Let’s play catch-up, since Michigan picked up four commits for their 2022 class since football began. The first was DT Mason Graham, a guy rising to one site, falling to another, and at least 6’3”/290 to all. Graham is a wrestler who was committed to Boise State, and is still adding to his offer list despite choosing Michigan on September 16. By all accounts Courtney Morgan was instrumental in this California recruitment; Graham plays for an LA power program, and was an early target of Fresno State. Michigan offered in late August when the lower rung of Pac 12 schools were trying to pry Graham loose from the Broncos, a visit for the Washington game sealed it, and the upper tier of the Pac-12 leapt in too late.  I bet we’ll get to use the word “motor” in short order.

GURU RATINGS

Arrows show trend of recruiting rankings. An arrow is like a third of a star.

The 247 guys started Graham at an 83 about a year ago, and he’s been steadily climbing since, jumping another 100 spots on the composite and to just below four stars two weeks after his Michigan pledge, via an article that discusses guys with potential to crack the Top 247. Rivals shot him up to the #57 player in California (a 3.7 on our scale) last spring but has since dropped him to #84 (3.5) in their early September re-rank. ESPN looked recently and settled a little higher than Rivals.

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.]

SCOUTING

We’ll begin with 247’s account in the aforementioned article, which references the scouting of West analyst Greg Biggins:

"Anaheim (Calif.) Servite's Mason Graham (88 rating up to 89) has been the most dominant defensive lineman in the state this year. He has eight sacks in four games and has shown the ability to move around and play inside or outside along the defensive line. He has grown-man strength and plays with a non-stop motor, which is even more more impressive when you consider he starts full time on the offensive line a well. Graham plays with advanced technique, has strong hands, and you can see his wrestling background in how he's able to use leverage and balance to bully opposing linemen. Graham committed last week to Michigan but schools are still coming after him including USC, who just offered on Wednesday."

Mmmm motor. Mmmm wrestling. And I like the fact that he plays both ways, something that also impressed Biggens($):

Graham moves around all over the defensive line while also playing every snap at left tackle. It was amazing watching him play every snap on both sides of the line against a Sierra Canyon team that was huge up front and play as well as he did.

He also uses the words “relentless” and notes Graham’s consistently success against double-teams, repeating themes from a game against fellow California power Sierra Canyon a week earlier. Conditioning sounds like it won’t be an issue.

Biggens also said he believed Graham would have shot up the rankings faster in a normal recruiting cycle, though they still got to see him in a camp setting last winter:

He shined at the Team Makasi 1st Round Exposure Camp in San Diego back in December and made our Top Performers list. He was dominant in the pass drills, combining a quick first step, strong hands and a powerful bull rush.

Graham’s coach might have been playing to the audience by making his Boise State connection, but it’s notable that he told Biggens (who made it clear that he doesn’t agree) that Graham has a higher ceiling on offense.

"I think he has an NFL future on the offensive line," Thomas said. "He's really good on both sides but as an offensive lineman, that's where I really like him a lot. I coached Travis Averill, who went on to play at Boise State and in the NFL and I think Graham is just as good a prospect if not even better."

If you’re wondering what the difference is at this level: fast feet are better for OL, while pad level is a mark of defensive upside.

Rivals’ EJ Holland summarized the reports from Western analysts in his commitment post($):

Graham isn't overly athletic on tape, but he's explosive, has a quick first step, plays with power, a non-stop motor and just makes plays. Graham is really coming along as a senior in the Trinity League, arguable the toughest high school league in America. While Graham is rated on the lower end, I'm perfectly fine taking him. He's the type of guy that will pop up and be a multi-year starter.

Holland noted that Graham put on about 30 pounds this year (early in the video), which is what perked up Michigan’s ears, and then started having a big senior year (he’s up to 8 sacks now). In a note for subscribers Holland got an opposing coach to talk about Graham($) (and fellow under-the-radar 3-star commit Kevonte Henry and Michigan’s recruiting in SoCal in general). I got special permission to use the full quote so we can count how many times this coach says “freak”.

