Detroit (MI) Cass Tech center Raheem Anderson II committed to Michigan on Easter Sunday. He picked the Wolverines over Georgia, LSU, Michigan State, and Nebraska, among others.
Anderson is listed at 6’3″ and 298 lbs. He claims a 5.28 forty, a 5.38 shuttle, and a 19.7″ vertical.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 82 grade, #3 C, #226 overall
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #2 C, #139 overall
247 Sports: 3-star, 89 grade, #9 C
Hit the jump for more.
Michigan offered Anderson over two years ago, in February of 2018. Despite the early offer, word from insiders seemed to waffle back and forth between “Anderson is a priority” and “Anderson is on the back burner.” Center is a bit of an odd position like that, because there’s only one on the field, kind of like punter or kicker or quarterback; sometimes they can slide over to guard, but true centers can be pretty limited. Regardless, Anderson’s crystal ball was pretty consistently all pro-Michigan. After Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy center Greg Crippen picked Michigan back in March, it was unclear whether they would still pursue Anderson hard, but he was still prioritized and ended up pulling the trigger for the Maize and Blue.
Anderson has a prototypical center body. Listed at 6’3″, he’s probably about 6’2″ and has that squat, powerful build you think of when picturing a center. He does a great job of staying low and maintaining leverage on interior players to win battles in the trenches. He seems to especially enjoy down blocks, which is really where he seems to excel. He likes to finish blocks and does a good job of driving his feet after contact. I like him as a run blocker.
As a pass blocker, I believe there is some work to do. Anderson needs to do a better job of moving his feet laterally. He tends to try to outmuscle people with his upper body. And while I mentioned that he stays low initially, he does tend to get up high when releasing to the second level and/or when drive blocking. His feet get too narrow, and that technique will lead to either missed blocks or holding calls in the future. I would also like to see him be more consistent with his initial hand punch; his off hand can sometimes lag, which could allow defenders to get into his body.
Overall, I like Anderson as a prospect. He looks like a true center to me; though some have said Anderson can play guard, I see Crippen as the one more likely to play guard. We might have a few more years before we see an opening at center, since there are a couple redshirt freshmen (Zach Carpenter, Nolan Rumler) who could man the center position for the next four seasons, along with 2020 signee Reece Atteberry. However, those guys could also play guard and unforeseen things often happen, so a slot could open sooner than 2024.
Michigan now has three offensive line commits in the 2021 class, with Anderson joining Crippen and tackle Giovanni El-Hadi. Numbers floating around have them taking anywhere from 4-6 linemen in the class.
Anderson would be the first Cass Tech signee since wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones in the 2017 class. Cass Tech has been a pipeline to Michigan over the last 15 years or so, but with Peoples-Jones heading to the NFL a year early, no more Technicians are left on the roster.
TTB Rating: I’m not giving TTB Ratings until I wrap up the 2020 class.
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I’ll let Thunder handle the evaluation. The most difficult assessments to me are the OL, especially interior. He looks fine. I typically would prefer more diverse players and feel like UM typically takes too many of these kinds of interior kids instead of the OT.
My concern is now with Spindler. Now that Crippen and Anderson are on the team I feel like Spindler is going to see that spots are filling up and probably be best to go to ND. Especially with the last class having so many OG/C prospects too. I like Spindler more on the offensive side of the ball and I thought that’s what UM was recruiting him for.
Just for S&G, I’ll give Anderson a 73 in the TTB meter.
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id hope a highly regarded prospect would not pick another school due to fear of competition – not many coaches want that type attitude. spots filling up doesnt really apply to the staffs top overall targets. not to mention if theres an area where ND has had clear advantage over michigan in terms of recruiting / developing its OL (or maybe TE). point being there are talented prospects in the pipeline at both schools. is a top ranked guard really concerned enough about rumler or these recent commits or whatever to the point that it impacts decisions? most staffs want competitive kids who want to play alongside the absolute best – in order to do so, you have to compete with and beat out the best
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Yes, kids choose schools on playing time. Have you ever heard a commit say, “I know I may have to wait 2-3 years to start but I’ll be patient”! Of course you don’t because they are competitive and want to play NOW. They’re best chance of doing that is if there are Senior players in front of them or a smaller recruiting class the year before. I know plenty of players that were 4-5 star kids that chose schools based on immediate playing time. Just the facts. Sorry.
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Big fella, from our own backyard? Yes please!
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