Hello: Tamani Carter
Well... this one caught me by surprise. The Wolverine is reporting that OH CB Tamani Carter (a recent commit to Minnesota) has switched his commitment to the Wolverines. Carter hails from Pickerington Central, the Columbus suburb that gave us the likes of Justin Boren (who attended North).
INFORMATIVE PORTION
GURU RATINGS
Scout | Rivals | ESPN |
---|---|---|
3*, #104 CB | 3*, 5.5, NR CB | 2*, 74, #151 CB |
The recruiting sites are in sliiiight disagreement on his height, with the majority coming to a consensus of about 5-11. All three sites list his weight as 175 pounds. We'll start with ESPN's evaluation:
Carter is a quick-footed skill prospect with very good athleticism... On defense, he transitions and closes the cushion quickly. Shows good underneath burst jumping routes in zone schemes... Has good extension, timing and leaping skills making him a very effective defender on the jump-ball. While fluid with good footwork, we do feel like he will be challenged in man-to-man coverage at the major college level. Appears quicker than fast and lacks great explosiveness and top-end speed needed to recover vertically. May struggle to press and set the edge on run support until he builds up his upper-body... Overall, Carter is a fluid athlete with great ball skills. Lacks game-changing attributes when projecting for major college level but will add good versatility and athleticism to a future roster.
They also evaluate him as a slot receiver on offense, but believe me, Michigan doesn't need more of those. Their overall evaluation seems to be "solid, BCS-level talent, but not a difference-maker at the BCS level." This is an odd evaluation considering their rankings of "hey, maybe this guy can play D-1 football." I imagine the lower end of their rankings are still being updated (the new 150 came out yesterday).
Scout has comments from the kid himself:
“I cover really well. I have great hips and closing speed. I also play offense and I’m very explosive. I want to improve my speed. And I’m still working on my feet. Overall, I’d like to get bigger and stronger.”
That's right in line with ESPN's evaluation, right down to saying he's quicker than he is fast.
Tamani also has his own website, praising mostly his work ethic, intensity, and academics. It also clips a few reviews of his game:
He's quick, changes directions well and showed good ball skills, making the breaks without drawing interference... He's a guy who we may have underrated some...
Carter may be one to watch in the future.
Yay for that. GopherHole's interview states that he also runs track.
OFFERS
Carter was committed to Minnesota before switching to Michigan, so he obviously held an offer from Jerry Kill's Gophers. Rivals also lists Air Force, Arizona, Iowa, Kent State, Stanford, and 1-AA Youngstown State.
A couple schools on that list (most notably Iowa and Stanford) have a recent history of developing under-the-radar prospects into stars, particularly in the defensive backfield in Iowa's case.
STATS
Scout has senior stats:
Tamani Carter finished his senior season (11-1) with 55 tackles and three interceptions. Two of those were returned for touchdowns (one of 96 yards and the other for 34 yards). He also caught 25 balls for over 300 yards.
Those are solid numbers, but it's hard to evaluate the stats of high school defensive backs, since there is such a wide variety of offenses faced.
ESPN says he had 5 picks, including one returned for a touchdown, as a junior.
FAKE 40 TIME
Rivals and Scout both list him with a precise 4.48 40-yard dash time. That's quite good, but not exceptional, for a defensive back. Considering the book on Carter (very quick) and the level of agreement between the sites, I'm forced to give a mere one FAKE out of five.
VIDEO
Highlights:
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Michigan started several freshman defensive backs last season, and Carter's scouting reports say that he needs to bulk up before being ready to contribute at the next level. That screams "redshirt," and I think that's a likely outcome for Carter's freshman year.
Even as a redshirt freshman, I think Michigan has enough athletic guys that even time on special teams will be hard to come by. As a redshirt sophomore, however, he might start getting serious special teams time, and as a redshirt junior and redshirt senior, he should work into the rotation on defense.
He's a solid player who will probably never be a star, but rather a role player.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
As Tom tweeted, this is an odd commitment, considering Michigan has multiple DBs visiting in the next couple weeks. Those guys are more ready to contribute immediately, and unlike Carter, are not similar body types to several of Michigan's DBs already on the roster (Terrence Talbott and Courtney Avery are both average-to-small corners that are pretty thin).
This likely means that Michigan only feels good about their chances with, say, one of those defensive backs, and that somebody we haven't been expecting to play safety - either somebody on the roster (Cullen Christian) or a commit (Greg Brown) - will do so. Remaining DB commits in this class are likely to be looked at for safety as well.
January 20th, 2011 at 11:13 AM ^
43 stars? that should be enough to fill the other 14 scholarships in this class!!
January 20th, 2011 at 11:22 AM ^
We may have to oversign to get him.
January 20th, 2011 at 2:07 PM ^
Hokeus Pokeus Magic Wand.
*Poof* You're a 43 Star.
January 20th, 2011 at 11:02 AM ^
and thread locked for some reason. Welcome Tamani, great to have you.
January 20th, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^
The feeling I got to reading this post was familiar to the one I had from a lot of other RR recruits:
"Oh! We got a new recruit! Oh. He sound like kindava . . . CMU/Indy/Minny/Cinci-type guy. Umm. We do need bodies. Maybe he'll be good?"
We do need bodies. Maybe he'll be good?
January 20th, 2011 at 11:11 AM ^
I live and played in the same division OCC this kid comes from. Good Football schools. The talent he is playing against is competitive
January 20th, 2011 at 11:16 AM ^
beautiful.
The thing I like after watching his video was NOT ONE ARM TACKLE. Yes! He looks like he's not afraid to hit anyone...could be surprise.
January 20th, 2011 at 11:20 AM ^
Dude doesn't use his arms at all ... just runs into people hard or dives at their legs. Might need some coaching there.
But you're right, the attitude of toughness is a good thing, and would be more difficult to instill than proper technique.
January 20th, 2011 at 11:21 AM ^
But here's his senior year video.
January 20th, 2011 at 11:25 AM ^
WR at 0:52 needs to learn to pick his head up. If Carter wasn't 175 lbs., he'd have been in a hospital.
January 20th, 2011 at 12:01 PM ^
Show's some good athleticism. Looking at our depth chart, and other potential commits, he should be able to red-shirt, and play some special teams for the first 2-3 years. The way it SHOULD be at Michigan.
Congrats on a great decision, Tamani!
January 20th, 2011 at 11:26 AM ^
Judging by his highlight tape, either he's pretty good and vastly underrated or he should've stepped up his level of competition.(Hopefully the first one) Guess we'll see when he gets a taste of our receiving corps
January 20th, 2011 at 11:28 AM ^
Keep em coming Staff.
January 20th, 2011 at 11:35 AM ^
Do we have to now start complaining that Hoke only recruits 3*s?
January 20th, 2011 at 12:18 PM ^
i mean sure. and if by sure i mean, what is meme, will they help me feel less terrible about myself?
January 20th, 2011 at 11:41 AM ^
Now the band is going to have to learn to play "Hail To The Chief" when the new President Carter goes on the field.
On another note; watching his game film, on Tamani Carter's run for the long TD return, who 1s that speedy guy who runs down the middle of the field and gives a block around the ten yard line? Somebody get that kids name and number. Man, that kid is fast. We need speed like that in our backfield.
January 20th, 2011 at 11:52 AM ^
This isn't shocking. Everyone knew we were going to need to take some flyers on kids this class due to the very late coaching changes.
January 20th, 2011 at 12:20 PM ^
save the scholarships for next year especially with the visitors we have coming in at CB.
January 20th, 2011 at 11:58 AM ^
Is there a chance that this is a depth commit?
Solid, but not incredibly high rated - not likely to be a star? Check.
Several offers, but only one or two major ones? Check.
Willingness to do "whatever the coaching staff wants him to?" Check.
Fills a position that has been decimated by injuries, transfers, and off-field issues? Check.
Presence of an Angry Michigan Secondary Hating God, so there's a possibility that more things can go wrong? Check.
Yeah, sounds like a depth commit.
January 20th, 2011 at 12:03 PM ^
From his website:
Favorite movie: Space Jam. Role model: My parents.
Awesome. Looking forward to seeing him in the winged helmet. Hope the commits come pouring in now.
January 20th, 2011 at 12:12 PM ^
Perhaps the greatest value of this commit is that it breaks the ice, in a Pudge Rodriguez kind of way. Mr. Carter is the first player to say "yes" to the new regime, clearing the way for more to follow. Next, I'll take that Wile E. Coyote kicker and after that a QB.
January 20th, 2011 at 12:18 PM ^
This staff turns down a 4 star WR that wants to be a Wolverine for a project at corner with three already on board and two much higher rated coming on visits the next two weeks. What the hell...
January 20th, 2011 at 12:39 PM ^
ESPN's position ranking is as an "Athlete." I think that actually makes his position ranking slightly better since ESPN is generous with their "Athlete" designation (not sure about that though).
January 20th, 2011 at 12:47 PM ^
HEY HOKE
CUT IT WITH THE 2*'S
YOUR NOT AT SDSU ANYMORE
January 20th, 2011 at 2:12 PM ^
Asshole of the day award goes to..............YOU!
<br>Congrats
January 20th, 2011 at 4:21 PM ^
I think you missed the attempt at humor. This was a meme, often in all caps, leveled at RR when we would receive a 3* commit, that he wasn't "in the Big East anymore" and needed to recruit like it
January 20th, 2011 at 12:49 PM ^
As somebody else pointed out, this breaks the ice recruiting-wise for the new coaching staff. As for his potential, I'm not dissappointed with a 3 star - wasn't Woodson a 3 star? - but it would be nice to land some more 4 star recruits. Most importantly, we need to get the right recruits to fill critical needs.
January 20th, 2011 at 1:37 PM ^
And here I thought I'd see a meltdown because he's "only" a three star.
January 20th, 2011 at 2:39 PM ^
Don't want to be a downer, maybe this kid is a sleeper & I sure as hell hope he is. But, we don't have a ton of slots for this class & to burn them on a project DB is a bit puzzling (Don't we have a bunch of 1st/2nd year DBs that fit this bill). Especially with Raven, Countess, McClure, Taylor in the mix who are much higher regarded than this kid.
Poaching recruits from a sub .500 Gopher team doesn't exactly give me wood...
Let's hope he's got skillz...Go Blue
January 20th, 2011 at 7:28 PM ^
Now that we get another DB, and have 3 more visiting this weekend, can Lucien be recruited as a WR now?
January 20th, 2011 at 8:18 PM ^
to the family Tamani.GO BLUE!!!
January 21st, 2011 at 7:19 AM ^
Great pick up for Hoke. Teammate is a TE Darien Bryant. Maybe lures him to UM if no other TE signs up. I think if Tamani Carter can add 15 to 20lbs of muscle without losing his speed, he will be a starter for his junior season. His speed is dangerous, great hip turning ability, and reads wr routes. Thats from what i saw on his highlight reels.
Welcome to the family Tamani Carter!
Go Blue!
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