Hello: Da'Mario Jones Comment Count

Ace



Via

As reported by Scout's Allen Trieu, Michigan has picked up a commitment from Westland (MI) John Glenn WR Da'Mario Jones, who was previously a Central Michigan commit until getting a coveted Wolverine offer today:

"Actually, I was in my school library, and Coach Borges called and I picked up the phone and he said they gave me a full ride. I talked it over with my parents and we felt it was the best thing for me to do. I'm officially decommitted from Central Michigan."

Jones camped at Michigan, went to the BBQ at the Big House, and several games this year, but he says the relationship with the school began much earlier than that.

"Michigan is where it all started. They influenced me into playing, so it wasn't hard to the make decision based off that. We visited several times and I liked the area, the city is close to home, and everything's right."

The timing of the offer leads me to believe that picking up Jones is a response to Gareon Conley's probable decommitment and not an indication that Michigan is out of the running with IL WR Laquon Treadwell; Sam Webb believes the same. Jones is Michigan's third wide receiver pledge in the 2013 class—joining Jaron Dukes and Csont'e York—and, at least for the moment, their 23rd commitment overall.

GURU RATINGS

Scout Rivals ESPN 24/7 Sports
NR WR NR WR 3*, 78, #77 WR 3*, 84, #151 WR

Jones, who plays in a run-heavy attack at John Glenn, is currently very much under the radar, garnering three-star rankings from two of the four services. All four sites list him at 6'2" and between 185 and 195 pounds; with Michigan recruiting a lot of taller, bulkier wideouts, this suggests that he's destined for the slot.

There's not a whole lot out there scouting-wise on Jones, but we do get an evaluation from ESPN [emphasis mine] ($):

Jones has intriguing qualities and growth upside. He may not be a great speed guy, but is fast enough. Has a good solid frame to work with, needs to add strength, but possesses very good measurables. Shows adequate-to-good speed on tape. Has good height and arm length. Long strider that has good, but not great quickness and is pretty high cut. Has some ability to stop and start, but lacks elite explosion. ... Puts his shoulder down and fights for extra yards. Gives up his body to get the ball in traffic. ... Can be inconsistent as a catcher, shows ability to snatch the ball out of the air, away from his body, but also is a body catcher. Needs to develop in this area, has ability and does not seem to fight the football. Solid route runner that can get in and out of breaks. Runs a variety of routes and is well versed in getting DBs set up one-on-one. Does a good job of coming out of speed cuts and adjusting to the football, but high cut build limits fluidity and lateral agility. Good, but not great with the ball in his hands. ... Needs to add strength and bulk to improve his blocking. Jones grows on you the more you watch him and could be a BCS/non-BCS conference level prospect.

This is pretty much what you'd expect from a sleeper recruit that eventually earns a big-time offer—decent but not spectacular physical tools, raw ability, and room to grow both physically and technically.

Tim Sullivan made it out to see Jones in action earlier this fall, coming away impressed with his effort blocking downfield and inconclusive about his receiving ability due to a lack of targets ($):

Michigan has given Jones a hard look as a backup option at wide receiver, and it's easy to see why. Though he has a reputation as a slot-type receiver, he has good height (6-2) and his 185-pound mass looks to be solidly packed onto his frame. He still showed good burst, and though he didn't have the sudden acceleration of a Steve Breaston-type, he builds up a head of steam quickly, and can change directions without losing too much of that momentum.



With the ball in his hands, Jones was able to cut in and out of traffic, and although his help up front wasn't great, he was able to grind out some yardage. He was hardly targeted as a wideout in Glenn's run-heavy offense (one reason he only holds MAC offers, despite his talent), and didn't even get a chance to show much route-running polish, either.

Jones talked about himself a little bit in the wake of camping at Michigan this summer to 247's Todd Worly ($):

“I talk to them every two weeks or so,” Jones said. “At camp, they said I run good routes, I have better ball skills, and they said I have great speed – that I can flat-out fly. I sent them my highlight tape, and they said they’re interested in it and that there are things they like. I hope they see some things they like and make a move.”

As you'll see on his tape, Jones does possess above-average speed—somewhat deceptive speed due to a long stride—and the ability to go up and get the ball in the air, though as the ESPN evaluation says he sometimes allows the ball to get into his body.

OFFERS

Aside from Michigan, Jones held offers from Central Michigan, Bowling Green, New Mexico, Ohio, and Toledo. Scout also lists interest but no offer from Michigan State and Penn State—he camped at MSU and took an unofficial to PSU in March, per 247.

STATS

No stats that I can find in a quick search.

FAKE 40 TIME

Jones claims a 4.47 40 time from MSU's camp and a 4.50 at Ohio State, as well as a 10.9-second 100-meter dash ($). The 100 time is more believable than the 40 time to me, since his top-end speed looks better than his off-the-line acceleration. I'll give the 4.47 a four FAKEs out of five.

