Brief Interview with Ray Vinopal
I just spoke with Ray Vinopal (pronounced vihn-oh-paul), he was excited about his commitment, and has had a lot of good news recently.
- Cardinal Mooney won the state championship, and Vinopal was just named First Team All State for Ohio as a safety.
- He is being recruited as a safety, but said he'll play wherever the coaches want him to.
- Coach Rodriguez and Gibson will be doing an in home visit with Ray and his family this Monday to make sure he knows important dates, and information, etc.
- He'll be taking an official visit sometime in January, the same time that DJ Williamson will be. Coach Gibson told him there will be around 5 others coming as well, but he wasn't sure who they were.
- "I told Coach Rod and Gibson on Wednesday, and they were excited. They just told me welcome to the family."
Nothing earth shattering, but good news on the first team all state award.
Hopefully we will get some good news out of this weekend, as well. Like I've said before, I think it's going to be an interesting next few months. As everyone knows, we have limited spots left, so we'll find out if there are any commits that won't qualify, or greyshirts, etc. soon.
- Cardinal Mooney won the state championship, and Vinopal was just named First Team All State for Ohio as a safety.
- He is being recruited as a safety, but said he'll play wherever the coaches want him to.
- Coach Rodriguez and Gibson will be doing an in home visit with Ray and his family this Monday to make sure he knows important dates, and information, etc.
- He'll be taking an official visit sometime in January, the same time that DJ Williamson will be. Coach Gibson told him there will be around 5 others coming as well, but he wasn't sure who they were.
- "I told Coach Rod and Gibson on Wednesday, and they were excited. They just told me welcome to the family."
Nothing earth shattering, but good news on the first team all state award.
Hopefully we will get some good news out of this weekend, as well. Like I've said before, I think it's going to be an interesting next few months. As everyone knows, we have limited spots left, so we'll find out if there are any commits that won't qualify, or greyshirts, etc. soon.
December 4th, 2009 at 5:43 PM ^
I'm guessing first team all-state means he beat out some more highly rated recruits at his position, so that's something to be excited about...
December 4th, 2009 at 5:56 PM ^
Anyone else want to do the research and find out just who he may have beaten out? I'd be interested but internet is way slow right now and I'm too lazy to fight it.
December 4th, 2009 at 6:12 PM ^
post removed cjm beat me to the link
December 4th, 2009 at 6:18 PM ^
Sorry about that zonereadstretch. I got my connection here at work strong enough to answer my own question. I should have been more patient. Thanks for taking the time to look though.
December 4th, 2009 at 6:05 PM ^
According to this list:
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/quicklist.asp?School=&Sport=1&DPos…
He is the seventh listed safety in Ohio.
December 4th, 2009 at 6:55 PM ^
Maybe not though. He is playing in Division III. Its not like he was all state over players from the likes of Colerain, St. Xavier, St. Ignatius, etc. The level of Division III football is significantly less than that of D-I football in Ohio.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:46 PM ^
Mooney would beat most of the teams you listed there. They beat Woodland Hills, Mentor Lake Catholic, DeSales (x2), Watterson, so they don't play a bunch of chumps.
December 5th, 2009 at 11:33 AM ^
Not a chance in Hell Mooney could beat Colerain, Elder, or St. Xavier out of Cincinnati.
December 4th, 2009 at 5:44 PM ^
I feel bad that while this kid is excited to be making a huge decision on his life, there's a legion of internet experts who are screaming "WHY NOT ________?????" in shrill opposition.
December 4th, 2009 at 5:48 PM ^
I was going to include something like that in my post, but decided not to. It was more along the lines of people complaining about not recruiting defensive players, and now complaining about something else.
December 4th, 2009 at 5:55 PM ^
As always, thanks again Tom. And thanks for leaving out any negative slant on the OP.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:09 PM ^
Complaining: We're Michigan fans, it's what we do best.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:55 PM ^
I don't think people are necessarily being inconsistent. I'm not one of them, but I imagine those complaining would say they want good defensive recruits, not just defensive recruits.
for what it's worth, i trust the coaching staff to develop their players, and believe you can put together great teams with solid (not great) players if you have kids who buy in and who stick around for 4-5 years under good coaching. This is what I see happening at places like iowa and wisconsin, and we're clearly getting better recruits than they are. I'm not one who stresses because we sign a guy with 2 stars, because I know the coaches know he's got two stars, and I know they probably weren't just desperate to give the scholarship away.
Would I rather have sean parker? I think so. does this mean we can't have sean parker? I dunno. did we have a chance with sean parker? I dunno.
