Previously: Last year’s profiles. S Damani Dent, S/Nk Zeke Berry, S/HSP Keon Sabb, CB Myles Pollard, CB/Nk Kody Jones, CB Will Johnson, LB Deuce Spurlock, LB Jimmy Rolder, DE/LB Micah Pollard, DE Derrick Moore, DT Mason Graham, DT Kenneth Grant, DT Cam Goode, T Andrew Gentry, T/G Connor Jones, G Alessandro Lorenzetti, C Olu Oluwatimi, TE Marlin Klein, TE Colston Loveland, WR Amorion Walker, WR Tyler Morris, WR Darrius Clemons.

Columbia, SC – 5'11"/190
[courtesy of SCISA Athletics]		247: 5'11/190              3.68*	3*, 87, NR overall #56 RB, #9 SC
		Rivals: 5'10/188              3.72*	3*, 5.6, NR overall #38 RB, #8 SC
		ESPN: 5'10/180              3.59*	3*, 77, #364 SE #60 RB, #11 SC
		On3: 5'10/180              3.62*	3*, 87, NR overall #45 RB, #13 SC
		Composite:              3.69*	3*, 0.8685, #798 ovr #63 RB, #9 SC
		Other Suitors	Mizzou, SC, L'ville, Minn
		YMRMFSPA	Karan Higdon
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello by me.
Notes	Full name Capers Stokes Jr. Twitter.
Film:
Senior Highlights: Hudl.

Finding a guy to jump in this class when Blake Corum has at least another year of college and Donovan Edwards has at least two was going to be a challenge. But like linebacker, Michigan this cycle seemed to be constantly chasing other teams for their top targets despite adding Mike Hart to the staff in time to be part of that whole cycle.

Hart had some of his own ideas, and one of them was this kid born to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He grew up around the program, went to high school with the coaches' kids, and then his own HC was hired as the new staff's TE coach. Never one to stop trying despite appearances, Hart wiggled into Stokes's recruitment in time to hold off a Mizzou commitment, then churned away until Stokes pledged to the Blue in June. That still meant surviving the new South Carolina staff's late charge to hold onto the hometowner.

But it was too late. Not only did Stokes use last fall to Michigan-brain himself as deeply as my 15-year-old nephew. He also transformed himself into an entirely different recruit. When people talked about 15-year-old Stokes, it was his freshman track times and wondering aloud how fast the 40 will be at his next camp. By Early Signing Day, people were speaking excitedly about his one-cut acceleration, calling him a "bruiser" and praising his want-to. His signing press conference went viral. He's not 5'6". But this 3-star put up 1,000-yard seasons against low competition, flew under the radar despite a local school coming after him late, and—oh you get it, Mike Hart made him into Mike Hart.

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One cut, but it's a nice cut

Stokes has a filthy jumpcut; of this nobody can argue.

CJ Stokes @CapersStokes makes it 14-0 with nice run and leap. 14-0 @HammondSports 1:06 left in 1st pic.twitter.com/2Zm6Qy8QsD

— Lou Bezjak (@LouatTheState) August 29, 2020

This was brought up by Stokes, and to Stokes in the recruiting process. Here's a sample via Stokes from Notre Dame:

“He said he likes how fast I play. I make the cut and go. I'm really fast getting in and out of my cuts and stuff like that… He said he really loved that I play really fast.”

247 head of recruiting Steve Wiltfong called him a "decisive runner," and EJ Holland called him "slippery between the tackles." His high school OC knew it and used it:

“His biggest strengths are being very well-rounded and how fast he accelerates. He’s got really good hands, so he’s a threat out of the backfield. He’s got good lateral and not just vertical movement, but he hits the hole really fast. With the acceleration, the way he hits the hole and his hands, he’s an all-around back with a lot of speed.

Magnus credited him with merely "decent agility" i.e. the kind to "plant his foot in the ground and get north-south quickly, sometimes using a jump cut." He came up with Oregon's Onterrio Smith as a comparison, which after watching video a good one but really out of left field. Stokes has those same thick thighs and skinny calves, and a short torso, a combination that made it hard to find a good spot to bring him down.

