Previously: Last year’s profiles, K Adam Samaha, K James Turner (Tr), S Brandyn Hillman, CB DJ Waller, CB Cameron Calhoun, CB Jyaire Hill, HSP/LB Jason Hewlett, LB Hayden Moore, LB Semaj Bridgeman, LB Ernest Hausmann (Tr), OLB Breeon Ishmail, DE Aymeric Koumba, DE Enow Etta, DE Josaiah Stewart (Tr), DT Brooks Bahr, DT Cameron Brandt, DT Trey Pierce, OT Evan Link, OT Myles Hinton (Tr), OT LaDarius Henderson (Tr), OG Nathan Efobi, IOL Amir Herring, OC Drake Nugent (Tr)

Oswego, IL – 6'5"/230
		247: 6'6/215                            3.94*	4*, 90, NR overall #20 TE, #5 IL
		On3: 6'6/215                            4.01*	4*, 90, NR overall #19 TE, #4 IL
		Rivals: 6'5/215                            3.63*	3*, 5.7, NR overall #47 TE, #14 IL
		ESPN: 6'5/215                            3.89*	3*, 79, #32 MW #13 TE-Y, #6 IL
		Composite                            3.93*	4*, #413/#397 Ovr #20/#23 TE, #6 IL
		MGoAverage                            3.87*	3.5*, #479/797 Ovr #31/52 TEs since '90
		YMRMFSPA	Luke Schoonmaker
Other Suitors	Illinois (yoink!), Purdue
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello by Alex Drain
Notes	NIL gear. 2020 National 7v7 team.
Film:
Senior Highlights:Junior Highlights:Hudl

I cannot get confirmation on this story but it's too good not to share anyways. You know how Harbaugh's programs always seem to have an eye for tight end prospects? Well the story goes someone in the recruiting office was sliding Tonielli highlight links into emails and tricking people into clicking on them. When early commit Andrew Rappleyea decided the depth chart at PSU was more scalable than the one at TE-U, I imagine this individual was all too happy for the internal love for Tonielli to be out in the open. YMMV whether Rappleyea's departure was more relevant to Tonielli or Zack Marshall. Anyway this was the first commit for TE coach Grant Newsome.

When Tonielli committed he was a low four-star to two sites, with Rivals lagging behind. I assumed they would catch up, but they left him down in the meh 3-star range the whole cycle. That's actually useful, since Rivals is the site that most tends to rank guys based on where they are now as opposed to projecting. And the book on Tonielli is there's a lot of tight ending to learn.

[After THE JUMP: Stop me if you've heard this before but…] 

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He's a Harbaugh dude,

It's easy for coaches and parents to get reporters to talk about what a great, hard worker their kid is, because football players who get to this level have to be more committed to the sport than you were to anything at that age. With Tonielli however we've got Harbaugh talking like he just died and went to Football Dude Old Country Buffet.

Hard-working—you know we like to say blue-collar guy. And he loves Michigan, loves it since the day stepped on campus. And I love those guys where it’s love at first sight where they look around and go, ‘This is good. I see real opportunity here.’ And they look at it like — you can just see their eyes, like somebody walking into an all-you-can-eat buffet and going, ‘It’s all you can eat?’ ‘It’s all you can eat! Have at it!’

There's some proof that there's something Extra with Tonielli, via Zach Libby:

[Harbaugh] held hour-long meetings with each of the recruits who were on their official visit but Tonielli's lasted close to two hours. Tonielli laughed when remembering the interaction because Harbaugh actually waved off the team personnel who kept coming into the office and reminding the pair that other recruits were waiting to see Harbaugh as well.

From the many interviews with Oswego coach Brian Cooney it's not hard to guess what they were talking about.

Absolutely loves the game of football, everything about it. For us, he’s an attached tight end, we flex him out as a wide receiver. He played some safety for us two years ago and this year we plan on playing him a little bit at defensive end. He punts for us, snaps for us. Any time the kid can be around the game of football, whether he’s got the ball in his hand or not, he loves it. For any kid who enjoys a game that much, it’s easier to come to the workouts, easier to get up in the morning and hit the field and get running. He’s all in.

a big, athletic, multi-sport athlete

Here's Harbaugh making another trip to the "great size, smooth athlete, really incredible ball skills" buffet:

Wait till he walks through the door. And you go, ‘OK, that looks a lot like Colston Loveland to me.’ Yeah, darn near identical. Really good basketball player, multi-year starter and basketball player.

