Hello: Jeremy Clark Comment Count

Tim

Michigan has accepted a greyshirt commitment from KY S Jeremy Clark. Clark impressed the coaches at camp, but not enough to earn an immediate offer. Should he pick up a number of mid-level scholarship offers, I wouldn't expect this one to stick.

JeremyClark-mug.jpg

GURU RATINGS

Scout Rivals ESPN 24/7 Sports
2*, NR S NR S NR S NR S

Since Jeremy is effectively a member of the 2013 recruiting class (pending a decision from OH S Jarrod Wilson) and also very under-the-radar, this section should be brief. HOWEVA, with Brian unavailable, why not profile a guy who's basically a preferred walk-on at this point?

As you can see, the recruiting sites aren't so high on Clark. Scout is the only site with a ranking for him, and even that is a lowly 2-star. The sites are in accord there, and also on his size: He's a consensus 6-4 (ESPN says 6-2), with two votes for 205 pounds and two votes for 185 pounds. I'll go with 195 then.

Since there's nothing out there on the free webs, a paid article from Scout:

This 6-4, 175-lb. safety was the surprises of the day. He flashed good speed and EXCELLENT ball skills. He is a bit of a sleeper on the national scale because he grew four inches since last fall. Just as impressive was the fact that he soaked up the coaching like a sponge and just seemed to really be relishing the overall experience.  

Of course it's in their best interests to talk kids up as sleepers, so take it as a grain of salt. It's sleeper bluster, but in the parlance of sleeper bluster, height, ball skills and coachability are nice compliments for any system.

JeremyClark-OMGshirtless.jpgClark aso drew "plenty of attention" from Ohio State's staff at their camp ($, info in header), but apparently they didn't see enough to offer him. He is pictured OMG SHIRTLESS at right.

OFFERS

Most of Clark's full scholarship offers came from the MAC. Akron, Ball State, Central Michigan, Ohio, and Toledo were his offers from the Big Ten's JV league. NC State was his only other BCS-level scholarship offer.

STATS

His Rivals profile has junior year stats: 75 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 8 pass breakups. That's not a ringing endorsement of Scout's "ballhawk" characterization, but it's certainly not bad either.

FAKE 40 TIME

Rivals says 4.47. That is very fast. A kid with Clark's size is not an unranked prospect at this point in the recruiting cycle if he's actually that fast. I'm going to have to go with 4 FAKEs out of five.

VIDEO

Junior highlights:

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

This guy is a greyshirt prospect for a reason. At one step ahead of preferred walk-on, it's tough to see him accomplishing much until very late in his career, as is usually the case for these guys. He'll greyshirt the fall of his first year (pay his own way and, if I'm not mistaken, not practice with the team), then join the squad as a redshirt freshman in the spring.

I see him being a special teams contributor as a redshirt junior and senior, and the type of guy who gets a few plays in the secondary, but not much more.

Of course, if he is the level of sleeper that Scout's recap above seems to imply, he could also blow up once he gets into college, and absorb all the coaching (and weight training, etc.) available to him, becoming a contributor by the time he leaves campus.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

As a greyshirt, he doesn't affect much about this class. The needs are still offensive line, defensive tackle, wideout, and - with lesser emphasis - quarterback/running back.

Comments

Hardware Sushi

June 24th, 2011 at 1:18 PM ^

Congrats, Jeremy! Look forward to seeing you on the field in the future and good luck this season.

And Jebus, I'm sorry I clicked to read the comments. A lot of overreacting, in my opinion. The welcome was a little harsh but the first 5-10 comments got the point across, not 3 pages of them. Remember,

Congrats Jeremy!

skunk bear

June 24th, 2011 at 1:21 PM ^

My 2 cents: It is disingenuous to say "Welcome" or "Hello" and then say "this guy can't play".

If I were Jeremy I would be interested in talking to you, Tim.

TESOE

June 24th, 2011 at 1:54 PM ^

it - and redo the Hello thing?  There's a lack of data on Clark that deserves deference.

