January 26th, 2021 at 8:19 AM ^
2021 DT 6-4 260lbs from New Jersey.
247 composite 259 player, 18 DT and 4 in the state.
Should've included this in the title. Got a bit excited when I saw a crystal ball for us
January 26th, 2021 at 8:45 AM ^
Sam Webb also putting his crystal ball in.
Edit: Now Josh Newkirk and Brice Marich as well
January 26th, 2021 at 8:52 AM ^
Nice! The New Jersey pipeline continues post Don Brown.
Edit: Looking like a few more CB's coming in.
If he commits, I hope there's some statement about the new staff be instrumental in him committing. It looks like Nua is his primary recruiter according to 247 and this would be a great get for him.
January 26th, 2021 at 9:21 AM ^
Dohn said he was waiting for the defensive staff to settle before he made his decision and he likes the fit with the scheme. Not sure if it was Nua or the defense as a whole.
January 26th, 2021 at 11:32 AM ^
I wouldn't be surprised if the Ravens D aura helps with some recruiting. I'm a little excited, too.
January 26th, 2021 at 9:53 AM ^
Wiltfong too
January 26th, 2021 at 9:50 AM ^
I guess we can start giving Nua a little love, and maybe the benefit of the doubt for the time being?
January 26th, 2021 at 10:35 AM ^
Without giving up too much premium info let’s just say the guys at 247 have said he was handcuffed when recruiting. Still not an excuse to land more targets imo.
January 26th, 2021 at 10:58 AM ^
Handcuffed? Was he hanging out with Zach Smith?
January 26th, 2021 at 11:16 AM ^
Well,I would imagine he was handcuffed by, you know, his boss. If his boss said don't recruit DTs because we want people who are DEs, maybe he didn't recruit DTs much
January 26th, 2021 at 5:39 PM ^
If Don B was really the reason for the DT failure, that's embarrassing. Hopefully the new staff brings some coherence but I'm not holding my breath.
January 26th, 2021 at 11:23 AM ^
I'll start giving him love when the recruiting pays off on the field. If Michigan does get Rooks and he becomes a quality starter then Nua gets credit, but just getting a recruit is not a "win."
January 26th, 2021 at 8:23 AM ^
My kingdom for a crystal ball!
Or, my castles for a Rooks!
January 26th, 2021 at 8:24 AM ^
If we could somehow land him and pull Benny from MSU we could finally have an answer to who plays DT for a few years
January 26th, 2021 at 8:29 AM ^
Benny has GOT to be the top target left for 2021.
January 26th, 2021 at 8:43 AM ^
From what I have read he is the top targeting remaining on the board. I talk to my sparty buddies daily about Benny. I feed them what some UM insiders are saying and they feed me what some MSU insiders are saying. According to my buddies Benny is solid to MSU and is not flipping. Apparently last night right after a rivals article was published about Benny flipping to UM or Texas, he was on twitter trying to recruit Seldon's brother Myles Rowser to MSU. I wouldn't get my hopes up with Benny. But I guess you never know.
January 26th, 2021 at 8:53 AM ^
Allen Trieu thinks he is sticking with MSU. No signs say he is wavering, though Bellamy just got on and Webb thinks he is there best shot at getting to him (Bellamy helped him with his recruitment last year). Even if he does stick with MSU, I wouldn't be shocked if he is in the transfer portal by next year.
January 26th, 2021 at 9:11 AM ^
Why do you think he would hop in the transfer portal right away? I think he is going to get immediate playing time at MSU.
January 26th, 2021 at 9:25 AM ^
Because MSU will suck next year and he'll realize the whole branding pitch they made to him will be correlated with BIG 10 bottom feeder. Not saying he'll come here but given the way the transfer portal is essentially another recruiting platform and how fickle Benny seems to be (since he was a UM lean before the MSU game) then it wouldn't surprise me if he defected on his commitment.
January 26th, 2021 at 9:34 AM ^
Honestly, it is hard to say how good MSU will be next season. They have been utilizing the transfer portal. I have to believe every recruit right now realizes MSU is in a rebuild mode. They are selling hope and what could be right now. If they don't make a bowl game this upcoming season or show significant improvement, then I could see that shiny new penny fading quickly. And from my understanding I don't think Benny has been fickle at all. At his announcement he said he had his mind made up for a while now and that the UM and MSU game just solidified it. That game this upcoming season is huge. UM can not be 0-2 to Tucker. That could really swing the momentum for in-state recruiting. If I had to bet, I think Benny will be at MSU for his entire tenure. He seems to like them.
