dothepose

October 27th, 2010 at 12:04 AM ^

I'll be the first to say because you know someone is going to.

Can you imagine a package with Denard, Tate and Desmond in the backfield, offensive explosion!

The Impaler

October 27th, 2010 at 12:06 AM ^

I love this offer.  We will probably land him now.  I am all for taking safer prospects that won't fail out or not progress.  I love football players that are smart and have a hard edge.  I am more excited about him than any of our other recruits because you can tell what you are going to get out of him.  Man I'm pumped.

AC1997

October 27th, 2010 at 12:06 AM ^

I have a theory that all successful athletes have to have a certain ratio of brains to go with their athletic ability.  You can get by for a while with more of one than the other, but to succeed at higher levels you need both.  I call this the David Terrell theory. 

He was a stud high school and college WR who dominated thanks to his athletic ability....but he didn't have much going on upstairs.  He never learned to run routes, he never learned how to practice, etc.  So in the NFL when everyone is good he just was another guy and flamed out.  At the opposite end is Jason Avant, for example. 

After watching the UM line-backer play since I was in school in the late 90's I now believe that MLB more than any other position requires intelligence as much as ability.  So I don't mind taking a flyer on a smart guy who plays MLB now rather than a freak athlete who might be able to convert to a MLB.  Maybe he pans out, maybe he doesn't.  But the best MLB in a long time (David Harris) was a low-rated guy out of high school. 

Give him a scholarship - and find some more just like him!

jmblue

October 27th, 2010 at 12:33 AM ^

So for a wide receiver, college football isn't a "higher level," but for a linebacker it is?  You might want to rework that theory.

Personally, I'll be very happy to have any player contribute as much at Michigan as David Terrell did. 

M16

October 27th, 2010 at 12:09 AM ^

Legit question here, sorry it's negative but live with it.  How do we put this in the category of "good thing"? This is an undersized, two-star recruit who is not even rated in the top 25 players in the state of Michigan and who has other offers from 1. Akron, 2. Bowling Green, 3. Buffalo, and 4. Ummmm, that's it.  

I get the whole "Rich Rod finds diamonds in the rough!" thing, but that's supposed to be, like, once in a while.  I see the increased number of Buffalo and Akron style guys as a bad sign for this program.

K2

October 27th, 2010 at 1:20 AM ^

Carvin Johnson comes to mind as a 2 star example. Worst case scenario is we get a backup/special teams player that can at leas add depth and let us practice tackling more. 

PhillipFulmersPants

October 27th, 2010 at 8:02 AM ^

warranted here. If it's still Akron, BG etc. by January, then your skepticism is probably legit. Recall just last year everyone was wondering who the hell Carvin Johnson was, some bigger schools like LSU showed interest in him late (long after Michigan was in on him), and now the kid is seeing the field.

WolvinLA2

October 27th, 2010 at 12:18 AM ^

This kid is Jake Ryan 2.0.  Too early to know is that's a good thing or not, but we were all like "who?" when we  offered Jake Ryan then by summer we were all excited about him.

This kid looks like that same type of recruit.  This is the type of kid that Wisconsin and Iowa build very good defenses around.  I like it.

Logan88

October 27th, 2010 at 7:56 AM ^

This is the type of kid that Wisconsin and Iowa build very good defenses around.  I like it.

 

Now, if UM only had Iowa or Wisconsin's defensive coaching staff...

I think it takes a good staff to turn a roster full of "gritty" or "high football I.Q." guys into a stout defense. Sadly, from what I have seen in the 3 years under RR, I don't have a lot of confidence in UM's defensive staff to pull it off.

MichiganGoBlue8

October 27th, 2010 at 12:26 AM ^

That was an impressive highlight film from my point of view. He's aggressive and knows how to hit and wrap. He looks like a good athlete as well for being a bigger guy. If I had no knowledge of his ranking I'd say he was more than worthy of an offer. I know his ranking and still feel the same by the way. Really, in life in general, there are so many factors that determine what opportunities people receive. Just because he's not the highest rated doesn't mean he's not worthy. I'm excited about this guy just like when we got in on Carvin Johnson (three star unknown who's a regular contributor as a true freshman). I hope we get his commitment because we need backers!

S.G. Rice

October 27th, 2010 at 12:27 AM ^

For whatever reason West Michigan is underscouted.  There are (in my inexpert opinion) an increasing number of D-1 prospects in addition to the usual guys stocking Grand Valley's roster.

I'm tempted to go see Morgan play - West Ottawa is ranked in the top 10 in Division 1 and they get to play at #3 Grand Haven in the first round of the playoffs.  WO dealt GH their only loss of the season.  The winner plays the winner of #2 Rockford and Traverse City West with commit Jake Fisher.  Brutal.  Grand Haven has a couple fringe D-1 guys, including Dalton Stenberg who would at least be a very good MAC player.

GRWolverineFan

October 27th, 2010 at 8:39 AM ^

I watched him play against Jenison and Hudsonville and he played extremely well on both sides of the ball.  I wasn't convinced he was a Michigan level kid at the time and am not quite convinced yet, but he has played at a high level all year and plays at a position of extreme need so I am going to trust the coaches on this one.

Another WO kid to watch out for is their kicker Bryan Holmes (Class of '13) who was consistently putting it out of the endzone off of a 1" tee and kicked a long field goal off the ground against Jenison.

bobbyhill57

October 27th, 2010 at 1:16 AM ^

QB/LB isn't your typical HS postion combination. The fact that he plays both means to me at least that he has a higher than average football IQ.

After watching the video (I watched the one posted by Bossman on Youtube), I am convinced of three things:

1. he does have a good football IQ 

 2. he has the instincts needed to play LB in college (He plays down hill and he attacks the would be block and he stays behind the ball carrier as he is flowing)

 3. the guy has decent footwork for a HS linebacker.

I like the offer.

Black Socks

October 27th, 2010 at 2:35 AM ^

Magnus - what is your take?   You seem to have a pretty good grasp on these things.

 

He does seem solid overall, with the right amount of grit.

GunnersApe

October 27th, 2010 at 7:45 AM ^

I would just like to fill a class and not have any unused/non-qualifiers scholarships. Also if he commits let's hope he's a EE.

When I clicked on the link it appears he does indeed have the 3ed star.

MEZman

October 27th, 2010 at 9:15 AM ^

Looks like any of a million Iowa or Wisc LB's we've played over the years that made me think "why the hell can't our linebackers do that?" As in tackle, read and react, etc.

Route66

October 27th, 2010 at 10:48 AM ^

It's always fun to see a hometown kid get some pub. I think M is looking at another kid from Holland....Rickets from Holland Public.  Another not flashy type-but get the job done with great instincts of LB'er. 

EDIT:  Also brings grit.

BlueintheBlood

October 27th, 2010 at 9:47 AM ^

but I must say that he moves quite quick for a relatively larger guy, with a great center of gravity.  I would project a redshirt year + Barwis program would work out real nicely.