Recruiting grades so far
I’m a bit of a recruiting junkie so sorry that this is another recruiting post. I do think that this class is a little bit underrated so far. I listen to a lot of podcasts of recruiting sites and I’ve heard a lot of information on some of our current commits. So here is my thoughts on what we have committed so far.
QB: Inc. Johnson would’ve been a good bridge to McCarthy. Due to the circumstances it looks like we will probably end up with a project for this year. Not ideal but not entirely surprising given the circumstances.
RB: A-. Corum is shooting up the rankings, up to #67 on Rivals. He is the home run threat we have wanted for a while and also a surprisingly tough runner for his size. A perfect complement to our bruisers we already have. Garcia was incredibly productive and may or may not end up playing football for UM.
WR: B+. Speed in space. Henning will make an immediate impact, Wilson has elite speed, and Dennis is a little guy with elite quickness. No true outside WR which will mean we should probably target a bigger WR in 2021.
TE: B. Hibner is also shooting up The rankings and looks like a steal compared to when he first committed. Another TE who has size and speed. Not sure what Patterson’s status is.
OL: B. We had a great haul last year and have some more quality guys in this class. Zinter and Persi have both been mentioned as guys who might be better than their low 4* rating indicates, and center Attebery is a high 3* with a really good offer list. Not sure what Mazzcuahs status is and we are still pursuing another OT.
DT: C-. This might be kind but it’s probably not time to panic. We have Hinton and Mazi from last year and some other young guys who could slide inside. Kris Jenkins Jr seems most likely to end up at DT from this class, but that’s about it. 2021 needs to have an elite haul. Good news is we appear to be in great shape for top 100 DT Rocco Spindler and in on several others. We will need a couple good ones.
DE: B. McGregor will be another Aidan Hutchinson and Rivals EJ Holland said Aaron Lewis was criminally underranked and could be one of our best defensive recruits. No elite pass rusher so that will need to be a 2021 priority.
LB: B+. Mullings could be a star, Wheeler is rated very highly by Rivals who says he will be multi year starter. Mohan isn’t ranked super highly but appears to be a good fit at viper and Savage is ranked #166 by Rivals. Holland really likes this group.
CB: C-. Seldon will be a good player, but probably will be a nickle corner. If we get DGW this goes up to a B. If we strike out, getting 2 high end corners in 2021 becomes a must.
S: A-. Underrated group. Morant is a stud, Moten is a great athlete who could be a viper. Paige Is a long, smooth athlete who can add muscle and become a very good safety.
December 10th, 2019 at 12:46 PM ^
Thank you for the post.
RB- A- if you count Evans coming back as part of this group. Otherwise solid B-. Corum is not a homerun hitter, but has great vision, toughness, and ability to catch the ball.
DT- D Jenkins is 240ish, going to take at minimum two years to get him to 275-80. Maybe Aaron Lewis slides down to 3tech and I'd only give this group a C.
S- Not sure I am convinced Morant is a stud. He is a big bodied kid, and wasn't super impressive on the circuit. I could see him sliding into the viper position. He is already pushing 215, plus he was injured this year. Paige is a Jarod Wilson clone. I like him alot, but his frame is huge, could become a WILL if he adds weight. If not I like him at SS.
December 10th, 2019 at 12:47 PM ^
One of the Safety commits is looking around and may not stay in the class.
December 10th, 2019 at 12:48 PM ^
Harbaugh needs to build a wall around Oak Park.
December 10th, 2019 at 12:54 PM ^
Idk how grabbing the #157 player in the country at TE is considered a 'B' grade. People seem to be completely unaware of how fast Matthew Hibner has shot up in the rankings
December 10th, 2019 at 12:59 PM ^
solid class with a few touted guys like morant, mcgregor, corum and a nice group of underrated talent. underrated guys like persi, lewis, mohan, hibner and dennis have a chance to really help michigan. not the stacked uga or osu type class wed all prefer but still ok. hopefully they filled some huge needs like LB and S.
still not sure what theyre trying to do at CB. theyre not only going to lack top end talent at the position but overall #s too. CB will be very interesting moving forward
December 10th, 2019 at 1:11 PM ^
1. I was really hoping Don Brown was going to BC.
2. Spindler is probably going to be OL.
3. Not thrilled with OL or DL recruiting. Last years OL haul was geared towards the road grader type. We need athletes. DL is a mess. Need DT not undersized DE.
4. Need outside receivers big time. Need corners.
December 15th, 2019 at 7:23 AM ^
Don't really agree about outside recievers. Gattis isn't going to be throwing fades or 50/50 balls once Collins and DPJ are gone. Besides, Cornelius is 6'3" so he can fill that role and so can Ronnie Bell technically if they wanted to move him around. I just hope that now that they have these quick/shifty recievers they open up the pass game even more to setup the run.
