Q: Seth how are you getting so many of these out? Answer: A reader named Ryan Olthoff is helping me collect links and quotes so I can just watch film and put them together. Big thank you Ryan, and to all the members of the community who’ve been pitching in. All of you keep this site going, and our appreciation is vast.

Previously: Last year’s profiles. P Tommy Doman Jr. S Rod Moore. CB Ja’Den McBurrows. LB Jaydon Hood. LB Junior Colson. LB Tyler McLaurin. DE Kechaun Bennett. DE TJ Guy. DE/DT Dominick Giudice.

Jersey City, NJ – 6’4", 270
[Jersey Sports Zone]		24/7:           3.84*	3*, 88, #460 overall #56 DL, #7 NJ
		Rivals:           4.10*	4*, 5.8, #227 overall #14 SDE, #5 NJ
		ESPN:           4.21*	4*, 83, #28 East, #205 overall #24 DE, #2 NJ
		Composite:           4.06*	4*, .9070, #262 overall #34 DL, #4 NJ
		Other Suitors	PSU, BC, Cuse, (Bama)
		YMRMFSPA	Ryan Van Bergen but a fish.
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello post by me.
Notes	Instagram. Hudl. Son of Syracuse (Big East DPoY) George Rooks II. Brother of WBB alum Taylor Rooks
Film:
Senior highlights:

A four-star defensive tackle. Oh, if you only knew how much Michigan fans have desired such a thing these long post-Hurst years. Each time the rankings were updated we would scroll the lists searching for that most elusive 4-star DT who wants to play for Michigan. I won't say we've been looking in the cradles of every NFL lineman's house, but it definitely feels like we've had an eye on George Rooks II's kid for quite some time.

• His sister played basketball here.
• He’s from New Jersey, where Michigan had cleaned up under Partridge and Campanile.
• Academics!
• NFL dad.
• Might be more of an SDE.

Converting that to an LOI was quite an adventure. There were coaching changes, rumored coaching changes (Nua seemed on the block), a pandemic, and all the while Penn State trying to intercept, Dad’s alma mater of Syracuse was playing the loyalty card, and Jeff Hafley's out there turning Boston College into a Buckeye satellite. The rankings went up, up, up, then down.

But we got here. George Rooks III is on campus. He’s at the minimum weight to play DT. All that’s left is to turn him into one. Or we could just rename all the positions he can play "tackle" and call it a win.

[After THE JUMP: What Macdonald refers to as one anyway.]

Where does he fit? The old staff was recruiting Rooks as one of those Anchors we plan to move inside, though this one had the potential to get all the way to nose. ESPN and Rivals ranked Rooks as a DE (SDE in the latter’s case). 24/7 had him at DT until they combined NTs->SDE into a “DL” category and put WDEs + 3-4 OLBs in an “EDGE” category. They have Kechaun Bennett in the DL category and the other two Anchor-like prospects in the Edge pile, which is weird, but if we’re putting all the potential front five recruits on a spectrum it looks like this:

• ILB/maybe OLB: Tyler McLaurin
• OLB: Kechaun Bennett
• OLB/maybe SDT: TJ Guy
• DT: Dominick Giudice
• DT/maybe NT: George Rooks
• DT/NT: Rayshaun Benny
• NT: Ike Iwunnah

Brian Dohn of 24/7 saw Rooks the most and says he “Carries 260 pounds like 240. Can play 3-technique in 4-3 or defensive end in 3-4” and that “his length and frame is suited for a 3-4 defensive end”:

In a 4-3 defense, Rooks is best suited to move inside and anchor the middle of the defensive line. He can take on blocks and hold the point of attack for the linebackers to make plays. In a 3-4 defense, Rooks can play as a 5 tech and take on the blocks and allow the linebackers to make plays.

Rivals’ Adam Friedman agrees Rooks goes inside and sees a lot more meat in Rooks’s future.

Rooks has a versatile frame that colleges look for and he can play in an odd or even front at the college level. Expect him to undergo lots of physical development once he gets to college. … His future is likely on the interior of the defensive line.

Dohn explained to Sam this is because Rooks is much better suited to soaking up offensive linemen than getting past them.

