Sumner safety Dunn has all the tools, is one of state’s most intriguing recruits
The No. 1 question surrounding Sumner High School junior Tristan Dunn seems to be: What position should he play?
He plays safety for the Spartans and wide receiver on offense. He’s a hair under 6-foot-5, around 188 pounds. The Sumner coaching staff clocked him at 4.52 in the 40-yard dash. He’s the fastest player on Keith Ross’ team. He can cover, he can come into the box and stuff the run. And he hits hard.
“There’s not many kids who have zero fear,” Ross said. “He’s one of them. … There’s fast guys, and then there’s guys who can run in football uniforms, too. He just looks even faster on the field. He just runs by people that aren’t slow.”
On defense, he has ten tackles through two games for Sumner in a 53-6 win over Curtis and last week, a 36-0 win over Emerald Ridge. He returned a fumble for a TD, and has an interception. On offense, he has three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.
“I try to be a well-rounded player,” Dunn said. “I was always taught to go at full speed, and that’s how you’re going to not get hurt. Having that dog mentality is what I’ve developed, never being scared of any man across from you. It’s good to know that if you come across the middle against me, you’re going to feel it.”
Dunn flashed brilliance during his sophomore year. College coaches who saw the highlights knew they were watching a Division I football player in the making. But the big plays weren’t consistent enough.
“For as many plays as he made, he made just as many that weren’t good,” Ross said. “He didn’t have much experience.”
Then came the offseason, and the chance for Dunn to shine on the FSP team in 7on7 games and tournaments. The offers started to roll in. He currently has offers from Arizona, ASU, WSU, Utah and others.
“I flashed during my sophomore season,” Dunn said. “But when I went to some of the (offseason) showcases, I was able to show that I’m not just a big linebacker. I have coverage skills, ball skills. I think that’s what really opened up my recruitment. Ever since then, it’s just steadily picked up.”
The question, again, is what Dunn’s best spot will be at the next level. There are few high school football players as versatile as Sumner’s star.
“I think he might be the most intriguing prospect in the 2022 class in the state of Washington,” said Brandon Huffman, national recruiting director for 247sports.com. “He’s a heck of a football player. He really can play five positions. He could play safety if he doesn’t put another pound on. He could be a nickel backer, an inside backer, an outside backer.
“A lot of it just depends on what his body does over the next few years. His ball skills as a safety are tremendous. He’s a physical player, a versatile all-around player. He’s got great hands, high points the ball.”
Huffman originally had Dunn pegged as a linebacker prospect. Now he’s not so sure.
“I’m starting to think he’s going to be a safety,” he said. “He’s looked phenomenal on the circuit. He’s so dang rangy, he’s like that perfect center fielder. I’m not saying he’s (former strong safety and current 49ers GM) John Lynch, but he kind of has that game. He has the sideline-to-sideline ability but can also come up in the box and crush a guy if he needs to.”
Dunn said he’s willing to play wherever college coaches want him at the next level. But if he got to pick?
“Personally, I think I’m a safety,” Dunn said. “I can move. I feel like I have smaller legs, kind of the safety-type build of legs. I definitely think I can be a safety at the next level. I have the hips, speed, ball skills and everything. But wherever a coach sees me fitting in, that’s where I’ll go.”
Regardless of where he plays at the next level, he’s thriving as a safety for the Spartans. Ross did some soul searching after last season and rebuilt the Sumner defense to better reflect the modern offenses of today’s game. He wanted his team to be more effective stopping spread offenses and RPO’s (run-pass options).
So he changed the team’s base formation from a true 4-4 to a 4-2-5. And for the first time in his near 20-year head coaching career, he ceded defensive play calling duties to defensive coordinator Chris Paulson, who previously coached at Curtis.
“The game has changed so much,” Ross said. “We needed to make an adjustment. We used to be a run-stopping, big, physical defense. We wanted to be more athletic.”
In the middle of it all is Dunn, playing a center field role at free safety.
“We want to funnel people to Tristan,” Ross said.
And for good reason. Wherever the ball goes, Dunn will get there.
“His ability to break on the ball (stands out),” said junior quarterback Bo Carlson. “I’ll go against him in practice, and you can definitely feel him there. You just try to throw to the other side. If you’re not able to look him off, he’s probably going to get there. He’s really good at watching the quarterback and getting where they’re trying to go.”
Schematically, Ross and his coaching staff have worked to make things simpler for Dunn. They want him to be instinctual, flying to the football and hitting people, rather than overanalyzing coverage duties.
“We just want him in the middle, being there and taking care of things, being an intimidating feature,” Ross said. “He’s just sitting in the middle and can just use his natural talent now. It’s been great, so far. There’s been no passes over the middle, no deep balls over the middle. He’s an elite run player, he’s going to be an elite pass player. He’s pretty special. He has the most potential of anyone I’ve ever coached.”
Dunn said he’s “loving” the new defense, which has allowed him a better chance to showcase his skillset.
“They’re trying to just funnel everything toward me this year and let big-time players make big-time plays,” he said. “This defense, I get to show my athletic ability more. I get to be in a position where I get to cover their best player more and be in the best position at all times. … Now, I’m coming down on slots, coming down on the running back, coming down on blitz packages, rotating sides of the field.”
Opposing quarterbacks can see Dunn, lurking in the box, waiting to pounce.
“I think people know where he is,” Ross said. “He’s an intimidating high school player — somebody that big and long that can run and hit like he does, people are going to be aware.”
