Jake Ryan on official to M
Jake Ryan, a super sleeper, LB out of St Ignatious in Ohio, is on his official visit this weekend. He is a kid who grew 2 inches in height from his junior year to his senior. He is now 6'3" and 220 lbs.
His tape looks good. I am surprised no one has offered in the big ten but UM. Allen Trieu said scout simply missed this kid and he should have been ranked.
January 16th, 2010 at 2:32 AM ^
you were talking about the guy in 16 candles!
My fault!
January 16th, 2010 at 2:43 AM ^
Is being recruited by Tressel
January 16th, 2010 at 7:41 AM ^
No more yanky my wanky, Tressel didn't offer.
January 18th, 2010 at 9:31 AM ^
Jake already has a Porsche.
January 16th, 2010 at 2:38 AM ^
The kid looks like he really gets after it. I like it.
January 16th, 2010 at 3:10 AM ^
I have to say I am impressed. Glennville is not to shabby of a team either, and by the looks of this video he had a very good game.
January 16th, 2010 at 11:05 AM ^
Is playing in the background in the highlight reel?
Like the kid and agree that he seems like a genuine sleeper.
January 16th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^
this kid looks awesome on tape...on the fourth down play, he stopped Christian Bryant (no. 1 jersey) whose probably going to OSU and then stopped Latwan Anderson (no. 2) on the last play. Would be a great pickup
January 16th, 2010 at 3:30 AM ^
This is baffling to me. He's got awesome measurables (and even before his apparent growth spurt last year, he would've been what, 6'1?), his film is awesome, he plays for one of the most famous high schools in the country in the top division in one of the best states for football talent, he was first team all-Ohio this year (his teammate, OSU commit Scott McVey, was 2nd team)...and he's a 5.5 3-star on Rivals, and isn't ranked by Scout.
I don't know how he slipped through the cracks, but I look at his film, and I see someone I want playing for Michigan. Apparently his secret is leaking out, as other B10 schools are starting to notice him, with UM being the first. Hopefully we can lock him down this weekend.
Sidenote: Others on the first team all-Ohio squad: Jibreel Black, Darryl Baldwin, Jordan Hicks, Trey Depriest, Courtney Avery, Christian Bryant, and Latwan Anderson.
January 16th, 2010 at 9:39 AM ^
I definitely wouldn't describe his film as "awesome." It's easy for a kid to run through huge holes in the offensive line and crush the quarterback. Linebackers have to do a whole lot more than that.
There is very little of him fighting off blocks, playing in coverage, reading run keys, even running down plays from the backside (with the one notable exception). That's not to say he looks like a player without potential, but unless his highlight film just doesn't show him, like, doing football, he has a lot more to learn as a player.
January 16th, 2010 at 10:30 AM ^
teams/scouts get scared to pull triggers unless others think someone should be rated highly...people are scared to take football players...
I wonder what folks would have thought about Speilman in today's day and age of recruiting...
January 16th, 2010 at 10:32 AM ^
I thought R. Vinopal was 1st team as well??
January 16th, 2010 at 1:09 PM ^
I don't know this for sure but OB said he's in the top division and i know that Ray is in a lower division.... I think OB was only listing off D1 all-staters
January 16th, 2010 at 5:57 PM ^
Ryan plays in D1, Ray plays in DIII. Many people here in Ohio think that Mooney (where Ray went) can compete with the big boys in D1. Both of these kids are from big time tradition rich football schools
January 16th, 2010 at 11:26 AM ^
Very nice highlight film against some good competition, and by looks of his film his 40 time is only about two fakes out of five. I am very pleased with the staff's ability to see talent others may have missed.
January 16th, 2010 at 12:08 PM ^
Brian, he was injured most of his junior year, if that helps explain the lack of offers.
January 16th, 2010 at 3:26 AM ^
More:
Fun tidbit: Around the 3:38 mark, the portly guy with the baseball cap on backwards on the Glenville sideline - that's Robert Andrews, the Glenville defensive coordinator and former Tressel assistant at Youngstown State. He is more responsible for the OSU/Glenville pipeline than most people realize.
January 16th, 2010 at 4:24 AM ^
Anyone who drops Nas in their video deserves a scholly.
January 18th, 2010 at 9:40 AM ^
Seems to have good instincts most of the time, and I saw him wait for a play to develop properly on a couple of occasions, rather than commit too early and get burned. I'll take it!
January 16th, 2010 at 4:05 AM ^
The best hotels are 2 and 3 star ones, mostly because they have free continental breakfasts with waffles. Point being, this kid can hit and tackle against good competition playing D1 football in Ohio. I will take that.
January 18th, 2010 at 6:14 PM ^
Now that you mention it, hotel and recruit ratings match up very well. That said, 4 and 5 star hotels rule compared to 2 and three star ones, despite my love of waffles.
This guy looks like a tough mutha. Glad to have some more linebackers.
January 16th, 2010 at 1:10 PM ^
looks like a player
I'd love to have him in Maize and Blue
January 16th, 2010 at 8:32 AM ^
He is a DE waiting to happen, which is fine. Is much more explosive than athletic. Has his upper body out in front of his legs often forcing him to dive, reach, and grasp for tackles. Put him in a 3 pt and let him focus on beating the man in front of him and he'll be good. Shows a couple solid pass rush moves even for a high school LB.
January 16th, 2010 at 12:08 PM ^
If he's a DE, what does a MLB look like? This guy is a MIKE all the way.
January 18th, 2010 at 10:15 AM ^
"If he's a DE, what does a MLB look like?"
Jay Hopson would also like to know the answer to this.
January 16th, 2010 at 8:43 AM ^
That's crazy, a friend and I were just talking about Jake the other day and was wondering why no one had picked this kid up. We were watching state playoffs on STO and were very impressed with this kid the whole game every game. He is aggressive and knows how to play against spread and pro-style teams. I didn't know he was on an a visit this weekend. This would be huge if he would come to AA, I personally think it would be a blessing to see him a winged helmet.
We also need to offer that Stever Mehrer(sp). That guy wants to be Maize and Blue and is a beast in person. Anyone seen his video?
That would give us stabillity at the LB position.
January 16th, 2010 at 8:48 AM ^
in these highlights that we'll have to put a picture of him next to the definition in the dictionary
January 16th, 2010 at 8:56 AM ^
YES! A WHITE LINEBACKER! FINALLY! Look out Penn State...
January 16th, 2010 at 8:59 AM ^
This kid lays the goddamn lumber.. the hit at 1:02 is absolutely ferocious. We need him in Maize and Blue.
January 16th, 2010 at 9:16 AM ^
Are always hard nosed good players. Hopefully we have him on campus
January 16th, 2010 at 11:45 AM ^
And black linebackers aren't?.....Ray Lewis may disagree with you
January 16th, 2010 at 1:19 PM ^
Plus white people can be athletic too, athletic and hard-nosed are not mutually incompatible.
January 16th, 2010 at 3:05 PM ^
him saying that black linebackers dont go to work on the field... he made a small point, take it as that.
January 18th, 2010 at 9:43 AM ^
And all asians are good at math.
Stereotypes are NEVER good.
January 18th, 2010 at 5:19 PM ^
The board has gotten quite politically correct as of late.
Hope I didn't offend anyone with that statement.
January 16th, 2010 at 9:30 AM ^
"Give him a bid - we need the dues!"
January 16th, 2010 at 9:37 AM ^
He definitely plays well within that defensive scheme. I wonder how his skills translate to the scheme GERG has installed @ UM.
