Scouting Report: 2014 Quarterbacks
In an attempt to distract you from the frustration of last night, here's a (brief) scouting report on the quarterbacks who have been confirmed or rumored to be in contact with Michigan about potentially receiving a scholarship offer for 2014. When I put all the names together, the list came out at the nice, round number of 10. Hopefully I didn't forget anyone important, but if I did, you can only blame yourself for not following me on Twitter and tossing out suggestions.
The list includes David Cornwell, Andrew Ford, Caleb Henderson, Coleman Key, DeShone Kizer, Michael O'Connor, Travis Smith, Wilton Speight, Chance Stewart, and Tyler Wiegers.
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Discuss!
February 3rd, 2013 at 8:46 AM ^
So Cornwell is the guy then? I ask because it seems like he also has the most interest in us. Is there anything more the coaches need to do before offering? They have met and seen tape on everyone at this point, I believe.
February 3rd, 2013 at 8:50 AM ^
The vibe I'm getting is that the coaches like Cornwell the most, too. But maybe he's just got a good relationship with the Michigan recruiting services, who are hyping it up a little too much. You never know.
Regardless, I don't know that there's much more for the coaches to do at this point. I believe they've concluded their evaluations of their top prospects on this list, so it seems like they're in wait-and-see mode. Supposedly, they're going to sit down as a staff and deliberate this week. All the coaches will be back in town for National Signing Day on Wednesday, so that seems like an opportune time to make a final decision on whom they want.
February 3rd, 2013 at 12:59 PM ^
enemy strongholds before, but wouldn't Cornwell be a strong Oklahoma target as he hails from Norman? Don't get me wrong- nothing is more satisfying than poaching a top recruit from a competitor's own town- but if we really want this kid, we'll have to lead him out of the Sooner / Longhorn Black Hole.
February 3rd, 2013 at 1:01 PM ^
That's addressed below, but there seems not to be much mutual interest between Cornwell and Oklahoma.
February 3rd, 2013 at 3:07 PM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 8:55 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:08 AM ^
I doubt Michigan takes two quarterbacks unless something happens to Gardner, Bellomy, and/or Morris. The coaches don't seem interested in having 4 or 5 quarterbacks on the roster, or else they would have taken a QB in 2012. That was the first time in 14 years (IIRC) that Michigan did NOT take a quarterback, and it seems to have been by design.
February 3rd, 2013 at 3:34 PM ^
I thought we did offer 2012 QBs, but when the top choices didn't commit, the staff decided to not reach for a lesser prospect.
February 3rd, 2013 at 3:40 PM ^
Well, they did offer some of the better quarterbacks in the country (I've never seen Michigan completely ignore any position except specialists), but there were some decent options that they chose not to pursue. They only offered eight guys total, and a couple of them weren't pursued very hard (they stopped recruiting Bennie Coney, they eventually told Devin Fuller they only wanted him as a DB, etc). I'm sure more than eight guys will turn into successful college quarterbacks, so I think they could have widened their search a little bit.
February 3rd, 2013 at 10:24 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 10:33 AM ^
I haven't seen him say that Michigan would be THE favorite if they offered, but he has already named Michigan one of his leaders...
February 3rd, 2013 at 8:49 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 8:54 AM ^
Fixed. Thanks. Yeah, Burke is his hometown...
February 3rd, 2013 at 8:52 AM ^
Side question on the QB subject: why do you think a lot of QBs commit so early in the process? Is it mainly because most schools generally only take 1 and are more selective with the offers?
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:05 AM ^
I think Wiegers would have the most interest in committing on the spot. Of the top three guys on my list, I feel like Cornwell has shown the most interest. O'Connor keeps moving south (from Canada to Tennessee to Florida), so yeah, I feel like he might be SEC-bound. He and his family seem to think that the football is better as you go farther south, which is probably pretty accurate, considering all the SEC national championships in recent years...
Quarterbacks commit early for a couple reasons. First of all, a lot of the good ones start getting offers really early in the recruiting process. Since you often put your best athlete at QB and they're the most visible players on the team, they're a little easier to see early than receivers. Secondly, quarterbacks are groomed to be leaders, so they often want to commit early and then recruit other guys (like Shane Morris did). Third, as you mention, teams are selective and only take one or two guys. At some point in the late spring, you'll probably see the dominos start to fall - when Recruit #1 commits to Alabama, then Recruit #2 will commit to Florida, then Recruit #3 will commit to Texas, and so on down the line. (Those teams are chosen sort of randomly and it won't be that linear, but you get the point.) If these guys don't commit early, they're stuck with lowly options. If an offensive lineman or a linebacker waits until January or February, there are still spots remaining at most schools.
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:06 AM ^
I really hope we take 2 Qb's this year. Not likely but it would be the smart thing to do.
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:11 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:22 AM ^
Thanks Magnus. Who do you think would fit best with Hoke's style offense? I feel like it's Henderson after reading your post. I'm also interested in seeing if Loeffler at VT is a serious threat to recruiting the same quarterbacks.
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:27 AM ^
Well, the players are listed in order of how well I think they would fit at Michigan. However, I do really like Henderson's abilities. I wasn't that high on him earlier in the process, but his junior tape is pretty impressive. Any of the first three are guys I think would be very good fits. The next couple are guys who could work out in a few years. The guys toward the bottom of the list just don't seem like good matches.
February 3rd, 2013 at 1:54 PM ^
you say that henderson doesn't hav the best arm strength. From junior year in high school to we'll say a soph in college, what kind of increase in arm strenght do most QBs see from an increase max yardage throw and max velocity standpoint?
February 3rd, 2013 at 2:42 PM ^
Arm strength is not something that improves very significantly. You either have it or you don't. He has a good enough arm to succeed; it's just not as strong as someone like Morris or Cornwell.
February 4th, 2013 at 2:32 AM ^
That is something that may well be generally true, but a lot of the research that has gone on in biomechanical research in kines labs and the like is starting to be incorporated usefully into training regimens. Given access to that kind of thing, athletic guys with quarterback stature and a feel for throwing are candidates for velocity gains.
Not saying Borges is that sort of guy, but I would imagine that as the throwing programs that are starting to proliferate in baseball trickle into football that the pool for quarterbacks will grow.
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:25 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:28 AM ^
If Borges himself is any indication, I think his ideal QB would be Jared Lorenzen.
February 3rd, 2013 at 10:25 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 12:08 PM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 12:36 PM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 5:25 PM ^
I'm sure you were just being "funny," but it's never a good idea to mention people or events from Germany that happened from about 1937-1945 on a blog that tries to stay classy most of the time.
February 4th, 2013 at 12:10 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 11:34 AM ^
I know this is in jest, but he was pretty damn good
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:35 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 1:50 PM ^
Bald hair. Can you also "wake up dead?"
February 3rd, 2013 at 1:19 PM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:27 AM ^
Would you say Alabama is our biggest threat for Cornwell?
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:31 AM ^
Honestly, it's really difficult to say who the biggest threat(s) would be without the offers to back it up. Hell, Michigan isn't even a legitimate threat to Indiana right now, because the Hoosiers have offered and we haven't. It doesn't really matter if he likes Alabama if they never offer him. However, Alabama is a huge threat for just about any prospect.
February 3rd, 2013 at 10:28 AM ^
It looks like Michigan isn't the only team to be holding back on offering QB's. None of these guys had offers from the Alabama's and USC's of the world. Is this year's QB crop just that much lower than the average class?
February 3rd, 2013 at 10:31 AM ^
Yeah, this is not considered to be a bumper crop of quarterbacks in 2014.
February 3rd, 2013 at 10:38 AM ^
Not knocking on Shane - I think he will be a very good QB and leader for Michigan football - what if the only QB recruit turns out to be very average? With one season to go for the 2014 class, coaches have two years of films to study and they probably feel they have much better grip on how good the kids are.
February 3rd, 2013 at 1:57 PM ^
know who else is just average.......aj mcarron, worked out well for bama
February 3rd, 2013 at 2:45 PM ^
McCarron was Rivals' #7 quarterback behind Barkley, Aaron Murray, and Tajh Boyd (and a few others who haven't accomplished much).
February 3rd, 2013 at 11:36 AM ^
USC already has David Sills in the bag for 2015...not a good example
February 3rd, 2013 at 2:50 PM ^
From Palo Alto.
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:42 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:47 AM ^
You're talking about Jayru Campbell from Cass Tech.
Michigan seems to offer most prospects from Cass Tech, so I wouldn't be surprised if he gets an offer...but Michigan's coaches supposedly aren't sold on him yet. It's tough for inner-city kids to get good quarterback coaching.
February 3rd, 2013 at 11:42 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:51 AM ^
Your post is incomplete. The coaches at MICH have contacted me about possibly playing QB for U of M. WHY I NO IN YER POST??? (that sounds kinda dirty, just the way we like it.)
February 3rd, 2013 at 9:59 AM ^
I feel like having the last name of "Jihad" would be a P.R. nightmare. That's probably your biggest issue.
February 3rd, 2013 at 10:01 AM ^
February 3rd, 2013 at 10:05 AM ^
Yeah, Alabama and Notre Dame have both offered.
February 3rd, 2013 at 2:05 PM ^
Was it not speculated that--as well as make an addition to their class--Alabama and Notre Dame also offered to make some in-roads Cass Tech? Similar to what we did with Reschke?
EDIT: switched from MGoApp to the computer and what do you know, I'm 3 hours behind. See DGDestroys below for original point. Sorry DG.