Jonny Harline
College: BYU Number: 13
Height: 6-4 Weight: 240
Overview
Jonny Harline is an outstanding pass catcher who reminds many scouts of former Denver Broncos standout Shannon Sharpe, for his ability to quickly settle into the soft areas on the field to make the clutch catch. Despite sharing tight end duties with Daniel Coats, he is also capable of lining up as a slot back or out wide as a flanker.
An Honor Roll student at Orem High School, Jonny lettered three times with the football team. He earned first-team All-Region and All-State honors in football, leading the team to the state quarterfinals as a senior. He earned team Most Valuable Player honors that year.
Harline was also an All-State and All-Region selection in basketball, as the hoops squad finished second in the state playoffs during his senior campaign.
Upon graduation, Harline enrolled at Ricks Junior College, where he caught eight touch-down passes and led the Western States Football League as he averaged over 20 yards per reception in 2001 before missing the final two games with a knee injury. He was also a member of Ricks College's Honor Roll and earned All-Region XVIII accolades. Jonny then left for a two-year church mission to New York City.
In 2004, he enrolled at Brigham Young, but saw only limited action on special teams in five games and did not catch any passes. As a junior, Harline started eleven of twelve games, earning All-Mountain West Conference and Academic All-MWC honors. He ranked seventh in the conference with an average of 5.25 catches and 71.08 yards receiving per game. Jonny led the team with a career-high 63 catches for 853 yards (13.5 avg) and five touch-downs. He also recorded four tackles (3 solos), with three of those stops coming vs. California in the Las Vegas Bowl.
As a senior, Harline ranks second on the team with 754 yards on 49 catches (15.4 avg), including eleven touchdowns, earning All-American third-team and All-MWC first-team recognition. His eleven scoring grabs led the NCAA Division 1-A tight ends while his average of 62.83 yards receiving per game ranks second among the nation's tight ends.
In 29 games with the Cougars, including 24 on offense, Jonny started seventeen times while catching 112 passes for 1,607 yards (14.3 avg) and seventeen touchdowns. He also came up with four tackles (3 solos).
Analysis
Positives: Has large, soft hands, long arms, good bubble and adequate lower body thickness…Can catch the ball outside his frame, thanks to excellent arm length and large, soft hands…Shows good movement skills once he gets into his route…Does a good job of locating the soft areas on the field to settle into and shows urgency working back for the ball when the quarterback is pressured…Demonstrates true courage sacrificing his body to make the play (see 2005 Boston College and Eastern Illinois games-played with a shoulder separation)…Will battle for the ball in traffic and plays with good intensity attacking the ball in flight…Effective at using his long arms and large hands to generate a good push coming off the snap to defeat the press…He is lined up wide on several occasions due to his ability to settle in the short area's soft spots…Does a much better job on drag and option routes than when working up the seam.
Effective with delays too set up his routes…Won't make sharp cuts, but does move effectively to settle underneath…Has the long reach to push off the defender and times his leaps to get to the ball at its high point…Despite some hip stiffness, Harline does a nice job of getting low to scoop up the ball or look it in over his outside shoulder…Won't just suddenly turn and snatch the ball, but with his long arms, he has no problems extending for it…Has the naturally long arms, soft, large hands and the ability to catch outside his frame…Does not need to rebuild up to top speed after the catch, doing a nice job of remaining in stride.
Negatives: Has a soft-looking frame with adequate muscle definition, but needs to add more bulk and can carry at least another fifteen pounds…His weight room strength fails to translate to the football field, especially when blocking…Has hip stiffness that is noticeable when having to change direction or redirect to the ball (see 2005 San Diego State game)…Won't step away from blocking assignments, but he lacks the finishing ability or strength to lock on and control…Mature, responsible sort, but has more of a wide receiver's mentality as a blocker than that of a tight end (prefers to finesse rather than stalk)…Lacks the hip flexibility to redirect and will then struggle to get into his route… Does not have the foot speed to consistently escape and must rely on his hand placement to get a clean release…Lacks the loose hips to avoid defenders and without a second gear, will struggle to separate after a catch if the defenders are already closing on him.
Can't avoid the jam by using his feet and doesn't have the moves to set up and ride up on the defender…When asked to attack the deep secondary, he tends to round and gather on his cuts, as his marginal hip snap prevents him from opening up or planting and driving well in and out of his breaks…Has a tendency to trap some passes (see 2005 San Diego State and 2006 Arizona and Boston College games) and must be more conscious of securing the ball to prevent the costly fumble (must distribute the ball away from the defender better)…Gives good effort, but his weight room strength fails to translate to the field when working in-line…Can get run over and pushed back into the pocket when challenging the bull rush and his hip stiffness shows when he tries to take angles to attack second level defenders.
Compares To: BO SCAIFE-Tennessee…Harline will never be considered a deep threat, but like Scaife, he could make a nice living as a motion tight end that is used on quick outs, hitches and screens. He lacks the size, bulk and power to be utilized as a blocker and he is not considered a fullback candidate because of those issues. What he does best is settle under the ball and catch it with defenders all over him. He just lacks the separation speed after the catch to gain more yardage.
