Salinger

January 15th, 2016 at 12:05 PM ^

I wonder what this says about our continued pursuit of Jonathan Jones? I'd really like to see him in this class. I can't comment on Mbem-Bosse as I haven't seen his tape yet.

EGD

January 15th, 2016 at 1:35 PM ^

I don't think this visit really gives us much reliable information about anything.

It could be that the staff views EBM as a plan B option is Jones goes to ND.

It could be that Johnson is stuggling with grades or something and the stafff may be looking at EBM for that spot.

It could be that the staff wants EBM regardless of what happens with those two guys.

getsome

January 15th, 2016 at 2:10 PM ^

yep they def need to add LBs and theres only few obvious targets on the board, several of whom likely go elsewhere.  certainly helps that bush (and kemp to lesser extent since he could be DE) already enrolled but they still need options.

dytarious johnson has not yet taken his official visit to m right?  am i correctly recalling rumors of transcript issues with johnson?  

im sure the kid would love to take at least 1 free trip to m (if not 4 more) so its prob a fair assumption hes still working on test scores, grades, etc (similar to scott).  thatd be unfortunate for johnson (and m since hes the type athletic LBs theyve been trying to add and then develop) but hopefully it works out

alum96

January 15th, 2016 at 2:22 PM ^

If Kemp's weight is accurate he is not a LB other than in a "I run a 3-4 and hey I have Kemp as the 1 big "OLB" sort of way"... he is already supposedly mid 250s and looking at videos of him he looks pretty built so its not a "I need to lose 10 lbs / convert 10 lbs to muscle when I get to campus" sort of 250 like maybe you say with Bush.  That looks like a guy who is going to end up at 265+ in 18 months once he gets into college S&C.  So I guess if people want to say "Woodley" and such he can be a "LB" in that way.   But compare to Reuben Jones who is in 230s I beileve....

Yeah we have not heard much from Johnson at all of late.  Same whispers as Sir Patrick Scott out there.

East German Judge

January 15th, 2016 at 12:05 PM ^

Question for the recruiting experts here, we joke about the Harbaugh or Michigan effect where when a low rated recruit gets an offer from us, many times they get an extra star as the sites actually might spend more time reviewing film, etc. With a kid like this with more than a few great offers, curious as to why he hasn't been bumped up to 4 stars?

WestsideWolverine

January 15th, 2016 at 12:15 PM ^

Most services don't take offers in to account when doing rankings. On one hand it may seem short sighted considering the fact all these big time schools want you so therefore you should be rated higher, but take in to account guys like Erik Swenson who committed extremely early thus stunting the amount of big time offers he might have received. Overall it seems like the services would really have no place to rank players if they just took guys with the best and most amount of offers.

alum96

January 15th, 2016 at 1:57 PM ^

Magnus has said just about the same thing about Jones as well. (I hope you are wrong Magnus for whatever it counts....unless he goes to ND then I hope you nailed it)

I continue to scratch my head that an elite LB would not want to come play behind this DL in 2016 and have a chance for immediate playing opportunity.   This was also an issue for DBs about 3 months ago but now you see guys like Long and Fuller interested.  LBs have gone the other way without anyone new of those elite type prospects joining in.  And that was with the "recruiter of the year" in 2014 coaching that position and recruiting it I presume.

IDK - I am still going into 2017 class saying we just need those quick twitch types as a major need yet again at LB.  Going to be a bigger issue in 2017 then 2016 because the DL can hide the LBs reasonably well next year. 

Salinger

January 15th, 2016 at 12:39 PM ^

His Hudl page has him listed as both a MLB and OLB. The tape I've watched demonstrates more of an aptitude for OLB and personally, I think Jones does a better job of picking through the trash/getting off of block so to speak which is a good skill for a MLB to possess. Both are pretty impressive tacklers though and quick to diagnose a play.

Magnus

January 15th, 2016 at 1:51 PM ^

He's not a guy who could come in and be a star right away. If he comes in and starts immediately, that's probably a bad sign. He would probably play the same position as Ben Gedeon, though, so he wouldn't come in and start unless something happens to Gedeon.

Indonacious

January 15th, 2016 at 12:21 PM ^

Interesting that 2 of our LB Targets including bosse and jones have much better offer sheets than their rankings would indicate. I wonder if we are identifying something in these lbs that maybe the ranking sites don't value as much.




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Magnus

January 15th, 2016 at 1:56 PM ^

I think the recruiting sites value speed and athleticism. You can bulk up a speedy guy and put him at middle linebacker. You can't take a middle linebacker and make him a fast edge player. It's similar to how so many players are listed as "offensive tackles" even though a bunch of them end up at OG or even center; you can take a tackle and make him an interior guy, but it's harder to take a center/guard and make him a tackle.

I think some of these players have impressive offer lists because you get a lot of teams fighting over these middle linebacker types. But in the long haul, there's not as much upside to those guys because they often lack the speed to be standouts in college or make it to the NFL. 

When I look at Mbem-Bosse, I see a version of Obi Ezeh. I think Ezeh got a bit of a bad rap after some poor coaching situations, but he wasn't a real standout, either.

alum96

January 15th, 2016 at 2:26 PM ^

Valuable points.  MLBs are sort of your OGs (or centers) on the other side of the ball.

You can have success with this type of MLB - the Bullough family is not known for elite athletes but they have athletic edge guys and a good DL in front of them to keep them clean.  Hell the whole starting LB core of MSU this year would be guys rated lower than EMB if Ed Jones had remained healthy (Harris, Bullough, Jones).

Magnus

January 15th, 2016 at 2:57 PM ^

I agree on Uche. I think I've mentioned before that Uche would probably be #5 on my wish list right now to finish out the class. Mbem-bosse isn't as effective of a blitzer, in my opinion, because he's a little stiff and not as quick as some other guys. I think Bush will be a solid blitzer, too.