The second of two Hellos from the past couple days after Jaden Smith yesterday, today we're covering DT Owen Wafle from New Jersey. Originally a Notre Dame commit, Wafle was in the Irish's 2024 class for a year before suddenly de-committing in May without ever having visited Michigan. The crystal balls swung towards the Wolverines, he finally took his OV to Ann Arbor this past weekend, and the foregone conclusion became official. Let's break it down: 

 

GURU RATINGS 

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'3/290	On3: 6'2/267	Rivals: 6'2/290	ESPN: 6'3/270
3*, 89, NR Ovr #30 DL, #4 NJ	3*, 88, NR Ovr #71 DL, #15 NJ	4*, 5.8, NR Ovr #15 DT, #3 NJ	4*, 80, #43 East #32 DE, #8 NJ
4.12	3.72	4.25	3.97
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
4*, 0.8925, #406 Ovr #41 DL, #8 NJ	3*, 88.95, #410 Ovr #38 DL, #7 NJ	4*, #385/791 Ovr #32/68 DTs since 1990
3.93	3.90	4.01

Wafle is one of those prospects right on the cusp of 4* status, not there in the On3 consensus because they weight their own ratings heavily and are the outlet most-down on Wafle, while he is there in 247. According to Seth's five-star scale, Wafle is a 4* by the slimmest of margins, registering at 4.01. In our database of every Michigan DT commit since 1990, Wafle is almost smack-dab in the exact middle, 32nd out of 68. In terms of his measurements, there's slight disagreement about whether he's 6'2" or 6'3", while the weight discrepancy between 247/Rivals (290) and On3/ESPN (~270) is simply a matter of recency. As we will detail in the scouting section, 290 is the updated number, as Wafle has added weight.  

[AFTER THE JUMP: Strong, quick, and hard-working]

 

SCOUTING 

Wafle's scouting goes back a ways, having jumped into Notre Dame's 2024 class in May of 2022, coming off of his sophomore year. Thus, we can start with what the Irish folk said at the time and then transition to what has been said since his junior campaign, which tends to come more from the Wolverine analysts. 

The day Wafle picked the Irish, 247 Notre Dame dude Tim Prister released a "film room" type column breaking down Wafle's game and came away extremely impressed. Part of it was built around potential projection that Wafle had more growing to do based around his genetics ($):

With a grandfather who played football and wrestled at William & Mary and a father who played at Duke and stands at least 6-foot-6, Wafle’s eventual size is difficult to gauge as he enters his junior season this fall. 

He has the quickness/strength to be a Big/strongside end on the next level, particularly if he adds a few more inches to his height. His high school head coach, Todd Smith, claims he has a 6-foot-10 wingspan and size 17 feet, which seems to indicate that he’s going to shoot past his current 6-foot-3 height

As far as I can tell, that has not happened. Wafle's current listed height, as we saw in the above section, was right in line with 6'2"-6'3". Seems like he has topped out. However, regardless of projecting Wafle to grow more, Prister left us with plenty more reasons for optimism. Prister focused on Wafle's mix of power and athleticism: 

Wafle is absolutely ferocious on the football field. He gives every fiber of effort on every snap. He is wired for destruction but doesn’t cheap shot kids who clearly are physically inferior to him. He manhandles his man and moves on ... Particularly impressive are his footwork and quickness in short space. He changes direction like an outside linebacker ... He uses his strength to keep offensive linemen out of his kitchen

Prister then wrote about Wafle a few days later, referencing his film review piece in a roundup recruiting piece, again focusing on the big three elements of Wafle's appeal (emphasis from the article) ($): 

When I think of…2024 verbal commitment Owen Wafle, I know I gushed about this kid in his film review. But how do you not gravitate to a player this quick at that size and a player this size with that quickness?

We talk all the time about the way a player is “wired.” Combine Wafle the athlete, the strength and the mindset and I just don’t see how this player is denied success. 

