Some recruits commit right before a national championship game in another sport (cough Newburg cough), while others wait until you're finally winding down after singing muppet versions of Michigan's postgame two-fer, have climbed into bed, maybe watched a YouTube on Roman military history, then BOOM:

pic.twitter.com/4F7oY3faWm

— Jeffrey Persi (@Jeffrey_Persi) June 25, 2019

In Persi's defense, 12:17 a.m. EDT is 9:17 p.m. in Southern California, whence this Frey-type tackle prospect burst into the national consciousness after moving from tight end as a sophomore to right tackle as a junior. It was also exactly 24 hours after returning from a second visit to Ann Arbor, which I take as a promise to Mom that went literal. The first trip to Ann Arbor was in early April, four months after Warinner made first contact during his January western road trip. The "right" part of the description is temporary: Persi told Rivals he's moving to left tackle this summer.

Like his new body was last year, Persi's rankings are still playing catchup. The feud, let's play.

GURU RATINGS

As a reminder, "Frey-type" means an athletic frame who arrives at 6'7"/265, whereupon he's stuffed into a weight gain program and emerges a few years later at 310 and hopefully still moving like a gazelle. Sometimes they do that and then still look like a tight end when they're 22—MSU's big spring storyline is Cole Chewins finally cracked 300 by pounding peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Previous Michigan experiments include Jon Janson (6'7"/240), Chris Ziemann (6'7"/251), Jon Runyan Sr. (6'9"/270), Jeff Backus (6'7"/268), Adam Kraus (6'6"/269), Mark Ortmann (6'7"/270), Taylor Lewan (6'8"/272), Michael Schofield (6'7"/272), and Eric Moltane (6'6"/267). The latest is Ryan Hayes (6'7"/252), who was generating buzz all spring and is still probably a year out from competing. As you see from the list, they're worth the shot, especially given the hit rate on OL in general whatever the ratings.

Rivals	ESPN	24/7	24/7 Comp
4*, 5.8, #35 OT, #31 Calif.	4*, 80, #33 OT, #30 Calif., #52 West	3*, 87, #43 OT, #56 Calif., #539 Ovr	3*, #35 OT, #36 Calif., #412 Ovr
Seth Rtg: 4.01★s	4.00★s	3.70★s	3.85★s

I included my five-star scale because it's easier to compare that way. Since I suspected Persi (and some others) were going to choose Michigan I've been tracking his rankings since last February, when Persi was a nondescript three-star. Those four-star rankings (and a 300-spot bump from 24/7) coincided with his appearance at the Super Lineman Tournament in early May, where he won all but one rep, mostly using his elite length. If the climb continues he'll end up around the Ryan Hayes region of exactly four-stars:

Or higher, since Hayes was still ten pounds lighter a year older than Persi is now, and was still a tight end. Also that 265 is the same weight reported going back to last season's J Serra roster.

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting from MORE THAN ONE site, video, and the rest.]

SCOUTING

Weirdly for an offensive lineman in 2019, there's a lot of it, probably because he plays for a big Catholic school coached by a former USC and NFL lineman. That scouting is pretty concise. The LA Times:

The athletic and nimble Persi is a bit raw but has a lot of potential, which is why he’s attracted a lot of recruiting attention this spring.

Also because he went to camp. His athleticism and frame stuck out at The Opening Los Angeles last February, when Persi was measured at 6'7"/257 and put up an elite 4.75-second shuttle:

Checking in at about 6-7, and a lean 260-pounds, Jeffrey Persi still looks like a tight end transitioning to offensive tackle, a move he made last spring, but he had the best frame at the event from a projection standpoint without a question. It might take until his second or third year in a college program to get closing to filling out his frame, especially in his upper body, but he looks like he can handle 40-50 more pounds of good weight with little problem. Persi showed some of the best feet going through the kick step drills and pulling drills where linemen fired out of their stances before moving upfield, and he also looked comfortable and balanced coming out of his pass blocking sets. His lack of functional strength was apparent on a couple reps during 1-on-1s where defenders got into his chest and pushed him backward or chopped down at his hands as he reached out to punch, but he bounced back in later reps as he was able to set his feet and use his length effectively to shield the pass rusher to the outside of the pocket.

