Previously: Last year's profiles. S Sammy Faustin, S German Green, CB Gemon Green, CB Vincent Gray, CB Myles "Spider" Sims, LB Cameron McGrone, DE Taylor Upshaw, DE Julius Welschof, DE Aidan Hutchinson, OL Jalen Mayfield, OL Ryan Hayes, TE Luke Schoonmaker, TE Mustapha Muhammad, WR Ronnie Bell, RB-ish Michael Barrett.

Essexville, MI — 6'3", 236
		24/7	3*, #739 overall #63 ATH, #15 MI
		Rivals	3*, 5.7 rating #34 ATH, #15 MI
		ESPN	3*, 78 rating #52 ATH, #14 MI
		Composite	3*, #626 overall #50 ATH, #12 MI
		Other Suitors	Iowa, ND, Mizzou, Minn
		YMRMFSPA	Khalid Hill
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello post from Ace.
Notes	Twitter. Instagram. Has a 2022 brother.
Film
Junior: Senior:

Ace started Ben VanSumeren's Hello post by saying his commitment was "about as Harbaugh as it gets," and he had no idea how correct this was. A subsequent Mick McCabe article is almost Beyond Harbaugh, describing a footbaw player who:

• quit basketball because he has to go to bed at 9PM and "my body is my temple"
• decided in fifth grade to be a football player and told no one
• gets up at 5 AM to get in a lifting session and then lifts again after school
• has slept with a football since he fumbled once in seventh grade

This is a man who can have hours-long conversations about milk with his head coach. I have no idea how it took so long for Michigan and VanSumeren to finally hook up. This is like when Dawson and Joey spent like FOREVER just circling each other you know what let's just move on.

VanSumeren committed to WMU early. After there wasn't much movement for a bit since small schools near Bay City aren't recruiting hotbeds. Then he put up some absurd numbers at an Opening regional:

At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, he ran a 4.76 in the 40-yard dash. He ran 4.03 in the shuttle, the same time as the nation’s top overall tester Christian Morgan ran. He had over a 40-inch vertical.

Morgan is a safety headed to Baylor who was 20 pounds lighter than VanSumeren then; that vert is an inch off a national best; his overall SPARQ score of 127 is a few points short of the national leader, a 5'8" kid headed to Louisville. H-back and linebacker types never rank that high because only one of the four events—a powerball throw—is really up their alley. VanSumeren's numbers are truly absurd.

[After THE JUMP: brick body men still catch]

This turned heads and started gathering Big Ten offers; WMU got the bad news shortly after and he committed a while later to Iowa, as a linebacker. That's also where Notre Dame and Penn State were looking at him, and that makes sense because that's where brick-shaped people usually go. When he committed to Iowa Allen Trieu put out a video featuring VanSumeren clips interspersed with Iowa's entire starting LB corps that drove the point home:

But VanSumeren was a very weird brick-shaped football player in high school. VanSumeren was a wide receiver—more or less—for the bulk of his career. As a senior he racked up a state regular season record 85 catches despite playing quarterback for his first two (of nine) games. This is far out, man:

VanSumeren, who also earned his third selection to the MLive Bay City Dream Team, finished his prep career with 176 receptions for 2,888 yards and 29 touchdowns. He ranks fifth in state history for catches and sixth for receiving yardage.

Apparently Minnesota was offering at WR. That may be Fleck trying to differentiate Minnesota from Not Minnesota, but... I mean, I've seen Minnesota WRs. It makes sense.

Nobody else is projecting him there; at Michigan he'll be an "H", that spot halfway between fullback and tight end. His tape confirms that impression—VanSumeren is big and powerful and makes spectacular catches but very much looks like a FB/TE beasting on high school kids. That's just fine with him and his coach:

“I think his first love is on the offensive side. To me, that’s where he’s very gifted,” Coquillard explained. “It comes very naturally to him catching passes and using his frame to go up and grab balls from people. His route running is good. He has done a little bit of linebacker, not a ton, he hasn’t focused himself on that side of the ball, but it intrigues him.”

Analysts largely agreed with the above. Helmholdt mentioned his "great pair of hands" and "great body control" before warning that... changes to Michigan's offensive scheme could leave him without a position? Unless we suddenly find out that Zach Smith was employed by Michigan instead of Ohio State, that's an odd statement. Anyway, Trieu:

...4.76 forty at The Opening Regional in Cleveland was as fast or faster than some Big Ten skill position commits. He is physical, strong in the weight room, has good hands, and takes the game and weight room seriously. ...threat in the passing game out of the backfield on wheel routes and short swing passes where he should have more open-field ability than Michigan's recent fullbacks and H-backs.

