Zach Carpenter, Wolverine

Zach Carpenter, Wolverine


May 31, 2018

Cincinnati (OH) Moeller offensive guard Zach Carpenter committed to Michigan on Wednesday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Clemson, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pitt, and West Virginia, among others.

Carpenter is listed at 6’5″, 310 lbs. He claims a 430 lb. bench press.

RATINGS
ESPN:
Rivals:
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #21 OG, #465 overall

Hit the jump for more on Carpenter’s commitment.

Carpenter had a little bit of momentum on the recruiting trail, but things really picked up this spring with offers from Oregon, Michigan, and Clemson. He visited Ann Arbor in April, and though he set an unofficial visit for Clemson in June, he went ahead and committed to Michigan on Wednesday night. There was no announcement of an announcement date or anything, just a commitment.

Carpenter looks like a college offensive guard already. He has the size, the stance, the demeanor, etc. Michigan has not landed many guys in recent years who look the part as much as him. He also plays in an offense that should prepare him well for the types of schemes he will see in college. Carpenter has a good first step, takes good angles on his zone blocks, and gets big while climbing to the second level, which makes it really tough for linebackers. Once he locks onto second-level players, they will have a very tough time getting disengaged. In pass protection, he does a good job of sinking his hips and anchoring down.

On the negative side, Carpenter is a little heavy-footed. There are times where I would like to see him keep a wide base and drive his man rather than leaning on guys to use his size and upper body strength to overpower them to the ground, but that can be very enticing for high school linemen who have such a size and strength advantage.

Overall, this is a solid pickup for Michigan. To a certain extent, Carpenter is a known quantity. He’s a big body who’s relatively polished, and there’s no guesswork involved in figuring out whether he can put on the necessary weight or what he will look like when he does. He’s not an elite athlete, and Michigan has had only middling success with players of his ilk. Kyle Kalis had a similar body, but quicker feet; Michael Onwenu is/was bigger and quicker than Carpenter but is another example of a big-bodied guy whose size has worked against him in some ways. I think it’s good to take some of these guys, but their upside is often limited.

Michigan now has 11 commitments in the 2019 class, with 5 of them being offensive linemen. Michigan has not recruited Archbishop Moeller very successfully over the years, and he would be the first Moeller player to come to Ann Arbor since the early 1990s when Eric Wendt ventured north.

TTB Rating: 73 (ratings explanation)

6 comments

  1. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Jun 01, 2018 at 8:01 AM

    How active do you think our strength guys are in the recruiting process, particularly with kids like this?
    I’m not sure this kid compares with Onwenu for having to either get off bad weight or condition.
    As an aside, I keep asking about Onwenu and continue to hear nothing.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Jun 01, 2018 at 8:16 PM

      They’re not allowed to recruit off-campus, but I’m certain Coach Herbert was very involved with the visit when Carpenter came to campus. With a kid who can lift like that, I would imagine he would be very interested in the lifting portion of football preparation.

  2. Comments: 295
    Joined: 12/19/2015
    Extrajuice
    Jun 01, 2018 at 4:29 PM

    Seems like a solid starter down the road. I wish their team would have passed the ball once last season so you could evaluate his pass blocking but apparently they didn’t (insert sarcasm). His pass blocking skills must suck or they’d find at least a couple to throw on Hudl.

    Thunder, I agree with what you said on that other website about taking too many guards and moving tackles inside. You gotta be able to find some guys that can play tackle first. That’s one of the reasons NFL teams don’t take guards in the 1st round (except the Lions twice in 4 years). Guard play is easy to find.

  3. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Jun 02, 2018 at 8:00 AM

    Rodenberg better get his rear in gear, or forget Notre Dame, he won’t even have a job at Moeller.

  4. Comments: 528
    Joined: 9/13/2015
    michymich
    Jun 04, 2018 at 3:40 PM

    I see Carpenter as a center. Seems really stiff in his movement. In regards to the post above, guards may be easier to find but ones that can pull and find blocks on the run aren’t so easy.

    My point would be that guard play is essential to the run game so I wouldn’t be so easy to dismiss finding great guards. Why are tackles taken before guards in the NFL? It’s a passing league even more so that in college.

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