player profile
2010 recruiting
tony drake

Hello: Tony Drake Comment Count

Brian

Um, Michigan offered a random 5'9" guy from Texas named Tony Drake and Drake duly committed. He's probably a corner or a slot. Informative update coming.

The Dallas Morning News

Dallas Morning News; Drake is #5

(Not Particularly) Informative Update: Okay, Drake is definitely a running back/slot sort according to his Rivals video, which I took the unusual (for me) step of actually watching because there's very little information available on who this guy is outside of some brief mentions in game recaps. I guess we'll go with the format, but it's going to be silly-lookin' and sparse:

GURU RATINGS

Scout Rivals ESPN
NR NR NR

Whee: Drake isn't ranked by anyone yet, except this guy at "Vype," who ranked Drake… uh… #13 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area:

13. Tony Drake, Skyline The Raiders are in a situation where they are producing multiple Division I recruits each season, and Drake will be another. He only rushed for 300 yards last season, but remember again like White, he had limited opportunities because Skyline has so many talented skill players. Drake is another back with 4.4 speed.

But that's regardless of class, so… yeah, might be like the fourth or fifth best back in Dallas this year. Jim Stefani has him the #175 receiver nationally.

OFFERS

Michigan was his first.

STATS

See above: stuck behind two seniors at Dallas powerhouse Skyline, Drake saw limited time and only acquired around 300 yards.

FAKE 40 TIME

See above: 4.4. Fake!

VIDEO

None available.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

The flimsy evidence here is even flimsier than normal, so take the following with a grain of salt.

Michigan has offered the junior backup of a talented senior again—this is a virtual replay of the Teric Jones recruitment—and are taking chance on the sparse playing time Drake acquired last year being representative of his talent. This is a risk. Given the lack of attention so far and the spots in which Drake shows up when someone does notice him, he's a mortal lock for three stars unless he has a crazy Terrance Robinson senior year.

I did watch the video, though, and the good news is that Skyline basically runs Michigan's offense. If you're going to make an offer based on just film it's nice if you don't have to make a lot of assumptions. Here there are none: the coaches have seen Drake do exactly what they'll ask him to do. They unearthed Slaton and Reynaud and so forth and so on and this is one of those positions at which Michigan can take a guy others might not get a lot of use out of and turn him into a pain-dealing jet engine.

I'm much less bothered about random three star running backs like Drake and Vincent Smith than I am about linebackers and defensive backs who don't have an unusual system to dominate in. If Michigan's staff gets leeway in their recruiting at one spot, it's tailback. They've earned it.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

There's a certain genre of recruit that is going to play a running back/slot hybrid like Dorrell Jalloh or Darius Reynaud at WVU, and Drake will be one of those guys. With three running backs graduating this year there's still plenty of room for others to come in, though they'll probably be larger angry moose sorts.

Comments

turbo cool

March 26th, 2009 at 1:45 PM ^

this is random as hell. it's like getting married in vegas random. it must have seemed right at the time. hopefully there was a pre-nup involved. but i'll still take it. EDIT: just saw his rivals film and he loves scoring long TD's. and i love watching long TD's. So this may work and i guess RR might know what he's doing.

Joined: 07/10/2008

MGoPoints: 977

Ziff72

March 26th, 2009 at 1:54 PM ^

for the economy stricken ESPN has a short video...free!! He looks very smooth but nothing hopped off the screen at you. Playing in Texas he looked like he was playing against pretty good competition, none of those video game runs with a bunch of suburban kids at 5'8" 160lbs with 5.0 flat speed falling at his anklesas he breaks thru the entire team.

Joined: 07/07/2008

MGoPoints: 9823

WolvinLA

March 26th, 2009 at 2:07 PM ^

From what I know of Skyline, they are a powerhouse, so getting on the field with them is a big deal. Also, they play about the highest level of competition in the country, with a few exceptions of negligible difference. 300 yards as a back up isn't too bad either. If he can excel in Dallas, he should be OK for us. EDIT: According to wikipedia, both "Grandmama" Larry Johnson and Michael Johnson (of "not quite as fast as Usain Bolt" fame) went to Skyline. Good athletes. Also, Cowboy Troy.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

Tim

March 26th, 2009 at 2:08 PM ^

For what it's worth, I have full(er) stats and video in the commitment post at VB, so feel free to head over and check it out.

Joined: 07/08/2008

MGoPoints: 13040

BlueFab5

March 26th, 2009 at 2:49 PM ^

Either RR needs to adjust to recruiting at UM or we need to adjust to his style. I guess we're just not use to recruiting these types of players.