In an interview for Webb, Trieu asserts that while Michigan's recent fullbacks are "good players" VanSumeren "gives you more upside":

“...exactly what you want in the position they’re going to play him ... 4.7 speed, catches the ball really well ... will absolutely knock your socks off if you see him on his highlight tape. So I think he is going to be an asset. ...really likes contact."

For his part, VanSumeren says that Michigan showed him a bunch of Hill film but he hopes to get the ball more because he "move[s] a little bit better" than Hill. Well then.

His coach went into the most detail:

“Coach Harbaugh couldn’t say enough about his body control. He’s got great body control when he catches the football and his hands are phenomenal too. When he runs with the ball, he’s got great body lean and gets his shoulders over his hips and runs with power. I mean he’s the complete package.”

“Offensively, he’s a special kid. ... He’s going to create some mismatches out in space with linebackers.”

The main note of concern is that VanSumeren is a bit of a tweener on offense; at 6'3" he's a short TE or a tall fullback. That might make his blocking less effective because it'll be tougher to get under the pads of his opposition. I think that's a minor concern given his defensive highlights; on a few tackles he explodes into his opposition from that coiled crouch not everyone can do naturally. TTTTBB:

...bit of a tweener when it comes to an offensive position; he’s somewhat short for a tight end and fairly tall for a fullback. Iowa had him pegged as a linebacker, which is where his physique would seem to fit best. He has good straight-line speed and some shake to him. He can high-point the football and shield the ball from defenders. The most important thing for him is probably that he’s a very physical player. He’s not afraid to hit, whether he’s blocking, taking on blockers, or running the ball.

His tape is very Conan Explains What Is Best In Life.

Michigan told VanSumeren he could expect 30 snaps a game this year, which probably includes special teams work. If not that's optimistic since Michigan has two returning tight ends, a senior slot receiver getting hyped up, and is set to shift to more of a spread look to accommodate Shea Patterson. Down the road he should be a red zone weapon.

Linebacker? Probably not. Iowa's system has been handed down from time immemorial to fit kids like VanSumeren; under Don Brown Michigan prefers the deranged squirrel variety of linebacker.

Etc.: Good MLive profile. Grew the Obligatory Fullback Mustache:

Swole Johnny Depp says hi. Also here is a picture of a six year old Ben VanSumeren at a Michigan game:

This was in 2006, I have died.

Why Khalid Hill? VanSumeren projects as the kind of fullback you target on third and medium and in the redzone, which is the Hammering Panda role. Hill's on-field impact was somewhat muted because his conditioning consistently irritated the coaches but when called upon was able to pull the occasional wonky throw off his shoetops and also blast some defensive backs into the near future. VanSumeren is not likely to have any conditioning issues—his main issue is making sure his ligaments are cool with everything that's going on—and could end up being more of a feature guy in the offense.

Aaron Shea is the other blocky/catchy guy that's a good comparison; Shea was much more frequently targeted by Michigan quarterbacks and was very much a move TE instead of a fullback. That comparison is getting old and losing utility, though.

Guru Reliability: Low. Nobody cares about fullbacks.

Variance: Low. VanSumeren is listed at juuuust about college weight already on MGoBlue and is probably eating a skinless boneless chicken breast as we speak. Brine it! Salt ain't gonna hurt you. Please brine it. Slap some herbs on it. And feta. Feta doesn't have any carbs.

Ceiling: High-ish. Fullback, so isn't going in the first round of the draft, but does offer a skillset that is uncommon at the position and physical upside that is similarly uncommon.

General Excitement Level: High-ish. I mean, fullback, and a fullback taken one year after Michigan took Ben Mason. But if you're gonna take a fullback a guy who catches everything and puts up DB SPARQ scores is a good one.

Projection: Probably doesn't redshirt since he's more physically prepared than just about anyone in the class and should be immediately helpful on special teams. If Michigan does go super-gun-heavy with Patterson that might change the equation enough to preserve his potential fifth year in the new any-four-games-go environment.

Whether or not he gets the redshirt he's the Hill to Ben Mason's Poggi as long as they're both on campus, with VanSumeren getting a year or two at the end of his career to himself. Maybe. Possibly. I don't know. They'll probably recruit some guy named Kitchen Appliance Jones in a couple years.