2011 recruiting profiles

Previously: CB Greg Brown, CB/S Tamani Carter, CB Blake Countess, CB Delonte Hollowell, CB Raymon Taylor, LB Antonio Poole, LB Desmond Morgan, LB Frank Clark, LB Kellen Jones, DE Keith Heitzman, DE Chris Rock, DE Brennen Beyer, OL Jack Miller, OL Tony Posada, OL Chris Bryant, RB Justice Hayes, and RB Thomas Rawls.

Russell Bellomy continues Michigan's newest tradition: yoinking a Purdue commit whenever they change coaches. Bellomy isn't quite as touted as Roy Roundtree, who grabbed a fourth star here and there, but that didn't stop Brady Hoke from channeling his inner Nutt:

"He was away recruiting when I was up there, but when I called him and committed he took the phone away from his mouth and let out a 'yee haw,'" Bellomy said. "He was fired up."

Both Michigan and Purdue fans are hoping this is the last time this particular meme gets dug up for a while.

So what have they won? A developmental prospect. Bellomy's a bit like Justice Hayes in that he seems like a better fit for the offense Michigan just dumped. That might not be a big deal long term—unlike Hayes, Michigan actually got interested in Bellomy after the transition—but Bellomy is not Chad Henne. He's described as an "efficient spread offense QB" and completed only 58% of his passes on a run-heavy team. He rarely broke the 20 attempt barrier. Opposing coaches($) say stuff like "he was much more effective in the pocket than we expected" and "you have to respect his passing ability as well." He needs work.

But he's got excellent size and athleticism and Michigan has the luxury of turning his next two years into a montage video. This is what happens at programs that are not whipsawing from one thing to another in the midst of an epic recruiting funk.

Bellomy's recruitment started with a half-dozen okay BCS offers highlighted by Michigan State, Purdue, USF, and Boise State before camp season began in earnest. When Bellomy hit those up he consistently featured in the recap sections. Not so consistent were his evaluations. When he camped at his local Elite 11 feeder they said he was a bomber($) who needed to work on his throwing on the run:

DQB, Arlington (Texas) Martin
This tall, lean, athletic quarterback displayed a live arm and quick release. He will need to add some muscle mass and work on squaring up his shoulders while throwing on the run. Bellomy actually looked better throwing deep out routes than he did shorter passes. He has the height and the tools but needs to be more consistent with his mechanics. You can definitely see why interest in him is starting to pick up.

Later that summer he hit up that 7 on 7 competition during which we were all panting for Demetrius Hart. There they said he could really throw on the run but needed to work on his deep ball($):

…  maybe the most exciting player to watch on that team was quarterback Russell Bellomy, a Purdue commit, who made the short and long throws and also threw well on the run but sometimes struggled with his consistency on the deep passes.

So there you go.

When Rivals tracked him down during the season($) they praised his touch ("often placing the ball over the shoulder of the receiver") and height while criticizing his mechanics and sackalicious pocket presence.

ESPN($) says he's "much better on tape" than in camp settings:

… gangly frame that has a ton of room to fill out and develop strength. While his mechanics can be a bit wild and inconsistent, Bellomy displays toughness, grit [ed: yessss] and a competitive demeanor. Is a riverboat gambler that looks like a pocket passer, but is a deceptively good overall athlete with good foot speed and quickness for the position. Gets the ball out quickly and with good zip to short and intermediate areas of the field. Gets set quickly, shows very good feet in his drop and can anticipate routes and throws to a spot very well. … a very good runner and improviser. Shows quickness, elusiveness and top end speed to be a guy that you have to contend with as a runner on the perimeter or the zone-read keep…. delivery can be long and awkward at times. He has a good arm, but not great power or the ability to consistently stretch the field vertically.