Quickness, size/power, and work ethic/motor. Those are the big three that popped up first in Prister's eval and then have continued to pop up in every subsequent scouting report I got my hands on. Brian Dohn's official (free) 247 scouting report was posted around the same time and is along the same lines. Quickness: 

Gets off quickly at snap and covers ground well in first three steps

Size/power:

Thick build with plus length ... Strong, physical, hard-nosed player ... Ferocious style of play evident during in-game eval in fall 2021

Work ethic/motor: 

Plays with high effort and has strong work ethic

The trifecta! There was a gap in scouting on Wafle over the course of the next year because he was in Notre Dame's class and there wasn't much reason to report on the happenings with him. Then he began to pry loose in the spring of this year and Michigan outlets started putting out their own takes. Which, as it turned out, weren't terribly different from the Notre Dame scouting reports. The same positives shine through, though New Rivals' Lucas Reimink's scouting report ($) gives us a wider glimpse into the areas for improvement too. Positives: 

Wafle shows good acceleration, good quickness, solid foot speed, good physical strength, and solid agility ... He plays with a very hot motor, showing as much effort as you’ll ever see on every single snap ... Opposing OL struggle to stay in front of him because of how fast he gets off the ball, often taking them by surprise with his acceleration and quickness for a guy his size ... He can also stand his ground when double-teamed, using his good play strength to force a stalemate and plug up his gap 

Among the areas for improvement mentioned, Reimink points out a need to sharpen up the pass-rush skills: 

In the pass game, Wafle shows solid athletic traits to develop but has a lot of technique to catch up on before he’ll be a major asset in this area at the next level ... needs to be coached up on how to develop a deeper pass-rush arsenal, and given his athletic traits he can develop into a solid pass-rusher in college 

Reimink also thinks Wafle could benefit from bulking up a bit more on top of his already thick frame: 

(Wafle) has a thick frame already, but to play on the interior of the DL in college he’ll likely need to add 20+ pounds before he’s ready to seriously contribute

EJ Holland of On3 gave us his take when Wafle committed on Sunday, focusing in more on the length that Mike Elston desires ($) (emphasis mine): 

The three-star prospect is listed at 6-foot-2, 267 pounds but has added 20 pounds to his frame and is right around 290 pounds. On top of that, Wafle has great length despite his height limitations. He’s also quick off the ball and has tremendous power. 

EJ also caught up with Wafle's coach Todd Smith in a separate article, asking him for an overarching take on the kid. Wafle loves to hit ($): 

No matter where he is on the field, you can see him and, more often than not, you can hear him. You hear pads popping, helmets colliding or a gigantic collision. Often times, it’s someone being a recipient of Owen Wafle

Tell us about the arms, Mr. Smith: 

He has a unique body type. He is a shorter defensive tackle in that 6-foot-2 range, but he has elite arm length. He can out-leverage anybody and has long enough arms to play with anybody. He’s so fast and powerful

Finally, Smith says the kid could play all over the line: 

Anywhere from that nose guard to the three-technique ... As far as raw power and resetting the line of scrimmage, the further inside he is, the better he’ll be

A lot to like overall! 

OFFERS 

Back when Wafle picked Notre Dame, it was reportedly over finalists MSU, Iowa, Rutgers, and Vanderbilt. His commitment was never really "re-open" when he picked to Michigan, the de-commitment from ND serving simply to set up his OV with the Wolverines. The other offers that did not make it to the finalist stage include Oklahoma, Minnesota, Cincy, Duke, West Va., Illinois, Syracuse, Maryland, BC, Kent State, and UMass. 

HIGH SCHOOL 

Wafle plays at the Hun School of Princeton, a century-old private co-ed boarding school in Princeton, NJ. If that sounds preppy and rich, it's mostly because it is. Tuition costs $73,700 for students who board(!!!!) and $50,300 for those who don't, per the Wiki page. It's the kind of school that lists children of FDR and multiple Saudi princes as famous alumni, in addition to, among others, actor Ethan Hawke, famed 20th century businessman and diplomat Thomas J. Watson Jr., and one-time Yankees co-owner/president Dan Topping. 

As for the football side of things, the Hun Raiders are a dominant team within their division. They haven't lost a game in over two years, stitching together back-to-back 9-0 seasons in 2021 and 2022. The team competes in the Northeast Prep league alongside other elite boarding schools in the region (all the way up to Phillips Exeter Academy in NH), a league that includes Cheshire Academy in Connecticut, where Michigan commit Jerod Smith (and target Jacob Smith) will play this upcoming year. In 2022, the Hun School posted a +338 point differential over the full nine-game season and had a 5-0 record in conference games, dominance unrivaled by their competitors. Notable players on the team in 2022 included 3* QB Marco Lainez III (Iowa) and RB/LB Kamar Archie, a 2025 4*. Hun isn't a super high-level talent producing powerhouse, but it has some legit players and dominates within its division... for Wafle to be a multi-year, superb starter there is a positive indicator. 

