Micah Ka'apana Has Committed To Michigan
Michigan Football has picked up their second 2024 commitment of the weekend today in earning the pledge of 3* RB Micah Ka'apana from Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas, NV:
Committed!! 〽️ #GoBlue @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/Lap2t4pNqg
— Micah Ka’apana ✞ (@MicahKaapana) June 17, 2023
Ka'apana is a player that the Michigan staff considers to be grossly undervalued, and their willingness to take his commitment now speaks to that. Ka'apana has not gone to many camps and thus has flown largely under the radar, but a staggering 1,000 yards on just 70 carries as a junior(!) suggests he could fly up the rankings with a larger role as a senior this fall. Mike Hart sure thinks so and views him as an ideal complement to existing RB commit Jordan Marshall, a 4* from Ohio. Whether the commitment of Ka'apana takes Michigan out of the hunt for top 100 4* RB Taylor Tatum remains to be seen, but it speaks volumes about their afinity for Ka'apana to add him to the class as a take right now.
Like I'Marion Stewart yesterday, Ka'apana will have his Hello this upcoming week. There is no content after the jump.
Meka leka hi Meka hiney ho!
I can't get any prospective on how tall he by this video but if he is at all tall he is one really massive human being!
From that committed tweet graphic I'd say he's about twice as tall as Michigan Stadium. Kinda shocked that he's not a five star given that kind of size.
Anybody notice Jaden Davis lost a star?
Is he related to Jadyn? /s
That's a bummer I guess.
I did notice that, he seems to be dropping in the rankings everywhere. I think he's more around where JJ finished ranked.
What should we wish for, Jambi?
How big is this class supposed to be? lol.
21 commits already and it's not even July yet
I’ll trust the staff, but I was never overly impressed with his tape. It’s a lot of running straight through big gaps and then running past guys. Not much creating yards himself or breaking tackles. Definitely would’ve waited until next weekend to accept his commitment
I don't get the same impression at all. His Hudl highlight reel has numerous examples of him juking guys in the open field, working laterally before picking his spot to cut upfield, breaking through arm tackles, short yardage at the goal line, etc.
This kid is going to climb in the rankings next season. He has the patience needed and then explodes through the crease when he sees it. He has nice pad level running through the line then the top end speed to run away from people in the open field. He jukes people and yet still has power. I can see why he was an immediate take he is way under rated
Yes, he breaks a few arm tackles now and then, but for what Michigan wants at RB, he just doesn't seem to have that "create something out of nothing ability" or cutting ability that I would expect out a RB that we take a week before Taylor Tatum is back on campus
His legs don't look to be churning fast, but he seems to be moving faster than anyone. Does he have relatively long legs for 5'11"? Deceptive speed? Do we have any track times for him?
I like that he seems pretty strong and runs through arm tackles with ease.
I do worry about competition level, what kind of league does he play in?
Bishop Gorman is a national powerhouse
Bishop Gorman plays the best of the best. This dude is playing against P5 or close talent in high school. He obviously has legit speed.
This is obviously going back 20 years, but that was verbatim the criticism of Mike Hart in HS!
Could be why Mikey likes?!
This is not true-plain and simple. His ability to juke a defender in a phone booth, have the vision and quickness to cut back to the opening hole and the speed to take it to the house says a whole lot that you are missing-willfully or otherwise. A high school kid who mostly runs over other high school kids is the prospect one should be wary of-because even the best backs are not going to simply run over D1 defensive players.
I'm not saying I want a HS kid who runs guys over, but I am saying that if you watch Ka'apana's highlights and Jordan Marshall's highlights, it's night and day. He's definitely fast, but I'm not seeing the vision and cutback ability you speak of. But once again, I'll trust the staff here
I agree, but if he can do that, he can be great.
It's not that you aren't entitled to your opinion--that's what anonymous message boards are for. But the lack of even a little bit of humility sometimes when we're second-guessing the team brain trust slays me. Maybe he's the change of pace back who breaks the long one after the line and battering ram backs have worn the other squad to a frazzle. There are ifs attached to most backs, but if Mike Hart thinks he may be something special, I will hope so, too.
Sounds like a Michigan OSU game to me
...running straight through big gaps and then running past guys.
Do you mean like all of the big runs Edwards had this year? Yeah, I guess those weren't overly impressive to you either.
He averaged 14.3 YPC for the season, and 5.6 YPC against Mater Dei (the #1 ranked team in the country at the time).
While it’s unknown how this impacts Tatum’s decision, the timing is pretty interesting with Tatum visiting in a week.