December 10th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
So basically everything is fine, but DT and CB are a crap show. Already knew that, but I strangely feel better after reading this. Thanks TK.
December 10th, 2019 at 1:40 PM ^
Doesn't the saying go that your defense is as good as it's lowest-rated position? So while we might be decent at safety, LB and DE, having crap DL and corners sets a really low ceiling for our defense as a whole.
Weak DL allow teams to run through the tackles. the solution of using LB and safety to help out the DL and stop the run doesn't work because of our second weakness - CB. Those CB need all the safety help they can get. The safeties can't help the CB and the DL at the same time.
December 10th, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
I would have liked to have seen us get at least one more really good running back. That's a position of high attrition and I don't feel very comfortable with the depth situation right now. Getting Chris Evans back next year was definitely a boost. And with both Charbonnet and Haskins both coming back and probably improved next year, we might be in good shape without any injuries.
December 10th, 2019 at 3:14 PM ^
Really True Blue? I feel like our RB depth is fine.
AFAIK the only guy we lose is Wilson, and we're adding both experience (Evans) and youth (Corum).
The one constant I've noticed here is how quickly people give up on young kids. Charbonnet's a freshmen, and Haskins is a sophomore who changed positions. They flashed some real talent. With even modest improvement they could become excellent players.
Did they play like Dobbins or Taylor? No, those guys are heisman-level great. But IMO their play was comparable to Master Teague or Cain/Brown at PSU.
December 10th, 2019 at 1:38 PM ^
I think we recruit well, but I also think that we don't recruit well enough to get where we need to be. And I think fans act like fans and overestimate things from time to time. The only position we've recruited at an A level recently is safety IMO.
For other positions, getting a couple top 250 kids should be a C or a B rating. Top 250 kids are good, but they aren't going to close the talent gap with Ohio State.
December 13th, 2019 at 4:17 PM ^
We recruit more than adequate but have had some big whiffs at OT which has been corrected, and at DT, supposedly due to change in philosophy, going with smaller but faster guys. I see no problem anywhere else ....
December 10th, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
Well if EJ Holland, the Michigan recruiting "repoter" for the past 5 whole months says a guy is criminally underrated I'll take it to the bank.
December 10th, 2019 at 2:02 PM ^
Alternating good and bad years at DT and CB is not a recipe for success at a high level. You need to land two guys at each of those positions pretty much every year, and at least one of each needs to be a stud, if you want to be a consistent top team. Otherwise, you have very little margin for error. One guy who doesn’t pan out, transfers, or gets injured puts you in a hole.
December 10th, 2019 at 2:30 PM ^
Letter grades are great but to someone who doesn't follow recruiting -
How does this stack up against common foes like PSU, OSU, Wisconsin and Nebraska? (we will be playing them a lot by the time these kids are juniors.
How does this stack up against future OOC opponents. Really only threat that affects these kids is Washington at home in the year after next season. Looks like there is still an opening in the 2022
December 10th, 2019 at 2:43 PM ^
Great post, thank you for sharing.
One thing that stands out about Harbaugh's tenure is that we haven't had a player on offense that opponents truly fear. Nico is the closest but his usage rate kept him from being a player who took over games.
So...who will that player be? Is he already on the roster? Is it Blake Corum? Giles Jackson? Dylan McCaffrey? Zach Charbonnet? If our program is going to take the next step, we need bona fide stars on both sides of the ball. Dax Hill looks promising. So do Hutchinson, McGrone, Thomas, and maybe even Hinton.
What made Michigan relevant in the 90s wasn't the win-loss totals (which were no better than what we have now). It was superstars like Howard, Wheatley, Woodson, Anthony Thomas, Biakabutuka. Beating OSU takes having a player that is good enough to dominate their roster. Chris Perry is the last the guy to beat a "real" OSU team. He put the game on his shoulders in 2003, and, despite injury, consistently gashed the Bucks.
We just don't have guys breaking into the record books on offense, and that's alarming when you consider our modern offensive history isn't that impressive. John Navarre still holds the single-season passing record. Shea's meh season this year? He'll likely finish 3rd or 4th all-time, and has a good chance to finish second (needs 190 yards to move to #2).
December 10th, 2019 at 4:38 PM ^
I think this modern era of football is different. By far and away the most important position in college football is a QB who can execute the spread option scheme. Back in the day, QB was more of a game manager and like a second coach on the field. Now he needs to be a supreme athlete. We have not yet found that guy. Shea is the closest yet.
And WRs needed today are in the plethora category ... teams need to be deep at WR with multiple options for "speed in space". Back in the day, one high impact guy like Howard got all the deep, play-action passes (and, man, was he a bomb-catching machine or what !). OSU has 4-5 elite WRs but none of them single-handily take over a game. Nico fits more the "back in the day" mold for a WR ... can catch anything by using his body to shield defenders one-on-one. Giles Jackson better fits modern football where the scheme gets his speed open in space for big YACs.
