Hello: James Ross
BECAUSE THREE LINEBACKERS SIMPLY ISN'T ENOUGH!!! MI LB James Ross has become Michigan's 8th commitment in the 2012 class, and the fourth linebacker. His announcement is happening live on WTKA as we speak (...er, I post?)
GURU RATINGS
Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 24/7 Sports |
4*, #2 MLB | 250 Watchlist, NR LB | 150 Watchlist, NR ILB | 4*, 95, #2 ILB #84 Ovr |
The sites, they like this guy. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he's probably the consensus top recruit in Michigan's class right now - he and Royce Jenkins-Stone are typically listed right near each other in-state, but 24/7 Sports is much higher on Ross.
Scout and 24/7 say James is 6-1, but Rivals and ESPN say 6-0. Having seen the kid play in person several times, I would say 6-0 is more likely to be the accurate number. He's also listed between 209 (Rivals) and 217 (ESPN) pounds, with the middle votes cast at 215. Going with the majority, 215 seems to be the appropriate number.
Though none of the premium sites offer evaluations, Scout has a couple free articles talking about his game. The first:
Ross has been as dominant a PAL player the city has had in recent years. He is already pretty filled out for a kid as young as he is and his footwork in drills was quick and fluid.
That's prior to his sophomore year of high school. "As dominant as the city has seen in recent years" puts him on par with or more productive than recent #1s like William Campbell, Lawrence Thomas, and Will Gholston. The next breakdown puts him in the top five most-likely candidates to be the #1 recruit in Michigan's class of 2012:
He may not wow you with pads off like a Lawrence Thomas or Will Gholston, because he does not have the size of those guys, but you put the film on and Ross is arguably the best pure football player in the state. Toughness, big hits, excellent instincts and football smarts. He has all the intangible qualities you want in a middle backer.
That seems to be the book on James: not tall enough to be a true physical specimen, but he makes up for it with his football intelligence and willingness to lay the lumber. Sam Webb's weirdly-NCAA Tournament-themed recruiting column for the Detroit News listed Ross as a 1-seed:
He has all the top colleges looking at him and he is a guy that consistently, from game to game, plays the same way every single play. He fought through injuries in his junior season and demonstrated great toughness in the process. He's 6-1, 215, with good enough speed. His best attribute, though, is he is bona fide football player. This kid thinks the game as well as anyone.
Again with the football intelligence. For the record, Michigan has landed another "#1 seed" (Royce Jenkins-Stone) and a 2-seed (Devin Funchess).
OFFERS
This kid's offer list is something to get very excited about. We'll slowly build, starting with some of his less-notable BCS offers. Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Missouri, Pittsburgh, and Purdue are some of the middling programs that have offered this kid.
Then, there are the schools that have either had excellent success on the field or on the recruiting trail, specifically with linebackers: Arizona State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and USC. The latter three all have legitimate claims to some sort of mythical "Linebacker U" distinction, and are keynote offers.
He also had interest but no offers from Alabama and LSU, which would have really sealed him as a top prospect.
STATS
Scout has numbers from his sophomore year (though they're listed with the wrong dates):
103 tackles, five sacks, five forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and an interception in his first year of high school football.
I haven't seen any more recent stats for him, but I'll be on the lookout.
FAKE 40 TIME
None of the recruiting sites have listed a 40 time for James, so I get to give out my default five FAKEs out of five.
VIDEO
Junior highlights:
There's also a partial sophomore reel, completed in part 2. You can also catch some glimpses of him in last year's Friday Night Lights feature on Chris Rock. He's fullback/tight end/linebacker #6 in red.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
So Michigan has all these linebackers in the past couple classes, and though James seems to be one of the 2012 guys who's most ready to play immediately, all the new depth might mean he doesn't have to. If the coaches want to get the kid on the field, special teams and mop-up duty are an option.
Following a couple years of duty as a special teams and depth player, James should be able to work his way into the lineup as a junior (possibly a redshirt junior), and even have a star turn or two. By the time he leaves Ann Arbor, he could be a multi-year all-conference player. He has NFL potential, as long as teams aren't scared away by his lack of height.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
OK, now they really have to be done accepting commitments from linebackers, right? The position is filled with two exceptional recruiting classes over the past two years. Although, especially given the haul in 2012, some of last year's guys may be due for position switches.
