The Louisville football program is celebrating Derby Week with a Class of 2025 commitment, as Grant Houser has committed to the Cardinals.
Here is Louisville Report's full evaluation:
Prospect: Grant Houser
Position: Tight End
Measurables: 6-foot-5, 230 pounds
School: Wapakoneta (Oh.) HS
Top Offers: Air Force, Army, Central Michigan, Miami (Oh.), Navy, Toledo
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): N/A
Grant Houser's Junior Year Highlights: HERE (Hudl)
Frame: Houser has a very good base frame. He already carries his weight exceptionally well and could add a lot more at the next level, not to mention that he has good upper body muscle tone. He also has the height and wingspan that you want out of a tight end.
Athleticism: For someone with the height and overall length that Houser has, he moves fairly well. He has a good first step for a tight end, has solid foot speed and lateral agility, and better top gear open field speed than expected. Both his vertical and his on-field strength does leave some to be desired, but it's not a massive detriment.
Instincts: Whether it's as a blocker or a receiver, Houser does well on both ends. In the passing game, what stands out the most is his ability to simply use physical mismatches to find the hole in zone coverage like so many upper tier tight ends can nowadays. He also knows how to navigate the field with the ball in his hands on short routes, and he has a good catch radius thanks in part to both his length and his ability to contort his body on throws that are low or a bit behind. As a blocker, he's very willing to get involved and stick his nose into a defender. He's a better blocker close to the line of scrimmage, though his open field blocking - specifically his ability to keep a defender in front of him - could use some work.
Polish: Houser was used in a variety of ways in Wapakoneta's offense. He lined up as an inline tight end, in the backfield in heavy sets, and ever out wide as a true receiver - even sometimes on "wide receiver" screens. He was utilized fairly often in pre-snap motions, whether he was designated as a blocker moving across the line of scrimmage, or he was running a route coming out of the backfield. While he can find the holes in the coverage, he's not a super polished route runner, although his footwork suggests that he has the ability to become one. When blocking, he has a tendency to sometimes lean forward and throw his body into a block, instead of staying low and fundamentally sound.
Bottom Line: Overall, this is a pickup that has some real long term potential for Louisville. While there are some things that need to be cleaned up a bit and worked on, if he can bulk up some more and progress in areas where he needs to, Houser could be one of the more underrated commitments in the class.
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