Calen Bullock, SAF, USC
Size:
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 188 pounds
Arm Length: 32 1/2"
Hand Size: 9”
Accomplishments:
First Team All-Pac-12 (2023) • First Team All-American (2022) • Freshman All-American (2021)
“Calen Bullock is a long and lean free safety who excels playing as a center fielder where he displays excellent range and ball skills. However, he must improve his strength and tackling ability to be a consistent player at the next level.”
Strengths:
Centerfield range
Instincts
Ball skills
Concerns:
Size
Tackling
Film Analysis:
USC’s Calen Bullock is an exciting safety prospect and one of the best ballhawks in the class. Bullock is a three-year starter for the Trojans, where he earned multiple All-American and All-Conference honors.
Bullock is a long and lean safety with just average size and strength. He is a high-cut and long-legged player with a very narrow frame and little muscle mass. As an athlete, Bullock is a fluid mover in space with excellent long speed overall but just above-average explosiveness. Bullock is a hyper-productive player who excels in coverage and has a knack for creating turnovers, as evidenced by his nine career interceptions.
Bullock aligned primarily as the single-high safety in USC’s Cover 3-heavy scheme but would also come down and match up in the slot. In zone coverage, Bullock displays excellent awareness and instincts. He gets good depth in his dropbacks while keeping his eyes on the quarterback. He can quickly read where the ball is going to go which allows him to get a jump on the play. He has good speed to cover red line to red line as a centerfield defender and make plays on the football. Bullock is a former receiver in high school and he has maintained those ball skills and hands.
Bullock is also effective in man coverage where he showcases the fluid hips and quickness to stay in phase against receivers and the length to compete at the catch point. Bullock is better in zone than man coverages, however, as there are times he is a bit leggy in transitions due to his high-cut build—resulting in receivers being able to create separation.
In the run game, Bullock flashes good recognition and a quick trigger to come downhill. He takes pride in playing physical and will often look to deliver tone-setting hits as a run defender. Normally, I love that attribute in my safeties, but for Bullock, it works against him as he simply lacks the frame to consistently deliver such hits. Oftentimes, runners will bounce off him and break his tackles due to him looking for the knock-out shot rather than wrapping up. Additionally, his angels to the football are inconsistent and he must clean that up when facing faster NFL backs.
Overall, Bullock has the range, instincts, and ball skills to excel as a centerfielder in a zone-heavy scheme, but he must clean up his tackling or risk being a liability in the run game.
Prospect Projection: Day 2 — Winning Starter
Written By: Brentley Weissman
Exposures: Utah (2023), Notre Dame (2023), Oregon (2023)
