Tag: 2011 Recruiting

Thomas Rawls, Wolverine

Thomas Rawls (with ball) joins the Battles of the Stiff-Arm

Thomas Rawls, a 5’10”, 210 lb. running back from Northern High School in Flint, MI, has committed to Michigan.  Rawls played high school ball for the son of running backs coach Fred Jackson.  He had long been a Michigan fan and it was well known that he would choose the Wolverines if given an offer.  Unfortunately, that took awhile, because his academic success left things a little bit murky.  Rawls needed a qualifying score on a recent standardized test to firm up the offer.  Once that happened Brady Hoke quickly sent him an official offer.

Rawls is a 3-star recruit to all three major recruiting services.  Scout.com ranks him as the #77 running back in the country.  He had other offers from Central Michigan, Cincinnati (where he was recruited by former Michigan defensive line coach Steve Stripling), and Toledo.  If Rawls hadn’t received the offer from the Wolverines, he most likely would have become a Chippewa.

As a junior Rawls had 138 carries for 1,056 yards and 16 touchdowns.  Due to a senior year injury, he only played seven games; however, he still rushed the ball 150 times for 1,582 yards and 18 touchdowns.  That’s 10.55 yards per carry and 226 yards per game.  He also caught 4 passes for 85 yards and 1 touchdown.  As a linebacker, he had 101 tackles as a junior and 37 as a senior.

Rawls definitely has some good qualities.  He’s a big kid with thick legs, built powerfully and low to the ground.  He has patience and allows blocks to develop in front of him, which also shows good vision to see cutbacks and running lanes.  Perhaps the most impressive thing about him as a high school runner is the way he keeps his shoulders facing north and south when he makes his cuts; this allows him to break some tackles that other running backs wouldn’t.

However, as mentioned above, Rawls is only a 3-star prospect to all three services.  For some odd reason, Michigan fans think his low star rating is due to his academic difficulties.  On the heels of the Demar Dorsey fiasco, I’m not sure how Michigan fans could get that confused about star ratings.  Scout, Rivals, and ESPN don’t care about players’ ACT scores.  If a kid is a 5-star talent on the field, he could be dumber than a fencepost and still garner a 5-star rating.  There are plenty of highly rated kids who go to prep school, junior college, etc.  I don’t understand why the scouting services would suddenly be holding an academic grudge against a random kid from Flint.

Many fans want to compare Rawls to Mark Ingram, the Flint product who won the Heisman for Alabama in 2009.  Admittedly, Rawls and Ingram have some physical similarities.  Both are approximately the same height and even have similar gaits.  But Ingram (who was a 4-star recruit) is and was quicker than Rawls.  Michigan fans might not like me for saying this, but Rawls reminds me of Kevin Grady.  Grady broke state records for rushing, but he ended his four-year Michigan career in 2009 with 200 career carries for 783 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns.  He simply didn’t have the speed or elusiveness to succeed in the Big Ten; luckily for him, his power got him on the field as a senior . . . at fullback.

Perhaps Rawls can contribute at fullback or in goal line situations at Michigan, but I’m not expecting Rawls to be a star for the Wolverines.  I would be glad to be wrong, because he worked hard to get qualified.  But he deserves his 3-star rating, and I think he’s more of a role player than a feature back.

Rawls gives Michigan 18 commitments and a second running back (Justice Hayes is the other) in the 2011 class.  There are approximately five other players who might announce for Michigan in the coming days – Chris Barnett, Frank Clark, Darian Cooper, Jake Fisher, and Leilon Willingham.  According to some insiders, Michigan would take all five if every one of them wanted to commit.

TTB Rating: 68

Who’s left on the offer board?

The nation’s #1 recruit: Jadeveon Clowney

Aside from the six guys who might choose Michigan on National Signing Day this Wednesday, here’s a list of the uncommitted players remaining on Michigan’s offer board.  Obviously, many of these kids aren’t interested in Michigan at this point, and many never were.  But it might still be interesting to see where these 18 players end up, with my random guesses in parentheses.  I haven’t followed the recruitment of many of these guys since most weren’t seriously considering the Wolverines, so don’t be surprised if 100% of my guesses are wrong.

EDIT: Updated at 6:55 a.m. on February 3
Darien Bryant, TE – Pickerington, OH (Hawaii) – Vanderbilt
Jadeveon Clowney, DE – Rock Hill, SC (South Carolina)
Lamar Dawson, LB – Danville, KY (Kentucky) – USC
Taques Franklin, TE – Haledon, NJ (Rutgers)
Curtis Grant, LB – Richmond, VA (Ohio State) – Ohio State
Desimon Green, DE – Clairton, PA (Texas Tech) – Texas Tech
Prince Holloway, WR – Cape Coral, FL (West Virginia)
Branden Jackson, DE – McKeesport, PA (Pitt) – Texas Tech
Darius Jennings, WR – Baltimore, MD (Virginia) – Virginia
Timmy Jernigan, DT – Lake City, FL (Florida State) – Florida State
Cardale Jones, QB – Cleveland, OH (Ohio State) – Ohio State
Marqise Lee, S – Gardena, CA (USC) – USC
Devin Lucien, WR – Encino, CA (UCLA) – UCLA
Kevin McReynolds, DT – Washington, DC (Mississippi State) – UCLA
Delvon Simmons, DT – McKeesport, PA (USC) – North Carolina
Dexter Staley, LB – Williston, SC (prep school)
Aundrey Walker, OL – Cleveland, OH (Ohio State) – USC
Shane Wynn, WR – Cleveland, OH (Indiana) – Indiana

Maize ‘n’ Brew: What to Expect on Signing Day

Why not?

