Do as the man says

2021 Recruiting Catchup: Defensive Back Comment Count

Seth June 4th, 2020 at 12:02 PM

Previously: Offense, Defensive Line, Linebacker. Hello posts for Rod Moore and Ja'Den McBurrows. Also I've added a 2021 Recruiting Board to the "Useful Stuff" tab.

Note on 2020 weirdness: It must be repeated everywhere they cover recruiting that there have been an unprecedented number of commitments at this stage, many from players who've never visited the place they're committed to. It's my belief that things are a lot more fluid than they appear. Normally at this time of year guys' leaders are moving around or solidifying because they're taking visits. The next month or two then sees the results of a bunch of camps where schools identify players they missed earlier, figure out which of their recruits are serious enough to show up, and the players and their families make connections. Some high school coaches are known to make their players commit before the season so it's not a distraction, which adds to the fluidity of the solid verbals market. Michigan is going to have to keep recruiting their commitments, and are not as out of it for other schools' pledges as you might think. As a rule if a guy hasn't visited a place he's committed that's a soft commitment, and if he's still planning on visiting somewhere, that somewhere is still in the race.

Safety

Needs: 2.5, meaning they'd like two guys for the safety depth chart and somebody with positional flexibility. Michigan got three good prospects last year when Chris Partridge was the safeties coach, and is in strong shape for the 2022 class, where Myles Rowser decommitted, but Michigan remains his leader, and having him at IMG ironically might be better than 40 minutes down the road at Belleville. However at least one of the 2020s is probably ticketed for viper, Hawkins is a senior, Dax Hill is a potential three-and-out, and modern football requires a lot of safety-like objects on the field at once. Don Brown used to KILL IT at finding outrageous athletes and turning them into UConn and BC draft picks, and was in early on a quite a few recent risers.

Status: Michigan got one of their top three underrated targets, was just dropped by another, and is probably going to lose the S/CB swingman they coveted to Notre Dame, so the board is suddenly wide open.

Commits
Player State Stars Schools Y/N Previously
Rod Moore OH ***.5 Michigan Hello.
Targets
Player State Stars Schools Y/N Previously
Donovan McMillon PA **** VT, TAMU, UF, Okla, Oregon  
Ryan Barnes MD *** Soon-to-be ND commit  
Titus Mokiao-Atimalala HI **** ND, ASU, Cal, UCLA, UMD  
Daymon David MD *** BC, Michigan, Miami(YTM), L'ville, IU  
Jaden Slocum GA *** open  
Malik Nabers LA **** Okla, Miami, MissSt, Auburn, UGA, probably LSU's if they ask  
Justin Walters IL *** ND Commit McLaurin hello.
JD Coffey TX **** Texas  
Will Latu WA **** Washington, Utah, USC, Michigan  

Commit: The commitment of speedy OH 3.5* Rod Moore was an opportunity to dispel some assumptions about Bob Shoop as a recruiter. Both Rivals' EJ Holland and TMI/247's Sam Webb on his show credited Shoop for closing on this prospect. Lorenz mentioned Moore on the latest 247 podcast as one of two guys who might shoot up the rankings. Michigan clearly thinks they've got a top-100 caliber player.

Not everyone shares this opinion. Somebody we know got in a Moore question to Bill Kurelic's Buckeye Q&A, and got back a tone:

jamiemac85: Piggybacking off of Euclid’s question, what’s your opinion on Rob Moore? Is he a tOSU-caliber player?

BK: Rod Moore is a good player. And I think he could develop at the next level into someone that could contribute at Ohio State. But I do not see him as as good a player as any of the six DB's the Buckeyes have committed already or as good as Derrick Davis Jr. or Jaylin Davies who they are still recruiting. And if someone doesn't believe me, look at what the OSU staff has done. Nobody knows the Ohio talent better than the Ohio State staff and they do a great job of evaluating. They have evaluated Moore and did not offer him while they not only offered all of the others I mentioned, but have made those offers committable and accepted those commitments.i

In these uncertain times when OSU already has six DBs better than our best pledge and a shot at two more, I'll take the knock on Moore in return for the moment when Kurelic thinks about stopping, imagines some local mad that OSU isn't taking enough in-state talent, and gets mad on the internet.

