2014 Recruiting: Juwann Bushell-Beatty Comment Count

Brian

Previously: Last year's profiles, CB Brandon Watson, CB Jabrill Peppers, LB Jared Wangler, LB Chase Winovich, LB Noah Furbush, LB Michael Ferns, DL Brady Pallante, DL Bryan Mone, DL Lawrence Marshall, OL Mason Cole.

       
Paramus, NJ – 6'6", 320
       

 

 9-8-2013-paramus-cath-nj-28-0-gilmanmd-i-59[1]

Scout 3*, NR overall
#50 OT
Rivals 3*, NR overall
#33 OT, #11 NJ
ESPN 4*, #142 overall
#11 OT, #4 NJ
24/7 4*, NR overall
#23 OT, #10 NJ
Other Suitors UF, FSU, Miami, MSU, BC
YMRMFSPA Logan Tuley-Tillman
Previously On MGoBlog Hello post from Ace.
Notes Has outstanding "what you talkin' about Willis" face. Paramus Catholic (Peppers)

Film

Senior film:

Hudl page. 

Bushell-Beatty is always going to be The Other Paladin, what with being the high school teammate of one Jabrill Peppers. It's not out of the question that a couple of teams recruiting him did so with an eye on Woodson 2.0. But Bushell-Beatty is a quality prospect in his own right, a four star on two sites and the top tackle who isn't one on Rivals. And he did have offers from two of Florida's big three.

That's because he's an enormous gentleman. Most evaluations start with that fact. Clint Brewster:

First off, Bushell-Beatty has outstanding size at about 6-foot-7 and 310-pounds. He has long arms and doesn’t carry a whole lot of extra weight on his frame. Bushell-Beatty has good flexibility and can bend for a 6-foot-7 player.

Scout's Brian Dohn:

Bushell-Beatty is big and long, and just getting around him is a challenge for some defenders. The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder does a good job blocking down the line of scrimmage and also spinning the defender to open holes in the running game, but he is most impressive in pass protection. …

His arm length made it even more difficult to try and get around him, and once he was able to engage the defender, he didn't get allow him to get loose again.

Elsewhere, his coach calls him plain "humongous," an Under Armor game evaluation praises his "outstanding size with a good frame," and Brewster pops up again to say he's an "NFL sized offensive tackle with great range and physicality in the run game." This is his main appeal: if it works out you've got a guy the NFL will be lusting after.

His assets other than size are a little fuzzy. Some guys praise his pass protection; some say he needs to work on it. He does seem to be quite good at plowing furrows into the ground in the run game:

Had a physical punch in the running game and is able to get his long arms on defenders and lock into them. … Bushell-Beatty’s strength is the running game, where he can use his size to overpower people but he has the foundation to develop into a better pass-protector.

Tim Sullivan took in a Paramus game in person:

He can move exceptionally well, and has the agility you'd expect out of a play with a much slimmer physique. He runs, does a good job blocking down, and keeps his feet moving in run blocking and against the pass rush.
Bushell-Beatty also has plenty of strength. Though his upper body is disproportionately small compared to the rest of him, he shows off a good punch, and drives well with his lower body to open cavernous holes for his running back.

That offhanded mention of a disproportionately small upper body is a large part of JBB's appeal. Line coaches of all varieties are the Sir Mix A Lot's of the college football world. Their ideal prospect is a weeble, but they'll take humans who have exceptionally low centers of gravity for 6'6" behemoths. JBB is a wide, wide human.

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via GBW.

True tackle types look ineffably weird; JBB looks weird. Long arms, an enormous waist, and a bottom-heavy build: like Logan Tuley-Tillman before him, Bushell-Beatty is straight off the NFL tackle assembly line. Er… midway through the NFL tackle assembly line. Actually rather close to the start of it. But they've got the frame together, and it looks great.

Like a number of Michigan's recent tackle recruits, he comes with a series of question marks. His body isn't where you'd want it to be, and while this is often the case for high school OL he's a lot further away than, say, Mason Cole. This was true as late as the UA game:

Bushel-Beatty carries a little too much weight and could benefit by getting in better shape, as his foot-quickness started to lag in the passing game as the game went on.

