2010 Recruiting: Drew Dileo

Previously: S Carvin Johnson, S Ray Vinopal, S Marvin Robinson, CB Courtney Avery, CB Terrence Talbott, CB Cullen Christian, CB Demar Dorsey, LB Jake Ryan, LB Davion Rogers, LB Josh Furman, DE Jordan Paskorz, DE Jibreel Black, DT Terry Talbott, DT Richard Ash, and C Christian Pace.

When Drew Dileo, a small, white slot receiver from Louisiana, committed to Michigan early in the last recruiting cycle, the internet was displeased. This site was openly skeptical of him in his "Hello" post; message boards lit up with negativity about Rodriguez's recruiting; rivals joked that he would move to tackle because he was fairly large for a Rodriguez recruit.

This is why from the horse's (pony's?) mouth:

“I was thinking I might end up at Louisiana Tech, a smaller school like that,” he said.

It didn't help that early reports had Stanford his only other BCS offer, with Tulane and Rice the other suitors. Nor did the composition of Michigan's class at the time. Dileo was the fifth receiver and second slot, a luxury recruit seemingly out of whack with Michigan's roster composition who wasn't even much of a luxury.

Complaints ensued, and from the complaints came the generic questions about doubters, and from the generic questions about doubters came the positive attitude and general likeability to make doubters feel like heels:

“I know my profile isn’t as great as a lot of other kids’ around the country,” he said. “I know (Michigan) reached out there a little bit to get me. It’s not about proving anybody wrong. I just don’t want people up there to feel like I wasted a scholarship.”

I hope all of you think about what you've done.

So let's get past all that. Yes, Dileo is an odd recruit to be in this class and his rankings are uninspiring. But that doesn't mean he's doomed. It would turn out that Virginia and Northwestern had also offered, so… there's that. Rivals ranked him #24 in Louisiana, which isn't world-crushing but is just behind LSU WR commit Armand Williams and in front of prospects headed to Texas A&M, Texas Tech, LSU, and Florida State. He is also way in front of a guy named "Deuce Coon." Go Louisiana naming industry.

In high school, Dileo was a multi-purpose threat capable of scoring in literally every way you can without playing defense:

In two years as a Parkview starter, Dileo has compiled 3,300 all-purpose yards — 1,210 rushing, 620 receiving and 1,470 on returns.

As a sophomore, Dileo, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, became the first Parkview player to score on a kickoff return and a punt return; pass for a score and rush for a score; and catch a touchdown pass in the same season.

Michigan was the "most aggressive" school after Dileo, declaring that they "just had to have him." Despite his commitment, "several" SEC schools pinged him during his senior season.

None of this elevates Dileo to the level of a prospect Michigan fans should be thrilled about, but they are indicators he can contribute. And if there's one specific place a redundant slot receiver can contribute immediately, it's catching—not dropping—punts and then running the other way. Dileo's strange addition becomes far less strange in this context:

"I think they are looking for me to return punts more than anything, but I'll play a little slot receiver,” Dileo said.

Dileo has also returned kickoffs for Parkview Baptist in the past. Opposing teams stopped kicking to him this season, though, after he averaged more than 42 yards per kickoff return as a junior. …

What makes Dileo a competent return specialist is his combination of sure hands, agility and quickness. Much like an outfielder in baseball, a return man must accurately judge when and where a kicked ball will land while factoring in kick trajectory, ball rotation and the wind’s effect. Unlike baseball, a return specialist also has 11 members of the opposing team ready to hit him as soon as he fields the ball.

Dileo was also a baseball star for PBS, FWIW, and ESPN's evaluation also brings up his return skills($):

As a punt returner he fields the ball and accelerates while reading blocks on the run. Maintains balance even after being hit. Fights for every inch of return yardage and can make defenders miss in the openfield. As a kick returner shows the same savvy and determination. Follows the wedge and breaks into the clear at just the right moment.

Elsewhere, a local observer claims Dileo's field vision on returns is "sick" and that he is "a threat to take it all the way" on any kick or punt he gets his hands on; Touch the Banner declares him an "excellent" returner who looks to "get upfield in a hurry." If Dileo spends the next few years doing nothing except making correct decisions on punts—if he holds on to the damn ball—he'll be well worth the scholarship.

