Michigan has upped the ante with walk-on recruiting over the past couple years, making a big deal about potential walk-on players. Michigan has a solid recent history with walk-ons and can point to Jordan Kovacs, Ryan Glasgow, Graham Glasgow, and others, all of whom are either in the NFL or headed to the NFL. Below is a list of commits and offers in the 2017 walk-on class.
QUARTERBACK
Commits: N/A
Offers: Jackson Gibbs
RUNNING BACK
Commits: N/A
Offers: N/A
FULLBACK
Commits: Tyler Plocki
Offers: N/A
WIDE RECEIVER
Commits: Jack Young, Jake McCurry
Offers: Evan Latham
TIGHT END
Commits: Chris Hanlon
Offers: Carter Selzer
OFFENSIVE LINE
Commits: Sean Fitzgerald, Jess Speight
Offers: Eddie Brecht, Zac Darwiche, Gray Davis
DEFENSIVE LINE
Commits: Ryan Veingrad
Offers: Cal Flanders
LINEBACKER
Commits: Adam Fakih, Adam Shibley
Offers: John Pearson, Justin Woodley
DEFENSIVE BACK
Commits: Jared Davis, Hunter Reynolds
Offers: Nate Adolph, Ty Rocconi
If you know of anyone I missed, please let me know in the comments.
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I like both guards. I think Fitzgerald in particular has a chance.
Hunter Reynolds is an interesting kid to me. How is it possible that a kid who spent three years at Don Bosco Prep be so under the radar? I don’t think he’s the second coming or anything like that but it’s almost as if he was in witness protection.
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wondered the same. hes not elite by any stretch and theres tons of approx 6’0″ 180 lb “athletes” out there but still, hes a decent prospect. i only skimmed his tape but after bosco and ne prep school i figured some programs would come calling – like delaware, nova, uri, unh, etc or lesser regional D1 teams.
just seems like a decent athlete and kid making some nice plays on tape (though granted, its pretty awful competition) would at least garner interest from the old A10 / yankee conference or patriot league teams (if not some D1 squads).
maybe he was injured and / or avoided the camp circuit? maybe he never really played at bosco before prep school? or simply didnt post online highlights or actively attempt to further his recruitment until late?
as you said hes not the second coming but hes good enough to at least warrant a recruiting profile on some of those sites as well as some offers (especially after several years at bosco and then a ritzy prep school – its not like he was in south dakota or something). he looks better on tape than (or at least comparable to) some of the DBs m pursued this cycle (mostly im thinking of several local kids they eventually backed off). again, nothing special but a decent athlete and decent football player, just a little odd to have virtually zero online presence and recruiting interest this day and age
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I heard that Hunter Reynolds had a good season this year, has decent size, and matched up well against some tough WR in the playoffs.
I like Sean Fitzgerald as a G/DT guy. I think at DT you can find some guys who are big/strong and understand leverage that can at least get into the rotation.
I’m less excited about OLB/DE or WR types because it is unlikely that they’ll ever be explosive enough to contribute.
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I found this over at Maize-n-Brew with a little more detail on some of the PWO guys:
http://www.maizenbrew.com/2017/2/1/14460768/michigan-walk-ons-tyler-plocki-adam-fakih-chris-hanlon-hunter-reynolds-jack-young-jess-speight-sean
Thunder – who are your favorites?
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No offense, but I haven’t had time to sift through them all. Too busy with National Signing Day and stuff. The PWO post will probably come later this week or even next week.
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Nice link.
Agree that the positions where athleticism is at a premium are less likely to get walk-on help. You never know of course, but FB, P/K, OG, DT are the most likely spots where walk-ons can help.
I think safety is a another spot where a walk-on can at least provide some depth or special teams support, as seen with Kovacs, Jordan Glasgow, and AJ Pearson. You might be able to find an ILB too if he has excellent instincts and aggressiveness.
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Joe Kerridge played eight games for the Packers as an UDFA this year and doesn’t even get a mention! It’s great – to be – a walk on Michigan Wolverine
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great point
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