Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon defensive end Cameron Brandt flipped from Stanford to Michigan on Wednesday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Arizona, Cal, Oregon, UCLA, and USC, among others.
Brandt is listed at 6’4″ and 260 lbs. As a senior in 2022, he made 61 tackles, 4 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #25 DT
On3: 3-star, 88 grade, #66 DL
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade, #31 DT
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #41 DL
Hit the jump for more.
Brandt committed to Stanford in July of 2022, even after receiving an offer from Michigan. But head coach David Shaw resigned after the season, which opened the door for Michigan to re-engage. Brandt said in the late fall that the only other visit he would be taking would be an official to Michigan in January, so he took a trip to Ann Arbor. Once that happened it seemed pretty clear that he was Michigan’s to lose, and he pulled the trigger on National Signing Day by sending in his National Letter of Intent.
Brandt plays various spots along the defensive line, from the edge position to nose tackle. His intelligence is apparent with how he approaches his position, from slanting into gaps quickly to how he approaches tackles. A lot of tacklers just jump on the pile at full speed, but he makes a concerted effort to drive ball carriers sideways or pull them backward to stop forward progress. Despite getting pinballed around a little bit as a slightly undersized interior lineman taking on double-teams, he maintains his active hands and quickness to slither through gaps and make plays with second and third efforts. I like to see him making plays downfield and on the edges of the field, chasing down plays from behind.
Brandt lacks the quickness to be an elite edge rusher, and right now he doesn’t have the size to be a force on the interior. While Michigan told him they were looking at him as a big edge player, I see him more as a 5-tech defensive end who could maybe slide inside to a 4i or 3-tech spot. Of course, that depends on how much bulk he adds over the next few years. He can be a little slow off the ball at times, and partly because of that, I don’t see him being an elite penetrator.
Overall, Brandt is a solid player who I think will be a contributor down the line. It’s hard to see him being a true standout because he’s a bit of a tweener, but he could very well be a multi-year starter, someone like a Chris Hinton who’s a good college player but doesn’t quite rise to the forefront of NFL teams’ attention. If he sticks around for four to five years, I could see him being a multi-year starter.
Michigan appears to have wrapped up its 2023 high school recruiting class. Brandt is the fifth defensive lineman, joining Enow Etta, Aymeric Koumba, Roderick Pierce, and Brooks Bahr. He’s the second player from California in the class, after tight end Zack Marshall. He’s the first Michigan signee from Sierra Canyon High School.
TTB Rating: 82
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