Hello: Luke Schoonmaker
Michigan picked up a commitment out of left field—or, more accurately, the right coast—this evening when Hamden (CT) Hamden Hall tight end Luke Schoonmaker announced he'll be a Wolverine.
— Luke Schoonmaker (@LukeSchoonmaker) July 26, 2017
He's flown almost entirely under the radar; two of the four recruiting sites don't have profiles for him, and the other two have one article and zero scouting reports between them. He's apparently held his Michigan offer since participating in last month's Sacred Heart satellite camp.
Schoonmaker is the 11th commit in the 2018 class and the first at tight end, a position of significant need.
GURU RATINGS
Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247 Comp |
3*, #78 TE, #1748 Ovr |
NR TE | NR TE |
3*, 86, #32 TE, #762 Ovr |
NR TE |
At the time of this writing, Schoonmaker doesn't even have a Rivals or ESPN profile. I'm assuming 247 and Scout have given his film a once-over since there are no in-person game or camp reports; the former has him as a middle-of-the-pack three-star, the latter essentially left him unranked.
Schoonmaker apparently doesn't lack for size. Both 247 and Scout list him at 6'6", 225.
[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and more.]
SCOUTING
Since we don't have scouting reports, let's take a look at Schoonmaker's film. The first catch: he mostly plays quarterback for his high school team. The other catch: he's way, way better than the Connecticut small-school competition. Here are his midseason junior highlights:
And here is a single-game reel from the NEPSAC Mike Atkins Bowl (Class C championship), in which Schoonmaker capped Hamden Hall's 11-0 season with 203 yards and two scores passing and an additional 102 yards and two TDs on just five carries. The first play of the reel is Hamden Hall's first offensive snap; Schoonmaker runs in a QB sneak... from 87 yards out:
Most of the clips are of Schoonmaker at quarterback, so I jotted down some notes on the plays he lined up at tight end (timestamps from the first video):
1:00 — Good burst off the line, finds space up the seam, goes up for ball but not the cleanest high-point
1:19 — Gets pancake but only after losing initial block; poor initial pop then stops feet on contact; runner forced to bounce into likely TFL
2:55 — Wide open on short crossing route, underthrow takes him to ground on catch
3:05 — Better job of getting pop and moving feet on block, doesn’t sustain it
7:20 — Wide open again on deep crossing route, clean catch on high throw
7:36 — Good initial contact, stops his feet, loses defender for what appears to be a TFL (play cuts away early)
7:46 — Not a clean route (rounded off at break) but nice snag in some traffic
He looks to have good straight-line speed, and while he doesn't have a lot of wiggle, he's got yards-after-catch potential in that rumbling Jake Butt-like fashion—he can juke just enough to keep from getting hit square, at which point he can run through tackles from smaller defenders. I was impressed with his feel for the game; he makes good reads as both a thrower and runner, and while he won't make those same reads as a tight end, that football IQ will help him out. He also shows good vision as a runner.
He's certainly got the requisite size for the position. There's far too small a sample to get a feel for his hands, but on most of his catches he does a solid job of high-pointing and plucking the ball away from his body. He'll have a lot of work to do from a technical aspect, both as a receiver and blocker. He rounds off his routes; those cuts need to be a lot sharper to gain separation against better defenses. When blocking he shows a habit of stopping his feet upon initial contact, which causes him to lose a couple blocks that doom edge runs.
Schoonmaker is a developmental prospect, both because of his current level of competition and his relative lack of experience at the position he'll play in college. It's still easy to see why the coaches like him; he's got an intriguing combination of size, athleticism, and feel for the game. He's got the all-around athleticism this staff covets; in addition to being a pretty solid quarterback, he's a pitcher/1B on the baseball team.
OFFERS
Schoonmaker holds offers from Indiana, Rutgers, Temple, UConn, ECU, UMass, Miami (NTM), and Toledo, according to 247.
