2009 Recruiting: Vlad Emilien Comment Count

Brian

YMRMFSPA = "you may remember me from such players as." Note that this is not supposed to be a projection of success; we only know how successful players play, as unsuccessful ones don't.

Lauderhill, Florida - 6'0" 186
VLADIMIREMILIEN5JD08200_thumb Scout 3*, #42 S
Rivals 4*, #14 S
ESPN 80, #22 S
Others --
Other Suitors Ohio State, Wisconsin, Tennessee,
South Carolina, Stanford
YMRMFSPA Jamar Adams
Previously On
MGoBlog
TomVH interviews Vlad; MGoBlog commit article.
Notes Best name in the class; early enroller.


Emilien seemed ticketed for Ohio State before a senior-year injury knocked him out and the Buckeyes accepted a slew of defensive back commitments. He received a mid-march offer from OSU and favored the Buckeyes for a long time, but never pulled the trigger. Offers followed from Tennessee, South Carolina, USF, Auburn, and Illinois before Michigan followed suit in late April. LSU followed up with one.

It was at this point Emilien and OSU started drifting apart, as he remained uncommitted while six other DBs signed up. After some on-again, off-again stuff—due in part to some malfeasance on the part of OH S Bradley McDougald, then an OSU commit—Ohio State reappeared on his list for good at about the same time Michigan got back on it. After officials to Wisconsin and Michigan, Emilien picked M the day after the OSU game.

The ACL tear that held Emilien out his senior season, and two big schools' reaction to it, may have made the difference:

"It meant a lot to me that U-M stayed loyal to me after I hurt my knee ... others stopped recruiting me at that time and that hurt. Michigan stayed with me; they showed me they will still be with me in tough times as well as good."

So: that's a wide selection of impressive early offers and continued, if intermittent, Ohio State pursuit despite their flood of defensive backs. Plus you've got two sites giving him four stars despite the injury. Sounds good, but we're probably going to have to wait to see him on the field. Coach quote:

"Vlad  is still just really developing,'' Davis said. "He was a running back as a freshman. I think he has the potential to be just like [current Gator] Major Wright.''

Major Wright, you say?

Of course, Wright was a major (ha!) reason Florida's secondary was so toasty crisp in 2007—Citrus Bowl what—and he didn't spend his senior year on the sideline. Emilien's early enrollment is probably not enough to offset inexperience and any lingering effects from the injury.

But he'll work when he gets here:

WHAT I DO TO STAY IN SHAPE: "I'm a workaholic; basically all I do is train, train, train. I wake up at 5 a.m. and go train. I run track, too, so I'm trying to keep myself in shape for that. I lift weights. Go on the track and do a couple of 400s to keep my endurance up. I run a couple of 110s, because that's what they run in college. I've got to get used to the college life and make sure my speed is up."

Pray to Baby Jesus that he got an A in geometry; if he does we've got something here.

Why Jamar Adams? Approximately same build, same sort of early offer, and he's the only Michigan safety in the last ten years that wouldn't be an insult.

Guru Reliability: Low. Wide spread and a senior-year injury.
General Excitement Level: Moderate Plus. OSU safeties not named Jamario O'Neal have played out of all proportion to their rankings for years now and I'm extremely happy to pry a guy they thought was worthy of a March offer out of their hands. Probably underrated, but the knee injury increases the chances he won't live up to those offers.
Projection: Either sparing special teams time as a freshman or (hopefully) a redshirt. In 2010 will be a major threat to start at strong safety, though he might have to fight Brandon Smith to get a job.

Comments

marco dane

February 17th, 2009 at 2:45 PM ^

the boom on whomever crosses the middle of the field,with the correct angle and proper technique...I could careless if he ever smile.

I just want someone to remind me of Jamar or Marcus Ray back there. I think Michigan has hit paydirt with this kid and B Smith.

WolvinLA

February 17th, 2009 at 12:35 PM ^

Bro, go out to a track tonight and sprint through a few 400s. As far as football endurance, that whips you into shape. Football players don't go out and run 4 miles at a time.

110s likely doesn't refer to hurdles, but that's the longest straight away on a track so football and track guys run those a lot.

jamiemac

February 17th, 2009 at 12:49 PM ^

Doing a set of 3 to 5 of those suckers--likely at the end of a workout--man that is a serious exclamation point for any workout.

I love this kid's attitude, apparent work ethic and, remember, before the injury this was one of the hottest prospects out there.

This kid is a steal....cant wait to see him play.

stubob

February 17th, 2009 at 1:58 PM ^

A 400 is about the maximum distance that you can perform anerobically (assuming he's running sub-60's). So a 400 is probably not an ideal distance for what he's going for. The 100/110s are a good workout for a football player, obviously, but if he's worried about endurance, read aerobic performance, he needs to run longer. I'm still not saying 10 6 minute miles like Prefontaine or anything, but a hard mile or two would be more benefit than "a couple 400s".

All I meant was that having a dedicated S&C coach would be able to optimize his training better than "a couple 400s."

For the record, I'm a former sprint/mid-distance hurdler, and a current recreational triathlete. Even track guys have to run miles. It sucked, we complained, but it made us better.

WolvinLA

February 17th, 2009 at 2:23 PM ^

I was a sprinter/mid distance guy, and we had to run miles too. But when I trained for football we never did. The shortest race in track the 100 (outdoor) but in football, unless you are returning kicks or you get a huge INT return, you rarely run farther than 40 or 50 yards at a time, usually more like 10 or 20. Track needs endurance, football is all about lots and lots of short bursts. This is why football players rarely run farther than they can keep a 75% sprint, usually a quarter.

Tater

February 17th, 2009 at 6:34 PM ^

One hit like the one Major Wright did against Oklahoma on that little video, and it might stick at UM, too.

For a little context, I don't remember what point in the game it was, but that hit was really, really crucial to the outcome of the game.

Craven Morehead

February 17th, 2009 at 5:04 PM ^

for the longest time, those sucknut fans, that are really botched abortions, thought Vlad The Impaler was theres for the picking. But how things change. I only hope Vlad makes minced meat of the suckeyes and makes them wish that OSU coaches never cooled on him.

WolvinLA

February 17th, 2009 at 5:30 PM ^

OK man, here it is. Everyone gives you shit and I almost felt bad for you. But saying shit like "suckeyes" and calling OSU fans "botched abortions" makes me want to throw up into your mouth. When I see our haters saying scUM it makes me think they are ignorant. Now, they are going to think the same thing about you, and I'll be clumped in. Don't do that.

WolvinLA

February 17th, 2009 at 7:09 PM ^

I haven't heard any of those terms being used toward Ohio State folk except maybe assholes, but usually that's because they were actually being an asshole. I just thought we held ourselves to a little higher standard.

But I could be wrong.

BeantownBlue

February 18th, 2009 at 10:47 AM ^

was pass interference. He arrived before the ball, plain and simple. Horrible call. I didn't even care who won that game but I remember thinking that was a terrible call and didn't see why the announcers weren't pointing it out. Just more proof of how horrible the announcers were for that game.