Stephen Spanellis, Wolverine

Baltimore (MD) Gilman offensive guard Stephen Spanellis

Baltimore (MD) Gilman offensive lineman Stephen Spanellis flipped from Virginia to Michigan on Thursday evening. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Arkansas, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, among others.

Spanellis is listed at 6’6″, 315 lbs. He claims a 5.83 forty, a 385 lb. bench press, and a 395 lb. squat.

RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 75 grade, #60 OG
Rivals: 3-star, #36 OT
Scout: 3-star, #100 OT
247 Sports: 3-star, 85 grade, #92 OT, #985 overall

Hit the jump for more on Spanellis’s commitment.

I originally posted about Spanellis being offered by Michigan in November of 2014 (LINK) during the waning days of Brady Hoke’s tenure. Between then and Jim Harbaugh’s reaffirmation of that offer in early January 2016 (or perhaps late December 2015), Spanellis committed to UVA. His commitment to the Cavaliers seemed like a pretty solid situation, even through their coaching change, until Michigan came calling. He scheduled and took an official visit to Michigan last weekend. Obviously, it went well.

Spanellis has a good, college-ready frame. He is burly and a bit round, a bit like Kyle Kalis on the hoof. He does a decent job of bending and maintaining leverage on run plays. He finishes plays, driving people into the ground. He does a good job of working combo blocks up to the second level. I also like his effort to block downfield and trail plays.

What Spanellis lacks for offensive tackle is foot quickness. He has heavy feet and a thick lower body. He’s not a player who will hold up well against edge rushers, and he needs significant work in pass protection. He will need to work on his stance and footwork. Good technique can overcome some of his athletic shortcomings, and he’s someone who will need to maximize those other areas of his game to make up for those shortcomings.

It’s hard not to look at the Spanellis commitment as a one-for-one trade for Downers Grove (IL) South offensive tackle Erik Swenson, who made his decommitment from Michigan public on Wednesday (LINK). With respect to that “trade,” I think the most glaring differences between the two players are a) Swenson is a probable tackle while Spanellis looks more like a guard and b) Spanellis shows more toughness and enthusiasm for playing football than Swenson. As for the first reason, Michigan needs offensive tackles so it’s an odd swap. Michigan swung for the fences when they tried to get Jean Delance, who committed to Texas; in the meantime, the Wolverines let Terrance Davis slip away to Maryland, and he would likely be slotted in at guard. If Michigan was okay with taking a guard, then why let Davis go elsewhere? That’s admittedly a bit of a head-scratcher, or maybe the explanation is simply that it’s a gamble that didn’t pay off on Michigan’s part. The second reason may be more telling, though. As I mentioned in the Swenson decommitment post, he simply wasn’t a guy who showed a whole lot of toughness and, for lack of a better word, looked soft. Spanellis is perhaps a step down athletically, but he does not play football with a soft mentality.

I don’t think Spanellis is in danger of seeing playing time at Michigan anytime soon. He might even be a career backup, depending on what talent Michigan brings in around him. Even looking just at the current recruiting class, Michael Onwenu and Ben Bredeson are significantly higher rated, more athletic, and projected to play guard. But offensive line is notoriously tricky to evaluate, and sometimes guys simply don’t pan out the way evaluators expect (for examples, see the play of Kyle Kalis or the lack of playing time for players like Patrick Kugler and Blake Bars). Offensive line is sometimes a war of attrition. In an ideal world at Michigan, maybe Mark Huyge and Perry Dorrestein aren’t starting tackles, but those 3-star recruits stuck with the program and became decent starters as upperclassmen.

Spanellis is Michigan’s 22nd commitment in the 2016 class. He’s the fourth lineman, joining Bredeson, Onwenu, and Spanellis’s own teammate, Devery Hamilton. That’s right – two of Gilman’s offensive linemen are committed to Michigan in the same class. They both will join redshirt junior fullback/tight end Henry Poggi, who played at Gilman and whose father, Biff, is the head coach of the program. The Wolverines have also offered 2017 quarterback Kasim Hill and 2018 defensive tackle Taron Vincent, though the latter player is transferring to Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy for next season.

TTB Rating: 63 (ratings explanation)

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