I don't think he's that crazy explosive guy off the edge, but he's got a great frame, he's got length. If you're going to put him in the middle of the defensive line where he's going to anchor in there and really take on the run game and take on two blocks, and let the linebackers clean up on some tackles… that makes complete sense to me. If you're going to put him in a 3-4 and have him on the edge and he comes off, yeah, I think that makes a lot more sense to me than just putting at edge in a 4-3 and saying, ‘go get the quarterback and get up the field.’ I don't think that's his game. I think it's more inside to where he can just take on blocks and use his hands and get off those blocks.

His team was already using him that way as a 5-tech (SDE) in a 3-4. If you’re parsing further between WDT (traditional 3-tech) and SDT (heavy Anchor), Rooks is probably the latter—more Isaiahh Loudermilk than Garrett Rand, if you know your Badgers. Not everyone thinks Rooks can grow further inside. Rivals’ Rutgers/Ohio State scout Alex Gleitman compared Rooks to an Anchor-only prospect Brown was looking at before Michigan backed away:

I think Rooks is similar to Armitage in that I don't see a ton of room to grow physically, but I see him as a solid prospect. He is fundamentally sound and takes to coaching very well, so I think he will be a multi-year contributor for the Wolverines.

Gleitman ranked Armitage two spots higher among New Jersey prospects, with an MSU OL between them. You have to compensate for biases quite a bit with Gleitman.

Touch the Banner likes Rooks okay—he gave him an 80 rating—but sees him growing into mostly a 3-4 SDE:

At the next level, Rooks will probably move into the interior, probably to more of a 4i or 5-tech position. I could also see him being used at the nose tackle position in certain pass rush situations. But all of that will probably come sometime down the road, since he is still a little bit light and probably needs to adjust his technique to handle combo blocks a little better. He is athletic enough to possibly get on the field toward the end of games in non-critical situations, but a redshirt is also a strong possibility.

Before the coaching change Nua was having the standard Anchor unless we move you to T conversation:

With Coach Nua, we’ve been watching a lot of film. We’re seeing where I fit in the system. He’s said that I’m a multi-role guy. I can be a strong-side end or slide down to a three if I get a little bigger. I really appreciate what they are doing and how they are approaching me.

ND had the same conversation. That conversation usually presaged a “we want to grow you into a tackle” conversation but the guys it worked on are now all over the depth chart; Mike Morris is an OLB. Kevin Sinclair looked at Rooks when Notre Dame was still a player in the months before the 2019 season and started to think he’s maaaaybe an outside guy?

As a sophomore, I felt George Rooks was a future three-technique who could possibly play some defensive end in limited situation. But with how he’s coming together physically and athletically, my take has shifted. As a junior, Rooks proves to be a truly versatile defensive lineman who may realistically play both inside and on the strong-side edge. This is unlike so many interior linemen out of high school who project to play both roles but ultimately end up at defensive tackle exclusively.

Aside from his position fit, this is a very appealing athlete in a number of ways. The St. Peter’s Prep junior has an excellent frame to build upon, great body control and balance – why defensive end could be a situational role in college – and pure playmaking ability that you’ll see in his junior season film.

I offered an analysis upon his commitment:

So we’ve got a guy with legs like tree trunks and not a lot of upper-body strength who relies too much on hand quickness. That OL talk, which dates back to 2018, refers to that same commentary on the shape of Rooks’s body. By 2019 he was an Under Armour All-American and the #7 high school player in New Jersey regardless of grade, two spots behind 5-star Tywone Malone, and between current Michigan safeties RJ Moten and Jordan Morant. A year later he was an okay DT with a ceiling and the same body shape. It doesn’t take the deductive reasoning of Batman to figure out they expected him to grow this year and he didn’t, but since I’m here I’ll add there might have been some exigent circumstances to explain why weight training might have been interrupted in 2020.

In the few months since Rooks showed up on campus at 270. A stout DL with a bit of an OL’s body is an RVB.

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A Tale of Two Body Halves. Dohn’s own summary seems to contradict itself:

Natural athlete. Fires off low. Gets up field quickly. Has refined swim move. Upper body flexibility allows him to turn and get though gaps. Can re-direct down line of scrimmage. Able to stack and disengage to make tackle. Strong work ethic. Being consistent with his burst at the snap is a needed. Has to work on backside pursuit. Adding upper body strength important. Sometimes gets upright too quickly. Has to work on staying low against run. Multi-year starter at Top 20 program.

