Scouting Report: Terrance Davis

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23Apr 2015
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Scouting Report: Terrance Davis

Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha offensive
guard Terrance Davis

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Name: Terrance Davis
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 305 lbs.
High school: Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha
Position: Offensive guard
Class: 2016

Notes: Holds offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Tennessee, UCLA, and Virginia Tech . . . ESPN unranked OG . . . Rivals 4-star, #5 OG, #124 overall . . . Scout 4-star, #10 OT, #71 overall . . . 247 Sports 4-star, #3 OG, #148 overall . . . Teammate of 2017 RB offeree Anthony McFarland, Jr.

Strengths: Huge body . . . Size is college-ready . . . Understands angles . . . Has good feel for sealing off defenders . . . Decent pass protector . . . Understands stunts and maintains pocket integrity . . . Too big and sturdy to bull rush . . . Moves feet consistently in pass pro

Weaknesses: Poor footwork . . . Too many false steps . . . Plays too upright . . . Stands straight up at the snap . . . Mediocre athlete . . . Lacks straight-line speed . . . Also lacks lateral agility when working up to second level . . . Reaches too much . . . Needs to work on hand placement . . . Gets out-leveraged by smaller opponents . . . Does not finish blocks consistently

Projection: Offensive guard. Davis has a great body for the college level, but his athleticism doesn’t match up. He has some bad weight on him, and a college strength and conditioning program will obviously help. But he needs a lot of technique work in the run game, and he plays too high to be very successful, which can be a difficult problem to fix. Davis needs to be in a pro-style system where his size and strength in confined spaces can be an asset. Frankly, I believe the three sites to have ranked him so far have placed him too high on their lists. He is certainly an FBS prospect but has somewhat limited utility until he refines his technique and gets in better shape.

Reminds me of: Brett Gallimore. Perhaps this is an odd comparison, but Gallimore was a 6’5″, 290 lb. offensive tackle in high school who was a Rivals 4-star, the #10 tackle, and #96 overall. He was large and pushed people around, but a couple years ago when I was reviewing the class of 2004, I looked back on his film. And boy, oh boy, he was a big kid who just didn’t understand leverage, moving his feet, etc. I think Davis is a bit more refined, but Gallimore is who I was reminded of initially. (For those who don’t remember, Gallimore spent four years on the team, barely played, and left the team when Lloyd Carr did, forgoing a fifth year.)

Likelihood of committing to Michigan: Strong. Davis has been tweeting about Michigan a lot, loved his visit this spring, has 56% of his Crystal Balls in favor of the Wolverines, and wore Michigan gear to camp last weekend (with his mom wearing a matching “M” cap). If National Signing Day were today, there’s a very good chance he would be signing with Michigan.

Highlights:


22Apr 2015
Uncategorized 5 comments

Brennen Beyer, #97

Brennen Beyer (image via Bleacher Report)

HIGH SCHOOL
Coming out of Plymouth (MI) Plymouth in 2011, Beyer was a Rivals 4-star, the #16 strongside end, and #201 overall. He committed in April of 2010 (LINK) and I gave him a TTB Rating of 82.

COLLEGE
Despite being rather unready physically, Beyer played as a backup SAM linebacker during his freshman year. It was a position that was roughly similar to weakside end, so he was not asked to drop back in coverage often. He made 11 tackles during his inaugural season. He started nine games as a sophomore, making 19 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, and 1 forced fumble. As a junior in 2013, he bounced from starting at SAM linebacker (when Jake Ryan was recovering from a torn ACL) to starting at strongside end. He made 27 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and the biggest play of his career, a 7-yard interception return for a touchdown against Iowa (thrown by Jake Rudock, who will be playing for Michigan this coming fall). Beyer became the full-time starter at strongside end as a senior in 2014, finishing his final campaign with 35 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks.

