Mike Farrell really likes Ondre Pipkins

Submitted by drewro02 on

High praise coming in for Ondre from Rivals' lead recruiting analyst. Obviously star ratings don't matter at this point, because if the coaches want him I'm in, but this almost seems to all but guarantee him to finish as a five-star when the Rivals' final rankings come out this week, doesn't it? A comparison to Haloti Ngata? Rivals had Ngata ranked as their #2 overall prospect in 2002, FWIW. Congrats to Ondre on his great week at the Army Bowl.

Who was the most pleasant surprise to you during either Army Bowl Week or Under Armour Week?

Mike Farrell: DT Ondre Pipkins heading to Michigan. He was impressive in size, he was so athletic for a big man that it blew me away and he was such a nice, high character kid as well. I haven't seen a defensive tackle that big with the ability to move like that since Haloti Ngata years and years ago.

Free article:

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1318365

brendandavis22

January 14th, 2012 at 7:55 AM ^

I can't wait until he smashes McCarron!  Nice to see Ondre is getting love not just for his play but for the type of person he is too.  In three years our team is going to be filled with the kindest group of skull crushing, face bashing football players ever seen.

Jasper

January 14th, 2012 at 8:27 AM ^

It's extra-cool because of the history of that position (and position group) in the modern era (that is, Bo and beyond) at Michigan. Until the Watson / Branch / Woodley era (for which we can thank Lloyd), it was relatively rare for UMich to have multiple D-line guys with clear NFL potential.

1997 (Steele, Williams, Hall) was an obvious exception. (Look what happened!)

More commonly, it has been populated with overachieving "pluggers" or guys who do lots of things well at the college level but nothing well enough to make it at the next level. This might be worth a separate post sometime (with research on drafts and NFL careers).

Having Hoke around makes me think this might change for the better in a hurry.

BrownJuggernaut

January 14th, 2012 at 1:23 PM ^

My favorite play from the All-American games was Pipkins chasing down Stefon Diggs and forcing a fumble. I have high hopes for Pipkins and I think having that attention from Hoke, Montgomery, and Mattison will benefit him greatly. I think we're going to be producing a lot of great linemen in the future.

Don

January 14th, 2012 at 9:59 AM ^

You've hit on one of the main reasons UM hasn't been in true contention for the NC more often than it has since 1969.

Just check out the number of DLs drafted by the NFL out of UM over the last ten years versus the number of DLs drafted out of LSU. The difference is startling.

lhglrkwg

January 14th, 2012 at 10:04 AM ^

It would be sweet if he got the 5th star and even sweeter because when we first were recruiting him he seemed relatively unknown. I'm not even sure he was in the rivals 250 at first. Wasn't he rankeed as like the number 34 DT at one point before jumping up into the 50's overall?

Roy G. Biv

January 14th, 2012 at 10:12 AM ^

I sure hope Pipkins makes a bigger splash immediately than the 5-star senior he'll be playing alongside next season.  If BWC can stop being a bust and Pipkins is the stud we all hope he is then there is hope for the DL to do more than just get by.

docwhoblocked

January 14th, 2012 at 10:42 AM ^

Hopefully some of the other D lineman like Ash, Wahington or Brink will surprise us like Heininger did this year and give us better depth than one might otherwise think we have.  I also believe that with another spring and summer set of practices, growth and conditioning and the outstanding coaching that seems to be going on with the defense that this is more likely than not going to be the case.  Also with the depth and competition at linbacker, even competent D lin play will be enough for us to be one bitch to run against next year.

StraightDave

January 14th, 2012 at 11:00 AM ^

Mike Farrell work for Rivals, correct?  If so, why is the best DT since Haloti Ngata a 4 star.  In one breath Rivals says he is the best DT in a long time but in another he is not in the same class as the 5 star kids.  WTF?

Sckon

January 14th, 2012 at 11:14 AM ^

From what I understand, he was really only noticed when he decided to attend a couple camps over the summer. These kids are getting graded earlier and earlier so exposure is key to higher star rankings, hence why you see some people fly up the rankings and others fall out completely.

stetgor

January 14th, 2012 at 11:34 AM ^

What a great overall commentary on Ondre.  I can't stop laughing at the thought of the post-game interviews if Garnett goes Blue too.  There could be years of awesome post-game sound bites!

SF Wolverine

January 14th, 2012 at 12:47 PM ^

That Roh takes advantage of all the experience to really bloom next year, and that Ondre shows more results, and sooner, than our last five-star DL.  Seems like a great kid.  Quality of the person seems to be pretty importand to this staff.

Seattle Maize

January 14th, 2012 at 2:59 PM ^

I agree that the high character part is huge. In a few years, having upperclassmen who are not only NFL caliber athletes but good people and hard workers as well will be a recipe for a title.