Stereotyping is wrong, but sometimes just a little bit of information can at least seem to paint a picture with relatively good accuracy. Like when your sweetheart tells you her overalls-wearing Uncle Bubba from Texas is coming up to stay with you and wants to know if you have a gun safe, your mind paints a picture. We do this with receivers too. Tell me a guy's 6'4"/220 and I'll describe a burly fade candidate then talk endzone conversion. Say he's 5'11"/175 and I'll remark that no 5'11" man in history has ever been taller than 5'9", then get into how slot smurfs are effective college tools.

Well, when you assume you make an ass of ume. Karmello English is a catch-everything baller who's dangerous in the redzone, and enough of a fade threat that he averaged 15 yards per catch as a junior. He's also 5'11"/175. Also, English may actually be the first 5'11" man in America to actually be five-foot-eleven. Other than that he's this:

English (no relation to Ron) was a Michigan target last year, but he committed to Auburn over the summer. Michigan kept in contact anyways. Kentucky did too. When Auburn lost to Penn State, starting them down the path to irreparable association with Hugh Freeze, English broke loose. He also tweeted #WeAre, which got people thinking a PSU flip was imminent. Then Michigan had him on campus for PSU.

Alabama was in play, but just days out from Signing Day it was reportedly a better relationships vs more NIL Kentucky/Michigan pick 'em. Sam said Ron Bellamy deserves a mountain of credit for this one, with a late assist from Harbaugh, who flew down to Alabama to close. However English had a third entity he credits for falling for Michigan:

“What put Michigan over the top was the atmosphere, how much the fans showed love."

This guy's been going to Iron Bowls his whole life, people. Take a bow.

GURU RATINGS

Rivals gave him the courtesy of another inch, and they and On3 said he's up to 182. His school listed him at 6'1"/175 this year, and he has himself at 6'0"/185, for what it's worth.

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 5'11/175	On3: 5'11/182	Rivals: 6'0/182	ESPN: 5'11/175
4*, 90, NR Ovr #40 WR, #18 AL	4*, 90, NR Ovr #51 WR, #19 AL	4*, 5.9, #153 Ovr #29 WR, #16 AL	4*, 85, #82 Ovr #15 WR, #9 AL
3.90	3.86	4.32	4.56
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
4*, 0.928, #180 Ovr #25 WR, #15 AL	4*, 92.08, #191 Ovr #25 WR, #15 AL	4*, #300/772 Ovr #42/84 WRs since 1990
4.28	4.21	4.12

English is an interesting one in the ratings because he was a top-100 player who dropped about 200 spots over his senior year on the composites, which a bit more than can be accounted for with simple recruiting gravity. I believe this was because he was expected to grow a bit. English was the star of a Phenix City Central team that made the 7A (highest) state finals as a junior. 247 dropped him from a 91 to a 90 in mid-October of this year, but the rankings drop was gradual and consistently accompanied by height talk. On3's opinion didn't shift—he was a 90, #216 overall, and their #33 receiver in October of last year, so the rest is just gravity. There's a perception that it did because their reporters use their consensus system, which is more reactive to drops.

ESPN ranked him in top 100 in America and barely in the top 10 in Alabama. Expect that to drop when someone informs them the narrative's in danger. On the other hand English was invited to the UA All-American game, so maybe everyone else just needs to respect the SEC more. Also my wife's Uncle Bubba from Texas is a sweet 5'4" jeweler who often wears a full fur coat over those overalls.

[AFTER THE JUMP: But he's still a slot right?]

SCOUTING

Rivals liked him the most among the sites that looked at more than which state he's from. Rivals' national recruiting analyst Ryan Wright said Michigan is getting…

that inside-outside receiver burning Big Ten defenses. … has the speed to be a vertical threat extending defenses but also has the burst in space to play in the slot. … There is a no fear attitude English brings to the field. … a solid route runner who will improve once on campus. On the athletic front, English is on par with the best of the best. … used in a wide variety of ways during his senior campaign with defenses keying on him. He was a catching machine.

National recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman saw everything at their Atlanta camp in April 2021:

… speedster Karmello English turned heads at RCS Atlanta. … flashed exceptional hands and the ability to make grabs away from his body in traffic and showcased his second gear after the catch. … a crafty route-runner that separates at the top of his routes consistently.

And named him a top performer. This was a few weeks after Adam Friedman was asked about guys who were going to make the Rivals250 when they remade it, and English was on the tip of his tongue.

English has been blowing up over the last few weeks, and rightfully so. He isn’t a big receiver but he is always open, is very shifty and does a great job consistently catching the ball with his hands.

On3's analyst Cole Pinkston did a film review of English after his Auburn commitment and came off with Gallon-esque thoughts:

Used for 50/50 ball situations If you only look at English’s size (5-11 185), you wouldn’t think he’d be use to win jump balls. It’s a testament to his athletic ability. …

Open Field Playmaker The broken tackle with a stiff-arm is reminiscent of a running back. When you combine the ability to break tackles with WR speed and hands, you’ve got something special. A rare combination. …

A threat in the return game He’s not a wasted motion kind of player. He sees a hole and flies through it with control. …

Great vision as a ball-carrier If I had a recent player comparison for English, it might be Eli Stove. Stove wasn’t the fastest guy on the team, nor was he the most complete WR, but they wanted the ball in his hands. He always made something happen.

Take the link for the whole thing with the clips. Charles Power, their national lead, was so impressed by English they were using him as a bellwether for assessing a pair of 4.5* DBs committed to the Tide during last year's state final:

The title game was the best we’ve seen Thompson cornerback Trequon Fegans play. … The only catch we saw Fegans surrender was a quick comeback [that English beat him on]. … 2023 safety Tony Mitchell was not tested as often as Fegans, but did have a few instances of strong coverage on English…The two continued to lock horns, with Mitchell having a good coverage on an underthrown pass later in the game.

Meanwhile the star was held to 2 catches for 17 yards but the non-comeback was…

a nine-yard touchdown that came on a fade pass in the corner of the end zone. English showed his sizable catch radius in making the grab.

247 national analyst Cooper Petagna wrote up the scouting report last January, and sounded…unenthused…describing a good at all things, great at none kind of player:

Possesses adequate at 5-foot-10 and 175-pounds plus. Appears to have an athletic build with an explosive lower half. Has the room to add additional weight to his frame at the next level.

Displays above average athletic ability at the receiver position. Shows the ability to line up inside out but takes most of his snaps inside as a slot. Appears to have above average short area quickness and change of direction ability. Possesses some slight hip and ankle stiffness that inhibit separation ability but overcompensates with his ability to play big and utilize his frame.

Exhibits adequate to above average play speed. Wins with physicality and explosiveness at the catch point. Flashes some excellent 50/50 ball skills. Shows some production after the catch but more of short to intermediate route runner with possession ability. Plays bigger than his size dictates, has some edge to his play style. Has the ability to add value on multiple special teams units at the next level. Projects to a multi-year starter at a Power Five program.

Auburn reporter Jason Caldwell said English "has been a dominating player on the perimeter," accounting for 45% of QB Caleb Nix's yards in 2021 under head coach Patrick Nix, who if you're wondering, yes, is Bo Nix's dad. Caldwell got the writeup when English committed to the Tigers last July:

The first thing that stands out … is that he is a competitor. … great ball skills and has a knack for making the big play, and one of the reasons for that is his drive to be great. He’s constantly working on his craft and is a stickler for the little things. That shows up in his route running and also with the ball in his hands. Not afraid to be physical, English can turn into another running back … ahead of the game in terms of being prepared to make an early contribution on the next level.

Caldwell offered a player comparison of Ben Obamanu, whom I don't remember, but I have a query in with a Seahawks fan relative. The 7v7 and camp circuit put English on the map in spring 2021. 247 southern analyst Andrew Ivins reported English "consistently got open" at Atlanta Pylon and again at the UA camp:

..consistently got open once 1-on-1s started. He made arguably the catch of the day when he hit the breaks on a vertical route before turning around and snagging a ball that was thrown his back shoulder over a defender. … was a weapon this past fall … reactively polished wideout that likely is only going to keep getting better.