I put up a post yesterday on Maize ‘n’ Brew about What to Expect on Signing Day, including predictions on Michigan’s few remaining recruits.  Check it out if you’re interested.

Chris Bryant, Wolverine



Yes, Chris Bryant’s high school team was the Wolverines, too.

Chris Bryant, a 6’5″, 330 lb. offensive lineman, committed to Michigan on Friday night.  It had been rumored for many months that Bryant was a Michigan lean, and he finally made the public announcement.  Bryant is from Simeon Career Academy in Chicago, IL.

The hulking lineman is a 4-star prospect to Rivals (which projects him as an offensive tackle), but both Scout and ESPN give him a 3-star rating (as an offensive guard).  He also had offers from Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Stanford, among others.  The other finalists for his services were Arizona, Illinois, and Pitt.

I find the above rankings to be a little funny.  Bryant’s body type obviously leans toward playing guard at the next level, but the two sites who project him as a guard gave him only three stars.  Conversely, the one site that oddly ranks him as a tackle gives him a very high rating.  That seems to be backward, but oh well.

Clearly Bryant has some work to do on his body.  There’s a humorous quote from a Scout.com interview where Bryant says, “I’m not a sloppy 330, I’m built.”  Well . . . he’s a little bit sloppy.  Not too many high schoolers are 330 lbs. and “built.”  In fact, I might even go out on a limb and say zero of them are.  High school kids don’t have the hormones, time, or inclination to be a built 330 lbs.  So Phil Pfister he’s not, but if a kid wants to think he looks sexy with a big belly, who am I to stop him?

The bottom line is that Bryant is a very powerful kid.  He has a reported bench press of 395 lbs.  His squat number of 420 lbs. isn’t extremely impressive, but when you consider the fact that he’s lifting his own 330 lbs. plus another 420, well, that’s not bad.  When you watch Bryant’s film, it’s evident that he plows over defensive linemen.  He’s the type of lineman that demoralizes you by blocking you into the ground and then hitting you again and again when you try to get up.  Eventually players just bide their time until the whistle blows.  He’s not quite to the level of Taylor Lewan in nastiness, but he’s pretty close.

The thing I like most about Bryant, though, is his footwork.  For such a big kid, he moves his feet superbly.  Unlike fellow class of 2011 behemoth Aundrey Walker, Bryant keeps his feet moving throughout the play.  Whereas Walker gives opponents a shove or two and expects them to give up, which they often do, Bryant drives his man or keeps his feet moving laterally in short, choppy steps.  (Bonus: I ranked Bryant just ahead of Walker and just behind recent USC commit Cyrus Hobbi back in January.)  His excellent footwork and potentially overwhelming size and strength should turn him into an excellent offensive lineman at Michigan.

Bryant will need to play a little bit lower and condition his body, but from all accounts, he is a high character kid.  I expect that he’ll get his weight under control, improve his lower body strength, and be a multi-year starter at Michigan.  He’ll almost certainly redshirt in 2011 and watch Patrick Omameh and Ricky Barnum man the guard positions in 2012, but as a redshirt sophomore in 2013, Bryant should be in line to step into the starting group.  He’s not the all-around athlete that former 5-star William Campbell is, but as strictly an offensive lineman, I would take Bryant 2011 over Campbell coming out of high school.

This is commitment #17 for Michigan.  There are three or four spots remaining in this class, one of which would likely be reserved for Traverse City offensive lineman Jake Fisher.  A commitment from Fisher would likely end offensive line recruiting, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the coaches pursue a lower level player over the next few days if Fisher doesn’t give off positive vibes to the Michigan staff.

TTB Rating: 87

The link HERE is a good highlight film but can’t be embedded, so here are some clips of him at the Sound Mind Sound Body camp in Ann Arbor:

2011 Offer Board Update

Louisiana cornerback Floyd Raven

The 2011 Offer Board has been updated:

Ray Drew (DE) committed to Georgia.

Brandon Fulse (TE) committed to Auburn.

Mickey Johnson (NT) committed to LSU.

Stefan McClure (CB) committed to Cal.

Josue Matias (OT) committed to Rutgers.

Errin Joe (OG) committed to Georgia Tech.

Deon Lee (DE) committed to Troy.

Darius Patton (WR) committed to Pittsburgh.

Tre Mason (SB) committed to Auburn.

Floyd Raven (CB) committed to Ole Miss.

Antonio Poole (LB) committed to Michigan.

Added Russell Bellomy (QB) who committed to Michigan.

Malcolm Crockett (SB) committed to Pitt.

Terrell Chestnutt (CB) committed to West Virginia.

Added Trayion Durham (FB).

Floyd Raven (CB) committed to Texas A&M.

Malcolm Crockett (SB) decommitted from Cincinnati.

Added Marlin Lane (SB) who committed to Tennessee.

Hakeem Flowers (WR) committed to NC State.

Added Ryan Nowicki (OT).

Jay Rome (TE) committed to Georgia.

Byron Moore (FS) committed to Miami.

Matt Wile (K) committed to Michigan.

Raymon Taylor (CB) committed to Michigan.

Keith Heitzman (DE) committed to Michigan.

Bill Belton (WR) committed to Penn State.

Christian Westerman (OT) changed his commitment from Texas to Auburn.

Added Keith Heitzman (DE).