Tuesday Recruitin' Attempts To Speak DaCoachO
Hey: Joe
Four-star FL QB Joe Milton's commitment (Hello post here) has been followed by the usual post-pledge scouting reports. Scout:
Milton also does a good job of transferring weight and stepping into his throws. He has packed on solid mass over the past year, and measures in at roughly 6-foot-5 when lacing up the cleats. He can continue to work on his accuracy on some of his intermediate throws, but flashes great ball placement when extending the field with the deep ball.
The Central Florida native is also comfortable when throwing on the run. Milton's fleet-footed style allows him to dissect defenses with his legs, but he also does a nice job of keeping his eyes locked down the field in hopes of utilizing his arm first.
After completing just 46% of his passes as a junior, unfortunately the stigma of being inaccurate is going to be there for Milton. Farrell agrees that it’s something that needs to be dealt with but doesn’t believe it will be a long-term issue for the big QB.
“He’s going to have to be a little bit more less reliant on his arm,” Farrell explained. “His teams throws the ball down field a lot because that’s what he’s comfortable doing. On short and intermediate passes after seeing him in camps this spring and watching him on film, he’s not as comfortable with touch. He loves slinging the ball down the field and he loves showing off that big arm.
Via a Freep interview with Milton's high school coach, Pep Hamilton provides a player comp:
“He got in contact with and me and said, ‘Coach, tell me about this kid, I love him,’” Hayes recalled. “He always talks about how he reminds him of Steve McNair. I thought that was pretty big. Coach Hamilton may have had the job one week and we’ve been in constant contact since he’s had the job.”
Milton's commitment gives Michigan a connection to one of the top prospects in the 2019 class. As TMI's Brice Marich notes, he's a cousin of Palm Beach Central cornerback Akeem Dent, who's ranked as the #6 overall player in the 2019 class by 247 and boasts an offer sheet to match. Incidentally, Michigan offered Dent on Friday.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Next Man Up?
There are a few possibilities for Michigan's next commitment, which should come in the near future. Three-star AZ QB Tyler Shough is still set to visit this weekend. 100% of his crystal ball picks are for Michigan, and he's stated he has no issue competing against another QB in the class. Shough would be a heck of a second quarterback for one class; he holds offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, and Louisville, and his film (above) doesn't look like a three-star's to me. He plays at one of Arizona's powerhouse schools and has stats that indicate his floor is higher than Milton's (his ceiling is lower, but you might be able to say that about every other QB in the class).
A pair of in-state linemen are set to pull the trigger soon. Four-star Grand Rapids Catholic Cental OT Jalen Mayfield has a decision date set for May 23rd. 247's Steve Wiltfong reports Mayfield has a final group of Michigan, MSU, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska; everyone expects him to wind up in Ann Arbor.
Steve Lorenz says as much in his latest Inside Michigan Recruiting post, which mentions another in-state tackle who could join the class soon: four-star Traverse City West OT Ryan Hayes.
Traverse City (MI) West four-star Ryan Hayes is still expected to decide sometime in the near future, although a concrete date hasn't been set. This is another recruitment that Michigan is in full control of at this point.
In a board post, Lorenz mentioned increased optimism regarding Michigan's chances at landing four-star NJ OLB Shayne Simon:
Hearing some even stronger rumblings regarding Simon and Michigan.
At this point, I think it would be a surprise if he committed elsewhere. Remember, mom and aunt attended Michigan.
If the spring progresses at this pace, Michigan could have the majority of its class locked up well before the season, allowing them to narrow their focus to select group of top targets.
In-State Guys Headed Elsewhere
Four-star Oak Park OG Marquan McCall committed to Kentucky yesterday, not long after visiting Lexington for their spring game. While there's been consternation about Michigan allowing the top-ranked recruit in the state to head elsewhere, the lack of a major push from any of the regional powers should tell you how much Michigan was interested; with the projected small class, they're not going to take in-state recruits for the sake of taking them, especially in a weak year for top-tier talent in Michigan.
