Hello: Antwaine Richardson
Photo via 247.
Michigan's camp tour has paid off once again, this time in the form of a commitment from three-star Delray Beach (FL) Atlantic CB Antwaine Richardson, according to multiple outlets. Richardson, a high school teammate of incoming freshman DE Shelton Johnson, earned an offer on Sunday after performing in front of the coaching staff at the South Florida satellite camp. He's the 11th commit in the 2016 class and the first at cornerback.
GURU RATINGS
| Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247 Comp |
| NR CB | 3* CB | NR CB |
3*, 86, #81 CB, #822 Ovr |
3*, #88 CB, #879 Ovr |
As you can see, Richardson is another under-the-radar type, so let's head off some of the inevitable comments right now and note that his top two was Miami (YTM) and Wisconsin—yes, both programs offered—before Michigan swooped in.
All four sites list him at 6'0" and 162-168 pounds, a nice frame for a cornerback.
SCOUTING
The only scouting reports out there on Richardson right now are quotes from... Richardson. Those can be helpful, but first let's take a look at his film:
I like what I see. Richardson has decent footwork for a taller corner, and he knows how to use his length to his advantage. He's not afraid to be physical; there are a few really impressive jams at the line and some big hits on his tape. A few of the special teams clips indicate he's the type of high-effort, high-athleticism prospect Harbaugh covets.
When Richardson got his Miami offer, he compared himself to a couple of the NFL's very best at his position, per 247's Nate Adelson ($):
“I compare myself to Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson,” Richardson said. “I’m a speed corner, I can play off or press, and I’m aggressive on the line. I’m trying to get out of my breaks quicker and sink my hips while I’m backpedaling. I have good footwork and I don’t let anybody catch the deep ball on me.”
He also relishes contact, something he told Scout's Benjamin Worgull after adding his Wisconsin offer:
“You have to be real good (to play) in the Big Ten because they have Ohio State, some good teams in the Big Ten,” he said. “You have to bring your ‘A’ game when you play those teams, so getting an offer from Wisconsin means I got to bring my ‘A’ game.”
In Richardson’s mind, his ‘A’ game encompasses all defensive schemes.
“In man coverage, I love covering,” Richardson said. “I am aggressive, I love to tackle, I love to hit hard and I don’t think nobody can catch a deep ball on me.”
For now, that's about it on Richardson in the scouting department. Despite the lack of articles on him, what's on film should answer any questions about why Michigan offered him and accepted his commitment.
OFFERS
Richardson holds offers from Florida Atlantic, Iowa State, Miami (YTM), Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and several others.
HIGH SCHOOL
Delray Beach Atlantic has a solid history of producing D-I prospects, and specifically top-level defensive backs: Mike Rumph (Miami), Brandon Flowers (Virginia Tech), and Jayron Hosley (Virginia Tech) were all picked in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. Current San Diego Chargers OT Orlando Franklin (Miami) is also an Atlantic product.
STATS
According to 247, Richardson had 37 tackles, ten pass breakups, two interceptions, and three forced fumbles as a junior.
FAKE 40 TIME
ESPN has full testing results that include a 4.70 40-yard dash, which gets zero FAKEs.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Richardson should be afforded a redshirt when he gets to campus, as Michigan is only set to lose Wayne Lyons (and, if his fifth year is unrenewed, Terry Richardson) from their group of cornerbacks after this year. The competition should be wide open when Jourdan Lewis and Channing Stribling graduate following the 2016 season. While Brandon Watson, who looked ready to play a bigger role this spring, and Reon Dawson will provide competition, Richardson and 2015 incoming freshman Keith Washington have the advantage of being hand-picked by Harbaugh and Co.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Michigan is now up to 11 in the class, which is projected to have only 14 spots right now, but that number will inevitably rise between attrition and possible unrenewed fifth-year seniors. Wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive tackle, defensive end, and outside linebacker remain pressing needs, and Michigan is likely to stay in pursuit of help at defensive back unless they decide they'd prefer Chris Evans at corner and Kiante Enis at safety.
Yup. Harbaugh gets paid $5M by UM b/c he's been a fabulously successful coach. Luginbill et al make about (complete guess) $120k. If the ESPN guys were on the same level of talent evaluators that Harbaugh was, the salaries would be closer (or they'd be on a college staff).
And before anyone brings up Hoke's salary, my counter would be that his Michigan salary was nowhere close to his true market value. Brandon overpaid Hoke considerably.
People need to get a clue with regards to recruiting stars.
http://247sports.com/Season/2015-Football/CompositeTeamRankings
For a class of 20+ recruits it is normal to have double digit 3* commits even if you are a Top 10 Team.
3 stars are more likely to commit early in the process too, jumping on big offers while they can. The 4 and 5 stars who have multiple big program offers can afford to take their time up to signing day.
for The Ohio State University at least. Soon to be the #1 class in the country after Bosa's younger brother commits.
And that makes another one signed up, with more to come this weekend.
We are running out of slots.
At some point, these camps are going to become too productive.
Yeah, but has he been to DB Guru camp?
I will refrain from calling out the same tired recruiting complaints that pop up every time someone other than a 5* signs up.
At least we will maintain our dominance over Syracuse and Wake Forest!
I totally get the "look at what Harbaugh did with 2 and 3 stars at Stanford", but it's way easier to win with those guys when you have Andrew Luck as your QB. Luck is a top 5 QB in the NFL. I'm guessing Brady Hoke/Rich Rod records probably look a lot better if Luck was at QB, no?
Not saying that Harbaugh won't pull it off, I just think that Luck was a game changer.
Harbaugh should get some credit for coaching up Luck. It's not like Luck was considered the Lebron James of football coming out of high school.
Harbaugh has won everywhere he's been.
San Diego: 7-4, 11-1, 11-1. In 2005, Harbaugh's second year, San Diego won a conference title in football for the first time ever. The football program started in 1956.
Stanford: 4-8, 5-7, 8-5, 12-1. Stanford had gone 16-40 the 5 seasons before Harbaugh arrived.
SF: 13-3, 11-4-1, 12-4, 8-8. San Francisco hadn't had a winning record in the 8 previous seasons before Harbaugh arrived.
Is he guaranteed to take UM to the promised land? No. But if you look at his track record, all he has done is win at every place he's been head coach.
Okay gurus, why shouldn't I be concerned about this? That seems a bit slow for a CB.
You should be. He's not fast. Hopefully Durkin can find ways to keep him in relatively confined spaces.
For a comparison, I used J.T. Floyd. Floyd was not fast (I think he ran a 4.7 forty in preparation for the draft), but Michigan still had a pretty good defense because there were other good pieces around him (Kovacs, Ryan, Martin, Van Bergen, etc.). It could be a problem if our entire defensive backfield is filled with Richardsons, but hopefully Michigan brings in speed elsewhere. I would still guess that Michigan brings in probably 2 more corners in this class.
It's concerning because we don't have much speed. Not necessarily because it prevents him from playing cornerback in college at a decent level. In my opinion, it takes other boundary corners off the table and kind of forces you to take swings at guys who can play field corner. So yeah, I think it's a "concern" but it's not a reason to freak out.
without pads in a straight line is different from speed with football pads on running and changing direction.
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I love how physical he is.
but I wonder how much of this is for "show" and how many of these kids will really make it to signing day.
No matter what you can't argue against the fact summer swarm has had a very positive impact on Michigan and Coach Harbaugh's national reputation. We might see the biggest impact on recruiting next year. Pretty exciting stuff happening.
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Speed, balance, great technique on tackles, knows when to break off one receiver to go to another, "you're going to pay for coming to my side" attitude. The total package.
Favorite clip was him blocking several players on one play. Knocked them flat. Kid is going to be awesome. Great catch for Harbaugh.
He's not anything like Woodson. At all.
I give Harbaugh credit for consistently finding good college players from guys who don't have the stars to show it, but ABSOLUELY NOT Woodson.
Woodson was the best running back the state of Ohio had seen since Rob Lytle. Better. They didn't have national recruiting rankings back then as they do now, but Woodson was right where Jabrill Peppers was: a super duper can't-miss prospect everyone had heard of within three states.
The only guys with anything like that hype coming in were Tyrone Wheatley and Drew Henson, and both of those guys it was partly because they were also academic superstars, and home grown ones at that. Woodson turned himself into one of the greatest players ever but coming in he was already one of the greatest athletes Michigan had ever recruited, and there was a national consensus on this.
Richard Sherman was a two star
Richard Sherman was a two star
make this your mantra. . . .
Harbaugh could take my 41 year old frame now and make me a 2nd team all pro arena league back if he wanted. . .
Trust in Harbaugh. . . .
You should quickly go attend one of his camps.
Can I take my shirt off?
1) Solid technique overall.
2) Uses his hands very well. Excellent at press coverage and not afraid to get in a WR's face.
3) Solid tackler with good technique. Will be good at outside contain. Understands the boundary and his relationship to it when pressing, or in outside contain on a runner.
4) Good speed and athleticism. Not a burner, but makes up for this with his instincts and technique. Has very good closing speed on the ball, because he is not caught out of position.
5) Solid back pedal and body positioning.
6) Should fill out to be about 190lbs with college S&C program.
I could see this kid getting 4 stars. He should be a contributor as either a nickle or short side corner starter at Michigan.
I just read other's comments here. Regarding his speed, I do understand the premium on it...however you cant teach football instincts and physicality very easily. Just because one corner may be fast, he may be completely unusable because he doesnt know how and when to hand check and keep his positioning on the WR. Another corner, who may have slower timed footspeed could play at a higher level than the fast kid, because he knows positioning and uses his leverage and technique to check the WR and keep him off his route. As Magnus said, Id be hesitant to put this kid on the wide side, but he could be a damed good short side corner becuase you want a physical presence on that side of the ball.
I get the impression that Harbaugh and his staff are looking for football players with skills...guys who understand how to play their positions, rather than pure athletes who do not have instincts for the game.
I get the impression that Harbaugh and his staff are looking for football players with skills
Agree ... my sense is they're tuned in to some X factor about football instincts, as you note.
I also think Harbaugh puts a premium on attitude. I don't mean brash or trash-talking ... I mean hungry.
Yes, the common denominator seems to be 5 star attitudes with athleticism.
Everyone says Harbaugh thinks out of the box, it may be that he sees something that needs to be fixed if he wants a team out there that embodies his passion for the game and that may be a higher priority to him right now than who is rated the best player at 16. Rather than him not trying to get all 4/5 stars, it seems more like finding leaders at playing football his way who are athletes as well.
Possibly... he could play either safety position, but Id like him better as a strong safety if he bulks up a bit.
It's always good to get another player on board and his film is awfully fun to watch. Welcome aboard Mr. Richardson!
At the number of lower ranked recruits the staff is bringing on board. Seems to me like we are in great position for quite a few top ranked guys and might run out of room for them. However, I have complete faith in the coaches to bring in the right players and develop them to their max potential. Welcome, Antwaine, and I look forward to seeing you on the field!
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