This offer says a lot about where the staff is wrt safety and this class - it's getting down to it.  Short of  Pittman's and Olson's commits this is the staff making it work.  Wilson is clearly no silent commit - coming from a HS coached by a former Michigan letterman.  This speaks to Shumate,  Bogard and Maye ... when a guy camps at Michigan - he's going to get the first look.

I like Clark's size and run support.  I like the coaches making this offer post camp - Clark is not an unknown commodity to them.  But he is a commodity and since other classes are nowhere near as full as Michigan and there are a ton of good schools out there - it's likely that Jeremy will be offered by others not unlike Mich offered Bellomy and Carter.  

It's a lot harder to cut and turn a 6'4" frame than a 6'0" frame.  Those that can do it are highly regarded. 

You can't sign sleepers/late bloomers with a full class - this is a downside to signing early and often - but a bird in the hand...

I'm excited to see Jeremy's Senior campaign...I think we will see him step up.  Hopefully this offer gets us a foot in the door...it's a long way until Feb 2nd and I hope room is an issue for this class but I'm excited to have Clark as part of it.  This is Michigan throwing elbows with Cincinnati and others who like Clark's game.  Clark's commit is a verbal and is his to rescind or make good on as he sees fit.  Michigan will not be able to talk in public about Clark until 2013 if it goes that far...it's beyond the NLI scheme.

BrickTop

June 24th, 2011 at 2:08 PM ^

that his film isn't totally impressive but we must not forget that film was taken before he fully developed. In truth, if he is 6'4 and can run 4.4-5ish, the coaches will be able to make a solid player out of him. That is elite athleticism right there.

CRex

June 24th, 2011 at 3:03 PM ^

Tim really needs to pull this article and rewrite it.  As basically everyone else has pointed out this article has an extremely negative tone compared to others and Tim managed to miss two BCS level offers this guy has.  It's really just shoddy, man up and rework.

On the grey shirting thing, I have mixed feelings. A high school teammate of mine grey shirted.  He did it though knowing that he had no future in the NFL and he was going to college for an education.  He picked a college solely for academics and then worked out a greyshirt type of thing with the coach.  The five/six year thing actually worked out to be in his favor since it let him spread out the workload a little more in conjunction with football.  

If Clark came to us and said "I want to go to Michigan for academics and I'd like to get in line for football", this is a legit move.  If he wants to make a career out of football I wouldn't blame him for jumping on another BCS offer.  Also keep in mind he is blowing up later and trying to get rescouted.  It could very well be he did this to get his name out there, hopefully rescouted and some more offers.  

 

Rasmus

June 24th, 2011 at 3:19 PM ^

Still didn't see too many people pointing out the fact this is kinda big news -- here's a guy they liked so much at camp they offered him a 2013 scholarship because they can't fit him into the 2012 class. That's very unusual and indicative of something more than just being under the radar. My guess it is real, timed, consistent SPEED.

The place where Tim goes awry in his post is likely giving the 4.47 time four FAKES out of five. If he were right, Jeremy would not have the offer from Michigan.

tspoon

June 24th, 2011 at 3:28 PM ^

I totally agree with you Rasmus.  Methinks this is your proverbial high ceiling late bloomer.  The staff uncovered a gem, and he happens to be a kid who understands 1) the value of a scholarship to Michigan and 2) that a gray shirt can very well be playing to the strength of a late bloomer.

 

I think Tim is just wrong on this one.  The fact pattern speaks pretty loudly.

bronxblue

June 24th, 2011 at 4:09 PM ^

A little late to the party, and some people just need to relax. Yes, the post is a little harsh, but not beyond what you would expect for a low 2* kid. And I kind of agree with Tim that, based on the info we have about his size and speed, he is either a massive sleeper or someone is embellishing. Either way, welcome Jeremy and I hope you stay. But I want everyone who is complaining about Tim 'dissing' Jeremy to be nothing but cordial and complementary if he leaves for a better offer.

Jensencoach

June 24th, 2011 at 5:07 PM ^

When did people start being so sensitive?  I see nothing wrong with what he wrote, nor is it different from the tone of "hello" posts for similar hyped prospects.

