Trente Jones practices for the Under Armour All-America Game
Stock goes where? [Sam Webb/247Sports]

Monday Recruitin' Raises Its Stock Comment Count

Adam Schnepp January 7th, 2019 at 10:00 AM

The relative quiet of the recruiting calendar’s dead period gave way to two all-star games last week, and with that a ton of new material on the players about to age out of appearing in these recruiting roundups. Thursday’s Under Armour All-America Game featured five Michigan signees: FL LB Anthony Solomon, OH OL Nolan Rumler, GA OT Trente Jones on Team Flash, and DC LB Quinten Johnson and MI DT Mazi Smith on Team Ballaholics. CA RB Zach Charbonnet elected to sit out the week of practice and game with an injury, which should please the superstitious lot; Greg Biggins wrote after the first day of practice that 247 came into the week with Charbonnet on five-star watch.

Though Smith and Jones won’t earn fifth stars either, they did plenty in practice last week to raise their stock in the eyes of analysts. 247’s John Garcia called Smith “the best interior guy” while ESPN.com’s Craig Haubert named Smith to his list of the week’s best. 247’s Allen Trieu, who has probably seen Smith more than anyone in the country, added some detail to Garcia’s line. He noted that Smith hasn’t done any camps, but it seems he adapted to 1-on-1 drills against competition on par with his talent level rather quickly. Trieu mentioned Smith being told something about how to use his hands by the coaching staff, then using that to win reps later in the day. For a player who has been able to pin his ears back and run through his opponent at will until this past week, it was an encouraging sign of adaptability. (And a positive sign for next year, when he’ll be needed to be ready to rotate in at DT.)

[Other guys adapt after THE JUMP]

Jones also had to find ways to adapt. 247’s John Garcia:

He had to be good (handling counter moves) because (defensive linemen) know three days in that (Jones) is probably the most athletic offensive lineman out there. So, he was well prepared their counters.

Garcia also raved about Jones’ physical stature, saying that he looks like a stand-up edge rusher with the potential to play any of the five OL positions. He also said that Jones had the best kick step of any offensive lineman in the game, though he noted that Jones could stand to improve some elements of his technique. Rivals’ Mike Farrell thinks that Jones will develop into a very good tackle in a couple years (FWIW I’d be shocked if he isn’t a tackle, and that’s not just based on what everyone’s saying but also the FBD I wrote on Jones). He awarded Jones the Bull Market award for the player who raised his stock the most this week, with an honorable mention going to Smith.

Rumler drew praise from Garcia for being a “nasty cat,” which would also likely draw praise from future OL coach Ed Warinner given the premium he places on physicality. Garcia illustrated his statement with a story: Rumler stunned a defender off the snap, the defender fell, and Rumler flopped on him to make sure he won the rep. Lateral movement has been discussed as a point of improvement for Rumler, though it’s not likely to be a huge snag in his development; he’s going to play on the interior, where he will be able to put his ability to anchor and maintain leverage to good use.

Johnson had perhaps the most interesting camp of any Michigan attendee. He spent the first part of camp playing corner against #1 receivers and apparently looked like a safety playing corner against #1 receivers. By Tuesday’s practice, Johnson was drawing praise from analysts and finding his work among the top 10 plays of the day. 247’s Brian Dohn saw enough from Johnson on Tuesday to issue a quick scouting report:

He showed his ability to open his hips and turn, and also to drive on the ball. He used his strength to jam at the line and he read plays well. He reacted quickly to passes thrown his way.

247’s John Garcia also heaped praise on Johnson’s Tuesday practice, saying that “you really couldn’t find a weakness” in his game that day while also cautioning that Johnson was practicing against the other team’s less dynamic receivers that day. Even so, Johnson maintained his level of intensity as others’ waned, which caused Garcia to praise his conditioning and competitiveness.

There’s not much out there on Solomon due to the dearth of game-like drills for linebackers. He recorded two tackles in limited game action.

Taken together, Rivals’ Rob Cassidy ranked Michigan #1 on his list of winners, citing Jones out-performing his ranking, Smith’s consistently good performance in practice, and Johnson’s improvement as the week wore on as his reasons Michigan should walk away feeling the best about the players they had on the roster.

