Justin Meram didn't just score
Hello: Keith Heitzman
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OH TE/DE Keith Keitzman received an offer from Brady Hoke's staff last night, and wasted no time in committing to be the 12th member of Michigan's class of 2011. He is a Vanderbilt decommit.
GURU RATINGS
| Scout | Rivals | ESPN |
|---|---|---|
| 3*, #63 TE | 3*, 5.5, NR DE | 3*, 75, #152 DE |
The recruiting sites list him between 6-2 and 6-3, and between 220 and 237 pounds. I would guess that's 6-3 (the majority vote) and somewhere around 225 pounds. He was listed as big as 6-4, 240 in high school, but that's probably exaggeration. Let's get started with ESPN's evaluation:
Heitzman possesses solid size for a high school defensive end and should be able to add more good bulk as he physically develops and gets into a college weight program. He gets off the ball well. He can be a physical kid at the point of attack, but needs to be more consistent especially with his hands. He displays the ability to maintain some leverage and hold his ground... Needs to keep working on his recognition skills. As a pass rusher he displays the ability to get into the blocker with some leverage and create pressure with a bull rush. Needs to be more active with his weapons, develop his pass rush arsenal, and not attack the whole man. Heitzman is a solid defender who will flash some tools to be tough versus the run and pass.
That has the ring of a project recruit who has good potential, but needs to develop both physically and skill-wise before he'll be able to make a big impact on the field. As you can see in the picture below, he's still very skinny for a defensive lineman.
Opposing coaches gameplanned around him:
"Opposing coaches have told me that he has such a huge impact on both sides of the ball that they have game-planned around him," Davidson coach Brian White said.
Before the season, Bucknuts called him the #45 player in Ohio, and he's also able to play linebacker.
OFFERS
Heitzman decommitted from Vanderbilt (he'd been wavering since Robbie Cladwell was fired), so obviously had an offer from the Commodores. His other offers are a host of MAC schools (Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Kent State, Miami (NTM), Ohio, and Toledo, and a few low-range Big Ten teams in Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana. One of the reasons he chose Vandy was an emphasis on academics, so Michigan makes sense for the kid.
At this time, allow to express a slight fear of a second-straight commit with a meager offer sheet. Say what you will about Rich Rodriguez's on-field product, but he generally recruited very well, with only a couple prospects per year worthy of the "sleeper" label. So far, Hoke's staff is 2-for-2 among commitments, with a few higher-rated commits jumping ship so far.
With the timeline they're working on, it's not a scary pattern quite yet, but keep an eye on this going forward.
STATS
There is precious little out there about Heitzman's exploits on the field, but he did well enough to be named 1st-Team All-State in Ohio's largest division at defensive end, ahead of a pair of Ohio State commits and Wisconsin-bound Jesse Hayes. All-Columbus Defensive Player of the Year honors.
He also played tight end in high school, and ran for a 2-point conversion in Hilliard-Davidson's state championship as a junior. He was the Central District's Defensive Player of the Year. [Ed-M: DGDestroys says we are bringing him in as a tight end.]
I'll try to dig up more stats on Heitzman for Fridan Night Lights.
FAKE 40 TIME
Rivals lists him at 4.9, a realistic time for a player of his size. None of the other sites list times, that I could find.
VIDEO
ScoutingOhio provides the highlights:
I couldn't find senior film.
PROJECTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Well, this is a guy who's probably a very long way from seeing the field as a defensive end. I wonder whether he might be brought in as a tight end, one of his high school positions and a major need for this class. On the other hand, Scout's position ranking could just be crazy.
For a guy his size, if he's a DE, a redshirt is guaranteed, especially given Michigan's depth (Van Bergen, Roh, Black, et al) at defensive end. In fact, I doubt he sees the field in any meaningful capacity - aside from an appearance or two on special teams - until his redshirt sophomore year, when Craig Roh ships off to the NFL. At that point, he'll shuffle into the rotation, but not challenge for a starting position until he's a redshirt junior, I think. First-Team All-Conference accolades are probably out of the question unless Michigan has discovered an extreme sleeper.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Michigan is loading up on defensive ends in this class, but as they're unlikely to run up against the scholarship limit, new players aren't taking spots away from anyone for the remainder of the class.
