Who is this Jessie Bates?

[*SHRacerX*]

I have a friend who's son is the center at Wake Forest. I watched a lot of Wake Forest football, and I scouted Bates.

The kid has such anticipation of passes. He plays a ball in the air like another kid I loved out of Houston. If you remember, I was pimping WJIII because of his ridiculous athleticism but it was his ball skills that I really adored. He (WJIII) had 28 PBUs his senior year. One year. Bates didn't have that gaudy a stat line, but he did have 5 INTs his first season playing at Wake Forest (his redshirt freshman season). He only added one last year, but his role changed somewhat.

He is still very young, but I feel like he could evolve in to one of those AFC North terrorist safeties like Ed Reed or Polumalu. I don't think he will be the pass rushing threat of Polumolu, but his route anticipation and how he attacks the ball in the air sure shows a lot of potential.

Teams will surely test him. Fine. He is EXACTLY what this defense needed, with a handful of strong safeties and no true free safeties.

A silent assassin? Not yet, but the kid will make plays on balls in the air....something we rarely saw from our previous "you catch it then I tackle you" safeties. But he is far from a silent fart.