Happy Birthday Momma ?? . . . More Life pic.twitter.com/KsJi69yB5M

— Quintin Somerville (@quintinn_2) June 20, 2020

Four-star Scottsdale (AZ) Saguaro Quintin Somerville committed to Michigan today over fellow finalists Florida State, Vanderbilt, and Washington. While Somerville visited Ann Arbor for last year's spring game, a trip that placed the Wolverines among his leaders, he anticipated that the pandemic would slow down recruitment. Instead, the power of technology—and persuasion—allowed him to stick to his initial timeline:

“I’ve sat down with my family plenty during this quarantine, and we’ve had a lot of time to reflect on everything that’s going on with the colleges and all these virtual tours,” Somerville told The Michigan Insider. ”We’ve got a good feel for every school and we’ve kind of taken that into account. (The extended dead period) hasn’t really slowed down the process. Originally, I planned on pushing (the decision) back, but after sitting down with my family I think we’re go to decide to go on June 20th and make a move to commit to a school.”

At #150 in the 247 Composite, Somerville is the highest-ranked of Michigan's four defensive end commits, a number that also includes Kechaun Bennett, TJ Guy, and Dominick Guidice, though one or two may slide to other positions. Somerville is the 18th overall commit in M's class, which moves past Florida into seventh in the composite team rankings.

GURU RATINGS

Rivals	ESPN	247	247 Comp
4*, 5.8, #5 WDE, #4 AZ, #151 Ovr	4*, 84, #12 DE, #2 AZ, #107 Ovr	4*, 90, #18 SDE, #4 AZ, #261 Ovr	4*, 0.9348, #14 SDE, #3 AZ, #150 Ovr

I'll get deeper into Somerville's rankings in the scouting section because it's a major part of his story. 247 considered Somerville a top-five overall prospect after his sophomore season. He's taken multiple slides down their rankings and is now their #261 prospect—still good but a far cry from Future First-Rounder. As we'll see, a major sticking point is Somerville's frame; hopes that he'll grow into a lanky weakside end haven't panned out.

Rivals and ESPN didn't debut their 2021 rankings until later in the process, so they entered the fray with more tepid—though still excellent—top-150 marks. ESPN fired and forgot, as they do, without a scouting report to explain the rating. Somerville has remained relatively static on Rivals, sliding 28 spots from his initial placement as more prospects were evaluated.

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.]

SCOUTING

While only one site has bothered putting out scouting on Somerville—take a wild guess—we still have useful snapshots of his recruitment at multiple points in his recruitment. 247's Blair Angulo published his first free evaluation of Somerville in November of 2018, at the end of his sophomore season. At that point, he projected Somerville as a future second- or third-round pick:

Broad-shouldered frame. Well built at around 230 pounds, and could add mass without sacrificing quickness or agility. Athletic pass-rusher with good lateral movement. Might have higher ceiling as a run-stopping defensive lineman. Good length and physicality. Dynamic at the point of attack and flexibility to bend in pursuit. Does well to disengage from blockers by using his hands. Needs to develop secondary pass rush moves. Could bulk up to put his hand on the ground more consistently. Potential to be a multi-year Power Five starter and future NFL Draft high-round selection.

Angulo's player comparison was Shaq Lawson, the former first-round pick who came out of Clemson at 6'3, 270. That looked like a reasonable projection for Somerville, who was listed at 6'3 and expressed optimism he'd grow more:

At 6-3, 220, right now, Somerville said he expects to continue to grow over the next three years.

"Most schools are looking at me as a hand-down defensive end," said Somerville. "I think by my senior year, I'll be around 6-6 and I hope to be around 250 pounds. I always play with my hand down so that's what I'm being recruited for."

Hold this thought.

Somerville checked in at #49 in 247's rankings update this February. While the drop from five-star territory isn't explained, the scouting report is still quite positive—it's an abbreviated version of the one Angulo wrote in November. A few days after that update, Somerville stood out as one of the top five defenders to Angulo at Under Armour's Phoenix camp, even addressing some of the concerns expressed in the original scouting report:

The Top247 prospect also turned in a good performance in one-on-one battles, showing an array of counter moves and refined technique. Somerville stays low, managing to get underneath blocks and using his strength to get a push. He looked mobile and spry going through individual drills.

Somerville moved down to #104 overall in 247's April rerank. The same month, Angulo wrote an updated scouting report with some notable differences from the original:

Stocky build with broad shoulders and decent length. Smart pass-rusher with array of counter moves. Technically sound and maintains low pad level. Manages to get underneath blocks and uses strong lower half to push forward. Mobile and spry in pass-rush situations. Disengages from blocks and shows flexibility to bend in pursuit. Finishes plays in the backfield. Stays gap conscious in run support. Could improve overall athleticism and quickness off the edge. Potential to be a multi-year Power Five starter and future NFL Draft selection.

While Angulo notes technical improvements, his opinion of Somerville's athleticism isn't as high, and he doesn't see as much potential, projecting Somerville as a Power Five Starter (down from a Round 2-3 pick) with a rather odd and less exciting new player comp of 2017 Colorado signee Jon Van Diest, who came in as a three-star WDE/OLB, redshirted while moving to inside linebacker, and has played eight games on defense over the last two seasons while mostly appearing on special teams.