[touches earpiece] Good work, agent.

[after THE JUMP: many names, few teeth]

Targets: Moore was one of three safety types the staff was most focused on reeling in according to Brice Marich's mid-May rundown of the safety board, with Donovan McMillon dropping a heartbreaking top five that surprisingly left out (Penn State and) Michigan shortly after a top 10 that left out previous supposed leader Notre Dame. Both schools were in when he was a nondescript 3-star but McMillon's been shooting up the boards and is no longer considering any Big Ten or foot-half-in-the-door Big Ten programs. Thanks to the long ND interest whoever wins him gets (a 1st round safety and) several Tim Prister film room studies. Michigan's not going to stop their pursuit, but the message is pretty clear.

The Irish aren't as mad because they stand to sign the third of the trio Michigan desired, CB/S Ryan Barnes, whom Michigan was recruiting for any DB position and almost as hard as they were McMillon. A flood of high-confidence crystal balls went to Notre Dame, his dad's favorite($), a few weeks ago. Barnes is also rising up the rankings, if not as much as McMillon. Rivals thinks there's still some optimism($).

Right after the big three, according to Marich, was HI 4* ATH Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, a cousin of the Tagovailoas, whom Michigan was recruiting as a Chesson-like receiver. But everyone who appreciates the type can see the potential for a perfectly boring safety, preferably one who enjoys studying history, playing tennis, and making the long bomb crowd noise switch from uaaaaAAHHHHHH to AWWWwwwwwww. We're not the only ones—TMA's lone crystal ball is a meaningless ND one from Tom Loy because he set a visit there for late June—but a lot of schools seem to think they're in and he told a UMD site a decision is a long way off:

"I'm planning on waiting it out until I can actually visit the schools, so I'm not going to be committing any time soon. I've told all the coaches I'm going to be waiting it out because of the pandemic thing and they all respect that," he said.

Michigan is getting one of those officials, per Marich. Brice also says Nua's on the case, but we're ready to send in Agent Craig Ross on a moment's notice.

If our intelligence has leaked too soon for those guys, the folio on academics-minded GA 3* Jaden Slocum appears mostly unspoiled. Except, yep, the Irish have infiltrated. Kevin Sinclair:

Can you believe this is the 16th-ranked safety on Notre Dame’s board (per Composite)? Crazy, I know. This is one of the best free safeties I’ve evaluated this cycle with the speed to potentially compete at corner too. (His track speed isn’t mentioned enough).

Michigan offered in April. ND's got a three-month head start, and Stanford and Wake got visits over the winter, but EJ Holland makes it sound like Bob Shoop is going to push($), and Jaden's not making any decisions soon.

SI's Eric Rutter checked in with recent (early May) offer, MD 3* Daymon David after Michigan quickly made his top six. David is another of those gangly 2018 types—he's 6-1/172 to 247 and 160 in Rutter's article. Indiana, Miami, and Louisville also got in recently; BC's been around the longest. EJ Holland calls David a riser($) on Michigan's board.

Another name Marich brought up is an already film-roomed ND commit, IL 3* Justin Walters, the athletic-looking prospect who kept getting burned on the Tyler McLaurin highlights. As you've no doubt surmised, they attend Bolingbrook together. Attempting to yoink Walters appears to be a backup plan, but Agent Todd Howard is nevertheless standing by.

They did put out an offer recently to 4* LA ATH Malik Nabers, whom 247 lists in their top-150 as a receiver. He plays cornerback and burly receiver, which is why I giggled a bit that Miami's telling him about SMU's James Proche. Michigan offered him for both sides($) but appears to be outside of a loose top five at the moment. The Mississippi State site thinks if LSU offers LSU gets. His film is Brad Hawkins, which is why I have him in the safeties.

Two more four-stars have Michigan in a top group. That probably means finishing as high as second for likely Texas-bound Texan JD Coffey. There's been some mixed thoughts regarding whether Michigan's in it for WA 4* Will Latu. EJ Holland went back and forth with himself last week($). The 247 crystal balls are 75% Utah, with some year-old Washington predictions left in there because Washington writers will fight you if you think David Long's not gonna be a Dawg. It sounds like Michigan didn't push hard for him.