He can churn

Lacking camps or viable competition to compare him to, most evaluators start with how much of Stokes is near the ground, and how much effort he expends in making sure no part of him comes closer. EJ Holland of The Wolverine says Stokes "runs with physicality." Cody Williams of PalmettoPreps, a now-Rivals affiliate that covers S.C. sports, has been watching Stokes assault the state record books for years, but noticed a much thicker version later in his career trying "to silence the doubters on his lack of physical running ability."

he is noticeably bigger, especially in his lower body. After watching him play this season, all doubts around physicality are out the window. It is evident in reviewing film he is truly focusing on finishing runs with physicality and not shying away from contact at any point. From a coaching standpoint, one thing I noticed is the number of run calls going between the tackles this season.

Wiltfong described a "powerful runner with make you miss ability" who "plays with a lot of toughness," also mentioning the broken downfield tackles and a nose for the end zone. That doesn't make Stokes a run-you-over guy. On3's Tim Verghese said he has a lot of physical similarities to Hassan Haskins, noted he's "not the physical presence" of Haskins, Dunlap, or Mullings. That was what Josh Newkirk saw too:

Big bruising running back, who can hit the hole with power and then outrun the defense. He runs with a low center of gravity and has the ability to make defenders miss, too.

Stokes calls what he does "running mad;" his OC Eric Wilson called it "ability to bring punishment." Touch the Banner says he's "built low," and solidly, a guy "whose best attribute is his balance."

He runs low to the ground and can survive high tackle attempts by ducking underneath.

Magnus also lamented whether Hart intends to only go after "nifty, hard-to-tackle runners like himself who have limited upside" now that he's not limited by what Syracuse or Indiana can recruit. One must imagine a few seasons with Corum and Edwards will take care of that if it's an issue. As of spring, Steve Lorenz reported Stokes is up to 205 and "hopes to become a bruiser type back."

But can he burn?

There's disagreement on how fast Stokes goes. The first time he popped on recruiting radars was when he ran an 11.43 in the 100m at 14 years old, and followed it up with a 7.12 in the 60-meter indoors. I reported all the forty sightings I could dig up in the Hello:

Stokes had a reported 4.41 at the Will Muschamp camp two years ago, which is when he earned his Gamecocks offer. In July of last year, SC writer John Whittle said Stokes “recently” ran a laser-timed 4.4, which could be in reference to a claim made by Stokes at Minnesota’s camp or at a July 2020 ESPN underclassmen camp. Whittle said Stokes clocked a 4.51 last April, while also calling him a speedster. That’s probably real enough for three FAKES out of five. The 4.41 gets the full five FAKES out of five.

You can time the UA one yourself if you like. EJ Holland reported the 4.41 speed "which he uses to break off long runs." The scouting industry didn't think he was that fast. Ryan Burns of Gophers247 saw a back who's slippery in space but…

isn't the fastest player on the field, but the way he's able to maneuver around defenders and maintain his speed is very promising.

Newkirk said he "doesn't have top-end speed, but can outrun most defenders," which I take to mean "…in that league." Touch the Banner thought Stokes's top-end speed "a little questionable" or maybe more than that:

The #1 thing Stokes lacks is breakaway speed. He does not have the burst to outrun angles, and he gets chased down by players who do not necessarily have great speed themselves.

Patience, vision

The whole one-cut thing makes this an easy scout: yes, he tends to find the right gap to hit, though his team was running lots of gap schemes to make that obvious. Williams said Stokes "does a great job of following his blockers and setting up his blocks with cuts and patience." TTB said he "shows good patience" and will set up his blocks downfield instead of run by them, although sometimes he gets too picky close to the line of scrimmage

Receiver

Since it's in all the interviews and recruiting conversations, there's little doubt that Stokes wants to be used out of the backfield.

