2011 Recruiting: Tony Posada Comment Count

Brian

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, and OL Jack Miller.

       
Tampa, FL - 6'4" 340
       

tony-posada

Scout 3*, #45 OT
Rivals 3*, NR OG
ESPN 3*, 78, #34 OT
Others 247: 3*, 86, NR
Other Suitors USF, Missouri, Texas Tech, Tennessee
YMRMFSPA Alex Mitchell
Previously On MGoBlog Commitment post from Tim.
Notes Some other Tony Posada is the "worst witness ever."

Film

No highlight film, but here's Posada auditioning for the rugby team:

He's the enormous guy wearing #75 pushing that pile into the endzone.

Tony Posada is one of two very large persons Rich Rodriguez recruited just in time for Brady Hoke to deploy them as Wisconsin-approved donkey haters. It's unknown why Rodriguez decided to grab not one but two 340-pound mashers in his final recruiting class, but whatever the reason he's given Michigan a bit of a head start at guard as it transitions back to MANBALL.

Eventually, anyway. Three-forty is not a good weight to be if you want to play early. In high school he was listed at 320 or even 310. While 320 is the weight at which people start fibbing you lighter, not heavier, it's likely Posada put on some bad weight in the offseason. There is no weight between 320 and 340 that is good. And he was listed at 6-6 in these articles, so… yeah.

Further delaying his debut is Posada's actual height. It mean's he's a guard all the way. The recruiting rankings mostly declare him a tackle, but tackles aren't 6'4" anymore. Michigan has two junior starters at guard, so he won't be in contention for a job for two years.

If he's fit by then he's got a shot. A lot of people have written Posada off after his Godzilla-like appearance on the roster but his profile isn't actually that bad. Michigan offered Posada on Signing Day, before anyone else had. Texas Tech was his other finalist($); Missouri and USF were in the final four.

When Rodriguez got fired Mississippi State and Rutgers tried to get back in($). Posada actually took a visit to Starkville but decided to stick with Michigan after they threw him in jail for picking flowers. This is a Johnny Cash reference, not reality. In reality he is not from Mississippi and is thus unaffected by the local black hole. He also reported a Tennessee offer, FWIW. Florida said($) "lose ten pounds and we'll offer you," which is probably just a nice way to say "wait," and then he didn't and Florida moved on.

So that's a decent list of schools. Posada had more recruiting cred than Mark Huyge, who's turned into an on-and-off multi-year starter.

His scouting reports aren't bad either. ESPN($):

Posada has great size along with enough explosion and playing strength to dominate defenders at his present level of play…. Possesses enough flexibility to work out of both a two and three point stance showing the agility and balance to block quick on the line movement. Does a nice job when asked to reach front side with a quick up field first step. Can play on his feet in space however quick flow linebackers could present problems. This prospect demonstrates quick set ability from a two point stance; flashes good bend for his size, can slide and play flat footed to the deep set point without leaning in or crossing his feet. … arm length and quick hands should be an asset; does a nice job working to get his hands back inside the frame. This is a tough guy with an aggressive finishing attitude.

Even if he was 30 pounds lighter when that assessment was being made that's a thorough, positive evaluation with multiple references to good feet and "bend"—the lack of which has seen many highly touted OL flame out.

The Florida recruiting specialists at the Tha Ringer have a more reserved outlook:

- OL Tony Posada | 6'6, 315 | 2011 | Committed to Michigan

He best projects as an offensive guard to me, maybe a right tackle in a downfield running attack. His feet are really slow to get started -- speed rushers just kill him. Plays with a lot of intensity, but lets his emotions get the best of him at times. Loves to maul defenders in the run game.

Mauling defenders, you say? Brady Hoke points exuberantly!

brady-hoke-points-more

Brady likes it

Scout's Mike Bakas has a similar assessment($), asserting that he is college-ready when it comes to the ground but will require a year or two if he's not going to get his quarterback killed:

He's very strong and has the ability to just maul defenders at the point of attack. … big enough where he could stand to shed a few pounds. He's not a kid you will often see 30-40 yards downfield throwing blocks. While he can manhandle defenders, he can also struggle against smaller, quicker guys who can give him troubles. He has more raw size, power, and strength right now than athleticism, quickness, and flexibility. … has some upside, especially in the running game, and is probably a couple years away from being ready to make a big impact in the passing game.

Coach quotes also play up the mauling. An opponent($):

"We thought maybe we had them but they made the decision in the second half to turn the football over to [five-star tailback] James Wilder and they just ran behind Posada play after play after play, and there was really nothing we could do about it."

Manatee's offensive coordinator also praised him for never taking a snap off: "When you're that big and as skilled as he is at this level you're just going to dominate and [your] biggest obstacle is really yourself because you have to decide how aggressive you'll be."

