How did Michigan’s recruits perform in their All-American bowls?

How did Michigan’s recruits perform in their All-American bowls?

January 5, 2020
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Kalel Mullings (image via Rivals)

Several Michigan players participated in the All-American games that took place last week. I will attempt to give a brief rundown of how things went for the participating players.

First up was the Under Armour All-American Game on Thursday night.

Hit the jump for more.

RB Blake Corum: Corum ran 5 times for about 19 yards, including a short touchdown. I think a lot of these All-American coaches have figured out that running the ball is difficult – or at least less fun – because run game blocking depends on cohesion that you can’t build in a week of practice. There wasn’t a ton of room for Corum to run, and the running backs in general didn’t get many opportunities. He was a little bit hesitant when it came to pass blocking, which also isn’t much of a surprise. Overall, Corum looked small (short, at least) but capable with some decent acceleration.

OG Micah Mazzccua: I’m going to be honest: Mazzccua was a backup at left guard, and I don’t necessarily expect to see him end up at Michigan, so I chose not to pay too much attention. When I did pay attention, he generally looked like he wasn’t sure what to do. He was probably a little bit out of place, and you wonder if he would have been playing in this game if not for having committed to Michigan.

DE Braiden McGregor: McGregor was selected for the game but did not participate due to a knee injury he suffered during his high school season. He is already enrolled at Michigan and rehabbing.

CB Andre Seldon, Jr.: Seldon looked like the best player of Michigan’s bunch. I have seen undersized corners look/play undersized, but Seldon looks like he’s ready to compete against anyone who wants to challenge him. Watching clips of him from throughout the week, he looks extremely smooth in his transitions and shows very good ball skills. His size will limit his ceiling a little bit, but small corners/nickels can be successful in college. I like what I saw.

Up next was the All-American Bowl on Saturday afternoon (formerly the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, now the Adidas All-American Bowl). During the game Darion Green-Warren committed to the Wolverines. A rundown of Michigan’s commits in that game:

CB Darion Green-Warren: Green-Warren should be an interesting player to watch in college. He’s listed at 6’0″ and 187 lbs., and there are questions about his speed. Michigan has had corners in the past without great speed, such as Brandon Watson and Channing Stribling; those players have turned out to be adequate at the least. Green-Warren had a couple pass breakups, and his lack of speed didn’t really show up as a problem. He started for the West squad and looked to be very competent.

WR A.J. Henning: Henning was a backup wide receiver. There were rave reviews of his athleticism during the week, but then he didn’t get much of an opportunity to shine in the game. He was targeted once during a scramble drill in the back of the endzone, but he was covered pretty well and the ball got knocked away. He also took a jet sweep around the edge for about 3 yards. He looked speedy, but there wasn’t a whole lot of room to run. Overall, you saw some tools to work with, but this is a game where slot receivers and returners can shine, and he didn’t.

S Jordan Morant: Morant did not play in the game due to a foot injury.

S R.J. Moten: Delran (NJ) Delran safety R.J. Moten suited up for the East squad. He was listed as a backup at free safety and didn’t play a ton. He looks a little bit stiff and plays better moving forward than he does dropping back. I think he’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades type of guy right now because he does so much for his high school team (and plays baseball!), but he looks more like a future linebacker once he bulks up. Viper isn’t out of the question for him.

LB Kalel Mullings: Mullings, who has played a lot of running back in his high school career, was a backup at inside linebacker. He didn’t look out of place at all other than perhaps being a little on the short end. He made a thumping tackle on the goal line to stop a jet sweep at the 1-yard line, and he also took a blocked extra point back for a 2-point conversion. (I thought blocking kicks was illegal in these games, and the broadcasters were confused, too, but the 2 points went up on the scoreboard anyway.) I think he’s a better athlete than, say, Jordan Anthony, and could very well end up playing Viper or inside linebacker.

The Polynesian Bowl and International Bowl are yet to come.

Related:

  • Under Armour All-American Game preview (LINK)
  • Michigan’s Under Armour participants over the years (LINK)
  • Adidas All-American Bowl preview (LINK)
  • Army/Adidas All-American Bowl participants over the years (LINK)

Somewhat unrelated, here’s a picture of David Long, Brandon Peters, and Lavert Hill from the 2016 Army All-American Bowl:

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One comment

  2. Comments: 295
    Joined: 12/19/2015
    Extrajuice
    Jan 05, 2020 at 6:30 PM

    For some reason I watch both of these games every year. I remember Adrian Peterson looking like an Absolute BEAST years ago. Total man-child back in the day and everyone knew he was going to be a stud after watching him in that game.

    This year, not too much to watch from the UM prospects. I thought Mullings was better than anticipated. I think he’s more of a MLB than a viper but I could be wrong. He looks too thick for OLB type but he’s also quicker than I thought.

    OL can never block in these games so I don’t think much of Mazz’s performance. He says he’s still coming to UM. Green-Warren didn’t stand out but wasn’t beat either. Interesting to see if he can stick at CB. Henning didn’t get much of a chance but looked fast. Also had a Special Teams tackle. Didn’t notice Moten other than 1 tackle.

    Seldon looked ready to play! He was matched up against the #1 WR in the nation regularly and didn’t look out of place. Looks fast and competitive. Excited to see him play quickly.

    As for Corum, I’m more encouraged than Thunder. I think he is exactly what UM needs. He looks explosive and elusive. Always falling forward, which is tough to do at 5’8″. He looks small and I think he can put on some more muscle. May not be as ready as Zach was coming in but should help quickly. I especially liked his patience and vision. As Thunder said, no one really blocks so all OL look terrible but Corum did the most with what he could. I think he’ll be the one player from these games we’ll be talking about regularly. I was so-so on his junior film but senior year tape is impressive. Seeing him against other All Americans justified the film.

    Finally, can someone make legible uniforms for these games? The font is always some kind of new-age electric/gothic crap that no one can read. I’m sure it looks cool in a mirror from 2 ft away but geez these guys look like they’re all wearing the same number! Plus, their names on their backs look like they were ironed on by my mom in 1987. Font size of of like “8” and the same color as the darn uniform. You’d think they’d fix this after the last 3-4 yrs of the same problem.

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