Orlando Brown Jr. is a 6'8, 341-pound tackle recruit from Suwanee (GA) Peachtree Ridge High School. He is a consensus three-star recruit and claims multiple BCS offers. There's reason for skepticism as to some of the claimed verbal offers, and they may be more of the "camp invite" variety. Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma seem committable as of May 1.
Oh, and he's also the son of the late Orlando "Zeus" Brown, who played for the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.
Brown is such an interesting prospect. He's exposed, as all of his film is available online, and he attends many camps and combines. I've seen him in person three times now. I was very encouraged in Atlanta for the April NFTC, at which Brown showed up in much better shape. But the payoff in terms of his foot quickness and bend was not proportionate to the amount of bad weight he had dropped. That was disappointing, though it was good to see him show up in better shape, as it demonstrates a greater sense of taking football seriously. He's also not shy about competing and working to get better.
At 6'8 and 341 pounds, Brown has the ideal build for a tackle prospect. Unfortunately, that hasn't yet translated quite so well to the field.
Brown is plenty capable of moving opposing defenders in the run game. No player in his highlight film can match his size, and he often simply leans on them. He gets into the defender quickly on a few clips, but does not show great quickness overall. The real problem is that he bends at the waist entirely too much and does not roll his hips. He's also not all that adept at picking off defenders in space.
Brown has worked a lot on his pass protection, and it has improved. But it's still not great. His form is OK, though he needs to make better use of his wide base and not be stuck with his feet together. The issue, again, is that he doesn't have great quick-twitch ability or body control. Obviously, at 341 pounds, he is easily able to absorb the bull rush from high school rushers. And his length will be even more of an asset in time.
I can see Brown being a starter at the BCS level, but expectations must be tempered. People will look at his size and his namesake and expect him to be a great player and a starter from Day 1. That's just not going to happen. He is a developmental prospect with promise, due to his size and newfound work ethic. It's also worth noting that Brown doesn't turn 17 until late May, and that large prospects often take time to grow into their bodies. His coordination, quickness and body control very well could improve with age.