Hello: Rashad Weaver
Photo via Scout
Fort Lauderdale (FL) Cooper City DE/TE Rashad Weaver announced his commitment to Michigan on Twitter this evening, becoming the 12th member of the 2016 class and the first at either defensive end or tight end. Weaver added his offer after performing in front of the coaches at the South Florida satellite camp, and it didn't take long for him to accept it.
GURU RATINGS
Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247 Comp |
NR DE | 2* WDE | NR DE | NR SDE | 2*, #108 DT |
So much for not getting embroiled in the same debate we've been having about the value of recruiting stars versus in-person coaching evaluations. Weaver got a cursory two-star rating from Rivals and has yet to be evaluated by the other sites. Jim Harbaugh doesn't care about your opinion on this matter.
The sites are in agreement about Weaver's size, all listing him in the neighborhood of 6'5", 245 pounds. That kind of frame should help him fit as either an SDE or TE.
SCOUTING
Once again, we go to the tape first, because there's practically nothing out there on Weaver. Here are his junior highlights:
And here are his highlights from this spring:
Weaver does a solid job of crashing down the line to clean up runs, and his size/strength combination allows him to hold up well at the point of attack against that level of competition—down the road, he's going to need to utilize his hands more to disengage from blocks. His pass-rushing ability seems limited, though the knack for batting down passes shouldn't go overlooked. We don't get to see him play much tight end at all. He's clearly not a burner, but he could easily get to the size where he's a useful blocker, and if he's got decent hands to add to that then Harbaugh will be pleased.
247's Clint Brewster tweeted his impression of Weaver's film after the commitment was announced:
Weaver is a long DE with size and point-of-attack strength. Makes hustle plays. Can cross the face of OT's and get inside to play the run.
— Clint Brewster (@clintbrew247) June 14, 2015
Weaver discussed how he earned his offer in a post-commitment interview with The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan ($):
"I started camp at the D-end, and went all the way through all the drills and the one-on-ones, winning those," he explained. "Then with like 10 minutes left, they pulled me over to tight end one-on-ones, and I did four routes and caught a couple balls. They told me they like me at both positions and they're recruiting me as just a big athlete. Possibly even both ways at the next level.
"A couple days later I was sitting on the couch, and Coach [Jay] had asked me something. I don't remember what I responded, but he said, 'how would you feel if I told you that you have a full scholarship offer to the University of Michigan?' I told him that I was sitting there smiling like a little kid that just got a whole bunch of candy. He said again when I got off the phone with them that they like me on both sides."
Like Kiante Enis, Chris Evans, Michael Onwenu, and David Reese, Weaver has positional flexibilty and could contribute on either side of the ball at Michigan.
OFFERS
Weaver holds offers from Air Force, Columbia, Cornell, FIU, Illinois, Louisiana Lafayette, South Florida, Syracuse, and Temple.
HIGH SCHOOL
Cooper City isn't a major D-I talent producer. Weaver is just the third major college prospect from the school since 2002, following 2010 Miami (OH) signee Travis Williams and 2013 Tennessee signee Lemond Johnson, according to the Rivals database.
STATS
The only stats I can find for Weaver are from the hardwood instead of the gridiron; he averaged seven points and nine boards for the Cooper City basketball squad in the eight games recorded on MaxPreps last season.
FAKE 40 TIME
ESPN lists a 5.23 40 that looks to be from a SPARQ camp, so it gets zero FAKEs out of five.
[Update: His Hudl page lists a 4.90, which isn't verified by SPARQ, but also doesn't seem too fake. Again, he's not a burner, but he doesn't look like a plodding blocking-only guy, either.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Your guess is as good as mine. Weaver could end up at strongside end, where he'd compete with incoming freshman Shelton Johnson for a role once the Charlton/Wormley duo graduates following the 2016 season. Or he could play tight end, where he'd figure into the rotation behind Jake Butt, Khalid Hill, Ian Bunting, and Tyrone Wheatley Jr.
Either way, Weaver seems like a lock to redshirt while he develops physically and the coaching staff figures out where he should play—though with Harbaugh, there's certainly a chance he lines up on both sides of the ball.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Michigan now sits at 12 commits in a class that currently has room for 14. Again, that number will inevitably go up due to unrenewed fifth-years, attrition under a new coach, and the like. Areas of need in the class include offensive line, defensive tackle, weakside end, outside linebacker, and safety.
JJ Watt was a 2-star TE coming out of high school. I can only conclude that Weaver is going to be Watt 2.0 for us.
UM could probably use a little snake oil and steal this kid from Colgate on signing day.
Harbaughs not going to have these camps just to have them and walk away empty handed.
By land commitments from them he builds a reputation that will pay of in the long-run.
Not saying he is taking a bunch of scrubs just to get attention at all - but there is some incentive for him to get players that are good enough to succeed while at these camps.
