Kalil Branham, Wolverine

Kalil Branham, Wolverine


June 20, 2018

Columbus (OH) Northland WR Kalil Branham (image via Youtube)

Columbus (OH) Northland wide receiver Kalil Branham committed to Michigan on Tuesday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Kansas, Kentucky, Marshall, and some MAC programs.

Branham is listed at 6’1″, 190 lbs. I can’t find any other publicly available stats, but he does have a personal record of a 22.35 in the 200 meters, along with some other pretty solid times in track (LINK).

RATINGS
ESPN: N/A
Rivals: 3-star WR
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #36 WR, #321 overall

Hit the jump for more on Branham’s commitment.

Branham did not previously hold an offer from Michigan, but the coaching staff extended a verbal offer on Tuesday, and he went ahead and accepted. Branham’s brother John is a 2019 prospect who’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #50 running back, and #811 overall.

Branham appears to have legitimate track speed. He has good acceleration off the line of scrimmage, and he can create separation from defensive backs on vertical routes. That speed also helps him set up shorter routes. His frame is solid for a high school rising junior, and he should be strongly built in college, even if he doesn’t get much taller. He catches the ball with his hands away from his body, and he shows an ability to track the ball in the air and make adjustments to poorly thrown balls. He shows a willingness to block and takes pride in it, and that should be a strength for him going forward.

On the negative side, Branham plays like a track guy. He runs rather upright, and there’s not a whole lot of shiftiness to his running style. He occasionally tries to work in a spin move, but it’s not super tight and he uses it where some kids might try a dead leg. He also needs to improve his route running, which is expected for a guy just coming out of his sophomore year.

Overall, this is a solid pickup for Michigan, as Branham is in the low 4-star range (even though he’s a 3-star right now, 247 Sports will have 360-380 4-stars by the cycle’s end). He’s a player who should fit in well at outside receiver, and I think his straight-line speed should lend itself to potential as a kickoff returner and jet sweep guy, too.

This is Michigan’s first commit in the 2020 class, which should be a very large one. Michigan is scheduled to have 23 players graduate after 2019 (LINK), and that number of open scholarships always grows. Branham would be the first football player to come from Northland to Michigan, though that’s the same school that sent Trey Burke to Michigan’s basketball program.

TTB Rating: I won’t be doing a TTB Rating for 2020 prospects for a while

5 comments

  1. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Jun 20, 2018 at 9:21 AM

    Did you look at his brother? Strong, tough, not quite as much speed as little brother but isn’t getting caught very much, has a real nice shake move that freezes you, hits home runs, pretty big production. Dare I say it? Makes me think a little of Mike Hart … only faster.

    Interestingly … if you’re me … young Branham shows you the same shake move, just not so often because he’s not cutting it up into traffic on play after play. I would not be surprised to hear he gets some snaps at LB and is pretty good.

  2. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Jun 20, 2018 at 10:14 AM
  3. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Jun 20, 2018 at 10:19 AM

    https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=8562820#!/L0

    Try the above link for his 2017 track season in which he ran unattached to a club. Pretty good numbers. I like it when they run the 200 and the 400. It takes some speed to get there in the 200, strength to get there in the 400.

  4. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Jun 20, 2018 at 10:20 AM

    https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=8562820#!/L0

    Try the above link for his 2017 season in which he ran unattached to a club.

    I like it when they run the 200 and the 400. It takes some speed to get there in the 200, and some strength to get there in the 400.

    • Comments: 1356
      Joined: 8/13/2015
      Roanman
      Jun 20, 2018 at 10:21 AM

      Three things going on at once.

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