January 26th, 2021 at 12:00 PM ^
No... he doesn't... for someone to want to go to MSU to "build his brand", can go... remember McDowell ?
January 26th, 2021 at 1:31 PM ^
Has any recruit from Oak Park done anything special in college?
January 26th, 2021 at 8:44 AM ^
If we could somehow land him and pull Benny from MSU we could finally have an answer to who plays DT for a few years
Thought that about Mazi & Hinton, but...
January 26th, 2021 at 8:49 AM ^
Good point. We just never really know how recruits will pan out in college. Even highly regarded ones.
January 26th, 2021 at 8:56 AM ^
We just never really know how recruits will pan out in college. Even highly regarded ones.
Very true, even the hit rate on 5-stars is only like 60%. You also can't count on much from DTs until year 3, which is not much different from OL.
January 26th, 2021 at 9:11 AM ^
So you agree you can't count on DTs until year 3, but still made your initial comment given both Hinton and Smith have only been here 2 years. Doesn't really make sense.
January 26th, 2021 at 11:37 AM ^
So you agree you can't count on DTs until year 3, but still made your initial comment given both Hinton and Smith have only been here 2 years. Doesn't really make sense.
I disagree that it doesn't make sense. The highlight of my point is that it won't have any immediate impact for several years and even then it's like 50/50 at best. Yes, Mazi and Hinton may still prove valuable from 2021-2023, but they have yet to fix anything yet. So, signing a DT is great, but not a sure fix for the DT problems, plus we won't know for several years.
January 26th, 2021 at 6:31 PM ^
It’s time for Mazi and Hinton to step up. We should not be counting on Rooks next year. We need player development to help build the depth.
Regarding Rooks 260lb weight I would not be concerned about his size. He is likely bigger and It sounds like his frame is ready made for adding some weight. That may be a good thing compared to Mazi who needed to trim some bad weight.
it’s hard to predict body maturity. My buddy was a 6’2” 220 TB in HS but was 275 lb TE by the end of Freshman year in college. After he graduated he went on a quest to hit 300lbs which made for some entertainment on the late night dining circuit.
He got there.
January 26th, 2021 at 8:56 AM ^
It is entirely too early to write off Hinton and Smith. Very few young DTs contribute. Both guys could be excellent in time.
January 26th, 2021 at 9:05 AM ^
They both should contribute heavily next year. Hinton is probably starting with Jeter. Smith should be first or second off the bench along with Welschof
January 26th, 2021 at 9:09 AM ^
Hinton had some extremely impressive plays this season. Could be 2nd/3rd Team All-B1G this year.
January 26th, 2021 at 9:17 AM ^
Are you serious they have two to three years left and Hinton was playing very well in a defense that mainly never played to his strengths, this year. And who would plug in a ex-fullback turned defensive end as opposed to a ex 4-star defensive lineman who I’m positive could make a bigger impact on a goal line stance. Mazi will improve he has to get stronger of course. But he’s far from a failure. What a gas.
January 26th, 2021 at 9:29 AM ^
I don't think anyone is calling them a failure. Hinton was a top 20 recruit and a 5 star. I think it is just being pointed out, so far he has not lived up to his ranking. That is a type of recruit who should be almost a shoe in starter anywhere he goes besides Clemson, Alabama, and OSU. Which a recruit with that ranking could potentially be a starter at those schools by the end of the season. I still have high hopes for both Smith and Hinton. Which, as pointed out, Hinton has shown flashes. Just needs the consistency.
January 26th, 2021 at 2:55 PM ^
But he’s far from a failure.
Who said he was a failure? My point is that simply signing a 4-star DT is not going to be an immediate fix.
January 26th, 2021 at 8:34 AM ^
But can he play DT?
January 26th, 2021 at 8:36 AM ^
Good
I know nothin about nothin, but I feel like Nua may have had systematic differences vs Brown from a DT standpoint. Lets hope he can help Develop any recruits we bring in at the DT.
January 26th, 2021 at 10:07 AM ^
Yeah, just a hunch, but given Nua's background, I think he wants the 300-lb plus types.
Brown did not.
January 26th, 2021 at 8:37 AM ^
Can he play Cornerback?
January 26th, 2021 at 8:43 AM ^
Avante Dickerson is a recent decommit from Minnesota. Would like to see us make a push for him
January 26th, 2021 at 8:48 AM ^
In all seriousness I think people are way overstating the situation at corner. We have a lot of young guys who were highly regarded by the services. But I think they were recruited into the wrong system.
January 26th, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
Dickerson is apparently headed to Oregon, which seems odd for a Nebraska kid.
January 26th, 2021 at 8:41 AM ^
This is good news, right?
January 26th, 2021 at 8:43 AM ^
THANK YOU, PRESIDENT BIDEN!
January 26th, 2021 at 9:00 AM ^
Hmm, I'm more chalking it up to Clinton's complete financial deregulation policies, and/or, Bush's 2.4+ trillion dollar iraq war to "defend our freedom"!
January 26th, 2021 at 8:43 AM ^
While I'll take any legitimate DT at this point, I'm also a little hesitant to get too excited about a 260 lbs DT. While he may be projected to play DT, a 260 lbs DT or even a 280 lbs DT is probably not going to help us. That doesn't mean he can't develop into a quality DT, but he'll take some time before he's ready to contribute. Ryan Glasgow did this as he was 260 lbs in HS, but he didn't really play until his 3rd year. To give you some other points of comparison Bryan Mone was over 330 lbs in HS. Mazi Smith was 290 lbs in HS. Aubrey Solomon was 288 lbs in HS. Mo Hurst was 290 lbs in HS. Ondre Pipkins was 305 lbs in HS. And, Willie Henry was 270 lbs in HS. So, I'm a little hesitant to get too excited about a 260 lbs HS DT who needs to add quite a bit of weight to be effective.
January 26th, 2021 at 8:52 AM ^
I agree. Unless he is as strong as an ox it might be a year or two with the S&C coach before he makes an impact.
January 26th, 2021 at 8:55 AM ^
I gained 20 lbs my freshman year of college and that was just from going to the student union every day for lunch and dinner! Albeit the jump was from 130 to 150. He seems like he has the frame to put on more weight.
January 26th, 2021 at 12:59 PM ^
I gained 20 lbs my freshman year of college and that was just from going to the student union every day for lunch and dinner! Albeit the jump was from 130 to 150. He seems like he has the frame to put on more weight.
Weight gains/losses are a bit unpredictable. Most questions in exercise science are answered by it depends. So, the amount a guy can gain will be based on a combination of his injury status, his previous experience with weight training, his level of development to date, his experience with his nutrition, his current size, his genetic potential, and how well he follows the plan when he gets to college. For example you could have a guy that has already been doing a consistent strength training program for 3-4 years in HS, been following a serious nutritional plan, and is already very well developed for his age. He might only be able to put on 5-10 lbs in college. You may have another guy who is not as far along in his development and hasn't really done any consistent strength training or nutrition work and he could blow up once he starts following a college S&C plan and a consistent weight gaining nutritional approach. You might also have a guy that simply has a high metabolism and can't put on weight. Or on the other end of the spectrum you might have a guy that actually needs to improve his body composition and lose a lot of fat and you'll see his weight stay the same even when he builds muscle or even lose net weight. All that is to say weight changes are very individual. Making a generalization that most HS d-lineman will be able to gain is probably accurate. But, at the same time assuming a gain can 40 lbs of quality weight is also wishful thinking because not everyone is capable of that. So, my take home point is that yes, he's in the realm of a DT, but he's also not college ready sized. Most (not all) of the top DTs in class like Payne, Smith, Hall, Malone, Hunter, Page, etc. are all over 290 lbs already.
January 26th, 2021 at 8:57 AM ^
I know everybody wants instant gratification, but building depth with talented individuals is the ultimate goal.
January 26th, 2021 at 9:02 AM ^
I wouldn't be too worried about him being 260 lbs. He definitely has the frame to put on 30-40 lbs in a good S&C program. He isn't going to be an instant impact, but if you guys want to really build for the future, in 2 years this kid could be good.