RBs who take over games like Chris Perry rarely are needed in a modern spread offense, given all the passing and RPOs there are fewer touches available and way less grind out the clock needed. However, having a great back like Dobbins or Taylor who can also run routes is a huge plus.
Same with the defenses. They have adapted to take on this heavy option football. Multiple DB type players with great speed and coverage skills - but no one can take over a game, as they need to be like a pack of wolves with each taking a turn at the kill but working together as a unit. LBs are like beefed-up safeties with multiple duties. Devin Bush is your prototypical guy that was as dominate as we have seen in a while. The DL still needs a great DT and Anchor DE, that is the one constant in college football. But the rush WDE specialist is new and needed to create pressure and ways to option the spread option.
Football is way different than back in the 1990s. The key guy is an athletic QB that can run and pass at an elite level. Best teams this year demonstrate the point. The rest of the team's touches are way more spread out amongst a plethora of WRs and RBs.
December 15th, 2019 at 7:31 AM ^
Before the PSU game this was the most brutal QB play I've ever seen from anyone not named John O'Korn. I know Shea was dinged up or whatever but the complete lack of faith that Nico Collins could make a play, that Army game was ridiculous. You're right about Michigan's offense especially against OSU, and the biggest difference and the one constant in their domination has been the elite playmakers they've had at the QB position for the past 10+ years. That and RB, it's amazing to me that Michigan can't get a single home run threat type back, I haven't given up on Charbonnet but his play in the open field didn't give me a ton of confidence.
December 10th, 2019 at 2:43 PM ^
D- No Ohio players/Not enough Michigan players and there are some good ones this year. Defensively it borders on pathetic.
December 10th, 2019 at 3:23 PM ^
What do you have to do at DT to get a D?
December 10th, 2019 at 3:50 PM ^
I just graded the OSU 2020 class. Won't bore you with my detailed analysis. "A"s across the board. As I do my comparatives I predict UM will next beat OSU when the moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars. Then peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars.
December 10th, 2019 at 7:40 PM ^
So, in 2021.
December 10th, 2019 at 4:01 PM ^
Appreciate the succinct write-up. With some of our recruiting misses/general ‘crootin’ drama in recent years, I don’t find myself investing nearly the time I used to.
December 10th, 2019 at 4:11 PM ^
My thoughts:
DT, CB and possibly WR/QB are biggest areas of recruiting concern.
DT:
Current: Problem area. Losing Solomon and Mattison not helpful. Freshmen DT's rarely do much. Tough spot for Nua to step into.
Near Term: Highly rated guys Mazi and Hinton hopefully ready to step up. We could very well be fine next year, especially if Kemp stays and plays. Cautiously optimistic. Nua's standing depends on their growth IMO.
Long Term: Agree with everyone saying we need more big bodies in the pipeline to develop and provide depth.
CB:
Current: 2 really good starters, pretty good (but low ceiling) young 3rd guy.
Near Term: Thin. Assuming Ambry stays we might be ok, especially if a young guy steps up. Lack of explosive, super fast athletes hurts us against OSU.
Long Term: Agree with everyone saying we need more depth and speed. OSU has a stable of super athletes at CB, we don't.
WR:
Current: Problem isn't talent, it's using it. Seems we didn't take full advantage of a great group.
Near Term: Strength of team or just ok, depending on who stays/goes. If 2 of "big three" stay, we'll have a dangerous receiving corps. Losing Collins hurts, but a bunch of weapons to work with.
Long Term: Not as concerned as with DT/CB. Could use another big and/or blazing fast WR. Again, OSU always has a stable of these guys (and like us, underutilized them until recently). I do like that we've added a bunch of shifty, dangerous little guys.
QB:
Everybody knows. We'll be ok if McCaffrey can stay healthy. Could be very ok if he or Milton turn out to be special. Losing 2020 recruit was bad luck - hope we find a decent replacement. Exciting potential in '21 class. Shea's been a good player - unfortunately he didn't turn out to be a superstar.
One place for hope is that every year some young semi-forgotten kids emerge. We may have a chunk of carbon slowly transforming into a diamond.
December 10th, 2019 at 5:12 PM ^
QB, DT is a flat out F
QB, D+
If there was a tweener category we would be A++ the last 5 years.
December 10th, 2019 at 6:20 PM ^
It sure would be nice if Nua could successfully get Van Fillinger back into the fold. Like Jenkins, he is listed as a DE but will likely play inside.
December 10th, 2019 at 7:25 PM ^
Not much of a recruiting junkie if you are completely relaying on rivals
December 10th, 2019 at 9:33 PM ^
Dt and CB need to be addressed soon