From now until the 2026 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Stephen F. Austin Cornerback, Charles Demmings.
No. 1 CHARLES DEMMINGS/CORNERBACK, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (5th YEAR SENIOR) – 6011, 193 pounds
Measurements
Player Ht/Wt Hand Size Arm Length Wingspan
Charles Demmings 6011/193 10 1/8 32 N/A
40-Yard Dash 10-Yard Dash Short Shuttle 3-Cone
4.41 1.55 N/A N/A
Broad Jump Vertical Bench Press
11’0″ 42 N/A
THE GOOD
– Fluid athlete
– Good hip flexibility
– Consistent winner in off-man coverage
– Decent play strength
– Gets collisions in off-man
– Controls receivers with long arms when in phase
– Good burst out of breaking coming back to the ball in off-man
– Stays on top of verticals in crossover run
– Good awareness in zone coverage
– Midpoints two verticals in Cover 3
– Great ball skills
– Solid aggressiveness vs the run
– Sheds blocks quickly
– Average tackler, leaves feet too early
THE BAD
– Bad technique in press coverage
– Weight can be on heels in press, leading to him getting beat deep
– Never the aggressor in press, but he should be because of long arms
– Can hop in press and not anticipate which direction receiver is releasing
– Pad level can rise in off-man coverage, which slows down change of direction
– Slower break back to the ball in crossover run
– Average tackler, leaves feet too quickly
STATS
– Started 42 games across 5 seasons at Stephen F. Austin
– 2025: 18 tackles, 4 interceptions, 9 PBUs
– Career: 63 tackles, 9 interceptions, 35 PBUs
INJURY HISTORY
– No known injury history
BACKGROUND
– Was invited to the 2026 NFL Combine as one of the only FCS participants
– Participated in the 2026 Senior Bowl
– Named a First Team AFCA FCS All-American in 2025
– Received First Team All-Southland Conference honors in 2025
– Named Second Team All-Southland Conference in 2024
– Zero-star recruit out of Mesquite Horn High School in Texas
– Received offers from West Texas A&M, Pittsburg State, and UT-Permian Basin
– Also competed in track in high school
– Demmings felt lost when he first went to college, but leaned on God to help guide his future
– His mother, Sheryl Blaylark, says that Charles is exactly like his great-grandfather and was born one day after, and in the room above where he passed away
– Demmings received transfer offers from FBS programs for a lot of money, but wanted to finish his college career where he started
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Charles Demmings dominated in FCS, and quarterbacks were scared to target him with good reason. He is a fluid athlete who moves around the field with great confidence and swagger, knowing he is the best player on the field. His ball skills made for some great highlights and are an intriguing aspect of his game. His long arms get in the frame of receivers, and he makes it hard for them to concentrate through the catch point.
Here, he stays on the top of the route with confidence and controls the receiver towards the sideline, then finishes with an interception.
Demmings is an interesting projection because his best skill is playing off-man coverage, something cornerbacks are rarely most comfortable with. A lot of the time, cornerbacks like to be in press if it is man and off if it is zone, but playing off-man well is an underrated skill set that can confuse quarterbacks at the line of scrimmage.
It will be hard for him to continue playing this well when going against NFL receivers, but he shows encouraging flashes. He moves laterally very well and reacts quickly to receivers’ releases and which way they will be going. He can also collide with receivers with good contact balance and long arms to control the rest of their route. Here, he moves with the receiver and gets a great collision, leading to an incompletion.
When moving backward into his shuffle, he breaks quickly back to the ball. I personally am not a fan of the shuffle technique, but he was also shown playing straight up inside leverage into a backpedal with efficiency. On this play, he breaks quickly to the ball for an incompletion.
What worries me about Demmings is his troubled technique in press man coverage. He is always on the receiving end of the release and does not like to jam the receiver, but just reacts to which way they are going. This already puts him a step behind. His feet are very inconsistent at the release point.
One rep, he will hop backward, and the receiver can burst out of his stance. Another rep, he will step one way before the receiver moves and loses leverage. Here is an example of him hopping. The receiver he is going against is not very fast, so it doesn’t hurt Demmings here, but against a faster receiver, a hop will hurt when covering a deep ball.
Demmings will false step on a lot of reps in press coverage, which needs to be worked on in the NFL.
Here at the top of the screen, he gets beat deep because that outside leg takes a step out, and he loses leverage. The receiver takes the top off the defense, but the ball is overthrown, and the safety helps.
Against the run, Demmings does a good job being aggressive and setting the edge, but he will leave his feet early and miss tackles. Here, he is out of control when closing in on the ball carrier and whiffs.
CONCLUSION
Charles Demmings is an interesting prospect because he wins in off-man coverage with technique and athleticism, but the question will be if that athleticism translates to a higher level. He has good awareness in zone coverage, good eyes to the ball, and finishes plays with great ball skills. I think his technique in press-man coverage will need to improve significantly to find time on the field, but I am encouraged by his instincts and collisions in off-man coverage to a point where I would draft him on Day 3.
NFL Projection: Late Day 3
Steelers Depot Grade: 6.2 (Pure Backup)
Grade Range: 5.5-6.5
Games Watched: at Houston (2025), vs Sul Ross (2025), vs University of Texas Rio Grand Valley (2025), vs Abilene Christian (Playoffs) (2025), at Montana State (Playoffs) (2025)
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