Frank Buncom is a talented defensive back who could end up at cornerback or safety.
Frank Buncom is one of the better cornerback prospects in the Class of 2015.
Buncom, out of St. Augustine High in San Diego (Calif.), stands 6'1 and weighs in at 190 pounds. As of April, he's rated as a consensus four-star recruit by 247sports, Rivals, Scout and ESPN. Scout is the highest on the 17-year-old, ranking him No. 8 among all high school corners in the class. The 247sports composite ratings, a compilation of data from the four major recruiting services, lists him as the 138th-best player in the country, 14th-best cornerback and 21st-best player from the state of California.
Buncom is receiving interest from several schools around the nation. He holds scholarship offers from the likes of Stanford, UCLA, Duke, Nevada, Nebraska, Oregon State, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Washington State.
Fans can follow Buncom on Twitter @BeastNamedFrank. His highlights can be seen here.
Scouting by Derrell Warren (@yssd), West Coast recruiting Analyst.
Buncom is an athlete with great height and a strong-looking frame. Buncom plays on both sides of the ball for his high school team, but his future is likely in the defensive secondary.
Playing out on an island at cornerback, Buncom would likely function best as a boundary corner in a press-man system and using his size to disrupt and re-route receivers. That said, he'll have to use his hands more consistently at the college level. Too often on tape he'll allow receivers to gain free releases off the line.
Having seen him up close he has very wide and powerful looking shoulders that should allow him to add the upper body strength needed to match up physically with the bigger, new age receivers that are growing in number and physically dominate.
Whether Buncom stays at corner long term or slides inside to safety may depend on the scheme of the college he picks. Although physical, his long speed probably ranges from average to above average. At this stage he would probably project best in a cover two or two-man scheme that allowed him to be physical at the line due and having a two deep shell over the top.
On tape, Buncom may flash the most upside at safety. Against the run he covers a ton of ground, often ranging from a single high position pre-snap out to the edge. He's a powerful wrap tackler with great balance and brings hips through contact while surrendering very few, if any yards after initiating contact with a runner.
Although there's isn't a large volume of film with Buncom defending the pass from the safety position, his range, awareness, and short area quickness should translate well.
He's very instinctual as a run defender and takes efficient angles to the ball. Also, he's disciplined and sets a hard edge, funneling runs back inside when playing the cornerback position. At safety, he fills the alleys aggressively. Has plus level closing burst and can re-direct his momentum in traffic to track ball carriers.
Ultimately Buncom has two-year starter level upside at corner, especially as a press-man corner