Film study: Who won Laremy Tunsil vs. Myles Garrett matchup?

Basketball creates future NBA lottery pick matchups seemingly every weekend during the spring and summer AAU circuit. Those five-stars generally collide again in the Final Four, offering scouts another sneak peek at their pro potential.

Such matchups are harder to find on the football field.

That’s why scouts and fans alike were so excited Saturday to watch Ole Miss LT Laremy Tunsil return just in time to square off against Texas A&M DE Myles Garrett.

Tunsil is widely regarded as the nation’s top left tackle. Garrett, while just a sophomore and not eligible for the 2016 NFL draft, is his equal as a pass-rushing specialist.

Unlike the Mayweather-Pacqauiao dud, this heavyweight bout didn’t disappoint.

And just about everybody scored it the same way: Tunsil, in a split decision.

Garrett made one splash play, tipping and intercepting a pass in a spectacular sequence of athleticism.

Tunsil ignored Garrett on the designed screen to Laquon Treadwell and went searching for a linebacker on the second level, but Garrett exploded off the line so quickly that Tunsil might have whiffed, anyway.

In one motion, Garrett jumped, batted Chad Kelly’s screen pass, located it, intercepted it cleanly and started thinking about six. He was tackled almost immediately — by Kelly — but it’s safe to say 99 percent of defensive ends don’t complete that play.

Treadwell, with four blockers ahead of him, including Tunsil, might still be running had Garrett not flipped the script.

It was J.J. Watt-esque in its combination of speed and skill, and just another example of why NFL scouts already are so high on the 6-foot-5, 260-pound true sophomore.

Garrett also had five solo tackles, but Tunsil held the SEC’s sack leader without one.

He had to hold on one play, however, when Garrett clearly won their 1-on-1 with a burst around the edge.

But even that play showed the confidence Ole Miss had in its star left tackle, asking him to handle his own against the SEC’s most destructive defensive force.

Tunsil, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound junior making his season debut after an NCAA suspension for accepting impermissible benefits, was matched up 1-on-1 with Garrett almost exclusively.

Ole Miss smartly limited Garrett’s opportunities to impact the game with quick drops, short throws or rolling the pocket to the right.

But even when Kelly dropped back and scanned the field on longer throws, he had ample time as Tunsil assumed the role of a brick wall, containing Garrett without an assist from a running back or tight end.

Myles similarly showed the ability to counter, which he demonstrated in this sequence, when he lined up inside Tunsil, shed two other blockers and stopped Kelly after a short gain.

Tunsil improved his NFL draft stock, but Garrett certainly didn’t hurt his.

The only regret is we’ll have to wait two years for the next round.