Scouting Report: Leon McQuay III

Submitted by Magnus on

I put a halt to my scouting reports several weeks ago because most recruits are off the board or unlikely to choose Michigan.  However, there are a couple more who have listed serious interest in Michigan, so I'll continue the series for at least a couple more entires before moving on to 2014 kids.

This week I took a look at Leon McQuay III.  There are a lot of good safeties in the country.  McQuay is one of them, although perhaps not in that top tier.  I wrote last year that I think Jarrod Wilson is Michigan's best free safety recruit in a long time.  If McQuay were to commit to Michigan, that would give us a second very good safety prospect in the pipeline.

ND Sux

July 12th, 2012 at 7:32 AM ^

Better quality /clarity than we usually see.  The kid looks like a great safety prospect for sure.  Not all that wild about the MSU-esque taunting of the injured player on the first clip, but we have coaches for that. 

Otherwise he looks like a ball hawk and a decent hitter, and as Magnus says, room on that frame to add muscle.  Love to see him in blue. 

markinmsp

July 12th, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^

 Agree, and thanks for the report. As usual very interesting, I really like this guy. I hope he commits to UM. Something about him just says he will develop into a perfect fit at UM both on and off the field. Maybe it’s his hits or ball-hawking skills but I just find him fun to watch. Granted in my case it’s been all TV or clips, but every time I have watched him I am impressed. My perfect final 3 recruits are McQuay, Treadwell, and Green. (I wouldn’t mind ending up with Allen also, but don’t want to get greedy.)

beevo

July 12th, 2012 at 7:55 AM ^

Magnus:  I was wondering where do you have Dymonte listed at concerning safety ratings.  We don't hear much about him anymore.  It doesn't seem like he is doing the camp circuit at all.  I know one of the scouting services has him listed as a 5 star and the others are high 4s.  Does he have more upside than McQuay III? 

Space Coyote

July 12th, 2012 at 10:12 AM ^

But Dymonte is almost certainly a SS prospect.  Very different players.

And to the poster above, I would venture to say that Dymonte drops a bit in the rankings because he hasn't doen the camps and stuff. He's still the same player though, so those moves up and down don't really worry me.

Magnus

July 12th, 2012 at 10:40 AM ^

I have him at a 92 in the TTB Ratings:

http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/p/2013-offer-board.html

http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/p/prospect-rating-system.html

I think McQuay has a little more upside because of his position flexibility.  Thomas is pretty much a SS, not big enough for linebacker, and not smooth enough to play cornerback.  He could play FS and be okay, but that's probably not ideal.

Magnus

July 12th, 2012 at 3:49 PM ^

It sure seemed to me that Mattison tried to prevent Kovacs from covering a great deal of open space last year.  Whether that's because he thinks Kovacs has limitations in coverage or because that's how he wants his defense to work, I don't know.  But based partly on that, I think he does see a distinction between the two.

colin

July 13th, 2012 at 12:21 AM ^

You probably won't see this, but I think it's more likely that he saw Kovacs' talent for playing nearer the ball than that there was some huge difference between Gordon and Kovacs playing in the middle.  Like I said, we played a lot of soft coverage that was determined not to give up the big play.  Lot of room in the flats and underneath last year, not deep.

I don't know if that's what Mattison would do going forward. I'd like to think he'd adjust to talent.  He does seem to want to attack gaps and avoid playing two gap up front, nor does he seem to like quarters/c2/split-half stuff as much as he prefers to play 1/3 deep. 

Magnus

July 13th, 2012 at 5:53 AM ^

Judging by the way Countess and Floyd got burnt crispy late in the season (against OSU and Virginia Tech) and Mattison still not really adjusting his deep coverage, I don't know...  Kovacs is talented in the box, but Mattison still avoided putting Kovacs deep even in obvious passing situations, IIRC.

Elmer

July 12th, 2012 at 9:06 AM ^

McQuay supposedly looked pretty good in coverage during some recent summer events.  He might be able to play the boundary corner, but Magnus is still correct that safety is a better fit.  I really think this kid could be a special player.  My hope is that USC runs out of scholarships before November and that Leon sees all the advantages of playing at Michigan over Vandy.

 

 

Magnus

July 12th, 2012 at 4:15 PM ^

It's not necessarily the third best corner.  Brandon Harrison played nickel corner - and was pretty good at it - but I don't think he ever played a true cornerback position.

Nickel corners have to blitz and they have to be able to stop the run.  Courtney Avery had a good season as far as coverage goes last year (2 picks, IIRC), but I haven't noticed him being an effective blitzer.  He's not really the ideal player for that sort of position, but I think he's the best we had available last season.

Jfox1020

July 12th, 2012 at 9:11 AM ^

Dont we already have a Safety in D. Thomas?? Nobody seems to mention him when we talk of the incoming players.. Do we plan to move some of the other players to CB?? I think we need more WR and DL's.

NOLA Wolverine

July 12th, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^

With Vanderdoes to USC and the buzz about Hargreaves ending up at USC that means they'll be full for this class, right? So unless McQuay's preferences change, it comes down to Vanderbilt and Michigan? 

Ron Utah

July 12th, 2012 at 2:21 PM ^

This kid is a beast with the frame to bulk-up to LB, if he (or the coaches) really wanted him to do that.

I think he fits best as a safety as well, but I actually think he's more SS than FS; but boundary CB is not out of the question, and nickel back could work as well.  Based on his size and aggressiveness, it seems he could be good at jamming WRs.  He also seems to slip blocks well, take good angles, and see the QB.  He reminds me of an athletic Jordan Kovacs (scary).

Don't tell anyone I said this, but he would actually be a great fit as the bandit in a 3-3-5.  If he grows much more or fills out, he could easily be 220 lbs.

All that said, if he stays the size he is and focuses on speed/agility/acceleration, he could play either safety position or CB.

NOLA Wolverine

July 12th, 2012 at 6:10 PM ^

Aside from being one of the most ridiculous interviews ever, there's some good information at 2:45 where Leon says (well kind of, he phrased it as "my dad says...") he's commiting November 21st. 

 

BOGEY

July 13th, 2012 at 10:32 AM ^

wow is he retarded or something? LOL whats this guys gpa zero.zero

 

but ill take him in this class he is a stud