 

“I’ve been working on that a lot, lining up and motioning out of the slot, or just lining up out of the slot,” Stokes said. “My catching has improved tremendously. And picking up blocks, I’ve been working on that. I can do better on that, and I will. I’ve just got to keep working on it. But my catching and my ability to line up in the slot and run routes has improved.”

Newkirk credited him with "the ability to catch the ball, but will need to keep working."

The viral quote.

Football guys, have a change of pants handy.

Well-deserved! @CapersStokes @UMichFootball signee provides passionate insight on what drives him to succeed on and off the field. Michigan is getting a tremendous football player and an even better young man. #GoBlue @wis10 @HammondFootball @HammondSports pic.twitter.com/BQjQ9bVvei

— Joe Gorchow (@JoeGorchowTV) December 15, 2021

“Thousands of hours of hard work I’ve put in that 98 percent of people aren’t willing to do, and I take it very seriously,” Stokes said during his signing day ceremony. “Lots of people ask me why you don’t smile more, ‘Why do you always look mad?’ To tell you the truth, I am always mad. I’m always trying to look for a way to get better, be better, and that comes with a lot of bad days that I’m holding myself accountable. There’s not a lot to smile about yet. There’s not a lot to smile about yet.

“Sure, I made it to a big D1 college, but my goals expand way further than just walking in the door of college. I’ll let out a big smile when I have a degree and a career that I put my all into, whatever that may be, from the NFL or starting my own physical therapy practice. Whatever it is, I’m going to put my all into it.”

Stokes also said he wants to play in the NFL, not get beat up toting the rock 400 times a year for Northwestern.

Etc. Straight-A student with Harvard, Yale, and Columbia interest. Betting Dad picked out the couch:

Chilling with the coach of the year 〽️ pic.twitter.com/ks3XILBM8v

— “CJ” STOKES (@CapersStokes) December 10, 2021

Why Karan Higdon? Similar size, coming out of high school, and similar style with that first sharp cut and then trying to get downfield while occasionally jump-cutting a Hoosier into lore. Not a burner, but not slow either. Higdon wasn't much of a threat out of the backfield, but Stokes still says he's working on that, not that he's great at it.

Guru Reliability: Low. Played in a low league, stopped going to camps when the pandemic hit, and changed his archetype from speedster to contact-seeking compactor with a good cut. Most of what we got was not from the scouts but recruiting reporters, with a smattering of high school scouts.

Variance: Low. Running backs are seldom hit-or-miss, and at 205 there shouldn't be too much more weight Stokes needs to put on to be effective. He's probably going to be an alright back who caps out as a Higdon, and like Higdon, part of a rotation.

Ceiling: Low. He's not hyper athletic, doesn't have insane feet or breakaway speed.

General Excitement Level: OK. I'll trust Mike Hart; I don't think he's Mike Hart.

Projection: Probably redshirts this year even though the depth chart certainly had room for a bruiser type after Hassan Haskins left, since Corum and Edwards are neither one of them going to be bowling people over. I don't think Stokes will either, early in his career—his yards after contact are going to be more of the grinding type against safeties who thought this was supposed to be over by now. Tavierre Dunlap, last year's much more Haskins-like RB recruit, has a more inside track even if he didn't wow in spring. Michigan also experimented with Kalel Mullings and it looked, well, better than Mullings at linebacker. And they still do like Leon Franklin, the walk-on they were using last year. I expect Stokes will begin behind all of them. If he passes two or three of them, we've got something.

Otherwise, Corum and Edwards will be called to the NFL well before their eligibility clocks run out, at which point Stokes could be the guy or in a rotation with the bruisers ahead of him and the two guys Hart already recruited for 2023. It's hard to predict, but given their relative ceilings, I think we'd prefer it not be Stokes who gets the most snaps in a post-Edwards world. But that is a VERY slight preference, since things like not fumbling, finding the right gap, and getting through it quickly then taking on extra are way more important than the matchup issues that come from transcendent abilities. I want a Haskins and Corum and Edwards backfield forever, too, we'd all still love a Higdon or Hart.