Sanders Commings: 5 Things You Need to Know About the Georgia CB

Sanders Commings has drawn a lot of interest within the scouting community in recent weeks. I have absolutely no idea how a starting cornerback in the SEC can fly under the radar, but this seems to be the case for the Georgia product. 

He seems to have the necessary skill set to transition to the National Football League and become an integral part of a defense. 

Let's take a look at five things you simply need to know about the young defensive back.

Background

Full Name: Sanders Commings

Birth date: March 8, 1990

Hometown: Augusta, Ga.

High School: Westside High School in Augusta, Ga. 

Class: Senior

Major: Communication studies 

Sanders Commings wasn't ranked nationally by Rivals coming out of Westside High School in 2008, but he was ranked 72nd in the nation among cornerbacks.

He chose Georgia after receiving scholarship offers from Maryland and South Carolina. 

Despite some off-field issues, including an arrest for domestic violence, Commings finished his academic career with a grade point average above 3.0. 

Statistics

2009 (Freshman): 13 games, 12 tackles, six solo, one pass broken up and one interception. 

2010 (Sophomore): 12 games, 36 tackles, 21 solo, two passes broken up and three interceptions. 

2011 (Junior): 14 games, 55 tackles, 46 solo, 11 passes broken up and one interception. 

2012 (Senior): 12 games, 51 tackles, 42 solo, two passes broken up and three interceptions. 

Commings played sparingly as a freshman in 2009 but came through big time for a six-win Georgia team the following season. The talented cornerback started nine games and finished third among defensive backs in tackles. 

2011 saw Commings start all 14 games. He finished first among Georgia defenders in passes broken up and tied for fourth in tackles. 

Commings started his senior season by being named Phil Steele's preseason All-SEC third team and lived up to those expectations. He became a stalwart on a vastly improved defense in Athens that finished eighth in the nation in pass defense and sixth in the ever-competitive SEC in scoring defense.

All statistics provided by CFB Stats

Draft Process

Measurements

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 216 pounds

Arm Length: 32.0"

Hand Size: 8 7/8"

Combine Results

Broad Jump: 117.0"

40-Yard Dash: 4.41

20-Yard Shuttle: 4.30

Three-Cone Drill: 7.10 

Vertical Jump: 34.5"

Commings' 40-yard dash time of 4.41 at the combine ranked seventh among all cornerbacks, ahead of more well-known prospects such as Xavier Rhodes and Tyrann Mathieu. 

With that in mind, the Georgia product did struggle a great deal in the more telling three-cone drill. His time of 7.10 ranked him third to last among cornerbacks in Indianapolis. 

Commings did perform well in the skill-specific drills at both the combine and Georgia's pro day. This is one of the primary reasons why he is shooting up draft boards so close to the draft. 

All combined numbers provided by NFL.com

Interesting Facts

Showing off the athleticism that we all see on tape, Commings was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 37th round of the 2008 MLB draft. While he elected to pursue an education in Athens and play football, Commings did consider playing for Georgia's baseball team. 

He batted .407 with six homers and 27 RBI for his high school as a junior in 2007. That being said, it seems that Commings made the right decision to solely concentrate on football, which should be verified some time on either Friday or Saturday. 

Observations

As I mentioned earlier, Commings has been somewhat of a late riser in the minds of scouts. He wasn't really on the radar early in the draft process, but continues to gain ground as the draft nears. 

Matt Miller brought up a really good point as it relates to how the Georgia product translates to the National Football League: 

"

Oversized CB/FS Sanders Commings is meeting with Jaguars. He fits the Gus Bradley mold of tall, long CB.

"

At 6'0" and 216 pounds, Commings might actually be a better mid-round option for a team looking to add a cover safety. Meanwhile, he'd fit the mold of a bigger cornerback that teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers are said to be looking for. 

This type of flexibility makes him an intriguing early Day 3 option. 

Vincent Frank is an NFL featured columnist here at Bleacher Report. He was hired prior to the 2011 season and couldn't be happier working with a great group of individuals here. In addition, Vincent is the head sports editor over at eDraft, co-host of Draft Sports Radio, which airs every Monday and Wednesday from 3 to 6 p.m. ET, and a fantasy writer for Pro Football Focus.

Go ahead and give him a follow on Twitter @VincentFrankNFL.