Hello: Dan Samuelson Comment Count

Ace

Well, this is a new one: as broken by Patrick Kugler (and later confirmed by Steve Wiltfong), IN OL Dan Samuelson has committed to Michigan while on his official visit to Ann Arbor. Samuelson was previously a Nebraska commit, but the Wolverines became a serious contender after he took an unofficial last month. He becomes the sixth offensive lineman in the 2013 class and the 25th commit overall.

GURU RATINGS

Scout Rivals ESPN 24/7 Sports
4*, #25 OT 3*, #31 OG 3*, 75, #87 OT 3*, 89, #13 OG

Samuelson is a three-star prospect to every service save Scout, which places him just outside their top 300 recruits (the #24 OT, Logan Tuley-Tillman, is #300 overall). All four agree that he's 6'5", with his listed weight ranging from 275 to 295 pounds—the latter figure seems more up-to-date.

Samuelson should be ticketed for guard at Michigan, but ESPN's evaluation likes his prospects better at tackle ($):

Samuelson plays effectively at the guard position showing the upper body playing strength needed to control defenders when single blocking. However his size and athleticism appears better suited for the offensive tackle position at the major level of competition. ... Playing out of a three point stance we see the first step quickness needed to gain and immediate advantage, however we do detect some lower body stiffness when playing in space and adjusting to change of direction movement. This lineman comes off the ball aggressively with good pad level and a solid blocking base; flashes the explosion and pop necessary to knock defenders off the ball on first contact however there is the need to follow through with consistent leg drive. Is quick out of his stance when releasing up on linebackers or pulling to trap; flashes the ability to reach on offset down linemen and get a hat on active 1st and 2nd level defenders. Can get tossed at times needing to improve his agility and balance when playing in space.

I should say, ESPN says that they like him at tackle, then go on to talk about issues blocking in space and on the edge. Does not compute. Mentions of good pad level and second-level blocking make him sound like an ideal guard. That's certainly the impression of Scout's Bryan Munson, who scouted Sameulson after his commitment to Nebraska ($):

When you watch Samuelson’s film you see the skill and you see the ability. He’s quick for a guy his size, 6-foot-5 and around 280-pounds, and he loves to hit people. What you see when you watch Samuelson is a guy that gets onto his block and drives his guy either into the ground or 20 yards down field.

There are also some pretty good indications of strength too. While I haven’t seen any reported strength numbers specifically you can see the way that he just handles the guy that he has to block. The way that I would sum up Samuelson is simple: Big, smart, strong, dominating run-blocker with a need to develop pass-blocking skills.

Rivals's Josh Helmholdt echoes the sentiment that Samuelson plays with good pad level ($):

"I liked Dan's film," Helmholdt said when asked for his evaluation of Samuelson. "He's a guy who played offensive guard as a junior, and I don't see anything that tells me he couldn't play right tackle. So there's some versatility there. He has the potential to play probably multiple positions on the offensive line.



"He's an above average athlete for the position. He really moves his feet well. He plays with great leverage. I think that something that really stands out in his film is that he's always up underneath the pads of the defensive lineman. He just does a lot of things well. I wouldn't say there's any one thing that makes you say 'wow', he's just a well-rounded offensive line prospect."

When Scout gave Samuelson his fourth star, Allen Trieu said he's got the potential to be a multi-year starter down the road:

It seems like every year the Midwest produces tough, hard nosed linemen who get overlooked. I think Samuelson is one of those blue collar kind of guys who is going to come in, work hard, be a starter and an all-conference kind of guy, and in the past, would have been underrated. On film, he showed good footwork and once we saw more of him pass blocking, we felt confident he could be a multi-year starter in college.

Samuelson seems like a guy who could slot in at either guard spot or even right tackle; while he might not be a dominant presence, he's got a solid base and should fit into the offense as a road-grater type.

OFFERS

Samuelson had a Nebraska offer, of course, and prior to that commitment he was a one-time pledge to Pittsburgh. His other offers came from Bowling Green, Illinois, Miami (OH), Minnesota, Wake Forest, Western Michigan, and Wyoming.

STATS

No stats, offensive lineman.

FAKE 40 TIME

Rivals lists a 40 time of 5.3 seconds, which gets one FAKE out of five.

VIDEO

The only video I can find of Sameulson on YouTube is cutups from a single game:

You can check out film from several other individual games on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

As said above, Sameulson should end up at guard when he gets to Michigan given his size and skill set. With his combination of size, fundamentals, and run-blocking skills, he should compete for a starting spot down the road, though he'll almost assuredly redshirt in 2013. He'll have a lot of competition from more highly-touted members of his own class in David Dawson and Kyle Bosch, as well as Kyle Kalis and Blake Bars in the year ahead of him, but Samuelson should provide solid depth until he gets a chance to compete for a starting job as an upperclassman.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan should be able to take two or three more players in the class—the worry at this point is the 85 total scholarship cap, not the 25 single-class cap, since six members of the 2013 class enrolled early. It's even possible that the Wolverines take another offensive lineman in Cameron Hunt (on his official visit right now) or Dan Skipper.

The top remaining target, of course, is Derrick Green, who announced today that he'll make his decision on January 26th—Michigan is in very good position to land his commitment. OH CB Reon Dawson, another player taking his official visit this weekend, is also a candidate to take one of the last couple spots.

