Michigan has landed four recruits in Ohio this cycle and after covering the first three, we now come to the end with Youngstown DB D'Juan "DJ" Waller Jr.. Waller is a former Toledo commit who started to rise late in the process and eventually picked Michigan over Kentucky, choosing the Wolverines on Sunday night after visiting Ann Arbor this past weekend. He is also a teammate and BFF of one of the other Ohio commits this cycle, Jason Hewlett. 

GURU RATINGS 

Waller is definitely a stab in the dark type recruit based on the rankings. No one rates him as a 4* prospect, and the consensus has him in the mid-3 star range. The On3 consensus is quite a bit more favorable than the 247 composite, but he's still well outside the top 500, clocking in as one of the lowest rated recruits in the 2023 class, and one of the lowest rated safeties Michigan has taken since 1990, per Seth's numbers. That said, he may be a corner instead of a safety, something we will dig into in the scouting. As for his measurables, he's listed at 6'3 by most sites and that seems legit. When the Michigan staff went in-home with Waller, there was a photo taken that I used as the cover for his commitment stub on Sunday, showing Harbaugh standing next to Waller. The two appeared to be the same height, if not Waller being slightly taller. We know JH is a legit 6'3", so it would appear Waller is as well. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Lanky tweener]

SCOUTING 

Despite being a rather unheralded prospect, there is plenty of scouting out there on DJ Waller, the first of which coming from Allen Trieu's free overview: 

Very long, tall and has lined up in different places defensively. Best projection right now is as a safety but could get opportunities to play cornerback or grow into a hybrid backer. Will come down hill and likes contact. Shows short-area twitch and change of direction at his size. Pure long speed is a bit of an unknown ... On the raw side but has worked on his technique and is developing. Has a higher ceiling and versatility. 

You can tell just from the lead picture to this piece, or really any picture of Waller, that he is indeed very long and tall. "Lanky" would be the best way to describe him. His height puts Waller into an interesting range between safety and corner, but like many prospects Michigan has taken in this 2023 class, versatility is the defining skill. 

Lucas Reimink of Rivals agrees that safety makes more sense than corner based on what we know now: 

He projects to play safety at the next level, ideally in more of a SS-type role where he can roll down, be the box safety, and play the run more often than not. At 6’3” and 190 lbs, Waller has really good length for a safety. 

This seems to be because Reimink was most positive about Waller in run defense: 

In the run game is where DJ shines. He uses his good mental processing speed to read run and get to his gap quickly. He plays with good physicality and he’s not afraid to come up and lay the wood on a ball carrier or mix it up with an opposing OL or TE who tries to block him. He is also a good tackler, who can effectively bring down ball carriers of all varieties. 

As for coverage, Reimink noted that mental processing and length allows Waller to be a disruptive pass-defender, but that marginal foot speed and agility with sometimes clunky hip fluidity are weaknesses. 

West Virginia's coaching staff seemed to agree with the general outline sketched out above: 

West Virginia sees Waller as a safety with the ability to play inside and outside of the box. At his size, Waller should be able to play multiple positions that versatility is appealing to the coaches.

Waller's coach was hyping up his positional versatility in an interview with Trieu: 

We play a 4-2-5, so we roll him down a lot as a weak safety into the box, but we can leave him high and he cover flats, he can cover a deep third and still be able to come down and be a huge impact guy. ... Basically anywhere in the secondary and possibly even putting weight on and moving to WILL backer or a SAM really or either type of safety. He played corner last year has shown that on film so several schools are even considering trying him at corner. 

EJ Holland of On3 reported over the last month that contrary to all this, Michigan sees Waller as a corner first, then maybe as a safety second, and that they were in that group of schools mentioned in the last sentence by the coach. EJ is rather down on Waller, but gives his takes on both sides of the coin ($) (emphasis mine): 

Waller has the height and length that Michigan often desires at the corner position. He has adequate speed to go along with that and flash impressive athleticism, especially in the return game. 

However, I just don’t see it at the corner spot. Waller doesn’t spend a lot of time on the outside as an actual cover corner, instead playing safety and nickel. He does have a couple of flash plays, where he makes plays on the ball, but they are too far and few in between. ... Waller is big and intriguing but isn’t very fluid and looks tight in the hips. He’s a project take all the way. 

The hip thing pops up again, and EJ is yet another analyst who sees it more at safety than at corner. Perhaps most pivotally, everyone seems to agree this is a project. 

OFFERS

Waller committed to Toledo in May 2022 and at that time, had only Gof5 offers, being rated as a 2* by some outlets. Ball State, Ohio, Marshall, and Toledo were the ones offering Waller at that point in time, but things started to heat up in the fall. West Virginia offered in September, and then it really got going in November, when Michigan and Kentucky both extended offers. The recruitment accelerated, Waller seriously considered both programs, but given that A) Michigan is the better program, B) Michigan is closer to Youngstown than Kentucky is, and C) Hewlett chose Michigan, it always seemed like Michigan would win this one once they deemed Waller a take. At some point in November, it became clear that Waller was a take and this weekend the saga met its predictable conclusion. 

HIGH SCHOOL 

[This is being re-posted from the Hewlett Hello]

Waller plays at Chaney High School in Youngstown, Ohio. Chaney has an interesting history for football evidently, producing some NFL players over the years, but on hiatus for much of the 2010s. Notable alumni include 1940s star Frank Sinkwich (a reference for Craig Ross only), star DE on Rich Rod's elite WVU teams Keilen Dykes, and ex-Michigan DBs coach Mike Zordich. From 2011-2018, Chaney was turned into an arts school and thus the football team was discontinued. In 2017 the Youngstown City School District decided to return the school to a traditional HS and in the process, revived its football team. For the first three years after getting going again, the team straddled .500 but this season they went 10-2, finishing second in conference play before losing to Kenston in the Division III playoffs. They are not a massive school, but one that seems up-and-running again after a sizable layoff. 

STATS 

I could not find any stats on the 2022 Chaney team. A WVU-aligned Rivals article said that Waller recorded 50 tackles, 8 PBU's, and 1 INT in 2021 as a junior. 

FAKE 40 TIME 

Scouting Ohio has a listing on their site claiming 4.45 but that is the only measurable listed, there is no date or location of timing, and it is the only site I could find reporting a 40 time for Waller. Seems pretty sketch to me and so I'm giving it a 4.5 FAKEs out of 5. 

VIDEO

Here is Waller's senior season highlight reel: 

ETC

Has also played some WR in HS. 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

Waller is, like so many players in this class, a project. The reality of Michigan's 2023 recruiting class is that the value that Michigan ends up getting out of it is inextricably linked to their ability to develop talent, and that's especially true on defense. Bahr, Koumba, Moore, Hewlett, and Ishmail are all players that will need to spend some time in the crock pot marinating, and DJ Waller is another player to add to that list. He has ball skills from his time as receiver, loves to hit, and has enough physical ability to get on a field, but he's a late riser who is still very raw and without a clear position. It's not clear if his frame and athleticism will allow him to play corner, in which case he is probably a safety, but I suppose could be a HSP type OLB. Waller is extremely lanky and will need to add some weight no matter what, and only after spending time with Ben Herbert and the defensive coaches will we have an idea of what's going on here. 

It seems as if Michigan may give him a shot to stick at CB, at least to start, but all the smart money says he ends at S. Maybe he becomes a gem there... he also could very much not. He's a low-rated stab-in-the-dark prospect where Michigan is trusting their own evaluation and hoping to get something exciting out of it, but I'm not as pumped about Waller as I am about Hewlett, let's say. It is a longer shot, and characterizing it as anything other than a wild card would probably be over-enthusiastic. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS 

Michigan is still waiting on CB Jyaire Hill's announcement this afternoon, which is a bit of a wildcard, though Michigan does have the crystal balls. Hill would be the last piece for the secondary with Waller now locked in. Their late period targets, Jamel Howard, Nyckoles Harbor, and Malachi Coleman, are all other positions besides defensive back, so if/when Hill joins the class, Michigan will be done at DB, having taken Waller and Calhoun already. 

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS