Recruit reviews are back! Today we finish up reviewing all the early enrollees from SU‚Äôs 2021 recruiting class. Be sure to check out the previous editions, we left off this series by taking a look at mid-year enrollee and wide receiver recruit Oronde Gadsden II. In these deep dives we examine a player’s recruiting history, their ranking, and then watch some film! Let‚Äôs dive into DT Terry Lockett.¬†
If you remember back to March 22nd, Lockett got the ball rolling and was the first commit in the ‘21 class. Almost a year later in February, he was joined alongside 24 other future Orange in a group that finished 56th nationally and 12th in the ACC. 
Lockett is a northeast guy from Springfield, Massachusetts. He played his high school ball at Springfield Central. Lockett was rated the #3 prospect in the state by rivals.com and between 7-9 on 247sports.com. The composite score on 247sports has Lockett begged as the 65th best DT prospect and outside 1,000th nationally.
At Springfield Central, Lockett’s career stats include 156 tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks. He was named 2019 MIAA First-team All-State, was a two-time state champ (2018,2019), and also participated in track.
Lockett didn’t have the opportunity to partake in a senior campaign. This may have affected his recruiting; however, this may have also allowed him more time to train and prepare for playing college ball and perhaps avoid an injury that sometimes plagues defensive line recruits entering the next level. Lockett enters Syracuse at 6’2”, 270 pounds.
This is a good sign because on his recruiting profile, he’s pegged at 255. This led me to believe he would need a year to develop an ACC level frame. It seems Lockett could be ready to bang with the big boys from day one. Obviously enrolling early and getting acclimated in spring ball helps too.
Lockett’s first offer came from Massachusetts in January after his sophomore season. He then took an unofficial visit to Michigan in March of 2019 and subsequently received an offer from former Wolverines defensive coordinator Don Brown. Lockett was also interested in Boston College, naturally as a Massachusetts guy, but no offer ever came from the Eagles.
Later in the summer, camp season arrived. This is the most popular time for prospects to visit schools and get offers. The Orange extended an offer to Lockett in May of 2019. So the Massachusetts native attended SU’s summer camp one month later in June. Then next February, Lockett attended SU’s junior day on the first of February. He then received a late offer from Buffalo, but about three weeks later he ended his recruitment and pledged to Dino Babers and Company.
Film
Lockett is wearing #9 in white on the far side of the d-line. He’s lined up with his hand in the dirt here as the defensive end. It looks as though his team’s base defense was a 4-3. The red team runs what looks to be a midline read option with a sweep concept tagged on. So the quarterback is supposed to read whoever is lined up to the right of the center on the d-line and try to hit the A-gap.
The QB decides to give it to the running back who tries to get outside his left tackle, but Lockett blows by him and beats the guard who is supposed to block down and blows up the play. The QB probably should have kept it, but either way Lockett did his job and shut down the sweep.
This is a great look at how Lockett could make a difference in the 3-3-5. This look only featured three down linemen with a stand-up rusher alongside Lockett on the near side. Lockett swims the guard and instantly penetrates the pocket forcing the quarterback to have to step up and eventually run into pursuing defenders. This is a great look at the burst Lockett has and the solid technique he uses when trying to evade pass protection.
Here’s another good look at Lockett’s ability to rush the passer. This time he beats an offensive tackle one-on-one with a quick cut to the inside. This could be useful in the 3-3-5 but more often than not, he’ll be facing a double team or at least some help from the adjacent guard.
Here’s another example of Lockett with his hand in the dirt and a stand-up rusher alongside. The big thing here is the pursuit speed from the back side. The blocking scheme sends the offensive guard he’s lined up against to block the mike linebacker. So Lockett is unblocked and sticks with the play and eventually makes the tackle to shut it down.
Lockett may not need to defend this play unless Syracuse ever runs into Jamey Chadwell’s Coastal Carolina team. It’s triple-option out of the gun to the left side. As the defensive end, Lockett is who the quarterback reads. Locket and Company played this one well as there was backside pursuit and defenders on top ready to stop the pitch. However, Lockett does well to chop his feet and stay home and he ends up getting rewarded for making the tackle too.
Here’s Lockett at defensive end again on the near side of the line. I tried to find various game footage because maybe he was dominant in one game against one or two weak offensive linemen, but he is consistently causing pressure over these three games. On this play, Lockett swims the right tackle and takes on a double team with the running back. He doesn’t get credited for a sack, but this is a QB hurry. He forced an early throw and nearly got to the quarterback. He’ll need to be ready to take on more double teams at Syracuse.
How Soon Can He Play and Where?
In the film, Lockett lines up with his hand in the dirt and sometimes even as a stand-up rusher off the edge. Well Syracuse already has guys better suited to play on the edge. Steve Linton and Stefon Thompson come to mind first, maybe even Latarie Kinsler. Lockett isn’t fast enough to play edge in the 3-3-5.
However, he’s very versatile and lined up as a 3-tech and 5-tech at times. In a 3-3-5 there aren’t set spots for lineman so you’ll see them line up over the center, guard, or even the tackle sometimes. This versatility will come in handy for Lockett and could be the reason why he sees early playing time at defensive tackle. He knows how to beat various offensive lineman from different spots and against different blocking schemes because he did it at Springfield Central High School.
Because of his versatility and college ready frame, I could see Lockett get some reserve snaps this season with a potential redshirt (4 games is the max). When Lockett gets a full year of play and strength/conditioning he’ll take on a bigger role as a sophomore.
SU will need him to be ready to go for fall 2021 in case of injuries, and definitely in 2022 because the beastly trio of Kingsley Jonathan, Josh Black, and Mckinley “Bear” Williams will each have exhausted their eligibility.
