DJ Jones - ATH Announcing at 4
DJ Jones an Athlete out of NC is announcing between the good guys and UNC at 4pm. Seems like a good bet to go to the good guys, since he just visited us. He has very limited offers from Power 5 and is unrated by Rivals. His film looks awesome though. Could be a diamond in the rough.
I predict 50% of all posts, should he commit to the good guys, will be from the star-gazers.
under
I'm going to post here so that more people can see. He is announcing TOMORROW at 4. Not today. Unfortunately OP can't edit the post even if they wanted to.
FYI OP. - He will announce 4PM TOMORROW (6/26)
Unless every other school in this country + the ranking services are wrong in that majority of these 10 of these guys some how wind up being top 200/100 recruits, color me kinda of meh when it comes to being impressed.
Glad for the commits, but a string of 400+ rated recruits when OSU is still recruiting like a juggernaut isn't moving the needle much.
Careful what you say. Board crucified me yesterday for voicing the same opinion. /ducks
Recruited as a RB?
It appears that way. He has break away speed, catches out of the backfield, and starts his highlight film with a series of plays with him making blocks. Sounds like a perfect blend of Harbaugh and Gattis' dream RB.
I don't understand why Harbaugh and Gattis' dream RB can't be a high 4-5 Star running back. Do those guys not have break away speed? Are they not able to catch and block?
They probably are... but there's only so much Alabama and PSU film that you can show them before they say ok now prove it to me that you can do that at UM.
Zach Charbonet
Blake Corum
by the way, the star gazers were meh on Zach Charbonet until he got bumped up the rankings. And then they started wetting their pants when he got into the top 50.
there are a lot of simple-minded folks out there.
Yea, Harbaugh NEVER gets 4 and 5 star RBs (Zach Charbonnet, O'Maury Samuels, Kareem Walker, Chris Evans).
GOOD point, douche.
and Dillon... nevermind...
#whoops
I thought all of the experts had Dillon as a 3 start while Harbaugh and staff had him higher on their board.
He's secured at least one 4-star RB every year except the 2015 transition class (when he snagged a 3.5 star named Karan Higdon.) and the 2018 class ( where the top back Christian Turner has generated some buzz and is still very much TBD)
So. .... in only 2/4 classes then? And higdon was the 3 star he was rated and the jury out on Turner.
Four 4-stars in 5 years of recruiting, that's if you're counting the month he had to cobble together the 2015 class. Why are people bitching about this?
If anything, it goes to show that talent evaluation by the staff and development is MUCH more important than star ratings. Our best RB so far has been a 3 star. 3 of our 4-stars have been disappointing (Evans, Walker, Samuels).
I remember Charbonnet murdering a Safety after catching a ball in the nationally televised game last season
1:30 mark
Damn. He sure as hell muck-ducked that kid.
24-7 has a three-star ranking of .87 if I have the correct recruit.
I'd expect him to choose UNC. Bunch of crystal balls in for Corum recently and I doubt the good guys are going to take both. Maybe I'm wrong.
I think they take at least 3 this cycle with Dennis having the option to flex to slot or OSU-style H-back. In 2020 we only lose Tru, but the RB room will be Turner, Charbonnet, and Haskins with MAYBE Evans......plus the Frosh. This could be a lot of talent but very little depth- just like this year.
Agreed. We really need to get some talent at the RB position. Zach could truly be a special one but he has lots to prove. Outside of him, we have adequate / functional RB's, but nothing special.
I'm going to give Turner a year with more than 20 carries before I decide if he is more than adequate/functional.
I though Turner looked pretty good in his time out there.
The run of crystal balls in the last few days for Corum makes him look like a lock. They include two from OSU insiders where he visited the previous weekend, Webb, Wiltfong and a local writer.
I think the priority now is for a bigger back to complement Dennis and Corum.
I would love to land Kyle Edwards (6'0, 210lbs) out of LA. His ranking may be lower right now because 5 star John Emery was the lead RB at his school last year. He has a top two of Alabama and Michigan and I don't think he has visited Michigan yet.
Fingers crossed that he's not interested in engineering
Agree. A take only if no Blake. Blake is a silent take.
One CB prediction for UNC whatever that's good for.
He appears to have pretty good long speed. He has blocking in his highlights which is cool for a RB. Other than that looks to be a guy that would be a depth and competition guy.
Everyone is talking about his HL film and yet no one wants to actually post the link. I'll be THAT GUY.
I'm not always a good judge of speed in HS film. What is the level of competition where he plays?
I can't answer that but maybe someone else knows. Seems many think he's going to stay in NC.
Enrollment is about 1,500 so it's a decent sized school, but they don't play elite competition. Pine Forest went 10-3 last year.
If he is a back for M, I assume we would be done for 2020 RB with him, Dennis, and Corum (if/when he commits)?
Doubt it. The staff will still pursue Toafili who is their top target at RB. They may or may not keep pursuing Kyle Edwards. I don't think you should really think of Dennis and this guy as playing the same position. Dennis will probably spend more time in the slot than he does in the backfield.
Wow, didn't seem there was much chatter about his visit but would be a nice commit, especially to get that NC/SC pipeline going.
Hey DJ, gonna play that song?
GoBlue!
He's going to UNC. Probably got a feel for where he stands on the target board during his visit.
Hmm... I don't see any crystal balls for him. And we just took Dennis and Garcia and Corum is still out there. Wonder if we made the decision easy for him and told him UNC might be a better fit. I mean... how many rb/slot/ath can we fit on one team?
I wouldn’t count Garcia at this point. — (I see the recruiting sites aren’t either.). He is essentially Tru Wilson PWO but on a wrestling scholarship. If he is something special and earns time on the field he will become a football player - I wish him well.
If he was visiting last weekend, odds are he's committing here.
Don't want to sound like I'm ragging on Corum here but surely Jones has to be the priority of the two? Level of competition might not be comparable but Jones has juice that Corum does not on film at least.
What do you see in his film that makes him look really good?
The Hudl film someone posted (https://www.hudl.com/profile/6003175/DJ-Jones) has multiple flashes of elite level lateral quickness to go with that breakaway speed. He practically tears a kids groin with the jump-cut at around the :15 second mark, the run at :45 he displays that lateral speed/change of direction as well. Also has really good balance on a couple of down field catches towards the end of the film as well where he catches passes above his head and is able to fluidly turn his hips and burst downfield without skipping a beat. In fairness, the competition level does seem to be higher for Corum but his tape does not stand out in any major way to me.
Maybe I wasn’t watching the same tape. I thought Corum had plenty of “juice”. Seemed elusive with a burst. A little guy who may fit our “speed in space” offense.
Ran a laser timed 4.44 a month or so ago fwiw.
Agreed. Both have good speed, but Corum has more short-area quickness, which is what I think is more important.
Surely Jones
I'm not really a huge Corum fan, but of the two I prefer Corum. Seems to have more twitch, where Jones is more of a long strider. Runs like a WR.
Per his twitter via the 247 site, the announcement will be tomorrow (the 26th) at 4:00 PM.
I thank God, my family, and coaches for being with me this whole process as Tomorrow, June 26th, is going to be a day full of blessings. Not only is it my birthday but @ 4 pm i will be making my commitment between The University of North Carolina and The University Michigan !!!