Michigan Football: What to make of 2020 RB commit Gaige Garcia

Michigan football recruiting director Matt Dudek teased nine new commitments Sunday and on Monday, we found out the fifth, which is running back Gaige Garcia.

While many fans obsess about recruiting rankings and stars, those don’t always mean everything and when you are adding 20-30 players to a class, not everyone is going to be a four-star. One guy that fits that bill is the latest Michigan football commit Gaige Garcia.

Garcia was one of the visitors in Ann Arbor this weekend and it turns out he was one of the nine guys that Matt Dudek teased as potential commits Sunday morning. Dudek, the recruiting director for Michigan football, tweets his Ralph Wiggum GIF every time there is good recruiting news and on Sunday, he did it nine different times.

Of course, four different players announced their commitments Sunday, starting with William Mohan of Brooklyn. The three-star linebacker is an ideal viper. Another commitment came from three-star defensive end Aaron Lewis. He flipped from West Virginia in a good get for UM.

Sunday afternoon, Michigan football got its biggest commitment of the weekend as Jordan Morant, the top-ranked safety in 2020 according to the 247 sports rankings, surprisingly announced he was committing. He previously said he wasn’t announcing until Jan. 4.

Reece Atteberry, a four-star offensive tackle from Colorado followed suit Sunday night and then Monday morning, Michigan football got commitment No. 5, only it wasn’t from a big-name player.

Gaige Garcia, a running back and two-sport athlete for 2020 that also wrestles, isn’t a name many Michigan fans have heard of before this weekend. Yet, after his visit, he pledged his services.

Garcia, a Pennslyvania product, isn’t the most sought after recruit and he is unranked according to 247 sports. However, he does have plenty of other interest with other schools such as Army, Air Force, Brown, Albany and Yale.

Throughout his career, Garcia has been underrated and during the first three years of his high school career, he has more than 6,000 yards rushing to go along with more than 100 touchdowns. He has never rushed for fewer than 1,900 yards.

Those numbers are impressive but the 5-foot-10 back was unable to turn visits with Penn State and Ohio State into offers. He does have some redeeming qualities and while he doesn’t great speed, he’s a powerful runner that could be effective in short-yardage situations.

In fact, with his background in wrestling, he would probably be an ideal fullback, even though that position is being fazed out of Josh Gattis offense. Ideally, Garcia could play some type of H-back role, one that would allow him to carry the football, block and catch some passes.

In that role, he could be really effective. He also feels like a guy that could become a core special teams contributor.

Ultimately, commitments from guys like Garcia aren’t going to move the meter, yet that doesn’t mean they can’t make a positive impact on the program.