Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic safety Jordan Morant publicly committed to Michigan on Sunday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others.
Morant is listed at 5’11” and 212 lbs., and he runs a 4.69 forty. As a junior in 2018, he made 36 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 3 pass breakups.
RATINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 82 grade, #9 S, #214 overall
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #20 S
247 Sports: 4-star, 95 grade, #1 S, #47 overall
Hit the jump for more on Morant.
Morant was offered by Michigan in January of 2018, after his sophomore year; aside from maybe Virginia Tech, it was his first big-time offer. He visited Michigan unofficially in April, and we have known that the Wolverines were near the front of the pack since then. In the meantime, he stated he would be announcing his college decision at the Under Armour All-American Game in January of 2019, so we thought we would have to wait a while to find out his decision. But an official visit this weekend led to him publicly announcing his future destination.
Morant has a lot of skills that will probably remind you of Jabrill Peppers. If you’re not reminded of Peppers…well, that’s okay. But his body type, his change-of-direction skills, and his playing style all remind me of the former first round pick. Morant is an excellent tackler who puts his “eyes through the thighs.” He’s strong in man coverage and can outmuscle receivers.
Thought Morant is the 247 Composite #10 safety in the country – and #1 to 247 itself – I will not be giving him a ranking of 100, which I gave to last year’s top guy (Daxton Hill) and Peppers. Though his playing style is reminiscent of the latter, Morant is not quite as explosive and doesn’t have the all-around skill.
Overall, this is an excellent pickup for Michigan. Though he’s not a 100-level player to me, he’s one of the top few safety prospects to pick the Wolverines over the last decade or so. I think Tyree Kinnel was a solid player at Michigan, even though he took some flak from fans and was not drafted, but I would put Morant somewhere about halfway between Peppers and Kinnel. Since I gave Peppers a TTB Rating of 100 and Kinnel a 74, maybe you can guess my grade for Morant…
Michigan now has thirteen public commitments in the 2020 class. Morant is the first safety prospect to commit in this class, and the second defensive back, after corner Andre Seldon, Jr. Michigan has done a great job of recruiting New Jersey over the last several years (save for a blip here or there), and Morant joins recent commit Aaron Lewis, Jr. (LINK) from the Garden State.
TTB Rating: 87
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Great write up, thank you. I understand that your rankings are also dependent on position fit and skill set, but I find it interesting that you have Mohan higher than Morant.
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Yeah. The production from the Viper role in this defense is more significant than the production from the free safety and strong safety positions.
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Certainly this is how things are framed – viper is playmaker while safeties are ‘boring’ as an ideal. But last year’s stats are pretty evenly distributed between safety-type starters.
Kinnell: 72 tackles, 3 TFL, 0 sack, 2 PD
Metellus: 47 tackles, 3 TFL, 0 sack, 5 PD, 3 INT
Hudson: 39 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PD
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/pi/shareit/dZHq0
That wasn’t true in previous year (Hudson’s 2017 Minnesota game alone…) but isn’t part of this a product of putting the best playmakers at the viper? Peppers and Hudson are special talents.
I wonder if Peppers would necessarily have ‘produced’ a lot less at another position? Maybe fewer sacks and more INTs? If Michigan leaves Dax Hill at safety and starts putting lesser athletes at viper will the perception of viper change?
Thinking out loud.
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I wonder if decreased production of viper was a function of lesser talent on the DT. Without having to double up as many people on the DL, and with Hudson already established as a guy who can produce off the edges, defenses made sure to account for the Viper. Moreover, it seemed like he may have been used more in coverage than in previous years as the defense had to adapt without Hurst/Henry/Glasgow generating heat.
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Personally, I think this is more the answer. Maybe not the double-teams, necessarily, but where offenses had to concentrate. Offenses in 2017 were better off figuring out how to neutralize Maurice Hurst, Jr. than looking for the guy coming off the edge in Hudson. Offenses in 2018 were better off neutralizing Hudson than bothering with paying attention to Dwumfour/Mone/Kemp too much, all of whom were just average players.
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Go Blue!
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That offer list is something. Big get.
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These are the types of players I love to see UM recruiting. Not only is he a very good athlete, he’s a hard-nosed football player. He likes contact and he has football speed, not necessarily track speed. He wraps up when tackling in the open field and is aggressive at the point of attack. That may not be needed as much at safety but he can cover too.
I really like this kid and am excited to see how quickly he translates into CFB. I agree with the 87 ranking by Thunder. He’s gonna be a player, closer to Peppers than to Kinnel.
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