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58 | Miami (FL) | Hurricanes |
57 | LSU | Tigers |
56 | USC | Trojans |
54 | Alabama | Crimson Tide |
54 | Ohio State | Buckeyes |
52 | Florida State | Seminoles |
48 | Georgia | Bulldogs |
48 | Florida | Gators |
44 | Texas | Longhorns |
44 | Oklahoma | Sooners |
44 | Notre Dame | Fighting Irish |
Current NFL players by school... I have no idea how you could be a college football fan (you may just be a Michigan fan, which could explain it) and not "recognize MANY" of the schools.
evaluated this kid and decided he fits a need! I don't really care if sparty and bucky call JH king of the 2 stars! Welcome to Michigan Rashad!
Seahawks
Name | Position | College | Rating |
Russell Wilson | QB | NC State/Wisconsin | 3 star |
Russell Okung | LT | Oklahoma State | 3 star |
James Carpenter | LG | Alabama | 4 star |
Max Unger | C | Oregon | 3 star |
J.R. Sweezy | RG | NC State | 2 star |
Justin Britt | RT | Missouri | 3 star |
Luke Willson | TE | Rice | 2 star |
Doug Baldwin | WR | Stanford | 2 star |
Jermaine Kearse | WR | Washington | 3 star |
Ricardo Lockette | WR | Fort Valley State | NR |
Marshawn Lynch | RB | California | 4 star |
Michael Bennett | DE | Texas A&M | NR |
Tony McDaniel | DT | Tennessee | 3 star |
Kevin Williams | DT | Oklahoma State | N/A (too old) |
Cliff Avril | DE | Purdue | 3 star |
Bruce Irvin | LB | West Virginia | 4 star |
Bobby Wagner | LB | Utah State | 2 star |
K.J. Wright | LB | Mississippi State | 3 star |
Richard Sherman | CB | Stanford | 3 star |
Earl Thomas | FS | Texas | 3 star |
Kam Chancellor | SS | Virginia Tech | 3 star |
Byron Maxwell | CB | Clemson | 4 star |
Steven Hauschka | K | NC State | NR |
Jon Ryan | P | Regina (Canada) | N/A (from Canada) |
Patriots
Name | Position | College | Rating |
Tom Brady | QB | Michigan | N/A (too old) |
Nate Solder | LT | Colorado | 3 star |
Dan Connolly | LG | Southeast Missouri State | NR |
Bryan Stork | C | Florida State | 3 star |
Josh Kline | RG | Kent State | 2 star |
Sebastian Vollmer | RT | Houston | N/A (from Germany) |
Rob Gronkowski | TE | Arizona | 4 star |
Julian Edelman | WR | Kent State | 3 star |
Brandon LaFell | WR | LSU | 3 star |
Danny Amendola | WR | Texas Tech | 3 star |
LeGarrette Blount | RB | Oregon | 4 star |
Rob Ninkovich | DE | Purdue | 3 star |
Vince Wilfork | DT | Miami | 4 star |
Chris Jones | DT | Bowling Green | 2 star |
Chandler Jones | DE | Syracuse | 2 star |
Jamie Collins | LB | Southern Mississippi | 3 star |
Dont'a Hightower | LB | Alabama | 4 star |
Jonathan Casillas | LB | Wisconsin | 2 star |
Darrelle Revis | CB | Pittsburgh | 3 star |
Devin McCourty | FS | Rutgers | 3 star |
Patrick Chung | SS | Oregon | 2 star |
Brandon Browner | CB | Oregon State | 3 star |
Stephen Gostkowski | K | Memphis | N/A (kickers weren't always rated) |
Ryan Allen | P | Louisiana Tech | NR |
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2015/1/21/7861989/s…
We've covered this so many times. Yes, NFL rosters are made up of mostly 3-star players. This is because there are way more 3-stars than 4 and 5-stars.
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Look at Ziggy Ansah, for example; he hadn't ever in his life played football until college. Not that every under-the-radar recruit will have as much potential as Ansah did, but Harbaugh and his assistants have a pretty solid track record of player development, which is what's most important.
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How many kids are out there in each junior and senior HS class each year that also play football? Well over a million? How big are the combined scouting staffs of the recruiting services? How many kids get evaluated in person by the P5 conference staffs each year? How long does it take to evaluate and rank even the top 1% of HS upperclassmen?
These "under the radar" kids that Harbaugh has seen and evaluated in person that have received offers from the staff, just a few days ago were HS juniors. And just 4 months ago werent high scouting priorities for the recruiting services. The process is in the beginning stages and only the kids with the biggest buzz have even been looked at. The ranking system is very fluid at this time of the year. These kids still have thier entire summer for camps and then thier senior tape to evaluate.
Getting caught up in recruiting rankings in June is beyond foolish.
I'm not going to get caught up in the starzzzz of these players...However, I am a little perplexed...I'm happy that Richardson and Weaver are members of the greatest University in the world, but to offer them this early just seems odd....Athletically they both seem a little limited, although, a college S&C Program can help that... I am by no means a recruiting analyst or even a football coach, so I despite being perplexed, I have all the confidence in Harbaugh...just confused slightly...
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He looks like he will be a good addition to the line.
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