Is he any good?
At 6' 2" and 350-odd pounds, he is a lot of whatever he ends up being.
You don't have to good at anything other than staying put in 1 spot when you're a 350+ pound NT. See: Bryan Mone
Iowa also used to have a planet sized NT who did nothing other than be a wall up the middle. And he did it magnificently.
Placed 2nd at the Hotdog eating contest.
My sources tell me "yep".
Thanks, Mean Joe!
They spelled his name wrong in the graphic. SMH
Explains issue with getting recruits on campus on time.
It's funny, but even the title on his publicity Twitter pic spells his name wrong.
Whitley instead of Whittley.
We need more better folks in the recruiting department!!!
And I thought Dudek was a disaster.....you’ve got to check these before they are released.
Do you think he believes in aliens?
This is maybe the most unusual circumstance in a recruitment since...Marell Evans? Hope we see Whittley on the field doing things in a few months. There's virtually no downside to this so I'm down with a swing for the fences.
I would hate to see seven years of college down the drain.
Don't know a ton about him but coming into last year he was expected to be a solid contributor on Oregon St.'s defensive line. He didn't wind up playing last year, seemingly because he was injured and had some health issues including a tumor around his heart.
He's a large human being who maybe turns into a player for UM; I also wouldn't be shocked if he never saw the field if injuries and rust really limit him. He's a lottery ticket on a team that has to take as many as possible. Excited for him to come to UM but I don't expect him to be an instant-impact type of player.
Glad to see us finally make another portal move. Hoping we pick up a few more for some added experience.
Can he play DT?
He's a plackicker only. Could play some QB if necessary and has shown some good kneebend as a shortstop.
We finally got our own version of Joey Julius?
Anyone remember when Jabrill made a business decision and almost got Jourdan Lewis killed? Good times.
I remember that guy and watching him get leveled by other players in subsequent games. I want to say against Minnesota or Iowa he got trucked and was down on the turf for a minute or so. It was a clean hit but I honestly sat there at that point and just said he got what he deserved.
Not that I ever saw him make dirty hits. He hit hard, but when you do that you deserve to get hit back. Punter or not.
He got leveled in two games. I think opposing teams, rightfully so, started to pay more attention to blocking him. One of those games was Minnesota, and the player got ejected for the hit. Doesn't look like a vicious hit to me, really no worse than his hit on JLew. He obviously saw it coming and tried turn to avoid it. But what do I know.
Aren't you supposed to tell us that? I'm confused...
He played RB in high school, so think "Ben Mason plus 100 pounds minus 1 murderface." Something like that.
You should be punished for making this joke
He's a big body with some experience, so he's more than welcome. But he's probably not a starter-level player since he was a backup at mediocre Oregon State.
A BIG BODY WITH SOME EXPERIENCE?!? Sounds like RGard's mother.
This is the best comment on the board in quite some time lol
Have you seen our depth at DT? It's Mazi and then......uhh, line?
He will have every opportunity to start. Especially considering the kind of DT's MacDonald is probably looking for. Big, 325 lb+ wooly mammoths, if his time in Baltimore is any indication. Whittley fits that bill. Now is he Big Ten starter quality? I don't know. A lot of it depends on if he stays healthy. But he will have every opportunity to earn the right to start.
I was thinking that if a school like Wisc can develop 3* OL and DL players into 1st or 2nd team All-Big 10, then maybe this newer coaching staff at Michigan can do the same thing. It's about time.
What works in Wisconsin's favor on that front is they've been more or less recruiting to the same schemes for decades. A few tweaks here and there, sure, but the things they want to do, especially on offense, haven't changed. Really ever. So for the kinds of recruits they've been going after, they've got it down to a science as to what they need their players at X position to be able to do. They know exactly what they're looking for, what strengths the players need to have, how much of it, etc. Then once they get the kids on campus, just follow the process.
It makes sense, to me, that Wisconsin is successful at what it does because they've been doing the same thing for years and years, so they've perfected their methods at being able to recruit and develop those types of players. They do seem to have a program ceiling as to the caliber of recruits they can get, but boy oh boy do they develop the hell out of the players they get.
They're probably one of the top-5 most consistent programs in America over the last 20-30 years.
Hurst burst with a Mone frame. Yeah, buddy.
I'll be optimistic and see more upside than down with this kid. As long as he doesn't get injured, this will be a badly needed piece to the DL.
I see a lot of side in general.
Hell yeah!
Lots of people go to college for 7 years!
I know, they're called doctors.
he's a big boy.... he needs to be in a big house
Let's go round up Frank! Tonight calls for a game of night crawlers, my friend!
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All thanks to you, Transfer Portal!
Yay, DL depth. Added bonus that Social Security might pick up the cost-of-living adjustments to his scholarship by the time his eligibility runs out.
Title says it all? Discuss.
So does this mean Wisconsin finally won't get to run on Michigan with absolute impunity?
If so, I like.
If he can stand up unassisted and find his ass with both hands he will help us against Wisconsin. Paul Chryst has kicked JH’s ass the last two years in a row. He isn’t half the coach JH is. This shit has to stop in Madison this year.