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Scouting Guide: Offensive Tackle

Jake Long (image via The Michigan Daily)

There’s been a lot of talk in the last year or so about the offensive tackle position, largely because Michigan has seemingly struggled to recruit elite tackles. Devery Hamilton flipped to Stanford, Isaiah Wilson brushed aside Michigan for greener pastures in Georgia, and Kai-Leon Herbert stayed home in Florida. That’s not to say the Wolverines have whiffed entirely on tackle prospects – Grant Newsome, Ben Bredeson, Chuck Filiaga, Joel Honigford, Andrew Stueber, and others all would disagree – but those surefire left tackle prospects have been fleeting.

There are certain things I look for when evaluating offensive tackle prospects – not only their skill level, but whether they will have to move to an interior position. The three main categories I look for are below:

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Site News: New blood, old comments, and money

(image via Imgur)

Since it’s the off-season and changes are coming (quickly or slowly), it’s time for a meta update.

NEW BLOOD

You will be seeing a new face around here. That face belongs to Mike Knapp, who will be endeavoring to bring you interviews, news bits, and other content. Mike grew up in the New England area and now lives on the West Coast, where he has spent time working in the education world. I’m happy to bring him on board. UPDATE: In fact, he has his first interview lined up with James Ross III, so let him know if you have any questions to ask (LINK).

You might also be seeing one other new addition, but I’ll save that for later.

Hit the jump for more.

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3-1-17 Recruiting Update: Michigan is Princess Peach

Lee’s Summit (MO) West WR/CB Mario Goodrich (image via Recruiting News Guru)

If you haven’t chosen a Gravatar (a picture to go with your username), please check out this informational post from the message board (LINK). The cool thing about a Gravatar is that it can be used on other WordPress sites, too, so you won’t have to create new avatars for every username on every site.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018

Apopka (FL) Apopka offensive tackle William Barnes was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 312 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, and Oregon, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #8 offensive tackle, and #66 overall. Michigan hasn’t tried to go into Apopka much, but they did pull Jeremy Gallon from there back in 2009. Barnes might end up playing on the interior if he doesn’t get a little bit taller.

Hampton (GA) Dutchtown safety Trey Dean was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 180 lbs. with offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Notre Dame, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #23 safety, and #284 overall. He plays some corner in high school, but I don’t know if he has the fluidity to stay there in college. However, he’s a hard hitter and a lanky kid who can cover some ground from the safety position.

Lee’s Summit (MO) West wide receiver Mario Goodrich was offered by Michigan. He’s 6’2″, 180 lbs. and has offers from Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ole Miss, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #21 athlete, and #263 overall. As a junior in 2016, he had 26 carries for 181 yards and 2 TDs, 15 catches for 282 yards and 6 TDs, 46 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 7 interceptions (including 2 touchdowns), 12 pass breakups, and a kickoff return for a score. He named Michigan his top school, and you’ll probably enjoy the speed he shows in the video below:

Hit the jump for a bunch more new offers.

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Prediction: Who will fill out the 2018 class?

Will Mallory (image via Rivals)

It’s an impossible task to guess who will sign with Michigan in the 2018 class.

But I eat impossible tasks for breakfast.

So here’s my best guess for 2018. I’m adding five to the current number of open slots because I assume attrition will occur. So here are the 14 players who will definitely, positively sign with Michigan next February (or earlier).

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2-27-17 Recruiting Update: How to fill the Najee Harris void

Carthage (TX) Carthage RB Keaontay Ingram (image via Twitter)

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Michigan missed out on Najee Harris late and lost the commitment of A.J. Dillon, so the running back recruiting in 2017 wasn’t quite what the coaching staff hoped. They got a couple solid commitments, but they’re going for some big-time players at the position in 2018. Along with several previously offered running backs, Michigan is sending out some new offers.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018

Butler (GA) Taylor County running back Lyn-J Dixon was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’10”, 185 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Oklahoma, among others. He’s a 3-star, the #25 running back, and #402 overall. His rankings aren’t great, but he seems like a Harbaugh style of back: tough runner, good balance, good vision, and decent speed. As a junior in 2016, he ran 229 times for 1,914 yards (8.4 YPC) and 35 touchdowns, including a 99-yarder.

Carthage (TX) Carthage running back Keaontay Ingram was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 190-pounder who’s a 4-star, the #18 running back, and #318 overall. Arkansas, Baylor, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, among others, have all offered. He ran the ball a whopping 320 times for 2,225 yards and 31 touchdowns last year, and he added 46 catches for 475 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Hit the jump for a couple more new offers and some miscellaneous bits.

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