Michigan Football Recruiting: Preliminary look at 2014 Class — Part III

Posted at 7:00am — 2/10/2014

Michigan Football Recruiting: Preliminary look at 2014 Class — Part III

Maurice “Mo” Ways has some Michigan fans on the upside of the giddiness meter. Is this elation justified? Stay tuned in about two or three years. Mo has not played football for an extended amount of time as have most incoming freshmen. As such he is raw, but more than a mere project and grab. After months of not pulling the trigger, Michigan finally came through with an offer and Ways quickly accepted. He had an offer from Iowa as well.

Mo Ways is in the 6′ 3″ to 6′ 4′ range. He also has good weight for an incoming receiver. He will be the only incoming receiver that will not have to gain at least 20 pounds. Ways has the potential to be a physical outside receiver, which yields dividends for a running team that likes to hit the edge.

There is plenty that will need to improve before young Mo hits the field, other than on special teams. But that magic word, upside, again emerges. His work ethic appears satisfactory and his success will come down to hard work, catching the ball, route running, and daily improvement.

Wilton Speight is another upside prospect. Yes, indeed, there are many such guys in this class. But jumping on top of guys like Speight and Canteen early may pay huge dividends, just not immediately.

There is not much in the way of an offer sheet. However, here is a 6′ 6″ guy that has very good touch on the lob, who is 230 pounds, is smart, and is the type of guy that should hang a sign around his neck: “Will work for playing time.” His secret to success will be advanced quarterback coaching, something Michigan just added to the staff.

Make no mistake, Wilton has a long way to go to compete for a starting job. His fundamentals will be refined, some arm strength will come naturally, although not everyone needs to throw Boomer Esiason hand grenades, and he will find it tough to jump from high school competition to major college football. He seems to demonstrate by his comments very good perception and smarts, traits that will be helpful.

Noah Furbush is still a mystery to some of us at GBMWolverine. Can he actually play linebacker? Will he end up playing weak-side defensive end? Can he play defensive end? Will he end up a tweener? He had a few offers from mid level programs and a few notables.

Noah does have the smarts and has good intensity. He has the size and length Mattison has been seeking. However, he is tough, intense, and may just end up at middle linebacker helping with some run stuffing duties. He will not need to add much weight if linebacker is his destination.
Noah will have much work to undergo in the pass drop and defense skill set.

Noah has found a home with an easy trip up Route 68 and 23/75 to Ann Arbor. He is not the five star prospect heading to an SEC team, but he is getting a chance to play in a great setting and should do very well in the classroom. He may just grab the opportunity, like say a Jake Ryan did. But there are miles to go before those two names are in the same sentence.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu

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