Rickett88

April 18th, 2017 at 1:48 PM ^

If Michigan wants him come NSD... the kid is coming here. 

I see this as the kid wrapping up a place to go that he likes, but will flip if Michigan comes with an offer later.

JonnyHintz

April 18th, 2017 at 1:50 PM ^

Look at the kid's offer list. It's really not that strange. His top offers are Minnesota, Louisville, and Syracuse. Most top programs aren't high on the kid from what it looks like.

Magnus

April 18th, 2017 at 2:38 PM ^

IMO, Sampson is more limited to center than someone like Cesar Ruiz. Offers for true centers tend not to get crazily out of hand, because there are fewer teams who actually need centers, centers often can't play other positions, and center is a spot that varies from team to team. A center for Alabama is different than a center for Arizona.

Michigan's last few centers have been the 6'6" Graham Glasgow, the 6'5" Mason Cole, and the 6'5" Patrick Kugler (presumably). Sampson is listed at 6'3", 295 lbs.

JonnyHintz

April 18th, 2017 at 2:58 PM ^

Well there's more to it than camp circuit performance.

Sure. 1 on 1 the kid may be able to block.

What are his grades? Are there character issues? Does he struggle with the mental aspects of the game? Does he have positional versatility? Does he struggle with certain blocking schemes (man vs zone)? Is his body weight properly dispersed (muscle vs fat)? While he can block, are his mechanics sound?

Whatever it may be, it's not like it's a Michigan issue. There's something about this kid that top programs aren't high on. So it's really not surprising that Michigan hasn't offered. Especially when we just brought in Ruiz at the same position.

PutInPeters18

April 18th, 2017 at 2:34 PM ^

I'd guess that either...

A.) The staff thinks they're going to land their top targets as is, and do not see Sampson as a top target.

B.) The staff does not believe he is either a fit, either schematically or numbers wise with a small class. We already have Emiyor who has the ability to slide in at center if need be.

C.) There are some issues/concerns the staff may have that we may not know about.

D.) The staff is confident they could flip him late and so want to wait and explore other options initially then fall back here if they miss.

At the end of the day, I am a bit confused why he wasn't pursued more, but not up to me so hope the staff has some studs lined up.

Magnus

April 18th, 2017 at 2:43 PM ^

I wouldn't be totally surprised if Sampson gets an offer down the road, but Michigan took the country's #1 center in 2017, who will presumably be here for 4-5 years. Meanwhile, Sampson is a pure center who probably can't play anywhere else on the line. So you're talking about a guy who would probably be a career backup until he's in his fourth or fifth year.

Do you take that guy to maybe get some production out of him in 2021 or 2022? Or do you pursue someone else who can play guard/tackle and maybe slide over to center if necessary? It's rare that teams stockpile centers. They usually have one or *maybe* two centers, and the emergency centers are guards or tackles.

JonnyHintz

April 18th, 2017 at 4:13 PM ^

As with most seasons, one of the guards likely. It's a relatively easy transition. Remember Graham Glasgow made the move from Guard to Center. Cole made the move from Tackle to Center. It's not really difficult to convert somebody to the position. As Magnus said, most teams don't recruit centers. They simply convert guards or tackles.

Trader Jack

April 18th, 2017 at 7:05 PM ^

Why can't he play Guard? He's already 290, so I wouldn't think size would be a huge concern. Even if he can only play center though, there'd be a 2 year gap between he and Ruiz, assuming he redshirted and Cesar doesn't. That seems worth it to me.

MichiganStan

April 18th, 2017 at 9:31 PM ^

#1 center in the country right in Michigan and Dantonio doesnt offer him.

I can understand Michigan not offering because we have Ruiz but MSU needs all the 4*+ talent they can get. Just seems stupid to not offer him if you are MSU. Plus it says he's visited MSU like 4 times

RoseInBlue

April 19th, 2017 at 9:19 AM ^

No top teams have offered this kid and yet people are wondering why Michigan hasn't offered him just because he lives in Michigan?  Why?  Clearly, he's either overranked or something behind the scenes is no bueno.  If Michigan were the only team not offering him, maybe there's a question there but nobody's offering him except lower tier teams.