quintin somerville

Michigan loses a second defender:

Throw your #4sUp for Quintin Somerville!#GoBruins | @quintinn_2 pic.twitter.com/CqXVFy1mhf

— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) December 16, 2020

I jumped the gun in the Jennings post because I was under the impression this had already happened; it had not. Somerville steadily fell over the course of his recruitment and may have been in line for processing in an earlier, less defensively bereft Harbaugh class. In this one he was a 6'1", 260-pound DE who could project inside. That means Michigan has lost literally the only potential DT in the class a year after signing just Kris Jenkins.

There's a lot of speculation that the defensive defections mean that there's going to be a major overhaul on that side of the ball whether Harbaugh returns or not. That seems like a logical inference from here. The problem is that rebuilding this defense is a multi-year project and when next year's defense is hardly better than this year's, that project is likely to be aborted as Harbaugh is shot into the sun and Brian Schottenheimer replaces him.

Upcoming events:

• 1:40 PM: Donovan Edwards commits
• 4 PM: Xavier Worthy announces final decision
• 8 PM: Ja'Den McBurrows announces final decision.

There is no content after the jump.

Why yes we are bad at keeping up with this. Sorry.

Quarterback

Mr. McCarthy went to the Elite 11, which doesn't really give guys enough reps to get any worthwhile scouting from, but did give us a pro day workout reel:

…and the opportunity for some quotes from Trent Dilfer:

“J.J. is really good,” Dilfer said. “The kid is charismatic, he’s competitive, he has juice, I was really impressed with J.J.”

And SI's Tennessee guy:

The Michigan commitment’s quick release combined with the pop off his right hand resonated as others’ began to wear down. He remained strong in his overall performance throughout, and he did not struggle at any level of the field.

And from JJ's personal quarterback trainer:

“It’s noticeable,” Holcomb said. “I don’t want to say each time I see him, but there are aha moments. He’s filling out nicely, it’s healthy and good and he’s growing into his body. He might be the youngest kid (at the Elite 11) and he’s growing. He measured 6-foot-2¾, and matches up physically with some of the bigger kids.”

And a glimpse into those aha moments:

“They had a competition at the end where they had to throw into a window high and tight at the goal line. It was a seam down the left side of the field and they had to throw it high up where only the receiver can get it,” Newkirk said. "He didn’t win it, but he made it to the fourth throw where half of them probably got eliminated after their first throw. He’s pretty consistent and even when he makes a mistake, he learns from it.”

Rivals' EJ Holland talked with SI's director of football recruiting, John Garcia, who thought McCarthy had the second-best week of anybody at the event. Holland unloaded a lot of his own thoughts in there. He and Garcia teamed up again for a scouting bonanza that described a Manziel type who sometimes gets too sped up:

JJ was consistent from an overall performance on a daily basis. But each day he had a couple of really bad throws. JJ does get antsy at times, and Dilfer said as much after the event. He’s definitely not erratic, but he does need to settle himself down sometimes.

The impact of J.J. McCarthy at IMG on other recruits can be discussed below; the short version is it's good to have the IMG quarterback.

[After THE JUMP: Trickling up except where we're not]

Happy Birthday Momma ?? . . . More Life pic.twitter.com/KsJi69yB5M

— Quintin Somerville (@quintinn_2) June 20, 2020

Four-star Scottsdale (AZ) Saguaro Quintin Somerville committed to Michigan today over fellow finalists Florida State, Vanderbilt, and Washington. While Somerville visited Ann Arbor for last year's spring game, a trip that placed the Wolverines among his leaders, he anticipated that the pandemic would slow down recruitment. Instead, the power of technology—and persuasion—allowed him to stick to his initial timeline:

“I’ve sat down with my family plenty during this quarantine, and we’ve had a lot of time to reflect on everything that’s going on with the colleges and all these virtual tours,” Somerville told The Michigan Insider. ”We’ve got a good feel for every school and we’ve kind of taken that into account. (The extended dead period) hasn’t really slowed down the process. Originally, I planned on pushing (the decision) back, but after sitting down with my family I think we’re go to decide to go on June 20th and make a move to commit to a school.”

At #150 in the 247 Composite, Somerville is the highest-ranked of Michigan's four defensive end commits, a number that also includes Kechaun Bennett, TJ Guy, and Dominick Guidice, though one or two may slide to other positions. Somerville is the 18th overall commit in M's class, which moves past Florida into seventh in the composite team rankings.

GURU RATINGS

I'll get deeper into Somerville's rankings in the scouting section because it's a major part of his story. 247 considered Somerville a top-five overall prospect after his sophomore season. He's taken multiple slides down their rankings and is now their #261 prospect—still good but a far cry from Future First-Rounder. As we'll see, a major sticking point is Somerville's frame; hopes that he'll grow into a lanky weakside end haven't panned out.

Rivals and ESPN didn't debut their 2021 rankings until later in the process, so they entered the fray with more tepid—though still excellent—top-150 marks. ESPN fired and forgot, as they do, without a scouting report to explain the rating. Somerville has remained relatively static on Rivals, sliding 28 spots from his initial placement as more prospects were evaluated.

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.]