Hello: Delano Hill
Cass Tech S Delano Hill joined his teammate David Dawson in pledging to Michigan today, giving the Wolverines 24 commits in the class of 2013. Hill, previously committed to Iowa, is the fifth Wolverine commit slated to play in the defensive backfield, joining (Cass Tech teammate) Jourdan Lewis, Channing Stribling, Ross Douglas, and Dymonte Thomas.
GURU RATINGS
Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 24/7 Sports |
4*, #24 S, #270 Ovr |
4*, #23 S | 3*, 79, #23 S | 4*, 90, #22 S |
Though ESPN has HIll at three stars as opposed to four, there's a remarkable consensus as to Hill's standing among 2013 safeties, as he's ranked between #22 and #24 at the position on all four sites. He's listed at either 6'0" or 6'1" and between 185 and 200 pounds; having seen him several times in person, I tend to believe the latter figures—Hill is pretty filled out for a high school safety.
Scout lists Hill's strengths as Instincts, Jamming Ability, and Tackling Ability, with Hip Flexibility as an area for improvement; Allen Trieu provides their free scouting report:
A good sized safety and a sure tackler in the open field. Does a good job of diagnosing plays, finding the football and coming in under control when attacking ball carriers. In coverage, he can play over the tight end and slot and cover man to man or in zone. Continuing to improve his footwork and quickness will allow him to cover faster slot receivers in the future. Good overall ball skills and athleticism to go with his size. - Allen Trieu
ESPN's evaluation is especially positive about his run support ($):
This guy is a tough customer who demonstrates the open field tackling skills which not only limits yards after contact but should prove beneficial as a special teams coverage defender. We see the flexibility, agility and balance needed to play in space; does a good job coming out of his pedal and flipping the hips when covering inside receivers. This prospect plays smart showing good instincts along with the ability to get to the football and make big plays. Has very good route awareness when in zone coverage ... Demonstrates the ability to play man coverage; displays good foot transition with the ability to turn and run with receivers; gets his head around to locate the ball while flashing a makeup burst. We like his ball skills; shows he can leap and play the ball at the high point. His run support is outstanding; will come up and force off the edge while demonstrating quickness filling the ally; is a very aggressive downhill run defender with the ability to move through traffic; displays very good long pursuit ability.
Though Hill is primarily lauded for his play against the run, he impressed with his coverage ability on the summer camp circuit. Here's Josh Helmholdt on Hill after the Columbus NFTC in May ($):
The defensive back MVP, Hill made a lot of plays in one-on-one and 7-on-7 play. He sees the field extremely well from his safety position, and closes passing lanes quickly. In each of the events we have covered Hill at in recent months he has come down with a number of interceptions, and that was the case again on Saturday. Usually cornerbacks take home MVP awards from the defensive back group because a lot of the work is in man coverage. Hill's win as a safety attests to his abilities in pass coverage.
From Sam Webb, we get Cass Tech coach Thomas Wilcher's opinion on Hill, as well as some insight into where he could end up playing ($):
“They want to play him at safety or at corner,” Wilcher explained. “Delano runs 4.4 and at worst a 4.49. He runs between 21-something and a 22 flat in the 200. He has good recovery speed and good footwork. Great feet. He can play anything. He is tall, he is strong, and he is physical. He is going to be able to go out there and lock up people (at corner) or he can drop back and play safety. He has got it going on.”
While I did watch Cass Tech in person three times this fall, I wasn't particularly focused on Hill—since he was an Iowa commit and there were several Michigan commits and targets on the field, my focus was usually elsewhere. That said, a few things about him stood out to me from seeing him play, especially his closing speed and tackling ability—Hill is the rare prospect that's both aggressive and controlled, able to close the gap quickly and still form up for a proper tackle. His coverage skills weren't often put to the test in games I watched, but Cass Tech rarely got beat over the top with him manning the middle.
OFFERS
Hill's early commitment to Iowa likely limited the number of offers he received; his offer list includes Illinois, Pitt, and Syracuse in addition to the Wolverines and Hawkeyes.
STATS
According to 247, Hill recorded 60 tackles and two interceptions as a senior, including a pick-six in the state title game.
FAKE 40 TIME
Rivals lists a 40 time of 4.44 seconds, which I'll give three FAKEs out of five; Hill is fast, but that's elite speed.
VIDEO
Junior highlights:
Game film from Cass Tech's matchups against Birmingham Brother Rice and Saline, courtesy of Maize & Blue News:
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Hill could wind up at corner or safety depending on the team's needs—if Jourdan Lewis winds up on offense, Hill could very well play corner. In my opinion, however, Hill's best position is safety, where he can really utilize that ability in run support while still making plays in coverage.
Where Hill could make an immediate impact is on special teams, where his speed and tackling ability translate nicely. Down the road, he should find a role somewhere in the secondary, whether it be at free safety or cornerback.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
C&P'd from the Dawson post:
Michigan initially planned on taking five offensive linemen in the class and 24 players overall, but Sam Webb has hinted recently that Michigan could take up to 28 or even 29 players (backdating early enrollees to last year's class) and adding an additional lineman. The Wolverines are still pursuing CO OL Dan Skipper (Tennessee commit) and CA OL Cameron Hunt (Cal commit); Skipper is on campus this weekend and Hunt should visit in January.
Other major targets include VA RB Derrick Green, FL S Leon McQuay III, OH CB Reon Dawson, and newly-offered OH ATH Marcus Ball (Wisconsin commit being recruited as a linebacker).
Hill's commitment shouldn't preclude Michigan from continuing to pursue McQuay and Dawson. No matter what, the Wolverines will likely take a running back—they're in great position with Green and I still like Northwestern commit Godwin Igwebuike as a backup plan—as well as one more defensive back and probably a linebacker, given the recent spate of offers.
December 15th, 2012 at 4:22 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
It's becoming clearer how many spots we'll have open and it's probably more than the staff may have anticipated. It wasn't long ago that McQuay was told there might not be room for him if he waited.
December 15th, 2012 at 4:30 PM ^
And today was a good day.
December 15th, 2012 at 4:38 PM ^
I get the feeling you'll be kept busy in the next few weeks.
What I really like about this class is how comprehensive it is from a position standpoint. A big time RB would be nice, but I like Deveon Smith and Hoke was saying nice things about Drake Johnson.
So anything we add is great for competition and depth, keep em' comin' coaches.
December 15th, 2012 at 6:50 PM ^
It's extremely rare to get a class that fills all of a team's needs with superstar recruits. This class is probably closer to doing that than any Michigan class I remember. Sure, getting Treadwell would be great, but an assessment of this year's class as "Where's all the top flight wrs?" is a little ridiculous.
December 15th, 2012 at 11:40 PM ^
Jaron Dukes and his four stars approve this message.
December 16th, 2012 at 8:15 AM ^
According to 247's Composite ranking, Dukes is an average of 3 stars and the #41 wide receiver in the country.
He's not exactly an elite talent.
December 16th, 2012 at 10:44 AM ^
just sayin....
December 16th, 2012 at 11:04 AM ^
He was?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
December 15th, 2012 at 4:43 PM ^
I go away for a couple of hours and we get two commits. Maybe this is a sign that i should not check MgoBlog every 10 min or so.
Welcome Delano, Go Blue!!!!!
December 16th, 2012 at 12:12 AM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 4:46 PM ^
Go Blue!
December 15th, 2012 at 4:47 PM ^
We need to finish strong with this class and today is a great step towards doing just that. I don't understand how Tredwell wouldn't want to be part of this class. We will have two excellent OL recruiting classes under our belt, a top rated QB (DG) for the next 2 yrs and another top rated QB (SM) for 3 yrs after that. Our D is going to be outstanding and if we can land that top RB talent, this team could challenge for a NC in the next couple years. GO BLUE!!
December 15th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 5:05 PM ^
Shouldn't his 40 time have 0 FAKES out of 5?
He got that 4.44 time from the Opening, where they used actual NFL combine style timing methods to my knowledge (I apologize ahead of time if I'm wrong on this). I mean, if a guy getting timed with an electronically controlled finish line can't get 0 FAKES, who can?
December 15th, 2012 at 5:22 PM ^
I looked up if that 40 time was from the opening and I became even more convinced that this guy really does have elite speed. He finished 4th in the 40 at the entire event, an event featuring probably the best collection of talent of any camp/combine this year.
It's amazing that we're about to go from over a decade of generally unathletic safeties (except for Stevie Brown, but that didn't work out as planned) to having two of the fastest guys at the position in the country. Dymonte Thomas has reported run hand-timed 4.3s this off-season, so it's probably pretty safe to assume he's also a sub 4.5 guy if timed electronically (I also have seen stories mentioning that he ran an NFL combine-style electronically timed 4.57 when he was only a sophomore, so even more reason to believe so). This isn't even mentioning that Wilson isn't a slouch speed-wise either.
