When are we gonna make Drake an offer?

Submitted by wresler120 on

I know I posted about him before the high school season started, and then toward the end of the season .... but when are we going to make an offer to the kid right across the street ... Drake Johnson? I love Fitz Toussaint, but he has an injury history, and outside of him, we have no real proven depth after this season. Now, I know Brionte Dunn is a possibility ... who knows how likely at this point .. but a possibilty.  Outside of that I am not hearing a lot out of the RB position in terms of recruiting.

Drake Johnson has good size .. 6'1 205, good speed ... listed at 4.4 probably more around 4.5 to 4.6, and is one of the best hurdlers in the nation. On the season he has nearly 3,000 yards (counting the 2 playoff games) and 40 touchdowns. Yes, that's correct, in 11 games he has nearly 3,000 yards and 40 Touchdowns. He has been a machine during the playoffs ... first round against Monroe he had 230 yards and 4 touchdowns, and then in the second round against Bedford he finished with 350 yards and 4 touchdowns. This kid carries his team squarely on his shoulders. Regardless of the opponent, Johnson amasses most of his teams offensive output. Warren De La Salle has a legitimate shot at a state championship this year, and he went for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns against them. Against the Brother Rice team that just eliminated Farmington Hills Harrison, Drake Johnson went for 125 yards and a TD. Last year against a Cass Tech Team that featured Delonte Hollowell, Terry Richardson and Royce Jenkins Stone ..... Drake Johnson went for 276 yards and 6 touchdowns .. as a junior.

I mean .. I am not in any way a recruiter, but this kids numbers are phenomenal. I don't know Brionte's numbers from this year, but he is listed on Scout as finishing last season with 2,020 yards and 22 TD's .. Johnson has 3,000 yards and 40 TD's. What a combination those 2 kids would make .. Brionte has the power and Drake has the speed and jumping ability. What baffles me even more is we showed interest in Juwan Lewis from Muskegon. I have watched both Drake and Juwan play, and from what I saw ... Drake is on a whole different level.

I'm gonna start a sign Drake Johnson rally .... hopefully one of the coaches will read this, and take a much harder look at the kid. I would hate to see him slip away ... Anyone who has watched him person this year ... back me up on this kid!!

UMICH1606

November 7th, 2011 at 7:22 AM ^

Silly yard totals for a season doesn't exactly translate to D1 recruit. From the MHSAA record book:

Season (Minimum 2,200)

2,890 - Chris Lomasney, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (360 carries/13 games) (2000)

2,867 - Kirk Elsworth, Goodrich (254/12) (2004)

2,844 - Chris Robinson, Ovid-Elsie (256/2008)

2,837 - Darrin Williams, Detroit Martin Luther King (14) (2007)

2,835 - Noel Aleman, East Kentwood (263/14) (2002)

2,783 - Rick Granata, Imlay City (346/12) (1993)

2,777 - Casey Hares, Ishpeming (443/12) (2007)

2,697 - DeAndre Johnson, Madison Heights Madison (265/14) (2006)

2,696 - Chris Robinson, Ovid-Elsie (304/12) (2009)

2,680 - Benny Clark Jr., Ravenna (325/13) (1996)

2,659 - Tom Tyson, Whittemore-Prescott (323/13) (1994)

2,613 - Ethan Colton, Saugatuck (308/14) (2010)

2,601 - Roger Reinhardt, Unionville (177/8) (1960)

2,599 - Tim Shaw, Livonia Clarenceville (14 games) (2001)

2,584 - Lonnie Jones, Niles (294/11) (2003)

2,567 - Leonard Harris, Grosse Pointe North (12 games) (1996)

2,553 - Keath Bartynski, Saginaw Nouvel (11 games) (1997)

2,552 - Tim Shaw, Livonia Clarenceville (13 games) (2000)

2,507 - Kevin Grady, Jr., East Grand Rapids (332/14) (2003)

2,501 - Ronald Spears, Milan (295/12) (2009)

2,498 - Isaac Harper, East Lansing (320/13) (2007)

2,494 - Matt O’Connor, Grand Ledge (312/11) (1997)

2,485 - Jonas Gray, Detroit Country Day (308/14) (2007)

2,473 - Fred Russell, Romulus (11 games) (1998)

2,464 - Randy Kinder, East Lansing (12 games) (1992)

2.453 - Benny Clark Jr., Ravenna (312/13) (1994)

2,365 - Kevin Grady, Jr., East Grand Rapids (298/12) (2004)

2,355 - Michael Tennessee, Sterling Heights Stevenson (266/12) (1998)

2,324 - Jessie Walker, Milan (252/10) (1989)

2,320 - Jesse Bramer, Middleton Fulton (11) (2003)

2,314 - Chad Coons, Dryden (223/12) (1996)

2,280 - Josh Smith, Midland Bullock Creek (300/10) (1997)

2,253 - Skyler Stoker, Grass Lake (12) (2008)

2,243 - Zurlon Tipton, Sterling Heights Parkway Christian (158/11) (2007)

2,239 - Brent Lesniak, Dowagiac (200/12) (1996)

2,236 - Jamie Sundberg, Ishpeming (374/9) (1997)

2,225 - Dan Smitherman, Westland John Glenn (11) (2000)

Magnus

November 7th, 2011 at 8:49 AM ^

Tim Shaw ended up as a starting DE at Penn State.

Fred Russell started at RB at Iowa and played a couple years with the Dolphins.

Kevin Grady did something or other.

Jonas Gray is currently at Notre Dame.

Other than that...yeah...nobody turn out to be spectacular.

SoullessHack

November 7th, 2011 at 1:01 AM ^

And I'm normally the last guy to be like, "The internet is super-serious business, you guys!"

But honestly, the events described in that grand jury indictment are horrifying. They're horrifying. It's not even a question of "too soon." There will never be a time to joke about what they guy did to those children. And if you think we're all being too sensitive or overly dramatic... just read the indictment.

denardogasm

November 6th, 2011 at 10:48 PM ^

I'd say if nothing else that Hoke and co. know how to recruit.  I'm sure he's great but I don't think they'd miss a guy in their backyard if he was the best they could get.

bdsisme

November 6th, 2011 at 10:52 PM ^

 

School Interest Level Offer? Attended Camp? Visit Date Signed LOI?
Army Med Interest No   None  
Cincinnati Med Interest No   None  
Eastern Michigan Med Interest Yes   None  
Georgia Tech Med Interest No   None  
Indiana Med Interest No   None  
Iowa Med Interest No   None  
Michigan Med Interest No   None  
Ohio State Med Interest No   None  
Wisconsin Med Interest No   None  

 

If Army, Cincinnati, Indiana, and Iowa don't want him, I doubt we'd want him.  Just because he is in the same Government & Ethics class as you doesn't mean that he's the best running back ever.

turtleboy

November 7th, 2011 at 12:53 AM ^

that nobody, and I mean NOBODY would even consider giving Barry Sanders a scholie. Okie State had to give him one just to fill out a class and they wouldn't even play him for 2 years when they had him! He tried out at Northwestern and they passed. Most every school in the country passed on Drew Brees as well, Purdue was just lucky he was who he was. Recently Terrence Cody was passed on by almost every school in America because he was, and continues to be, "too big" and went to community college for 2 years before gaining interest from Alabama. Locally Mark Ingram wasn't even the top in-state recruit. He was the #2 in state running back and # 6 in state overall recruit yet went on to set a freshman record for touchdowns and led the team at Alabama despite not starting. Recruiting services miss all the time.

arsenalb32

November 7th, 2011 at 2:51 AM ^

I see your point, but seriously, those stories make it to the headlines for a reason. Those are wonderful stories and the reason why they're wonderful is because 99% of kids like them don't make it anywhere near even the starting squad let alone a star. I love those stories as much as the next guy, but I trust the coaches know what they're doing more than what I think COULD happen. On top of that, we don't need two running backs. Now, if Bri'onte were to stay with OSU then hey maybe Drake gets an offer. But if we were to offer now, I have little doubt in my mind it wouldn't be long before we got a commitment that could take away a spot from a Dunn, or a Wright, or a Garnett, etc etc. 

Rather be on BA

November 6th, 2011 at 10:53 PM ^

I have watched the kid in person many times and am also baffled by the lack of interest shown by Michigan.  His body of work is on par with any back in the country. I just hope Pioneer can win a couple more games so that Drake can continue to make his case for an offer.

 

With that said, Hoke and co obviously know more about recruiting than I do..  But I am just afraid that a mistake is being made with this kid.

Bluestreak

November 6th, 2011 at 11:04 PM ^

but let's face it, he's not a Keith Marshall level prospect. The staff know what they are doing and might feel more comfortable with their chances with a more elite back (read Dunn).

Also - if he is eager to come to Michigan, there will always be the walk-on route available (ask Jordan Kovacs).

So relax and don't get your panties in a bunch

a2_electricboogaloo

November 6th, 2011 at 11:09 PM ^

We only have a few spots left, so who would you rather take if you were the coaches who would you take:

Drake Johnson or Yuri Wright (or Banner, Thompson, Dunn, Payton, Darboh etc.)?

I think if the coaches wanted to offer him we would have—there is no way we would let a Michigan caliber prospect slip by us if the go to high school in Ann Arbor.

codeBLUE11

November 6th, 2011 at 11:11 PM ^

It's not like noone knows who he is. His name is out there, and has been for over a year. He even visited Michigan last year, so it's not like the staff is blind. Take this article http://recruiting.scout.com/2/1022929.html

He was given a third star LAST YEAR at the same time as T-Rich, Aaron Burbidge, and Royce Jenkins-Stone, but somewhere along the way someone saw something that said he wouldn't be good at the next level. I haven't seen him in person or on film, so I can't say anything definitively, but just because a kid dominates high school doesn't mean he has the stuff to be a good college back. I've seen several threads on him over the last few weeks, but there's a reason why he hasn't earned a Michigan offer and it's not because Hoke is blind.

mgowill

November 7th, 2011 at 7:30 AM ^

I'm thinking the same thing.  If Diggs commits to U-M then I think it is highly likely that Wes Brown follows.  Rivals also says that Brown reminds them of Barry Sanders (NTBS).

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Barry-Sanders-91034

I think we are holding a spot for an elite RB like Dunn, would welcome a solid running back like Brown, and would take a look at Drake Johnson if nothing pans out elsewhere.  With Johnson holding an offer from only Eastern Michigan he would be easy to pick up later on.  If scholarships are tight because we have cleaned up on 4 and 5 stars later on - he will have to walk on to play for U-M.

gajensen

November 7th, 2011 at 9:14 AM ^

Yes.  I know.  I'm suggesting that since the coaches have shown they are willing to give greyshirt offers, as they had with Jeremy Clark, then perhaps they could give another to Drake Johnson. 

In terms of opportunity costs I'm with the maority in that I'd rather get ANY WR, another OL, Dunn, Kiel, etc. before I giving out a 2012 scholarship to a 2-3*.  I'd also rather not give this kid a scholarship for 2013, either, as we'll have fewer available scholarships and I would like to see the kind of class we can build around Shane Morris offensively.

That said, this kid is a beast and I also would like to see him on the team.  I'd bet a Michigan offer would bump the kid up to a 3*, and I really cant' see where, say, Sione Houma's high school production and potential greatly exceeds Johnson's and warrants a 2012 offer while Drake is left looking to (preferred, maybe) walk-on.