hunter echols

This Week In Guarded Praise

A list of the three-star prospects who have the best chance to make the NFL is a little weird to post, if only because it could easily be reframed as "the three-star prospects who are maybe really four-star prospects." Anyway, Scout posted a list of five such players, and M commit AJ Dillon featured:

Big, physical running backs who can stay low between the tackles and move the pile could make a nice living in the NFL. Dillon is 6-foot-1, 239 pounds and he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds. Add in Dillion can catch the ball out of the backfield, and he has the understanding and size to be a pass blocker, and it would not be surprising to see him in the NFL for a while. Dillon is committed to Michigan. - Brian Dohn

Even after last week's rankings update, Dillon is Scout's #40 RB. There's an ESPN-level disconnect between that ranking, the above article, and Dillon's Scout evaluation:

Dillon is a rugged, tough, between-the-tackles runner who is difficult to bring down on first contact. He is thick and strong in the lower body, and tackles often bounce off of him. He has good vision and quick feet. He is able to make subtle moves and change direction in short space. He is best moving up the field and is a downhill runner. He secures the football well and he can break tackles. He does not have breakaway speed, but that does not matter. His ability to find the hole and get through it, and to run in traffic, stand out. -- Brian Dohn

I'm more confused than anything else, but also excited to see Dillon in a Michigan uniform.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]

Nico Collins Update: M Still #1

Another week, another positive Nico Collins update. This time, the top-100 receiver from Alabama told AL.com that Michigan still leads for him. Collins has built a rapport with Dylan McCaffrey, who's targeting Collins with both passes and recruiting pitches:

McCaffrey and Collins are on Team Alpha Pro at The Opening with more targets that the Wolverines are after. The two have thrown together plenty in the first two days of competition.

"Every day we're up here, he's having a conversation with me about Michigan," Collins said. "We were walking through the headquarters and we saw some Jordans. He said, 'You'll get these every day if you come to Michigan.' It's just the little stuff. We're getting to know each other out here, running routes."

McCaffrey has put on his recruiting hat at The Opening; 247's Isaiah Hole reports he's also working on Donovan Peoples-Jones and four-star CA TE Josh Falo—that is, when he's not dealing with the perils of being a McCaffrey:

But being in the shadow of Christian McCaffrey has its...challenges, the younger McCaffrey says.

"I have plenty of girls asking me, talking to me--cute girls--and they'll be like, 'Hey! Can you introduce me to your brother?'"

Chin up, kid. Michigan quarterbacks have done okay in that regard.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]

Ace is on vacation! This post is already long! I'm posting it today!

On the Solomon commitment

Solomon and Reese [Sam Webb]

These days, the flood of "he won't stick" assertions in the aftermath of an unexpected commit from a far-flung high school prospect is inevitable. They certainly rolled in for GA DT Aubrey Solomon, both from the Michigan and SEC ends. Just like "offers" and OFFERS there are "commitments" and COMMITMENTS. The concern with Solomon is that he's issued the former.

Despite the fact that there's no evidence behind this assertion, people thinking this are not crazy. Michigan's already seen a GA commit peace out once the big local teams came in. But outright pessimism is unwarranted. Reasons Solomon will stick:

• Solomon already has big time offers and just visited Alabama and Georgia, who were previously thought to be the main contenders. He's seen what his leaders have to offer already and it's not like a bigger school than Bama or UGA can throw their hat in the ring.
• Michigan also picked up a commit from 2018 LB/S Otis Reese, a teammate. Reese had Michigan way out in front; he'll be there until Signing Day.
• Michigan's depth chart is attractive for a nose tackle. They have three-star Michael Dwumfour in the class ahead of him and not much else. Meanwhile the prospect of playing with Rashan Gary, even for just a couple years, is appealing.

Reasons it won't:

• The glow of the visit might not last.
• Parents might not be such a big fan of the decision.

Michigan's benefited from the latter a few times—Lawrence Marshall was an OSU commit for ten seconds before his parents put the brakes on—and suffered from it a few times. Solomon did talk to his mom on the phone before pulling the trigger:

“At first she was a little shocked because she’s never heard me trying to commit somewhere just like that,” Solomon said. “So she said I must be in love with the school and I told her that academically I would be good there."

Rusty Mansell, a reporter at the Georgia 247 site, has a skeptical take after talking to mom:

Solomon's mother was in Louisiana for a business trip at the time and told Dawgs247 the commitment caught her off-guard. She twice deemed the decision a "soft commitment," and mentioned that it is pending research. Again, her thoughts on the Georgia program were very high, and she said she is waiting to see what the outcome is in his recruitment.

Trying to figure out what Solomon will do through two separate lenses, one of them extremely red-tinted, is difficult. That doesn't sound great on the mom front.

FWIW, doesn't seem like Michigan put on a full court press. TomVH caught up with Lee County assistant coach Kevin Pych:

“The Michigan coaches are professionals,” Pych said. “They’re not sitting here blowing these kids’ phones up and they’re not pressuring them. That’s what sold these guys, that they care about making them into men.”

FL OL Kai-Leon Herbert reiterated that: Michigan coaches are amongst the lower-pressure ones out there. Sam Webb has an extensive article in the News about both Georgia commits in which Solomon tells it from his perspective:

"I was just thinking, ‘They want what's best for me, so let me call my mom.’ I'm a big momma's boy (so) I called her and talked to her about it. She was like, 'Is this really what you want to do?' and I told her, ‘Yeah, I can see myself playing here.’ Then she was like, 'Well, do what you've got do, baby. I love you,' and I said, 'I love you,' and went in there and said, 'I will commit here.'"

Whether that's good or bad is in the eye of the beholder. Hopefully mom can get on campus when Solomon takes his official.

What about Reese? While he is in a somewhat similar situation in his case a brother at Central Michigan and the fact that his commit was not off the cuff but something he'd been seriously thinking about should mean he's 90%+ to stick.

[After THE JUMP: more visit weekend fallout, new names dropping in via helicopter, Ace gets angry about KJ Hamler again despite being on vacation]