After the coaching staff picks up a couple defensive linemen, another good offensive lineman or two, and a quarterback, they should have the luxury of being very picky about who they pursue, and only going hard after the top guys.
I was really hoping this was going to be a "Hello: Vince Howard" post. The coaching staff better start recognizing the importance of establishing an East Dillon pipeline.
If Ross and Brionte Dunn hit each other at a Michigan paractice I am concerned it might rip a hole in the space-time continuim.
Hey, they sent him a letter last week.
It was interesting to hear from his interview that Mattison initially only planned on scoring three linebackers, but that Ross was too good to pass up.
Do we rescind offers to all other LBs at this point? Only can't-miss five stars keep offers? What happens?
They tell other linebackers that there's no more room for them, and both parties move on.
Welcome Mr.Ross its a great day to be a wolverine.
MEGA CLASS is back on!
I would think that unless Kwon Alexander wants to commit, that no offered LBs would get attention anymore. If any do, it's probably because one service has them listed as LB when in reality they'll be a DE, S, or TE.
But a new question poses itself! How far can we go?!
What a great day. I hope this great recruiting class continues. GO BLUE and welcome Ross!
Godin's not a middling 3 star, he's borderline Scout 300 and some services like him even better. He'll be a 4 star by the time its done if that's your concern, and I can vouch that he's a hell of a player and will be a great addition to this class, should he choose to pick us.
Godin has a chance to be a 4-star, but I'm not sure that he's a guarantee for that rating. He's a good player, but not exactly a world beater.
but he's not a "middling 3 star." If Godin joins this class he should be embraced, not met with 'oh god a 3 star why did we waste a scholarship.'
Looks like we're getting a smart, hardworking, productive guy, and I like the trend of recruiting high school LBs to play LB. Welcome, Mr. Ross.
of another stud Wolverine commit! I believe Ross will play early and play very well in Mattison's defense. The future certainly looks bright for UM football at this rate. Go Blue!
The "Dream Team" Hoke and Mattison have been talking about!
happen sparty? Damnnn the coaches are killin it on the recuirting trail. I give it a month and T-RICH will be on board.GO BLUE!!!
However, watching his video, I didn't see very many shoulder tackles or hard hits. Most of the time it was arm tackles and lunges. I am sure they will coach him up on that.
The good news is that not too many ball carriers got free from his arm tackles and he does have a good nose for the ball. I noticed also, that he is always going forward, often as the ball is being snapped or even before.
Good get.
After traditional wisdom said we would take two linebackers in this year's recruiting class, it has my conspiratorial side working in overdrive. I love what I am reading about our new LB commits, but I keep wondering why they would take four. The only conclusion that I come to is that the new coaching staff has passed judgement on the current LB's on the team and perhaps even our incoming class and is loading up in preparation for a "cleansing" of the LB corps. Is their recruiting of four linebackers and indictment of the previous staff's recruiting? Is this the new regime putting in place the pieces of a wholesale "house cleaning?" Can we expect that this year's incoming freshmen will have a hard time getting off the bench in a year?
I went to bed with the Big News about Bin Laden, great nightcap.
I couldn't wait for my breakfast news about our new recruit. I couldn't download my WTKA podcast. Thankfully, I was able to get my news about Ross from MGoBLog!!!!
and he didn't even play football. Excited about the potential of this kid and true LB instincts. Welcome to the family, James Ross
This is my favorite recruit of the class so far. I know a bunch of people from OLSM. They used to play Saturday afternoon games when I was in school, so I used to go to those after going to our games Friday night.
I wish you the best of luck on the field and in the classroom. Hopefully you will get a lot of playing time by your red-shirt sophomore year! Hoke and CO are doing a great job recruiting. Now for some DL and OL recruits.
I must say there is nothing better than coming home to a fresh Hello post as well as reading the (insert o-state collapse thread).
for recruits out of the state of Michigan? I really do not recall this many highly rated guys the past few years. Or am I only hearing about them because they are choosing Michigan whereas the past few years they chose elsewhere?
The 2012 class in Michigan is pretty strong, but I think the 2009 class was, too. It remains to be seen how many of these guys will be highly ranked, but I think the midwest in general looks stronger than it has in a few years. The 2011 class in Michigan was not very deep.
about James, I'm not sure who impresses me more, him, or his parents.
Tremendous additions to the Michigan family.
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