We're all talking 2024 but today is the later signing day for 2023 and Michigan won't come away empty-handed, as DE/DT Cameron Brandt announced his flip from a Stanford commitment. Brandt was close to signing with the Cardinal last December, but held off due to David Shaw stepping down. Michigan, who got involved last summer when Brandt's stock was rising, quickly moved back in, got him on campus for a visit, and closed the deal just before the dead period. Let's see what they've won.

GURU RATINGS

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'4/260	On3: 6'4/260	Rivals: 6'4/260	ESPN: 6'3/255
4*, 90, NR Ovr #41 DL, #24 CA	3*, 88, NR Ovr #66 DL, #56 CA	3*, 5.7, NR Ovr #31 DT, #31 CA	4*, 80, #64 West #25 DT, #36 CA
4.07	3.74	3.89	3.99
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
3*, 0.8894, #453 Ovr #51 DL, #35 CA	3*, 89.25, #407 Ovr #46 DL, #33 CA	3.5*, #441/775 Ovr #37/66 DTs since 1990
3.89	3.93	3.91

They're all pretty close in rankings, hovering around the 4-star/3-star line. On3's the lowest on him, but has no scouting takes beyond what recruiting reporters come up with. The sites all rate him as a DT, which does not include your Chris Wormley-ish DE/DT tweeners, or DL, which does. Via 247, Michigan wants him outside, sorta.

“They see me playing as a big edge for them,” Brandt said. “They think I can do that and also play the 6, 5, 4i and the 3 techniques in their defense.

EJ Holland confirms Michigan was recruiting Brandt as an Edge($) to replace Collins Acheampong.

[AFTER THE JUMP: Positional versatility or unsurety?]

SCOUTING

The core of what we know comes from 247's Western scout Greg Biggens, who added 10 pounds to the listed weight.

At 6-4, 270 pounds, Brandt is a tough matchup because of his size, raw strength and easy athleticism. For a big man, he moves very well and and gets a push up the field, even against a double team. He’s still just scratching the surface of how good we think he can be at the next level and he has a very bright future ahead of him.

As you might expect for a tweener much of the conversation focuses on what position he'll play.

We really like his positional versatility and feel he can play defensive tackle or as an edge rusher depending on the scheme. He probably projects best as interior lineman and at the high school level, he never leaves the field and plays on the offensive line as well.

That was from a game recap in which Brandt caught the game-winning two-point conversion last fall (it's the first play in the highlights). By then Brandt had been a 4-star for about 10 months, catching Biggens's eye early in the 2021 football season, and finally emerging from the 3-star morass by impressing on the camp circuit in early 2022. 247 bumped him into 4-star range after a National Preps Showcase. Biggens:

He emerged in to one of the more coveted defensive line prospects in the region this fall and the arrow is definitely pointing up with him. He's a no-brainer in terms of a prospect and has all the physical tools to be a dominant college player. At 6-4, 260 pounds, he moves extremely well and shows the positional versatility to play inside or outside. He’s a fit for any defensive front and has the kind of motor and toughness needed to excel in the trenches. He’s a plus athlete for his size with strong hands and makes plays outside his area.

He shows the ability run down plays from behind and said he plans to do track this spring (100m, shot-put) to improve athletically as well. He's young for his grade and won't turn 17 until May and we love his upside and where his game is trending.

And Gabe Brooks also chimed in after reviewing Brandt's junior film:

The play violence pops on Cameron Brandt's junior film. The Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon defensive lineman displays impressive play strength, quickness, pursuit ability, and a hot motor that disrupts plays more often than his solid statistical line might suggest (52 tackles, 11 for loss, 5 1/2 sacks). Around 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, Brandt could fit varied personnel looks. He shows an advanced sense of changing speeds and setting up blockers in his pass rush, while also flashing startling redirecting athleticism in close quarters. … Brandt, who grew up also playing hoops, should enhance his explosiveness with expected track and field participation this spring.

They held him there after catching him at a UA regional camp in early March. Biggens at that point thought Brandt was justifiably athletic enough to play outside.

… moves his 6-3, 260 pound frame around with ease and runs more like a linebacker than a defensive lineman. We love his positional versatility and feel he’ll be able to add on enough weight to line up anywhere along the defensive line.

Those camps produced offers on the spot from Washington and Oregon, and a USC visit, whence he was seen with both of the Trojans' former Michigan assistants Shawn Nua and Roy Manning, before receiving an offer from Lincoln Riley.

Ellinghouse describes Brandt as "the hardest working kid you can imagine. He's driven, he's self-motivated, 6-4/260, can run like the wind and plays with a motor that's relentless. … Just a complete, well-rounded D-lineman who's just as good as he is inside as he is outside, against the run as he is against the pass. He's a real football player."

M&BR's Lucas Reimink put together a Chalk Talk on Brandt ten days ago, listing run defense, hand placement/use, and bull rush as strengths, but knocking Brandt's explosion, strength, and speed rush. If that sounds like a DT…

Brandt is a little undersized to be a DT at only 260 lbs, so he’ll need to add a bunch of mass before he can make much of a contribution at the next level. In addition to being undersized in terms of weight, Brandt has solid overall athleticism showing solid foot speed, solid physical strength, solid agility/COD, and a good motor. He plays tough and hard, making a lot of plays for an interior DL player due in large part to his good effort and pursuit.

The "marginal explosion" comes up several times. It also conflicts with what USC was telling Brandt.

"They liked my explosiveness and being able to play all around the ball," he said. "Like, anywhere on the line and stuff like that."

But they all agree on versatility.

The Stanford Rivals site also looked at Brandt when he committed there in late July. The theme of Ben Parker's writeup was "run-stopper."

When Stanford head coach David Shaw joked at Pac-12 Media Day that they didn’t play Utah last year, that was largely due to his team’s inability to stop the run. Stanford added a guy to their 2023 class on Saturday who should help them be stronger in this department

Listed at 6’4”, 260 pounds, Brandt projects to play defensive tackle when he gets to The Farm. Along with his big frame, he moves really well and is very light on his feet. He does a terrific job of using a variety of moves to get around opposing offensive lines and get into the backfield where he loves to wreak havoc. Brandt hits with tremendous force and is about the last guy any quarterback or running back would want to collide with.

What makes Brandt such an exciting addition for Stanford is his rare physical package. Guys at his size rarely move with so much ease. If he lives up to his full potential, he could be a real force on the Stanford defensive line.

Parker comped Brandt to 2022 draft pick Thomas Booker:

If there’s one recent Stanford player for Brandt to try to emulate, it would be Thomas Booker, who got drafted by the Houston Texans earlier this year. When Booker came to Stanford, he was a 4-star defensive tackle listed at 6’4”, 280 pounds. He was slightly bigger and also rated slightly higher with a Rivals rating of 5.8 as opposed to Brandt’s 5.7. But when you watch Brandt play, it’s hard to not think of Booker. Like Booker, Brandt has a big frame and moves exceptionally well. When he gets in the backfield, he knows how to make plays.

Booker ended up playing around 6'3"/301 and was a versatile 4-3 DT but still very much a DT. I pulled PFF snap data for Booker to show how that compares to Kris Jenkins's and Mason Graham's roles at Michigan.

Position	Jenkins 2022 (6'3/285)	Booker 2021 (6'3/301)	Graham 2022 (6'3/317)
3-Tech (DT)	20%	60%	80%
4i-Tech (DE in a 3-4)	49%	27%	9%
Nose Tackle	<1%	8%	10%
5-Tech (DE in a 4-3)	29%	5%	-
Linebacker	1%	<1%	1.0%

Michigan is saying "Jenkins," which is a bit more of a hybrid role, and probably 15 or 20 pounds away from Brandt's current weight.

OFFERS

Brandt was down to Stanford or Cal when he pledged last summer to the Cardinal, but UCLA was after him most of the cycle, and as mentioned USC, Oregon, and Washington recruited him until he focused on the super academics. Texas offered in late November after Shaw's departure. Arizona was in early.

HIGH SCHOOL

The gorgeous LA private school Sierra Canyon is better known in sports for its basketball, but they're also a competitor in that ridiculously deep California league (CIF Southern Section Division 2) that produced Mason Graham last year. Remember when Graham played both ways in one of the biggest games of the season then told reporters in the parking lot he could play another right now? That was after playing Sierra Canyon, which oddly has yet to produce an NFL player. That's coming; they've had four 4-stars (not including Brandt) on Rivals since 2017. Hoops alumni include Scottie Pippen, Marvin Bagley, Kenyon Martin, Brandon Boston, Ziare Williams, Jarron and Jason Collins, and Bronny (son of LeBron) James. In case that wasn't a clue, it's also a school filled with the children of famous people, like the Jenners from the Kardashians, Alec Baldwin's kid, etc.

Cameron Brandt is from Carson (yes, like Dre). He transferred from St. Bernard (the high school you might have seen while landing at LAX), reportedly taking a bus in to Sierra Canyon at 4:30 a.m. every morning to get his workouts in before school. (I leave it to people in LA to figure out how to use public transportation to get from practically Torrance to the other side of the Hollywood sign in just 3 hours, because Google Maps couldn't figure it out.)

Under Brandt's captainship last year the football team went on a back-half run all the way to the division championship despite having to replace eight D-I players (three who went to Pac12 teams) off of a team that went 7-5 in 2021. They have a 3.5*-star OG (Eugene Brooks) and 3-star slot bug (Terrell Cooks) in the 2024 class, and 2025 QB Alonzo Esparza already has offers from A&M, FSU, Oregon, Ole Miss, Purdue, Kentucky, Minnesota, and others.

STATS

Max Preps has him for 61 tackles (31 solo), 4 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles last year. He was listed at 6'4"/254 on the roster, fwiw.

FAKE 40 TIME

Lineman, no 40 time.

VIDEO

Junior highlights and single-game film are available on his Hudl page.

ETC

4.0 student. Played basketball and track.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Harbaugh's program has historically been pretty picky about length for the guys they intend to use outside, which suggests Brandt is at least 6'3" if not his listed 6'4". That program also loved Carlo Kemp, which is the kind of player I think Brandt would be if he's on the field this year or next. Kemp, people forget, was a perfectly solid DT as long as he wasn't put in a position to take on two Ohio State interior lineman at the same time, then was put in exactly that position. Kemp also moonlighted at LB one spring, and started a game at 4-3 DE when Michigan was without both Hutchinson and Paye. And he…

Okay, put away the knives, I'm done reminding you of bad times. These days we have a role—that of Kris Jenkins—for exactly the kind of versatile DE/DT tweener that Brandt is right now. I'm staying away from Chris Wormley and Ryan Van Bergen because those guys were long enough to stay outside the tackle's shoulder, whereas Brandt seems like his best play will be as a 4i who can seamlessly slide to either side.

Of course he's also young for his grade, so we might be looking at a guy who can get up to 300+ and maintain the agility on film, which is ideal for the Jenkins role and opens up the possibility of full-time 3-tech as well. There are questions about his explosion, which is why he's not ranked like Chris Hinton, but he's also pretty far along in his development, so there isn't too much projection. High floor, medium ceiling, probably a more than functional DE/DT who gets a third of his snaps by Year 3, might be an every-down DT by Year 4, and is highly unlikely to leave without his degree.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

I think we're done now, barring a post-spring transfer or something weird. Brandt's was one of three announcements we were watching for on signing day, with 4* NT Jamel Howard (announcing at 4:30, probably Wisconsin) and 5* ATH Nyckoles Harbor (South Carolina) expected to go elsewhere.

Michigan's freshman class doesn't have a pure nose or pure pass-rusher, but covers every other shade of line of scrimmage type from Trey Pierce (4-3 NT/DT), to Brooks Bahr (3T), Brandt (3T/5T), Enow Etta (5T), Aymeric Koumba (5T/3-4 OLB), Breeon Ishmail (Uche), and Jason Hewlett (Viper).

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Kendrick Bell	MO	3.5	Ronnie's little brother
RB	Cole Cabana	MI	4.3⬆	Speedy receiver back
RB	Benjamin Hall	GA	3.5⬇⬇	Battering ram with vision
WR	Karmello English	AL	4.1⬇	Go Go Gadget Gallon
WR	Semaj Morgan	MI	3.8	Homegrown Gattis-ian slot
WR	Fredrick Moore	MO	3.7⬆	Crafty Roundtree 2.0
TE	Deakon Tonielli	IL	3.9⬆⬆⬆	Catchy bouncy bballer
TE	Zack Marshall	CA	3.8⬆	1,000-yard receiver in Cali league
OG	Amir Herring	MI	4.0⬇	West Bloomfield's interior mauler
OG	Nathan Efobi	GA	3.9⬇	Ineffable teddy bear
OT	Evan Link	DC	4.1	Agile OT with a Wisconsin offer
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Trey Pierce	IL	3.9⬆⬆⬆	Polished, rising 3-tech
DT	Brooks Bahr	IL	3.7	Lengthy build-a-bear
DE/DT	Cameron Brandt	CA	3.9	Versatile, academic tweener
SDE	Enow Etta	TX	4.4⬆	Poor man's Rashan Gary
WDE	Aymeric Koumba	FRA	3.6	Long/French athletic freak
MLB	Semaj Bridgeman	PA	4.1	Formerly elite, WLBish
WLB	Hayden Moore	CO	3.5	Versatile tackling machine
OLB	Jason Hewlett	OH	3.9	Hybrid S/OLB/DE
OLB	Breeon Ishmail	OH	3.5	LB/Edge tweener
S	D'Juan Waller Jr.	OH	3.6⬆	Lanky Youngstown boy
CB	Jyaire Hill	IL	4.2⬆⬆	Playmaking CB/S with vibe
CB	Cameron Calhoun	OH	3.9⬆	Polished, not-fast playmaker
PK	Adam Samaha	MI	3.1⬇⬇	Local #6 kicker
TRANSFERS
Pos	Player	Last Sch	Elig '23	In a nutshell
QB	Jack Tuttle	Indiana	Sr/6th	Backup QB
TE	AJ Barner	Indiana	Jr/Sr	Catchy 6'6"/250 off-TE
C	Drake Nugent	Stanford	Sr/5th	The good part of Stanford's OL.
OT	LaDarius Henderson	Arizona St	Jr/5th	ASU G who could play LT
OT	Myles Hinton	Stanford	Jr/Sr	5* brother of Chris, injured '22
WDE	Josaiah Stewart	C.Carolina	Jr/Jr	Danna-sized Tasmanian Devil
MLB	Ernest Hausmann	Nebraska	So/So	Quickster started as a True Fr