Tim Sullivan noted something similar:

Physically, he possesses the size and attributes (arm length, athleticism in his feet) to develop into a bigtime college player down the road, but he also showed up as an unfinished product. He needs to work on re-shaping his body to trim fat and add muscle. That will help him in a variety of ways: he will be more flexible, more able to capitalize on his quickness, and much better in pass-blocking.

And his coach says he's got to drop around 20 pounds:

Sam Webb:  What is the ideal playing weight?

Chris Partridge:  “Those college coaches know a lot more than I do, but I would guess that he should be around 305 – between 300 and 310.  He is probably heavy right now.  He is around 325 and I think he has to cut down a little bit, but those guys will handle it.  They’ll get him ready.  That’s their livelihood.”

Given recent precedent that should only take a year with Wellman. Getting to the right weight is only part of the process though; once your there they continue adding strength and subtracting body fat until you're out the door.

Bushell-Beatty is also raw. He's only played football for four years, with his first two spent on JV, so you get a lot of items about consistency and pad level:

Bushell-Beatty can improve by being more consistently aggressive on every play. He can benefit by having better posture and a flat back in his stance. He can also improve by keeping a lower pad level, particularly against many of the shorter defenders he will face.

When Bushell-Beatty gets it right he tends to hilariously bury players as you see in the video above; off the highlight film he's much more variable. Think of him as Willie Henry, high school OL. I mean:

While run blocking, Bushell-Beatty has a tendency to stand up right and that will cost him in a big way in college. He needs to have better knee bend, and not reach for the defender, which compromises his balance and ability to finish off blocks.

Strength is also something that needs to develop, and that will make him more explosive and punishing as a run blocker.

That evaluation finishes with a statement that he's going to need a number of years before he approaches a finished product.

The good news is that JBB is coming along as quickly as you'd hope a relative newbie would. When Sam Webb caught up with his coach midseason, Bushell-Beatty was on the verge of being held out because of injury but still performing above his coaches' expectations:

" We elected to let him go and he is playing awesome ball.  I can’t wait until he gets healthy over this bye week to see him play.  We counted two games ago that he had 12 pancake blocks.  That’s insane!”

 Brian Dohn:

It can't be stressed enough how much improvement Bushell-Beatty made in the last year, and if he continues to make those strides he will play a big role at Michigan. Bushell-Beatty is a work in progress, and his length, his work ethic and his size make him an intriguing prospect.

His coach at the UA game thought he picked things up quickly but also threw in a bit of a worrying not related to what's currently his other major drawback:

“I can tell where he’s gotten better from yesterday to today,” Hegamin said. “So what that does say, at least is he learns quicker, he learns very fast.” …

“Honestly its just effort,” Hegamin said. “I just want to see him constantly be better at how he goes about his business on a daily basis.”

That "at least" in there gives you an indication of his preparation level relative to the other guys at the game.

At Michigan he's slated to be a tackle. Michigan needs him there what with his predecessors also in the boom-or-bust mold and his frame is one of his major assets. He gets considerably less attractive as a prospect if he's not using those long arms to fend guys off on the edge.

With Cole immediately sliding into a backup left tackle spot, it looks like JBB will live and die with his ability to play right tackle. (As always, we're ignoring the Shane-is-a-lefty thing for simplicity.) Fortunately for him it seems like he's got the skills for that spot. His UA coach:

“Definitely, in my opinion, he’s a right tackle,” Hegamin said. “He’s got that big, thick right tackle build, I wouldn’t even be surprised to see him at guard some because he’s a pretty big, stout guy.”

Another UA evaluator noted that while he played left tackle in that week of practice, long term he seems like a better fit on the right. In general that means he's more of a road grader than a nimble pass protector. FWIW.

The last word from Sullivan:

In the end, Bushell-Beatty was about what we expected: a very high-ceiling player who has his work cut out for him to reach that potential.