He later added English has…

strong hands and a good route runner, English is advanced in the finer points of the game and that makes him hard for high school defensive backs to deal with in single coverage or more than one player trying to cover him.

The Wolverine's EJ Holland has been enamored with English for years.

I wrote that Michigan should offer English almost two years ago. I actually saw him on the club 7v7 circuit as an underclassmen, and he was consistently one of the top pass catchers, even getting the best of last year’s Michigan cornerback signee Myles Pollard. English is a dynamite weapon that can play in the slot or on the outside. He’s not a true burner, but he’s explosive with the ball in his hands. English is also a natural pass catcher, has terrific body control and uses his athleticism to his advantage. He can make an early impact at Michigan.

His site called English a "productive possession receiver"

Advanced in his ability to locate and track the ball. Has a large catch radius with the ability to win in contested situations. Coordinated and nimble in the air. Shows good physicality as a runner after the catch. Has adequate straight-line play speed but no athletic testing to speak of. Not overly explosive in terms of change of direction. Older for the class, turning 18 years-old as a junior.

The lack of athletic testing might be a hint why 247 is relatively down. They thrive on that stuff, and it makes them a more accurate site, but they can get a little blinded when they don't get their data.

Grumpy ol' coach Touch the Banner struggled to find something to grump about.

English is a powerful, speedy route runner who has some good quickness in and out of breaks. He shows some decent body and hand strength at the catch point and can make some tough catches in traffic. He also has some good short-area quickness to make people miss in space, and then his acceleration is solid to blow past defenders. I really like his ability to come in and out of breaks with speed, and he should be a good target on corner routes, out routes, digs, and posts.

There aren’t many negatives to his skill set. He could afford to add some size and strength to his frame, but that’s the case for everyone.

Then he went with Antonio Brown as a comparison. Then he glomped, and grumped, and hurphed, and scowled some more, but I saw that smile coach.

I'm also late enough again on these to be able to include a Lucas Reimink Chalk talk. Strengths were foot speed, toughness, and contested catches; weaknesses were route running, agility, and flexibility. I think that means he doesn't turn a lot on film. The want-to comes out though.

English possesses solid height, good speed, solid agility, good body control, he is good in contested catch situations, and also has good yards after catch ability. He plays bigger than his listed height and weight, as he’s not afraid to go up and get a ball at its highest point or take a hit over the middle of the field while still retaining concentration on catching the pass.

Trainer Adrian Steele told Holland hands and route running make Karmello special but that's not the main thing:

He’s super competitive. That’s the main thing about him. He does not like to lose. You really want that type of kid. He loves football. He loves the weight room and working in the offseason. You’ve seen him in 7v7 and know he can make all the catches. I told you he was going to be the top guy in 2023. This year, he played the slot because he was being a team player. They have some other P5 wide receivers on his team, and he still had 900 yards. He didn’t have as many flash plays, but once he goes back outside, you’ll see that. He can do it all.”

IS HE A SLOT?

Auburn reporters insisted the Tigers saw English as a guy to play outside, but they were also desperate for those. A sample:

Measuring in at 6-foot, 182 pounds during his visit, Auburn is looking at English as someone that can play on the outside even if his size might not instantly stick out as an outside receiver. English feels like he can play on the inside or the outside.

Steve Lorenz noted on our podcast that Michigan wouldn't have recruited a guy they don't think can play inside and out, and English in particular was a guy they felt comfortable putting outside. Holland described the way the three guys they got are likely to fit together:

Morgan is a true slot, while Moore is lanky body with long arms. Both Morgan and Moore are a bit on the underrated side. English is rated appropriately and has the best chance to see the field early. Like the consensus, I also have English graded as a Top 175-200 player nationally.

Answer: English can play there, but he's an outside guy.