Joined: 11/20/2008

MGoPoints: 285

WolvinLA

March 26th, 2009 at 2:55 PM ^

I'm quite sure he knows what he's doing and we will be the ones adjusting. I think his style is pretty exciting. Martavious Odoms is a guy who never would have come to M before. He was exciting to watch, and he was only a freshman. And he was a (gasp!) 3 star. A lot of these guys are lower rated or less sought after because they don't fit the standard mold. That doesn't mean they aren't perfect fits for us.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

WolvinLA

March 26th, 2009 at 6:39 PM ^

Don't worry that as a freshman he was our leading receiver. Also, forget the fact that he returned a punt for a touchdown. Just focus on the punts that he dropped. After all, he was the only guy on our team who fumbled. Way to focus on the positive. You're nothing but douche.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

WolvinLA

March 26th, 2009 at 6:48 PM ^

You're a douche for dwelling on the negative. For a true freshman 3 star recruit, Odoms was solid. 4 star upperclassmen fumbled punts and kick offs too, so maybe blaming the true frosh in there is a little harsh. Also "it sure was exciting seeing him fumble all those punts" is hardly a statement of fact. What excites you is different than what excites me, clearly, since my team fumbling does not excite me at all. Clearly this is an opinion of yours, not a fact.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

drewsharp64

March 26th, 2009 at 6:56 PM ^

"For a true freshman 3 star recruit, Odoms was solid" NIIIIICEEEE point. what if he was a 4 star recruit? would he not be as "solid". does that mean we can call nick sheridan, since he was a walkon, a "solid" player too? your point was rr knows what hes doing beacuse he recruited martaveious and maretevious was "exciting". my point is he wasnt really that exciting dropping punts and dropping catches. he might have been the leading reciever but only because he was the best fit into rr's system.

Joined: 11/17/2008

MGoPoints: 140

Magnus

March 27th, 2009 at 1:04 AM ^

...but you've spelled Odoms' first name about six different ways, and none of them has been correct. Forgive me if I don't take your opinion on Odoms seriously, since you obviously don't care enough to even know how to spell the kid's name. I would love to see your scouting report on Fitsjerld Twosont, though.

Joined: 07/17/2008

MGoPoints: 165915

WolvinLA

March 27th, 2009 at 11:59 AM ^

Drew, settle for a sec. There was a comment about Tony Drake, mentioning that RR has been recruiting a lot of 3 stars, implying that this was a bad thing. I was simply saying that this past year, one of the largest contributors from the freshman class was a 3 star, so maybe they aren't all bad. I never said he was perfect. This is not a "star rankings don't matter because Odoms" arguments. It shows that these smaller 3 star types can flourish in the right system. RR employs that system, so since he liked Tony Drake enough to offer him, it's quite possible that Drake can flourish as well. Try smiling today. It's Friday.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

WolvinLA

March 26th, 2009 at 3:39 PM ^

Come on Chris, there were a number of clips where he ran for 40 yards from a stand still without pads on, the ball in his hand, or others around him on the field. OK OK, CGC is right. Unless you think he runs a 5.5, there's no way you can tell that from game film. Like I bet you could see from film that George Morales doesn't run a 4.5.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 875

hokiewolf

March 26th, 2009 at 3:14 PM ^

I'm hoping that RR has called Kenny Holland and asked for some draft/recruiting magic fairy dust. Anyone watching the Red Wings draft over the years would have seen multiple "crazy" picks (like that skinny Zetterberg kid taken 210th overall) that have turned out to be examples of superior scouting. Please, AMHG, let RR know what he is doing . . .

Joined: 11/11/2008

MGoPoints: -4210

GreyJello

March 26th, 2009 at 4:12 PM ^

"...this is one of those positions at which Michigan can take a guy others might not get a lot of use out of and turn him into a pain-dealing jet engine." I love reading shit like this. Bring on the pain-dealing jet engines!