VIDEO

Junior year highlights:

Extensive senior highlights can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Jones is the only receiver in this class who looks like he could find a home in the slot. Since the only other slot receivers slated to be on the roster next year—Jeremy Gallon and The Threat—will both be seniors, Jones could find himself with a role early on in his career. With Gallon and Dileo around in 2013 and Jones needing a fair amount of development, I expect him to take a redshirt year, but after that he should have a shot to see the field. Much will depend on the direction Al Borges takes the offense post-Denard (or post-Gardner); if he goes to more two-TE sets with a lot of Funchess in the slot, which is expected, Jones may have a very limited role. If more spread elements remain, however, we could see him a fair amount moving forward.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

As said above, this is likely a reaction to the impending loss of Gareon Conley—who, while committed as a corner, may have had a chance to switch to wide receiver—and not a backup plan for missing out on Laquon Treadwell. As such, Michigan will continue to heavily pursue Treadwell, VA RB Derrick Green, and FL DB Leon McQuay III—the ideal Conley replacement—as well as an offensive lineman to take the spot formerly held by David Dawson.

Comments

MikeMac

October 31st, 2012 at 1:41 PM ^

M needs to start landing 4/5 star skilled position players if it wants to compete with OSU, ND etc. Not including Morris we are hurting for 4 star talent at running back and WR. Hope we can land Green and/or Treadwell but am not couting on it. We need to finish off our season strong, beat Ohio and win a bowl to help our chances. Go Blue!

WolverineFanatic6

October 31st, 2012 at 1:56 PM ^

The star system means absolutely nothing. Case in point Mike Hart, Tom Brady, and many non wolverines like Pat White (2 star safety I believe), and Chris Johnson. It also works the other way. Plenty of 4/5 star busts as well. Trust in the coaching staffs ability. They spend a lot of time evaluating these kids -- much more then you I promise.

reshp1

October 31st, 2012 at 2:49 PM ^

While I take your point that over a large data set, guru ratings do correlate with success on the field, the ratings are for fans to pore over and debate. The coaches couldn't care less about how many stars a player has, they've been recruiting players way before the Scout and Rivals came along and are still doing the old fashion way: by putting in massive amounts of effort scouting the players on and off the field. Even though the guru's do this full time, there's still likely no way they can devote the level of time and detail the coaches give to the individual prospects they've identified. That's how low star guys still get picked up by big time programs where they go on to excel at. Given that it's still months away to NSD, I doubt this is a fill up a last minute spot situation; the coaches must really like what they see to have offered. The jury is still out on the ability of this staff to evaluate talent, but given how some early they got in on some of the recruits in the last class that later blew up, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.

profitgoblue

October 31st, 2012 at 2:43 PM ^

Oh boy.  Here we go again.  Get on your reading glasses everyone - the charts about star ratings and rate of success are about to come out!  Fanatic, I'll summarize the data:  What you say about the star system meaning nothing is 100% incorrect.

That said, welcome Mr. Jones!  We look forward to seeing you on the football field on Saturdays and at graduation!

 

 

WolverineFanatic6

November 1st, 2012 at 2:58 AM ^

100 percent incorrect? That statement is 100 percent incorrect. Sure consensus top 10 classes are generally a big success but there are so many examples of players that came to Michigan or other schools as 2-3 stars that this board has botched about only to become an elite player down the road.



Coaches develop players and I can promise they don't go on rivals and say omg jones is only a 3 star we better pass.



I'd like to see your reasoning behind your argument sense there was none.

alum96

October 31st, 2012 at 9:04 PM ^

Also Jake Ryan. 3 star recruit with offers only from MAC level teams until Michigan picked up this "sleeper".  I am not saying Jones will be equivalent to Ryan - I am saying the stars are based on guesswork just like everything else.  Guys in the NFL miss after 3-4 years of film agains equivalent competiton.  Meanwhile Joe Schmoe from high school A could be playing guys 5 inches shorter and 40 lbs lighter in high school most of the time, so trying to project that to the next level is even harder.

MikeMac

October 31st, 2012 at 1:41 PM ^

M needs to start landing 4/5 star skilled position players if it wants to compete with OSU, ND etc. Not including Morris we are hurting for 4 star talent at running back and WR. Hope we can land Green and/or Treadwell but am not couting on it. We need to finish off our season strong, beat Ohio and win a bowl to help our chances. Go Blue!