OFFERS

Well, non-playoff team Alabama, for one. And yes, we think this was an actual real offer, with recruiting reporters predicting him in the class, constant communication, visits, phone calls with Saban, and continued pursuit when he was committed to Auburn. We often talk about Alabama/Georgia offers versus quote "offers" when a player reports one, as in there were 44 receivers who an "offer" from Alabama this cycle, but only a quarter of those guys have a dedicated article on an Alabama recruiting site. However Bama, like OSU, doesn't usually extend "offers" to local kids unless they're serious.

The take on the situation from NPT Bama sites is they had English and FL 4* Jaren Hamilton about equal for the last WR spot in the class. Both visited for the Iron Bowl, Hamilton committed two days later, and shortly after that English stopped talking about Tuscaloosa. The three hats at English's ceremony were Michigan, Kentucky, and Auburn.

His other offers were FSU, Florida, Miami(YTM), Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Colorado (pre-Prime), Mississippi State, Kansas, and Cincy. Georgia offered, or "offered"—that one's less clear.

HIGH SCHOOL

Central High School in Phenix City, AL, is a big deal, and rarely goes a year without at least one 4-star. The coach is Patrick Nix, father of Oregon QB Bo Nix; in fact Bo's younger brother Caleb was English's quarterback last year.

It's also a good candidate to claim the title of "Wide Receiver High", producing 5* Justyn Ross (2018) immediately followed by top-50 4* EJ Williams (2020), who followed Ross to Clemson. Georgia WR Jackson Meeks (2021) came next, then Karmello, then 4* Cam Coleman, a 2024 who's already 6'3"/175. English is actually the 3rd-ranked guy in his own class, behind 4* DE Tomarrion Parker (Clemson) and 5* CB AJ Harris (Georgia). In addition to Coleman, the 2024 class right now has a 3* DE already committed to Utah, and a 3* cornerback with a strong offer list already.

STATS

Maxpreps reports a senior year of 850 yards on 70 catches and 11 TDs as a senior. His junior year was a bit more productive: 1,059 yards on the same number of receptions, 18 TDs. His rushing totals were nearly identical: 63 and 65 yards and 2 TDs each, but he did that on 9 carries as a senior and 6 as a junior. He also fumbled twice this year.

FAKE 40 TIME

None provided, hence 247's grumpiness. This gets zero FAKES out of five because all 40 times are fake; the only way to win is not to play.

VIDEO

Rivals camp in April 2021.

ETC

Michigan had its own 1B in TN 3* Chance Fitzgerald, a 6'3" leaper whose trainer likened to Braylon Edwards. Michigan let Fitzgerald slip away to Virginia Tech a few days ago when English indicated he was coming to Ann Arbor. It'll be interesting to compare the two down the line.

Fun fact: Auburn has not signed the #1 WR in Alabama out of high school since 2006. A list of programs that have done so more recently than Auburn: Alabama (often), Clemson (twice), Georgia, Florida, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Michigan (twice), and East Mississippi Community College.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

When you make assumptions, you make an ass out of u & mptions. Such as when a star receiver who was two inches too short to be a 5-star receiver was the star on offense for a perennial Alabama powerhouse and everybody assumed the guy from Jim Harbaugh's staff was just there to look. They assumed when he committed to Auburn when Auburn's class was three other guys and not likely to get more any time soon that he was just an Auburn guy no matter what happened with Harsin. They assumed that whispers of blizzards and snow monsters of the North would drive him away. And a lot of cornerbacks assumed, quite wrongly, that they were safe from fades.

Because it came down to Kentucky and Michigan, not Alabama and Michigan, I think people are assuming that this wasn't the big Top-200 star stolen right out of the heart of SEC land that it looks like if you read the recruiting articles from the first post-Vaccine camps through the championship run. I think we assume that because 247 is usually the most accurate (On3's not old enough but promising) and ESPN is equal parts bunk and stumping for their television partners that 247's more likely to be correct. If all you know is those two sites are grading a guy like this, then yeah, the stereotype is usually correct. But if you take away 247's measurables, is that still the case?