Afore mentioned J Serra head coach Pat Harlow also describes a raw athlete just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential:

“Jeff is only a baby as a football player,” Harlow said. “He’s only played one year of offensive line.

“We really didn’t get him until the end of spring because he was busy throwing shot and discus, but he made a really rapid transition into the position. He just got better every week.

“Jeff will get after it; he’s not afraid to stick his nose into anything. He’s only going to continue to get better and more dominant.”

David Eplin from 24/7's Cal site last October mentions "intangibles" as well:

Strengths: Standing at 6’7 265-pounds, Jeffrey Persi‍, has all the intangibles to be a good offensive lineman at the next level. Persi does a good job of keeping his center gravity low, which is sometimes a problem with a guy that big. He plays with a mean streak and looks to finish his blocks on every play. Playing defensive end and tackle on the 6th best team nationally also gives him an advantage because he is already competing against other division one players.

Areas of improvement: Persi still has a lot to learn technique-wise in pass protection that he covers up by just being physically superior.

At The Opening size was described as "zero fakes":

The 6-foot-7 Persi, who transitioned from the tight end spot to tackle, was easily the tallest linemen at the Los Angeles Regional in early February. The rising senior had an up-and-down day, especially when it came to the one-on-one battles. Persi struggled when going up against smaller and quicker defensive ends that were able to get under and around him. But Persi picked up some good coaching and things to work on for next time.

They gave him an Athletic Football Rating of 68.94—it's hard to put that in context because there aren't a lot of guys his size except tight ends—Sean McKeon's 99 was the best of his year, FWIW.

It's also the kind of rating that can result in serious pro potential. 24/7 analyst Greg Biggins after the lineman challenge in May:

"Persi is one of the top tackle prospects in the country and has the kind of frame and athleticism that projects very well to the next level. A lot of the analytics of recent NFL Drafts have shown the tackles taken high were those that weighted in the 250-270 pound range in high school with shuttle times in the sub 4.8 range and that’s exactly where Persi falls."

Persi's own assessment at that point was "Let me actually play offensive tackle before you judge me?" plus nimble, raw, spry, athletic, wiggly, etc.:

"I like to think that I'm pretty quick and long. A lot of the time I'm aggressive, but some times I can be too aggressive with like technique stuff, so there's a balance between not being too passive and being too aggressive with like my punch, and lunging forward or sitting too far back, that I feel like I can get a lot better at."

Academics were a theme for his whole recruitment, and not just as a thing guys know to say: Northwestern only gets involved when they think they have a chance, Stanford offered, and Persi seemed impressed by Harbaugh's assertiono that he finds a link between football and a well-exercised brain:

I was surprised when I asked him his thoughts on majors taken by athletes. He said his best athletes were also his smartest ones. From Aeronautical Engineers, Pre-Med to Business majors, he said the ones who worked the hardest in the classroom were always the easiest to coach and had the most drive and success.

With offensive linemen in particular I'm inclined to agree.

OFFERS

His 27 offers included the entire Pac 12, every Pac 12 wannabe, every Power 5 program with a fancy degree, and Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Ole Miss. Cal was recruiting him first. Washington was the other school of high interest. Oklahoma pushed hard. Northwestern thought they had a shot. UCLA and USC were the other two finalists, and ultimately it came down to Ed Warinner vs. USC OL coach Tim Drevno.

(Heh.)

HIGH SCHOOL

J Serra is a nouveau-riche superpower (see: "6th-best team in the country last year") California D-1 Catholic in the part of Orange County where they shoot a lot of Zorro movies. The school opened in 2003, started producing D-I prospects when head coach Pat Harlow arrived in 2010, and has been churning out three-stars since he took over in 2013. These went to USC, Colorado and SDSU last year, four-star Abdul-Malik McClain went to USC in 2018, and Washington's star OG Luke Wattenberg graduated from J Serra in 2016. When you watch the highlight reel below you'll see the Hart-like 2020 RB Chris Street, who's committed to Cal.