HIGH SCHOOL
According to the Rivals database, Schoonmaker would be Hamden Hall's only FBS signee since at least 2002. Michigan has only had 13 players from Connecticut in program history, most notably early Bo fullback Fritz Seyferth; the only to hail from Hamden was guard John E. Maturo, who suited up from 1946-48.
STATS
According to MaxPreps, Schoonmaker caught five passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns as a junior. He also went 55-for-92 for 878 yards (9.5 YPA) with five TDs and five INTs while adding 623 yards and 13 TDs on 53 rushes (11.7 YPC).
FAKE 40 TIME
Schoonover's Hudl page lists an unsourced 40 time of 4.58 seconds, which gets four FAKEs out of five. That time would've been good for sixth among tight ends at this year's NFL Combine. While Schoonover looks fast for a tight end, that would be an elite electronic time.
VIDEO
More single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Other than a probable redshirt, it's hard to predict how Schoonmaker's career will go given the limited available video (and the competition level). With his size and athleticism, he's got plenty of upside as a tight end; he'll also need a lot of development, especially as a blocker. He'll likely end up on a similar track as Sean McKeon, another tight end from an East Coast state not known for its high school football.
Ian Bunting, TJ Wheatley, Nick Eubanks, and McKeon (plus Zach Gentry) are slated to be on the roster when Schoonmaker arrives, so there shouldn't be any need for him to see the field right away. He'll work on refining his game and bulking up for a couple of years before vying for playing time, likely as a flex TE in the mold of Butt and Bunting; if he can't block well enough to play at all in-line, he could also try going the Gentry route and making it as an oversized receiver.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
This won't end Michigan's pursuit of tight ends. Texas four-star Mustapha Muhammad remains a solid bet to end up in the class, and Illinois four-star Luke Ford took a campus visit last weekend that reportedly vaulted the Wolverines towards the top of his list. After Devin Asiasi's early departure and Gentry's move to wideout, the coaches will want a second true TE in the class, possibly even a third if Muhammad and Ford both want in and they have the room.
Here's the class as it currently stands:
In 2009 Harbaugh signed 4 TEs; Zach Ertz, Levine Toilolo, Ryan Hewitt and Jordan Najvar.
The first 3 are all in the NFL with PHI, ATL, and CIN. Najvar transferred to Baylor and made a nice career for himself as well but that's besides the point. The man is serious about his tight ends.
http://scout.com/college/stanford/Season/2009-Football/Commits
And, more importantly, Michigan accepted the kid's commitment. Perhaps they're doing the "decent "HS QB with the size and athleticism to convert to TE" thing like they did with Gentry. I'm sold.
Indiana is a Power 5 school, and UConn, Temple and ECU have sent really good players to the NFL.
Even Miami (NTM), Toledo and Rutgers are decent MAC schools.
This kid isn't readymade for college as a freshman, but he's a good athlete. I'm a little surprised at the consternation. Tight end is a position where people come from all over the map to be successful - former QBs, former LBs, former basketball players, former DEs, former WRs, etc. I get that he doesn't play good competition, but he's a listed 6'6", 225 lb. kid with a reported forty time in the 4.6-4.7 range. Just watch the kid run - he can move. The technique stuff can be learned when you're a good athlete like him.
I like this kid.
"This kid isn't readymade for college as a freshman, but he's a good athlete. I'm a little surprised at the consternation."
I think the consternation comes from:
OSU repeatedly getting guys who are ready made for college as a freshman... while we get guys who are a "good athlete like him" but need the learning and developing part.
It's ok to get a guy who can become an all conference player as 3rd/4th year guy - it's better to get one who can as a 1st/2nd year guy... and OSU seems to be doing the latter.
I don't agree at all. It's kind of a ramp-up issue, but after 2-3 years, Michigan's 3rd, 4th, & 5th year players will all be Harbaugh type guys and will be older and more experienced than OSU's 1st and 2nd year 4 & 5* guys.