All scouts note the basketball background, with many mentioning track, and that he played all over the football field, mostly wide receiver and slot, but sometimes quarterback. Allen Trieu:

Tall, longer prospect. Plays as an outside receiver as well as a slot in high school. Uses height, length and leaping ability well and shows a big catch radius.

Clint Brewster hit the same marks but also noted the "huge catch radius and leaping ability. EJ Holland called Tonielli "an impressive looking athlete" with a good build, then saw him live:

His height alone makes him a valuable red zone target, but I also love his athleticism. Remember, Tonielli is a plus basketball player and can jump out of the gym.

Touch the Banner compared Tonielli's body to that of Luke Schoonmaker—"long and lean"—who was another WR/Slot/TE/QB/safety/DE in high school.

Tonielli told Andrew Florio of BVM Sports (which is mostly a local aggregator) that he knew he would play sports but it took awhile to decide if he'd be in basketball or football. Ultimately the way he dominated smaller guys led him to receiving, and that's what people see on film first. And it's just film—Tonielli didn't go to camps—but Michigan got his measurements on a visit, and this is apparently when rickrolling started. His coach, Brian Cooney, also mentioned it.

When you’re that tall and have that wingspan, you’ve got a huge advantage there,” Cooney said. “What he’s gotten substantially better at is using his leverage and using that basketball mindset that he also has to go up and high-point the ball, use his vertical reach as well as being able to go outside and catch the ball outside his frame.

Cooney said Michigan was into the versatility, as they want their TEs to be able to play some wide receiver and some fullback.

with limited wiggle

Everyone willing to go there pulls up around the 4-star line because Tonielli's athleticism apparently doesn't extend to quick changes of direction. MnB's Lucas Reimink liked the verticality but said his route running is limited by "marginal agility." Allen Trieu praised the top end speed but said Tonielli can "can still improve burst and suddenness:"

He is a good all around athlete although we do not see elite top end on film.

This was repeated by TTB:

Tonielli also does not have a ton of suddenness or quickness to his game. He will need to become a more precise route runner and get lower in and out of his cuts to create separation at the next level. … He is not going to light the world on fire with his speed and athleticism.

who gets to the ball.

The second halves of those those thoughts were all about how that doesn't seem to matter when he's out there running routes. Trieu:

Tracks the ball in the air well and can put himself in position to make plays on the ball without losing speed or balance.

TTB:

Tonielli has good pass receiving instincts. He catches the ball well with his hands, and he does a nice job of getting his head around to look for oncoming defenders after making the catch. He shows some nice concentration to reel in the ball even when double teamed.

Later, Magnus said he's "quicker than most 6'5", 230-pounds" and "seemed to be able to get open pretty consistently." EJ Holland introduced Tonielli as an "athletic pass-catcher" who "doesn’t have too much trouble getting in and out of breaks," and after seeing a game in person kept emphasizing what a nightmare he was for high schoolers to cover.

Tonielli was impossible to cover in 1-on-1 situations and was able to get open with ease. … looks extremely comfortable as a route runner and is a natural pass catcher. … Tonielli actually reminds me of Marlin Klein from last cycle, but I have Tonielli rated a tad bit higher.

Holland and Trieu both noted the jump-ball skills and a tendency to take the League of Little Timmies for a ride after the catch. Maize n Brew's Seth Berry tried to apply that to the TE routes that Michigan likes to lean on.

he also shows potential in the short passing game while being able to create some yards after the catch, as his natural stride makes it difficult for linebackers to create an angle on him to bring him down before he gets downfield.

Reimink praised a "very natural grace to his movements," caveat marginal agility,

…his current route running ability is somewhat limited by that, as it takes him some time to get in and out of breaks. Once the ball is in the air, he does a really good job of going and getting it. He has big, strong hands that he uses to pluck the ball from the air and can maintain possession of it while taking a hit. He has a solid vertical leap so he can also go up and win a jump-ball (Similar to going up for a rebound) in the red zone.

But he needs to get in the weight room and learn to block.

As usual, the high school 1-on-1 weapon didn't get to do much blocking, and weighs 30-40 pounds less than he needs to for running split zones against Big Ten ends. Holland notes Tonielli's weights were reported between 200 and 230 because he kept losing it for basketball.

