Hello: Carter Dunaway
Carter Dunaway (R) with his brother, 2015 walk-on Jack Dunaway.
Michigan picked up its first commitment of the 2017 class last week in Birmingham (MI) Brother Rice tight end Carter Dunaway, who was offered while visiting for the spring game and didn't wait long to make his decision.
It's not surprising Dunaway jumped at the chance to play for Michigan. His father, Craig, played tight end under Bo Schembechler. His brother, Jack, is a preferred walk-on defensive end in the 2015 class. With former high school teammates Alex Malzone and Grant Perry also joining the program, Dunaway had plenty of motivation to make a commitment, and he told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown he didn't see any reason to wait ($):
"Obviously when I got the offer it was a big shock," Dunaway said. "I wanted to talk about it with my family and go over everything with them. After I was able to do that, I realized that I'm going to end up at Michigan anyway. Why prolong the whole recruiting process? I wanted to get it over with right now and focus on my high school season and get my goals straight. It was just a good time for me to get that done and go down there and talk to Coach [Jim] Harbaugh.
"I actually went to his office to tell him in person. He was actually at the Tigers game before I got there but he was just hanging out, talking with a couple of coaches. I went into his office and talked to him and that's when I committed."
Dunaway plans to do some recruiting of his own, especially in-state, now that he's made his decision.
GURU RATINGS
Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247 Comp |
NR TE | NR TE | NR TE | NR TE | NR TE |
Dunaway isn't ranked by any of the four sites, and there are very apparent reasons for this: he played a backup role on a senior-laden Brother Rice squad last season, to the point that there isn't any sophomore film freely available on him—it'd be short, anyway, as Dunaway had one reception in 2014. It's safe to say there's a lot of projection in this offer from Jim Harbaugh's end, with Dunaway's 6'6", 230-pound frame playing a significant role.
SCOUTING
As mentioned above, Dunaway wasn't a significant part of the Brother Rice offense last season, as he was stuck behind a pair of productive senior tight ends; Michael Roney and Dylan Fortin combined for 40 catches from that spot, and with Alex Malzone's favorite wide receiver, Grant Perry, accounting for another 105 receptions, there were only so many targets to go around.
Dunaway hasn't made a significant mark on the camp circuit, either. There's only a short video of him going through drills at last May's Midwest Elite Camp...
I have no idea what to make of this.
...and him giving a self-evaluation to GBW's Josh Newkirk afterwards ($):
Only a freshman, Dunaway put his talents on display this past Saturday in the Midwest Elite Camp. The 6-foot-6, 225-pounder was impressive, as he showcased good coordination and catching ability throughout the camp.
"I think I am doing okay," Dunaway said. "I have made a couple good catches. I'm working hard out here. I am going as fast as I can in every drill. So I think I am doing pretty well."
Right now, we have a frame and a legacy. We'll know a lot more this fall, when Dunaway projects to be a major part of a Brother Rice offense replacing six of its top seven receivers.
OFFERS
Michigan was the only school to offer Dunaway before his commitment. The Wolverine reported he had interest from Boston College, Michigan State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, and some Ivy League schools. Dunaway expressed interest in exploring the Ivy League; he should be just fine academically.
HIGH SCHOOL
I probably don't need to tell you much about Brother Rice, which won three straight state titles from 2011-2013 and has a long history of success, mostly under legendary former coach Al Fracassa. A trio of 2015 freshmen—Malzone, Perry, and Jack Dunaway—all come from the program.
STATS
Dunaway had one reception for nine yards in 2014.
FAKE 40 TIME
None listed.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
I mean, your guess is as good as mine here. Dunaway has the frame to be a solid in-line tight end who can handle the physical aspect of the position from an early juncture—he's already at 230 pounds with two full years of high school remaining. There's nothing to glean from his very limited on-field resumé except he wasn't such a precocious talent that he could jump a pair of trusty seniors, one of whom (Michael Fortin) landed a scholarship from Eastern Michigan.
It's still too early to even project the depth chart at tight end for 2017. Michigan will have a redshirt senior Khalid Hill, a redshirt junior Ian Bunting, and either a true junior or redshirt sophomore Tyrone Wheatley Jr. at the position, plus any 2016 tight end recruits that they bring in—Michigan will add at least one in this cycle. Here's an early guess at a redshirt for Dunaway, with any other projection not worth making based on the lack of available evidence.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Michigan will have a 2017 class, and Carter Dunaway will be in it.
April 21st, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
His brother plays here and his dad played here. You don't think he would commit to Michigan a year from now if they offered? There is no harm in being patient and taking a wait and see approach with a guy like this. All the coaches have to do is say, "Son, we are interested in you and will be following your progress. If you show the progress we expect you to make, there is a good chance we will give you an offer."
