Back in August of last year, Arkansas obtained a huge commitment from 2023 TE Shamar Easter. Easter, who stands at 6-5 225 pounds, is the top ranked recruit in Arkansas according to 247 sports. He also had the honor of being the first commitment in Arkansas’ 2023 class. This article will try to project what Easter can bring to the Razorbacks once he graduates high school.
Shamar Easter Evaluation
Similar to TE commit Luke Hasz, its clear from film that Easter is not your typical in-line TE. While he can line up next to the tackle, he’s also able to line up in the slot and on the outside to make plays.
For his size, Easter has terrific speed. Because of this, he’s able to gain separation, even against smaller DBs in his classification. His speed also gives him the ability to get a large amount of yards after the catch.
For a high school TE, Easter has also shown the ability to run a more varied route tree. Not only can he run fly patterns, but he’s also able to run slants, curls, posts, crossing patterns, screens, and comeback routes. Easter also has a large catch radius. He can pluck the ball up high, but can also catch balls thrown low. This allows him to succeed in contested catch situations with defenders draped on him.
As for his blocking, Easter shows a willingness to block that few others have. He’s not afraid of initiating contact and blowing defenders back. However, Easter is not playing against SEC-level defenders in terms of size or speed at his high school. It remains to be seen how Easter would fair blocking SEC linebackers and defensive lineman.
In addition to offense, Easter could be a regular contributor on special teams for the Hogs. He’s shown the ability to be a disruptor in this phase, and has even recorded a punt block.
While Easter is a special talent, he still has some room for improvement in several areas. First, he could do a better job accelerating into his cuts when running routes. With that in mind, he also takes some time to hit top speed when running. However, this something Easter can improve on in college with specialized coaching.
To read more about Arkansas’ 2023 TE class, click here.