Belleville (MI) Belleville linebacker Aaron Alexander committed to Michigan on Saturday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over an offer from Marshall.
Alexander is listed at 6’2″ and 205 lbs. He reportedly ran in the 4.4’s at a couple camps recently.
RATINGS
ESPN: N/A
Rivals: 2-star, 5.4 grade
247 Sports: 3-star, 86 grade, #78 ATH
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Columbia (SC) Hammond running back C.J. Stokes committed to Michigan on Saturday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Penn State, South Carolina, and West Virginia, among others.
Stokes is listed at 5’11” and 190 lbs.
RATINGS
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 3-star, 5.6 grade, #50 RB
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #42 RB
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Name: T.J. Guy
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 240 lbs.
High school: Mansfield (MA) Mansfield
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Guy was a senior in high school. His season was canceled due to COVID.
TTB Rating: 65
My take on Guy when he committed in April 2020 has not changed a great deal since then. That is at least in part due to the fact that his senior season was wiped out by COVID, so I’m still working off of his junior film. Guy was a relatively lightly recruited defensive lineman from Don Brown’s stomping grounds, and the Wolverines held onto him even though Brown departed for the greener pastures of Arizona.
Guy plays too high, and he lacks technique. How much better did that technique get when he couldn’t play for the past year? I do like Guy and think he could be a good jumbo track and field athlete, a guy who could probably run pretty well, do the hurdles, and throw discus. But as a football player, he’s still a very large project. Unless he has undergone a mental/technical overhaul in the past year, I fully expect him to redshirt while he continues to learn the game.
Prediction: Redshirt
Name: Rod Moore
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 180 lbs.
High school: Clayton (OH) Northmont
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Moore was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 68 tackles, 1 interception, and 6 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 72
Moore committed to Michigan in the winter of 2020, just before everything got shut down for COVID. Coming from the same high school as defensive end Gabe Newburg and former wide receiver commit Markus Allen, Moore was a somewhat small-ish safety with cornerback skills. There was some fear that Moore would not stick in the class after Allen decommitted in favor of Wisconsin, but the two will play as opponents rather than teammates.
Freshman safeties can play a role on special teams as a freshman, but they’re usually liabilities if they play defense. Not only is Moore inexperienced, but he is very small for an FBS safety. He might be one of those guys who plays on kickoff coverage in a few games, but not enough to burn his redshirt.
Prediction: Redshirt
Name: Tristan Bounds
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 305 lbs.
High school: Wallingford (CT) Choate Rosemary Hall
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Bounds was a senior in high school (LINK). His season was canceled due to COVID.
TTB Rating: 82
Bounds was one of those pesky recruits from the northeastern part of the United States that Michigan fans begrudgingly thought, “He’s a dang 3-star! But…well…he’s 6’8″ and kinda mean. Okay, we accept.” Bounds was the #35 offensive tackle and #416 in the class. The more I watch and learn about him, I think he will fit in well at Michigan. He seems intelligent but also hardworking and nasty. Add those traits to a guy who’s 6’8″, 305 lbs., and decently athletic, and it’s hard to project failure.
My experience with very large humans at Michigan is that they tend to be good. Taylor Lewan, Jake Long, Grant Newsome, Ben Braden, Mark Ortmann, Perry Dorrestein, etc. are all very tall men who performed pretty well. The last two weren’t great, but if those guys are the floor – and Bounds is more athletic than both – then I think it’s fair to expect something somewhere between Ortmann and Lewan, where the likes of Newman and Braden reside.
Will he get on the field this year? I think it’s unlikely. Michigan has some pretty good depth on the offensive line; as long as there are no ridiculous injury issues, Bounds should be able to redshirt.