October 27th, 2010 at 12:04 AM ^
I'll be the first to say because you know someone is going to.
Can you imagine a package with Denard, Tate and Desmond in the backfield, offensive explosion!
October 27th, 2010 at 12:12 AM ^
And Devin and Patti! 5 QBs? OMGWTFYESPLZ!
October 27th, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^
You only get 4 in the backfield.
October 27th, 2010 at 12:06 AM ^
I love this offer. We will probably land him now. I am all for taking safer prospects that won't fail out or not progress. I love football players that are smart and have a hard edge. I am more excited about him than any of our other recruits because you can tell what you are going to get out of him. Man I'm pumped.
October 27th, 2010 at 10:05 AM ^
Hard Edge.
October 27th, 2010 at 12:06 AM ^
I have a theory that all successful athletes have to have a certain ratio of brains to go with their athletic ability. You can get by for a while with more of one than the other, but to succeed at higher levels you need both. I call this the David Terrell theory.
He was a stud high school and college WR who dominated thanks to his athletic ability....but he didn't have much going on upstairs. He never learned to run routes, he never learned how to practice, etc. So in the NFL when everyone is good he just was another guy and flamed out. At the opposite end is Jason Avant, for example.
After watching the UM line-backer play since I was in school in the late 90's I now believe that MLB more than any other position requires intelligence as much as ability. So I don't mind taking a flyer on a smart guy who plays MLB now rather than a freak athlete who might be able to convert to a MLB. Maybe he pans out, maybe he doesn't. But the best MLB in a long time (David Harris) was a low-rated guy out of high school.
Give him a scholarship - and find some more just like him!
October 27th, 2010 at 12:33 AM ^
So for a wide receiver, college football isn't a "higher level," but for a linebacker it is? You might want to rework that theory.
Personally, I'll be very happy to have any player contribute as much at Michigan as David Terrell did.
October 27th, 2010 at 12:07 AM ^
behind the gap, waiting for an O-lineman to blow him up...
October 27th, 2010 at 12:09 AM ^
Legit question here, sorry it's negative but live with it. How do we put this in the category of "good thing"? This is an undersized, two-star recruit who is not even rated in the top 25 players in the state of Michigan and who has other offers from 1. Akron, 2. Bowling Green, 3. Buffalo, and 4. Ummmm, that's it.
I get the whole "Rich Rod finds diamonds in the rough!" thing, but that's supposed to be, like, once in a while. I see the increased number of Buffalo and Akron style guys as a bad sign for this program.
October 27th, 2010 at 12:13 AM ^
Check out the star rankings of our successful MLB's in the recent past.
October 27th, 2010 at 12:16 AM ^
tom indicates that bigger offers are on the horizon. perhaps we can wait to see if that happens before you undertake your rigorous analysis.
October 27th, 2010 at 12:19 AM ^
It's fair to be skeptical, can't fault you for that. Bottom line is that no one will know until he gets on the field somewhere. We'd all like a roster full of 5*s with 4.0s.
October 27th, 2010 at 5:55 AM ^
The lack of a MSU offer on an instate player is interesting. Either we beat everyone to the punch or a slight reach. However, I like his highlights.
October 27th, 2010 at 12:56 AM ^
Kenny Demens was listed as the exact same size as Morgan out of high school. He's doing OK for himself.
October 27th, 2010 at 1:20 AM ^
Carvin Johnson comes to mind as a 2 star example. Worst case scenario is we get a backup/special teams player that can at leas add depth and let us practice tackling more.
October 27th, 2010 at 3:46 AM ^
Carvin was a 3 star.
October 27th, 2010 at 7:21 AM ^
this dude will be 3* also.
October 27th, 2010 at 8:24 AM ^
According to Rivals, he's an unranked 3* ILB prospect. My bet is he gets ranked the next time Rivals reorders their rankings.
October 27th, 2010 at 8:25 AM ^
Carvin was a 2 star to Rivals and maybe both sites before M offered.
October 27th, 2010 at 1:33 AM ^
Since when is 6'2" and 225 undersized? Thats a big dude. Give him a redshirt year and he will be playing closer to 240. I do not think that that is undersized.
October 27th, 2010 at 8:02 AM ^
warranted here. If it's still Akron, BG etc. by January, then your skepticism is probably legit. Recall just last year everyone was wondering who the hell Carvin Johnson was, some bigger schools like LSU showed interest in him late (long after Michigan was in on him), and now the kid is seeing the field.
October 27th, 2010 at 8:28 AM ^
He is now a three star recruit.
October 27th, 2010 at 10:06 AM ^
3 star to rivals, 2 star to scout, not rated by ESPN
October 27th, 2010 at 12:18 AM ^
This kid is Jake Ryan 2.0. Too early to know is that's a good thing or not, but we were all like "who?" when we offered Jake Ryan then by summer we were all excited about him.
This kid looks like that same type of recruit. This is the type of kid that Wisconsin and Iowa build very good defenses around. I like it.
October 27th, 2010 at 12:29 AM ^
I'll take a defense like Iowa's or Wisconsin's to go along with our Dilithium powered offense.
October 27th, 2010 at 7:56 AM ^
This is the type of kid that Wisconsin and Iowa build very good defenses around. I like it.
Now, if UM only had Iowa or Wisconsin's defensive coaching staff...
I think it takes a good staff to turn a roster full of "gritty" or "high football I.Q." guys into a stout defense. Sadly, from what I have seen in the 3 years under RR, I don't have a lot of confidence in UM's defensive staff to pull it off.