So he gets low with burst except when he doesn’t. Later Dohn elaborated:

His frame checks out. He is wide-shouldered and long, and has a lean look despite carrying 260 pounds. His strength is good, particularly in the lower body, but he will have to continue to develop in the upper body.

Dohn sees good things happen when Rooks encounters blocks:

He was able to keep offensive linemen off him with more regularity, and he showed an ability to get off blocks. He was quicker and more purposeful with his hands. … He shows an ability to stack and shed. He consistently holds gap integrity and plays to the assignment. … His quickness stood out the most when he was attacking the B gap.

Friedman loves Rooks the further he gets from the ground:

Rooks is a powerful and savvy defender who takes advantage of opportunities when matched up with inferior offensive lineman and when he is not double teamed. He does a good job of using his hands to fend off offensive linemen and excels at disengaging and pursuing the ball carrier. … Rooks will be an important piece for the Michigan defensive line. He isn't the most athletic defensive lineman Michigan has recruited in recent years but is strong at the point of attack and will be a very reliable player for the Wolverines.

He notes Rooks was an OL possibility at one point but lacks the feet. This opposing head coach talks about a guy who “has the body and motor to succeed”:

“His motor is what’s most impressive about him,” St. Joseph Regional (located in Montvale, N.J.) head coach Dan Marangi said, whose Green Knights squad fell to St. Peter’s Prep last year, 33-20. “He’s a high-energy guy who is disruptive at the point of attack. Rooks has big, long arms and is very active; active is the key word I would use to describe him. He has started for St. Peter’s Prep since his sophomore year, and we played them twice that season and then once each of the next two years.

“Rooks is a disruptive force and grew the most during his high school career in his run defense. He got stronger and more powerful — he always had athleticism, but the strength at the point of attack got a lot better.

Touch the Banner also sees a guy who should move inside, mentioning Matt Godin by name.

I believe he will make a move to the interior of the defensive line, and it will take some time to bulk up. I see him as an eventual 290- to 295-pounder playing 3-tech (outside shoulder of the guard) or 4i (inside shoulder of tackle). With proper development, he could become a quietly solid player in the mold of Matt Godin.

MaizenBrew’s Jonathan Simmons seemed to notice an issue with that motor stopping mid-play:

Rooks shows good technique, which is unsurprising for the son of a former Big East defensive player of the year. Off the snap, Rooks stays low and maintains a wide base. He engages offensive linemen effectively, getting his hands in their shoulder pads and locking out in a position to shed them.That clip also shows an issue Rooks has to work on. On contact, Rooks has a tendency to stop driving his feet, which sacrifices his power.

That link is to a film review with a lot of good nuggets; it would be a crime to republish them all. On the other end of our usefulness spectrum, Rivals also dug up Tom Lemming, who remembered writing about Rooks II.

Rooks is a big-time player and is smart. He has the natural instinctual ability his dad had. He could play anywhere along the defensive line, including tackle if he adds some more muscle. Rooks is very versatile and athletic with a great first step, and is technically sound.

I remember when we all relied on Lemming for recruiting scouts.

Everyone loves the swim move. In case you skipped the film, here’s what they all saw.

• Dohn: “One of the biggest areas of improvement Rooks showed during his final high school season was with his hands.
• TTB: “Rooks also has a nice, compact swim move, which is probably his best pass rush move at this point in his career.”
• Farrell: “Excels at disengaging and pursuing the ball carrier.”
• Kevin Sinclair: “If there’s one skill that stands out most, it’s the quick hands shown in the way Rooks evades blocks. This is a slippery athlete.”

Except this opposing coach:

For him, it’ll be about cleaning up his swim move and making it a little tighter at the next level, because it got a bit high and wide at times. He’ll learn after the first practice at Michigan you can’t do that in college — he’ll get a shot to the ribs and that’ll be the end of that.”

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Up and Down Rankings. Dampening our spirits somewhat, the one site that ranks Rooks as a tackle, 24/7, is the one that has him below the four-star line. Or at least that’s what they called him before they redid the categories. He is a DE to the other two sites, but when Rooks was knocking on the door of Top-100 it’s because they believed he would stick there. This is a COVID graph.