Comments

tenerson

January 12th, 2013 at 4:12 PM ^

but I feel like since this will likely be common terminology in the future, I have a suggestion. "Road grader" would be the proper term as oppossed to "road grater." Although having a lineman who treats opposing linemen like blocks of cheese would be kind of cool, road grader is the correct term. I apologize for my OCD. 

Waveman

January 12th, 2013 at 5:13 PM ^

I just started noticing this within the last year or so, and it's everywhere. For a while I thought it was a meme that I just didn't get. I hate it so much more than when people screw up they're, there, and their; or your and you're. It absolutely drives me up a wall because they don't even sound the same. How do you screw that up?

Daniel

January 12th, 2013 at 4:20 PM ^

If we're snagging commits from them this easily the year they handily beat us, I don't think the next several years are going to go well for them. I think they joined the conference hoping to be a Michigan or an Ohio State in the B1G, but it looks like they're headed for more of the middle of the pack.

Alumnus93

January 12th, 2013 at 4:17 PM ^

so was the Kugler tease on twitter about Hunt committing, a way to get Samuelson to commit first?  Because I would imagine Hunt won't be coming now.

umich_fan1

January 12th, 2013 at 4:43 PM ^

Anyone else a little skittish that he's already been committed twice so far? I know Michigan is a far better program than Neb or Pitt. I guess I havent followed his recruitment much, but it raises my eyebrows a little.

buddha

January 12th, 2013 at 5:10 PM ^

UM is a "far better" program than Nebraska?! Ummm...how did you arrive at that conclusion?

 

If you are comparing the entire history of the two programs, I would give the edge to UM and argue UM has a better overall program than Nebraska. However, in the modern era of college football (post WWII), Nebraska is definitely on equal - if not better - footing than UM.

 

Take off the maize-colored glasses.

schreibee

January 12th, 2013 at 11:32 PM ^

Kind of sad really...
when someone says Samuelson upgraded schools when switching from Nebraska to U-M, you trot out comparisons of relative Post-WWII football success...
The phrase "unclear on the concept" comes to mind.
I will use this forum to both agree that the young man has steadily upgraded his situation, and share concern he has done so perhaps too frequently.

Magnus

January 12th, 2013 at 5:45 PM ^

There was some research done recently (I can't remember exactly where) that suggested kids who change their commitments often struggle to pan out.  So yeah, I think it's a genuine concern.

DelhiGoBlue

January 12th, 2013 at 6:22 PM ^

Do those studies account for perceived upgrades?  Pitt to NU to UM, one could argue he upgraded football from Pitt to NU and then upgraded school from NU to UM.  Not having a clue as to NUs OL depth, that may have played into it as well.

But I agree, one should be wary of the bee buzzing from flower to flower.  They may be benign, but they can still sting.

turtleboy

January 12th, 2013 at 6:40 PM ^

I think he has the potential to play, even though we'll have 8 scholarship linemen (and counting) sitting behind the starters in 2 years. I have to wonder about him really committing to Michigan if he already committed to Pitt, then changed his mind less than a month later and committed to Nebraska, then changed his mind again right before signing day, yet neither team he left lost their head coach. He's gonna have to fight hard for his playing time since we've taken so many stud linemen so close together. 

93Grad

January 12th, 2013 at 6:18 PM ^

thought we might have had a tough time landing Hunt so I guess I'll be happy with the bird in the hand.  Now just need to close with Green and Dawson to complete a great class.

DeepBlue83

January 12th, 2013 at 6:19 PM ^

and a upper tier WR to this class, but the latter is looking more and more unlikely.  We're probably going to have to cross our fingers that at least one of our three star possession receivers turns out to be something more than a project.

Magnum P.I.

January 12th, 2013 at 6:50 PM ^

I think the coaches are planning on using one or both of Bosch and Kugler this season, which would essentially put them in the same class as Kalis, Magnuson, Braden, and Bars. We wanted five OL last year but missed on Garnett. If Bosch or Kugler play, that pretty much puts us at five OL last class, five this class.

Mich1993

January 12th, 2013 at 7:08 PM ^

As a 6th lineman, I like that he could play either guard spot or right tackle.  That flexibility should help him to get on the field down the road.

He's not the OL that I was expecting today, but it works for me.  I suppose it's a little bonus that we take one from Nebraska.

Bodogblog

January 12th, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^

and welcome to Michigan!

According to 247sports, we now have the #5 (Bosch), #6 (Dawson), #7 (Fox, though he looks like a tackle to me), and #16 (Samuelson) OG's in the country.

We also have the #2 Center (Kugler) and the #9 Tackle (Tuley-Tillman).  Extraordinary.

DT76

January 12th, 2013 at 10:23 PM ^

I can't speak to the talent difference between Samuelson and Hunt but I'd wonder if the Indiana school has more pipeline potential that the California school?

WolvinLA2

January 12th, 2013 at 10:32 PM ^

Actually, probably not.  Hunt is from a high school that is consistently very good and pumps out D1 talent on the regular.  It's the same high school as Taylor Martinez, for example.  He's one of two guys from his class at Centennial committed to Cal.  They might not be Cass Tech level, but they send multiple guys to D1, usually multiple guys to BCS schools every year.

EDIT:  Samuelson is from a small town in Indiana and he is the only player in the Rivals database this year from that school.  Plymouth, IN isn't near any other decent sized cities, so it's doubtful that it's a program with regular talent.