I don't assume that's why he's ranked how he's ranked. I guess it's that and the height listing. I'm also guessing that there were a lot of ways this recruitment could have panned out that didn't end up with Michigan winning this. Like if Bama misses out on one more recruit like they did the Playoff this year. Or if English doesn't sign with Auburn and the rest of the SEC gets their visits over the summer. Or if Harbaugh doesn't come down to finish this. Or if Michigan fans hadn't been through so much that the first half of the Penn State game only merely annoyed and the second half was another outpouring of glee that hasn't really stopped flowing since 42-27.

Sometimes all you have to go on are assumptions. Mine is that the sites all acted in accordance with their usual modus operandis on a very well-scouted Alabama recruit they originally assumed would go to Alabama, and what we have as a result is a composite opinion that's pretty close to the mark. I think English is going to be the best receiver of his class. I think he's going to see the field relatively early, given there's still a killer class that Bellamy landed last year. I think he's going to be very good in ways that we're not fully able to appreciate. I think he's a Gallon.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

English was the penultimate commit in the Early period, joining at 10 AM in signing day. He's the 3rd receiver so they're almost certainly done there. He's also the last of the 2023 Hellos we needed to catch up on. It's 2:35 AM on Friday morning right now and there's a lot of snow and a lot of road between me and my first vacation in 2 years. See you on the other side.

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Kendrick Bell	MO	3.5	Ronnie's little brother
RB	Cole Cabana	MI	4.3⬆	Speedy receiver back
RB	Benjamin Hall	GA	3.5⬇⬇	Battering ram with vision
WR	Karmello English	AL	4.1	Go Go Gadget Gallon
WR	Semaj Morgan	MI	3.8	Homegrown Gattis-ian slot
WR	Fredrick Moore	MO	3.7⬆	Crafty Roundtree 2.0
TE	Deakon Tonielli	IL	3.9⬆⬆⬆	Catchy bouncy bballer
TE	Zack Marshall	CA	3.7⬆	1,000-yard receiver in Cali league
OG	Amir Herring	MI	4.0⬇	West Bloomfield's interior mauler
OG	Nathan Efobi	GA	3.8⬇	Ineffable teddy bear
OT	Evan Link	DC	4.1	Agile OT with a Wisconsin offer
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Trey Pierce	IL	3.8⬆⬆⬆	Polished, rising 3-tech
DT	Brooks Bahr	IL	3.7	Lengthy grow-a-3-tech
SDE	Enow Etta	TX	4.4⬆	Poor man's Rashan Gary
WDE	Aymeric Koumba	FRA	3.6	Long/French athletic freak
MLB	Semaj Bridgeman	PA	4.1	Formerly elite, WLBish
MLB	Hayden Moore	CO	3.5	Versatile tackling machine
OLB	Jason Hewlett	OH	3.9	Hybrid S/OLB/DE
OLB	Breeon Ishmail	OH	3.5	LB/Edge tweener
S	D'Juan Waller Jr.	OH	3.6⬆	Lanky Youngstown boy
CB	Jyaire Hill	IL	4.2⬆⬆	Playmaking CB/S with vibe
CB	Cameron Calhoun	OH	3.9⬆	Polished, not-fast playmaker
PK	Adam Samaha	MI	3.1⬇⬇	Local #6 kicker
TRANSFERS
Pos	Player	Last Sch	Elig '23	In a nutshell
QB	Jack Tuttle	Indiana	Sr/6th	Backup QB
TE	AJ Barner	Indiana	Jr/Sr	Catchy 6'6"/250 off-TE
C	Drake Nugent	Stanford	Sr/5th	The good part of Stanford's OL.
OT	LaDarius Henderson	Arizona St	Jr/5th	ASU G who could play LT
OT	Myles Hinton	Stanford	Jr/Sr	5* brother of Chris, injured '22
WDE	Josaiah Stewart	C.Carolina	Jr/Jr	Danna-sized Tasmanian Devil
WLB	Ernest Hausmann	Nebraska	So/So	Quickster started as a True Fr