This post has been updated.

Faily. pic.twitter.com/tTahElQMzh

— Ricky Fontaine (@JMarickWoods) March 28, 2016

Michigan picked up its second commit of the morning when Florence (AL) safety J'Marick Woods announced his pledge in both video and note form on Twitter moments ago, a couple hours after MA RB AJ Dillon also committed to the Wolverines. Woods is a lanky safety listed between 6'2" and 6'4" on the recruiting sites; he's a four-star to Scout and a high three-star elsewhere.

Woods is the eighth commit in the 2017 class and the first at safety. After his commitment, Michigan is eighth in the 2017 composite class rankings. He plans to enroll early.

GURU RATINGS

While Scout initially looks like an outlier as the only service to give Woods four stars, a closer look reveals all four services have him in a similar range: between 22-31 in the safety position rankings and on the 3/4-star borderline.

Woods is a tall safety, listed between 6'2" (Rivals) and 6'4" (Scout) with ESPN and 247 splitting the difference; his weight is listed between 187 and 205 pounds. Based on recent photos, he looks to be on the higher end of that height listing. Get used to him being described as "rangy."

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and more.]

SCOUTING

Michigan was the first program to offer Woods, coming through last May. Despite that early attention from a big-time school, there isn't a ton on him from a scouting perspective, perhaps because most of the top SEC schools didn't follow Michigan's lead—Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt came through with offers before his commitment, but the two in-state powers did not.

Scout's Chad Simmons sees Woods as a—yep—rangy free safety:

Evaluation

Woods is a defensive back with great length. He is lean and will need to add weight to his frame when he gets to the next level. He could get a look at cornerback, but he is likely a [free] safety in college. His length is an asset in coverage and recovery. He has wide receiver-like hands and he makes plays on the ball. As a defensive back, he has great range and he reads things well on the back end of the defense.- Simmons

Strengths

• Ball Skills
• Body Control
• Instincts
• Recovery Ability

Areas to Improve

• Backpedal Quickness
• Coverage Awareness

That reads to me as "tall, athletic, and raw," which is essentially the report provided by ESPN, which ends in an unintentional cliffhanger:

STRENGTHS: Possesses ideal size and very good speed. Reads quickly, is well positioned, takes great angles and isn't fooled by play action. Extremely fluid in transition. Tough kid with relentless motor who looks to punish ball carriers. Excellent special teams potential... AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: Needs to fill out his ample frame. Must refine ball skills and get more experience in man coverage. Even though he is raw at this stage, we would not be surprised if he played early given his tremendous physical tools. BOTTOM LINE: Woods possesses an excellent blend of size, strength and playing speed. Once he

Once he what, ESPN? Once he what?

Tim Sullivan gives a similar take but adds a new dimension—the possibility that Woods could add some weight and play a hybrid role:

Woods is a long, rangy safety with the ability to bulk up and be a menace in the secondary (or even move down to a hybrid linebacker role, such as that played by Jabrill Peppers or expected out of incoming freshman Khaleke Hudson). He is a good natural athlete, but isn't polished yet as a defensive back.

He splits his time between safety and wide receiver, playing more of the latter when we saw his Florence team in-person last spring. He has good natural instincts for the defensive side of the ball, but more reps focusing on that spot will help him develop.

Tim probably suggests this because Woods' run support really stands out on tape. 247's Clint Brewster:

As a tackler, Woods is impressive. He's got the versatility to roll up in the box in run support and make plays behind the line of scrimmage for a TFL. He's a explosive tackler that runs through ball-carriers with his shoulder. He diagnoses and reads action quickly. Does a great job shutting down the option or zone read. Really good breaking down in the open field and coming up with a tackle. His length really helps him with open field tackling. Woods is a tough player that will come downhill hard in the run game.

So, Michigan has a tall, athletic safety-type with various sites suggesting he has the feet to play corner or the tackling ability and run-stopping instincts to line up as a hybrid linebacker. That sounds like a Harbaugh recruit to me; it's safe to say Harbaugh and Don Brown will find a way to utilize that package. He's probably a free safety first and foremost but he's got some versatility.

OFFERS

Woods holds offers from Duke, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Mississippi State, Penn State, Tennessee, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. While his list is missing some of the top SEC/ACC programs, it's got a strong academic presence with Duke, GT, and Vandy.

HIGH SCHOOL

Woods is one of a sizeable group of three-star recruits to come out of Florence in the Rivals era (2002-present), though the program has yet to produce a four-star. Michigan pursued Woods' 2016 teammate, linebacker Erroll Thompson, in the last cycle, but he ended up at Mississippi State.

STATS

MaxPreps has only partial junior stats. In the five games they cover, Woods had 35 tackles (27 solo) and two interceptions.

FAKE 40 TIME

Woods' Hudl page lists an unverified 40 time of 4.62, which is pretty reasonable based on how fast he looks in his highlights. I'll give that two FAKEs out of five.

VIDEO

Junior highlights:

Sophomore highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

As a safety, Woods is going to have the chance to see the field early. Michigan's 2016 starters, Delano Hill and Dymonte Thomas, both graduate after this year, leaving Tyree Kinnel as the only true safety who's seen the field at all unless you want to include Jabrill Peppers. Woods will compete for snaps with 2016 freshman Josh Metellus and, uh, maybe Khaleke Hudson and/or a converted cornerback?

Given the lack of bodies at safety and Woods' physical ability, I expect he'll see the field in a get-your-feet-wet role as a freshman in preparation for a much larger role down the road.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan should take another safety and Woods told Steve Lorenz he's looking to team up with one of the top in-state recruits on the board:

Woods is a clear slot to play deep safety for Michigan under Don Brown. He has one player in particular that he would like to share the defensive backfield with in Ann Arbor.

"I'm definitely hoping I can get a chance to play with Jaylen (Kelly-Powell)," he said of the Detroit (MI) Cass Tech four-star. "We met on a visit to Kentucky and really hit it off immediately. I've watched his film and he's a really great player. I think we could learn from each other. He's really versatile and would be a great addition to our class. Besides that, I really want to work on some in-state guys from Alabama. I am friends with a lot of the guys Michigan has offered and I feel like I can convince a couple of them to join us. I'm going to do what I can."

The Wolverines are in very good shape with both Kelly-Powell and four-star AL S AJ Harris. Harris was rumored to be on the verge of a commitment after his recent visit to Ann Arbor but that talk has cooled for the moment.

Here's the class as it currently stands: