Nashville (TN) Ensworth linebacker Mason Curtis, a 2024 prospect, committed to Michigan on Monday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee, among others.
New Orleans (LA) Isidore Newman QB Arch Manning (image via USA Today)
Normally this type of post is a rundown of new offers and commitments, but this is going to be mostly the latter. It’s commitment season, and boy oh boy, kids are committing left and right. Michigan landed a tight end in Deakon Tonielli (LINK), but there are a ton of guys who went off the board recently.
OFF THE BOARD
Houston (TX) Strake Jesuit tight end Chico Holt committed to Northwestern. The 3-star, the #32 tight end, and #620 player overall had been crystal balled to Michigan by some, but right around the time the Deakon Tonielli buzz started to grow, things seemed to turn in Northwestern’s favor.
New Orleans (LA) Isidore Newman quarterback Arch Manning committed to Texas. He’s considered to be the #1 recruit in the country in the 247 Composite. Michigan was not really in the picture here – though they did offer – but it may affect the Wolverines tangentially as they battle Texas for some other players. For example, would 4-star receiver Johntay Cook II rather play with Arch Manning or with whoever Michigan gets as a quarterback in 2023?
3-star Columbus (OH) St. Charles offensive tackle Ryan Carretta committed to Pitt
3-star Lynden (WA) Lynden Christian tight end Kade Eldridge committed to USC
Name: Jimmy Rolder Height: 6’2″ Weight: 220 lbs. High school: Orland Park (IL) Marist Position: Linebacker Class: Freshman Jersey number: N/A Last year: Rolder was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 115 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles. TTB Rating: 81
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Rolder was a bit of a late bloomer. Originally planning to play baseball in college, his recruitment didn’t really take off until he realized that hitting running backs is a whole lot easier to do than hitting baseballs. His first Power 5 offer didn’t come until October of his senior season. He climbed in the rankings and eventually ended up as a 4-star, the #21 linebacker, and #222 overall in the 247 Composite, and Michigan bested Florida, Iowa, LSU, Ohio State, and Wisconsin for his services.
Rolder did not enroll at Michigan early and is just getting to campus this summer, so the chances of him playing much this fall are slim. Much like Deuce Spurlock (whom I profiled yesterday), if Rolder gets on the field, that means things have probably gone wrong with injuries and performance ahead of him. He also probably needs a year or two in the weight room. He could get some late game snaps to prepare him for 2023, when Michigan may need someone to take up snaps potentially vacated by Mike Barrett.
Name: Deuce Spurlock Height: 6’2″ Weight: 220 lbs. High school: Madison (AL) Madison Academy Position: Linebacker Class: Freshman Jersey number: N/A Last year: Spurlock was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 186 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 2 pass breakups. TTB Rating: 78
Spurlock is a good sized linebacker prospect who can run and somehow ended up ranked as the #994 overall prospect in the class and the #91 linebacker. I can’t claim to have watched every linebacker ranked ahead of him, but I find it hard to believe that there are 90 linebackers in the country who are better. Then again, Auburn and South Carolina were Spurlock’s two other best offers, so maybe I’m wrong.
Despite my evaluation that he’s a pretty solid player, I rarely like placing freshman linebackers very high in the countdown. Linebacker is a difficult position to play from a mental standpoint, and naturally, making the transition from high school to college is a big task. However, the need at the position is pretty strong considering the lack of depth and experience. Nikhai Hill-Green and Junior Colson are pretty entrenched as two of the top three guys – with perhaps some Mike Barrett mixed in there – but after that, it’s a roll of the dice to figure out which guy’s next. I could see Spurlock redshirting, and I could also see him being a guy who runs downfield on kickoff and punt coverage in every single game.
Name: C.J. Stokes Height: 5’11” Weight: 190 lbs. High school: Columbia (SC) Hammond Position: Running back Class: Freshman Jersey number: N/A Last year: Stokes was a senior in high school (LINK). TTB Rating:59 71
Michigan beat out Louisville, Minnesota, Missouri, Penn State, and South Carolina for South Carolina native C.J. Stokes. Stokes ended up ranked as a 3-star, the #63 running back, and #798 overall. Playing in a small school league, he dusted the competition on his way to 1,000+ yards in each of his final three seasons and a 13-0 record as a senior.
I have no real reason to distrust Michigan’s running back evaluations. Jim Harbaugh has a track record of production there, even with guys whose talent I didn’t love, such as Karan Higdon and De’Veon Smith. I think Stokes can be a solid college running back. He’s built low to the ground, has some decent agility, and seems to have a good, hard-nosed attitude. Sometimes he seems a little slow to find holes and accelerate through them, and his top-end speed is a little questionable. But Hassan Haskins had some of the same issues, and he turned out just fine. Even so, Michigan has a great 1-2 punch at running back with Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, and the big back role seems to be a battle between Tavierre Dunlap and Kalel Mullings. Add in walk-on Leon Franklin, who got a decent number of carries last year, and Stokes is going to be fighting for scraps or redshirting.
