Nolan Ulizio - UCONN Staff Scouting Report
Nothing Earth Shattering - One of my good buddies works on the staff at UConn. I reached out to him this morning to see what his staffs take was on Ulizio just to get UConn's take on the player. Here's what he's had to say.
"A guy with NFL feet who has the body balance and flexibility to be a good player. He has long limbs and shows good toughness on tape. He is a quiet kid but all in all should turn out to be a good player."
We chatted back and forth a bit and they were obviously disappointed to lose him. Good to see how highly they thought of him, and I just thought I'd pass along.
EDIT: I took my connections credentials down per Space Coyote's Recommendation - I forget that message boards sometimes can cause ramifications and didn't want my buddy getting in trouble in any way shape or form.
January 26th, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^
cool story bro!
January 26th, 2015 at 11:30 AM ^
Can you stop saying bro, bro?
January 26th, 2015 at 11:29 AM ^
is good news, why harsh on that?
January 26th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
noob.
January 26th, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
FauxMichBro probably says bro a lot
January 26th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
he took your call.
January 26th, 2015 at 11:34 AM ^
I prefaced the text with... "I hope it's not sour grapes, but..." He's a good guy and we've been friends for quite some time. I figured he'd give me an honest take.
January 26th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
they surprised by Michigan's interest in the first place? His offer sheet was pretty thin.
January 26th, 2015 at 11:49 AM ^
I didn't ask, honestly the thought never crossed my mind. Hindsight being 20/20 I wish I would've approached that subject too.
January 26th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
When it comes to this kid, I think people are judging a book by its cover. Somehow, people look at his photo and come to a conclusion about his playing ability. If this staff offered him over Madden and Moorman, I think we can safely assume the staff likes this kid...a lot.
January 26th, 2015 at 12:02 PM ^
I see what you're saying, but it could also be that they thought they had a better chance of landing him. The current situation being what it is, we kind of need bodies and it is also possible that their opinion was they had a better shot at landing Ulizio.
Not a for sure thing and obviously this staff has already proven to take chances on "longshot" recruits in this cycle, but you cannot necessarily conclude that this staff like Ulizio more than Madden and Moorman just because they pursued him.
EndNitPicking
January 26th, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
Moorman and Madden were far from longshots. Madden was begging for an offer and insiders thought Moorman was a strong candidate to flip. The staff apparently didn't even contact them to gauge their interest. I'm inclined to think that's only because they like Ulizio more.
January 26th, 2015 at 12:12 PM ^
He looks like he has really good room for improvement.
Every report I read just about praised his footwork, which is rare for a young lineman I think. It sounds like he has the tenacity for blocking already too. So the staff probably sees a kid with good measurables, and enough 'intangible' type stuff that they can mold him into something good in 2ish years. His current ability is probably a little low, but potential is there.
January 26th, 2015 at 11:39 AM ^
Good stuff brah. Upvoted for good story bro, but also informative. As for Nolan, long limbs plus good feet plus being a good humble kid adds up to very good potential. Maybe not a Mason Cole type future NFL prospect but easily could be a rock solid starter in the Omenah or maybe Schonefield mold ? (in the latters case they are same height and can play either guard or tackle).
January 26th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
When the commit came through, Maize'n'Brew linked the Hudl film on this kid - I was rather impressed really. He does a pretty good job of beating defenders off the ball and he was even flattening guys outright sometimes. I can see where Drevno and Harbaugh might like him as an addition to the line they would probably like to build.
January 26th, 2015 at 11:53 AM ^
I know you want to establish the connections so that people don't automatically discredit your account, but spelling out your connections to this information could potentially get someone in trouble (intentionally attempting to keep this comment vague in the event you change the OP).
I'd redact that part of the OP in an effort to avoid that, just an FYI.
FWIW, I agree with a lot of the assessment. I think he needs to work on his flexibility, but I do think he's a bit of a diamond in the rough as they say. Really like his feet and his mentality at this stage, if coached up properly and he does the things he needs to do (S&C, learning the game, etc), I think he has a nice future on the interior OL.
January 26th, 2015 at 12:10 PM ^
I took his credentials out per your recommendation. Didn't think about the ramifications. I sometimes forget in the power of the MGoBlog.
January 26th, 2015 at 11:51 AM ^
I think OL is just the most difficult position of any to judge out of HS. These guys are often playing dudes 50-70 lbs less than them and at many schools will never face a guy who is a division 1 prospect in their HS career. You don't know how a guy will react the first time he has athletes of his ilk across from him and what they will grow into.
And I say that the same for a Kalis and Kugler as much as this kid - those were our 2 "NCAA ready" guys out of HS and instead it ended up being a tackle out of FL that many barely paid attention to in the 2014 class.
January 26th, 2015 at 11:51 AM ^
Recruiters don't always get their rankings right, but If I remember correctly from the various posts discussing accuracy of rankings, they are right more than they are wrong. With this recruit, as well as all others, we will know more in a couple of years.
I have little doubt that Michigan recruiting will be off the charts moving forward, as it has been the past few years and would have been this year but for the change in coaching. That's the price you pay for change. Reality dictates that even with the "Harbaugh factor", there is only so much that the coaching staff can achieve in a very limited period of time and with many recruits already being enrolled. I'm delighted with what this staff is doing, but there are limitations.
January 26th, 2015 at 12:06 PM ^
For what it's worth, ESPN just got around to rating Ulizio. They rated him as an OT and assigned him a 78, which is a relatively high 3-star. For comparison's sake, the other OTs with 78 ratings are going to Alabama, Boston College, Stanford, Nebraska, USC, Texas, Arizona, and LSU. Jon Runyan Jr. is a 76 (as an OT).
So ESPN seems to think pretty highly of Ulizio. Then again, they could just be giving a Harbaugh/Drevno-recruited offensive lineman the benefit of the doubt.
January 26th, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
I think the funniest part of the whole ratings/starz system is how servies suddenly bump a guy up once he gets some offers, or "better" offers - it's like "Oh, I must have missed something, Harbaugh/Urbs/Saban like him, better goose his rating"
So let's see if this kid Bush from Fla with no rating and no offers suddenly merits a couple stars simply because the M sites say we're looking at him. I was a truly sicko recruiting junkie for 10 years - subscribing to Rivals, Scout, scouring this blog multiple times daily (still do that!) But I've wisened up about recruiting.
As it became plain over the Hoke years that stars mean nothing without coaching and development, all that extra time and $ spent on Sam & Beaver & Spath etc is saved. With Hoke's staff it didn't matter who signed up, because they weren't going to develop, and with this staff I feel the opposite. Whoever they offer and sign is gonna be a good fit and get the best out of their abilities. It's a Peaceful Easy Feeling, I know they won't let me down...
January 26th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
I agree that you can't succeed without player development, but I would still argue that Hoke did a solid job of recruiting. It may not be showing yet, but there are some very good pieces in place. Youth has been a big issue at times, but his best recruits are becoming upperclassmen. It might take Harbaugh to do it, but I think we're going to see some major strides from some of those guys that Hoke brought in - guys like Gedeon, Mone, Kalis, Isaac, Green, Lewis, etc.
January 26th, 2015 at 2:54 PM ^
Player development, or lack thereof, is the part about Hoke's regime that I don't get, particularly the regression in the passing game which might have come from Gallon leaving and not finding someone to fill the void.
I may be wishing on a star, but it wouldn't surprise me next year, if we have passable QB play, that a huge jump in W's and L's will occur, all of which will be credited to Harbaugh, but as you noted Magnus, lots of talent has already been recruited. It is not a bare cupboard.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:23 PM ^
it's not that hard to get.
I tend to believe Marcus Ray who in not so many words said there were a handful exceptionally incompetent people who worked for Brady. He placed all the faith he had in them and he paid the price for it.. .
January 26th, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^
He has a lot of potential, but he is raw. He looks like he could be a really good guard.
January 26th, 2015 at 12:32 PM ^
Sometimes the quite guys are the nastiest
January 26th, 2015 at 2:46 PM ^
I loved his tape...he creates more pancakes than a line cook at Dennys. Kid is strong, mobile, finishes blocks and enjoys doing so.
Perhaps his jersey had something to do with it, but he did look like a typical Wisconsin road grader in his tape. Michigan needs more guys like that on the line.