Happy Trails: 4* Jaylen Reed of Martin Luther King committed to Penn State one day before the Cass Tech King twins—Michigan never offered, but MSU isn't done recruiting him. Michigan was in early but their pursuit of GA 3* Khari Gee ended about the time he denied putting out a leaked top three of LSU, Clemson, and Oregon that turned out to be his top three. He's since committed to LSU. The other PA top-100 safety Derrick Davis is down to Clemson/OSU/PSU with the latter two slightly ahead. Top-100 TX 4* Bryce Anderson committed to LSU as well.

Cornerback

Needs: 2.5 again, though it is my sad duty as a sports blogger of late Generation X to report that won't be enough because when it comes to cornerbacks no amount is. With Ambry Thomas entering his final year and Vincent Gray getting hype beyond his level of play thus far, the lack of blue chip corners is up there with DT among things the fans are concerned about. Michigan thinks DJ Turner (who lost last year to injury) will be very good, and 4* 2020 recruits Andre Seldon and Darion Green-Warren mean the position isn't in as dire straights as we professional cornerback worriers make it out to be.

Status: Cornerback recruiting is playing out a lot like the last couple of years, when Michigan whiffed on some elite targets early, held onto a commitment from a super-fast overlooked guy (this year it's Ja'Den McBurrows) who was on top of their board the whole way, and then finished strong with another guy at the top of their board. This is a perfect recipe to remain a top-ten passing defense every year while ensuring your middle-aged fans won't make it to their 50s with anything left of their molars. Here's what we're gnashing on now:

Commits
Player State Stars Schools Y/N Previously
Ja'Den McBurrows FL *** Michigan Hello.
Targets
Player State Stars Schools Y/N Previously
Ceyair Wright CA ****.5 Oregon, ASU, others  
Omarion Cooper FL **** FSU, L'ville, Michigan, PSU, SC, Texas  
Kamonte Grimes FL *** Michigan, KY, Wis  
Ishmael Ibraheem TX **** Texas leads UGA, LSU, Okla, TCU  
Tyreek Chappell PA *** TAMU leads Tenn, M, Pitt, WVU trail  
Jamier Johnson CA **** Colorado, Oregon, Texas, USC, OSU, ASU, Michigan  
Avante Dickerson NE **** Minnesota commit  
Darian "Duce" Chestnut NJ **** Miami, Michigan, PSU, L'ville, Cuse  
Jaylin Smith CA **** USC leads Clem, Texas, Bama  
Jaylan Harris GA ** Pitt, Vandy, BC  

The Commit: EJ Holland met up with Ja'Den (Jay-den) McBurrows, whose coach compared him to Deion Sanders; of course Ja'Den himself says he'll be better than Woodson. SI's Eric Rutter also talked to Acquinas coach Roger Harriott recently:

“Ja’Den is an extremely talented player and an even better person,” Harriott told Wolverine Digest. “From a football standpoint, he’s a student of the game with elite football acumen and great instincts between the whistle. On defense he can shut down an entire side of the field and is also a dynamic returner on special teams.”

He's still yet to make it up here.

Targets: Like DT, Michigan is offering a lot of guys and putting in the effort to see which, if any, might like the cut of our jib. A jib is a small triangular sail on the front of a sailboat, the part of a ship's silhouette that first appears off a headlands. Its shape suggests the attitude of the rest of the ship, and the quality of its trim will tell you a lot about the caliber of the people manning the vessel because finagling it is the better part of sailing technique. Now do you get the metaphor? Thanks. Stop screwing it up.

Where was I? Oh yes, lots of cornerbacks, with mixed appreciation for Michigan's seamanship, where the good news is making someone's top ~6 and a lot of targets have high-confidence crystal balls to other places.

