Lakewood (OH) St. Edward safety Caden Kolesar
Since we’re all superfans of Michigan football, here’s this year’s look at the preferred walk-on offers and commitments that have come along throughout the recruiting cycle. Some of these players have earned scholarship offers from other, lower-level programs or committed elsewhere, but Michigan has landed a few pledges so far.
Hit the jump for the position-by-position list.
QUARTERBACK
Commitments: Mathew Harrison – Ortonville (MI) Brandon, Andy Maddox – Prairie Village (KS) Shawnee Mission
Offers: Ren Hefley – Bryant (AR) Bryant, Cole Kosco – Poland (OH) Seminary
RUNNING BACK
Commitments: Jordan Castleberry – Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s
Offers: Abraham Jaafar – Dearborn (MI) Fordson
WIDE RECEIVER
Commitments: N/A
Offers: Tre’ Davis – Flint (MI) Hamady, Cody Tierney – Grand Rapids (MI) Northview, Alec Ward – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Bloomfield Hills
OFFENSIVE LINE
Commitments: Evan Brunning – Oxford (MI) Oxford, Zack Conti – Trenton (MI) Trenton,
Offers: Evan Durbin – Littleton (CO) Columbine, Mica Gelb – Washington (DC) Woodrow Wilson, Mahdi Hazime – Dearborn (MI) Fordson
DEFENSIVE END
Commitments: N/A
Offers: N/A
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Commitments: N/A
Offers: N/A
LINEBACKER
Commitments: Samih Beydoun – Novi (MI) Catholic Central, Nolan Knight – Northville (MI) Northville
Offers: Brock Horne – Romeo (MI) Romeo
DEFENSIVE BACK
Commitments: Matt Bills – Warren (MI) Woods-Tower, Leon Franklin – Southfield (MI) A&T, Caden Kolesar – Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s
Offers: Zonterio Weekley – Kalamazoo (MI) Central
KICKER
Commitments: Karl Kerska – Dexter (MI) Dexter
Offers: Alex Bales – Westfield (IN) Westfield, Ryan Sanborn – San Diego (CA) Francis Parker
LONG SNAPPER
Commitments: Trey Harper – Duqesne (transfer from Duquesne), William Wagner – Alpharetta (GA) Alpharetta
Offers: Davis Beal – Austin (TX) Vandergrift, Jacob Garcia – Anaheim (CA) Servite, Cayson Pfeiffer – Dublin (OH) Sciotto, Gabriel Pugh – Tuscaloosa (AL) Northridge
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Anyone on this list stand out to you as someone who could potentially work their way into the rotation of scholarship players? The fanbase always loves the underdog who contributes and is seemingly “overlooked” by the recruiting gurus.
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Well, you never know about kickers/long snappers, but the two guys I would keep an eye out for are Caden Kolesar (who is committed) and Tre’ Davis (who is not committed).
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I can’t remember a walk-on doing anything of note at WR. A few guys got buzz but Schonle is the only one I can think of who got meaningful playing time.
Michigan’s WR recruiting has been a bit inconsistent in the last few years but the numbers were heavy in 2019.
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Jake McCurry got some meaningful playing time this year. Bo Dever played a fair amount in 2014. TBH, I would say there’s been more significant walk-on contributions at WR than QB, TE, LB (or S, depending on how you view Jordan Glasgow), and CB during the last several years. We should be able to say RB, too, but somehow Tru Wilson was a Semper Fi All-American and walked on at Michigan, anyway. He should have had a scholarship somewhere.
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I remember McCurry playing I just wasn’t counting that as meaningful. Perhaps unfairly since he got snaps against OSU. Dever had 1 career catch.
I agree about RB and Wilson – that situation is exceptional. Walk-ons are rare here but sometimes you’ll get a deluxe FB, short-yardage pounder, or micro-back.
QB we have Griese, though it’s reasonable to view him as a walk-on only technically.
TE and LB maybe don’t have great Michigan examples I can think of but other schools have found contributors at these positions where hustle, grit, and effort can get you pretty far. I feel like there have been some fringe TEs get mention. We probably recruit too many LBs for a walk-on to ever really make it.
Walk-on CBs? Can’t recall that ever. Even when things got dire under Rich Rod I don’t remember any. No other position puts as much premium on raw athleticism IMO.
That all said, with the increase in 3 and 4 WR formations I think it’s reasonable to think walk-on’s can make an impact, especially in the slot. Maybe somebody who is scrappy, smart, and has reliable hands can carve out a role. Or maybe just a fast kid who can run a fade from the slot without drawing too much attention.
I withdraw my skepticism in general, though I still doubt you’ll see anyone do anything at Michigan with all these recent WR commits… Unless Gattis really is going to be Mr. Speed In Space.
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Didn’t Kolesar say he is gray-shirting? He’s counting against 2020 I believe.
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Kolesar won’t get one in fall but will in winter 2020 (kind of like the walk-ons getting scholarships now). After that we’ll see – scholarships are year to year.
As WCB always says – trust the coaches.
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