Joined: 02/17/2009

MGoPoints: 3100

bronxblue

March 26th, 2009 at 4:34 PM ^

Not sure I want to see that picture happen while Drake is in a UM uniform. That said, mighty mites work in this offense, and he definitely looks like he can play against top-notch competition (based on my knowledge that Skyline is a great program in Dallas and faces top competition) and be successful. I could definitely see him being a contributor early on, especially as a change-of-pace back or a recipient of some trick plays.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171032

mth822

March 26th, 2009 at 5:10 PM ^

You can talk about recruiting certain kinds of players of all day but eventually you need to control the clock. Or put points up so ridiculously fast and with such a regularity that the game is over by half. I still think theres room for larger, clock management dudes in this offensive set. I'll be honest, I had sympathy numerous times last year for Threet when he was trying to find M. Odoms on some over the middle deep route. For one you know he's not winning any jump balls. Two it's tough to see him over lineman and all the way down field. Three it's tough to throw at a smaller target. These speed burners are great! Do they have to be all small though is my question? Eventually (usually come bowl time) you need some sort of ball control player. That could be a TE for passing or a FB run or two. And it's those types of players Michigan needs more of in 10. The same could be said for the hoops team. They have a lot of shooters and are in need of some middle space tweeners. I like speed speed speed.......... But we need a chassis....

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 25

mth822

March 26th, 2009 at 7:07 PM ^

Threet's gone and all but I had sympathy for him on some plays. Because I could still see Braylon Edwards bailing out some Chad Henne passes. But on here, because we were in the middle of the roughest season in MI football history, we tended to goat Threet quite a bit. But we also asked a lot of him and ironically so did the staff. While it was easy to call him inconsistent, it was not sheik to say he was throwing at a guy they recruited in Odoms. Sorry, was not going for the zinger at all, and no I do not think that was one. But that's the subtext that no one wants to talk about as of today. 1. your incoming starter is a true freshman who is not even 200 lbs. 2. your backup qb, who,"played," last year is already injured. 3. thus you need some, not all, but some guys like Martell Webb and Koger to shoulder some of the key possesion downs via the pass. Plus you've got a rehabbed running back in Minor who could go down again. If I am D coordinator I am begging Michigan to run Forcier at my guys. Literally in formations begging to wind up and go and hit the freshman. And that is Michigan's offseason reality. Dude these guys at WO that they recruited who are coming in are taller. I am not saying that, what I'm talking about is the gooey in between moments that happen in every drive throughout a season. The ones where you have to go pad to pad and make a play. The old 3 the hard way moments. That is where MI will have to prove itself in the next 2 years to contend offensively. Dont get me wrong, guys like Avant and Breaston are six footers and they are doing fine at the next level. But spread or not, you need to control the football and that's my concern here.

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 25

El Jeffe

March 27th, 2009 at 10:45 AM ^

I assume you meant "chic," but I love the imagery of your spelling. Also, It's an interesting point about Tate. I wonder if, esp. early in games, defenses would want to bait Tate into some runs by selling out the backside DE and then rotating a safety or LB over to put the hurt on him. I assume RR and Magee have thought of this, though...

Joined: 07/07/2008

MGoPoints: 27314

mth822

March 27th, 2009 at 9:06 PM ^

Where a lot of younger guys get hurt is after contact, in the process of a guy slamming your whole frame into the turf and the rolling on you. I think if Tate works his angles(meaning how he's tackled), slides, and uses the sideline he should be ok. But yes I'm sure some coaches would not mind giving up a 20 yard Tate run just to get one of their upperclassman a shot of body slamming him. I think Tate can use his speed MOST EFFECTIVELY this yea by ALLUDING THE RUSH AND SACK and thus buying time for our killer Chihuahuas to get open and wreak havoc in space. Hopefully he left the mentality of,"I am going to run for 100 yards a game," in San Diego. Could he do that? Yeah. But it would be risking an injury, and that from a team's perspective is too risky. He should start and he's got the Bronco's of Western Michigan on the docket. And this is a needed win for Michigan football. I could blame spell check for my sheik but then I'd be full of sheik....

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 25

Meeechigan Dan

March 26th, 2009 at 6:23 PM ^

Logic would suggest, as someone said, that small size in the game of football gets you downgraded. And there's so many more of the small dudes. Think of your own high school days. Tons of five eight LB and WR and RB and we even had a five seven or eight DT. Beanie Wells type dudes were as rare a cogent Buckeye. I think RR is determined to stockpile electrons. He came up short (ha) in class size this year and perhaps he thinks having three or four extra three stars in a class of 26 is better than a class of 22.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 2319

Brian

March 26th, 2009 at 7:29 PM ^

My tolerance for people being jerks to each other and the team is dropping and the banhammer is getting more capricious and instant. Drewsharp64 is banned.

Joined: 05/26/2008

MGoPoints: 118859

what a sensitive boy

March 26th, 2009 at 7:58 PM ^

yes beacuse what i said was so godamn awful. but go ahead, give me the ban. ill just keep making my little screen names. honestly, people cant hear anything wrong about rr withoout using their amazing online power to ban someone

Joined: 03/26/2009

MGoPoints: 1