Lanky to the point of deception. [Andrew Ivins/247]

Despite a cancelled spring game, Michigan gained its first defensive back commit of the 2019 class over the weekend when they flipped four-star Hollywood (FL) Chaminade-Madonna Prep cornerback Te'Cory Couch from his prior pledge to Tennessee. The news broke yesterday and Couch confirmed it on his Twitter account last night. Miami (YTM) had been seen as Michigan's biggest competitor to pull Couch from his UT pledge, but one strong official visit to Ann Arbor was enough to sway him.

Couch is the eighth commit in Michigan's 2019 class, which now ranks fifth nationally and first in the Big Ten.

GURU RATINGS

While ESPN docks Couch a star, all three services have him in a relatively tight grouping. Rivals' #16 safety made their top 250, so he's probably lingering around 300th there, which would split between his ESPN and 247 rankings.

Despite the Rivals listing, Couch should come to Michigan as a cornerback/nickel. He measured in at a slight 5'9.5", 145 pounds at the Opening Miami regional, which puts him in the Jourdan Lewis/Lavert Hill cornerback category (as opposed to Channing Stribling/Jeremy Clark types, which entirely comprised the last secondary class). While short and slight, Couch has the frame to add a lot of weight and he plays taller than his listed height because of his long limbs. As you'll see, he fooled at least one scout into thinking he's a six-footer.

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

SCOUTING

Couch started getting attention from power programs in the spring before his junior season, when he was one of most impressive defenders from any class at the South Florida Under Armour All-American camp, per 247's Corey Bender:

In the running for top cornerback performance regardless of classification, nobody flashed towards the football like Couch on Saturday. He sat on short and intermediate routes by trusting his closing speed and it worked well more than not, breaking up several passes that appeared to be routine completions.

Armed with length and solid ball skills as well, the rising-junior was tough to get down the field on all afternoon long.

He also caught the eye of Rivals, which named him one of five underclassmen having big offseasons last summer:

Couch lacks ideal size, sure, but he had a nice offseason. The safety did wonders to improve his stock at several camps and 7-on-7 events. The scholarship offers have followed. He committed to Tennessee a few weeks, back but is likely to take visits between now and Signing Day 2019. The Vols will have to work hard to hold on to Couch, as he seems poised for a massive season at Sunshine State power Chaminade Madonna High School.

That last statement proved foreboding for the Vols.

After a junior year in which he picked off two passes and broke up 25 more, Couch earned a spot on the elite 7-on-7 squad South Florida Express after putting in what 247's Andrew Ivins considered the second-best performance of any defender in a loaded tryout field:

Couch was arguably the smoothest defensive back going through drills on both Saturday and Sunday. The Tennessee verbal commit was able to run with any wide receiver that came his way and was only thrown at a couple of times.

He helped the Express win the 7-on-7 national championship a few months later. Before that, he batted away enough passes at the Pylon 7-on-7 event to make 247's David Lake add a couple inches to his height while naming him the best defender of the Saturday portion:

Couch, a Tennessee commit, made the most plays of any cornerback at the event on Saturday. He does a nice job of sitting in a zone, reading the quarterback’s eyes, and then making a play on the ball. We saw Couch come away with two interceptions and he dropped a potential interception for a touchdown as well. At 6-feet, Couch has good length to him.

Couch was a "ballhawk" the next day, as well, picking off another pass.

A lot of Couch's scouting reports sound reminiscent of Lewis, who had a similar propensity for baiting quarterbacks into throwing his way in high school. This note by 247's John Garcia Jr. from this spring's Under Armour camp highlights what is also one of Lewis' best traits:

Tennessee commitment and three-star athlete Te'Cory Couch had a very good day working as a cornerback. He was competitive at the line of scrimmage because of his great makeup speed and it resulted in few completions against him. He was invited to the Under Armour All-America Game following the camp.

Rivals mentioned Couch as one of the players who impressed the most midway through their camp series. Upon Couch's flip to Michigan, Rob Cassidy gave his scouting report:

Individually, Couch is a catch. What he lacks in size is made up for with coverage ability, as he’s proven his skill set against FBS-bound prospects during games and elite camps. He’ll need to add significant muscle before he’s ready for a Big 10 schedule, but he has plenty of time to do just that. Couch is a high-upside player that has every tool to shine in Ann Arbor.

ESPN's evaluation provides a similar take:

Strengths: Has a lanky frame that will add bulk with natural growth. Displays raw talent with some athleticism and awareness to make plays in space. Areas of Improvement: Will need to add bulk and strength to enhance overall speed and become a physical tackler that can get the runner down on initial strike. The Bottom Line: Has the athleticism and is aggressive with ball skills and with a commitment on overall development in strength, speed and with gained experience will be a productive DB at the next level.

While Couch needs some molding, there's a lot to like about his ceiling—Don Brown doesn't tend to take smaller cornerbacks unless they're of the lockdown variety, and Couch has that potential.

OFFERS

Couch chose Michigan over offers from Louisville, LSU, Miami (YTM), Michigan State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pitt, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and several others.

HIGH SCHOOL

Chaminade-Madonna Prep has produced a healthy number of SEC and ACC commits in the Rivals era (2002-present), including such notables as former Florida DT Khairi Clark, former Miami (YTM) LB Jordan Futch, and 2018 Alabama WR signee Xavier Williams. There's a lot of talent coming through the pipeline, too; Couch was accompanied on his visit to Ann Arbor by four-star WR John Dunmore and four-star S Keontra Smith (a Kentucky commit), both fellow 2019 prospects.

STATS

According to MaxPreps, Couch recorded 57 tackles (38 solo), 2.0 TFL, one sack, two interceptions, and 25 passes defensed in ten games as a junior.

FAKE 40 TIME

Couch has a SPARQ-verified 40 time of 4.51 seconds, which gets zero FAKEs out of five. That's one of the better marks posted this year; his 4.25 shuttle could use a little improvement, while his 35.7-inch vertical leap is solid.

VIDEO

Junior highlights:

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

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Couch is one of the more likely redshirts you'll find; he's going to need time to fill out with 145 pounds as his relatively current starting point. (Rivals lists him at 165, so hopefully he's already on his way.) There's also a pile of talent in front of him: barring early departures, Lavert Hill, David Long, Ambry Thomas, Benjamin St-Juste, and however many DBs from the 2018 class that wind up at corner (we guess three) will all be there when he arrives on campus.

It'll probably take Couch a couple years to develop, but I really like his playing style and ball skills. Despite the loaded classes in front of him, I think he's a future multi-year starter who'll be useful as both a true cornerback and nickel/slot.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

It's up to eight commits, albeit with Stephen Herron still likely to flip to Stanford eventually, and now ranks fifth in the country and first in the conference. Last weekend's visits could continue to pay dividends soon, too. In-state OL Karsen Barnhart set an announcement date for Friday following his visit and Michigan has seized control of the Crystal Ball from Michigan State as a result, and early returns have been positive from the likes of five-star OH DE Zach Harrison and four-star SC TE Luke Deal.

Here's the class as it currently stands: