The C-USA has seen WKU’s Upton Stout fly onto the scene and become a dominant slot corner for the Hilltoppers defense. Here is a 2025 NFL Draft Early Scouting Report and film analysis on him.
Overview, Film Analysis, And Early 2025 Scouting Report Of Western Kentucky DB Upton Stout
Measurables:
- 5’9”
- 182 lbs
Player Background:
The Texas native was rated as a three-star recruit in the 2020 class as a safety and committed to North Texas. He played in eight games his freshman year, making 35 tackles and breaking up three passes. Stout redshirted his second season with the Mean Green before entering the portal in 2021. As a four-star and top-10 transfer cornerback, he committed to Western Kentucky that November.
Stout started in 11 of 14 games in 2022 as one of the team’s top corners. He finished the year with 44 tackles, two PBUs, four picks and a defensive touchdown. An injury-plagued 2023 season lowered his stock despite some strong play. In just seven games he racked up 29 tackles with 8 PBUs, 0.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a pick-six. He came back with a solid final year, making 53 tackles, breaking up a pass, making a sack and an interception.
Accolades:
- Freshman All-American Honorable Mention (2022)
- Conference USA Honorable Mention (2022)
- Conference USA First Team (2024)
Strengths/Pros:
Stout flows with contact really well early in routes, sticking with wideouts and staying smooth in coverage. He’s patient in off-man coverage, letting releases develop and crashing onto route cuts at the top of the stem. His feet are quick when rotating and working deeper into the secondary, keeping him within his base. His feet and base stay aligned throughout his backpedal, and he fluidly works through his defensive progressions in zone coverage. He’s played some deep safety in his WKU career and surprisingly hits pretty well when moving downhill.
He’s a solid pre-snap communicator on the inside, working with the boundary corners to understand their tendencies and adapt to their movement. He stays disciplined in his zone with multiple motions on his side and maintains his inside leverage. Stout flashes impressive rotation between lateral downfield movement and a straight backpedal. His recovery speed is good when tracking crossing routes, and he re-engages quickly. Despite his size disadvantages, he’s a gritty player, occasionally finding ways to overwhelm players with pure effort.
Weaknesses/Cons:
Stout’s extremely small frame limits him to the slot and he routinely struggles against bigger wideouts. He gets thrown off his base too easily with opposing physicality and gets forced to overcompensate in softer coverage. He rarely makes any sort of impact in the run game and gets bullied easily and often by any blockers in his area. His biggest coverage issues come against downfield routes, getting too frantic when diagnosing them and trying to force leverage.
He keeps his hips a bit high through extended backpedals when drifting back. He could have some future issues with optimizing his cutback sharpness. Stout gets too disengaged from quick plays on the other side of the field. He doesn’t put himself in good positions to provide support if said plays make their way to his side. His pursuit angles are sloppy when working to the inside and struggles with backfield vision. He gives up some early leverage with quick and compact releases when in off-coverage as well.
Potential Team Fits:
NFL Projection:
Stout’s film study yields two major takeaways. He’s a potential mainstay as a starting slot corner, and that’s just about all his ceiling can be. He should be able to slide into a team’s depth chart pretty easily and be an effective slot defender. His physical limitations could lead to him being a rotational player with the recent evolution of the slot WR position, but he has the skills to be a solid NFL player.
Prospect Grade:
- Early 4th Round
Film Exposures:
- 2024 vs. Boston College
- 2024 vs. Sam Houston State
- 2024 vs. Toledo
Main Photo Courtesy of Stephen Lew – USA Today Sports – Imagn Images
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