Bonjour (From The Future?): Benjamin St-Juste
Even by Jim Harbaugh standards, Michigan's latest commitment is an obscure one. TMI's Brice Marich broke the news this afternoon that Canadian CB Benjamin St-Juste, who camped at Michigan last week, has pledged to the Wolverines:
#Michigan has picked up a commitment from Montréal (QC) Cégep du Vieux cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (@BenjWolfpack24). Could be 2016 or 2017
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) June 23, 2015
St-Juste's enrollment situation is unclear at this point. If he comes in with the 2016 class, he'll be the 18th total commit and the second at cornerback, joining Antwaine Richardson. If he's in the 2017 class, he'll be their second commit, joining Brother Rice TE Carter Dunaway.
GURU RATINGS
| Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247 Comp |
| NR CB | NR CB | NR CB | NR CB | NR CB |
St-Juste doesn't have a recruiting profile on any of the sites. His Hudl page lists him at 6'3", 170, which would be an intriguingly lanky frame for a corner. He looks pretty tall for the position on film, though I won't venture a guess as to how accurate that 6'3" figure is.
SCOUTING
Despite his complete lack of a recruiting profile, St-Juste has a couple evaluations out there, both from Michigan's "Exposure U" camp last week. Scout's Allen Trieu placed him 14th among the top performers, though St. Juste was so under-the-radar at the time that he didn't get his name right ($):
14. Benjamin St. John - 2016 CB, Old Montreal (Canada)
A big corner, he turned heads. There may not be room at the inn as far as Michigan's concern, but the staff showed him a lot of attention and he's a name to keep in mind depending on what happens with some other targets I think.
Apparently, there's room. The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan and Brandon Brown added a little bit more detail in their rundown of days two and three of the camp ($):
Montreal (Que.) CAL 2016 cornerback Benjamin St.-Juste is a tall, long-armed cornerback at about 6-3, but he still has the hips to turn and run with receivers - something that's less common in players his height. St.-Juste impressed the U-M position coaches, and had an extended opportunity to work out in front of both of Michigan's defensive backs coaches, and even headman Jim Harbaugh.
St.-Juste might be one of the top players in all the camp when it comes to approaching a Michigan offer.
His film, embedded at the top of this post, is unfortunately hard to follow—much of it is filmed in pore-o-vision. He looks to have decent athleticism and ball skills, and he plays with a physical edge. His technique, as you might expect, looks pretty raw.
OFFERS
Without a recruiting profile, it's unclear if St. Juste had other offers.
HIGH SCHOOL
Is in Canada.
STATS
Unavailable.
VIDEO
UPDATE: Thanks to @robphillips1979 for pointing out some recent camp footage of St-Juste on YouTube:
FAKE 40 TIME
None listed on his Hudl page.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
I'll wait until we know when St-Juste will enroll before taking a guess. He looks like another guy with potential upside due to his size and athleticism who will take some serious molding before he's able to see the field.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Which class? We'll see.
Bienvenue dans le maïs et bleu. En vous souhaitant le meilleur à Ann Arbor.
I'm learning French and it just made my day to be able to figure what you wrote. Feel like I should call my wife and tell her. Just so excited!
That's okay. At first I had thought he was jabbering Canadian. They have a different word for everything. Now back to my poutine.
Mmmmmm, poutine. Cholesterol city, baby!
The shortest hello post in Michigan history lol.
Had the same reaction but the Poppin Bottles instrumental in his HUDL video won me over. Good choice of soundtrack kid.
Yeah, at some point you have to wonder if Harbaugh is just trolling people.
Harbaugh's passing out offers like crazy, and pulling these super obscure commits months and months before signing day. What's the rush dude? It's not like we had a lot of competition for this recruit. I'm guessing the French-Canadian will be there come February.
Read the front page - if Stanford history is accurate some of these guys are offer today but if we get someone better tomorrow then there might be an adieu...
Harbaugh! and all, but that's shitty if it happens here.
and he'll be here for 2017
/s
but can't really complain about a 6'3" CB with a lot of raw talent.
The longer this goes on, the more it seems that Harbaugh : "committment" :: Hoke : "offer received"
"Bonjour(From The Future)"? That's my new favorite band!
They are like a cross between the Oak Ridge Boys and the BeeGees, only more acid metal than reggae.
It's actually a They Might Be Giants song.
We can bring back the maize-and-blue Canada flag from the Stauskas days!
It's not a French-Canadian flag per se (francophones outside the province don't use it). It's just the provincial flag of Quebec.
Most people in Montreal don't have a problem with the Canadian flag, though.
Turn the white into maize and you've got something pretty sweet there.
Fuck Quebec
Why are you acting like such an ass? Not just here but in the other thread.
Quebec is unique, owing to its French language and heritage. There is no point in denying that. And you might want to be a little more welcoming to a kid who is committed to come here.
I mean... sacre blue!
Obscure is right, but let's judge in about 2018 or '19 when we see what a team full of Harbaugh recruits can do. His willingness to reach and give offers to totally off-the-radar prospects is either insanity or brilliance. I choose to believe mad genius. Mwahahahahahaha.
What the hell is up with all this Spanish on the board, I thought this was America.
Does he know how to play American rules Football?
You mean Tim Biakab2ka.
I'll see myself out
Sure, this 0* recruit with no other offers could = an all pro NFL player! I swear, Harbaugh could recruit a lampshade and people would be deeming it the next J.J. Watt. Absent more inputs (film, other offers, recruiting analysis, camps), this dude is nothing more than a lottery ticket.
Dude - Jim Harbaugh thought he was good. Screw the other coaches. I value Harbaugh's opinion more than theirs.
I'm just trying to pump the breaks on the hype train here. I'm guessing JH probably thinks hundreds of players could be good CBs in a given year. He's good at making stuff work. That would explain his recruiting so far - he sees a good player and thinks "good enough" and pulls the trigger. That's fine. I don't think it's wise over the long run, but whatever, he's got a great track record, I get it. That doesn't mean we have to get geeked up over a total flyer of a recruit that we could have snagged in February of next year.
Is he fast?
And how's his pad level?
Hey now. Blind, one-armed, Lithuanian stump-dwarves are good glue guys. You need those guys on your team.
I certainly don't see this post and think Richard Sherman but French Canadian! However, I'm not upset at all about it either. You can't teach size and athleticism, and Harbaugh has gotten some good athletes with good size that he can mold. How much does Harbaugh really have to make up for in terms of coaching up in regards to this guy vs. a guy well scouted and with good rankings but blowing up against really bad competition and ultimately still raw?
Again, can't say I'm excited, but I can't say I'm worried either.
I'm just trying to pump the breaks on the hype train here
Which is pointless. Why is it bad for fans to be excited about the future?
Actually, I see no problem with #1, especially given the division of the last seven years. You can always bring up Carr, RichRod or Hoke if you want to start an argument.
And #2 doesn't mean that we can't still have great in the man as our coach. No one expects perfection off the bat.
I just have a hard time criticizing recruiting decisions because 1) it comes off as insulting to the kid who committed and 2) the coaches have access to far more information than I do.
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a major award!
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