We'll start with CA 4.5* Ceyair Wright, a speedy, long-limbed track athlete who's still filling out, and whom Michigan finally offered last month after he's exploded up the CB rankings. Michigan is tight with his coaches, and Wright is friends with David Long. He's another DB target Notre Dame fans have been watching so long that Prister's penned multiple film articles. They and other academic schools are in, this is a recruitment that's going to play out closer to signing day so there's time. Most of those articles have a quote similar to this one via 247's Greg Biggens:

“I want to give everyone a fair shot,” Wright said. “That’s why the trips will be important to me. I want to try and take all five of my official visits as well and I going to use the unofficial visits to see where I wanted to go back for my officials. Without taking these unofficial trips, it makes thing tough but I’ll figure it out. The biggest things for me in terms of what I want in a school is finding a place that can help develop me as a player and a person.

"My dad played in the NFL and that’s everyone’s dream but I’m looking at life after football as well. I plan to major in Business and want to give myself every opportunity to be successful if football doesn’t work out. Hopefully it does, I want to play for a winning program and play football as long as I can but there are other factors more important to me as well and that's why I'm taking my time with the process.”

If a highly rated California cornerback who comes into Michigan's picture late seems like a familiar story to you, it's only because you're remembering the recruitments of Darion Green-Warren (early Jan), David Long (Jan 21), Donovan Warren (signing day), and Leon Hall (early Jan).

Michigan is also still alive with FL 3.5* Omarion Cooper, who put out a top six of schools in Michigan's weight class or below. Steve Lorenz notes($) the lengthy boundary-style corner likes Michigan's man-to-man style. 247's scouts think he's a bit stiff and might grow into a safety and Rivals recently dropped him below the 4* line, so his high ranking right now is just an effect of ESPN's out-of-control Southeast bias—he's their 139th player and 11th cornerback. EJ Holland thinks FSU is a danger($) if they start pushing as hard as Michigan has.

The Wolverines are in good shape with FL 3* ATH Kamonte Grimes, whom many schools see as a receiver, recruiters are calling a cornerback, might be a safety to Michigan, and could very well grow into a Viper. Growing is the key word; the sites have him at 6-2/185. Wisconsin just offered him as a receiver—that article by the way put his weight at 200. He's also a good example of ESPN's southeastern recruiting bias; Grimes is their 281st player, and 119th in the Southeast, while he's just a 5.5 (barely a 3-star) to Rivals and a high 3-star to 247. Michigan had to start over because Anthony Campanile was running this recruitment back when Grimes was a four-star, but Don Brown extended an offer in January and Michigan immediately made his top schools($). Grimes told Brice Marich he plans to major in medicine($). He's targeting fall for a decision. Michigan seems like they'd be in good shape if they push.

247 recently moved TX 4* Ishmael Ibraheem to "High Choice" as a June 15 commitment date was followed by a hand of high-confidence picks for Texas, which had to get Ish familiar with a new set of defensive coaches. In February as Michigan was getting in, Isaiah Hole noted there are Ann Arbor connections too. He's going to commit to Texas in a few weeks, but this might be a situation where the "commit" will still take some visits. He'd be a good one; recent scouting thinks his ceiling is as high as anyone's.

I have considerably less confidence that they'll be able to pry their other top target out of an impending commitment to a Texas school. PA 3* Tyreek Chappell looked like a good shot to visit to Michigan when PSU got the King bros from Cass., but TAMU has a bunch of high-confidence crystal balls (including one from Sam Webb) and has long planned on a decision by the 4th of July, with 247's A&M guy asserting Tennessee($) was the main competition. Chappell talked to Sam this week, saying he'd "made up his mind," why Michigan made a top three, that he still plans to take all five official visits after he commits, and what he thinks about the apartments at Tennessee($).

Michigan's been testing the waters for some other four stars who aren't in a big battle, jumping into the fray for Pasadena 4* Jamier Johnson on May 20th. Texas has been after him longer and he's been on USC's board forever but both are filling up. Michigan made his top seven but "in there" is about where we're at via Muir head coach Zaire Calvin:

“They weren’t in his original top seven,” Calvin said. “They offered him shortly after he came out with his list and are definitely in it for him. They asked him if he would he be interested in them if they offered and he said ‘for sure’ and was really excited about that one.

