Michael Dwumfour, Wolverine

Michael Dwumfour, Wolverine


January 25, 2016

Wayne (NJ) DePaul Catholic DT Michael Dwumfour

Wayne (NJ) DePaul Catholic defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour committed to Michigan on Monday. He decommitted from Penn State to do so, and he also had offers from Boston College, Iowa, Rutgers, and West Virginia, among others.

Dwumfour is 6’2″, 286 lbs. He claims a 5.01 forty, a 4.46 shuttle, a 29″ vertical, and a 505 lb. squat. As a senior in 2015, he made 55 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, and 7 sacks.

RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #48 DT
Rivals: 3-star SDE
Scout: 3-star, #68 DT
247 Sports: 3-star, 84 grade, #75 DT, #1238 overall

Hit the jump for more on Dwumfour.

Dwumfour committed to Penn State last June and remained “committed” until this morning, even though it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that he would be flipping to Michigan. The Wolverines’ pursuit of him was taken up recently, perhaps in part to solidify the commitment of Paramus (NJ) Catholic defensive tackle Rashan Gary, the nation’s consensus #1 player. Regardless, Michigan lost Willie Henry to the NFL Draft and will lose several more defensive linemen after this coming season, so depth is necessary. High school teammate Kareem Walker is already enrolled early at Michigan.

Dwumfour is relatively short and squat, with thick thighs and a big behind. He has a low center of gravity, and he does a very good job of staying low off the ball, winning the leverage battle. He’s also quick off the ball and beats linemen by getting his second step down before they have a chance to control him. He uses his hands very well and does a good job of locking out offensive linemen, driving them backwards with his powerful lower body. Dwumfour is quicker than he looks, which helps make him a threat as an inside pass rusher. He shows good speed and change-of-direction ability for a player his size, and he can provide support chasing plays from side to side if necessary.

The biggest thing preventing Dwumfour from being rated higher is simply his lack of size. That height (6’2″) means he probably will be outmatched against a lot of college linemen, and it also limits the amount of weight he can reasonably carry. If he were making these same plays at 6’4″, 295 lbs., the recruiting services would be flocking and college coaches would be drooling. I would like to see him clean up his rip move, which can be inconsistently employed and inconsistently effective.

Rivals rates him as a strongside end, but I don’t see that being likely unless he’s employed like Willie Henry was as a strongside end – that is to say as a defensive tackle. Dwumfour might be able to be trusted with keeping the edge against statuesque quarterbacks, but I believe he would be a liability keeping contain against more athletic quarterbacks. Michigan has a similar player to Dwumfour in the form of Maurice Hurst, Jr. Both have good initial quickness and lack size. They can be effective in short stints or as rotation players, but counting on either one to be a main cog is probably not ideal. Dwumfour could find himself playing 5-tech, 3-tech, or nose tackle in different packages. He has some bad weight to melt off, but with a college S&C program, I would expect him to end up somewhere between 285-295 lbs. He will probably need a year of redshirting to get his body ready for the Big Ten.

TTB Rating: 69 (ratings explanation)

5 comments

  1. Comments: 134
    Joined: 9/13/2015
    AC1997
    Jan 25, 2016 at 3:28 PM

    He reminds me of Maurice Hurst, who I always liked as a recruit and turned out to have a strong year this year in his role. When you pair someone like Dwumfour with someone like Mone I think you have a great rotation.

    Interesting that you talked about his height being such an issue given that it helps with leverage at the nose tackle position. Mike Martin was a different player, but also 6’2″. For college I actually like having someone who hovers around 310 pounds at around 6’2″ but is known for those first two steps you mentioned.

    • Comments: 142
      Joined: 8/12/2015
      coachernie
      Jan 25, 2016 at 8:52 PM

      Exactly correct. Believe when Martin was measured officially at pro day he actually was closer to 6′ 1″. You hear Thunder and others pundits moaning about pad level and how we had a bunch of too tall 6′ 5″ DLinemen and then we bring an ideal sized interior DL and he down rates him..
      Insane..Thinder is off base once again. This kid will be a steady contributor in the 2 -Deep for his last 3 yrs after a redshirt and rs freshman years of seasoning.
      Great pick up that virtually guarantees we get the #1 player in the land.

      • Comments: 3844
        Joined: 7/13/2015
        Jan 25, 2016 at 9:06 PM

        For the record, since the ratings take NFL potential into account, there’s a limit to the potential of someone who is 6’2″, 290 lbs. I didn’t say he can’t contribute. For Pete’s sake, I likened him to Maurice Hurst, Jr., who had a pretty good season this past year. But as badass as Mike Martin was, he was a 3rd round pick who has 42 tackles and 4 sacks over four seasons (about 10 tackles and 1 sack per year). Also, a 69 rating says he will be an average Big Ten starter. I don’t really know what you’re griping about, since you said he’ll be a “steady contributor in the two-deep for his last three seasons.” Are you really disagreeing with me all that much?

  2. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Jan 25, 2016 at 3:49 PM

    Interesting how his recruiting cycle has played out. Seems like a red-shirt lock.

  3. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Jan 25, 2016 at 3:53 PM

    Dwumfour is a nice player and i’m glad we got him, but I didn’t see one snap on his film that made me think “Maurice Hurst” for quickness. In fairness to Dwumfour, I fully expect to never see anybody’s film that makes me think, “Maurice Hurst” for quickness.

    Dwumfour does look like a kid that could build some real good upper body weight without losing much, if any, quickness.

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