You'll also see three more offensive linemen heading for FBS offers in 2021, and a fifth who's a preferred walk-on this year at Oregon State. For offensive tackles in high school you can't get much better instruction than Harlow, who was the starting left tackle for USC in the 1990 Rose Bowl (the one with the phantom hold). He went in the 1st round (11th overall) in the 1991 draft and spent eight years in the NFL before turning J Serra into a top ten national program. As far as prospects this affects, the Jeep Renegade next to Persi is 2021 OG Ross Maseuli, and there's a 6'5"/200 then-14-year-old receiver named Keyan Burnett who's probably going to get some attention once he can shave.

STATS

Is offensive lineman.

FAKE 40 TIME

Testing results are from the 2019 Opening L.A., where Persi posted a 5.36 forty, which would be meh for a tight end and pretty friggin' quick for an offensive lineman. That forty is also on the video. On the other hand he's going to be 70 pounds heavier by the time he plays so TWO FAKES out of five.

VIDEO

Junior year highlights:The Super Lineman tournament:

You can also see him run drills at The Opening last winter. Sophomore highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

ETC.

Nickname is "Coach." Throws discus and shot put at about D-II scholarship level. Stopped talking to reporters because UCLA's recruiting folk were saying proximity to SoCal was a major factor (Narrator: It wasn't.)

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

The highlights from his junior year show basically exactly what you expect given the scouting we just went through, i.e. a tight end playing right tackle against guys way tinier than him. He wins a lot of reps with long arms and quick feet, and loses some against inside swim moves. When he pulls he gets there, but isn't quite sure what to do. Ditto downfield. His best move is that slide step to cut off a DE set up inside and slanting into a gap even further inside. When you translate that move to a college zone read running game you're talking about huge runs because the backside pursuit just gets jammed up behind a blocker who's supposed to be irrelevant. There's not a lot of caving.

And I don't care because length/agility/frame/brains check four of the five boxes for a legit shot at wunderkind. With OL you are extremely lucky to find one who can hack it mentally and physically. The former you don't know until they've been in college a few years, and the latter either comes along WAY after high school, or leads to super-high ratings and recruitments where you have to fend off Georgia bagmen throwing around the kind of money the IRS might be interested in.

We have seen excellent/heady/strong OL like Mason Cole or Jon Runyan Jr. hit a hard ceiling at left tackle because their arms' length wasn't enough to keep away the Bosa/Willekes types. A lot of NFL left tackles looked like Persi in high school. On the other hand, a lot of guys who looked like Persi in high school still look like Persi in high school four years later (see: MSU's Cole Chewins). And with so much technique to learn even making weight isn't a guarantee of projection (see: various Ohio State OTs who weren't all-conference when Runyan was).

Michigan can afford to float this investment. Unless there's a Jalen Mayfield-level size spike this year expect Persi to hit campus around 270-275 and spend the next couple of years in pupation, and set your alarms for spring 2022, when Persi's a redshirt sophomore, Stueber is out of eligibility, Mayfield and Hayes are fifth year seniors, and we're ready to name the next wave out of whoever's still around from Trente Jones, Trevor Keegan, Persi's classmate Zak Zinter, and the 2021s coming off their redshirts. The top-notch high school coaching he gets should see him arrive without the bad habits so common among OL prospects. Adding muscle is the big question mark.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

I know it's weird to feel this way now, just a few years removed from Grant Newsome's knee being the only thing between us and the abyss, but things are pretty stable in the tackle pipeline, and the program can settle in to taking a high-floor (Keegan/Zinter/Stueber), a high-ceiling (Jones/Mayfield/Hayes/Persi), and a swingman (Runyan/Honigford/Barnhart/El-Hadi) to stow for future position battles each year.

Michigan now has four OL, two of them OTs, after taking six OL (two projected as OTs) last year. Of the other 2020s, I believe Mazzccua and Atteberry are almost certainly ticketed for inside. Going on crystal balls and the current buzz, national top-50 OT prospects Tosh Baker seems out of reach, top-board target Michael Carmody will be in a gold helmets if he ever plays in the Big House, and leviathan Andrew Gentry seems ticketed for a two-year Mormon mission then BYU. Things can always change in the next six or eight months but I think Michigan now has two of the top five guys on their board at the position, and don't need to hit again unless the dealer flashes an ace.