Heel Tough Blog: Another Day, Another Commitment as 4✮ OT Eli Sutton

What else is there really left to say? For the third consecutive day, the Tar Heels have landed one of their top targets in the 2021 class, this landing the commitment of 2021 4✮ OT Eli Sutton. Sutton became the ninth commitment of the class for the Tar Heels, but is the first from outside the state of North Carolina.

Sutton is preparing for his senior season at Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, TN. As a junior, Sutton earned first all-district honors in the Division II-AAA East district and all state honors for the II-AAA division in the state of Tennessee, helping lead the charge for a Brentwood rushing attack that averaged for 334.6 yards per game in 2019. The previous season, as a sophomore, Sutton was an important piece at left tackle for a Brentwood team that made another run to the state championship game in the AAA class in the state of Tennessee, helping the Eagles take home their fourth consecutive state title.

There are plenty of things to like about Sutton’s game from his film. As we told above, Brentwood is a team that utilizes the run game and quick passing game quite often, so he is a more season run blocker than he is a pass protector. The good news for him is that, in the limited reps that he can be seen pass protecting, there is a lot to like. He has a good first step, something that allows him to establish good initial position, even against quicker edge rushers. He has good lateral movement that allows him to stay in front of most pass rushers on tape. He didn’t do much pull blocking on tape, but in the reps that did show up, he showed good athleticism and tremendous power at the point of attack. His physicality also is a strong attribute of his, especially in running blocking situations where he can gain a head of steam. For a Tar Heel team that is looking to continue building depth and adding talent along the offensive line, this is a nice piece to begin the Tar Heels 2021 offensive line class with.

The Tar Heels 2021 class just keeps rolling along, as the class is now ranked 4th in the 247Sports Composite team rankings. The class remains 2nd in the ACC, but is closing in on the Clemson Tigers.