Here’s Arizona’s No. 1 recruit in 2021, Quintin Somerville (@quintinn_2) showing why: violent hands; purpose on every rep; skill diversity. Three reps: spin counter, rip and ride, displace and dip. Twitchy and can bend the edge. Elite pass rusher. pic.twitter.com/2lqTpO7TSj

— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) June 8, 2019

Still, there's a lot to like. 247's Chris Karpman site posted a lengthy evaluation after Somerville appeared at ASU's lineman camp in June, noting his variety of moves—displayed in the video above—as well as his reaction time, "violent approach," and explosiveness:

Somerville consistently gets off the ball very well from a 3-point stance but it goes well beyond his plus-quickness. He fires out low and powerfully, forcing offensive tackles to mentally prepare to expand quickly in their set because he can win the edge if they don't. And he can turn the corner really well with his pad level and athletic type. This sets everything else in motion. If the tackle isn't bailing in a hurry it's too going to be too late.

Since then, Somerville dropped to his current spot at #261 on 247; unfortunately, as I'm writing this on Friday night, there isn't a written explanation for the most recent rerank. His profile page holds a clue, however: 247 now lists him at 6'1", 230.

247's stated rankings philosophy is to project for the NFL, not college, and Somerville is undersized by either standard. Eighteen defensive ends were selected in the 2020 NFL Draft; the smallest was 6'1", 245, and that was explosive Michigan stand-up end Josh Uche. Only two others—Boise State's Curtis Weaver and (this may not be a coincidence) Michigan's Mike Danna—were listed at shorter than 6'3", and they both went in the fifth round. None of the outside linebackers drafted as edge defenders were shorter than 6'2".

That said, last year's NFL sack leader was 6'2", 250-pound Shaquil Barrett, who went undrafted after ranking fifth in the country in sacks as a senior for Colorado State. The players who succeed on the edge at that size aren't the norm, but standouts like Elvis Dumervil, Dwight Freeney, and James Harrison show they can excel at the highest level.

Before you rush to the comments, I'm not saying Somerville is in that league; to begin with, he's more of a steady run-stopper than pure edge-rusher. I like his film, though. He plays with a relentlessness reminiscent of Chase Winovich (6'3, 249, if you were wondering). While Somerville may not end up going in the first round, I like his chances of making an impact at Michigan.

OFFERS

In addition to his final four of Michigan, FSU, Vanderbilt, and Washington, Somerville holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Georgia, Kansas State, LSU, Memphis, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Stanford, UCLA, Utah, and Washington State, among others. A few of those more prominent offers among the non-finalists came in early and may not have remained committable as Somerville's stock dropped.

HIGH SCHOOL

Saguaro is one of the best programs in the Phoenix area, which is an emerging football hotbed. The school has produced top-flight talent mostly over the last 5-10 years, including five-star 2015 WR Christian Kirk (Texas A&M), five-star 2020 CB Kelee Ringo (Georgia), four-star 2016 CB Byron Murphy (Washington), four-star 2012 ATH DJ Foster (Arizona State), and four-star 2011 OL Cyrus Hobbi (USC). Two of Somerville's 2021 teammates are four-stars committed to Oregon and Ohio State, and they have some prospects to watch down the line: 2022 DE Tristan Monday and 2023 CB Cole Shivers are drawing big-time interest.

STATS

MaxPreps credits Somerville with 68 tackles, 29 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, and a four-yard touchdown catch in 12 games in his junior season. His junior film says 75 tackles and nine sacks; Saguaro played a 13th game that year, which I assume explains the discrepancy.

As a sophomore, Somerville had 44 tackles, 16 TFLs, and four sacks in 14 games. He had a sack in four appearances on the varsity team as a freshman.

FAKE 40 TIME

None listed.

VIDEO

Junior highlights:

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

Not to be confused with BBC Middle East correspondent Quentin Sommerville, star of one of my favorite viral videos:

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Sure enough, the coaches appear to want Somerville as a weakside end, to whatever extent there's really a difference between the two DE positions at this point:

“It was absolutely incredible,” Somerville told The Michigan Insider. “We started off at the brown jug and ate dinner with the coaches and on Saturday, we toured the facilities, sat in meetings with Coach Nua and Coach Brown to really see where I’d fit in this defense.

“They see me at the end position in Chase Winovich’s spot and my time with the coaches was incredible. I learned a lot in the few hours I spent with them.”

Given how many recent DE recruits more fit the mold of a strongside end or even defensive tackle, Somerville could get a shot at early playing time if he adds enough weight by the time he reaches campus. Kwity Paye will be gone by then, leaving one starting spot open, and Aidan Hutchinson's will be available no later than 2022. Getting into the rotation as a true freshman may be asking a lot; I expect he'll be in the mix in his second year.

Somerville may have the ability to slide inside to defensive tackle. I don't think that'll be necessary, however. I think he's one of those players who's going to find a way to produce and there are more natural fits for the interior in the class.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan's 18 commits gets them up to seventh in the country in the composite rankings and holding firm at second in the Big Ten. The coaches are zeroing in on top targets as the pace of commitments nationwide continues to be set to ludicrous speed. I doubt Somerville's commitment will preclude them from going after top-50 WDE Dallas Turner.

Other top uncommitted targets include MI RB Donovan Edwards, MI OG Rocco Spindler, MI OT Garrett Dellinger, IA TE Thomas Fidone, MA OG Drew Kendall, CA WR Xavier Worthy, MI OT/DT Rayshaun Benny, NJ DT George Rooks, CA CB Prophet Brown, and CA WR Cristian Dixon. Here's the class as it currently stands: