Michigan picked up their second EDGE commitment of the cycle over the weekend, during Michigan's last big recruiting weekend of June before the dead period. The commitment was from one Dominic Nichols, a 4* EDGE prospect from Oakdale HS and Ijamsville, Maryland. Let's give Mr. Nichols his hello: 

 

GURU RATINGS 

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'5/252	On3: 6'5/240	Rivals: 6'5/245	ESPN: 6'5/255
3*, 89, NR Ovr #30 DE, #10 MD	4*, 90, NR Ovr #28 DE, #9 MD	3*, 5.7, NR Ovr #37 SDE, #17 MD	3*, 79, #50 East #39 DE, #12 MD
3.89	3.96	3.64	3.81
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
4*, 0.8903, #433 Ovr #28 DE, #12 MD	3*, 89.26, #380 Ovr #25 DE, #11 MD	3.5*, #507/795 Ovr #58/88 Edges since 1990
3.90	3.93	3.84

Nichols is a 3* to three of the four outlets and is right on the cusp of 4* status to the composite. On3 is the highest on him, but it's not like there's a terribly dramatic difference between the high end and the low end. All four sites have Nichols between 28th and 39th in their DE rankings and on our five-star scale, between 3.64 and 3.96. Nichols ranks as a 3.5* to our composite and in the historical database he falls 58th out of 88 EDGE prospects since 1990. As for the measurables, everyone agrees Nichols is 6'5", with his weight somewhere between 240 and 255. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Mike Morris 5.0?]

 

SCOUTING 

Our first bit of scouting comes from EJ Holland of On3, who has seen Nichols several times at camps he's attended and has visited Nichols' high school twice. With that abundance of first-hand viewing experience, EJ is able to give us some informed takes on Mr. Nichols ($): 

Look, Nichols isn’t super twitchy, but he has adequate athleticism, good length, terrific brute strength and knows how to get to the quarterback. Simply put, he checks a lot of boxes. I would have him ranked somewhere in the 300-350 range

In particular, EJ likes how Nichols meshes with Devon Baxter and throws out the comparison you're going to hear often: 

Baxter is the really raw talent with upside in the same mold as David Ojabo, while Nichols is a bigger EDGE with some ceiling and a high floor in the same mold as Mike Morris 

EJ clarifies where Michigan sees Nichols lining up on their defense: 

Some schools wanted Nichols as five-technique or 4i defensive lineman. He does play with his hand in the dirt on film, and I do think he has the potential to spin down if needed. However, Michigan didn’t really talk to him about that during his recruitment. They’ve always envisioned him as a bigger EDGE

Nichols gave an interview to Adam Friedman of Rivals and confirms that piece of insight, saying that Michigan's SDE role was attractive to him during the recruitment: 

"Position-wise, playing on the edge is where I felt most comfortable and it's where I've always wanted to play," Nichols said. "Michigan having a strongside defensive end my size was a good fit. With Ojabo, Hutchinson, and Mike Morris coming from there, Michigan was definitely appealing." 

Touch The Banner put up a scouting report yesterday afternoon, following the Nichols commitment. Magnus likes the raw frame: 

Nichols is a big body whose frame has some room to grow. He’s already listed at 252 lbs. and there has been some talk that he’s 6’6″, though most sites list him at 6’5″. He shows the ability to be physical when making tackles and taking on blockers ... His wingspan allows him to snare some ball carriers that otherwise might slip past.

However, he largely pours cold water on the rest of the profile due to the lack of twitchiness that EJ mentioned: 

His first step is somewhat slow, and he often has to use counter moves to try to push the pocket or get a pass rush. For being a 4-star edge prospect, he very rarely wins with speed ... I think his upside is limited due to his lack of quickness

TTB also cites some technique issues that need to be addressed by the Michigan staff: 

Nichols plays too high and, as a result of that, does not show much of an ability to convert what he sees into a sense of urgency to change direction. He takes on too many blocks in the chest and does not sufficiently use his length to shock, lock out, and shed blockers.

As a whole, the summary is "meh": 

He could end up being a Mike Morris-level standup defensive end ...  I think Michigan’s defense will be more effective overall if they have more of a quick-twitch player there at that spot 

If you want a complete 180° turn from the broad scouting consensus, you can read an interview that EJ did with Nichols' coach ($), who seems to be watching a very different sort of player (emphasis mine): 

"His length, his size and his athleticism are some of his biggest strengths,” Stein said. “He’s 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, and he can do a 360 dunk. He has incredible get off and reach. When he wants to get his arm out and extend, there isn’t much offensive tackles can do, especially at the high school level

While Nichols is likely to follow in the path of guys like Aidan Hutchinson and Mike Morris, Stein actually likened him to a different Michigan great — David Ojabo

I'm going to attribute this mostly to a coach hyping up his player because my eye test of the tape largely sides with EJ/TTB on a Mike Morris comparison here. Nichols' coach also pointed out that he has played both sides of the ball: 

He’s the heart of our defense, and we’re going to be counting on him a lot if we want to make a trip to the state championship. He’s in a spot where he plays both ways a lot, so there is some wear and tear

EJ adds the detail that Nichols has played TE/WR, in addition to his defensive responsibilities. 

OFFERS 

The primary suitor for Nichols outside of Michigan was believed to be Wisconsin, who had some momentum after their OV before Michigan put an end to that when Nichols visited Ann Arbor. Penn State was also sniffing around, with Kentucky on the periphery. Additionally, Nichols held offers from B1G squads Maryland, MSU, Minnesota, Rutgers, Northwestern, and Indiana, plus scholarships from southern big dogs Georgia, Tennessee, Clemson, and Ole Miss. Beyond that there's a laundry list of teams all the way down to UMass who aren't worth stating because you get the idea. Nichols was an attractive recruit.  

HIGH SCHOOL 

Nichols plays at Oakdale High School, a public high school out in Frederick County, MD, officially listed as Ijamsville. It sits along I-70, just past the city of Frederick, if you were heading east to Baltimore. Oakdale is a rather new school, opening in 2010, graduating its first senior class in 2013. They had 1,267 students as of 2019-20 and have been able to build up a good football program with that student body, winning the division 2A state title in 2018. Now ranking in division 3A, the Bears are coming off an 11-3 season in 2022 where they finished 6-1 in their region (Central Maryland), taking second behind 7-1 Frederick. The team made it all the way to the 3A state championship game, but fell short against Damascus by a score of 21-14. 

STATS 

I have not been able to find any stats on Nichols because Oakdale's 2022 MaxPreps site is barren. They have stats for only one game listed, which is not at all useful. None of the scouting reports I have found quote any kind of stats either and Oakdale's website also does not have any statistics. 

FAKE 40 TIME 

Nichols has done the Under Armour Baltimore camp a couple of years now, so On3 has a wide array of verified testing numbers for Nichols, including a 40 time. They have him down for a 5.0 forty, which, as they state, is below average for both a top 300 EDGE out of HS and an NFL combine EDGE draftee over the last three years. Given Nichols' profile as more of a strength rather than athleticism/quickness recruit, that makes sense. An independently verified time that lines up with the scouting qualifies as zero FAKES out of five for me. 

VIDEO 

Junior year highlights: 

More available on his Hudl page. 

EJ has some tape from him at the UA Baltimore camps. Here's one example: 

Four-star Michigan EDGE target Dominic Nichols (@DominicNichols0) going through individual drills #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/J0l6OIIiiU

— "EJ Holland" (@EJHollandOn3) May 14, 2023

ETC

Flirtation with Wisconsin appears to be linked to a bizarre story involving Nichols, a boat, and a coach diving into the water. Check it out if you can ($). Close friends with Devon Baxter. 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

Nichols seems to be a solid if unsexy addition to the 2024 class. He comes from a decent HS football program, gets good marks for his attitude and coachability, and has a reasonably translatable skillset with a high floor. Nichols is already playing at over 250 lbs. by all accounts, but has the frame to get up to the 290 Mike Morris was playing at. The apparent lack of athleticism/burst tempers expectations and may quiet enthusiasm for him as a prospect, but the mix of frame, length, and  projectable strength are reasons to bring him in. Nichols has some technique aspects to clean up, but everyone should feel confident in Michigan's abilities to rectify those. Once he goes through a proper Herbertization, you should have a competent beefy SDE option who can kick inside on passing downs if needed and win reps through his bullrush. If nothing else, Nichols is a good stylistic complement to the super raw Devon Baxter. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Nichols joins Baxter as the first two EDGE commitments that Michigan has in the 2024 class. They are favored to add a third early next week when 4* Elias Rudolph closes his commitment on July 3, with the Maize & Blue as the favorites for his services. With Darien Mayo out of the picture and Brian Robinson's pursuit grinding to a seeming halt, the primary target for the preferred fourth EDGE spot in the class is 4* Jacob Smith, twin brother of commit Jerod. Jacob has been slowplaying his commitment out of a desire to carve his own path in life. Most insiders still think Michigan ends up the winner here, but Smith continues to think long and hard. It seems that Nebraska is the main alternative for Smith and that battle may rage on for a bit longer, though Smith intends to wrap it up this summer. If Michigan could nail down Rudolph and Smith, I'd think that these four players are the finalized EDGE class, unless something changes with a blue chip prospect elsewhere. 

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Jadyn Davis	NC	4.7	Smooth, accurate field general
RB	Jordan Marshall	OH	4.4⬇	Accelerates South-North
RB	Micah Ka'apana	NV	3.7⬆	Well-balanced accelerator
WR	I'Marion Stewart	IL	3.9⬇	Ronnie slick/quick, #1 WR to M
WR	Channing Goodwin	NC	3.8	Chain-moving son of Jon
TE	Brady Prieskorn	MI	4.4⬇	Colston Loveland Midwest
TE	Hogan Hansen	WA	4.1⬆	Colston Loveland West
LT	Andrew Sprague	MO	4.2⬆	Basketballin' grow-a-Long
RT	Blake Frazier	TX	4.2⬆⬆	Athletic son of Steve
RG	Luke Hamilton	OH	4.0	Midwestern mauler
LG	Ben Roebuck	OH	3.8⬇⬇	Bigger Midwestern mauler
C	Jake Guarnera	FL	3.8	Mauler but center
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Manuel Beigel	CT	3.5⬇	Lengthy German via Choate
DT	Owen Wafle	NJ	4.0⬇	Little nose with bite
DT	Ted Hammond	OH	4.0	Cincy build-a-bear
DT/DE	Jerod Smith	CT	4.0⬆	Low-pads, high-motor big twin
Edge	Dominic Nichols	MD	3.8⬆	Mike Morris-ish SDE
Edge	Devon Baxter	MD	3.8⬆	Super long 4-3 grow-an-edge.
OLB	Mason Curtis	TN	4.2⬆	Long athlete moving up
OLB	Jaden Smith	NC	3.9⬆	Underscouted Uche
HSP	Cole Sullivan	PA	3.8	Hybrid LB with crazy athleticism
S	Jacob Oden	MI	4.1	Tall son of coach

[quick note from Seth: ESPN put a ranking on Baxter on Jaden Smith, which has altered their star score in this table]