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Micah Mazzccua, Wolverine

Baltimore (MD) St. Frances offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua committed to Michigan on Monday evening. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Maryland, Syracuse, Temple, UMass, and Virginia Tech.

Mazzccua is listed at 6’5″ and 289 lbs.

RATINGS
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 3-star, 5.6 grade
247 Sports: 3-star, 85 grade, #86 OT, #800 overall

Mazzccua was offered by Michigan in late January, and early indications were positive for the Wolverines, especially because he was not getting a ton of attention on the recruiting trail or from other programs. It also helped that St. Frances’s co-head coach is Biff Poggi, a former Michigan staffer and the father of former Michigan fullback/defensive lineman Henry Poggi. It doesn’t hurt that St. Frances linebacker Osman Savage is committed to the Wolverines. Mazzccua (and a bunch of other St. Frances prospects) visited Ann Arbor two weekends ago.

Mazzccua has a good frame, and even though I’ve seen him listed anywhere from 289 to 305 lbs., he looks like he could comfortably carry some more weight. He played in Philadelphia before transferring to St. Frances prior to his junior season, but as a junior, he played some left guard and some left tackle. He shows a willingness to be a relentless blocker, and he plays to the whistle. He’s good at fitting onto double-teams and driving his feet with short, choppy steps.

There are some shortcomings with Mazzccua; some of them are physical, and some of them are technical. He can be a little slow off the ball, especially when working to his outside (left side). That presents a problem with the ability to reach block, but it really presents a weakness when he’s asked to slide in pass protection. He needs to stay lower in both the running and passing game, but especially in pass pro, he opens up the gate too much because he’s slow out of his stance. He also needs to work on his pulling technique.

Overall, Mazzccua has potential as an offensive lineman, but he’s limited. I see him as an offensive guard or perhaps a center. He lacks the foot speed to play on the edge, even though I think he has enough length to play tackle. There are a lot of technical things that he needs to improve. He can get there, but it might take a few years. I see him roughly in the same vein as Stephen Spanellis, although Spanellis had a little more bulk coming out of high school.

Michigan now has seven commitments in the 2020 class, and Mazzccua is the first offensive lineman. The Wolverines took six offensive linemen in 2019. Savage and/or Mazzccua would be the first player(s) from Maryland to sign with Michigan since Spanellis in the 2016 class.

2021 Recruiting Update: February 25, 2019

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ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2021

Deshauwn Alleyne – LB – Port St. Lucie (FL) West Centennial: Alleyne is a 6’0″, 210 lb. prospect with offers from Indiana, Pitt, and South Carolina. He’s a teammate of 2020 defensive end Jamari Stewart, whom Michigan also offered.

Zavier Carter – LB – Atlanta (GA) Hapeville: Carter is a 6’4″, 190-pounder with offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, and South Carolina, among others.

Reuben Fatheree II – OT – Richmond (TX) Foster: Fatheree is a 6’8″, 300 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Oregon, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #4 offensive tackle, and #25 overall. He claims a 5.36 forty and a 4.83 shuttle, both of which are solid numbers for a guy that size, even if he were entering the NFL Draft.

Khari Gee – S – Atlanta (GA) Woodward: Gee is a 6’3″, 185-pounder with offers from Indiana, Kentucky, and USC.

Agiye Hall – WR – Seffner (FL) Armwood: Hall is a 6’3″, 190 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Florida State, among others. He has very good acceleration and will be a big-time prospect when the rankings come out, in my opinion.

Cody Jackson – WR – Richmond (TX) Foster: Jackson is a 6’0″, 169-pounder with offers from Baylor, Houston, LSU, Texas, and Texas Tech, among others. As a sophomore in 2018, he caught 57 passes for 1,053 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s a teammate of Reuben Fatheree (see above).

Jason Marshall, Jr. – CB – Miami (FL) Palmetto: Marshall is a 6’2″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami, and Oregon, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #4 cornerback, and #41 overall.

Ga’Quincy McKinstry – CB – Pinson (AL) Valley: McKinstry is a 6’1″, 175-pounder with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Georgia, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #2 cornerback, and #30 overall. He made 30 tackles and 5 picks as a sophomore, along with 37 catches for 480 yards and 9 touchdowns. Michigan is recruiting him for both offense and defense, while UAB has offered him for basketball, so he’s a very talented all-around athlete.

Payton Page – DT – Greensboro (NC) Dudley: Page is a 6’4″, 315 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, among others. As a sophomore in 2018, he made 80 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, and 8 sacks.

Greg Penn III – LB – Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha: Penn is a 6’1″, 225-pounder with offers from Florida, LSU, Maryland, and Penn State, among others. DeMatha is a powerhouse program that pronounces numerous FBS prospects every year, including Maryland running back Anthony McFarland, Jr. and 2019 Alabama safety signee DeMarcco Hellams.

Jahquez Robinson – CB – Jacksonville (FL) Sandalwood: Robinson is a 6’1″, 174 lb. prospect who committed to Alabama a week ago; he also has offers from Florida State, LSU, and Oklahoma, and he has set up an official to Oklahoma in April, so he’s still open to other schools (which he should be since he’s still two years away from signing). He’s a 3-star, the #41 cornerback, and #562 overall.

Shedeur Sanders – QB – Cedar Hill (TX) Trinity: Sanders is a 6’1″, 180-pounder with offers from Florida, Florida State, Georgia, and a bunch of others. He’s the son of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, who of course went to Florida State.

Jaquez Smith – S – Atlanta (GA) Hapeville: Smith is a 6’1″, 190 lb. prospect with offers from Georgia and Georgia Tech, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #4 safety, and #58 overall. I think he has the potential to grow into an outside linebacker as his body develops.

Najee Story – DE – Solon (OH) Solon: Story is a 6’4″, 220-pounder with offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State, and West Virginia. His crystal ball already has six picks for the Buckeyes.

Desmond Watson – DT – Seffner (FL) Armwood: Watson is a 6’5″, 315 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a teammate of Agiye Hall (see above).

Mario Williams – CB – Plant City (FL) Plant City: Williams is a 5’9″, 165 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, and Georgia, among others.

OFF THE BOARD

Jack Sawyer – DE – Pickerington (OH) North: Sawyer committed to Ohio State.

Dont’e Thornton – WR – Baltimore (MD) Mount Saint Joseph: Thornton committed to Penn State.

Nightly Roundup: February 24, 2019

Derrik Klassen of Football Outsiders takes a look at the off-season needs for the NFC North, including of course the Detroit Lions (LINK). Bye-bye, Ziggy Ansah.

Klassen also profiles LSU cornerback Greedy Williams, in case you’re already getting in NFL Draft mode (LINK).

Here are 10 pre-Combine thoughts on the Lions from The Athletic (LINK).

This is the list of players who visited Michigan this weekend (LINK).

2020 Recruiting Capsule: Oak Park WR Maliq Carr

Name: Maliq Carr
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Oak Park (MI) Oak Park
Position: Wide receiver
Class: 2020
Offers: Boston College, Central Michigan, FAU, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kent State, Kentucky, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Syracuse, Texas A&M, Toledo, Western Michigan, Wisconsin
Commitment: Uncommitted

Notes: Claims 4.72 forty, 4.32 shuttle, 29.7″ vertical…Also a standout basketball player…Son of Missouri assistant basketball coach Cornell Mann…Teammate of 2020 offensive lineman Justin Rogers and defensive back Enzo Jennings…247 Composite 3-star, #73 WR, #11 in-state, #405 overall as of 2/20/19

Stats: 21 catches for 815 yards and 9 touchdowns as a junior in 2018…Averaged 21.2 points/game, 12.4 rebounds/game, and 7.9 assists/game in basketball as a sophomore

Strengths: Excellent size…Thick lower body that indicates future growth…Excellent leaping ability…Shows ability to high-point football…Does a nice job of adjusting body to the football in mid-air…Powerful runner after the catch…Good but not elite speed

Weaknesses: Needs to improve quickness in and out of breaks…Needs to learn to sink hips…Needs to sell routes better

Overall: Carr insists that he’s a wide receiver and has no intention of playing tight end, but he may want to rethink that position. Similar statements have been made in the past (see: former Oklahoma Sooner Mark Andrews, who now plays tight end for the Baltimore Ravens) when the writing was on the wall. I don’t see Carr being an in-line, blocking tight end, but I think he would be best served as a flex tight end, which is how Andrews was used at Oklahoma and how Evan Engram was used at Ole Miss. If he accepts that future, his athleticism will carry him through to a successful career. If he insists on playing wide receiver, he will have to improve his game quite a bit, because he won’t create much separation if he doesn’t improve his route running.

Highlights:

Nightly Roundup: February 23, 2019

The Tennessean has a piece on Trent Dilfer entitled “Trent Dilfer’s journey, from Super Bowl to tragedy to high school coach” (LINK).

Dan Brugler breaks down the top ten safety prospects for the NFL Draft (LINK). Spoiler alert: No Tyree Kinnel.

Michigan’s key players for success in 2019, according to Aaron McMann (LINK).