In that vein, Michigan hasn't pursued four-star Cass Tech cornerback Kalon Gervin even after his recent decommitment from Notre Dame:
Early on in his recruitment, being from Cass Tech, most assumed he’d end up staying in-state and playing for the University of Michigan. However, despite offering early, the Wolverines weren’t showing a great deal of interest when it came time for him to make a decision. It looks like that is still the case.
“They didn’t hit me up at all,” said Gervin of the in-state Wolverines, following his decision to open things up.
The Wolverines already have three defensive backs in the class and Gervin is smaller than this staff's ideal corner prospect. He looks likely to end up out of state; I put in a speculative Virginia Tech pick based on his visit plans.
DACOACHO GONNA PROTECT THUH HOMETURF
Tulane's football team was set to host a summer camp in New Orleans that featured Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff.
That caught the ear of many LSU fans in Louisiana, with most curious as to why the Green Wave would match up with Harbaugh and Co. and not the LSU program.
Then came Monday evening's news.
Tulane has announced that they will put on a camp on June 16 in New Orleans that will feature LSU head coach Ed Orgeron and his staff. Tulane has also cancelled their planned camp with Harbaugh and Michigan.
That was one of nine satellite camps Michigan was set to participate in during the new NCAA-mandated ten-day window. It shouldn't be long before they come up with a replacement.
Ready the Finger-Nubs: NCAA Green-Lights Early Signing Period
Early signing period is a go. Collegiate Commissioners Association has voted to enact a 72-hour period starting on Dec. 20, 2017
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) May 8, 2017
Those 72 hours are going to be insaaaaaaaaaaane.
Grudging 2019 Update: All of the Offers
Here's an offer. There's an offer. Here's some more. And more. There's probably a few I missed but you get the picture: Michigan has done a recent wave of evaluations and is sending out offers accordingly, many of them to top-tier 2019 prospects in the South. Steve's Inside Michigan Recruiting post began with a section on Michigan's push for underclassman Georgia prospects:
The Wolverines' pursuits in Georgia are not a joke; they now have more offers out in the state than any other in the country in both the 2019 and 2020 cycles.
While it's early, I'd argue Michigan will be in and remain in contention for the following 2019s (too early w/2020s): DE Chris Hinton, RB Steele Chambers, DE/LB King Mwikuta, TE Ryland Goede and OLB/DE Kevin Harris. This list could be and probably is bigger, but those are the names I'm watching early on. The Grayson group is supposed to make a big visit up north in June; this would bring five-star Owen Pappoe and Top100 OL (FSU verbal) Wanya Morris to Ann Arbor along with Harris and others.
Not capitalizing STEELE CHAMBERS was an oversight, surely.
Etc.
Steve's IMR post also contains the obligatory Daniel Faalele update:
Michigan continues to be a factor for 2018 three-star behemoth Daniel Faalele, who is still in the early stages of his recruitment. This is one that will likely go the distance, with Miami (FL) and others starting to push.
There you go.
Running back commit Christian Turner moved up in Scout's rankings, though not enough to push him into four-star territory:
Buford (Ga.) running back and Michigan commit Christian Turner made substantial jump in the rankings, moving from No. 72 to 49 at his position. Turner had a strong junior campaign and continues to perform at a high level this spring. He has good vision, runs with good balance and is very quick. The Buford standout is also very instinctive, shows good anticipation and can make people miss.
Four-star Notre Dame RB commit Markese Stepp tells Scout that Michigan is still in hot pursuit. It looks like M wants one more back in the class if they can get the right guy. Stepp is high school teammates with Michigan commit Emil Ekiyor.
Michigan made the top ten for four-star IMG-by-way-of-Chicago OG Verdis Brown.
I don't remember who I saw retweet it today, and I can't find it now, but I swear I saw something about SMSB's replacement being in Grand Rapids on June 9-10... That would make sense why we aren't doing the satelite camp with Tulane anymore on the 9th.