If I were a potential college running back with aspirations for the NFL, I would look for a school with a stable of running backs, given the wear and tear associated with that position.
And the great line you have in front of you
Which is why Tatum had no issue joining the class with Marshall already committed. Joining a class and becoming one of 3 backs, following a year where they brought in two, and it’s a bit much.
Maybe it doesn’t matter in this particular scenario. Never say never. But I’d imagine it’s pretty difficult for you to look back and find a recruiting class with three running backs in any year.
Flashbacks of AJ Dillon. I don’t even remember the other 2 backs committed, just the one who decommited once a third back committed. Of course, Dillon was the lowest rated and turned into the best one.
We had O’Maury Samuels and Kurt Taylor. Dillon was ranked higher than Taylor, but Michigan was also in active pursuit of Najee Harris and in a good position to land him as well at the time of Dillon’s decommitment.
I feel like wanted Dillon to play LB and he wanted to play RB but maybe I remember it wrong.
Michigan wanted Dillon at LB but was telling him they were willing to give him a shot at RB, where he wanted to play.
Does the departure of Isiah Gash factor into a recruit's outlook?
Michigan will lose Corum, Edwards, and they already lost Gash. Potential of two guys transferring come fall, most likely one for sure. Depending on the class and how things shake out you’ll see another guy transfer too. So Michigan could need to replace their top 3 guys next year and it’ll be Cabana and crickets possibly. So yes, 3 running backs is a lot in one class but playing time will be there for someone to take. Whoever doesn’t earn time will probably transfer, but that’s how it is in 2023. Also there’s been mention of letting Cabana run some time in the slot. So you never know, Michigan could need a stable of running backs next year. Hall will eventually get some run but he’s a big back that won’t consistently get more than 5 carries.
Interesting....this seems to imply Stokes is one of the transfer candidates. It seems like he's in line for playing time this year given he played a decent amount last year for a true frosh.
I’m pretty sure the number of carries that we provide, the powerhouse Oline, and excellent coaching and development will allow us to take 3 quality RBs per class and let transfers and the portal sort out who doesn’t want to stay.
I hope we can lure in the big fish while also still stocking up on guys like this, he seems like as safe of a “home run threat” type RB you can find. I also appreciated his hands, they seem pretty reliable even while running full speed and at odd angles to catch
Yeah we’re absolutely not going to be able to take “3 quality RBs per class.” That’s just an absolutely irresponsible amount of backs on the roster, and a scenario “quality RBs” will want no part of.
You’re never going to convince a recruit to be one of three backs in a class when there’s also three backs in the class before him. Never ever going to happen. As I said, it’s hard enough to convince a recruit to join a three man class at running back. I’d wager that’s borderline unheard of. You’re talking about doing it every year? Not a chance.
Welcome, Mr. Ka'apana. Joining l"Marion Stewart.
We're the Apostrophe School!
I be like d’ang
Correction: the A'postrophe School.
As long as we don’t become an asterisk school I’m fine
Mike Hart himself was undervalued coming out of high school and was just a mid-3 star recruit.
True, but Hart played in upstate NY IIRC where he probably went under the radar, while Micah plays at Bishop Gorman, one of the elite power programs in the country (Gorman had 9 players sign with Power 5 teams for the 2023 class).
I'm not trying to diss Micah at all but he has probably been thoroughly scouted by the industry experts.
Here's hoping he proves them all wrong.
I don’t think the use of the word “experts” is accurate. For the most part, they are reporters not experts. I would consider Mike Hart an expert at evaluating running back talent. I would consider the fine folks, like Sam Webb, like EJ Holland, as reporters. Some better than others. Some more knowledgeable than others, but the vast majority are not expert talent evaluators.
You are correct about Webb and Holland...they are just reporting information and are NOT involved in player evaluations/rankings. However, Gorman does get scouted by actual talent evaluators who, due to focusing solely on player talent evaluation, ARE experts in their field.
That’s interesting
I love telling the story about the only time I felt I had insider info about Michigan football.
I had heard about this short Michigan recruit from upstate New York who had set all sorts of rushing records, but considering his size and the location, I shrugged it off as hype.
But then on a tour of Syracuse, I ran into an administrator who assured me this Mike Hart guy was the real deal. Because I believed it, I've felt a slight personal connection to Hart since then.
Here's a bit more, BV.
The UM staff was not 100% sold on Hart.
One or two thought he was well too slow.
LLoyd loved him though, and made the decision.
Cool! I didn't know that. What a great decision Hart made and Carr made.
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