Plus, Harbaugh is seeking a specific type of player (tall, athletic, smart, hard worker...) that doesn't always match-up with Recruiting Services, especially when the kid is from a lighter scouted area. Gentry and guys like him will be a match-up nightmare and will give Harbaugh the ability to call different formations without subbing players.
Harbaugh wanted Ruckert.
Harbaugh lost that recruiting battle to OSU.
That is the problem. It isn't that Harbaugh is CHOOSING different guys - it's that he had to take a different guy because OSU got the guy that both wanted.
How can you possibly know this? Harbaugh offered Ruckert, but how do/ could you or any of the sites know the staff's priority? Luke could have been rated higher or maybe rates as a dual TE/ WR prospect.
What about the fact that OSU took three tight ends in the 2016 class, but all three redshirted? They must not have been college-ready...
The "consternation" is quite simply that they could've waited til the week of NSD to accept this recruit. They'd have a much better idea of class size/needs by then.
I have no doubt he'll turn out to be better than his current rating, and I'm glad you agree...
I don't think that's entirely accurate. If you wait too long on him, maybe USC and Alabama don't come in and offer, but you might have to battle with other teams on a similar level with Michigan. Maybe it's Penn State or UCLA or Washington, but right now, Michigan is clearly his best offer. That may not so clearly be the case in February.
A TE with the name Ford should play in Michigan, but I think he is going somewhere else. If we can get Muhammad in this class, that's enough. If schoonmaker is the best we get, oh well.
SCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!
I am having a hard time figuring out exactly what the people complaining think Harbaugh should be doing differently.
Because the staff accepted Schoonmaker's committment, I presume they think Schoonmaker can play. Does that mean Schoonmaker is the best TE prospect out there? No. But at the same time, there is no evidence to suggest the staff has stopped pursuing the higher-rated TE prospects. If any of them commit to Michigan, great--we can have a multiple TE class. If not, at least we have one guy the staff is satisfied with.
Perhaps you are worried that Schoonmaker's committment will occupy a spot that could otherwise be taken by a higher-rated prospect (either at TE or another position)? Under Brady Hoke, that would probably have been a legitimate concern. But Harbaugh appears to operate quite differently in that regard. Since Harbaugh arrived, I can't think of a single prospect who wanted to sign with Michigan but was turned away because "the position was full" or anything like that. It seems to me that Harbaugh doesn't stop recruiting a position just because he's taken a commitment from a satisfactory player at that spot. If he later gets a better player to commit, then fine--he'll take two if there's room, if not, then the less-talented prospect doesn't wind up in the class.
Maybe you think Schoonmaker would have been available later, and so the staff should have seen what happens with other highly-rated prospects first? Sure, the staff could have played it tht way. But why? Taking Schoonmaker's committment now is a win-win for both M and Schoonmaker. Other TE prospects are not going to be any less likely to choose M because the #1750 (or whatever) TE is committed, and M at least has insurance that they get a satisfactory player no matter what the others decide. And by committing to M, Schoonmaker will instantly have all the other sites evaluating him and probably giving him the "Harbump," so he becomes a hotter commodity to other programs in the event he does wind up having to look around.
How does "not being turned away" fit with "then the less talented prospect doesn't wind up in the class"
You appear to sorta contradicting yourself there?
Simply put, this is NOT a commitment that HAD to be accepted now, before the season, before there's any real idea what the class will end up looking like.
That's all...
You seem to be advocating taking multiple commits and then "processing" them out as needed, with the rationale that the "pub" will help them get better offers?
I'm against this type of crootin
Dual reply to EGD/BoFlex -
Harbaugh has already scaled back on the "processing" we saw his first class, and honestly there's almost NO need to do it. Schoonmaker would probably have either waited til late in the cycle or flipped if asked.
And if not, I've gotta believe there's another kid out there who would...
Umm... Harbaugh WANTED the #1 ranked guy.
Harbaugh lost the recruiting battle over the #1 guy to OSU.
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