Hello posts are obligatory but this one is going to be pretty thin, folks: the articles were not flying thick and fast about a guy who's a three star largely because everyone with a P5 offer is a three star. We'll see if Hibner ends up rising like Erick All did last year. The Michigan commit should at least trigger an ESPN ranking.

Anyway, let's play a version of the feud late in the half-hour where it's like "name a horse" and there are only four answers and one of them is "any horse":

GURU RANKINGS

Michigan ends up taking a few kids ranked like Hibner currently is in most classes. Last year Quintel Kent was barely inside the top 1000; the year before that Hassan Haskins, German Green, and Ronnie Bell were around there or significantly lower. Bell really tested the depths of "every P5 guy is a three star" with a composite rank of #1473, and he looks on track to be a starter.

A courtesy bump is likely coming as the recruiting sites catch up to Hibner's quick rise. It is unlikely to get him near four-star territory.

SCOUTING

Hibner first popped up on the radar after he attended a Rivals camp a couple months ago and caught many passes. Rivals named him runner-up in their "Hello World" category:

…surprised some people on Sunday. He consistently got open against some of the best linebackers at the camp and made some pretty tough catches. …length helped him come down with nearly every pass thrown his way.

In a follow-up post they also assert he's "pretty fast for a player that size" and that linebackers couldn't keep up.

The rest of the scouting-type substance on the internet is Hibner talking about himself, or relating things coaches told him. Hibner on Hibner:

Hibner feels that he possesses both receiving and blocking skills. “I am athletic enough at 6’ 4” and 230 pounds to be good at catching passes.  I know that for a player to be a great tight end, blocking is an essential element of the game. I do block very well and I try my very best to excel at both sides of the tight end responsibilities.”

Michigan on Hibner, via Hibner:

“I think they are going to use me a lot as the athletic tight end who can block, kind of like a receiver who can block,” Hibner said. “I am really excited by that because that is exactly how I should be used." …

A key part of the visit was the interaction with Moore and the discussions about how Hibner could fit in the offense.

“When we looked at film, we looked a lot at (McKeon’s) film and some other tight ends and how I am like them," Hibner said. "Also, how I am different.”

FWIW, I said that Hibner camped at VT to earn his Hokie offer. That's not quite accurate. He had a "spring evaluation workout" with the VT coaches that got him the offer. Michigan's situation was similar: they went out to see him and pulled the trigger.

[After THE JUMP: 7 on 7 video that makes it clear why Michigan offered]

OFFERS

Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, NC State, Pitt, and Vandy were his other P5 offers. Also Rutgers. Hibner has a bucket of Ivy offers since he could probably get into Michigan without football:

He reports a 4.3 grade point average and has scored 1400 on the SAT.

I think? I don't know what crazy SAT cram sessions people are going through these days.

Hibner was set to camp at Clemson in a few days.

HIGH SCHOOL

Lake Braddock has sent a smattering of three-star guys to schools around the area, none of whom appear to have done much. You may remember Caleb Henderson, a four star QB who initially committed to UNC, transferred to Maryland, and kicked off Angry Maryland QB-Hating God season by breaking his foot in preseason camp. This was the first pebble in an avalanche of events that resulted in some sort of gnome or kobold taking the field against Mo Hurst:

[Paul Sherman]

This has been your completely unnecessary nostalgia of the week.

STATS

None available.

FAKE 40 TIME

I could not find one.

VIDEO

More than half of this is Hibner playing a standup SAM linebacker spot a la Jake Ryan. There are a couple of pursuit plays on which he looks plenty fast. One dollar says his team was the variety that passes like ten times a game because of QB issues and that's a major reason he was overlooked.

Hibner recently posted some 7 on 7 video that provides a clearer picture of why he started grabbing major offers:

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Michigan gets both of their established TEs back next year and there's been considerable hype about Erick All since he enrolled early. Unless the NFL comes knocking for McKeon or Eubanks it'll be tough for a tight end to break into the lineup in 2020. A redshirt is likely.

Hibner gets a crack at replacing McKeon and embarking on a very McKeon career in 2020. He's already ~230; two years from now he should be at a very plausible TE weight. Schoonmaker, Muhammad, and All will have something to say about how much playing time Hibner actually gets early. Hopefully we'll get some more data over the next few months to provide a clearer picture of what's likely to happen.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Hibner is the second tight end Michigan's recruited in this class but in the aftermath 24/7 made it very clear that Michigan was not done at the position. Ontario TE Theo Johnson is the remaining priority.

Michigan is presumably recruiting to Josh Gattis's speed-in-space approach, not Jim Harbaugh's tight-ends-in-a-closet offense. That means three tight ends are unlikely and rumors that Nick Patterson is liable to drop out of the class should be taken seriously.