Put him in a meat locker for three years and see what you've got.

Etc.: BC fans were excited to make his top three. A kid from Paramus signed up with Slippery Rock! Not so basic training.

Why Logan Tuley-Tillman? Not ideal to grab a guy who hasn't seen the field, I know, but Tuley-Tillman was another bottom-heavy monster tackle with technique and weight issues who a lot of folks rated highly because his upside is top-notch. Other folks looked at how far away from his upside he was and gave him the three-star-meh ranking.

Tuley-Tillman had a much more dramatic weight swing that saw him adding weight upon arrival whereas Bushell-Beatty is going to have to cut some; either way both guys are high-quality clay to mold. And they've got hyphenated names. Is that like comparing Nik Stauskas to a white guy? 

Guru Reliability: High. Everyone's basically saying the same things, uber-scouted high school, all star appearance. The spread in the rankings is an eye of the beholder thing for a guy who is very much a boom-or-bust guy.

Variance: High. Two plus years away from any reasonable chance of seeing the field.

Ceiling: High. NFL first round pick upside.

General Excitement Level: Moderate. Add another lottery ticket to the tackle spots. JBB is a good bet for Michigan's situation, as he should not have to play until he is an upperclassman and if he does not make it they're likely to have someone else who does.

Projection: Obvious redshirt.

After, he's likely to have a long wait. Michigan has Magnuson, Braden, Tuley-Tillman, and Fox for two years after his redshirt, plus Cole. Whoever breaks through at tackle this year should keep JBB in the on-deck circle for another two years.

His first real shot should be as a redshirt junior, when one or two tackle slots are likely to open up when Mags and Braden graduate. No one can tell you if he's going to be the obvious choice or obviously not yet. Ask again later.

Comments

Michigania

August 1st, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^

This write-up reminds me...  where the F is Tulley-Tillman and Chris Fox, in the grand scheme of things?  How that we are uncertain of a Lewan successor, is beyond me... I wonder if this is a total fail on the staff....  maybe I'm being impatient but a true freshman backing up Magnuson at LT just seems like poor recruit assessment.  Granted, I think in future, in retrospect, Cole will prove to be the best lineman on the roster. 

reshp1

August 1st, 2014 at 2:27 PM ^

Calm down. Both those guys are RS FR. LTT was always a development prospect, go back and read his recruiting profile if you don't believe me. Chris Fox was never a LT prospect (although he might do in a pinch), more penciled in for RT or G. He might have been a little more college ready, but then tore his ACL, so he probably didn't get much work last year, making this year his de facto redshirt year. Again, recruiting profile

We have a pretty decent guy with starting experience (albiet at guard) in Magnuson. Yes, having a true FR as a backup isn't the best situation, but what do you expect when pretty much no other linemen at any position were recruited for 2 cycles after Lewan.

Richard75

August 1st, 2014 at 3:59 PM ^

Why is the backup LT a true FR? U-M signed 10 OL* total in 2012 and 2013. There isn't one guy in there who's a better backup LT option than a true FR?

We all know the last staff didn't recruit enough OL. But that isn't a blanket excuse for the management of the OL since.

(*-Saying that only Magnuson and LTT were true left tackle prospects isn't an excuse. That's the whole point. They should've taken more tackles.)

Richard75

August 1st, 2014 at 5:28 PM ^

But the point is that the two-deep doesn't need to be this young.

Put it this way: If Magnuson tears his ACL and Cole struggles at LT, no one is going to want to hear that we're stuck with a true freshman. They'll ask where are all these great recruits from the past couple of years.

WolvinLA2

August 1st, 2014 at 5:43 PM ^

You're complaining about something that hasn't happened yet, and most likely won't.  

This reminds me of the year when walk-on Nate Brink was being praised during spring practice and showed up on depth charts ahead of 4-star recruits and people wigged out like you're wigging out right now.  "How can Brink be ahead of all of those big recruits, the coaches clearly aren't developing anyone like they should!" they all said.  Then Brink almost never saw the field, and certainly not ahead of said recruits.  

