Michigan Football: Coach’s Corner — Rating the 2008 Michigan Wolverine (6 OL) commits
Posted at 6:00am — 2/17/2008
Michigan Football: Coach’s Corner — Rating the 2008 Michigan Wolverine (6 OL) commits
Michigan Wolverines (Offensive Line) recruits are loaded with potential. They are very good fit for what Coach Rod and staff want to accomplish on offense. Most show excellent movement skills, and ability to pull and trap.
Dan O’Neill and Patrick Omameh are the key recruits in this class of Offensive linemen. We have some depth and talent at the interior offensive linemen at this time. It is offensive tackle where Michigan is lacking depth and talent.
Dan O’Neill is perfect fit at (Right Tackle). Big, tough, and nasty, he is the type of talent that is needed to run the inside zone. In addition, he is athletic enough to run the outside series also. As added bonus, he comes from program that ran version of spread offense.
Patrick Omameh is more of a (Left Tackle). He has the long arms and super quick feet to protect the backside. He also shows skill set to perform the backside cut off that is necessary to run the ball in Coach Rod’s offense. He is probably the rawest and going to require the most work especially with Mr. Barwis.
Elliott Mealer has most potential. He is excellent combination of size and athletic ability. Elliott Mealer moves very well for player his size. The fact he is still growing and could possibly add another inch or so only improves his chances. Elliott Mealer will need a year or two with Mr. Barwis to improve his strength and overall conditioning, but these types of players who are athletic enough to play basketball seem to make outstanding offensive linemen.
Kurt Wermers also shows ability to pull and trap on film. He moves his feet very well and shows nice hips. From strength point, he is probably not as far along as Mealer, but strength is probably the easiest of the linemen skills to improve.
Rocko Khoury shows less movement skill than the other two, but is probably further along strength wise. He is classic mauler who when he locks onto defender is capable of finishing his blocks with authority. Really needs to concentrate on being able to move his feet and his agility.
Of the three Wermers shows best at protection. All three will need considerable work in this area, which is not unusual for high school linemen however. Pass protection is generally area that needs most work. Always remember offensive line is probably the toughest position to project and evaluate.
Therefore, there are no guarantees for any of these kids. Heart, work ethic, staying healthy, and learning your assignments are all variables just as important as strength and speed training. This game is just as much mental as it is physical and pertains as much to offensive line play as any position with possible exception of quarter back.
Ricky Barnum is the type of talent that offensive line Coach Frey talks about when discussing personnel needed to execute the spread offense, quick and agile enough to pull and trap, but stout enough to move the line of scrimmage when running inside zone series. Of the key interior linemen he is probably, the most ready to contribute early.
We would rate this group as low floor and very high ceiling this because the potential is there to be a very special group. However, it is not there yet, and in fact, 3 players, and maybe a 4th, will be learning new positions. Elliott Mealer, Rocko Khoury, Ricky Barnum, and even Dann O’Neill will be playing positions they did not play in high school. This can make projecting player’s performance very difficult. It can also make projecting, or grading the group difficult.
Making the projection difficult is fact that some are still growing. In addition, could very easily grow into different position. The reason I give this group high ceiling is that the overall athletic is excellent. They all process specific skill that will help them fit into Coach Rod’s offense. Do think that Rocko Khoury, Kurt Wermers, and Ricky Barnum start at interior linemen. Also, believe that Dann O’Neill starts right tackle and Patrick Omameh starts and projects at left tackle. The wild card here is Elliott Mealer because he is still growing could easily fit at either offensive tackle or be an excellent fit at either offensive guard.
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff
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