STATS

In the 2022 season Wafle made 64 tackles, 24 for loss and racked up 10 sacks. In 2021 he made 47 tackles, including five for loss and one sack. Wafle also suits up at fullback on offense and had three carries for 21 yards and one TD in 2022. 

FAKE 40 TIME 

An article published in NJ.com praising Wafle for his efforts in the 2022 season quotes Wafle's coach saying that Wafle ran a 4.8 40 time: 

Now you have a 290-pound kid with freakish measurables that can run a 4.8 40. He is just a mismatch no matter where you put him. If he gets double teams, that frees up other people

If Wafle is indeed 290, that time is plausible, especially when athleticism is considered one of his strengths. That said, it's not officially timed and reported by a coach who is trying to hype the player up so we will give it 3.5 FAKES out of five. 

VIDEO 

Junior year highlights of Wafle: 

More available on his Hudl page. 

ETC 

Played basketball during his sophomore year. Comes from a lineage of football players and wrestlers. Name invites many puns, the best of which can be found here: 

The Big House might have a new nickname once Owen Wafle gets on campus pic.twitter.com/hexDy0fWAM

— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) June 12, 2023

Waffle references were aplenty in MGoSlack, which you can view here and here. 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

While Wafle's recruiting profile is merely solid, there is a lot of excitement around him from the scouting community, first at Notre Dame and then at Michigan. EJ Holland calls him one of the most underrated DL in the 2024 class nationwide and while Prister didn't say exactly that, his enthusiasm for Wafle at the time seemed to suggest that sort of label too. It's not hard to see why Michigan likes him either, as he has the length that Mike Elston has been prioritizing along the defensive line in such prospects as Ted Hammond and Brooks Bahr, while also bringing forth a high motor/strong work ethic profile that fits Michigan culturally. Wafle is already pretty strong, with room to bulk up more, and pairs that with quickness and a real get off. He's a very solid take in this class. 

The name that's been tossed around by some of the scouts as a comparable for Wafle is Mason Graham. That feels like a pretty popular comp. these days for college-ready, filled-out DTs with get-off but it's not crazy for Wafle, especially because neither have ideal NFL height (Graham is listed at 6'3"). Wafle is going to come to Michigan in a large DT class, but may well be the one in it with the quickest path to playing time. He may need to add the additional muscle Reimink was talking about but it isn't a grand body transformation or anything. Getting snaps shouldn't be too far away from that point.   

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Wafle is Michigan's third or fourth DT in the 2024 recruiting class, depending on how you want to classify Jerod Smith. They have one more notable target in this class, designated nose prospect Deyvid Palepale. He's not a highly touted prospect based on the rankings, but Mike Elston keyed in on Palepale long ago as an undervalued player they desperately want in the class. As a result, it shouldn't be too difficult to nail that one down and the Wolverines hold all the predictions for Palepale at this point in time. If/when he commits, the DT class for 2024 will basically be set, save for the white whale recruitment of 5* Justin Scott. It seems like a longshot if you ask me, but Michigan will pursue it until the end. Scott is a take no matter what, so he doesn't factor into the math concerning Palepale and the rest of the class at tackle. 

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Jadyn Davis	NC	4.7	Smooth, accurate field general
RB	Jordan Marshall	OH	4.4⬇	Accelerates South-North
WR	Channing Goodwin	NC	3.8	Chain-moving son of Jon
TE	Brady Prieskorn	MI	4.5⬇	Colston Loveland Midwest
TE	Hogan Hansen	WA	4.1⬆	Colston Loveland West
LT	Andrew Sprague	MO	4.3⬆	Basketballin' grow-a-Long
RT	Blake Frazier	TX	4.2⬆⬆	Athletic son of Steve
RG	Luke Hamilton	OH	4.0	Midwestern mauler
LG	Ben Roebuck	OH	3.8⬇⬇	Bigger Midwestern mauler
C	Jake Guarnera	FL	3.8	Mauler but center
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Manuel Beigel	CT	3.5⬇	Lengthy German via Choate
DT	Owen Wafle	NJ	4.0⬇	Little nose with bite
DT	Ted Hammond	OH	4.0	Cincy build-a-bear
SDE	Jerod Smith	CT	4.0⬆	Low-pads, high-motor big twin
OLB	Mason Curtis	TN	4.2⬆	Long athlete moving up
OLB	Jaden Smith	NC	3.8⬆	Underscouted Uche
HSP	Cole Sullivan	PA	3.8	Hybrid LB with crazy athleticism
S	Jacob Oden	MI	4.1	Tall son of coach