December 15th, 2012 at 11:44 PM ^
Generally unathletic safeties...and you couldn't make people in my section shut up about Stevie Brown's deficiencies when he was at Michigan. Glad to see him doing well.
Jamar Adams?
December 16th, 2012 at 3:27 AM ^
We're talking about the same event in which Derrick Green tested a 4.31. There's not OSU-UM recruit bias here on my side, I love Green as a RB, and I wish OSU was still recruiting him. That being said, a 40 time from a guy his size that's almost in the 4.2s is bullshit.
December 16th, 2012 at 11:56 AM ^
December 16th, 2012 at 12:07 PM ^
I definitely agree that he has top end speed, comparatively. But when I watch the tape, I don't see "elite" speed. I see a fast kid, but more importantly, I see someone that translates their speed to the football field, which means he has great feet and agility. You guys got yourself a good player.
December 15th, 2012 at 6:20 PM ^
Agreed. If an electronically timed 40 at The Opening is three fakes, then we should just do away with that rating system.
December 15th, 2012 at 5:11 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 5:20 PM ^
Congrats Delano.
With the addition of Delano Hill, the moving of Dennis Norfleet, and the transfer of Jerald Robinson, I'm speculating Jeremy Clark to WR.
December 15th, 2012 at 6:13 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 5:33 PM ^
So he's either a big corner that can run with receivers and hold up against the run
OR
A ball hawk of a safety that can get interceptions all over the field and come up and deliver a blow...I think I like him
December 15th, 2012 at 6:12 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 6:41 PM ^
Very nice. An all-Cass Tech secondary would be pretty funny and is becoming increasingly possible.
Do we know how to pronounce his name? Is the accent on the first syllable or the second syllable?
December 15th, 2012 at 6:57 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 7:01 PM ^
In other words, ambiguous accent but spoken very slowly?
December 15th, 2012 at 7:53 PM ^
Delano is very smooth and efficient in his play. Perfect for the secondary. Welcome!
December 15th, 2012 at 7:54 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 9:49 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 10:08 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 10:46 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 11:30 PM ^
December 15th, 2012 at 9:54 PM ^
But I don't think his footwork or hips translate to the corner position. I know Cass Tech has some really good talent, but there's a reason he played safety for them and not corner. Hill is a pure safety, plain and simple. And I really like him at that position (I said as much in my breakdown of him), but the talk of him potentially being a corner is completely misguided in my opinion.
December 15th, 2012 at 10:52 PM ^
I didn't want to be the one to tell everybody, but with those narrow hips, he's never going to have more than 6-7 interceptions.
December 16th, 2012 at 8:18 AM ^
I agree that his footwork and hips aren't great, but he's also not a great tackler. He's going to have to improve in one of those areas (agility OR tackling) or else he's not going to get on the field.
Considering JT Floyd locked onto a starting job for Mattison, I wouldn't be surprised if Hill sticks at corner.
December 16th, 2012 at 9:44 AM ^
It's not necessarily that he's unwilling to tackle, it's that he has crappy form. He reaches because he puts his head down and doesn't see what he hits. This also causes his feet to stop driving. In my opinion those are correctable problems at a college level, particularly from a team that has depth and can develope players.
I think he'll serve as a special teams player for a while, but his instincts at safety are too good, IMO, to move him to corner. Work on his tackling technique and I think he has the physicality and desire to hit people, which is why I really like him at safety and not corner.
December 16th, 2012 at 11:07 AM ^
I've seen a couple clips of him getting dragged by ball carriers. Yeah, he puts his head down, but it's not in an aggressive, heat-seeking missle type of way. There's one clip in particular from this year where he gets completely run over. I think it was against Saline. He's just not very physical, unless those highlights just haven't been published.
December 15th, 2012 at 10:51 PM ^
Maybe give Wilson a run for his money...a great addition!
December 15th, 2012 at 11:56 PM ^
December 16th, 2012 at 2:48 AM ^
December 16th, 2012 at 7:40 PM ^
December 17th, 2012 at 6:30 AM ^
December 17th, 2012 at 6:33 AM ^
December 17th, 2012 at 10:30 AM ^
What a great weekend...two talented football players accepting their offers to the University of Michigan, and my nephew receiving his official accpetance letter from the Michigan Undergraduate Admissions office to be part of the entering 2013 class. His letter said, "How does it feel to be a Wolverine?"
So, the same question for Delano....How does it feel to be a Wolverine????
Go Blue!
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