42-year California HS reporter tweets about Zach Charbonnet's talent
https://twitter.com/latsondheimer/status/1061699815413694464
California High School Sports Reporter Eric Sondheimer, who has been reporting on HS sports in Southern California for 42 years, tweeted that he has "not seen a running back single handedly impose his will on a team as Zach Charbonnet of Oaks Christian did last night in a long time." This guy has been around for a long time so this tweet says a whole lot.
Can't wait to get him on campus
November 11th, 2018 at 11:53 PM ^
It's on Twitter, so it has to be true.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:17 AM ^
Yeah, just ask zach smith.
November 12th, 2018 at 8:01 AM ^
OK cool. hook em
November 12th, 2018 at 9:27 AM ^
It's not Counterstrike but the next best thing for sure
November 12th, 2018 at 12:44 AM ^
When you’re watching HS football, one half can feel like a long time.
November 12th, 2018 at 6:55 AM ^
No, that's what commercials have done to CFB.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:49 AM ^
What a fucking terrible thread title.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:11 AM ^
Agreed, had to read it twice. I misread it to be 42y/o reporter and was like, dang, is 42 old?
November 12th, 2018 at 1:42 AM ^
lolol I know, I'm like, 'Is that supposed to be too old for a HS reporter?'. I guess things didn't work out for him?
November 12th, 2018 at 5:00 AM ^
At first I thought this thread was the opposite of the, "Michigan offers 12 year old scholarship" posts.
November 13th, 2018 at 12:46 AM ^
Yeah I thought the tweet was going to be derogatory towards Zach and so the thread title was meant to bash the writer.
November 12th, 2018 at 5:01 AM ^
People around here really get bent out of shape about thread titles.
November 12th, 2018 at 5:20 AM ^
Bitching about board topics has long been an mgoblog cottage industry. It's kind of our thing.
That said, shitposting is a very popular pastime around here as well.
November 12th, 2018 at 8:24 AM ^
At least I clicked here knowing what I was getting in to (and did so because Zach Charbonnet is a legit dude). I'm going to rate the title as an improvement from a lot of posts this off season.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^
Cook's Law: The worse a thread title is, the more entertaining the comments will be.
November 12th, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^
Well, I had to read it twice to understand the reason the guy's time on the job mattered in terms of his opinion of the recruit. No, 42 isn't old, even for a high school football reporter, who might own the paper for which he works. I just couldn't figure out why what a 42-year-old guy thought about a high school athlete was so important, compared to the varied age group of opinions here.
So, yeah, the thread title is a little disconcerting but I get the OP's aim of trying to make the author's POV more relevant to his assessment of our potential running back. More to the point for me, is the level of school competition and how that relates to comprable talent and others Michigan is recruiting, not that there's anything wrong with touting anyone's 200-plus yard performance against anyone.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:01 AM ^
Yeah, your Harbaugh thread title was 1000x worse and deliberately so. This one merely offended the board police.
November 12th, 2018 at 5:16 AM ^
Bro, phrasing much? That awesome title read like he is a 42 year old high schooler.
Either this 42year- HS reporter really really loves reporting on high schoolers or he’s one terrible reporter who can’t rise above local high school sports reporting in the span of 42 years. Not the ideal trajectory for a reporter. But he’s giddy about a Michigan commit so there’s that.
November 12th, 2018 at 7:06 AM ^
Is it legal to be 42 and in HS? Don't they make you get your GED at that point?
That said, fun info.
November 12th, 2018 at 9:32 AM ^
He's writing about HS sports in southern california. I'd wager that HS sports reporting in that region can be pretty competitive and lucrative.
I mean, do you say the same things about guys like Sam Webb, who've been reporting on HS football recruiting for years?
Sidenote: man, searching for "Sam Webb" ain't easy. You get more hits for a freelance reporter out of the UK, a British male model, and some American communist activist than for the HS recruiting guy.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:34 PM ^
Cali High school Sports in big business here, and it’s well respected position in LA, Orange and the Inland Empire. Don’t know where u live but here in So Cal that’s a great job.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:38 AM ^
Charbonnet has been unbelievable this year and had a huge game in the quarterfinals (169 yards and a TD). Oaks Christian now takes on the #1 team in California (St. John Bosco)...which I plan to see...provided the fires stop.
That said every year SoCal Sports Writers talk about the next great back...even from his own school, Mark Tyler got more hype back in the day.
November 13th, 2018 at 8:49 AM ^
The Cali kid I want Michigan to pull is Bru McCoy from Mater Dei...have you seen him? And Chris Steele, who just decommitted from USC will be on the other side of the ball against Charbonnet...maybe Charbonnet can have a little chat with him-after he trucks him.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:56 AM ^
Great to hear.
Regardless of what the reporter thinks, I'm glad the kid is coming to Michigan. I look forward to him running through, over, and around our rivals for the next 4 (well maybe 3) years.
Also, I've noticed a lot of the Jay Harbaugh nepotism comments have gotten a lot quieter. Jay seems to be earning his keep just fine. The backs are getting better and we're reeling in top recruits. Call me crazy, but that looks like some signs that he knows how to coach!
November 12th, 2018 at 6:20 AM ^
I think that’s because we have higdon this year, next year it’s evans and? Hopefully charbonnet can step up as a true freshman, helps he is enrolling early
November 12th, 2018 at 7:18 AM ^
If Tru Wilson had entered Michigan with 4-stars, nobody would be concerned about whether M will have an experienced back with a physical running style ready for next season.
November 12th, 2018 at 8:14 AM ^
A walk-on fricken safety... I love Tru Wilson.
November 12th, 2018 at 8:27 AM ^
Meh. Wilson has done fine and is probably the best pass blocker of the running back group, but finding a physical runner isn't really my concern. We have Ben Mason and Ben Van Sumeren if we want someone to be physical.
Wilson has a lot of garbage time opportunities, and his longest run is 28 yards. If he were a 4-star recruit most of the way through his junior year, I think we would be a little down on him, production-wise and big-play-wise.
Ty Isaac was a 4-star back, and Michigan fans (in general) were all over Isaac for not playing up to his potential (he averaged 6.1 YPC for his career).
November 12th, 2018 at 8:57 AM ^
Well thanks Magnus.
Your stream of piss is mostly on target in my bowl of Cornflakes, let me slide it a liiiiiiittle bit closer for you.
Unfortunately, I kinda agree with you.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:13 AM ^
Do you think that Isaac never "broke out" and became the feature back because of his fumbling and mediocre pass pro?
November 12th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
I think there was some other stuff going on, but I'm sure that didn't help. His pass protection wasn't good, but neither was that of Higdon or Evans when they got more carries. The fumbling probably played a part, but Higdon also had a couple bad fumbles.
I just think we have enough examples of fairly successful 4-star recruits who got criticism to realize that Wilson's play doesn't live up to our expectations. Isaac, Carlos Brown, Michael Shaw, and others were always guys where Michigan fans said, "Why isn't he living up to what we thought he was going to be coming out of high school?"
I think the love for Wilson (and Higdon, to an extent) comes from the relatively low expectations of those guys being a walk-on and a 3-star, respectively.
November 12th, 2018 at 9:15 AM ^
Who do you think has been coaching Higdon? And Mason? And Wilson? Also, Christian Turner looked good earlier in the year, but we haven't seen him lately - wonder what's going on with him? Also, the TE group did pretty well when Jaybaugh was coaching it (Mackey Award Jake Butt agrees).
Seriously, what does it take to admit that Jaybaugh has earned his keep with good results from the position groups he's coached? Do people really believe that Jim MF'ing Harbaugh would let an incompetent coach up his TE and RB groups? JFC.
November 12th, 2018 at 9:20 AM ^
He let one coach his O line for way too long; just sayin.
November 12th, 2018 at 4:47 AM ^
Very bad thread title...
Reads like the 42 year old reporter is still in HS ala a Never Been Kissed scenario.
November 12th, 2018 at 6:31 AM ^
42 Year-Old Virgin.
November 12th, 2018 at 9:35 AM ^
Sure, but I think what people are missing is that this guy is the long-lost brother of Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt from Suits)...
November 12th, 2018 at 8:11 AM ^
What's the chances he ends up a 5 star?
November 12th, 2018 at 8:15 AM ^
Somewhere between 1 & 5
November 12th, 2018 at 9:06 AM ^
He's an impressive looking runningback yes but he won't be imposing that same will next year unless he hits the weights hard. He is undersized yet when you get a close look. Guys like Samuels and Haskins I think might be physically ahead of him. He needs to get to work. Not sure he'll have a Fournette sort of impact if he doesn't.
November 12th, 2018 at 9:57 AM ^
So, you think a 6'2" 220 pound 17 year old RB with his talent is under-sized and has no chance of being an impact player as a freshman??? The kid is a Jonathon Taylor talent. He runs with extreme aggression already-against elite California HS talent. Sure, there will be a transition to make. But OMG, anyone who believes this kid is a long-shot to make this transition quite seamlessly is nuts. This kid is a down-hill runner who loves contact-he's not a faker and juker who relies on out-running everyone and needs a freight train size hole to take it to the house.
November 12th, 2018 at 9:26 AM ^
He must be good. I like that.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
Sondheimer is a putz. Consider the source.
Every year is a wunderkind.
Zach has a chance. Especially w our line next year.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
Don't be suprised if he's the first RB on the field vs. Middle Tennessee next season.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:43 AM ^
Middle Tennessee
*sigh*
November 12th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^
I recently re-watched some of Zach's tape, and I came away reminded of how good a talent he is. He's a very mature running back who demonstrates an intuitiveness to use the jets when needed, lower his shoulder when needed, setup a block when needed... Usually when a guy has that much more talent than his competition he relies on one thing to dominate, whether that be speed or power.
Zach doesn't do that. He sets up his blocks, or jump cuts, or lowers his shoulder, or turns on the speed. A very dynamic runner IMO.
Cannot wait to get this kid on campus!
November 13th, 2018 at 9:08 AM ^
Exactly...this is Charbonnet-a helluva a football player...a real 5***** talent.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
You know what this thread needs? This thread needs video of the game.
November 12th, 2018 at 2:35 PM ^
Running style kind of reminds me of Anthony Thomas.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:00 PM ^
No. 24 Michigan jersey is waiting for him.
Last running back to wear it was pretty damn good, and broke Michigan's individual career rushing record held previously by Rob Lytle.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
I live in TO and have seen him play in person. He's more impressive than the #1 recruit Thibodeaux. The buzz in the stands is also more about Zach. This is our second attempt at getting AJ Dillon. Pumped to see him next year!