December 4th, 2009 at 6:02 PM ^
Complainers will always find something to complain about. I'm really excited we now have two honest-to-god, pure safeties that played there multiple years in High School and are actually projected to play there in college in Carvin and Vinopal. Sounds like both are tough as nails football players, too. The "this guy just knows how to play football" meme from the nfl combine/draft comes to mind.
December 5th, 2009 at 10:02 AM ^
somethings gotta be said for recruiting guys who have actually played the position they are being recruited for. instead of wasting a yr trying to teach them a new position. i'd much rather have this kid than some of the tweeners we have. are they gonna bulk up and be DE can we slim them down and make them fast enough for LB or are we gonna have an over stock of the Quick position?
December 4th, 2009 at 7:16 PM ^
there's no need to pity this kid.
December 4th, 2009 at 11:43 PM ^
He is making sure that if he gets burned again by some four or five-stars, he still has people who can play. Besides, they don't pin stars on your helmet in practice, so the coaches have to make their own decisions as to who can play instead of letting Rivals tell them who to play.
December 4th, 2009 at 6:03 PM ^
What does it mean if the player gets grey-shirted?
December 4th, 2009 at 6:07 PM ^
According to rivals there are 2 three star senior safeties in ohio.
Arryn Chenault
Mike Dorsey
December 4th, 2009 at 6:10 PM ^
but... does the all-state team deal have something to do with the politics discussed in today's mailbag?
(i.e. coach got to pick because they won state?)
Either way, I'm glad to have another DB in the fold. Welcome to Ray!
December 4th, 2009 at 6:15 PM ^
Possible, but there is something to be said for being on a winning team, and scoring a touchdown in the state championship game. If it had to do with politics at least it sounds like he deserved in that game.
December 4th, 2009 at 6:29 PM ^
the posted noted below. Wheeeew. No worries.
December 4th, 2009 at 8:35 PM ^
I think it stems from the expectation (accurate or not) that M should make sure elite prospects at the same position are no longer viable options for M (which seems odd b/c of upcoming visits) before accepting players lower on the coaches board of targets - not that anyone is against this commit in particular.
December 4th, 2009 at 8:39 PM ^
It's always tiring to read that M fans are so much more knowledgeable than professional coaches/recruiters. Then again, with the ALL CAPS fireRod campaign pretty much dead I imagine many had to refocus their foment. It seems completely reasonable for so many to light up an 18 year old safety.
Lets give RichRod his recruits and give the kid a chance. I am sure RichRod and the staff know the stakes of the game.
Again, thanks for all the hard work Tom.
December 4th, 2009 at 10:16 PM ^
I do find it a little curious that we have a guy in Vinopal that is pretty lowly rated and relatively unrecruited by some bigger colleges, but I then have to assume RR saw something he liked in the kid. I'm assuming this is one of those guys that just knows the game and works his tail off. Can't wait to see him at Michigan and I hope he can get some playing time early.
December 4th, 2009 at 8:45 PM ^
I don't know you and I'm a newbe to the blog. Man it is nice to get "real" information concerning Michigan Football! I look forward to more of your post!
Go Blue.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:06 PM ^
If Ray Vinopal is excited, and Coach Rod and Gibson are excited, then by golly, I'm excited too.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:18 PM ^
Getting another safety who has experience at the position, has played on a winning team/program, and is willing to help the team out however he can, sounds good to me. Welcome, Roy Vinopal!
RR and staff seem to be on the job relative to bringing players to AA to address the team's shortcomings. On the star front, it's interesting that Carvin started out like a 2 and is now a 3. Seems like folks can feel better seeing that than they did when he first signed.
Perhaps same rating change development is possible for Vinopal? Either way, in a couple of years, I think our two deep will be looking better for having more competitors and guys who 'know how to play the game'.
I'm very interested in seeing how the next two months recruiting shakes out. While Vinopal's commitment surprised me, I am glad the coaches are out there on the trail working hard. Here's to hoping they do a great job!
December 4th, 2009 at 9:53 PM ^
I think the fact that Rod is doing a home visitg with him next week speaks volumes to the Vinopal is an afterthought.
When you look how they value Leach and Kovacs, this offer makes perfect sense.
December 6th, 2009 at 10:31 PM ^
Okay, spill it: drunk or high? Or both?
December 4th, 2009 at 9:57 PM ^
vinopal: italian for "drinking buddy"
i kid. welcome to Michigan, ray!
December 4th, 2009 at 10:41 PM ^
Welcome to UofM! Hope your college education and football career here are a success.
December 4th, 2009 at 10:46 PM ^
What's a safety?
December 4th, 2009 at 10:55 PM ^
whatever it is, it should always come first
December 4th, 2009 at 11:45 PM ^
...shooting yourself due to enduring football, basketball, and now hockey losses! :P
December 4th, 2009 at 10:48 PM ^
nice interview with Sam Webb about a month ago that is behind a Scout paywall. Wish I could post it here, but one piece of information from it is that he said his 4.41 40 time was electronic.