Steve Lorenz commented on it, but now the tweet no longer exists.
“He’s going to have to be a little bit more less reliant on his arm,” Farrell explained.
I think I know more or less what he means.
I can hear the syntax being strangled.
What does he want him to do, drop kick it to his checkdowns like a rugby player?
Joe doesn't sit in Shane Morris mode where he's a fully charged t-shirt cannon all the time. If he can get that touch to lead RB/WR flares well on the regular, that'll open up him unleashing that cannon downfield all the better.
You would think kids would understand this after watching Manning, Brady, Rodgers and Brees do it for the last twenty years. There's a time to unleash the rocket launcher and a time to feather it in there.
unfortunately its not that easy...even if a guy understands some passes should be thrown certain ways, theres no guarantee it translates (consistently) from mind to body on the field (especially given all else on QBs plate and tendency of many to revert under pressure). some have trouble adapting and not all can make all the throws...obviously some players have more natural ability to alter throws, some players learn to make different throws and improve via reps, etc, and some never quite master that skill
More like, there are vastly more throws that are safer by slinging it as opposed to timing the throw. If completing a pass is just a matter of how long the receiver's open, the only positive thing a soft throw does is make it easier for a receiver who can catch bullets anyway. Softer throw means more airtime, which makes QBs nervous, and a much tougher time leading the receiver so he can catch in stride. If you can rip it in there that gives the defense no time to react and you can just aim for the spot a couple steps ahead of the receiver's route. He may have to break stride, but hey, the ball got there, didn't it? That works in HS and for a great deal of college -- key on the receiver, lead, rip it.
But eventually you'll face a defense against which "safe" means going 6-for-35 because if you wait until the receiver breaks and see the opening, not even 120mph will get there in time. You need to throw to a receiver before he's made his move, or at least make your decision before he's open, which means he's going to be in a very different spot from where he was from simply extrapolating the initial steps. You obviously know what he's going to do -- you've repped the damn playbook -- but there's nothing to visually aim at. The "spot" is now a sort of invisible cereal box hovering in mid-air. And with the defense given more time to react, the timing, zip, trajectory and location (again, invisible cereal box) all need to be perfect. And the downsides are intimidating as hell. Sure, a perfectly thrown lob is devastating for the defense, but a mistimed one is an easy pick that makes the crowd howl for the backup. After three or four of those, you want to unleash the dragon.
So, it's not the physical feel for a softer throw that's the issue. When QBs get frustrated, they revert to hard throws not because it feels more natural, but because they want to go back to a safer and mentally simpler game than these Rube Goldberg plays.
Sometimes, ya just gotta unleash your inner Grossman.
That's part of what made/makes Manning, Brady, Rodgers and Brees so damn good.
Can we go after his top wr also?
Mallet's rose significantly each year in high school, but he was the rare breed that started all four seasons. But then the season he played at Michigan his pct dipped terribly due to what Wilton learned last season; these cbs and that extra half step really do make a difference. He only threw around 150 times in his backup role that year but below 50% was not cool. This is nice for Joe though because his coach already has given him exercises developed by Harbaugh for accuracy, such as the "hand grenade" drill, etc. It boils down in large part to the young man having the desire and work ethic to do it. I'd say that's a no brainer because he could have stayed home and played ball but chose UM and Coach Harbaugh to learn all he can. Speaking as one who both was taught the drills and still teach them occasionally as favors to coaches still working at the h.s. level, success is almost always predicated on that.
