Posts under: Blog

Scouting Report: Ifeatu Melifonwu

Ifeatu Melifonwu (image via Community Advocate)

Name: Ifeatu Melifonwu
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Grafton (MA) Memorial
Position: Safety
Class: 2017

Notes: Committed to Syracuse . . . Offers from Massachusetts, Navy, and Syracuse . . . ESPN 3-star, 75 grade, #80 ATH . . . Rivals 2-star ATH . . . Scout 2-star WR . . . 247 Sports 3-star, #69 S, #874 overall . . . Claims 4.58 forty . . . 4.43 shuttle . . . 35″ vertical . . . 265 lb. bench . . . 365 lb. squat

Strengths: Good size . . . Long arms . . . Solid frame . . . Good short-area quickness for his height . . . Excellent feet . . . Tough runner with ball in hands . . . Runs behind pads . . . Good vision . . . Drives feet through contact . . . High-points ball on defense . . . Breaks well on balls thrown in front of him

Weaknesses: A little loose in upper body when carrying ball . . . Not a blazing runner . . . Limited experience against elite competition . . . Needs to work on route running . . . Needs to catch ball away from body more consistently

Projection: Strong safety. Melifonwu has the size and build to play wide receiver or safety at the next level, and we have even seen a team like Michigan play big cornerbacks. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up at any of those positions in the right situation. He has the vision to be an effective offensive player, but his explosiveness isn’t ideal for a wide receiver and he’s too tall and reedy to be a running back. I think his best future position is as a safety playing mostly in the box.

Reminds me of: Raymon Taylor. Taylor was a good offensive player in high school, but he ended up playing cornerback at Michigan. I always thought his skills would suit him to be a solid free safety, but he was shorter than Melifonwu and therefore lighter. I see some similarities in the way they move, but if Melifonwu continues to fill out, he could easy be in the 205-210 lb. range in a couple years. I also see some shades of Delano Hill, a guy you might not want to put in the deep middle of the field but who can cover the flat, some tight ends, and an occasional slot guy.

Likelihood of committing to Michigan: Melifonwu has not yet been offered by Michigan, but he is planning to visit on January 24, 2017. Defensive coordinator Don Brown recruited his older brother at UConn. While Melifonwu has been committed to Syracuse for half a year, the fact that he’s taking an official visit means he would probably seriously consider flipping.

Highlights:

read more

2019 Recruiting Update: January 23, 2017

St. Louis (MO) Trinity Catholic QB/WR/CB Isaiah Williams (image via Twitter)

Please consider supporting the site by using the Amazon link(s) below or on the sidebar. Thanks!

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2019

Minneapolis (MN) Edina offensive tackle Quinn Carroll was offered by Michigan. He’s 6’6″, 280 lbs. and has offers from Arkansas, LSU, Minnesota, Penn State, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin, among others. He claims a 300 lb. bench, a 490 lb. squat, and a 500 lb. deadlift. He’s a big body and has pretty good technique, but since he’s only a sophomore in high school, it’s hard to project where he would be best suited to play on the line. Carroll plans to visit Michigan during the final weekend of January.

Orange (NJ) Orange cornerback Nyquee Hawkins was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 160-pounder with offers from Penn State and UConn. He’s a long-striding corner who could also develop into a wide receiver.

read more

Kai-Leon Herbert, Ex-Wolverine

Kai-Leon Herbert isn’t a guy who does hats

Plantation (FL) American Heritage offensive tackle Kai-Leon Herbert decommitted from Michigan on Sunday. Herbert is a 6’5″, 284-pounder who’s a 4-star, the #28 offensive tackle, and #252 overall.

Herbert committed to Michigan in July of 2016 (LINK). If you follow recruiting closely, you may remember that he made a The Walking Dead spin-off video for his commitment. It was one of the more creative commitment videos I’ve seen. I gave him an 86. Not for the video, but as a TTB Rating. He’s a legitimate left tackle prospect, though he could play guard as well. But in the months since, his commitment has been viewed as very soft. I said several months ago that I didn’t think he would stick with Michigan, and I even put in a Crystal Ball in on January 11 for him to commit to Florida. I don’t know all the reasons behind his choice, but there have been rumors that he was not comfortable with the number of commitments Michigan had on the offensive line and their continued pursuit of linemen.

Frankly, I don’t know why linemen aren’t pounding down the door to play offensive line at Michigan, especially to play offensive tackle. Michigan has limited options at both tackle spots, and they lose three senior starters from 2016. In fact, Michigan’s best option at left tackle might be to bump center Mason Cole out there and let an unproven player snap the ball. Playing time is right there for the taking if you put in the work to beat out some . . . unheralded options.

Michigan now has 26 commits in the 2017 class, including potential tackles Joel Honigford, Chuck Filiaga, Andrew Stueber, Ja’Raymond Hall, and potentially even James Hudson III, the last of whom was primarily recruited as a defensive tackle. Honigford is almost certainly destined for a redshirt, Filiaga won’t be ready to play left tackle, and Hall probably needs some time, too. Out of the incoming freshmen currently committed, Stueber might be the most ready to step in immediately and play.

I posted an If I Had My Druthers piece on the offensive line last week (LINK), and Mekhi Becton seems the most likely to join the class. However, he took an official visit to Virginia Tech this weekend, and a flurry of nine Crystal Balls have come in so far today for the Hokies, who now hold 75% of the picks. It will be interesting to see if Michigan expands its offer board in an attempt to get another linemen to take an official visit before National Signing Day, since only one visit weekend remains.

Ex-Wolverines: Class of 2006

Justin Boren (image via MVictors)

In an attempt to whittle down the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia at the top of the page, I’m going to split up the 8,000 words there into several individual posts. The Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia will still remain at the top of the page, but it will be limited to active collegians and then have links to each of these posts of older players or classes that have matriculated out of football.

Justin Boren – Offensive guard – Pickerington (OH) North
Boren was the son of ex-Michigan linebacker Mike Boren.  He was born and bred to be a Wolverine.  Freshman offensive linemen are almost guaranteed to redshirt, but he played as a freshman, even starting when guard Rueben Riley was injured.  Boren was a solid starter for Michigan in 2007.  But when Lloyd Carr departed after the 2007 season and Rich Rodriguez was hired, Justin and his family butted heads with the new regime.  Some stories have suggested that Boren couldn’t handle the physical requirements of the new strength and conditioning staff.  The story I believe to be true is that Lloyd Carr had promised to offer the Borens’ younger son, Zach, a scholarship.  However, Zach was a fullback and Rich Rodriguez doesn’t offer scholarships to fullbacks – he fills that position from walk-ons.  That perturbed the Borens enough to send Justin to Ohio State, the school that Zach would also attend.  Justin sat out the 2008 season and started at left guard for OSU in 2009.  Boren was named All-Big Ten in 2010 for Ohio State. He went undrafted in 2011, but spent time on the practice squads of the Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, and Denver Broncos.
Current status: Out of football

Hit the jump for the rest of the players who left Michigan from the class of 2006.

read more

ESPN: Top 25 returning Big Ten players

There’s only one Michigan guy in the top 25 of Big Ten players coming back, and I think he, Wilton Speight, is overrated (LINK).

Hit the jump for some beautiful women.

read more