Like the man said: developmental. Bellomy has a great athletic and academic package and just needs time to see whether or not he can fix his whack mechanics. Speaking of whack mechanics, here's a Cade McNown reference from Touch The Banner:

Bellomy has some serious wheels and escapability. … Interestingly, Bellomy is a bit like offensive coordinator Al Borges' old protege, Cade McNown. Bellomy is a little bit taller than McNown, but he's mobile, has somewhat erratic mechanics, and lacks great arm strength. He shares those qualities with McNown, although the former UCLA quarterback also lacked some leadership qualities. Judging by a couple interviews I've seen of Bellomy, he seems to be a very grounded, respectful, humble young man.

Bellomy has numbers to back those interview impressions up, namely a 4.0 GPA and a decent SAT. Coach quote:

“Anytime you’re talking about a student who’s a 4.0 GPA, and I think the best indicator of that is the past couple of years, just throwing the ball, he’s upwards of 30 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He takes care of the ball and has a great understanding of not only what he’s doing but what everyone else is doing around him.

"Should that all break down he has the athleticism to not only outrun you, but also the ability to make you miss. Especially at 6’4”, he’s surprisingly elusive and you have that aspect from an athletic standpoint. ... Early on in his career he was predominantly under center in two and three back sets. I think that created a toughness in Russell so he’s just as happy to throw a block as he is a touchdown.”

That last bit isn't just hype. I know, you don't believe me. I didn't believe me. When you're scouring for Bellomy information and you come across his coach saying…

"We give a hammer award after games that we win, a brand new sledgehammer, for the game's hardest hit," Martin coach Bob Wager said Wednesday. "Russell won it twice -- from the quarterback position. He's not afraid to throw his body around. He enjoys the physical aspect of the game."

…you file it under Rapturous Coach Quote and forget about it until Bellomy pops up and says this:

"The QB position at Martin High School was not the average QB position. I was used as a blocker a lot in the wildcat. I'd be in the slot as a QB, and I'm not going to block the person in front of me. I look for the hammer shot." ... I have two videos on my phone. That's what I like to brag about.

Russell Bellomy has forked over precious phone space for two videos of himself crushing an unsuspecting high school kid. That rapturous coach quote is on the money. Bellomy's the only quarterback I've ever come across who brags on his blocking. Hoke brought this up in a press conference: "toughness" (of course) was a major draw when Michigan was figuring out which quarterback to go after. He's got that in spades.

Now he just has to figure out when he's going to get sacked and how to throw the ball consistently. We need a montage.

Etc.: Boiled Sports was not so happy about the decommit. I love the guy in the comments who says Bellomy bailed because he "wasn't seeing the field until about 2013" if he became a Boiler. Also love this ND fan who thinks his commit is a "signal to Denard Robinson." Andrew interviews him on TTB. Went viral when he committed to M. Interviewed by some extra from Twilight.

Stats:

	Rushing			Passing
Year	Att	Yds	TD	PA	PC	Pct	Yds	TD	Int
2010 (Sr.)	120	804	9	196	113	57.7	1,564	15	4
2009 (Jr.)	102	438	6	202	121	59.9	1,546	13	3

Why Pick a Forcier? It's not a particularly tight comparison but one of the Forciers is the best Michigan comparable in recent history. Jason never played so we'll stick with Tate. Both are mobile quarterbacks with good athletic ability who no one will confuse with Denard; neither has NFL-level arm strength. When ESPN describes someone as a "riverboat gambler," visions of Tate Forcier wheeling around doing something you're either going to love or hate dance around your head like sugarplums.

Differences: Forcier was vastly more polished than Bellomy is coming out of high school. Bellomy spent his summers playing baseball; Forcier spent his hanging with Marv Marinovich. At 6'3" Bellomy has more long term upside; he's also more likely to hit that upside because he is not an ultra-flake.

Guru Reliability: Very high. Except for that flip on whether it's his deep ball or his short stuff that needs work the assessments are all in line both in terms of rating and subjective attributes.