MichiganManOf1961

October 31st, 2012 at 1:44 PM ^

Please excuse me if I sound harsh.  I believe Mr. Jones will succeed at Michigan and play very well.  It certainly appears he has all the tools to be a solid contributor to the team for years.  But can we please use the term "sleeper recruit" a little more conservatively.  Everyone who Michigan picks up that isn't an across the board, high school All-American is NOT a "sleeper recruit."  It is fine to recruit roll players, third down backs, and long-snappers; that does not mean that every player is the next Jerry Rice or Tom Brady. 

~Herm

MichiganManOf1961

October 31st, 2012 at 2:06 PM ^

I was refering to those two because they were both under-recruited.  However, many people make it seem as if any if a condition of Michigan taking a 3-star player is that he is under-recruited and underrated.  We don't know that yet.  I just call it like I see it.  God-forbid Michigan's recruits aren't the top 25 in the nation.  I just ask for honesty, not commentary as viewed through seriously rose-colored glasses.

~Herm

ken725

October 31st, 2012 at 3:32 PM ^

So far we do know that he is under-recruited.  He only has offers from Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Toledo.  That might change moving forward after his offer and commitment to Michigan.

You might have a point about the underrated part and viewing things with rose colored glasses because that part is harder to tell.  The things that point to him being underrated is that he plays for a very run heavy team.  He might have been rated higher if he played on a team that showed off his abilities.  I think that is what Ace meant when he said "underrated."

I look at it as he might be underrated, relative to his current rating.  Not that he should be rated as a 4-5 star, but he might be better than where he is rated now. 

 

gbdub

October 31st, 2012 at 4:15 PM ^

We don't know if he's under-recruited, because his recruiting is not terribly surprising for a guy with "just another 3 star" ratings and limited high school stats.

Clearly Michigan looked at this guy and said, "out of the sea of 3-star type WRs, you're the one we want". That clearly means something and this kid absolutely deserves recognition and respect for that. But it doesn't mean that Hoke and co. looked at this guy and said "he's gonna be the next Braylon and the recruiting gurus missed big". That's what a "sleeper" really means - an under the radar guy the coaches expect to blow up big. Jake Ryan = sleeper. Russel Bellomy = guy we grabbed to fill a role because we had a scholly and a hole on the roster.

ken725

October 31st, 2012 at 5:01 PM ^

I guess I see it differently than most because I'm looking at his recruiting relative to others in his class.  I just say that he is under-recruited because if he got an offer from Michigan he should be looked at by other coaches. 

I think if he went around and made his rounds to all the camps and camped at other B1G schools, he would have had more interest. 

justingoblue

October 31st, 2012 at 1:47 PM ^

My mother and uncles are John Glenn alumni (and two of them had Lloyd Carr teaching their gym classes there). I don't remember seeing any other M players come out of there recently, although I definitely could be wrong.

biakabutuka ex…

October 31st, 2012 at 1:55 PM ^

According to TomVH, none of the WRs Michigan's recruited in the last 2 years is under 6'2" or over 6'4". I wonder if this is to clone the same basic target all over the field for the QB's sake, or if it's just coincidence.

HANCOCK

October 31st, 2012 at 4:32 PM ^

Without tying to generalize, I would say that they want bigger more physical WR's because they are usually better blockers. They can also fight for position better. That being said, its not as though small guys cant block well or fight for the ball, but I think that is the reason behind Brady/Al are focusing on bigger guys.

bob_ufer

October 31st, 2012 at 2:02 PM ^

Question on balance of class.... 

 

Is the relationship with David Dawson impossible to repair?  Seems so but also seems like there could be an inroad or two to connect with him via Cass Tech coaches or teamates.

 

Thank you.

BK-bloo

October 31st, 2012 at 2:10 PM ^

sounds like a good kid with a lot of upside who's eager to take advantage of this opportunity to prove himself.  This is a good thing, and it's nice to see the coaches recognizing potential in someone that really wants to play here. 

JayZ1817

October 31st, 2012 at 2:10 PM ^

I always have a bit of a struggle to read this blog after weeks where Michigan loses because I hate reliving Michigan losses, especially this past game, but this definitely put a smile on my face. Welcome to Michigan, Damario!

joeysos33

October 31st, 2012 at 2:20 PM ^

Getting excited about a mid sized, unranke wr prospect. This really pisses me off, the staff should be able to go out and get 4 * skill spots with ease. I wouldnt be mad if this kid was 6'4 or something, but we cant be filling up spots with 2* with Urban recruiting at Osu. Nothing against the kid but come on.

WilliSC48

October 31st, 2012 at 2:47 PM ^

Pisses you off? Stuff like this is embarrassing to read. We lose an important game, have a possible decommit, and suddenly some of us start sounding like Spartan fans. These kids read these blogs, and Michigan players (kids for crying put loud) should be shown nothing but respect. The coaches believe this kid is worthy, and he's now our recruit. He should be given a warm welcome.