So chill out, is what I'm saying.  Until Mason Cole actually sees the field, this is a non-issue.

Mr Miggle

August 1st, 2014 at 6:15 PM ^

in the spring due to injuries. He surprises observers with his readiness to contribute early. Positive news or time to freak out? By all accounts he did well in the spring. Should he be listed behind a RS FR who was injured and is yet to see any game action? Nothing is settled yet. Those injured players will have a chance in fall camp to move up the depth chart. With any injury on the OL, there are options besides just plugging in the next guy listed on the depth chart.

reshp1

August 1st, 2014 at 4:32 PM ^

Yes we recruited a big OL class both years (total of 10), but you have to remember there are 5 OL on the field at any one time, and LT is probably the most specialized of the 5. If you load up on LT prospects you leave yourself thin at other positions. 10 shots to cover 10 spots (starting and backup) doesn't leave a lot of (any) room for error. (edit to your edit: Also, keep in mind both years we pretty much bumped up against the NCAA limit, so just getting more players wasn't an option. And recruiting isn't like going to the supermarket and just picking up what you need off the shelf. There's a fight over each and every good player)

I mean....

2012

Kalis - guard all the way, is probable starting RG

Magnuson - our LT prospect, is probable starting LT

Ben Braden - more suited to RT, is probable starting RT

Blake Bars - most likely a guard, lower ranked flyer, will likely back-up one of OG spots

2013

Dawson - guard prospect, is probably back-up OG.

Bosch - guard all the way, is probable starting LG

Kugler - Center all the way, is probable back-up at C

Tuley-Tillman - LT prospect but raw and development prospect

Fox - slated to RT, tore ACL and is 1 year behind

Samuelson - most likely guard, lower ranked flyer.

 

What should strike you is just how good of a job the coaches have done of recruiting a position that was completely bare. Out of 10 guys, 7 are either starting or likely to be primary back-ups. 1 guy got hurt, 1 guy was always a high-upside, high-risk development project, and 1 guy was always a depth guy you don't expect anything out of at this point in his career. 

I'd consider it a major accomplishment if we have 5 serviceable starters at this point considering RR's neglect of the OL position, let alone having quality back-ups. Such is life during rebuilding.

WolvinLA2

August 1st, 2014 at 5:09 PM ^

Do you know that Mason Cole is really the back up at LT?  Personally, I don't believe that.  LTT was injured for the spring game, otherwise I'm sure he would have had 2nd team reps.  I also heard David Dawson was getting reps at OT, and I bet he's ahead of Cole as well.  

Don't freak out about who people think is second string in the offseason.  Wait and see who sees the field.  

petered0518

August 1st, 2014 at 4:56 PM ^

Watched his video and it looked pretty solid.  But I have to admit I had trouble focusing because my mind was all like "DAT PEPPERS" in most of those highlights.

SECcashnassadvantage

August 2nd, 2014 at 12:49 AM ^

I am so pissed we can't get 3 or 4 stars from GA or FL. We keep getting VA kids that don't play anyone and Cass Tech kids that play worse and we get screwed. Why is that? p.s. I know the answer and so do you. Stop repeating the same bullshit!

WolvinLA2

August 2nd, 2014 at 11:14 AM ^

Seriously. If we keep recruiting the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, we'll forever be stuck with guys like Funchess and Jake Ryan and Blake Countess and Jabrill Peppers.

But in all seriousness, Michigan recruits Florida, and those guys pan out just as often as the guys from the Midwest. For every Mason Cole or Jeremy Gallon there is a Richard Ash or Greg Mathews. We all loved Denard and Tay Odoms, but we barely got to see Brandin Hawthorn and Mike Jones (who?). And guys like Tony Posada and Justin Faegin are in a category all on their own to one extreme, with Denard in the same category on the other.

I know people feel Cass Tech recruits are overrated, and some of them have been, but there is tons of talent in the areas we recruit well.

AlexiyaGoodmanusu

August 5th, 2014 at 8:02 AM ^

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