Michigan's coaches will continue to focus on defensive tackle, safety, quarterback, and tight end to finish out the class.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:25 PM | 
HELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO
HELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:27 PM |
Good one. +1
Good one. +1
Always nice to see a recruit from Ohio move up north.
http://twitter.com/#!/JHScramble
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:51 PM |
Posted from iphone
Posted from iphone
Welcome Keith, this weekend starts off good. Hopefully there are more commits to follow.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:27 PM |
Congrats!
Congrats!
Welcome to the Big House! A big congrats from Texas Mr. Heitzman.
January 22nd, 2011 at 3:11 PM |
Nice helmet stickers!
Nice helmet stickers!
Nice helmet stickers!
Land of the free market
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:27 PM |
He's got a friendly smile
He's got a friendly smile
. . . that's hiding a whole pile of true grit. Book it.
Last week I saw a woman flayed, and you will hardly believe how much it altered her person for the worse.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:30 PM |
Welcome
Welcome
Keith!
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:31 PM |
"All-State in Ohio's top
"All-State in Ohio's top
"All-State in Ohio's top division"
Like.
"the Spirit of Michigan...is based on a deathless loyalty to Michigan and all her ways....and a conviction that nowhere is there a better university, in any way, than this Michigan of ours" - Fielding Yost
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:51 PM |
What is up the rankings.
What is up the rankings.
What is up with the rankings. This kid beat out OSU and Wisc commits for all state. I wonder why his rankings aren't higher for beating out these guys.
Welcome to Ann Arbor and good luck.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:59 PM |
basically
basically
all-state is usually decided by statistics and star ratings are more focused size/speed
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:04 PM |
Thanks. Did not know that.
Thanks. Did not know that.
Thanks. Did not know that. However, you would think that someone who played at a high division and put up great stats should be better rated. I guess the stars are all about physical upside.
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:46 PM |
All state ohio
All state ohio
In ohio usually you get all state if you first had a great junior year and then second keep those stats in your senior year. Then you have to go far into the state playoffs as a team. The star system i think is more based on off season camps and physical stats like height weight and 40 times. Also you get more stars when the big boy's recruit you. My guess is this kid might not have gone to the major off season camps and he probably put more emphasis on academics in high school. But if Hoke and Mattison offered the kid i would imagine he is pretty good... Lets hope JJ watt type player... a kid who played TE in highschool didnt get highly recruited went to wisconson bulked up and became a monster. He looks pretty athletic in that tape, he also keeps outside contain and he seems like he has a "motor".
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:50 PM |
Appreciate the explanation.
Appreciate the explanation.
Appreciate the explanation. I just found it weird that he won some honors at the top division but not ranked as high as others. Makes sense. Thanks.
January 22nd, 2011 at 3:00 PM |
JJ Watt actually went to CMU
JJ Watt actually went to CMU
before transferring to Wisconsin. The major difference is Heitzman is not 6'6" with long arms and he is being recruited to play TE. If Ricardo and JJackson are slated to move there as everyone is saying, I don't know why the staff would reach.
January 22nd, 2011 at 3:41 PM |
I think Mispogon's comment
I think Mispogon's comment
I think Mispogon's comment about them envisioning him as more of a blocker(doubt that will be RM's or JJ's strength) is the most likely scenario.
Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought. It always defeats order because it is better organized.
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:36 PM |
Those rankings measure high
Those rankings measure high
Those rankings measure high school talent only. There are plenty of star high school players who, due to size limitations or whatever, are less than ideal college prospects.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:33 PM |
Since he is a Vandebilt
Since he is a Vandebilt
Since he was a Vandebilt commit, doesn't that mean that he has SEC speed?
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:35 PM |
welcome
welcome
Seems like a rotation guy, but you need a rotation on the DL. At least he should keep the APR up.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:35 PM |
I like the idea of having...
