There's something about Michigan and Germany. The basketball program, of course, has boasted the Wagner brothers in recent years. The football team joined in when they picked up Julius "Juice" Welschof in the 2018 class. When 2022 tight end Marlin Klein, a Cologne transplant attending a boarding school in Georgia, took a self-tour of Michigan's campus a couple weeks ago, he decided to continue the tradition.

"I had been thinking about committing since I visited Ann Arbor a couple of weeks ago. As soon as I stepped on campus, it felt like home, and that is when I started thinking about committing.

"I did not go up there thinking about doing this, but I know that I found my place. When I was up at Michigan, I felt like I was at home in Germany. The weather reminded me of home, and it just felt right. The campus was great, the people are nice, and Michigan is the whole package.

While rated as a three-star, Klein has pulled in offers from big-name programs like Georgia, Florida State, and Virginia Tech; five Big Ten programs offered (Indiana, Michigan, MSU, Nebraska, Purdue). He's received this attention despite playing low-level competition after coming over from Germany and also, you know, the whole pandemic thing. There's a good chance he isn't a three-star for long.

Klein is M's third commit in the 2022 class, joining four-star DT Alex VanSumeren and four-star ILB Tyler Martin.

GURU RATINGS

Rivals	ESPN	247	247 Comp
3*, 5.7, #40 WR, #34 GA	NR TE-H	3*, 88, #18 TE, #26 GA	3*, 0.8789, #18 TE, #30 GA, #371 Ovr

I'll delve more into this in the scouting section; both Rivals and 247 took conservative approaches to rating Klein initially because of a lack of in-person scouting and high-level competition. Then coronavirus hit. This is a case where the offers are likely to be more indicative than mid-cycle rankings.

While there's disparity on Klein's position among the sites, Michigan is bringing him in as a tight end with an eye on him developing into a true in-line TE. He's listed at 6'6", 215 pounds by Rivals and 247, and it appears he has plenty of room to add muscle.

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.]

SCOUTING

On that note, one of the first real bits of scouting out there on Klein was Rivals listing him as one of five Southeast region prospects who were among the most difficult to rate:

Klein is a very intriguing prospect for multiple reasons. He’s an exchange student from Germany now playing in the northeast Georgia mountains at Rabun-Gap Nacoochee School. We’ve yet to lay eyes on Klein due to the pandemic, and the competition he plays isn’t the best, so we still want to see him in person. His film jumps out though due to his size, athleticism and ability to make plays. In the last few months, he’s added offers from Colorado, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Nebraska and West Virginia. He’s a very intriguing talent.

Klein is still growing into his frame (and still growing, period). Rivals currently lists him as a wide receiver; they say they're likely moving him to tight end in the next update.

Everything else we have is post-commitment, though thankfully there's a solid amount of content from the last day or two. Björn Werner, the former NFL and FSU defensive end from Germany, has known Klein since coaching him at a camp in 2018. His comparison for the young tight end is a lofty one:

“We knew right away,” Werner said of the potential to play major college football. ...

“Marlin didn’t even scratch the surface yet,” Werner said. “It’s all pure natural ability and once he gets in the right scheme, he will explode!” ...

“Natural runner, natural catching the ball,” Werner said of Klein. “Put him in the weight program in college and he is a 6-5, 245 Travis Kelce style tight end that will cause a lot of mismatches.”

That'd be fine, in my opinion.

247's Steve Lorenz has reported throughout the process that Klein was either the #1 or #2 target on Michigan's 2022 board at tight end, with Sherrone Moore selling him on playing a versatile in-line role—with, yes, comparisons to how Kelce and Rob Gronkowski have been utilized. In recruiting, go big or go home.

Klein's head coach in Georgia gave Rivals the usual quotes that Michigan is getting a great kid before diving into an evaluation that focused on his versatility:

"On the field, he is a big target for the quarterback, but he has also come a long way as a blocker. He is not scared to put a hand in the dirt at tight end and block, but then he is athletic, so he can flex out and be someone who can line up at multiple positions. He can line up at so many different spots, cause so many difficult match-ups and really give the coaches a lot of flexibility. Marlin is one who can stretch the field and run like a wide receiver, then line up and [be] physical like a tight end. He is a unique kid, a unique player and a very versatile athlete."

And their Southeast analyst, Chad Kelly, added his own scouting report:

Regardless of his position, with his size and athleticism, he is a mis-match. He has strong hands, he has flashed good body control and he can win the 50-50 ball with his length. He is going to add weight, he will get stronger and he will expand his route tree in time in time, so his best football is ahead of him.

The Wolverine's EJ Holland tracked down a college coach who has a different rating on Klein than the recruiting sites:

Klein is only a three-star prospect right now, but he had a chance to rise up the rankings. Again, he has a ton of potential, is new to the game and is playing in the middle of nowhere. I spoke to an FBS coach about Klein last week, and he told me that Klein is easily a four-star prospect. His offer list speaks volumes as several other major programs were also involved.

There's a lot of upside here. Even as a raw player playing at a boarding school level, his combination of size and smoothness pops.

OFFERS

In addition to Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, and Purdue—the schools most often mentioned in Klein's recruitment—he also holds offers from Arizona State, Boston College, Cincinnati, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State, Nebraska, TCU, USF, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, among others.

HIGH SCHOOL

As you'll see in the highlights, Klein's competition is lower-level. He's the first FBS commit in Rabun Gap Nacoochee history, according to the Rivals database. This is a ~$45K/year boarding school with a renowned cirque program.

STATS

According to his MaxPreps page, Klein caught 15 passes for 335 yards (22.3 YPC) and four touchdowns in ten games as a sophomore. He also recorded seven tackles as a part-time player in the secondary.

FAKE 40 TIME

None listed.

VIDEO

Sophomore highlights:

Freshman highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

This section and the next are more difficult to figure out because of the pandemic-created Year of Free Eligibility. There's going to be a fair amount of young talent on campus at tight end when Klein arrives; if Erick All and Luke Schoonmaker use their eligibility, they'll be around to take most of the TE snaps in 2022, likely providing a chance to redshirt Klein. At Klein's current trajectory, though, he could be ready to get thrown into the game as a big slot—or maybe even as a full-blown traditional TE—early in his career.

I love his potential. Not many tight ends look that smooth at that size. Michigan got in early on a player who looks like he could blow up into a top-tier prospect and it paid off with a commitment.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Lorenz and Holland both say Michigan will take another 2022 tight end, especially since targets are thin at the position in the 2021 class. Beyond that, hell if I know.