Massachusetts Football Recruit Profile: Lukas Denis

Photo courtesy of Brendan C. Hall and ESPN Boston.

By Mike Uva (@mike_uva)

Ed. Note- Throughout January our SuitePreps section will be rolling out profiles for some of the top football recruits in Massachusetts, all leading up to National Signing Day on February 4th. We begin today with Everett star Lukas Denis, one of the most highly recruited players in the Commonwealth for the Class of 2015. Correspondent Mike Uva has more on the Crimson Tide play maker.

-Joe

Lukas Denis

Everett High School
Defensive Back/Wide Receiver
6'1'', 180 lbs.
College Choice: Boston College
Senior Highlights

Rankings:
ESPN Scouts Inc.- 3 stars, 75/100, #2 in MA, #78 CB 
247- 3 stars, 82/100, #6 in MA, #128 CB
Rivals- 2 stars, 5.3/6.1, unranked


Ranking Notes: All three recruiting services grade on the "star scale," awarding a player 1-5 stars, but ESPN and 247 also grade each prospect on a 1-100 scale to position them more precisely. Rivals has its own grading scale, which goes from 0-6.1.

Strengths: Hands, size, physicality, speed

Areas to Improve: Technique, strength, man-to-man coverage

After having arguably the best season an Everett defensive back has had in recent years, there’s no question Denis has the ability to make an impact at Boston College. The only question is, where will be the best fit for him?

With his lanky body and ability to cover the field from sideline-to-sideline, it makes sense to see Denis playing safety. When there’s a ball in the air, he’ll attack it at its highest point and always finds a way to bring it in. It’s evident when watching film that his natural ability took over numerous times this season.

Technique was sometimes lost, but it didn’t always hurt him because he was talented enough to get away with technical flaws. In the ACC, that won’t get the job done. He needs to polish his technique and improve on his man-to-man coverage, especially when playing off from the line of scrimmage.

Denis plays physical, but he’ll need to get stronger in order to help out in run support, and also when matched up against tight ends. While getting stronger, he’ll have to maintain speed for those situations when he’ll be in coverage against slot receivers. Expect Denis to compete for some time at safety and also work his way onto special teams, both as a gunner and as a returner.

Everett has a long history of producing successful defensive backs, and look for Denis to continue that tradition.