Mansfield (MA) Mansfield defensive end T.J. Guy committed to Michigan on Friday afternoon. The former Boston College commit picked the Wolverines over offers from Pitt and Syracuse, among others.
Guy is a 6’4″, 240 lb. prospect. As a junior in 2019, he made 30 tackles and 7 sacks.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 3-star DE
Rivals: 3-star, 5.5 grade
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #31 WDE
Hit the jump for more on Guy’s commitment.
As mentioned above, Guy was at one time committed to Boston College. When the Wolverines came calling with an offer, he immediately decommitted. That doesn’t always amount to a commitment, but it’s often a pretty good sign, as long as the staff continues to pursue. Despite not having a chance to visit campus, Guy went ahead and picked Michigan.
On a side note, it will be interesting to see going forward how many decommitments take place when kids who are committing during the COVID-19 shutdown finally get chances to go out and visit. I think we will see more decommitments in this cycle than most, provided there’s ample time to visit before National Signing Day. Of course, if schools are still closed into the fall and winter, it will be interesting to see if the NCAA even allows for that early signing period in December, since kids would be signing agreements to attend schools they’ve never visited.
Anyway, back to Guy:
I have gone on the record previously with my hesitance about Guy. First of all, 247 Sports lists him as a weakside end, and I disagree with that wholeheartedly. I feel strongly that he will not be an open-side end at any point during his career. So if you’re looking for a guy to get after the passer and bend off the edge, you’re looking in the wrong place.
Guy does not bend well, period, and he is very stiff. He can move explosively in a straight line, but he plays high, which limits his lateral agility. He looks like a strongside end with a pretty high probability of moving inside to defensive tackle eventually.
I am reminded of former Michigan signee Anthony Lalota from Princeton (NJ) The Hun School, who did nothing at Michigan before transferring to Rutgers and fizzling out. Guy, like Lalota, plays offensive tackle in addition to defensive end. I do see some potential for Guy as a poor man’s Chris Wormley.
Michigan now has 9 commitments in the 2019 class, including three from Massachusetts (Guy, DE Dominick Giudice, LB Casey Phinney). Guy would be the first Michigan player to come from Mansfield, which does not play against very tough competition.
TTB Rating: I am not assigning TTB Ratings until a later date.
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I look forward to being excited about commitments some day, but I agree: a lot of kids can’t be expected to stay on, having not visited. The Rona is killing an entire year of sports
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Once again, offering players like this is a waste and shows no desire to work harder for better recruits. Always thought Don Brown doesn’t understand the cache of the block M and settles for BC level kids because it’s easier and convenient.
At best, he’s a Carlo Kemp-light. Maybe he can transition to DL after 40 more lbs.
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I don’t think there’s much evidence to support your claim that Michigan/Don Brown settles for BC-level kids. I’ve looked at that theory elsewhere (MGoBlog), and basically, the whole anti-New England sentiment means Michigan fans don’t want Andrew Stueber, Tarik Black, Sean McKeon, Ben Mason, and Kwity Paye-level players. I don’t see those guys being the issue at Michigan.
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I just read the article on Mgoblog. Doesn’t really backup your opinion. From Seth’s analysis it shows a very mundane recruiter with very few “hits” as 3-stars. I would even argue some of Seth’s opinions as “hits”.
I’ll stick by my original opinion that Brown is comfortable recruiting in his “zone” and isn’t willing to put in more effort for better players. I also think Don Brown is just getting too old to do it. Most of the best recruiters in CFB are younger and have more energy. I’m sure he loves calling defenses and can still handle that for a little longer but in order for UM to take the next step he’s going to have to hand over the reigns of his horse drawn carriage, at least when it comes to recruiting.
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I don’t really agree with that takeaway, and I don’t think Seth’s post was on the same wavelength. I think the “too old to do it” thing is just a projection based on the fact that he has a mustache. Everyone who talks about Don Brown talks about his energy and enthusiasm, and you can see that in his interviews.
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