I like the idea of having...
of a DE/TE who wears #2, hopefully he ends up 1-upping gholston over the course of his career
Formerly known as PahokeePahokee
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:15 PM |
love the picture
love the picture
!
5 4 3 2 1 Touchdown!
Touchdown Billy Taylor!
Touchdown Billy Taylor!
January 22nd, 2011 at 6:32 PM |
My man
My man
Johnny U. Best ever!
"I hate losing more than I like winning." - Zack
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:36 PM |
Hello: Keith
Hello: Keith
Welcome to the Maize and Blue family!
GBOD
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:39 PM |
Maybe he'll be one of those late-bloomers
Maybe he'll be one of those late-bloomers
I'm sure he's a great kid, and he's obviously got a good head on his shoulders from an academic standpoint, but from a physical talent standpoint he seems like a bit of a reach right now.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:45 PM |
Well, we're looking at depth,
Well, we're looking at depth,
Well, we're looking at depth, I think. So a reach is okay.
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:07 PM |
We need to reach
We need to reach
With only a few days left before signing day and a recruiting class down to 11 or 12 commits we need to reach. Can't expect to fill with 4 and 5 stars this late in the game. Would be nice to grab one or two higher rated players, but any BCS level talent is good for now.
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:32 PM |
Agreed. If Hoke can hold onto
Agreed. If Hoke can hold onto
Agreed. If Hoke can hold onto Fisher and Countess, while adding a couple 4s and a few solid 3s, I think we'd have to be relieved and satisfied. (Seems as if he's got a decent shot at doing this.) Anything more would be an extraordinary accomplishment; anything less, disappointing but hardly surprising.
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:54 PM |
BCS talent?
BCS talent?
There's a big difference between playing in a BCS conference and ever hoping to play in a BCS game. I would guess Minnesota and Vanderbilt fall in the latter category. These are not schools I am happy to be stealing players from. It would be nice to find out if the more highly regarded players who play the same position and are visiting want to commit. It's starting to feel like the staff will take anyone this year just to fill the class with all the talent in Michigan and Ohio next year I would just assume hang on to a couple scholarships. Of course that may be moot if attrition hits once some of the players see the offense and what their role may be in it.
January 22nd, 2011 at 11:23 PM |
I agree with you
I agree with you
Minnesota and Vandy are not the best teams to poach recruits from. However, when I said BCS talent, I was refering to players with offers from BCS conferences not teams playing in the BCS bowls.
Everyone would rather have top flight talent (dee hart types), but if Hoke and company think these players are worth a scholarship offer than I think we need to give them the benefit of the doubt especially this late in the game.
Also, remember that every year Wisonsin, Northwestern, and Iowa have recuiting classes full of lowly regarded players, but they do an excellent job with player development. Too early to tell exactly what Hoke's strategy will be, and I don't think we can draw any major conclusions from this class b/c of the lack of time he has had to put it together. If we have a class full of 3 stars formerly commited to vandy and minni next year I will be concerned, but with this class any BCS conference talent is okay with me.
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:32 PM |
A reach?
A reach?
Perhaps. But if we're shoring up the defense and an All-State kid from Ohio is there, I'll take it. Who knows what happens? JJ Watt was a reach and look at him.
"the Spirit of Michigan...is based on a deathless loyalty to Michigan and all her ways....and a conviction that nowhere is there a better university, in any way, than this Michigan of ours" - Fielding Yost
January 22nd, 2011 at 3:20 PM |
Watt
Watt
That's a good point, and I basically like this recruit, but I don't see much upside with him. To use another cliche, I'd guess that he has a lower ceiling than the 2007 version of J.J. Watt:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/centralmichigan/football/recruiting/player-JJ-Wa...
Davion Rogers (from last year) is another good example of a 3-star (or lower) with lots of upside.
"..."
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:42 PM |
Who do you think is more
Who do you think is more
Who do you think is more excited about the Hoke hire, RR haters or Keith Heitzman? Welcome aboard.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:46 PM |
Looks and sounds like a TE.
