te'cory couch
decommits
photo by Bryan Fuller

Te'Cory Couch Decommits Comment Count

Ace June 9th, 2018 at 11:17 AM

Michigan's 2019 recruiting class is down a player, as Hollywood (FL) Chaminade cornerback Te'Cory Couch announced his decommitment from the program this morning on Twitter:

Couch's initial commitment, shortly after the cancelled spring game, certainly caught me off-guard, and now it appears he'll do the more expected thing and stay close to home. 247's Steve Lorenz:

The four-star was a somewhat surprise commitment in April when he chose the Wolverines over Miami (FL) and Tennessee among others. With his recruitment now open again, the Hurricanes will likely become the heavy favorite to keep Couch closer to home as he's been on campus multiple times since his original pledge to the Wolverines.

Lorenz reports five-star Florida State commit Akeem Dent and high-three-star Georgia native D.J. Turner are among the top cornerback targets left on Michigan's board. Couch was the only corner in the class, so even after 2018's large defensive back haul, expect the coaches to push for a replacement and likely more.

Michigan's 2019 class now has ten total commits. Couch's decommitment drops the Wolverines to 14th overall and second in the Big Ten (behind #12 Ohio State) in the composite class rankings.

Comments

JonnyHintz

June 9th, 2018 at 11:41 AM ^

I don’t know how popular of an opinion this is going to be, but I’m kinda glad he isn’t going to be in the class. 

As I’ve stated before, I’m not very high on the whole recruiting ranking system in its current state. Where this kid is ranked is irrelevant in my mind compared to the other factors you could look at. 

He’s listed at 5’9” 148 lbs. Which in no way, shape, or form fits the mold of DBs Michigan has been recruiting recently. His size and ranking reminds me a lot of Terry Richardson, where he’s ranked as a pretty good prospect but he just doesn’t have the size to ever really contribute. Especially on a defense that relies so heavily on its defensive backs being able to play press coverage and play on an island. 

I’m not bitter and I wish him a lot of success, I was just never really sure how well he fit into this defensive scheme. I’d much rather take a flier on a guy with some size and potential than take an undersized player that is probably too small to ever see the field.

 

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JonnyHintz

June 9th, 2018 at 1:17 PM ^

I don’t think his ranking is outlandish, and I don’t think he wont be a good player. 

I just think he’s undersized and doesn’t fit our defensive scheme very well. 

Much like Terry Richardson who was 5’9” 160 lbs (10 lbs heavier than Couch) and ranked 147th in the country and held offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Penn State, UCLA and USC.

Its not a knock on the kids talent or ranking. He’s just undersized, especially for our defensive scheme, and I didn’t see him having much of an impact at all. 

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JonnyHintz

June 9th, 2018 at 4:21 PM ^

Depends on your definition of Don Brown wanting him.

 

I mean sure, Michigan offered him. But Michigan offers tons of prospects. You really can’t deny the fact that at 5’9” 148 lbs that he’s vastly undersized and doesn’t fit the mold of DBs that Michigan goes after. That in no way means he can’t be a good player or have any impact, I just don’t see it happening in the Michigan defense. His skill set doesn’t seem to have a role here. 

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JonnyHintz

June 10th, 2018 at 7:06 AM ^

Exactly. Just say he meets a 5’11” 215 lb running back in the open field. That’s just not going to work well for him.

Say he has to try and run press coverage and defend a 6’4” 210 lb WR on an island. Again, probably not going to work well for him at all. 

Doesnt mean the kid doesn’t have any talent, I just don’t see his size doing him any favors. I don’t see a role for a player of that size in the Michigan defense. It always seemed weird because there’s no true fit. 

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JonnyHintz

June 9th, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^

On a side note, it’s nice to see Jack Stewart getting a bit more love. 

He doesn’t attend any camps so the recruiting sites had no info on him and had him well outside the top 1000. He has some very impressive offers and has actually moved up about 500 spots since he committed. 

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StraightDave

June 9th, 2018 at 12:16 PM ^

Ohio State just offered a Freshman QB from the high school I follow - A pro style kid.   I’m not saying UM has to offer every kid out there, but damn, Meyer does a nice job recruiting and connecting with elite recruits early in the process. 

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JonnyHintz

June 9th, 2018 at 8:26 PM ^

Yeah. Like I said, it reminded me a lot do Terry Richardson. Where he’s ranked high, has a good offer list, and he seems fairly talented, but his size is going to be a big handicap for him. Especially in a defense like ours. 

Not a knock on the kid, it just always seemed like a weird match and something that just didn’t fit. 

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Guy Fawkes

June 9th, 2018 at 9:59 PM ^

Just for arguments sake I'll counter your point. TR was a class kid, it's a fine school that produces a lot of talent, but if you go through the list of kids they've had a tough time making an impact in college. Some have, most haven't. Couch though with similar measurables but being from high talent rich Miami made him a higher ceiling recruit compared to TR. He's a pretty big loss considering the lack of names to replace him. Just my OP

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JonnyHintz

June 10th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^

I’m not doubting the kids talent. TR had a lot of talent as well. But we’re talking about a kid who is 5’9” 150 lbs. 