A lot of ground to make up, but EJ Holland thinks Michigan's got a shot of getting him on campus($).

Speaking of ground to make up, NE 4* Avante Dickerson got his Michigan offer shortly before he committed to Minnesota, which made Nebraska fans very salty. He hasn't visited the Gophers, however, and Minnesota articles all tend to come with "keeping this class intact once visits start up" vibes.

The NJ pipeline might be gone but 3.5* Duce Chestnut is staying in touch, and might pick up($) if Michigan doesn't like where they stand with some other targets.

4* ATH Jaylin Smith was a guy EJ Holland said Michigan should offer($) back in February. They did, in mid-May, by which time USC apparently was wrapping this one up.

Jaylan Harris is a smallish low 3* offered over two years ago and barely mentioned lately.

Note: Michigan is recruiting Prophet Brown and AJ Green as running backs, but either might be an option at corner. FWIW the national recruiting guys think Brown is going to Oklahoma now.

Happy Trails: Cass Tech 4* Kalen King (along with brother Kobe, a 3-star ILB prospect) committed to Penn State in early April. CT 3* Jeffrey Davis Jr. also picked the Nits a week later. Via EJ Holland Michigan is no longer pursuing John Howse IV. 5* Tony Grimes was already a longshot but has now officially eliminated Michigan; UNC leads PSU, UGA, and TAMU. FL 3* Ricardo Hallman is probably going to Wisconsin.

Comments

Rabbit21

June 4th, 2020 at 1:01 PM ^

Well at least there are a lot of targets and the staff is working hard to bring some guys in.  This was considerably more concerning than I thought it would be.  

Seth

June 4th, 2020 at 1:25 PM ^

Phinney's better than most people realize, and will be useful if down the line Michigan gets into a situation again where they need to use a 3-2-6 dime as their base and one of those linebackers has to take on OL all the time. He's also teammates with a VERY good OG prospect Michigan wants to bring in, and if linebacker doesn't work out Phinney could make an exceptional fullback or H-back. I've got no issues using a scholarship on him.

RedJ

June 5th, 2020 at 1:30 PM ^

When will UM need to use a 3-2-6 base defense? Unless you're intimating DT recruiting is continuing to go poorly UM may not have a choice. In that case the solution would seem to be hire a new DL coach. There's also the fact UM has signed 8 linebackers in the last two classes so that would seem to put a damper on the idea a 3-2 front is even plausible. Also UM's offense doesn't use a fullback anymore. They are a base 11 personnel team, that's why Ben Mason found his way over to DT. Maybe it helps them land Kendall but this is an offer that doesn't make any sense and I could see him getting dropped especially if Kendall goes elsewhere. 

93Grad

June 4th, 2020 at 1:31 PM ^

That quote from Kuerlic pretty much tells you all you need to know about the chasm between Michigan and OSU in terms of recruiting.

 

 

Frank Chuck

June 5th, 2020 at 12:15 PM ^

Yep.

Kurelic is kinda delusional.

If anyone doesn't think so, then I encourage that individual to revisit all of Urban Meyer's classes starting with 2013 (his first full cycle). Go year-by-year. See what percentage of his classes panned out. Even better, do it by position group.

The thing about Meyer is that he sure could find supers. When he hit on a guy, he hit BIG. But there's a lot of misses.

Frank Chuck

June 5th, 2020 at 7:41 PM ^

Simpletons think this way.

Sports (like life) is filled with nuance, complexity, and contradiction.

For as great  as Urban Meyer was at Ohio State, his teams also got blown the fuck out by Clemson, Iowa, and Purdue. He was also in many close battles where he escaped with victory.

Frank Chuck

June 5th, 2020 at 11:02 PM ^

Shawn L Martin /  Bryce Jacksen...

You're short circuiting with all the logical fallacies

- You admit he's not perfect. "Is he supposed to win every game or something?"

- You jump to Harbaugh. Red herring. We're discussing Meyer and his recruiting at Ohio State.

- You jumped from "critiquing" (in the post above) to "talking shit" (in this post).