Citing a lack of film, Touch The Banner doesn't say much more than "dude is a guard."

Dude is a guard, and clearly a mauling, pounding drive blocker. He's going to have to turn a lot of bad weight into good before he steps on the field at Michigan, and it's possible his weight and pass protection struggle will condemn him to the bench forever. If he manages to slim down he could be the vanguard of This Is Physical Michigan.

His coach thinks that's happening:

"Tony's best football is ahead of him," said Plant coach Robert Weiner. "I mean he is on the upswing for sure and has gotten so much better year to year, even the last few months. He's a student of the game and has all the physical traits to be another great lineman at Michigan. We are all real excited for him."

Etc.: Commitment video. More commit video. Some guy who thinks he's 1985 John Cusack interviews him. Seems sharp in this Q&A. Photo gallery.

Some people are jerks:

"We didn't know if he still had a scholarship at Michigan," Christine Posada said. "We had other colleges calling him and telling him that he wouldn't have a scholarship at Michigan and he should come to their school.

"They were scaring this 17-year-old kid."

Don't tell Brady:

Posada also believed he was a good fit in good Rich Rodriguez's spread offensive attack.

"I like Coach Rod's offense," he said. "The offensive tackle isn't squished next to a tight end at the line of scrimmage. It's a power football scheme that still allows you to be physical and dominant."

Why Alex Mitchell? Like Posada, Mitchell was big. Mitchell was reputed to be a tackle when he was a recruit but showed up monstrous and slid inside quickly. He then emerged into a starter and run mauler before his drive evaporated. He packed on pounds, quit the team, was begged back despite being ever more corpulent, and played during Infamous Carr Denouement.

Mitchell was higher rated but didn't pan out; Posada's career hinges on avoiding the hamfate that befell his predecessor.

Guru Reliability: High. Posada was healthy; scouting reports are consistent, rankings are pretty much in the same range; Plant is uber-scouted.

General Excitement Level: Moderate-minus. The recruiting rankings and scouting reports warrant a moderate; coming in at 340 is a bad sign.

Projection: Lock to redshirt. Michigan has Khoury and Mealer at guard ahead of him on the two deep and while Chris Bryant is equally Weisian he's also rated a lot higher. After that he'll compete against Bryant and the incoming flood of freshmen for two starting jobs. He'll have a year on the freshmen, but they'll have recruiting ratings and their ability to show up at a more ready-to-play weight on their side. I'd say his shot at starting is 30%.

Comments

CRex

August 15th, 2011 at 4:12 PM ^

Well the coaching staff got 30 pounds off of BWC.  I guess they have a new project now and perhaps lots of bleacher laps for Posada.

If he drops his weight I'd say he becomes good depth.  They can rotate him on running plays to give others a breather and use him on goal line sets even if he never gets his pass blocking down.  

WolvinLA2

August 15th, 2011 at 4:22 PM ^

He's got a redshirt year and likely another year before he's going to challenge for PT, I'm not worried about his weight. He was probably going to play around 320-325 anyway, he's just a bigger dude. Two years to firm that up is plenty of time.

Whether he gets it by then is another story, but most freshman OL guys need to either gain or lose a lot of weight when they get to campus. He could have shown up in great shape and he still wouldn't have a shot at the starting line up until 2013.

Don

August 15th, 2011 at 4:32 PM ^

If an 18-year old HS kid was 6-6 and a rock-hard 320 with no flab, kept an unstoppably low pad level on each play, was in such good shape that he never worked up a sweat or got out of breath, kept a relentlessly high motor on each down, had impeccable footwork and flawless mechanics, he wouldn't be an 18-year old high school kid.

He'd be 29 and playing in the NFL.

BornInAA

August 15th, 2011 at 9:02 PM ^

We had three 10 year olds running laps tonight (as they have been all month)trying to stay under 110. I guess there is only a 30% chance they will be a starter in college too.
Brian has got something against fat people? Cheeseburgers need love too...

Chi-Blue

August 15th, 2011 at 9:07 PM ^

Speaking of big guys that have gained weight . . . you HAVE to check out the pic of Will Heniger in the DET News in the article about Hoke. Hea really looks like he is ready to make an impact this year

Mr. Blue

August 15th, 2011 at 11:00 PM ^

Posada seems like a great kid with a lot of potential. He'll have a lot of competition with the 2012 OL guys and probably the 2013 guys too. If he's motivated and learns well, he could start for a couple of years.

TraditionNeverDies

August 16th, 2011 at 1:31 AM ^

He wil definitly need that redshirt to cut down on the weight and hopefully he works hard in the weight room and also the practice field so he  lose about 15 lbs. He will be a great Guard soon enough