CAREER STATS
92 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 pass breakup, 1 interception for 7 yards (TD)

AWARDS
Academic All-Big Ten, 2012-2014

SUMMARY
I suppose in the grand scheme of things, my comparison between Roh and Beyer was quite apt. Both played linebacker for a spell before turning into strongside ends. Both also had trouble carrying enough weight for the strongside end position and were somewhat limited athletically. As you can see from the commitment post linked above, I always thought Beyer was a year behind where he should have been. He should have been redshirting in 2011 but he was a backup SAM. He should have been working his way slowly onto the field in 2012, but he started nine games. So on and so forth. Ideally, he would be entering his fifth year senior season and penciled in as a starter at one of the end positions. Early on in his career, I lamented Beyer’s playing time because he simply didn’t produce – through two seasons of significant playing time, he had exactly 30 total tackles and .5 tackles for loss. He started to come into his own during his last two seasons, when he was probably talented enough to be a spot starter or heavily used backup, but instead got pressed into duty as a SAM linebacker and strongside end, neither of which truly fit his skill set. Lamenting aside, he had a solid career and will always have that touchdown, which is a special moment for a defensive lineman.

I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR . . . 
. . . returning that Jake Rudock interception for a touchdown. You can’t help but love watching the big guys up front get an interception once in a while, let alone return it for a score.

PROJECTION
Beyer was not invited to the NFL Combine, but he had a decent performance at Michigan’s pro day in mid-March. He ran a 4.9 forty, had a 4.12 shuttle, benched 225 lbs. 20 times, had a 33.5″ vertical, and broad-jumped 9’2″. He still probably won’t get drafted simply because of the aforementioned lack of production. He lacks the size to be a strongside end in the NFL, and he lacks the speed to be an outside linebacker or weakside end at the next level. A team will probably bring him in for a tryout, but I doubt he will make an NFL roster.

21Apr 2015
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Site News: Message board suggestions?

I will be getting together with the web developer in the near future, and we will be working on a message board forum for the website. I have asked questions in the past about what you as readers/commenters want to see on the new website.

Today I want to be more specific, if possible. The Wolverine (and other Rivals message boards) just rolled out a new forum format; some people are pleased, and others are disgruntled. The most experience I have with a message board is at MGoBlog, which functions well but has a few glitches.

  • What message board formats/features do you like best? You can leave links to other forums in the comments so I can check them out.
  • Are usernames sufficient? Or are avatars necessary?
  • What are your thoughts on upvotes/downvotes? So far it seems I have had more people railing against voting on comments than people in support of it. I am indifferent as of now.
  • Other thoughts/suggestions?
As always, thanks for reading and thanks for your suggestions!
21Apr 2015
Uncategorized 4 comments

2017 Recruiting Update: April 21, 2015

Detroit (MI) King cornerback Ambry Thomas (image via Twitter)

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COMMITMENT

Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice tight end Carter Dunaway committed to Michigan (LINK).


ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017

Olney (MD) Good Counsel linebacker Jordan Anthony was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 210 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Iowa, Kentucky, and Maryland. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #9 outside linebacker, and #110 overall. Anthony is a speedy linebacker who would probably be a weakside linebacker in college. Good Counsel is the alma mater of Michigan fifth year senior cornerback Blake Countess.

Los Angeles (CA) Hawkins wide receiver Taariq Johnson was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 210 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, Miami, and Ohio. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #19 wide receiver, and #127 overall. Johnson is big enough to be a potential tight end. He’s a recent transfer from Long Beach (CA) Poly, and his highlights were removed from their Hudl page, so all I have to go on right now is a few highlights from a camp. Two of Johnson’s 2017 teammates include running back Greg Johnson and wide receiver Joseph Lewis, both of whom already hold offers from the Wolverines.

Hit the jump for several more new offers, a few guys who committed elsewhere, and some random bits.

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 183 lb. prospect with offers from Northwestern, Pitt, and several MAC schools. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #12 safety, and #180 overall. He claims a 4.49 forty. His film shows a solidly built safety who’s not afraid to come up and stop the run, although he is transitioning to cornerback for his junior season at Cass Tech. Kelly-Powell was named after his dad’s favorite Michigan basketball player, Jalen Rose, and grew up a Michigan fan.

