jason hewlett

Previously: Last year’s profiles, K Adam Samaha, K James Turner (Tr), S Brandyn Hillman, CB DJ Waller, CB Cameron Calhoun, CB Jyaire Hill.

Youngstown (Chaney), OH – 6'3"/215
		247: 6'4/220                  3.98*	4*, 90, NR overall #21 ATH, #12 OH
		Rivals: 6'3/215                  3.68*	3*, 5.6, NR overall #34 ATH, #24 OH
		ESPN: 6'3/210                  3.87*	3*, 79, #42 MW #34 OLB, #14 OH
		On3: 6'3/215                  4.01*	4*, 90, NR overall #31 LB, #12 OH
		Composites:    3.86* / 3.82*	3*, #526/#549 overall #32 ATH/#57 LB, #16 OH
		MGo Avg:                  3.88*	3.5*, #465/783 Ovr, #41/77 LBs since 1990
		YMRMFSPA	Malik Harrison
Other Suitors	Kentucky, Cincy (decommit)
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello.
Notes	Teammate of DJ Waller.
Film:
Senior Highlights: Hudl. Basketball vs Buchtel (#1 in black, steal/dunk at 3:28)

If you had to pick one guy to embody this class, it's not a trick question. Of all the unprojectable athletes to dump on Ben Herbert until it's time to make Bruce Feldman's freaks list, Jason Hewlett is the freakiest, boom-or-bustiest, athletiest, and the Ohioest "I dunno" of them all. At least ATH Breeon Ishmail, another of the four Ohioans to commit in the immediate aftermath of 45-23, projects to a certain position. Hewlett's a hybrid safety/linebacker/quarterback/wide receiver/kick returner/small forward who projects to Viper/Rover/Will/Mike/Joker/Sam/WDE in college.

People who cover Michigan recruiting didn't even know about the pursuit until the week of the Michigan-PSU game last year. Hewlett was a Cincinnati commit coming off a vagabond and ultimately lost to injury junior season who suddenly started having one of the best senior campaigns in Ohio. Area recruiter Steve Clinkscale already had his antennae up for Ohioans, and would have been one of the first to know about a breakout at his alma mater. As oblivious to the needs of bloggers trying to make accurate projections as Ohio State was to developments on their eastern marches, Michigan moved in, capturing less heralded teammate DJ Waller as well. It was over before Sainristil denied Cade Stover. Let's see what else they don't get.

[After THE JUMP: Did someone tell Juwan?]

Michigan has landed four recruits in Ohio this cycle and after covering the first three, we now come to the end with Youngstown DB D'Juan "DJ" Waller Jr.. Waller is a former Toledo commit who started to rise late in the process and eventually picked Michigan over Kentucky, choosing the Wolverines on Sunday night after visiting Ann Arbor this past weekend. He is also a teammate and BFF of one of the other Ohio commits this cycle, Jason Hewlett. 

GURU RATINGS 

Waller is definitely a stab in the dark type recruit based on the rankings. No one rates him as a 4* prospect, and the consensus has him in the mid-3 star range. The On3 consensus is quite a bit more favorable than the 247 composite, but he's still well outside the top 500, clocking in as one of the lowest rated recruits in the 2023 class, and one of the lowest rated safeties Michigan has taken since 1990, per Seth's numbers. That said, he may be a corner instead of a safety, something we will dig into in the scouting. As for his measurables, he's listed at 6'3 by most sites and that seems legit. When the Michigan staff went in-home with Waller, there was a photo taken that I used as the cover for his commitment stub on Sunday, showing Harbaugh standing next to Waller. The two appeared to be the same height, if not Waller being slightly taller. We know JH is a legit 6'3", so it would appear Waller is as well. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Lanky tweener]

Next up on our list of backlogged Hellos is Jason Hewlett, defensive athlete from Youngstown, Ohio. Hewlett represents one of three recent 2023 Michigan commits from Ohio, as the Michigan staff tries to build a bridge into the Buckeye State more seriously than at any other time in Harbaugh's tenure.  

GURU RATINGS

Last row is Seth's conversion to a five-star scale. Links are to profiles

Everyone seems to agree he's either 6'3" or 6'4" and somewhere in the 210-220 lbs. range. The rankings have much more disagreement than the measurables. 247 is pretty bullish on Hewlett, ranking him in the 4* tier, while Rivals is the lowest on him, putting him outside the top 20 of players even in the state of Ohio. ESPN and On3 are somewhere in between, leaving the composite ranking juuust short of the top 500 nationally, but he has the profile (just from the rankings) of someone who there is going to be a range of opinions about. Not uncommon in today's mess of a scouting landscape. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Guess his position!]