Thomas Rawls Eligible?

Could turn into an absolute beast with a redshirt and a year on the bench (two years of S&C)... if he improves his foot speed and pad level, he will be a load to deal with.

Fred Jackson would likely describe him as possessing Tyrone Wheatley's strength, Justin Fargas' speed, and Chris Perry's hands -- with the chance to turn into a Marshall Faulk-type all-purpose back. 

again, because we have room and need RBs.

However, I have not understood the incredible amount of hype he has gotten on here.  (Yes, the hype long pre-dated the RR firing and persisted while we had the best RB in the country locked up, so the answer cannot be "he'd be great in Hoke's system).  Can someone explain this?    He is the 77th RB to Scout and a 5.6 rating on rivals.  He has great size for a RB, so that's not artifically depressing his rankings.

CMU is the only other school going after him.  What gives?  It can't JUST be grades - grades don't play the biggest role in recruiting rankings and schools tend to continue to pursue good players that are borderline.  It has to be the case that a ton of schools have taken a look and were not interested.

This young man is a beast!!  A welcomed addition to this class!!

So, again, why wouldn't any other major school be at least sniffing around the kid? Teams routinely hover around good prospects with iffy grades.

Interesting that he is holding his ACT secret.  Hey y'all, got a 17, so I'm going to CMU.

Cannot WAIT for the TRawler to make it to AA. This guy is clearly a monster and could potentially contend this coming season for PT against Cox, Toussaint, and Hopkins. Very excited for our squads future...

I know a lot about him, Iowa and Wisconsin said they will offer with a qualifying score, Bobby Williams(former MSU coach) has been in contact with him regarding Alabama recruitment but told Thomas no room in this year class, Cincinnati and Toledo offered him early, but he always maintained Michigan is his dream school

Schools just haven't been pushing for him because its so late in the process, but I can tell you one thing, the kid is an absolute beast on the field

You know who I love? John Rawls. A theory of justice.

Just sayin.

If Fred Jackson is interested and thinks this kid has talent then Michigan would be crazy not to take him if he is eligible.  Fred has been known to bring in one or two good RBs.

I'm sure I'll get negged for this since my opinion is not in the majority, but I really dont like taking another RB in this class. If you believe the rumors that Gallon will be moved to RB, that will give us 8 and only one is a senior. Thats fine if you have unlimited scholarships, but when you have that many guys at one position, it usually means you are thin at another..and we definitely are in a few positions. We have 20 scholarships to give, and as of now 15 for next year. I'm sure that number will stretch to 18 or so, but regardless...these both will be smaller classes. Right now we have 10 firm commits, 2 soft commits, and a TON of guys popping up that we have a legitimate shots at. Flowers, Barnett, Bryant, Alexander, Isaaka, Willingham, Poole, Clark, McClure, Taylor, Raven, Wiles. And thats not even including whichever surprise QB and DT's we will be chasing. I just think we definitely have greater needs than another RB. Especially one with grade issues.

I too, fear that Rawls hype is a result of him putting up huge numbers in our state. I watched his film, he's good, but I'm not so sure he's elite. And it still seems odd to me that he only has a couple of MAC offers and is rated so low. Usually academics dont totally kill someones ratings and offers. I believe the offers are conditional based on qualifying. The whole thing just doesnt add up.

Nevermind the gurus and star ranking. Thomas Rawls is a tremendously important a recruit. By all accounts he is an animal running the ball. We need to shore up our RB situation. Dee is off the board but Rawls is very nice consolation prize if we can land him.

Is this business about Rawls holding his ACT score and deciding on the 31st actually what is happening, or just the OP's fantasy of what could happen?



I'm confused since no link or source was provided yet eveyone in the thread is all excited about the content of the OP's post.

If he would be open to playing FB and adding another 10+lbs, this would let him block for his boy Hayes and would get him some carries early in his career.  Just dont want to see a talent like him have to wait a while to get on the field.

He has too much upside to pass up, me thinks.

The Saginaw Valley League has gone downhill from the early 2000's but this guy looks great! If he qualifies he should def be a wolverine!

I don't know the difference between a long strider and a short strider but this kid must be a short strider. Looks like he takes real tiny steps to me but nobody was catching him. Rawls isn't flashy, but as some have pointed out, he does go forward. He uses subtle cuts instead of exaggerated "shakes"

Some of you probably don't know this, so I will inform you. Mike Hart was a 3* also.

according to Sam Webb. This kid would be a steal and a huge get for a team that has no power back. If his ACT is good, he is ours.

I'm sold on this kid from what I've seen....Again, I suck at being able to tell whether a kid, (by watching High School tape alone), can play or not.

Rawls recorded a single in the 70s called "You'll Never Find Another Back Like Mine". One of his biggest hits was, "Maize-y Love". Great U(-M)rban soul.

True story.

This is Thomas appearing under his stage name, Lou:

If he decides to come to AA and meets the academic standards & qualifies I welcome him....T.Rawls come on down..........!

It may be crowded with bodies, but it's virtually vacant when it comes to RBs who have proven that they can be difference-makers. Either they can't stay healthy or fumble in crucial situations. The only exceptions I would make is for Hopkins and maybe Cox, since for whatever reason the former coaching staff was inclined to keep them on the bench. I know the rap on Cox was an inability to learn the playbook, but you don't ever know how a RB will perform until you actually stick him in the damn game. Why they insisted on running VS out there in short yardage situations when Hopkins languished on the sidelines was a complete mystery to me.

but anyone else concerned that if he is having trouble qualifying to get in that he might have trouble remaining in school once he has been admitted.  The student-athlete combination is obviously challenging;  I am amazed that the players can juggle school, lifting, film watching, practice, etc. etc.  They deserve a lot of credit.

All in for Rawls if he qualifies and wants to come to AA.