Hello: Quinton Mandle (2012 Preferred Walk-on)

i even refreshed before i posted mine just to make sure and as soon as i post bam yours was up lol. welcome Quinton.

I wonder if this means we'll take that 3rd TE in this class.

Senior Highlights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeKfMp63mmI

Smart kid! Near 4.0 and 34 ACT.

Fenton is putting out Walk-Ons! Punter/Kicker, Long Snapper, and Tight End....thanks!

All he does is catch things one handed.  I'm hoping the coaches can work on his catching technique. /s

Great hands and good blocking, he is going to be a great addition. He will earn a scholarship by his JR year if not sooner.

already in the fold between 2012 and 2013 and now a preferred-walk on that looks as though he has the hands and the intelligence (honestly do not know how much this matters, but it has to be a plus?) to play the position. ....I am hopeful that we have the TE position locked up and we can use the scholarship that may have been available for Orndoff on a highly-touted LB, DB, or WR.

All the faith in what the coaches decide, but unless the future offense is going to be alot of double TE packages....I dont know that we need 5 scholarship TE's over ANY 2 year period?

Go Blue!

nice walk on!  I love how his offense uses him split out like that Gronk style... kid looks like a smooth athlete who will pack more lbs on that frame.  Excellent academic measurables too.

If we run out of athletic scholarships can we offer a kid an academic scholarship and get away with it? All he would have to do is keep a certain GPA right?



If so lets not waist an athletic scholarship on any athlete that could potentially have an academic scholarship.

I'm still not entirely sold on our TE depth. Funchess could end up at WR, and Williams could end up at OL.  Hill is a U-back, not your typical TE. Butt is the only guy who is guaranteed to be at that TE spot. I love this addition, and I think Mandle could definitely see playing time. However, I wouldn't be opposed to another TE joining this class.

Can we get that QB as well?

While the focus is on Quinton today, I'm going to give a shameless plug for Fenton's football program.

For the last two years they've hosted a game honoring wounded war veterans in mid-September in which both teams wear camouflage jerseys.  The name of a veteran is on the back of all the jerseys and all players are responsible for finding a veteran they know to sponsor their jersey, and people from the public can also sponsor a jersey. Last year's game raised $30,000 and all proceeds were donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, and this year's game figures to be even bigger. After the end of the game the veterans that could be in attendance were honored over the PA with the player that sponsored their jersey. The game has featured a flyover from a blackhawk helicopter as well as other cool and family-friendly activities.

It's a great night for a great cause, and emotions always run high. I would encourage anyone that doesn't have anything to do on a Friday night in September (I can get the exact date in the coming months) to come out and watch the game. Fenton is only ~40 minutes north of Ann Arbor directly off of US23 and they will be fielding a strong team this year with several potential targets for Michigan, and we generally have enthusiastic, friendly fans that will welcome you to our stadium. I encourage everyone that can come out to try to make it. Thank you.

These coaches in the war room my God!

That was a pretty tremendous one handed catch!

This kid looks pretty good for a walk-on.  The fact that he's at a position of need and a great student makes it even better.

Look forward to seeing you in the Big House, Quinton!

His film looks GREAT... but he's a walk-on for a reason. I'm reminded of Jihad Rasheed's walk-on highlight film, that seemed to indicate he had hands made of glue-coated velcro. This kid looks very, very good. But Rasheed hasn't seen the field yet, and may not. Don't go penciling this kid in as all conference just yet. They can't ALL be Jordan Kovacs.

What I will say is: He has TE size for sure. He has solid to solid-plus hands and catches away from his body easily. He has a good rapport with his team and seems to know where he needs to be. He seems to have good-enough speed to play TE at a high level. He appears willing to block.

He also doesn't seem to really engage and DRIVE his blocks. Too often, the guy he's trying to block can disengage as soon as the initial punch is made. He also doesn't seem to have a great initial punch.

We have a really good O-line coaching staff that can definitely coach up a guy's blocking ability. We are developing an offense that craves pass catching TE's as well as blocking TE's. We have a coach that values work ethic as highly as anything else. I believe his body is a good one for blocking once he gets proper coaching, and he has the athleticism to at least be a breather at TE. I'm guessing we see him get some snaps in 2014 with a crack at a scholarship in 2015.

How we (get) Mandle?

I suspect it's not a coincidence that this preferred walk-on announcement comes on the same day that Orndoff commits to Pitt after a Michigan visit...