He went on to talk in specific detail about how he prepares for the next play on defense based on what the offense is doing pre snap and based on their previous tendencies. He seems like a really smart football player.
Probably a little undersized but he talked about how he loves hitting bigger players.
December 4th, 2009 at 11:14 PM ^
If he said his 4.41 time was electronic, he is a liar.
December 5th, 2009 at 4:20 PM ^
you've been ripping the coaches for taking him on every thread. You don't know anything about the kid other than what you've read about his rankings or seen on the very little film on him on the web.
I've watched the film. He looks pretty fast. He waqs supposedly clocked with a 4.6 or something as a freshman. So, yeah, he could be blazin fast. And from the film I watched, he seems like he has a good head for the game. And, our coaches love speed. They wanted to play Woolfolk at safety instead of corner. They probably envision this guy in the same type of role.
I've got no problem with that. And I don't give any credence to the two star rating given to him. All it means is he wasn't on anybody's radar, not that he isn't fast, or that he isn't a good player.
He may also end up returning kicks. Would not surprise me at all.
No doubt somebody or somebodies are not going to qualify, but until we know who, I don't think you can criticize the offer and commitment at all.
December 5th, 2009 at 5:52 PM ^
I said he didn't run a 4.41 because it's practically impossible for a high school kid to run a 4.41.
December 6th, 2009 at 12:44 AM ^
Before we go jumping off of Burton Tower let's just assume for the moment that this kid was being overlooked by schools? Diamond in the rough? I mean it's not like RichRod & Co. are deliberately looking for bad players.
I watched the highlight vids and he looked plenty fast to me. Denard Robinson (who, IIRC, ran a sub-4.4 dash in HS) type speed maybe not, but faster than most the kids he was playing against.
December 6th, 2009 at 10:12 AM ^
Who said anything about jumping off Burton Tower? Did I say anything about Rodriguez needing to be fired for offering Vinopal? Did I say that our defense is going to suck because we took his commitment?
Yeesh...I don't think the kid is going to be a contributor in college. That's it. It's not an overreaction. It's just a reaction. Your comment about jumping off Burton Tower is way more of an overreaction than anything I've said.
December 6th, 2009 at 10:20 AM ^
Not a criticism, just an observation; you do seem to put people (both on this blog and on the team, but particularly high school football players) down more than most.
December 6th, 2009 at 6:00 PM ^
I rarely put people down. I don't call people names (unless you're Charlie Weis) or anything. I just offer my analysis of coaches and players. It's not always positive analysis, but you'll find some people on here who are like, "Yes! We got a commit! This kid is going to be great!" And that's just not realistic. Most players don't turn out to be great, so I'm not going to pretend that each one will.
If you haven't discovered this already, when everybody else is freaking out, I'm usually not. And when everybody is going crazy with happiness and excitement, I'm usually not. I'm one of the more even-keeled posters on the board.
December 7th, 2009 at 12:10 AM ^
But, I think you're overboard on Mr. Vinopal. He actually could have run a 4.41 electronically. He could be as fast as Denard. He looked fast on his tape.
A contributor in college? If he's not gonna be a contributor than Rod and co. have some serious 'splainin' to do. I assume they think he will be. He looks like he could be.
This staff recruits very differently than Carr. Not sure it's better. It is different. Safeties for Lloyd were Stevie, Engelmon, Harrisson, Mundy and I can't think of all of 'em. But, they tended to be bigger guys. Not an emphasis on pure speed.
On the other hand, Rod's all about speed. Hence Ninja slots galore. Based on the their ability to evaluate needs for the positions they're coaching, I'm going to assume and hope that they think he can contribute, and expect him to. Together with that, and his reported speed he sounds like he can, in the right scheme.
PS. If he's racing Woolfolk and Denard for fastest guy on the team in two years, you owe one to the board.
December 7th, 2009 at 6:24 AM ^
I will gladly admit that I was wrong if Vinopal turns out to be the fastest/one of the fastest guys on the team and turns into a solid player.
But a 4.41 is a practically impossible time for a high schooler. If he ran that fast, he would have been one of the fastest guys at the NFL Combine this year.
December 7th, 2009 at 11:11 AM ^
both hoping he's lightning on turf, and I hope I can tell you next fall that I heard he beat Denard in a 40.
December 5th, 2009 at 9:54 AM ^
Top notch work as always.
Welcome Ray. I hope you're able to contribute to the team in some fashion.
December 5th, 2009 at 10:23 AM ^
Wecome aboard Ray!
Glad to have you!
Comments