Hello: Anthony Standifer
On a visit to campus today, IL CB/S Anthony Standifer has committed to Michigan. The Wolverines were his first big offer, and though he picked more up afterwards, he decided that Ann Arbor is the place for him.
GURU RATINGS
Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 24/7 Sports |
3*, #26 CB | NR DB | NR CB | 3*, 87, NR CB |
Anthony is a bit under-the-radar at this point, but he's a tall corner with excellent ball skills. Scout, Rivals, and 24/7 Sports all say he's 6-1, while ESPN puts him down at 6-0. He's also a skinny dude, with the consensus weight just under 180 pounds. That sounds like a guy who can either play corner or put on some weight and project to free safety if needed.
On top of the size, the recruiting services also make it obvious that he's a generic 3-star prospect. If he can truly play corner, expect those rankings to go up, because he has excellent size for the position.
Tom talked to Anthony about his game:
I have good size, I'm fast for my size, good at finding the ball, I have good enough hands to be a receiver if I wanted to be, but I still have a lot of room for improvement.
"Good enough hands to play receiver" is a huge asset for a defensive back as long as all the other skills are present as well. A Rivals article starts out by stating that Standifer's hips are good, despite the fact that tall corners usually have trouble ($, info in header):
Tall cornerbacks are a rarity in college football because, in general, the taller a player, the less "swivel" they have in their hips. Crete (Ill.) Monee's Anthony Standifer is one of those rare athletes over 6-feet who plays the cornerback position, and Michigan is starting to show interest.
He impressed Scout's Allen Trieu at the Core6 combine last month ($):
A long, athletic 6'1 cornerback, he has picked up offer after offer of late. This was my first time seeing him in person, and it's easy to see why he has those offers. In addition to his size, he has legitimate speed and athleticism. He's not a 4.3 guy, but he can run with just about anyone, and his ball skills are top notch. He has some technical work to do still, but his anticipation and awareness is good. He did a good job of recognizing and jumping routes.
To me, that reads like "maybe not the best athlete, but certainly good enough." At his height, having good anticipation and ball skills are just as important as speed, and as long as he's able to run with most wideouts, that speed shouldn't be a liability at all. Considering most of his offers have come following in-person evaluations by college coaching staffs, I wouldn't be too worried.
It's clear that Brady Hoke and staff want at least one taller corner in this class, and Anthony has the ability to play there. He's also big enough to be a potential safety down the road, so versatility is definitely in his favor, as far as getting on the field down the road.
OFFERS
As mentioned above, Michigan was the first big offer for Standifer (he had previously held Northern Illinois and Western Michigan). However, after Michigan stepped up, several schools - depending on your definition of bigtime - entered the fray. Boise State, Cincinnati, Iowa, Kansas, and Notre Dame are some of the schools that have recently played in BCS bowls that consider Anthony worthy of an offer.
He has a few other lesser offers, including some mid-level BCS teams and MAC-type schools, and definitely has the profile of a riser with some of the recent entrants. Michigan State, Miami (YTM), and Oregon were some of the schools showing interest that hadn't yet offered.
STATS
Standifer had 44 tackles, nine interceptions and one forced fumble as a junior.
Yay. Nine interceptions in a high school season speaks to his ball-hawking ability, especially since a lot of high school teams are very wary of throwing when they know the other team has good DB talent.
FAKE 40 TIME
None of the premium sites have listed 40 times. Default five FAKEs out of five. Allen Trieu said above he's "not a 4.3 guy," which duh, because almost nobody is.
VIDEO
Standifer's Junior Highlight:
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Michigan has picked up tons of DBs in the classes of 2011 and 2012, and it's super-tough to project a player at that position when the guys a year ahead of him have yet to even hit campus, much less play in a game.
If you held a gun to my head and made me choose, I would say that Michigan's newfound DB depth(!) will allow him to redshirt, and in that year, it'll be much easier to determine if he'll grow into a free safety or remain the size of a corner. My assumption is that safety is in his future, but it all depends on way too many factors to know right now.
He seems like the type who will never be a huge star, but could be a solid starter during the course of his career, and as long as he develops as expected, could be a late round NFL-type.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
This commitment REALLY starts the slowdown process on defensive backs for the 2012 class. Standifer is the third DB, and with the possible addition of Morgan tomorrow (pending a discussion with his family, apparently) and a big DB class last year, OL, DT, and WR remain the primary needs, with QB and RB also needed.
Hoke hates OT season as much as us, so he gives us something to talk about.
Hoke must have gotten so much tail in his day, it seems like he can get high school seniors to do whatever he wants.
But really this probably had a lot to do with Morgan's impending commitment.
He married his high school sweetheart. So that either proves your point or seems a missed opportunity.
Another great commitment, can't wait to see this recruiting class actually play on the field. Does anyone else feel like every commit we will get from now on is going to be a 4/5 star? I'm loving it.
This staff is seriously killing it on the recruiting trail. Welcome, Anthony. Very glad to have you be a part of something truly special.
Welcome to the family Anthony.
That "D" is a little too scarlet and gray for my liking ;).
well played, sir
Delaware Fence?
Looks like railroad tracks to me...
really? scarlett is the best you could do? Hoke would shake his head in disappointment at you.
Its so nice to have a depth and flexibility within our secondary, that way if angry secondary god strikes it won't be DOOM.
You're Blue!
This is great! I like how this is going. You have all this excitement with recruiting in the summer and then boom 2 a days and then the season starts. Would be sweet to get recruiting done before the start of the season and then have nothing to worry about between the beginning of January and February, other than decommits which I don't see happening much.
You can spend all your recruiting time on KEEPING them...and 2013.
Is the difference between this off-season and last ... We got some pick-ups on recruiting, but most of the talk was about the upcoming NCAA COI hearings in Seattle.
This year, we have an embarrassment of good fortune. I'm enjoying it while it lasts.
Originally, I wasn't too excited about this kid's offer because he isn't a consensus 4* recruit. Then I watched his film...enough said! I wish we had this kid when Plaxico went ballistic on us. He has the athleticism and the toughness to hang with a top-tier receiver. Great pickup and he'll probably end up a 4* in my view. No doubt this seals the deal with Wayne Morgan too. Happy trails to Reeves, I think he was on the way to PSU to play with his boy Carmen anyway. Anyone else notice MSU coming in late with our offered recruits? They came to Gant's school the day after we offered, and swooped in on Standifer too. They can't really believe they can steal recruits away from us anymore can they? Or are they trying to position themselves to feed from our table scraps?
This goes in the "Why I think MSU is a parasite" data base I keep near my toilet.
Welcome Anthony. Always liked the tall DBs, and he sounds like a late-bloomer who also has a potential future at safety. Excited.
too good at recruiting?
...too good at sex?
But Lemming has this kid in his top 100...FYI
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/recruiting/football/lemming-top100-class-of-2012.htm
is Mario Ojemudia. Kind of gives you the feeling that Hoke and Co have a good eye, and are taking up and comers, as opposed to guys that may have peaked, and are more cruising on reputation . . .
Don't get me wrong, that's great, but isn't Lemming kind of a shill at this point?
For who, specifically? (Well, ND a bit with him...)
Interesting that Dunn doesn't make the list.
Go Blue!!!
and pretty highly regarded, actually.
This is a great pick up for this class, I think he is a gifted athlete being able to play corner or safety. I am still hoping that Morgan goes Blue to give us a great combination of T-Rich, Standifer and Morgan for years to come. GO BLUE!!
some ugly ass uniforms. blue pants black jersey yellow helmet orange under armour?
Two snaps down
A DB who isn't 5-8? Finally.
FWIW - Tom Lemming has Standifer in his top 100 for 2012. I think he will continue to rise.
Great pickup!
Edit - didn't see the comment about Lemming earlier in the thread
So then, you're a lemming for Lemming ? ? ?
Don't say I didn't warn you . . . .
This IMO is a huge pick up. All the sites seem to think he will finish as a high 3/4* . He could be the type of corner we haven't had at Michigan in years. I think the last great corner we had that could get in a WR's face and lock him down was Leon Hall. With the last 2 years pick ups at DB, our secondary should be awesome in 2-3 years. Hoke and Co really have me pumped. Now let's just hope this momentum carries on come Sept. on the field
I do really like this pickup, but I would count Blake Countess as an elite CB recruit as well. With Hollowell, Countess, Richardson and now Standifer our future CB depth looks very bright. Courtney Avery (soph. to be) was starting to turn into a fine CB prospect as well at the end of the year.
The cruel and vengeful DB gods have been appeased by our blood/transfer sacrifices and have blessed us with great depth.
KNOCK ON WOOD
Awesome. A tall corner to match up against bigger receivers. Welcome to Michigan, Anthony!
Congrats to you and your fam on the big decision.
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<br>My boss went to OSU. This has been an awesome week. It's ok for a grown man to giggle, right?
The exact reason nobody else defines big time offers the way Tim chose to is because it includes schools like Kansas and Cincinatti and that is bafflingly stupid. I can't tell if Tim is trying to make the kid feel better by calling those big time offers (maybe he knows Standifer reads the blog), but really it's laughable, inconsistent with any other hello: post i've ever seen and totally unnecessary- ND and UM are both some of the most coveted offers in the country..
Sunshine
Aren't exactly terrible defensively. And it's still early. Let's see where he finishes up,
This has nothing to do with how good Standifer is or where he ends up. The question I'm posing is this: is any standard that counts Kansas and Cincinatti as big time offers credible? The answer is no which is why no one uses the "have you made a BCS game in the last 5 years" standard. Neither has any tradition or historical recruiting strength.
The reason I think it's a big deal is because if Tim framed it that way to not hurt Standifer's feelings he's too close and compromising his journalistic integrity and authority.
Kansas and Cincy are NOT "big time" offers. (Note that I think that BSU qualifies as big time, as they have been VERY good for a while now). I didn't personally read your post as that being a criticism of Standifer, at all. Just a statement of a true fact. And I don't think that there is anything wrong with you pointing this out.
Standifer is going to be a great CB - because of his size / hip swivel combo, I think he has a higher ceiling than many of the 4* guys out there. The reason for his somewhat unimpressive offer list is that he is just a late bloomer who is peaking as he gets closer to college age. Guys like this have the potential to really get "coached up" and make dramatic improvements, especially with the luxury of a redshirt followed by primarily spot and special teams play. But, it is a fact that he doesn't have many big time offers. That may change over this coming season, although if he is perceived to be a "firm" committment to Michigan, other teams might not bother. He also might not attend all of the camps if he is already locked in with us and no longer interested in recruiting crap.
You think I phrased something a certain way to not hurt a kid's feelings? Give me a fucking break.
That's what it looked like to me. If it's not the case then good, but it's still a stupid way to define what's a big time offer.
Dude, the list of schools is right there. You can decide for yourself if they're bigtime offers. If I was trying to be misleading, I would have just said "and 6 of schools that have recently played in BCS bowls are among his offers."
C'mon dude, use your brain when reading.
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