Trieu lamented the lack of camps to get an idea of his frame because the eye test says there's a lot of growth potential, mentioning Schoonmaker's build out of high school. Clint Brewster also credited "high upside" as weight is added to that frame, which is notable because the 247 people usually won't go there without their measurements.

This also means the program that made McKeon, Eubanks, All and Schoonmaker into effective Big Ten blockers, won the last two Joe Moores, and has a former lineman coaching TEs is banking on their ability to teach Tonielli the first thing about blocking. The scouts mostly list that as an "incomplete. Trieu said Tonielli "shows some physicality," Holland appreciated the muscling before and after the catch but didn't get a single downblock from inline on film, and Cooney admitted in multiple interviews that the blocking was a thing they're working on.

Touch the Banner thought he saw enough to say "strength and blocking will be a couple of the hurdles" at the beginning of Tonielli's Michigan career, including the finer points of playing the Y.

His stance at Y tight end will need some work (his outside foot is too far back), and he looks uncomfortable getting out of that stance. He will also need to refine his release technique, since too many high schoolers just let him get a free release off the line instead of trying to jam him.

Reimink too spent paragraphs on the blocking, though again "not from lack of desire."

…he simply lacks the physical strength to be a real asset as a blocker at the POA. As presently constructed, he will struggle to move college DL off their spot, as he’s more of a “get in the way” type blocker than a true asset in that area of his game. His blocking technique is solid, as he has solid hand placement and takes solid steps towards his target, he just lacks the ability to move them off the ball when blocking as an in-line TE.

EJ Holland agreed Tonielli is "willing" and cautioned, like TTB, they just didn't use him that way, despite being a running team, because launching him at the secondary was too effective at removing safeties from that run game.

Etc. Basketball and track.

Why Luke Schoonmaker? Here's Jim Harbaugh comparing one of his tight ends at Michigan to another.

[Player B], really fast and another 6-foot-6, 4.6 type of guy that can really run, catch and develop into his blocking. I've watched him play basketball, he's a football and basketball player. You look at him on the basketball court, a phenomenal everything. [Player A] was a quarterback in high school and I think he will be similar. [Player B] is more developed physically than [Player A] was when [Player A] was coming out of high school. Two inches shorter but 6-foot-6 is plenty tall to play tight end, I'm very excited about him.

If you're done guessing, Player A was Zach Gentry, Player B was Luke Schoonmaker, another multi-sport athlete who got moved all around because he was 6 inches taller than the next kid on the field, ran just as fast, and didn't turn on a dime enough to warrant the breathtaking reviews. Michigan added 35 pounds, taught Schoonmaker how to block, and put him in the 2nd round. Run it back.

Guru Reliability: Medium-low. They all agree, but they're all working off of the same film. The league they play in is 8A (top designation), but out at the edge of the Chicago metro area the toughest competition is only like the 35th best in the state, and a lot of schools are well below that.

Variance: Medium-high. Standard tight end fare; either he gains weight and learns to block or he doesn't.

Ceiling: High-minus. That lack of crazy athleticism, and we're not getting the same vibes as with Loveland (whom Alabama was very interested in). Still, Michigan tends to turn these guys into second-rounders.

Flight Risk Level: Low. That "I just want to be useful" approach is going to pair well with Michigan. Seems to understand the Lovelands are rare at Michigan, and has said he's in for the long haul. Newsome is another one of those Michigan coaches who could survive a head coaching change.

General Excitement Level: High. Baseline 5; +1 for is a Harbaugh Dude, +1 for athleticism, +1 that's a lot of stars actually for a guy who didn't go to camps, –1 for has to gain weight and learn to block you know right?, +1 as if that's an issue with this program.

Projection: Redshirt, put him in the tight end blender and we'll see what we have in a couple of years. Loveland is probably on an early pro track and Barner's and Hibner's eligibilities only go through next year, so expect this year's TE freshmen to join Marlin Klein and Max Bredeson in the rotation by 2025. Picking one of them is hard because they're all the same prospect. If I thought Harbaugh knew how to execute 2008-style hyperlinking I would have said he was the guy banging the drum for Tonielli, which means there are at least two guys in this camp. Gun to my head, that means something, though we won't see it until Tonielli's a redshirt sophomore. He'll be on special teams before that.