Position information:

  • The Wolverine’s Adam Ghabour talked to GA OT Trente Jones about Ed Warinner and his clear vision for what he wants from incoming freshmen, and in that conversation Jones mentioned that Warinner wants him at right tackle.
  • FL LB Anthony Solomon was told by LBs coach Al Washington and DC Don Brown that he’ll be a VIPER, and he plans to put on five pounds to do so.
  • DC LB Quinten Johnson was told by safeties coach Chris Partridge that he’ll start off at Rover, but Don Brown would eventually like to move him to VIPER.
  • OH OL Nolan Rumler told MLive’s Aaron McMann that he projects himself to center.

Etc.

OL-DL 1-1s feat Mazi Smith (first Smith snap is ~:40, but make sure you watch through 3:00). OL-DL 1-1s feat. Nolan Rumler and Trente Jones (relevant portion begins at 00:34).

[Ed. A- Look for another recruiting roundup pulling together coverage of the All-American Bowl tomorrow]

Comments

reshp1

January 7th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^

Rivals says he underperformed, FWIW.

Devontae Dobbs didn’t live up to his lofty ranking at any time during the week. And while that’s not to say Dobbs was awful all week, he certainly didn’t look like the No. 48 player in the country.

bacon1431

January 7th, 2019 at 12:19 PM ^

Sucks that we didn't get Dobbs or Logan Brown. However, it would hurt alot more if we didn't get good OTs in our class. But we got Jones and Keegan and I think we'll be more than happy. Recruiting losses only hurt if you don't find an equivalent or near equivalent.

bacon1431

January 7th, 2019 at 2:48 PM ^

Would sting like a mofo if it was a signing day decision or a decomitment. But we've known for like a year he wasn't coming here. We got two 4* OTs in his stead, one of which was fawned over this past week. I think we will be okay. Dobbs will probably be a solid to elite player if he develops properly. But I think we got two guys in his place that have similar ceilings. 

Gentleman Squirrels

January 7th, 2019 at 10:31 AM ^

Really excited that both Hinton and Smith performed well in this setting considering that both of them will have to be in the 3-deep. Hinton might be able to regain his 5th star.

A line of Jones-Barnhart-Rumler-Carpenter-Keegan will be imposing to say the least. Stewart might surprise us in a Spanellis sort of way and always be in consideration as the 6th man available. Right now, I think that we have some really good future guards in Filiaga, Spanellis, Honingford, Barnhart, Rumler, and Carpenter. If Mayfield and Steuber pan out, that would give enough time for Warriner to get Hayes, Jones, and Keegan up to speed and Michigan can start imposing their will through the o-line.

UP to LA

January 7th, 2019 at 12:07 PM ^

A line of Jones-Barnhart-Rumler-Carpenter-Keegan...

I like the sentiment, and I'm stoked to have all of these guys coming in, but history has taught me to not invest too much in the idea of a single class of o-linemen translating to an IRL starting lineup. There's just too much variance in developmental outcomes, and the likelihood of all of these guys starting at the same time, let alone starting on a single dominant line, is pretty small.

Denarded

January 7th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^

Anybody know if the recruiting services do 1 final rankings update before Feb-Signing Day?

I feel like they used to do this in the past, but with the early signing date wasn't sure.

Ezeh-E

January 7th, 2019 at 11:06 AM ^

Do ya'll selves a favor and watch the DL 1-1 video. Mazi Smith destroys his man on each rep. Just pushes them in the backfield and tosses them out of the way. We haven't had that kind of bull-rush since I don't remember when.

hartattack26

January 7th, 2019 at 12:33 PM ^

I remember he had a sack where he pushed the quard into the QB and in his last bowl game did the same with a guard into a runningback for a TFL. Might have been few and far between but explosive bullrush was most definitely in his arsenal. Wish I had the GIFs, they were impressive and fun to watch. 

Magnus

January 7th, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^

This is early January, and most players have been off for a month and a half or two months, but Rumler looks like a really good prospect with some weight to lose. He reminds me of Michael Onwenu right now, thought not quite as big.

Trente Jones looks like a live prospect at tackle. I wasn't quite sure why people were pegging him as a future guard, so it's nice to see him show his chops as a tackle in this setting.

Magnus

January 7th, 2019 at 11:54 AM ^

You said he was going to be the next Taylor Lewan. Being the next Lewan is going to be tough for anyone. Lewan is/was perhaps the best offensive tackle in Michigan history, and if he's not, he's probably in the top 2-3. I think Jones is going to be good, but he's not as nasty or as athletic as Lewan.

M-Dog

January 7th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^

1) Try to recruit elite defensive players from all across the country that may not be considering Michigan.

2) Tell them they will play Viper.

3) Win.