Tulsa (OK) Booker T. Washington safety Daxton Hill
The following Michigan commits are planning to enroll early in January:
- TE Erick All
- RB Zach Charbonnet
- QB Cade McNamara
- DE Gabe Newburg
- CB Jalen Perry
- ATH Mike Sainristil
- DT Mazi Smith
Michigan expects all of its commitments to sign on the early signing day, but here are the expected times of their signing on Wednesday, as far as I know:
- ATH Mike Sainristil: 1:00 p.m. EST Wednesday
- QB Cade McNamara: 2:15 p.m. EST Wednesday
- OT Karsen Barnhart: 3:00 p.m. EST Wednesday
- WR George Johnson III: 3:15 p.m. EST Wednesday
Hit the jump for more on the signing day extravaganza.
And here are the expected commitment dates/times of a few Michigan targets:
- LB Quavaris Crouch: January 5 at 12:00 p.m. EST.
- DT D’Von Ellies: January 19. Ellies will not sign early, and will instead go public with his commitment in January and sign in February. Michigan recently offered and has not received a visit yet, so Ellies should be considered a long shot.
- WR Jaylen Ellis: January 5 at 12:00 p.m. EST.
- WR Kyle Ford: January 5 at 12:00 p.m. EST.
- RB Eric Gray: December 20 at 12:00 p.m. EST.
- DE Zach Harrison: 12:00 p.m. EST Wednesday
- S Daxton Hill: ???. It’s not known whether Hill plans to sign during the early signing period or wait until February. Early indications were that he wanted to wait until February, so this may play out for several more weeks…or he may decide to end the drama early.
- WR Cornelius Johnson: 9:00 a.m. EST Wednesday
Mini-If I Had My Druthers… If I could pick and choose which realistic targets Michigan could finish with in the 2019 class, assuming Michigan has room for 28 players, here is my order of preference:
- S Daxton Hill: Not only does he seem like the most realistic shot at a 5-star, but Michigan’s safeties have only been below average to solid for years. Hill could be a difference-maker at the third level, which could cover up for a little bit of slippage on talent in the front seven.
- LB Quavaris Crouch: Crouch plays less of a position of need, but he looks like a very good sideline-to-sideline ‘backer.
- WR Cornelius Johnson: If I’m getting my pick, I would take Johnson third since I believe Michigan needs a wide receiver more than another defensive player/lineman.
- DE Zach Harrison: Harrison is a great athlete, but his athleticism outstrips his play on the football field right now.
- WR Jaylen Ellis: Ellis isn’t on Johnson’s level, but he’s at a position of need.
- WR Kyle Ford: Ford is coming off of a torn ACL. He’s a good prospect, but anyone with a major knee injury concerns me a little bit.
- TE Darius Robinson: Robinson is being looked at as a tight end by Michigan, but he has the versatility to play a few different positions. I believe he could play anywhere from TE to DE to DT to OL, depending on how his body develops.
- OT Danielson Ike: Michigan has six offensive linemen in the class already, so anything else is just gravy.
- OT Dawand Jones: Same as above, but Jones is farther down my board.
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“Michigan’s safeties have only been below average to solid for years”
Jabrill Peppers, Dymonte Thomas, Delano Hill, and Jarrod Wilson are all NFL players. Between Hudson, Metellus, and Kinnel you can expect that list to grow. “Average” may be subjective I guess but there’s a heisman finalist and all-conference players on that list.
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Outstanding news on Hill
Lank, I believe he means Safety play has been below average to solid. Peppers was a LB hybrid (in college), the other’s had one “good” year, the rest average (2016 & 18) to below average all the rest (including 2015 &17)
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Right. I’m talking about the safety position as a whole. And I don’t include Peppers as a safety. The Viper spot is basically an outside linebacker.
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I don’t feel like rehashing the viper/safety debate but I think calling the safety play “average” or worse is preposterous.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I don’t want to debate semantics by what standard is elite team defense and NFL production equate to average or below average production?
It seems to me that Michigan’s had elite defenses in recent years in large part because our safeties have been so good. Yes the DL and CBs have been elite, but Brown puts a TON of responsibility on his safeties and they’ve been highly successful. That every significant contributor at safety is playing in the NFL speaks to that indirectly. Team success speaks to it directly.
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“I don’t feel like rehashing the viper/safety debate … ”
but let me rant for three paragraphs anyway. Comedy for sure
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Let me see if I can think of a third self own in this one comment…
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I think people should look at Viper and Anchor (SDE) similarly. They are hybrid positions where Michigan uses personnel unconventionally.
Viper is staffed by mostly Safety recruits who at times practice or play Safety at Michigan and will probably play Safety in the NFL. Anchor is staffed by mostly DT recruits who at times practiced or played DT at Michigan and will probably play DT in the NFL.
An Anchor is a DT who can rush the passer. A Viper is a safety who can play in the box. They may lineup and sometimes function as traditional DEs or LBs but in terms of size and athleticism they are DTs or DBs.
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