Again, Meyer had a lot of misses that people don't remember because he hit BIG on many of his choices. Saying this is apparently controversial in your mind.

And no, we don't need to beat Ohio State to critically examine and analyze Ohio State's recruiting.

Laser Wolf

June 4th, 2020 at 2:04 PM ^

Was Kurelic's response really that mad? Seems like a pretty accurate reflection on the state of OSU DB recruiting versus Michigan DB recruiting.

AC1997

June 4th, 2020 at 2:20 PM ^

I wonder how our recent success with putting DBs into the NFL compares to other top programs.  While I know there are countless factors that play into recruiting and can't be easily quantified....we've had a really good run at sending DBs to the NFL:

  • 2020 - Metellus (S), Hudson (V), {Hill undrafted but signed}
  • 2019 - Long (CB), {Kinnel undrafted, but signed}
  • 2017 - Clark (CB/S), Hill (S), Lewis (CB), Peppers (V), {Stribling undrafted but signed}
  • 2016 - {Wilson undrafted but played for years}

JonnyHintz

June 4th, 2020 at 11:41 PM ^

Well OSU had two taken in the first round this year along with a late round safety. 2019 saw a fourth rounder. 2018 saw another first rounder. 2017 saw three (3!!!) members of their secondary go in the first round. 2016 saw another two go in the first two rounds. 
 

So in the same time period, OSU has produced 8 first round picks alone. Compared to our 6 draftees. So we’re pretty good at getting guys to the NFL. But... yeah we aren’t elite at doing so. 

Frank Chuck

June 5th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^

Yep.

We get guys to the league but the NFL doesn't think as highly of our guys.

However, we also need to account for how players do in the league.

Example: Ohio State's Eli Apple (1st rounder) sucks. Giants and Saints fans dislike the kid.

Meanwhile, a player like Michigan's Jarrod Wilson (who went undrated) is a good player and signed an extension with the Jags through 2021 season.

BoFlex

June 6th, 2020 at 4:36 AM ^

Eli Apple certainly hasn't lived up to his top-10 draft pick, but it also seems biased to compare him equally to Jarrod Wilson.

Apple has been a starter for 4 seasons in the NFL, and while inconsistent has played well enough to not lose his starting position. Most of Apple's issue stem from his mother supposedly being a super overbearing agent, and Apple's personality as a result of that drama.

Wilson went undrafted and has been a career special teamer/backup up so far, which is nice, but not exactly something that makes an impact with recruits.

AZBlue

June 4th, 2020 at 2:44 PM ^

Let's be honest and call this what it is Seth --- a blatant cash-grab by MGoBlog.

You are just begging Maizen to create another account with this post....it has it all.......lots of 3 stars featured prominently, a negative OSU comparison, and on-field positions that he constantly complains about the recruiting prowess of the applicable staff.

Take it easy on the guy, I am sure his mom makes him pay at least SOME of their household bills.

 

 

Hail to the Vi…

June 4th, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^

DB appears to be the most concerning of the position groups in this cycle, although to my untrained eye I like both Moore and McBurrough's film more than they sites do. I think they both project as quality B1G starters with All-B1G upside.

Definitely think we need help at the CB position soon rather than later. I don't see another lockdown guy on this roster outside of Ambry.

mich_wolv95

June 4th, 2020 at 4:36 PM ^

Safety recruiting has been interesting to me this year since I've felt like there aren't that many elite guys to go around. Michigan's board has been pretty small which is understandable given their last two years, but this post finally made me look at the 247Composite over the last few years and confirm my suspicions.

2021: 22 4-stars, 10 top 200, 3 top 100

2020: 33 4-stars, 17 top 200, 6 top 100

2019: 30 4-stars, 17 top 200, 8 top 100

2018: 25 4-stars, 18 top 200, 8 top 100

2017: 24 4-stars, 19 top 200, 13(!) top 100

There are obviously some caveats since 2021 is only about halfway over and more kids will be discovered. Plus guys like McMillon (top 150 to 247) and Rod Moore I think will end up as 4-stars on the composite. But overall, there is definitely a dearth in safety talent this year, especially at the top.