Terrion Arnold, CB Alabama: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Arnold was a four-star recruit from John Paul II Catholic High School in Tallahassee, Fla. in the class of 2021

Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold hasn’t received as much national media attention as teammate Kool-Aid McKinstry, but the redshirt sophomore has a legitimate argument to go higher than McKinstry in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Terrion Arnold, CB Alabama: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt sophomore cornerback from Tallahassee, Fla.

Background: Arnold was a four-star recruit from John Paul II Catholic High School in Tallahassee, Fla. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 51 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 46 for Rivals, and No. 35 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 147th in the nation with an 83 grade out of 100. As a high school senior, Arnold produced 49 tackles, four interceptions, five passes defensed, two defensive touchdowns, and a blocked field goal. He was the 2020 Tallahassee Democrat Defensive Player of the Year and earned Second Team All-Florida honors from MaxPreps. Arnold totaled 103 tackles and an interception as a junior. He was invited to the All-American Bowl. Arnold also participated in basketball and track and field, averaging 8.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game as a junior. He finished fourth in the long jump as a senior at the FHSAA 1A state track meet.

Injuries & Off-Field: Left 2023 Tennessee game with a concussion

Awards: 2022 Freshman All-SEC Team, 2022 FWAA Freshman All-American

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, experience out wide and in the slot, very engaging personality, growth throughout the year, well-built frame, arms will surpass NFL thresholds, smooth hips in transitions, patient with his hands near the LOS, patient in soft-shoe press to not bite on release, quick motion to flip hips and run vertically with WRs, compresses outside releases along the sideline, sticky at the top of the stem, closes quickly from off-man coverage at the top of the stem, quick to spot and close on comeback routes, quick to recognize and drive on in-breaking routes, closing burst to impact throwing windows, anticipates and jumps routes,  flicks head between QB and WR on vertical releases to watch both, awareness and recognition in zone to sort through multiple threats, ball skills to win aerial battles, ball tracking, broke up an end zone jump ball vs. Tre Harris (2023), willing run defender, attacks downhill in run defense, will compete with blockers on outside runs, makes some great one-on-one tackles in space

Cons: High backpedal is mechanical and slow, rarely aggressive in press coverage, hand placement and timing in press, plays too far off the receiver in off-man and zone, occasional trip or misstep transitioning from backpedal into forward drive, needs to tighten up footwork in transition, turns his back to receivers in man coverage while trying to watch the QB, bites on double moves too often, lacks elite recovery speed, late re-accelerating after biting on double move, Ainias Smith got him good with a head fake and then blew by him vertically (2023), lacked speed to stick with Xavier Worthy (2023), had to interfere with Adonai Mitchell to save a deep completion (2023), failed to mirror Adonai Mitchell’s explosive and dynamic releases (2023), turned around by Xavier Worthy dynamic release (2023), shook out of his cleats by Jordan Whittington (2023), play strength limits him vs. powerful stalk blocks, slides off some open field tackles

Overview: Arnold has special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He primarily aligns out wide to both the boundary and field but has gained experience operating in the slot this season. Arnold primarily operates in zone and soft-shoe press, with limited opportunities to be aggressive in press at the line. He has a very engaging personality and will mesh well with teammates. Arnold entered the season with limited experience and has showcased significant growth throughout the year. Teams will project even more growth in the future. He has a well-built frame with arms that will surpass NFL thresholds. The redshirt sophomore is a loose athlete with smooth hips. He is patient in soft-shoe press and doesn’t bite on the release. Arnold quickly flips his hips to run vertically with wide receivers. He compresses outside releases along the sideline but is better at handling inside releases where he can use his closing burst to crowd the receiver or jump routes. Arnold occasionally allows receivers into his blind spot when handling outside releases. He is sticky at the top of the stem and quickly closes throwing windows from zone or off-man with his burst and route recognition skills. The Florida native anticipates and jumps routes. He has the awareness and recognition in zone to sort through multiple threats. Arnold has excellent ball skills and ball tracking to make plays against larger receivers. He broke up two one-on-one jump balls against Ole Miss’ Tre Harris (2023). Arnold is a willing run defender who attacks downhill, competes to get off blocks, and makes some great one-on-one tackles in space. His play strength limits his stack and shed ability against larger receivers, and he occasionally slides off open field tackle attempts. Arnold’s backpedal is high, slow, and mechanical. He should trust his athletic traits and play closer to the line. The former freshman All-American sometimes trips or stumbles transitioning from his backpedal into forward drive. He should tighten his footwork in these transitions. Arnold bites on double moves too often and lacks the recovery speed and re-acceleration to get back into plays. He faced an elite slate of receivers in 2023 and suffered his fair share of losses. Ainias Smith froze him with a head fake before flying past him. Xavier Worthy stacked Arnold vertically and spun him around with a dynamic release. Arnold couldn’t mirror Adonai Mitchell’s best releases and had to interfere with him to prevent a deep completion. Jordan Whittington also shook Arnold out of his cleats. Of course, that Texas game was early in the season, and Arnold has since posted strong performances against Kentucky, LSU, and Ole Miss.

Overall, Arnold is a fluid and polished athlete with an ideal frame for an outside cornerback who has shown significant growth over the course of 2023. Teams could buy into Arnold’s sharp upward trajectory and select him in the first round. Arnold is loose enough to mirror and match in man coverage and instinctive enough to thrive in zone.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside corner in a scheme mixing Cover 1 and Cover 3

Round Projection: Late First to Early Second

Size: 6'0", 196 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 11-23-23