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Scouting Report: Khaleke Hudson

Khaleke Hudson

Name: Khaleke Hudson
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 205 lbs.
High school: McKeesport (PA) McKeesport
Position: Safety
Class: 2016

Notes: Holds offers from Akron, Army, Ball State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Navy, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Old Dominion, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Toledo, UMass, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia, and Wisconsin . . .  Claims a 4.61 forty . . . ESPN 3-star, 74 grade, #85 safety . . . Rivals 3-star athlete . . . Scout 4-star, #24 athlete, #273 overall . . . 247 Sports 4-star, 90 grade, #13 safety, #311 overall . . . Semper Fidelis All-American

Stats: Senior season stats include 106 carries, 1118 yards, 10.5 yards/carry, 17 TDs; 5 catches, 219 yards, 43.8 yards/catch, 5 TDs; 60 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions for 99 yards (2 TDs), 5 fumble recoveries

Strengths: Solidly built . . . Strong lower body . . . Excellent balance when running the ball . . . Runs behind his pads . . . Good speed . . . Quick feet . . . Good lateral quickness . . . Accelerates quickly out of cuts . . . Willing and capable blocker . . . On defense he shows good fundamentals . . . Disciplined defender, not a freelancer . . . Strong for his size at point of attack . . . Good force player able to keep contain . . . Solid blitzer who can be both physical and elusive to block . . . Aggressive tackler

Weaknesses: Lacks the elite speed to play corner . . . More of a zone defender than a man coverage guy . . . A little undersized to play linebacker . . . Can get overwhelmed by linemen at point of attack if playing inside . . . Would need to improve footwork through the hole as RB on offense . . . Lack of height could be an issue against tight ends and taller receivers

Projection: Strong safety/outside linebacker. Hudson is the definition of an “athlete” when you’re thinking about recruiting. He is a guy who could fill many roles, and so you just want to get him on campus, see how he fits on the field, and maybe plug him in where you have a talent deficiency. For a lot of programs – including Michigan’s – I think he fits in best as a strong safety/outside linebacker hybrid. He was excellent in that role during the Semper Fi All-American Bowl, making tackles all over the field, breaking up passes in the flat, etc. Jabrill Peppers played that role this past season for the Wolverines, and he was excellent at blowing up screens, supporting the run, and defending the flat. Hudson isn’t quite as fast or athletic, but not many people are. I also think Hudson has good enough quickness, balance, and toughness to make an impact at running back.

Reminds me of: Brandon Harrison. Harrison may have disappeared from your memory by this point, but he played at Michigan from 2005-2008 and bridged the coaching transition from Lloyd Carr to Rich Rodriguez. Harrison (5’8″, 193 lbs.) was smaller than Hudson and maybe a smidgen faster, but the former played some box safety for the Wolverines under Rodriguez. In his one year after Carr departed, Harrison made 69 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and 3 pass breakups.

Likelihood of committing to Michigan: Hudson took his official visit to Michigan last weekend, is visiting Penn State this weekend, and will be at Pitt next weekend. He lists Michigan as “Warmer” on his 247 Sports profile, and the 43% of Crystal Ball choices in Michigan’s favor represent a plurality. It would be a minor upset if he chose either of the home-state schools, who look like the only other remaining threats.

Highlights:

Attractive Michigan Girl of the Week: Elle Johnson

I haven’t posted these in a while. If you have any other pictures of good looking Michigan fans, drop me an e-mail.

Visitors: January 22-24, 2016

Rashan Gary

2016
Devin Asiasi – TE – Concord (CA) De La Salle: Asiasi is a 6’3″, 270 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Michigan, UCLA, USC, and Washington, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #2 athlete, and #50 overall. He had a touchdown catch in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl a couple Sundays ago. Michigan has been recruiting him as a tight end since shortly after Jim Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor, but he could also play on the defensive line. This is his official visit to Ann Arbor.

Joel Dublanko – LB – Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy: Dublanko is a 6’3″, 227 lb. prospect with offers from Akron, Mississippi State, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #12 inside linebacker, and #359 overall. He does not have an offer from Michigan at this time, but since the Wolverines are in a questionable situation when it comes to linebacker depth, he could be in line for one. Originally from the state of Washington, Dublanko is now a teammate of 2016 tight end Isaac Nauta (Georgia).

Conner Edmonds – TE – Germantown (WI) Germantown:

Edmonds is a 6’5″, 240 lb. prospect with no FBS offers at this point. As a sophomore in 2015, he caught 10 passes for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Jordan Fuller – S – Old Tappan (NJ) Old Tappan: Fuller is a 6’1″, 196 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 athlete, and #130 overall. Also a U.S. Army Bowl participant, Fuller played corner in that game and could play a number of positions in college – safety, corner, or receiver. His older brother Devin just finished his senior year as a receiver at UCLA. This is Jordan’s official visit.

Hit the jump for several more official and unofficial visitors.

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Allen Gant, Ex-Wolverine

Allen Gant (#12)

Rising fifth year senior linebacker Allen Gant has chosen to move on from Michigan. He will “explore other options,” which often means attempting to transfer to another school. After four years in Ann Arbor, he should be eligible to play immediately as a graduate transfer.

The son of former Michigan safety Tony Gant, Allen committed to Michigan in May 2011 (LINK

) as a part of the class of 2012. He was recruited as a safety, but he never really contributed in the secondary. During his four years, he was mostly a special teamer and occasionally contributed as a backup linebacker in mop-up situations. He redshirted in 2012 and went on to make just 7 tackles in the next three seasons. He played SAM linebacker this past season, a position that was not used often since the Wolverines spent a lot of time in a nickel package. Theoretically, the SAM spot opened up with the graduation of James Ross III, but Gant probably wouldn’t have been the one filling that role, anyway.

As you can see, I was not much of a fan of Gant’s game when he committed. I gave him a TTB Rating of 58 initially and bumped that up to a 63 at the end of the recruiting cycle. Even those relatively low ratings were overestimations. He also had offers from a couple MAC schools, Cincinnati, Illinois, Kentucky, Stanford, and West Virginia. Like other former Wolverines, perhaps he can move on to the MAC and make some kind of impact. This departure had been expected for a while, and it should not hurt Michigan going forward.

Antwaine Richardson, Ex-Wolverine

Antwaine Richardson

Delray Beach (FL) Atlantic cornerback Antwaine Richardson decommitted from Michigan on Thursday. He had committed to the Wolverines back in June after participating in one of Michigan’s satellite camps (LINK

).

Richardson was working on a torn ACL when he camped, which made it even more impressive that he earned a Michigan offer. The Wolverines coaching staff initially thought he could enroll early, take advantage of the rehab facilities/strength and conditioning program, and be ready to play by the fall. That plan changed a month or two ago when Richardson tweeted out that he would no longer be enrolling early, and that he would come to campus in June. That presumably happened because Michigan was filling up with the other seven early enrollees, but now it appears he won’t even be coming in June.

From Michigan’s standpoint, this is not a huge loss. I gave Richardson a 72 rating, and he didn’t even get to play and hone his skills as a high school senior. Without enrolling early, he would have missed out on yet another opportunity to develop. Even if Michigan strikes out on other cornerback targets, such as Lavert Hill, and athlete Jordan Fuller, it’s not too difficult to replace someone of Richardson’s talent level. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #85 cornerback, and #901 overall, and much like Erik Swenson, that ranking may have been propped up a bit by his status as a Michigan commit. Now that the rankings are done or almost done for the cycle, he probably won’t drop much; the rest of his offer list is decent but nothing special, including Florida Atlantic, Iowa State, Miami, South Florida, and Wisconsin, among others.