General Excitement Level: Moderate-minus. Bellomy is a boom or bust sort who could completely wash out because he never improves his accuracy or could get it and then become a legit pro-style quarterback with Henson-level wheels. He's got a tough route to playing time; if he gets it he'll be close to the latter.

Projection: Obvious redshirt unless there is an injury calamity. Will compete with Shane Morris and Devin Gardner to replace Robinson in 2013. Probably will not win the job. Gardner has a year on him and brings a lot more recruiting oomph. Never know, though.

If Bellomy doesn't start and Shane Morris passes him for the backup spot we could see him move to tight end, wide receiver, or even linebacker. He's got the frame to get up to 230 or more and enough athletic ability to give it a shot.

Previously: CB Greg Brown, CB/S Tamani Carter, CB Blake Countess, CB Delonte Hollowell, CB Raymon Taylor, LB Antonio Poole, LB Desmond Morgan, LB Frank Clark, LB Kellen Jones, DE Keith Heitzman, DE Chris Rock, DE Brennen Beyer, OL Jack Miller, OL Tony Posada, OL Chris Bryant and RB Thomas Rawls.

When Justice Hayes suddenly dropped Notre Dame($) for Michigan in November he was switching one spread for another. While the offenses of Rich Rodriguez and Brian Kelly have significant differences they both have room for a cat-quick tailback who looks like "a big cornerback" and can change direction on a dime. They have yet more room for a guy like that who can double as a slot receiver. So that made sense.

A couple months later Rich Rodriguez was panhandling, Brady Hoke was the new coach at Michigan, and Justice Hayes was proclaiming his undying loyalty to the Wolverines. That makes… well, less sense. Hayes is Michigan's consensus top recruit of the 2011 class, but the question remains: can Michigan use him effectively?

Don't take it from me. Ask his high school coach:

"He's okay in between the tackles, but I see him more as a slot," said Delaney. "But he's so versatile you can line him back up with the quarterback and have a dual threat back there that way. You could put him back there and motion him, bring him across and sweep… a lot of things."

Allen Trieu's assessment upon Hayes's switch($) is ironic, declaring him a "good fit" because Hayes "would have had to grow into an I-Back type role at a power running school." Boilerplate about Borges's creativity and experience with wide-open passing attacks goes here; doubt about his role in an I-form, TE-heavy power-running offense is not erased by it.

Still, Hayes seems like the kind of kid you might have to build some offense around. The scouting reports portray him as one of those proverbial Weapons. His Rivals profile praises him as a "very, very quick back": before getting into some intangibles:

His body structure is reminiscent of Notre Dame running back Theo Riddick.
… will need to add some more strength and size in order to make yards after contact at the next level. He could work on his balance. …. Hayes is very versatile and could player defensive back, wide receiver or running back at the next level. He is a high-character kid that possesses serious leadership skills. ... He adds instant speed and will be hard to keep off the field.

Rivals rates his size and strength as average, his elusiveness and speed "blue chip," and his agility "as good as it gets." ESPN($):

Flashes great elusiveness and suddenness through the hole and second level. Sees the field well and redirects through the small creases sharply. Can stop-start and make tight cuts showing great balance and body control. A great jump-cutter who consistently makes the first guy miss but will also stick his foot in the ground and get north; elusive but a decisive runner as well. … Feet and body never stop on contact allowing him to spin out of a lot of arm tackles. Very slippery and does not give defenders a clean shot. … projects to be more of a change-of-pace, multi-purpose type of back at the major college level; at least until he fills out his frame and gains more downhill power. … has big-play potential with his initial burst and ability to reach top-speed extremely quick. Would make an ideal space-player in a spread offense at the next level; could develop into a great weapon [ed: see?] if used creatively.

The copious scouting reports from his camp appearances follow much in the same vein. A Rivals eval from the Army Combine praises his excellent change of direction and soft hands while claiming he'll need to gain "at least 20 more pounds" if he's going to be a feature back. As a result of that and his killer shuttle (4.09, third at the event) he was named to the All-Combine team($) at the Army Game ("excelled as a pass receiver … could play three different positions").