 

Edit:  If you don't like a mainpage post, please make your own meltdown thread elsewhere.  I appreciate this post and the normal comments but all the BS clutter has made it too difficult to filter out the comments.

aiglick

June 24th, 2011 at 7:21 PM ^

I think everyone needs to take a chill pill and not start World War III over a Hello Post. Tim always prefaces his predictions with the assertion that the evidence is flimsy. In this case it is probably flimsier than most cases. Who knows how this recruit is going to turn out. The future is always in motion.

cjd3mtsu

June 24th, 2011 at 8:56 PM ^

Will Muschamp: "I don't care how many stars a kid has, if he can play he can play." 6'4 200 pound safety with 4.5 speed. I think he can help a little seeing as how we have Jordan Kovacs who is every bit of 5'11 180 with probably 4.7 speed (maybe on a good day). 

 

 

jwfsouthpaw

June 24th, 2011 at 9:09 PM ^

These comments are so disappointing:  (1) hardly anyone actually welcomes Jeremy to Michigan; (2) some posters hijacked a commitment post to debate the direction of the blog; (3) people are vicious towards Tim for offering his own "prediction based on flimsy evidence"; and (4) interestingly, nobody is criticizing Magnus--and rightfully so--even though he rates Jeremy similarly on his blog.

I could go on, but what's the point?

mejunglechop

June 26th, 2011 at 7:34 PM ^

1) I don't get the point of making comments "welcoming" a player. I'm not so narcissistic as to think he would read my comment or care if he stumbled onto it. And if he does care he shouldn't. I'm just a guy on the internet.

2) To people who spend a lot of time on this blog the meta implications of this post supercede the substantive news.

Knappster

June 24th, 2011 at 10:01 PM ^

With those measurables and the eagerness to be coached, he can be as good as any other player on the field.  His true passion and dedication to UM will show up on the field and bring out the best in him and his teammates.  GREAT pickup!

Sarasota13

June 24th, 2011 at 11:33 PM ^

Just recently there was a post  setting forth the readers' view as to what not to say on this blog.  A main theme was to keep the posting positive as the recruits actually  read these posts.   It is a good policy. 

 

If I were Jeremy Clark (about 17 years old and  clearly  excited about receiving an offer from a great school like Michigan) reading this welcome,  I would be angry.    My commitment high would be tarnished by such  a critical analysis. 

He is only a high school senior to be.  it is difficult to predict the development of many players, including one so young. Obviously, the coaches had an excellent opportunity to evaluate this kid and  saw something they liked and offered.    The coaches certainly can find raw talent at a camp.  This kid has good size and apparently good speed.  Something that the staff can work with.

Congratulations on the offer.  Michigan is a great school within a superb campus, a wonderful tradition and a fantastic football stadium.  Many people would love to have an opportunity to attend and play for Michigan.  You have made a great choice.

 

GO Blue.

 

 

chitownblue2

June 25th, 2011 at 7:58 AM ^

The purpose is not to "welcome" him, it is to inform the readership who the player is. If he is a two-star recruit that the staff doesnt want to take in this year, he is, most likely, not an elite prospect. Period. There is nothing wrong with saying so. I don't see anything here that is insulting, it's merely not optimistic.

blueblueblue

June 25th, 2011 at 9:12 AM ^

It would be hard to argue that the post could not have been made less insulting - especially in its original instantiation. Its also hard to argue that when someone starts breaking down a player into his attributes, and then making predictions, he or she is not engaging in analysis. That raises the question as to what knowledge and/or experience the analysis is based on. When the predictions seem to be off-base or just mean-spirited, when the 'analyst' engages in filling in the broad gaps with impoverished intuition, the person acting as an analyst gets called out. That's what happened here.

Regardless, it boils down to whether Tim and Brian want to alienate recruits and readers. I am sure its tough acting in this undefined realm of a popular sports blog. The readers here seem ok with impoverished analysis, but they do not seem to be ok when the analyst is irresponsibly derogatory to a kid.  

