Andrew Stueber (image via GameTimeCT)
Name: Andrew Stueber
Height: 6’7″
Weight: 290 lbs.
High school: Darien (CT) Darien
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Stueber was a senior in high school.
TTB Rating: 82
Stueber committed to Michigan almost exactly a year ago, and there were the customary complaints about, “Why are we taking a 3-star? And one from Connecticut?” And while Stueber was indeed a 3-star, and from Connecticut, I’m not too concerned. He’s a big body, he moves well, he bends pretty well, and he’s willing to block downfield. With offensive line recruiting often being a crapshoot, that’s about all you can ask for from a guy.
As for this season, I think Stueber might end up playing, although I don’t think he’ll be an impact guy. Jim Harbaugh isn’t afraid of playing freshmen, and the Wolverines have a need on the offensive line this year. The right tackle position is unsettled, and while Jon Runyan, Jr. might have the inside track right now, he’s not a perfect fit. Other options include freshman Chuck Filiaga and redshirt junior Juwann Bushell-Beatty, both of whom have concerns about whether they’re physically in shape. I’m guessing Stueber won’t ever be a guy who gets sloppy with his body makeup, so if he’s been hitting the weight room in the off-season, he could be one of the top seven or eight guys when September rolls around.
Prediction: Backup offensive tackle
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I like to make a countdown, and compare to yours. I have 10 linemen in the top 48 (three freshmen), that should fill out a 2 deep, Stueber is the last at #48, Filiaga at #45.
At his weight and how Harbaugh likes to pull in a 6th lineman, I picture Filiaga being groomed early for a starting spot as early as 2018. With the early in-game experience, I think (hope) he’ll quickly mold into a viable option there, maybe even by late this season. BAPTISM BY FIRE, BABY.
I really liked Stueber’s tape, and there is a chance he cracks the starting lineup this season.
I have no idea who is in contention for a starting spot on OL after Cole (#1) and Bredeson (#8). It’s concerning.
I am excited and terrified for this opening game against Florida. Whatever happens, it’s going to be fun!
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I don’t think 10 linemen in the top 50 is totally unreasonable this year. It’s a critical position group and we really don’t know who is going to step up. We just know somebody has to. And by “Somebody” this I mean 5 guys, no probably 6 – and not one of them is a proven player except Cole, who is switching positions back to a place where he was previously moved away from.
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I don’t see much sense in putting those guys up so high, because we’ve seen that Michigan is most likely to have 6 or 7 linemen that they want to play, and they’ll just mix and match those 6 or 7 guys on the field. Last year it was Braden, Bredeson, Newsome, Kalis, Cole, and Magnuson as the top 6, and they somewhat reluctantly played Bushell-Beatty and Kugler. There were other guys who saw the field (Onwenu, Dawson, etc.), but no one else was very good at all.
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Have to strongly disagree with Jesus and thunder on this one. The kid put up like a 235 pound bench last summer. Unless he’s gained enough strength to move af least 320 or so I’d say hes not college ready. In my experience weight lifting is a heavily underrated measurement when evaluating Linemen. I. Ant name an NFL lineman with an underwhelming combine bench bunber at 225.
For Andrew, I’d guess he waits until his redshirt sophomore year to see any meaningful game action. Starting his 4th year he’ll start if he sticks around. Good luck to this kid though. & hope in wrong.
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Where did you find info on his bench?
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Notice the username? He obviously still has those old connects.
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Reminds me a bit of Magnusson. He carries the 290 lbs very well. I think he has a decent shot to contribute at RT this fall, just because he is a more natural pass blocker than JBB or Filiaga.
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The rating of backup OL is something Thunder and I have debated in years past. It’s an interesting debate – who is backup skill position guy who gets maybe 10 touches more valuable? or the OL who doesn’t play but is an injury away from starting?
Given Michigan’s recent history of playing true freshman I think we can say it’s likely we’ll see another one make a contribution with things being so unsettled this year. That might be Ruiz but the interior OL seems more set than tackle. Thunder, Mgoblog, and others seems to think Steuber is more likely than Filiaga and other frosh. It’s hard to put Stueber ahead of the vets, but it’s also clear that Michigan is still looking for answers at RT. JBB and Runyan are ahead, but their lead is tentative.
I would rate Steuber much higher for one simple reason – he might be the guy that comes in if Cole goes down. He might be the starter at RT too. Of course he might also red-shirt, but the small but significant chance that he starts is there. He has a good chance for being one of the top backups at his position, ill-prepared true freshman or not. That makes him FAR more important to the team than say the #10 WR (Collins) or even the #4/5 RB, even if he’s likely to get less playing time.
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“I would rate Steuber much higher for one simple reason – he might be the guy that comes in if Cole goes down.”
Right, but he also might not be. And again, the thing I think people have a hard time balancing is this: If all the options are mediocre or bad, then none of them is very important. I could put Stueber higher, but how much better than Filiaga is he (if at all)? Or Honigford? If our starters are B+ players and the backups are all C- and D+ players, then does it make much of a difference if you swap Stueber out for Ulizio or Spanellis or Vastardis or Filiaga?
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These sort of valuation debates are part of the fun of the countdown.
The assumption that all these freshman are equally bad (C-/D+) is dubious. Recent history says otherwise. We can’t say with much confidence which one will be the standout, but it’s reasonably likely that one of them will be significantly ahead of the others.
The one that is, is likely to be a valuable player. Because averting disaster is important. The difference between a competent freshman seeing meaningful snaps and a totally overwhelmed one (or a walk-on/veteran who can’t hack it) can be enormous. Maybe the freshman is more of a C (like say Bredeson/Newsome/Bosch) who can tread water and the other vets/walk-ons are disasters that completely submarine the offense when they come in. Think Russel Bellomy. Think Cullen Christian. Grade = F
Uncertainty clouds all of this of course, but to me that’s an argument for ranking all of them higher. A guy like Collins may be less ‘bad’ than a guy like Filiaga, but he’s almost certainly not going to be an important player at his presumed position on the depth chart.
But I take your point about the other options. Maybe guys like Vastardis and Spanalies are functional depth that makes make the dropoff I discussed not much of a dropoff. I just haven’t seen any reason to think that they are.
Michigan is grasping at straws at OT. The freshman probably aren’t the answer, but the off chance that one in particular is makes them fairly important to this team. I’d have all 3 freshman OTs higher for that reason, and I’d probably put Stueber slightly ahead of the other 2.
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