He hit up the Columbus Nike Camp, where he was "the best route-runner" at RB and "caught everything smoothly," looked like "the perfect physical cornerback" and displayed "superb" ball skills. He made that All-Combine team, too. At the Michigan Showcase he was "unstoppable" because of "ability to get in and out of his cuts and explode past defenders."

His catches are often spectacular. One from the Army Camp($):

"He ran a wheel route down the sideline. He caught the ball at its highest point - he had to have been 35 inches off the ground - like he has been doing it all his life. He is just a natural athlete."

One from his high school season—the play he broke his wrist on:

Hayes broke his wrist on what Delaney called one of the better catches he's ever seen. "We had the football right at the end of the half and our quarterback threw a bullet with no time remaining to the back of the end zone, 25 yards or so, and he split the defenders but came down on his wrist," he recalled.

You get the idea. Hayes is a 7-on-7 god.

Meanwhile, being a feature back isn't totally out of the question. Multiple analysts praise his decisive cuts and ability to run through traffic. Scout:

Very conscious of clearing his feet from the arm tacklers going low. Runs bigger than his listed size. Makes people miss with subtle moves rather than exaggerated lateral movement. Very good runner in traffic helps him eat up chunks of yardage quickly despite not having blazing top end speed. Very little wasted motion in his running style. Vision in traffic makes him valuable between the tackles despite his size - Scott Kennedy, Scout.com

ESPN's Billy Tucker says the usual stuff about 7-on-7 godliness but also mentions some ability to hit it upfield:

"Now this guy is not just an extremely quick and sudden east-west cutting runner. Hayes runs hard for 180-pounds and will stick his foot in the ground and get North when he sees a crease. That decisive cutting style and fluid change-of-direction skill should allow for good production in Ann Arbor."

oh, no reason

This guy is a Weapon. Michigan will use him.

Hayes will be a test for Borges's ability and Hoke's flexibility. The evidence suggests Hoke is going to be flexible enough to allow Borges to play with his toy. If so, Hayes has the ability to be a guy people pine for whenever a screen goes for four yards. "Justice Hayes would have gotten eight yards," they'll sigh, "and returned that kickoff to midfield." His size and a logjam in front of him will prevent that from happening right away, but his exciting combination of hands, quickness, and vision promise spectacular plays. It'll be up to Michigan's offensive brain trust to mine his assets with sufficient frequency.

Etc.: Chooses Notre Dame, temporarily. Name found worthy of "CALL HIM JUSTICE HAYES AND THEN SEE DEATH" EDSBS headline. Jim Stefani says he actually changed his name to Justice from "Will McDaniel," which good call. This massive, free breakdown from Vol Nation says all of the above and more. If you want to get irrationally excited about Hayes, read it.

May return kicks:

“Kickoff return,” Hayes said. “We’ve got a great amount of running backs and they’ve been peaking lately. So probably not this year, but I’m definitely going to compete to try and get a spot in the kickoff return.

“It doesn’t matter (what I do), just coming in to compete.”

Why Steve Breaston? Michigan hasn't had an all-purpose Weapon like Breaston since his departure and hadn't really had one before. While Breaston is a couple inches taller and was therefore strictly a wide receiver, his out-of-this-world quicks made him a guy to get the ball to any way you can—as long as it's not between the tackles.

Breaston, like Hayes, entered Michigan a rail-thin consensus four star who needed to gain weight. Hayes would have to scrape the very top of his potential be as elusive as Breaston but he does have one major advantage: hands. Breaston's hands were underrated by a pack of perfectionists who saw every dropped slant as a hanging offense but they weren't much better than okay. Hayes sounds like he's got Jason Avant's hands in a tailback's body.

