Michigan Wolverine Football: About Those Recruits

GBMWolverine Michigan Football TidbitsPosted at 7:30am — 2/16/2015

Michigan Wolverine Football: About Those Recruits

Phase Two: About Those Recruits

Well the move in of the new staff is somewhat complete; it never will be totally complete until after spring practice. The next little item in this series is the personnel, including the fourteen new Wolverines. Forecasting is an endeavor filled with risk and likely final inaccuracies. Once at a convention on energy use, a team of forecasters told me that over a five-year period if the original forecasts were within 10 percent the effort was a brilliant success, caused more by luck than prognostication skill. The usual end result was within a 20% range, and electrical use has far less variables than football teams.

So, while reading this effort understand the above.

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Some, laughingly, have written some blog stuff informing Jim Harbaugh of his failures and mistakes for the first recruiting class. Yep, the non-expert with little or no technical knowledge can see the results four or five years down the road? Find the nearest utility company and sign these guys up as forecasters.

Harbaugh had several limitations and to the knowledgeable, those with experience, his tasks were obvious. First, hang on to the small remnant of what was left of the 2015 class. Second, strike out and grab players that fit the new staff’s criteria. As mentioned in an earlier article, the overall effort of the last two years yielded a C type grade. Jim Harbaugh and staff had only three weeks in that process. It is worthless to provide a “grade” for that time period.

Michigan ended up with fourteen recruits. Any such number will yield weaknesses. There were the obligatory three offensive linemen. All are big enough to play at this level and it is now a matter of who will develop enough to contribute.

Michigan is still tight end poor. Yes, indeed, Tyrone Wheatley Jr. is a recruit listed at tight end, but that designation may be more driven from a signing necessity to make a youngster happy than reality. Clark, as predicted fled for another venue. Those who are still around need to step it up and show high improvement, not just normal progression. This group will have at least three sets of eyes on it. There is always a chance that one of the fullbacks will be turned into either a hybrid or a pure tight end. There is always a small chance that an offensive lineman can slip into a role as a part time tight end. The “loser” of the center battle could be a candidate. The situation is not ideal and some creative solutions will need to be employed.

The class did not achieve a big name running back, but the more everyone learns about Karan Higdon the more the sorrow recedes. A tough, southern runner with a decent ability to hit a hole, Higdon just might see a role in this offense. The fact that he picked Michigan as an educational option is refreshing.

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Michigan has lacked a true pass-rushing end for years. Two ends with some potential were signed, Shelton Johnson and Reuben Jones, both listed as strong side picks. Both are undersized for the college game but possess a nice first step. Johnson is long at 6’ 5” and two years from now could be a handful. Remember the dangers of precise prognostication. Both were flips from Florida, and clearly both were well known to former defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin.

The quarterback situation has been at critical mass for years. Remember those Tate Forcier, Denard Robinson, and Devin Gardner for Heisman signs? Success can be fleeting and depth is a necessity. At best, Michigan had on roster only two guys who could remotely contribute. At one time Michigan found itself in a position of having the best two athletes at quarterback; so one went to wide receiver. Denard was it, and all things considered, he certainly did his share considering his limitations as a pure quarterback.

Now two recruits, Alex Malzone and Zach Gentry, with decent potential and differing strengths, enter the picture. Then add in an old-fashioned gunslinger, John O’Korn, and Michigan will have a nice quarterback situation in 2016. O’Korn comes from St. Thomas Aquinas of Ft. Lauderdale, one of the very top programs in the nation. He is 6’4” and savvy in running a pro style, let it fly, type offense. It is still to be determined whether or not Michigan will use the pass to any degree similar to Houston. A simple prognostication guess is no way.

This is 2015 however and the task for the collective offensive staff that will work with quarterbacks remains stiff. One thing for sure, Michigan could take the quarterback roster and come up with a nasty sized intramural basketball team.

The wide receiver haul consisted of high potential athlete, Brian Cole, and late entry Grant Perry. Cole is untapped, rough, lacks some balance in his route running, but is the best athlete of the 2015 group. He could play running back, wide receiver, or on defense. Somewhere, somehow his ability must be utilized. The best guess of course is at wideout and it is nice to have a wide receiver with the size and running back skills of Cole. Grant Perry is one of those guys who just catches the ball and at the current time more polished in wideout play than Cole. Some discount his value since Alex Malzone had a laser production year. He still caught the ball and having guys like that around is nice.

Perry is a little bigger than Roy Roundtree was when he entered Michigan as a result of Coach Rich Rod’s snake oil sales job. Roundtree, though not impressive in any one way, made some catches that should linger in Michigan football lore. He turned out to be a class guy who just got the job done. Perry may follow that path.

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Besides quarterback, the area of most immediate concern at Michigan is the defensive backfield. Too many have struck out as Mattison kept bringing in big corners with athletic potential. Jeremy Clark and Channing Stribling could still find a role, but cornerback is pretty much dead for those two. And Dymonte Thomas may have to switch positions; safety seems a stretch for him, especially with Peppers moving to safety. Thomas was one of the nation’s best athletes when recruited.

The two recruits out of the 2015 package, Tyree Kinnel and Keith Washington, give Michigan a prospect at safety and cornerback. Kinnel has mixed reviews from scouting sites, from a top safely prospect to a lower end four star. Washington is an athlete with physical tools and lacks the finished elements a college starter needs. But talent and size cannot be taught, just coached.

The flips accomplished by Harbaugh and the transfer of O’Korn will take at least two years to determine the impact. Most of this group may not even play this year. One exception may be kicker Andrew David. Freshman kickers must overcome the adjustment to a new game and a new ball. But sooner or later the ultimate test is what happens in a game, and sometimes there are rough spots before things fall into place for a young kicker.

Next up: Phase 3 — what to do with what is left.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu

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