"Mason Graham is a freak. That man is a freak. I've been a fan of him since his seventh grade year. His body frame and his athleticism have gotten so much better over the last year. He's just a freak. Michigan got lucky with Mason Graham. I don't know what UCLA and USC were thinking, but the guy at USC isn't there anymore (laughs). I'm not sure what those schools did, but Michigan is getting a steal.

Servite is one of those schools with its own recruiting coordinator, and used “twitchy” a lot:

"He's so twitchy in person. I know you can see it on film, but when you see him in person, he's a lot twitchier. He's got active hands and moves so well for a guy that weighs 290-295, which is pretty heavy. We like our guys a little thinner here at Servite, but he carries his weight so well. He has no belly. "He's ready to roll. I think he's a plug and play guy at the next level."

SI’s Brandon Brown sees a “high-floor type of prospect”.

He's going to get bigger and stronger, but he pretty much is what he is — a stout, strong run stopper who can press the middle of the pocket some. He's billed as someone who takes the weight room very seriously and he should continue to improve a lot at the next level.

ESPN,

…is really earning that sub I’m still too embarrassed to submit to Brian for reimbursement.

OFFERS

Previously headed to Boise State, Graham’s recruitment jumped to a new level over the summer. Oregon State and Arizona State seemed like the main competition when he committed, and Wisconsin was poking around. In the weeks since, Oregon and USC tried to jump in, and were rebuffed. Other than Fresno State, Army  and Penn offered early, which service academies and Ivy League interest is a sign that Graham’s academics are likely in good order.

HIGH SCHOOL

Servite is a longtime mecca for high school talent. They have produced a hundred FBS players; some of those you’ve heard of include 5-stars Matt Kalil, Chris Galippo, and DJ Dhoemate (USC), Equanimeous St. Brown (ND), CB Julius Irvin (Washington), and ND OL Troy Niklas. They have LB and QB committed to Arizona for 2022 and a national CB/Slot for 2024 in Emmett Mosley.

Via Graham, his school runs the same defense as Army, which is a variant of the 404 Tite. Interesting.

STATS

Via Max Preps he’s now up to 13 sacks and 78 tackles (37 solo) in 21 games. Ten of those sacks and 38 of those tackles are from eight games this year.

FAKE 40 TIME

No forty time. That’s fake. His Hudl page lists a bench of 300 and deadlift of 455.

VIDEO

This is five games of his senior year:

More video, including his junior and sophomore highlights and single-game reels, can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Graham is a pretty easy scout. He’s thicc, gets off the line really fast, but also gets high and doesn’t have a whole lot of speed. He is already so technically sound however that he’s an immediate problem up the middle, and not one that can be dealt with with a double-team. The difference between his junior film—when he was a slow-footed, pile-pushing nose—and the senior film where he’s whipping past guys Ryan Glasgow-style, is immense.

He should immediately bolster Michigan’s depth at all three tackle positions, and could crack the rotation if some guys leave. Most likely they get him a four-game redshirt as they save his eligibility behind what’s turning out to be a solid rotation down to Jess Speight. Where he goes from there depends on which DTs hit their ceilings, and how quickly they move on. Michigan has shown they would like to use up to nine DTs, so there’s plenty of opportunity to get on the field. But they’re also taking three a year, and only have to lose Whittley out of the current group after this season. If there’s a logjam, they could look at Graham on the offensive line, but his arms are not that big, and I agree with Biggens that the greater upside is on defense.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

When Graham committed, MI 3* Davonte Miles (7/29) and MI 4* Alex VanSumeren (2/11) had already decommitted, so he was the third but again sole DT commit in the class. Since then Kenneth Grant committed, and Michigan is still pursuing Cass Tech 4* Deone Walker, and FL 3* Isaiah Hastings, and remain on the periphery for TN 5* Walter Nolen but that would take getting a lot more serious about “NIL” and isn’t likely to happen.

The board, which needs updating badly.