Guru Reliability: Very high. While the injury robbed him of much of his senior season he'd already attended every camp he could; rankings and scouting reports are near-unanimous, with the only disagreement about whether or not he can be an effective runner between the tackles. The injury is a wrist injury and should not impact his speed.

General Excitement Level: High. Would be "very high"—the only ranking short of "eeee"—except for nagging concerns about his role in what projects to be a very pro-style offense. At worst he'll be a third down back and slot, but that role is something less than he might have become in the spread.

Projection: His versatility will allow him to see the field quickly on special teams and spotting various players on offense. With no slots in the class—no receivers at all—and the pending departures of three of the top for WRs he could find himself being groomed for a significant role as a sophomore. If that doesn't happen he's a heavy favorite to become the third down back when Smith graduates; at that point he'd also be in the WR rotation. Nonzero chance he puts on enough weight to be a feature back but that's not particularly likely.

If everything goes pear-shaped and he just does not fit in the offense it sounds like he'll have a shot at corner, too. Seems like that would be a waste, but not as much of one as not finding a role for him at all.

Previously: CB Greg Brown, CB/S Tamani Carter, CB Blake Countess, CB Delonte Hollowell, CB Raymon Taylor, LB Antonio Poole, LB Desmond Morgan, LB Frank Clark, LB Kellen Jones, DE Keith Heitzman, DE Chris Rock, DE Brennen Beyer, OL Jack Miller, OL Tony Posada, and RB Thomas Rawls.

Chris Bryant is the second mauling, pile-pushing guard Rich Rodriguez acquired just in time for Brady Hoke to clap his hands together and go "wheee" at the prospect of turning opposing linemen into damp smears. Okay, Rodriguez didn't quite seal the deal, but this was a JT Floyd situation: by the time the new guy had set up digs Michigan had been the heavy leader for so long that the actual commitment was a foregone conclusion.

I was under the impression Bryant was a better-regarded recruit than he actually ended up. This is probably because of my bias towards Rivals's software (this year conclusively demonstrates that Scout's rankings are superior). Rivals has him a member of their top 250; other sites offer just three stars. His offers were similarly kind of eh: despite a number of camp performances his best other offers were from Illinois and Arizona. Ohio State was on the verge of offering for seemingly half the recruiting year but never did end up pulling the trigger.

That's not too surprising given the scouting reports. They paint a picture of an enormous, enormously strong guy with questionable technique and a bit of a weight issue. Bryant's ceiling is high, but his risk of flaming out is similarly high. Specifics from ESPN($):

Bryant is a raw talent with very good upper body playing strength, flashing the ability to dominate defenders. Has the size for the offensive guard position at the major level of competition however his body mass will need to be redistributed through off season conditioning. … Can come off the ball low and hard but more often his initial fit and pad level are high; needs to improve his ability to play low coming off the ball however once he gets his hands on defenders the results can result in pancake blocks. This player could have problems with active 1st and 2nd level defenders unless his initial quickness and pad level improve. ... We like the aggressive finishing attitude this guy brings to the game, it's what we like to see from offensive linemen.

Scout echoes, with an addendum that they believe he's coachable:

STRENGTHS

Feet

Intelligence

Power And Strength

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Technique

Big bodied lineman who can move well for a kid his size. Smart, and takes to coaching quickly. Has great power and strength. When he gets his hands on someone, he usually wins. He has exceptional punch and can knock defenders off balance easily. He still is somewhat raw with his hand placement and technique, and is a tad top heavy, but has a ton of raw ability, and the type of aggressive, hard working attitude you want in a lineman. - Allen Trieu

Elsewhere Trieu says he's "very strong, but raw" and "picked up techniques quickly" at camps. After improving "each and every time out" over the summer he was a candidate to move up to four stars. Obviously, he didn't.

The Michigan Showcase was one of those camps, and Scout came back with an epic amount of scouting. Here's a freebie from a couple of their Ohio guys:

He moves well for a kid his size. He's athletic, has good feet and what I really liked was that he took to the coaching and worked hard from start to finish. The coaches were really getting on him to use his punch and after that, that's when we saw his power and ability to just stone defensive linemen. He still needs more of that technical work, but he picks it all up really fast and when combined with his physical tools, he has a chance to be a really good college lineman.

Again there are some technique and weight concerns. Trieu much the same in a News article with some extra emphasis on his coachability.

A couple months later he hit up another camp that Sam Webb reported back from, saying it looked like he'd taken off a few pounds and that he'd gotten a lot better($) since the last time people had seen him:

It was his pass blocking that scouts wanted to see improve. It’s easy to see that it has. Bryant showed better lateral quickness, was more adept at opening his hips in order to prevent rushers from getting around the edge, and possesses a devastating punch. He still lunges at times and can get caught off balance, but his technique is clearly improving.

Touch The Banner says the usual bit about his weight and then gets into a couple of important positives:

The bottom line is that Bryant is a very powerful kid. … When you watch Bryant's film, it's evident that he plows over defensive linemen. He's the type of lineman that demoralizes you by blocking you into the ground and then hitting you again and again when you try to get up. Eventually players just bide their time until the whistle blows. He's not quite to the level of Taylor Lewan in nastiness, but he's pretty close.

The thing I like most about Bryant, though, is his footwork. For such a big kid, he moves his feet superbly. Unlike fellow class of 2011 behemoth Aundrey Walker, Bryant keeps his feet moving throughout the play. Whereas Walker gives opponents a shove or two and expects them to give up, which they often do, Bryant drives his man or keeps his feet moving laterally in short, choppy steps. (Bonus: I ranked Bryant just ahead of Walker and just behind recent USC commit Cyrus Hobbi back in January.) His excellent footwork and potentially overwhelming size and strength should turn him into an excellent offensive lineman at Michigan.

There are always injury and motivation risks when talking about a guy Bryant's size but the good camp performances and consistent reports he is a high character, coachable kid mitigate those. He should spend the next couple years slimming down and getting that power even more powerful before debuting as the first of a generation of pulling road graders in two years. Hopefully this coach quote…

“He was incredible in the things he was doing out there,” Simeon coach Dante Culbreath said of his Bryant’s season. “He was dominant out there.”

…will be something we're saying by that point. Hoke will say he needs work.

Etc.: I have no comment on the two comments on this random blog post. Random exchange from a CU message board:

6-5 330lbs.? Wow, what are they putting in the Chicago water supply?

calories

Visited for the Big Chill.

Why also Alex Mitchell? Bryant isn't Posada but they are the same genre of player: 6'4" monster guards. Mitchell is the recent Michigan prototype for those guys, displaying both the promise—he started early and played pretty well—and danger—left the team out of shape—of those sorts. Hoke's Michigan won't beg him back if he won't put the effort in, at least.

I like Bryant better than Posada because his agility is reputed to be better, he's the size everyone expected he'd be, and his recruiting rankings are significantly better.

Guru Reliability: Moderate. Guy was healthy but there's a mismatch between the scouting reports and ratings; there's also a wide spread in the ratings themselves.

General Excitement Level: High. Bryant is the same weight as Posada but escapes the ding because everyone knew that going in. He's going to be in an offense that suits his talents and just needs to work on his technique and endurance; he's already got the strength. TTB's two main assets—nastiness and feet—are especially encouraging.

Projection: While Michigan's lack of depth on the line might force Bryant to forgo a redshirt, they've still got two or three options (Schofield, Khoury, Mealer) before they'd be forced into that. Severe injury issues on the interior will see Huyge move inside so it will take at least two and probably three injuries before they take the redshirt off.

If that doesn't happen, he gets the redshirt. The following year will be status quo minus Khoury, the presumed starting center. In 2013 he'll be a considerable favorite to win a starting job once Omameh and Barnum graduate.