Yesterday we covered Benjamin Hall, today we take care of the other Hello we missed from March: Brooks Bahr. A defensive lineman hailing from the Chicagoland area, Bahr was a tad unknown when he committed, but we will do our best to dredge up some scouting and give a sense of his projection at Michigan. 

 

GURU RATINGS 

Rivals: 6'5/250	ESPN: 6'5/260	247: 6'6/270	On3: 6'6/265	247 Comp
3*, 5.7, NR OVR #39 SDE, #9 IL	3*, 77, #45 MW, NR OVR #62 DE, #10 IL	3*, 87, NR OVR #78 DL, #11 IL	3*, 88, NR OVR #55 DL, #7 IL	3*, 0.872, #549 OVR #68 DL, #10 IL
3.74	3.73	3.71	3.95	3.72

bottom row is Seth's conversion to a five-star scale. Links are to profiles

Bahr is a player whose recruitment is just picking up, and none of the big site gurus have seen him play a regulation game live. At the start of 2022, he was a zero star recruit not listed on any of the national boards. The interest that Michigan and other B1G schools started to give him forced the services to do a little bit of digging, but that came in the spring and thus too late for anyone to see Bahr play in a game. Some have started to send guys to practices and workouts to get eyes on Bahr, which has caused him to move up the board some, but this is the kind of kid who will see potentially significant change as a senior. Another note: ESPN/Rivals consider Bahr an edge, but he projects more as a DT in college. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: The usuals]

 

SCOUTING

Like Hall, not a ton here. One of the best summaries is unsurprisingly from one of the few to see Bahr live, EJ Holland. EJ saw Bahr at his HS, Loyola Academy, doing conditioning drills. He came away impressed ($): 

The upside is certainly there for Bahr. Along with an athletic frame, Bahr already has plenty of power, and that will only get better once he gets into Michigan’s strength and conditioning program and adds the necessary weight. ... Bahr has the length and athleticism of an EDGE, which is why he was listed there in the first place, but projects best as a technique. Brooks needs to keep improving his feet and get off, but there is a lot to like here

Bahr is listed in the 250-270 range, but EJ came away thinking that Bahr is actually 10 pounds heavier, and should get up to 300 no problem. The weight and long arms are the source of the decision to list him as an edge, but Michigan has made it clear they want him as a defensive tackle, ideally a 3Tech: 

“(Elston) has been telling me that he sees me as a three-tech in their defensive scheme,” Bahr said. “It’s more of defensive tackle role. He wants me to be a hand on the ground type of guy that plays well against the run. We’ve been talking a lot about fit.”

Back to the scouting, there are a lot of similarities between Bahr and Franz Wagner. That's because everyone talks about how damn long their arms are. EJ noted Elston's fixation on getting DTs with longer arms, and Touch the Banner's review of the film talks repeatedly about the arms: 

Bahr is a tall, long interior defensive lineman. He almost looks like an offensive tackle with his length, and one of his strengths is the ability to envelope opposing ball carriers. He can cover a lot of territory with his wingspan, and he also can disengage from blockers using that same reach advantage.

When Brooks Bahr is on the field, every day is arm day. The length and ability to add weight are the calling cards for Bahr, but there are some questions about his football-playing ability. Notably, his jump off the ball is an area of concern. EJ noted it above, and TTB focused on it as a negative: 

The first thing to note is that he is not quick off the ball. He’s one of the last guys to start moving after the snap. And it’s not just his reaction time, but his inability to gain ground and get that second step down that have me concerned. He needs to be more explosive off the ball and seems tentative

Clint Cosgrove from Rivals has a take of his own that starts with a hyperbolic bang by throwing out JJ Watt comparisons (!) but is taking a more optimistic angle than TTB's morose opinion, focusing on Bahr's upside: 

The most exciting thing about Bahr is that he is not even scratching the surface of what he will be in a few years. He is a tad bit raw right now, but that is what you love about him, and he has all of the tools to be a dominant player at the next level ... there really is no limit to how physically dominant he can be when you consider the size and strength he already possesses at this point in his career

There definitely is an upside play here, based on the gigantic frame and the ability to fill it out further. The rawness that Rivals points out is probably linked to the first step issues that TTB is talking about, as Bahr is not the most experienced football player of all-time, having dabbled extensively in lacrosse. Perhaps the best way to describe what we know about Bahr at this point in time is that he has the size and shape that Elston looks for his defensive linemen, but he's going to need to put in work physically and will have to fine tune his approach to succeed in college. 

OFFERS

Bahr's offers started rolling in after the first of the year and they're mostly Midwest-based P5 teams and MAC schools. Michigan was joined by Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois, and Northwestern. Getting Iowa/Wisconsin offers for a lineman is generally a good sign about their college potential. He also got offers from Iowa State, Cincy, Kansas, Ball State, Miami (OH), Toledo, and then randomly Duke and Vandy.  

HIGH SCHOOL 

Bahr attends Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinios, a Chicago suburb. They play in the vaunted Chicago Catholic League in Class 8A. Loyola was excellent last season going 8-0 in the regular season (4-0 in conference), and eventually making to the Class 8A semifinals before losing to Lockport. Their defense's leading LB was an Illinois commit for 2021 but there isn't a ton of FBS talent on the roster from what I can tell. 

STATS

As a junior, Bahr had 17 solo tackles and 29 assisted tackles for 46 total tackles, which was 6th on the team. He forced one fumble, racked up three sacks, and had a second-best eight TFL. 

FAKE 40 TIME 

Bahr lists his 40 time as 4.94 on his Hudl page, which is not verified. Looking at NFL combine historical data, that's a decent bit slower than the average defensive end 40 time, but a decent bit faster than the average for a defensive tackle. Given that his current weight is more in line with a DE than a DT, a 4.94, it feels moderately plausible. Still not a verified time though, so it's hard to be confident that this isn't fake. 

VIDEO 

His junior year tape: 

EJ has a number of conditioning videos of Bahr on Twitter. Here's one: 

No spring ball in the Midwest, but Michigan DL commit Brooks Bahr (@BrooksBahr99) and Loyola are out here conditioning. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/DEAGhPvQf7

— "EJ Holland" (@EJHollandOn3) May 2, 2022

ETC 

Like so many Michigan recruits, Bahr is a two-sport athlete, also playing lacrosse at Loyola. Strong academic credentials. 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

Bahr fits in the "developmental prospect category". Assuming Michigan wants him at 3Tech, which is what Bahr is saying they told him, he will need to beef up significantly, from edge sized to tackle sized. Making that physical transformation will likely take his entire freshman season in 2023, thus receiving a redshirt. After that, he's probably not an instant impact kind of player, especially if there are some football technique problems that need to be tweaked. But defensive tackle is also not the easiest position to make an instant impact in anyway, so none of what I'm saying should be terribly surprising. Perhaps he gets rotational snaps in 2024, and then if things are on the right track, gets in line for a solid role after that, years so far in the future I don't want to think about them too in depth. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS 

Bahr is currently one of just two defensive commits in the 2023 class, next to the waffling Raylen Wilson. The 2023 class is in its early stages and Bahr's commitment is just one of many pieces that Mike Elston expects to add on the defensive line. He's a decent first piece, but look for Michigan to try and reel in some bigger fish to slot next to him. When Bahr takes his OV on June 17-19, he'll be joined by EDGE Joseph Mupoyi and potentially several other DL prospects. Those are the sorts of names to follow if you're trying to learn who Michigan is going to add to this class next. In other words, taking Bahr doesn't mean much of anything for the class overall, he's just a decent flier to take as the first guy in it given his size/frame.