The big lefty from USC, Leinhart tore us apart throwing into "cereal box" target sizes" but did so with the right speed. A large part of taking necessary speed is adapting a "playing catch" attitude for those type of plays. The drill that helped me most as a player had more to do with the receiver than me. As soon as he had beaten his man, he would break his route off - yes correct reading of defensive help was mandatory, but it usualy involved a break to the largest portion of the field in order to give me a bigger window to throw to, thereby not demanding I lowered my velocity by as much as you would think because it made it so much easier throwing a post or flag to a receiver than trying to fit a ball over the shoulder of a db. The problem here is on the deep ball.it's very easy and very hard to break the habit of firing the ball on a Go route. I love that Coach H and Pep will be teaching him these intricacies and Mighty Joe Young will be loving it more. In my eyes, he could easily be a Deshaurn Watson difference maker.
What a weird year .... NOT pursuing a Cass Tech CB and NOT pursuing the overall #1 player in MI.
That's what happens when GA and FL kids are falling over themselves to commit to you.
He grabs the elite studs from the area and kids who fit his system then he gets the hell out and recruits the rest of the country.
Steele Chambers is only the second-best name on that list, IMO.
so he's got that going for him
RIP Ace's fingers Dec 23, annually.
(Ace's Fingers coincidentally is also the name of his new ska band...)
I'm going to be irrationally disappointed with the whole class if they don't get Faalele, the hype is too strong.
Q:What is better than a big tackle?
A: A tackle that is bigger than a big tackle
Doesn't like getting older and now he's having to talk about HS kids who are graduating in 2019. They are about to be upperclassmen.
Them and their spinners and their meems. Can't handle it
Any pledge from a top end 2019 kid needs to be taken with a large grin of salt - in 2018 early pledgers see Parsons, Micah to Penn State or 2 of the early 2018 pledges to MSU. (Sorry there are not 3-9 of them ...yet.... for those who wish to keep that meme alive...)
And it's not really that crazy to be following the next cycle already. Tons of offers are going out in this evaluation period and many programs are putting a lot of their focus in to the next class.
love how in Shough's hudl tape they point out the QB
Vastly underrated. He'll move up once he commits, because a great school is going to get him. Here's what I see:
- Extremely polished for a HS QB.
- Precise footwork
- Consistent mechanics
- Very good accuracy
- Strong enough arm to make all the throws
- Shows nice touch on deep balls and knows how to vary velocity on shorter passes
- Plus athleticism
Why is he a 3-star? Here are my guesses:
- May not have much more room to improve
- Slight frame that may not add weight well
- Lacks ideal arm strength
It also could be from not hitting the camp circuit hard like most of the top recruits do. I don't actually know if he did or not, but that causes kids to stay under the radar as the scouting services usually focus more on rating the kids at the elite camps.
he would be a better Right Tackle with HAyes at Left Tackle
excellent point. You do not need to be as technically sound at RT...you can simply be a monster...and maybe eventually grow into an LT...not that he needs to "grow".
I thought the 2018 high school class in the state of Michigan was supposed to be one of the best ever?! What happened? Or is it the 2019 class?
I think he was probably being sarcastic, pointing to the fact that some people always think the next class will be better than the previous one.
We wouldn't be taking an in-state recruit just for the sake of taking him, in McCall's case. That's an insult to McCall's talent, IMO. He's a good football player. Michigan isn't really pursuing him for other reasons, particularly the fact that they have a bunch of offensive guards already and they don't have a ton of spots.
As for Shough's ranking, the biggest issue I see is his elongated delivery, which is really only a problem when he's set in the pocket. He drops his arm down in a right-handed Tim Tebow throwing motion. When he rolls to his right and throws on the move, it's not quite so pronounced. I don't see much of a problem with arm strength when he can get set, but if he has to throw off his back foot or from a weird arm angle, I think he's going to be more affected than a guy like Milton. Look at the 1:30 mark of Shough's film for an absolute bullet, but he's set in the pocket at the time.
The recruitment of Milton following Peters and McCaffrey (the absolute perfect follow-up to those two), the prospect of an in to Milton's cousin, again demonstrate what is becoming increasingly clearer—Harbaugh is just flat out the best coach in college football.
I have a feeling this year is going to be better than anyone thinks at this point, and Katie bar the door on the two after that. Because we comin.
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