point attacker. He can also struggle securing the ball in traffic, due to his lean frame and average grip strength. This area should improve as he continues to progress physically.
Route running: 7
While he possesses the quickness, speed and understanding of how to use angles to attack defenders, there are still quite a few nuisances of the position he needs to improve on before becoming a well-rounded receiver capable of being a consistent contributor at the college level. It is important to note that Palmer has been a part-time football player his entire life, whom also stars in track and baseball for Kentwood High School, so lacking a complete skillset at the wide receiver position should be expected.
Palmer has the ability to lower his weight, get in-and-out of his breaks to create separation, but doesn’t always utilize his ability in his craft. Much of it is due to his ability to simply out-athlete his competition, but that will not be the case at the college level. He is hard to jam, understands how to stack defenders downfield and possesses the knowledge of how to attack safeties, but he needs to improve on his route running in the short to intermediate passing game.
Run after the catch: 7.5
Palmer is an absolute burner, but also possesses some elusiveness and creativity with the ball in his hands. He is rather loose in his securement of the ball when running, which could lead to some issues, but has not been prone to turning the ball over at this stage of his development. Palmer does not currently possess the lower body strength to run through arm tackles with frequency, but he is shifty enough to limit the defender’s ability in getting square upon contact, which gives him a certain slipperiness that threatens a defense.
Once Palmer finds a lane it is all over. It is virtually impossible for most defenders to catch him, so he does not need much space to turn a short pass into a big play. Once he has a step on you there is not much that can be done.
Overall: 9.0
Palmer’s speed and playmaking ability is what separates him from many of his peers. He has scoreboard changing speed and enough of a skillset base to see the field early in his collegiate career. His biggest issue will be becoming more physical, stronger and polished in running the lower half of the route tree.
Adding weight should be easy for his lean wiry frame, especially when he drops baseball and track from his off-season regiment. Expect Palmer to be an early contributor for the Tigers, who will look to take advantage of his speed at wide receiver, and even perhaps in the return game. It should not take long before he establishes himself as one of the SEC’s premier deep threats.
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