The thought process here seemed to be:

1. He’s Carlo Kemp. Grow him into a tiny DT but that’s it.
2. Oh, wait, he might be a 290-pound true DE. Call the Bamas!
3. Eh, maybe not totally DE but some DE. Where did we put that writeup for RVB?

The Bama did call. That’s as far as it went, and I think we can call it an “Offer” not an Offer.

Etc. Delightful Tom Loy crystal ball. I’m wondering if that NJ team that looks like MSU just had a terrible OL because Giudice had a ton of highlights against them as well. Syracuse throwing some shaaaaade on the G-Men here.

It's DRAFT WEEK!!

⏩Fast Forward...

With the 1st pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the NY Giants select George Rooks III from Syracuse!

Get #JuicedUp at 'Cuse @georgerooks55 !! #OITNF ️#2MuchJu1ce pic.twitter.com/6lMBi29XFP

— Cuse Edits (@CuseEdits) April 22, 2020

Long-term offensive line outlook not looking too good.

Why Ryan Van Bergen? RVB is up there with Jason Avant in go-to comps. But sorry, this one is really close. RVB got up to 6’4”/290 and was at his best as a block-soaking 4-3 under 5-tech, which is really the same thing as a 3-4 DE. He did not have explosion nor great speed—you did not want him chasing a running back outside in space. He did have one good move, and wracked up the UFR+’s by controlling blocks so that his linebackers could make the plays. Consistently praised for his motor and leg strength. Was never much of a pass-rusher. Was versatile, able to play 5-tech or 3-tech or some true 4-3 SDE as needed. Whereas the various Brady Hoke DEs and Don Brown Anchors who came after RVB all had enough dip and bend to get around tackles on a pass rush, RVB was always too stiff for that, and would get stuck on blocks. As a DT he was a bit undersized but made it work by fighting through doubles. The hips that weren’t up to edge bending were a plus on the interior. These are all things they say about Rooks.

But a fish because there’s that swim move; RVB’s best move was a spin that was effective like a Mortiz Wagner crossover. You’re just not expecting it. A full-time 3-4 DE version of this is Eric Wilson, if your memory goes back that far. Wilson was an RVB for the late ‘90s teams, rotating in at tackle as a RS FR on the championship team, then serving inside and finally playing nose as a captain in 2000. Undrafted because he had no explosion, but those were some very good defenses that Wilson helped make happen by doing the dirty work.

Guru Reliability: High. Well-scouted New Jersey school, practically in Dohn’s backyard. NFL son people have known about for a long time.

Variance: Moderate. The ESPN rating is just a relic of the moment they put it up there. The difference between Rivals and 24/7 seems to represent a difference of faith that Rooks can affect passing plays from a 5-tech spot.

Ceiling: Moderate. Unless the team is generating them he’s not going to get a bajillion sacks. There is an outside potential he grows into a nose tackle but that seems like it would go Kemp-ishly. But a three-year solid starter who doesn’t get drafted is still a very good pickup.

General Excitement Level: High-minus. This isn’t a true tackle, but it’s a much better shot at having clean linebackers than, say, Giudice. Rooks has the athleticism and bloodlines and personality to become an RVB in dark times, and a very solid rotational player who can provide depth at multiple position in good ones.

Projection: I think Rooks can afford a redshirt since there are enough bodies (with Benny and Ike) that we don’t have to immediately turn to a 270-pound freshman. If he does make noise this fall that’s a good sign for him or a bad sign for the OL. He’s probably a year or two away from 285, at which point he’s a natural fit for what Macdonald wants out of the strongside tackle position. The versatility is a underrated factor here, both for his chances of getting on the field (guys always get dinged) and for the kinds of shifting fronts Macdonald would rather deploy. Ravens DTs were first and foremost blocker-blockers who pass-rushed by squeezing. If you’re going to play with light LBs—and that’s the way college football is these days—you need that ability on your DL. You can come up with scenarios where George Rooks doesn’t get a lot of playing time at Michigan because we’ve just got too many monsters up front. That would be great, but unlikely. Expect to see him on the field, and a lot of UFRs arguing with radio callers about how much we appreciate what he does out there.