Owings Mills (MD) McDonogh offensive tackle Jordan McNair was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 285 lb. prospect with offers from Maryland, Ohio State, and Penn State. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #21 offensive tackle, and #159 overall. McNair seems a little overrated to me, as he does not move particularly well for a tackle and does not consistently finish his blocks.

Paramus (NJ) Catholic linebacker Drew Singleton was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 215 lb. prospect whose only other offer comes from Rutgers. He’s also a 247 Sports 4-star, the #11 outside linebacker, and #136 overall. Singleton is a little ponderous at the point of attack and does not seem like a fluid athlete, although he does have good straight-line speed. Not only does he hail from the alma mater of Jabrill Peppers and Juwann Bushell-Beatty, but Michigan has also offered 2016 defensive tackle Rashan Gary, 2016 wide receiver Donald Stewart, and 2017 defensive end Corey Bolds. The Paladins also feature a highly regarded 2018 quarterback, Allan Walters, who already holds a Rutgers offer. New Michigan recruiting coordinator Chris Partridge was the team’s head coach up until last season, too.

Detroit (MI) King cornerback Ambry Thomas was offered by Michigan. He’s listed at 5’11”, 165 lbs, but he does not look that tall or big in his film. He has offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Iowa, and Pitt. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #10 cornerback, and #144 overall. Although he is tiny, Thomas is quite possibly the fastest player in the state of Michigan for the class of 2017. He has not been in a great deal of contact with the Wolverines, so it’s unclear how serious both sides are, but Michigan needs an influx of speed, and Thomas has some. King has several top-notch prospects over the next couple classes, including an entire defensive backfield that could be playing FBS football in the next couple years – 2016 wide receiver/cornerback Donnie Corley, 2016 cornerback Lavert Hill (a Penn State commit), 2016 safety Jesse Johnson, and 2016 cornerback Dontre Boyd, not to mention Thomas and 2018 corner Jaeveyon Morton.

Snellville (GA) Brookwood tight end Leonard Warner was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 209 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #7 outside linebacker, and #101 overall. Warner plays a lot of different roles for his high school team – linebacker, fullback, tight end, wide receiver – and could feasibly play tight end or linebacker at the next level. He seems to enjoy the physical aspect of the game, as he’s a hard-nosed tackler and also lays some devastating trap blocks on defensive tackles from an H-back alignment. It will not be easy to pry him out of the south.

Cypress (TX) Cy-Fair tight end Brock Wright was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 243 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #1 tight end, and #56 overall. He has an impressive combination of blocking and running skills with the speed to outrun defensive backs. As a junior in 2014, he caught 17 passes for 369 yards and 2 touchdowns. Michigan does not have a great shot at landing him, but Cy-Fair is the alma mater of the one and only Sam McGuffie, so the Wolverines have that going for them.

OFF THE BOARD
Antioch (CA) Antioch running back Najee Harris committed to Alabama. Harris is the #1 running back and #16 overall player according to 247’s ranking, and he was the first 2017 prospect that Jim Harbaugh’s staff offered.

Akron (OH) Hoban running back Todd Sibley, Jr. committed to Ohio State, and the hits kept coming for Michigan recruiting this weekend. The Wolverines have offered just five running backs in the 2017 class, and two of them went off the board this weekend. Sibley joins his quarterback – Danny Clark, who transferred in from Massillon (OH) Washington – as a Buckeyes commit. Michigan was probably Sibley’s #2 choice, but that doesn’t count for much.

Westerville (OH) South cornerback Marcus Williamson committed to Ohio State, too. The Buckeyes had a solid couple days of recruiting on their spring game weekend.

MISCELLANEOUS
247 Sports released their initial top 247 list for 2017 (LINK).

Over on Recruiting Season, I added/updated profiles for: