Eddie McDoom (image via Orlando Sentinel)
Winter Garden (FL) West Orange wide receiver Eddie McDoom publicly committed to Michigan on Wednesday. He was previously committed to Oregon; he also had offers from Boston College, Clemson, Florida, Ohio State, South Carolina, and Texas, among others.
McDoom is listed by Rivals at 6’1″, 170 lbs., while other sites list him as short as 5’11”. Perhaps the 5’11” measurement is an old number, and perhaps the 6’1″ is your typical exaggeration. He claims a 4.65 forty. As a junior in 2014, he caught 47 passes for 854 yards and 15 touchdowns.
RATINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 82 grade, #23 WR, #184 overall
Rivals: 3-star, #75 WR
Scout: 3-star, #68 WR
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #67 WR, #416 overall
Hit the jump for more on McDoom.
McDoom was offered by Michigan in late October. He originally scheduled an official visit for the second weekend in December. When that visit didn’t happen, I was afraid that would be the end of Michigan’s chances. He committed to Oregon in the meantime. But then the news came out that he still planned to officially visit Ann Arbor in mid-January, and I started to get my hopes up once again. In the prelude to the visit, he stated that he would go ahead and commit to Michigan if the visit went well. That visit took place last weekend, and he reportedly committed to the coaching staff at the time.
As an Under Armour All-American this year, McDoom was mentioned by Mike Farrell as being in the discussion for the “Lightning in a Bottle Award.” That’s because McDoom is very agile, speedy, and dangerous in open space. The 4.65 forty does not sound very impressive, but he plays faster than that. The reason he looks faster is because of his acceleration and quick feet, even though his long speed is not out of this world. McDoom is a very disciplined, crisp route-runner who shows some nuance in running fades, deep curls, dig routes, square outs, posts, etc. I like the way he uses his hands to get separation from man coverage, although he could be called for offensive pass interference on at least one of his highlight-reel catches. He does a good job of lowering his hips to make cuts and could be used with great effect on double-moves. When he gets in traffic, he does a good job of keeping his feet moving and spinning out of tackles.
If Scout has a scouting report on McDoom, it probably says “size” is an area to improve. McDoom is probably 5’11” or 6’0″ and not very thick. He’ll need to add to that 170 lbs. in college, but he’s probably not going to get much above 185 or so in college. He could also afford to improve his long speed, although that short-area quickness is more important.
Overall, McDoom is the realistic wide receiver prospect that I was hoping for most. The other day, I posted my preferences for uncommitted wide receivers (LINK), and McDoom was #5 out of eight. The top four are either extreme long shots or completely uninterested in Michigan. McDoom can play inside or outside, and he can help in the return game as well; I like him in particular as a punt returner because of his short bursts, but Michigan is getting several good athletes who could help out there.
Michigan now has five wide receivers in the 2016 class, as McDoom joins Ahmir Mitchell, Brad Hawkins Jr., Nate Johnson, and Dylan Crawford. The Wolverines now have 25 commits in the class altogether. He is the fifth prospect in this 2016 class from the state of Florida, joining LB Devin Bush Jr., LB Devin Gil, safety Josh Metellus, and DE Joshua Uche.
TTB Rating: 84 (ratings explanation)
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Awesome pickup! Nice to see it finally come to fruition! That being said, does anyone feel that McDoom and Crawford are both slot types? I wonder what this means going forward. More 4 WR sets? Better depth and more competition for Grant Perry?
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I think they can both play in the slot, but they can both play on the outside, too. They’re similar to someone like Jeremy Gallon in that sense (although their skills/bodies are different). Nate Johnson is someone that I think is more limited to the slot.
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I’m betting Harbaugh and Fisch take note of how well he picks his way through all that traffic on that outside in screen thing that West Orange ran over and over and we get to see some more of that thing.
If you have time, watch the catch he makes laying on his back from his junior film ….. Jake Butt stuff. You’ll also get to see what happens if you choose to ignore him. That stuff stopped happening his senior year, and rightfully so.
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Always enjoy reading your commitment posts Thunder. You call them like you see them. fwiw, McDoom runs track and has personal bests of 10.85 (100m) and 21.73 (200m). That’s pretty decent long speed.
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I am willing to bet we see one of McDoom, Crawford or Johnson get a few snaps at the slot this coming season. Who will be next year’s Grant Perry?
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