He simply isn’t going to have the size to matchup with college WRs or be able to make tackles in space, which is what is REQUIRED by corners in Michigan’s defense. I mean look at the roster. Michigan has 3 total DBs that are 5’11” the rest are over 6’. A 5’9” guy doesn’t fit the mold.

Just imagine practice. Tarik Black is 6’3” 206. DPJ is 6’2” 199. Collins is 6’4” 206. How is a 5’9 corner supposed to cover players that are between 5-7 inches taller than him, and are 50+ lbs heavier? I mean sure, he can put on some weight, but at 5’9” he can’t have much of a frame.

how is he supposed to make a play on a running back that’s 60 lbs heavier?

Im sure the kid has plenty of talent to do well. But his size is going to be a serious handicap for him no matter where he goes. But ESPECIALLY in a defense like Michigan’s that relies so heavily on man to man and press coverage. 

Simply put, there’s a whole lot more that goes into the success of a player than talent alone. You have to have the size, skill, and fit combination. Two of those boxes don’t seem to be checked when it comes to his commitment to Michigan. 

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Bo Nederlander

June 9th, 2018 at 10:05 PM ^

I never liked this commit. I just kept silent about it for several reasons. 

1. I'm in the Don Brown superfan club.

2. When he committed, Starz(!!!) 

3. As a result of the immediate aforementioned, I didn't want to be a negative Nancy and get negged to Bolivia. 

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JonnyHintz

June 10th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^

So apparently, you’re either a star whore or an offer whore on this site.

why is it so hard for people to actually look at the WHOLE picture instead of looking at sections and basing their opinion.

Hes a talented kid. But once again, he doesn’t have the size to play Michigan’s defensive system. It’s more of an issue of his size and his fit in our scheme that had us down on him than it was any talent deficiency.

Go look at Terry Richardson’s offer list and ranking as a recruit. I’d easily argue he had better offers. But he was undersized and was never able to contribute.

He never played a single game at Michigan and transferred to Marshall for his 5th year. It wasn’t because he wasn’t talented, it was because he was incredibly undersized and couldn’t find a fit in our scheme.

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JonnyHintz

June 10th, 2018 at 4:03 PM ^

But that’s an entire inch and almost 15 lbs of weight. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but in a game of inches that can be a huge difference. 

Not to mention, JD’s weaknesses were being matched up with larger WRs and making tackles in open space. I don’t think the 4.5 40 is something where Don Brown is willing to give up his coveted size for. I mean it’s been discussed on multiple occasions before, if 40 time ever comes into play for a defender, that’s a VERY bad thing. Quickness and explosiveness are much more important than top end speed.

But for arguments sake, Ambry Thomas ran an electronically timed 4.43 at the Opening and he’s 6’0”. I dont think you have to give up that size just to get some speed, and a 4.5 isn’t all that fast really.

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Bob_Timberlake

June 11th, 2018 at 7:53 AM ^

Rivals has Couch at 165 pounds, so the size difference between him and Lewis is probably splitting hairs. Smaller guys almost always have more hip fluidity than "tall" guys, so that's a consideration, too. Using your rationale, why is Michigan signing 185 pound running backs when they can get the same tools in 200+ pound guys? Answer: they see something in them that they like.

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JonnyHintz

June 11th, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^

ESPN and 247 both list him at 148 lbs. I highly doubt Rivals is the correct one here with a 17 lb outlier. 

The only back Michigan has signed in that weight range was 5’11” 187 lbs. Which means he has a bigger frame and a much better build. Adding 10 lbs or so and he’s easily in playable weight. 

Couch can gain 10 lbs and he’d STILL be far too small to contribute.

I’m 5’9” myself. I’m 160 lbs. I do not belong on a football field with college football players based on size alone. Defensive backs need to be 180+ to really be able to withstand the rigors of college football. 

I can tell you at his current height and the frame he has, it’s incredibly difficult to put on 30 lbs of good weight. 

 

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Caesar

June 10th, 2018 at 3:43 AM ^

I hope Michigan can quickly pull the trigger on a high 4 guy just for the sake of 'momentum.' I've made no study of it, but in general, I think that having a good class will help Michigan's chances with other top targets.

 

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YakAttack

June 10th, 2018 at 10:24 PM ^

I, for one, will miss the possible headlines if he would have had a good game against MSU. "Couch burns Spartans" is up there with "Man bites Dog."

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Cali Wolverine

June 11th, 2018 at 7:21 PM ^

I am proud of myself for no longer being obsessed with recruiting, but definitely feel out of touch with this new class...suppose there is a lot of time before signing day to catch up!

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