October 27th, 2010 at 10:24 AM ^
Because the one "gritty" or "high football I.Q." guy we do have (who started out so lowly rated he walked on) has turned out to be a total bust. From where I watch the games, that is the only type of recruit i DO feel confident that the staff will turn into a player.
October 27th, 2010 at 11:51 AM ^
Jordan Kovacs seems to be excelling with our staff, wouldn't you say?
October 27th, 2010 at 12:26 AM ^
That was an impressive highlight film from my point of view. He's aggressive and knows how to hit and wrap. He looks like a good athlete as well for being a bigger guy. If I had no knowledge of his ranking I'd say he was more than worthy of an offer. I know his ranking and still feel the same by the way. Really, in life in general, there are so many factors that determine what opportunities people receive. Just because he's not the highest rated doesn't mean he's not worthy. I'm excited about this guy just like when we got in on Carvin Johnson (three star unknown who's a regular contributor as a true freshman). I hope we get his commitment because we need backers!
October 27th, 2010 at 12:27 AM ^
For whatever reason West Michigan is underscouted. There are (in my inexpert opinion) an increasing number of D-1 prospects in addition to the usual guys stocking Grand Valley's roster.
I'm tempted to go see Morgan play - West Ottawa is ranked in the top 10 in Division 1 and they get to play at #3 Grand Haven in the first round of the playoffs. WO dealt GH their only loss of the season. The winner plays the winner of #2 Rockford and Traverse City West with commit Jake Fisher. Brutal. Grand Haven has a couple fringe D-1 guys, including Dalton Stenberg who would at least be a very good MAC player.
October 27th, 2010 at 8:39 AM ^
I watched him play against Jenison and Hudsonville and he played extremely well on both sides of the ball. I wasn't convinced he was a Michigan level kid at the time and am not quite convinced yet, but he has played at a high level all year and plays at a position of extreme need so I am going to trust the coaches on this one.
Another WO kid to watch out for is their kicker Bryan Holmes (Class of '13) who was consistently putting it out of the endzone off of a 1" tee and kicked a long field goal off the ground against Jenison.
October 27th, 2010 at 10:07 AM ^
I have watched him kick all year - ridiculous leg strength. He barely missed a 54 yarder last week. He will be drawing lots of attention, so it would be great for the Wolverines to get in early.
October 27th, 2010 at 3:01 PM ^
That dudes a sophomore?? I thought he was at least a senior when we played them.
October 27th, 2010 at 1:16 AM ^
QB/LB isn't your typical HS postion combination. The fact that he plays both means to me at least that he has a higher than average football IQ.
After watching the video (I watched the one posted by Bossman on Youtube), I am convinced of three things:
1. he does have a good football IQ
2. he has the instincts needed to play LB in college (He plays down hill and he attacks the would be block and he stays behind the ball carrier as he is flowing)
3. the guy has decent footwork for a HS linebacker.
I like the offer.
October 27th, 2010 at 2:35 AM ^
Magnus - what is your take? You seem to have a pretty good grasp on these things.
He does seem solid overall, with the right amount of grit.
October 27th, 2010 at 3:07 AM ^
yes: grit. Also since M already has an MLB committed in the class this is less desperation and more a guy they just think can play.
October 27th, 2010 at 7:16 AM ^
I like the offer, hopefully we land him. This is the kind of guy that Iowa gets and turns him into an All American so why cant we???
October 27th, 2010 at 10:08 AM ^
We...untill recently had Jay freakin Hopson.
October 27th, 2010 at 7:45 AM ^
I would just like to fill a class and not have any unused/non-qualifiers scholarships. Also if he commits let's hope he's a EE.
When I clicked on the link it appears he does indeed have the 3ed star.
October 27th, 2010 at 8:26 AM ^
Can you say 3-4 Defense in the future? We are offering another middle linebacker in addition to Kellen Jones and we are recruiting Nose Tackles.
October 27th, 2010 at 8:36 AM ^
I'm sold as long as his inseam and arm length measure are in the satisfactory range.
s/
October 27th, 2010 at 9:15 AM ^
Looks like any of a million Iowa or Wisc LB's we've played over the years that made me think "why the hell can't our linebackers do that?" As in tackle, read and react, etc.
October 27th, 2010 at 9:28 AM ^
UM has offered Morgan, but Morgan hasn't verbally committed, right?
I'm not used to seeing 70+ posts on a thread about UM offering someone.
October 27th, 2010 at 9:37 AM ^
ha, this kid lives in my neighborhood
October 27th, 2010 at 10:48 AM ^
It's always fun to see a hometown kid get some pub. I think M is looking at another kid from Holland....Rickets from Holland Public. Another not flashy type-but get the job done with great instincts of LB'er.
EDIT: Also brings grit.
October 27th, 2010 at 12:23 PM ^
yea hear about him in the papers, but literally this kid "lives" in my neighborhood, like just not that many houses down from me lol
October 27th, 2010 at 9:47 AM ^
but I must say that he moves quite quick for a relatively larger guy, with a great center of gravity. I would project a redshirt year + Barwis program would work out real nicely.
October 27th, 2010 at 9:47 AM ^
My only questions are can he react and wrap up? Been a while since I've seen that out of a LB here at Michigan.
October 27th, 2010 at 10:16 AM ^
If by a while you mean 11 days, then you sir are correct.