Looks and sounds like a TE.
Looks and sounds like a TE.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:46 PM |
I definitely wouldn't be
I definitely wouldn't be
I definitely wouldn't be gauging Hoke's recruiting prowess based on this year's class. Recruiting is all about relatioships. You can't build relationships with recruites and "touch players' in a matter of weeks. That fully explains why the commits have been guys that don't have any offers that are as good as Michigan.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:56 PM |
wouldn't be gauging Hoke's recruiting prowess based on this
wouldn't be gauging Hoke's recruiting prowess based on this
100% agree. Hoke is not recruiting under anything approximating ideal circumstances, to say the least.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:57 PM |
I am pistol whipping the next
I am pistol whipping the next
I am pistol whipping the next person who puts touch players in quotation marks. Just saying.
January 22nd, 2011 at 3:12 PM |
Seconded. Can't have that
Seconded. Can't have that
Seconded. Can't have that kind of "humor" in a semi-SFW/H website.
Land of the free market
January 22nd, 2011 at 3:38 PM |
I'd argue more that the joke
I'd argue more that the joke
I'd argue more that the joke is getting old.
Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought. It always defeats order because it is better organized.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:59 PM |
agree...
agree...
but if Hoke and company are able to get pull commits from McClure, Raven, Willingham, etc this late in the process...I'd say thats a pretty good indicator that recruiting should/will be a strength of this staff in the future.
GO BLUE!!
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:49 PM |
Next
Next
Flowers, Wile, Taylor.....you're up
Bryant, Willingham, Rawls .....on deck
Elite Again
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:55 PM |
um...
um...
I'll take McClure and Raven with that group as well
GO BLUE!!
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:50 PM |
I thought RR recruited a ton
I thought RR recruited a ton
I thought RR recruited a ton of guys in the sleeper category. I guess it depends on what sleeper means. The following recruits from last years class alone, were considered to be sleepers
Carvin Johnson
Drew Dileo
Courtney Avery
Antonio Kinnard
Conelious Jones
Davion Rogers
Jake Ryan
Terry Talbot
Ray Vinopal
D J Williamson
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:43 PM |
Guys who are sleepers when we
Guys who are sleepers when we
Guys who are sleepers when we first offer them, and guys who are sleepers a week and half before signing day are different.
By the time late January rolled around, guy like Carvin Johnson and Davion Rogers were not sleepers, and I'm not sure Courtney Avery every was. Avery was getting serious looks from Florida at the end, and Rogers and Johnson were borderline 4 star guys. Conelious Jones played in the NC-SC Shrine game and Jake Ryan was ranked by Rivals both at his position and in Ohio, Heitzman is neither. Rivals ranks the top 60 prospects in Ohio - Jake Ryan was #34, Heitzman didn't make the list.
Even some of the guys you list - Avery, Williamson, Kinard, Talbott, Rogers - they all made the Ohio list. Vinopal is the only other guy in Heitzman's boat.
January 22nd, 2011 at 3:32 PM |
Considering Vinopal was
Considering Vinopal was
Considering Vinopal was starting at Free Safety by the end of the year and had flashes here and there I think that argues for Heitzmann coming in, especially if he's going to redshirt and then come up as a Webb-type Tight End.
Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought. It always defeats order because it is better organized.
January 22nd, 2011 at 4:26 PM |
Like I said, I guess it
Like I said, I guess it
Like I said, I guess it depends on how you define sleeper. As an example: anyone who plays in the NC/SC Shrine game, I have come to find out is no longer sleeper material:) Whatever, I could march out a bunch of stats "proving" they were/are sleepers. Alls I know about them for sure, they sucked at special teams and defense, be they sleepers or beasts.
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:51 PM |
Any kid who has Jane's
Any kid who has Jane's
Any kid who has Jane's addiction covering a Velvet Underground classic on his highlights has got to have something going for him - welcome aboard!