Raoul

June 25th, 2011 at 1:15 PM ^

If he is a two-star recruit that the staff doesnt want to take in this year, he is, most likely, not an elite prospect.

The thing is that what Clark really is at this point is someone who has not been fully evaluated by the rating sites. There's only one site that even has a rating for him. Once he's evaluated or reevaluated, do you really think he'll end up being a two-star?

What I object to about this "Hello" evaluation is the use of an incredibly thin amount of evidence to make this conclusion:

I see him being a special teams contributor as a redshirt junior and senior, and the type of guy who gets a few plays in the secondary, but not much more.

That assessment is beyond "not an elite prospect" but basically says why is this guy being offered a scholarship at all? There is some hedging in the paragraph that follows, but the paragraph above makes a boldly negative assessment based on scant evidence.

In regard to the purpose of the "Hello" posts, I think this site needs a separate way to welcome commitments into the Michigan fold. Perhaps someone could make a "Welcome: ______" post for the MGoBoard when someone commits where welcoming comments could be posted. The "Hello" posts and comments could then be a place for more of a critical assessment of the player.

chitownblue2

June 27th, 2011 at 12:16 AM ^

Your opinion isnthat he's notna 2-star caliber player. Tim, clearly, thinks he is. I have no interest in debating the difference because my value as a talent evaluator is roughly equal to my value as an aeronautical engineer.

But it seems to me that your argument of "do you really think he's a two-star?" is merely the other side of the coin to which you object.

Nobody KNOWS. People are hazarding guesses. That you disagree isn't and indictment.

Raoul

June 27th, 2011 at 10:14 AM ^

First of all, I wouldn't claim to have any value as a talent evaluator at all. Any opinion I might have about Jeremy Clark (or any other football recruit) is based completely on what I've heard about him from other people--in this case, mainly Sam Webb's raving about his camp performance. Based on the fact that Sam said that Clark hadn't really been evaluated yet by the rating sites, it seems to me the thing to do is to ignore that two-star rating from one rating site--not use that as a basis for your evaluation, while stating that "the recruiting sites aren't so high on Clark."

Also, you misquoted my question, which was: do you really think he'll end up being a two-star? This has nothing to do with my opinion of him. With offers from NC State, Illinois, and Michigan, isn't it inevitable that he'll end up at least a three-star? You know as well as I do that offers influence ratings.

Aequitas

June 27th, 2011 at 10:28 AM ^

Riiight. 

So let's err on the side of being dickish to a guy who's said he'd rather "pay his way to Michigan than take a scholarship from Illinois."  Why?  If it's a 2-sided coin, as you say, why does the negative side HAVE to be taken?  Guys like Tim (in this case) and Magnus try so hard to be objective, that they don't dare allow themselves to agree with the coaches who've actually camped this guy, and others like him.

Jeremy could be Vada Murray 2.0 or he could be someone who contributes on special teams and plays on the scout team.  Bottomline, he hasn't even played his freaking senior season after having shot up 4", and the coaches who camped him liked him enough to offer him in a talent-crowded class.  Save the negativity and just welcome another player into the Michigan family.

Jeremy, if you've had the misfortune of stumbling onto this thread, know that there are a TON of people pulling for you and hoping you graduate after having had a strong career at Michigan.  I'm excited that you chose Michigan and know that good things will follow you if you work hard and never quit.

chitownblue2

June 27th, 2011 at 10:40 AM ^

When have you ever thought that the purpose of this blog was "to be nice". It's to provide analysis. I have no idea whether Tim is correct or not, but suggesting that a 2-star prospect is unlikely to start at Michigan is hardly insulting, it's merely quoting probability. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I don't think Tim would say he knows better than Hoke. The purpose of this piece is for the author to say what they think will come of Clark's career. If Tim is to be accosted for having the temerity to not write "ALL AMERICAN!", then maybe you don't need to read.

M-Wolverine

June 27th, 2011 at 11:19 AM ^

It sucked.  So what does that say about the intent? I don't want to live in a world where not being a dick is "naivete". And it seems as if most don't want to read a blog where the same thing is true.