Tag: Baltimore (MD) St. Frances

Jaishawn Barham, Wolverine

Former Maryland linebacker Jaishawn Barham, who entered the transfer portal two weeks after the regular season finished, committed to Michigan on Wednesday.

Barham is a 6’4″, 233 lb. rising junior who will be immediately eligible to play with two seasons of eligibility remaining. As a freshman in 2022, he made 58 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 pass breakup. Then in 2023 he made 37 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 interception, and 1 pass breakup.

Michigan offered Barham coming out of Baltimore (MD) St. Frances, but he chose the Terps. He created a bit of a stir, too, by waffling back and forth between Maryland and South Carolina. He was a 4-star, the #10 linebacker, and #119 overall in that class.

Barham is a physical specimen who has two years of Big Ten starting experience under his belt. He will be immediately eligible and should factor into playing time in 2024. With starting linebacker Michael Barrett moving on after this season, there will be at least one open spot. Junior Junior Colson has a decision to make about whether to attempt the NFL Draft or come back for one final year, and Ernest Hausmann is also under consideration. The best case scenario is that Barham, Colson, and Hausmann form the best inside linebacker trio in the country; the worst case scenario would seemingly be that Barham and Hausmann both start, while Colson opts for the NFL and Jimmy Rolder – who is redshirting in 2023 – is the primary backup inside linebacker in 2024.

Derrick Moore, Wolverine

Baltimore (MD) St. Frances defensive end Derrick Moore committed to Michigan on National Signing Day. A former Oklahoma commit, he also had offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and a bunch of others.

Moore is listed at 6’4″ and 250 lbs. He’s an Under Armour All-American and was named the Maryland Player of the Year by Maxpreps in 2021.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 87 grade, #3 DE, #23 overall
On3: 4-star, 93 grade, #21 DL, #167 overall
Rivals: 4-star, 5.9 grade, #10 SDE, #121 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 94 grade, #16 DL, #107 overall

Hit the jump for Moore.

Blake Corum, Wolverine

Baltimore (MD) St. Frances running back Blake Corum publicly committed to Michigan on Thursday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from LSU, Maryland, Ohio State, and USC, among others.

Corum is listed at 5’9″ and 180 lbs. He recently ran a 4.44 forty. As a junior in 2018, he ran for 1,415 yards, caught 280 yards worth of passes, and scored 20 touchdowns.

RATINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 82 grade, #18 RB, #173 overall
Rivals: 4-star, 5.9 grade, #11 RB, #135 overall
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #32 RB, #454 overall

Hit the jump for more.

Nikhai Hill-Green, Wolverine

Baltimore (MD) St. Frances linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green committed to Michigan on Thursday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Nebraska, Pitt, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, among others.

Hill-Green is listed at 6’1″ and 230 lbs.

RATINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #25 OLB
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade, #30 OLB
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #22 OLB, #274 overall

Hit the jump for more on Hill-Green’s commitment.

Micah Mazzccua, Wolverine

Baltimore (MD) St. Frances offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua committed to Michigan on Monday evening. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Maryland, Syracuse, Temple, UMass, and Virginia Tech.

Mazzccua is listed at 6’5″ and 289 lbs.

RATINGS
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 3-star, 5.6 grade
247 Sports: 3-star, 85 grade, #86 OT, #800 overall

Mazzccua was offered by Michigan in late January, and early indications were positive for the Wolverines, especially because he was not getting a ton of attention on the recruiting trail or from other programs. It also helped that St. Frances’s co-head coach is Biff Poggi, a former Michigan staffer and the father of former Michigan fullback/defensive lineman Henry Poggi. It doesn’t hurt that St. Frances linebacker Osman Savage is committed to the Wolverines. Mazzccua (and a bunch of other St. Frances prospects) visited Ann Arbor two weekends ago.

Mazzccua has a good frame, and even though I’ve seen him listed anywhere from 289 to 305 lbs., he looks like he could comfortably carry some more weight. He played in Philadelphia before transferring to St. Frances prior to his junior season, but as a junior, he played some left guard and some left tackle. He shows a willingness to be a relentless blocker, and he plays to the whistle. He’s good at fitting onto double-teams and driving his feet with short, choppy steps.

There are some shortcomings with Mazzccua; some of them are physical, and some of them are technical. He can be a little slow off the ball, especially when working to his outside (left side). That presents a problem with the ability to reach block, but it really presents a weakness when he’s asked to slide in pass protection. He needs to stay lower in both the running and passing game, but especially in pass pro, he opens up the gate too much because he’s slow out of his stance. He also needs to work on his pulling technique.

Overall, Mazzccua has potential as an offensive lineman, but he’s limited. I see him as an offensive guard or perhaps a center. He lacks the foot speed to play on the edge, even though I think he has enough length to play tackle. There are a lot of technical things that he needs to improve. He can get there, but it might take a few years. I see him roughly in the same vein as Stephen Spanellis, although Spanellis had a little more bulk coming out of high school.

Michigan now has seven commitments in the 2020 class, and Mazzccua is the first offensive lineman. The Wolverines took six offensive linemen in 2019. Savage and/or Mazzccua would be the first player(s) from Maryland to sign with Michigan since Spanellis in the 2016 class.