April 21st, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
April 22nd, 2015 at 12:29 PM ^
You might fill a spot another more talented recruit might fill himself and steer away from
You send the wrong message....potentially inconsistent with the 24-7 competition message being communicated to the community, the active roster players and other recruits - team chemistry issues
And Although signs point to contrary and this dude is clearly not the runt if the litter, he might not measure up to his legacy.
That said, I think their is room (and some benefits) in the college football world for some level of legacy homage/ nepotism (see Jay Harbaugh) and room on roster for gambles like this. And the dude does in fact have a strong legacy.
So, the benefits:
Comfort level
Sure bet acceptance
Allows you to take more risk on a kid like this who is literally, with nearly no statistics, all potential but has good Dna (see Beilein playbook)
Culture continuity
If you hit on a gamble, you win big
You get a guy with a built in chip on his shoulder (hopefully, and all reports indicate this kid is a quality character)
So here I think the rewards outweigh the risk, but let's not say this is the "normal" way a recruit is picked up. It wasn't and to sweep aside the small ethical conundrum under the guise of the "trust the coaches" shouting going on on this board is un-Michigan like if you ask me (btw I completely trust the coaches in matters of football). End of the day, if the kid's dad played at Wichita State and did not "Bo know" the program, he would be on a very very early watch list if at all.
Regardless, he seems like the right type of kid mentally and physically and lineage-ly to do expend a legacy commit spot on. Queue the rewards list above....totally happy for him and am sure in one way or another he will contribute to the program.
April 21st, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
"Because a year from now he might be a commit to another school."
I think that's kind of a hogwash reason. Even if he were committed to another school, he would probably seriously consider flipping. And the truth is that it's very likely no noteworthy school would have stepped forward with an offer without some significant game film and experience. Sure, Eastern Michigan and Ball State might have offered, but Alabama, USC, Ohio State, etc. wouldn't have.
They didn't offer him so they could beat other schools to the punch. There are various other reasons to offer him, but not that one.
April 21st, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
My guess is that their motivation is that they like him as a football player. Like you said somewhere above, "If you like him, take him" or something like that. Not having seen him in any football setting myself, I have to believe they like what they've seen from him personally, trust his coaches, etc.
But again, it's almost completely unfounded to expect that this kid would have lots of offers and be committed elsewhere anytime soon. Not only would he have had to hit the camp circuit this summer, but nobody would have any game film on him until a few games into this fall.
The way things usually work for someone like him is that he gets offered by Buffalo or Central Michigan. Then along comes Cincinnati or Indiana or Northwestern. And then the big boys start coming in. We wouldn't have been battling Alabama, Texas, and USC, at least not at the start. If the coaches had a strong desire to get him, they could have waited to see if EMU, WMU, Ball State, etc. offered...and if they didn't, Michigan could have waited longer. You and I both know that virtually no kid ever sticks with a MAC commitment when Michigan (or a similar program) comes calling.
Are we agreeing that it's HIGHLY unlikely that any big, threatening program was going to offer him sometime soon?
If we are, then I can move on to the next point...
I think if you REALLY like him, you go ahead and offer him. Ultimately, if you think he's the best guy (or one of the two or three best guys) and you want him on your team no matter what, then you go ahead and offer him. That just makes sense. If Charlotte McKinney has an undying love for you, you don't wait just because you can - you lock her down immediately.
That being said, I have a hard time believing that a kid at Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice who couldn't beat out Michael Roney and Brian Fortin is a better prospect than Brock Wright, Leonard Warner, etc., who are some other elite tight end prospects in the 2017 class. If Dunaway were that good, he would have forced himself onto the field somewhere - at tight end, wide receiver, defensive end, etc. Brother Rice is a good program in the state, a state championship-caliber team, but they do not field the same kind of athletes that you find in Florida, Texas, California, etc.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The last coach of Michigan could likely will be answering this ad. And he was killing it in the recruiting service rankings.
Let's not forget who is in charge of things. We might be going too far into nerdville whining about recruiting rankings. Also let's not forget what Dantonio's 2 and 3 stars have been doing to Michigan for most of the last half-decade.
Fantastic News! Always good to get the local kids who want to come here and given how important TE is to the offense it's good to get a guy who can grow intpo the role. Welcome aboard!
We are grateful to have you! We need more enormous, athletic, committed young men on our team.
As far as everyone who is saying that this offer doesn't make sense...don't you think it's possible that Harbaugh knows more than you do? Carter has camped at Michigan and has obvious Michigan connections. HS stats for a sophomore aren't everything.
I'm excited to have another member of the family.
GO BLUE!!!
I have known both boys since they were born and they are both the type of students and athletes that made the blue program what it is and I am proud to have them both represent my university
April 21st, 2015 at 10:06 PM ^
for your first post, just don't wait until 2019 to make your 2nd!
BTW, if Carter's dad Craig was one of 'Bo's Boys', does this make Carter one of 'Bo's Grandsons'?
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