Dileo also projects as a slot receiver in college, where he draws comparisons to someone totally unexpected:

“He [Fred Jackson]told us Drew reminds them of Wes Welker,” Simoneaux said.

I know you were thinking someone would bring up Grant Fuhr. No such luck. Even if Wes Welker is the most hackneyed, obvious comparison anyone could possibly make to a white slot receiver, it must be said that the scouting reports do kind of bear it out. More ESPN:

Catches the ball easily in traffic and hauls in the pass even knowing he will be hit immediately after the reception. Can turn back across his body to make the difficult catches. As a slot, runs the counter and reverse to perfection. Hits and spins for extra yardage and is tough to bring down. Often slips through arm tackles to keep making positive yardage.

They also break out the white guy descriptors, calling him "sound," "solid," and "sure" in the same freakin' sentence. That just begins the avalanche of grit:

“It just goes to show you there’s still room for kids who are great athletes that have a great heart and work ethic,” Parkview coach Kenny Guillot said. “There’s a lot more room than people want to think.”

More grit:

Dileo might not have as much bulk as some of the running backs in this class, but without question he has the heart.

Pizza box grit:

“He’s just a humble, humble kid,” Guillot said. “When everyone’s leaving, he’s the one in the weight room putting up weights. We have guest speakers every Thursday and have pizza, he’s always there picking up the pizza boxes and stuff like that.

“We like our kids to stay humble and hungry. We preach that to them and preach to them about (being) team players. We talked to Coach Rodriguez about that, and he said one of the things he felt like he had to overcome when he first got to Michigan, there was a lot of I going on.”

More local observers call him a "pure football player" and "true gamer" while claiming he's 5'8" (though someone else disputes that, saying he's 5'9" to 5'10"): never has a Michigan recruit been described by so many as David Eckstein in a helmet.

Some random blogspot guy compared Dileo to Darius Reynaud, so there's that, and the positive descriptors don't stop at his outstanding character. His coach calls him "one of those one of those kids who could be in a phone booth and still make people miss"; the locals claim he's "very slippery"; Jim Stefani invokes "slippery" as well and says he "excels in space with his great quickness and elusiveness."

TTB, always clear-eyed about things, sounds a note of disagreement—"I question his ability to be fast enough or elusive enough to be a major contributor at the next level"—that the recruiting sites certainly imply, but we'll leave the last word to his coach:

“I’ve been coaching a long time and I remember an old pro scout told me many years ago, when a guy can make the first guy miss” that’s a dangerous weapon, Guillot said. “He does a great job of making the first guy miss.”

Do that after catching—not dropping—all the punts and "waste" won't be a word uttered within six sentences of Drew Dileo.

Etc.: GBMW profile. Brief UMGoBlog interview. Scout commit article. Interview. A ton of local articles mentioning Dileo. He's white so there's a creepy CasteFootball thread on him.

Why David Eckstein/Wes Welker/Darius Reynaud/Dorrell Jalloh? The former two are because he is very, very gritty. If you bought Drew Dileo brand lettuce you could smooth furniture with it.

The latter two are close analogues to what Rodriguez will hope to get out of Dileo. Jalloh was a nothing recruit—literally, he was not ranked at all by Rivals or Scout—who became a productive multi-purpose threat at West Virginia. Reynaud is 5'10" and was a middling three-star receiver out of Louisiana who also became a productive multi-purpose threat at WVU.

Guru Reliability: Just under high. No combines apparently but a high profile player on a smallish but high profile high school in a relentlessly scouted state.
General Excitement Level: Moderate. If RR & co really did bring him in just because he's an awesome returner and he lives up to that immediately it is a great, great offer given the disaster zone M has had the past couple years there. His receiving upside seems limited.
Projection: Will be very interested to hear how things are going in fall camp as far as returns go. If no one latches onto the job and Dileo's in the running he will play this year. If someone, Gallon most likely, beats him out he'll redshirt and develop on the bench until Roundtree graduates.