Low Key Recidivist
January 22nd, 2011 at 1:53 PM |
um, what?
um, what?
"At this time, allow to express a slight fear of a second-straight commit with a meager offer sheet. Say what you will about Rich Rodriguez's on-field product, but he generally recruited very well, with only a couple prospects per year worthy of the "sleeper" label. So far, Hoke's staff is 2-for-2 among commitments, with a few higher-rated commits jumping ship so far."
I have a very different memory. I remember the vast majority of RR's recruits in the last two classes having MAC level offers, and he didn't even have the excuse of having 3 weeks to recruit.
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:17 PM |
You are correct, sir. RR was
You are correct, sir. RR was
You are correct, sir. RR was not a top-flight recruiter. Got some fine O talent, of course. And a few promising (if unproven) D players. But mostly meh. His recruiting classes were in the upper teens in the rankings -- particularly once you eliminated all the signees who failed to qualify or left after a year. A big drop-off from previous coaching regimes.
RR was in on some top players this year, but we don't know how many of them would have ended up signing. I have a feeling Dee was a goner no matter what. And Zettel, too. RR's class was nowhere near a top-ten one, regardless. People will blame the cc thing. Which is both a valid and invalid argument. The cc did effect the coach. But he was responsible for it, owing to his unimpressive record, so...
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:41 PM |
I agree with objecting to this claim
I agree with objecting to this claim
Lemming was quoted a few weeks ago re: our 12 commits:
There are only 6 that anyone would want, the other 6 nobody wants.
Not an exact quote but you get the idea. 50% of our class before RR was fired was MAC level talent.
January 22nd, 2011 at 4:58 PM |
Your memory is way off.
Your memory is way off.
Very few had ONLY Mac offers, which is what you are saying. Not even close.
"Everyone gets dumped Gabe. Let me give you some advice: a little coverup on your Adams Apple will make it appear smaller. Which will make you appear less like a transvestite."
January 23rd, 2011 at 2:46 PM |
"Vast majority" were MAC under RR?
"Vast majority" were MAC under RR?
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what you mean, but I think the person you're replying to is worried about Heitzman's meager offer sheet and your response indicates that, like Heitzman, RR's offer were pretty similar. If so, that's way wrong. I'll just take one class:
RIchard Ash - OK State, UCLA and many others
Courtney Avery - Stanford
Jibreel Black - Michigan State, Purdue, South Carolina, Wisconsin, etc
Cullen Christian - Ohio State, Pitt, Illinois, etc
Drew Dileo - Stanford
Demar Dorsey - Florida, FSU, etc (obvs, this didn't work out)
Josh Furman - VA Tech, WVU, Oklahoma, etc
Will Hagerup - Florida, Ohio State, etc
Stephen Hopkins - Stanford, Texas A&M
Jeremy Jackson - Iowa, Nebraska (and supposedly Florida)
...and so on (you can look up the rest here, http://rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/football/recruiting/commitments/2010/mi...)
The only two "Heitzman" type guys in the last class were Ray Vinopal and Jake Ryan. That's ~8%, not the vast majority.
Now, perhaps you were reffering to the fact some other guys (e.g., Dileo, Avery) had MAC offers in addition to their top level offers, but even then, that's not close to the majority of guys who were basically MAC recuirts.
RR recruited very good talent. Not as good as OSU, but that is the only Big 10 school that outranked us the last few years. That fact is not great, as we should aspire to be #1 in the Big 10 (if not the nation), but it's far from, "RR recruited MAC level players."
Separate arguments can be made about retention (e.g., Dorsey, Co Jones) and hiring a poor D Coordinator, but that's a diff discussion. The fact is, Hoke with the extremely compressed timeline he's been given, will have to make do for now and this class will be the worst (on paper, at least initially) Michigan has signed in a long, long time. More importantly, the talent on the field he'll have to work with in 2011 and 2012 will almost exculsively be from RR's recruiting class. We better hope those classes were better than "MAC" good.
J
It only ends once. Anything that happens before that, is just progress.
HELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO HEITZMAN
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