January 16th, 2010 at 10:06 AM ^
So, current offers are all of the MAC variety despite good size, "high motor", etc? Seems like thee Ohio State would've noticed this kid while recruiting his teammate. Hope this doesn't fall under the "too good to be true" rule. By measurables and tape, seems like he would be a great get. Anyone have any thoughts on why the offers have been so slow to come in?
January 16th, 2010 at 11:18 AM ^
I don't mean that in a snarky way, it's just that this kid is in a high profile program, as you say OSU recruited his teammate, so this doesn't seem like an under the radar thing to me. I can only think that the reasons he has only MAC offers are due to what Tim says above. He's not unnoticed, as Rivals ranked him, I think this is a case maybe of people in the B10 evaluating him and deciding they had other recruiting priorities. That doesn't mean he can't be a good player for us however. He definitely looks to have potential.
January 16th, 2010 at 2:16 PM ^
He doesn't appear to be great at squaring up runners in the hole, and also doesn't have a lot of tape of stunning lead blockers, it looks like he should be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. That's why him being a borderline MAC/Big Ten player makes sense at this time. Nothing physically says that he has a ton of room to grow (Which leads to some kids who might not play as well as he does getting better ratings), and he's not a Demar-Dorsey "I'm a totally raw player" type. Obviously its a given that he's talented, I don't need a laundry list of what he's done against HS kids, it's just how much potential he has and how versatile he is.
January 16th, 2010 at 2:22 PM ^
An absence of taking on lead blockers doesn't mean that he's poor at it. You shouldn't jump to conclusions about things that aren't included on a highlight tape.
His technique is poor at staying square and maintaining enough balance to move laterally, but that's something that can be taught.
January 16th, 2010 at 2:44 PM ^
I didn't make any conclusion about his ability to stun lead blockers, I just said it was absent from this tape. If this is what schools saw then they wouldn't ignore the absence of those types of plays, and would be part of the reason for his lack of offers.
---
He would probably be a great player at Stevie Brown's position. It would open up a lot of pressure packages if he's as good at defeating pass blocking in college as he is in high school.
January 16th, 2010 at 2:57 PM ^
Most schools would require game film before offering a kid like this, not base it off his highlight tape.
Regardless, he would be HORRIBLE at Steve Brown's position. Steve Brown covered slot receivers on pass plays. Jake Ryan wouldn't stand a chance against Big Ten slot receivers. There's no chance in hell that he would play SAM.
January 16th, 2010 at 10:11 AM ^
but the fact that he doesn't have big time offers while playing for a big time High school say's something.
It's not like this kid plays in obscurity...I don't think he's as good as we think.
there's a reason it's called a highlight video...they dont put the low lights on there
January 16th, 2010 at 11:09 AM ^
Why don't you sit this one out for a while, stop posting.
January 16th, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^
This kid looked like he played hard, and it looked like he was a pretty technically-sound tackler. Given our problems with the fundamentals at that position, Ryan would be a good pickup. In fact, I have to admit that I thought I was watching an Iowa linebacker when I watched him (Not great speed, but lots of energy and sound tackling).
January 16th, 2010 at 11:23 AM ^
would make me delirious with joy. When was the last time we had our LB corps described as "not great athletes, but tough and fundamentally sound?" That would be a whole new world for us lately.
January 16th, 2010 at 10:35 AM ^
quick to go to the negative...There are no absolutes..but if the coaches see something in a defensive player of need, then more power to them.
And frankly, the more recruits UM takes from good football schools in Ohio, the better it makes me feel. Some previous coach used that strategy fairly well back in the day before blogs and even the internet...
January 16th, 2010 at 10:43 AM ^
I wonder what folks would have thought about Speilman in today's day and age of recruiting...
Bo kicked Speilman out of his office.
January 16th, 2010 at 3:44 PM ^
Funny...
I've heard Spielman tell a story on several occasions that he had his meeting with "Coach Schembechler" and was all set to go to Michigan, he even sat his parents down to break the news to them and his dad said, "Like hell you are, you're going to Ohio State and that's final."