Chris Wormley, Wolverine

Tag: 2012 Recruiting

3Aug 2011
Uncategorized 7 comments

Chris Wormley, Wolverine

Ohio defensive end Chris Wormley committed to Michigan on Sunday

Toledo, OH, defensive end Chris Wormley committed to Michigan on Sunday after the “BBQ at the Big House.”  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Toledo.

Wormley is 6’4″-ish and 250-ish pounds, depending on the recruiting site.  Speaking of recruiting sites, his ratings vary somewhat wildly from place to place:

ESPN: 4-star, #16 DE
Rivals: 3-star, #22 DE
Scout: 4-star, #20 DE
24/7 Sports: 4-star, #3 SDE, #57 overall

Based on Wormley’s ratings and offers, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Wormley is a complete wild card.  The only “elite” program to offer Wormley a car scholarship was Ohio State, and the other programs are all middle of the road.  People who look to scholarship offers more than ratings might not be all that enthused.  As for people who prefer ratings, well, the mixed reviews are curious.  Wormley has been on Michigan fans’ radar since his sophomore season, he plays for a decent program at Whitmer, and he’s a superb shotput/discus thrower.  He’s had plenty of attention, but Rivals seems to be down on him.  Those reasons, explained by Josh Helmholdt from The Wolverine at one point, seems to be that he lacks a strong motor, lacks aggression, and might be a better fit at offensive tackle in college.

Most of Wormley’s highlights seem to come from his sophomore season, with junior year film surprisingly scarce for such high profile player.  When he was listed as a 6’4″, 225 lb. sophomore, he looked like an explosive edge rusher with a good frame and the speed to chase down quarterbacks and even running backs in the open field.  He looked like an absolute beast and I tended to agree that he was an elite player headed for perhaps the top spot in Ohio’s recruiting ranks for 2012.

But something happened before his junior year.  He apparently added about 25-30 pounds (or more), lost some of that explosiveness, and just seemed pretty lethargic.  I have even suggested that he looked like he was injured and just couldn’t go 100% last season.  Something was amiss.  His 2009 performance should have earned him offers from Michigan and Ohio State; his 2010 performance should have earned him offers from Illinois and Indiana.

The above picture seems to be representative of what I see in Wormley.  He’s got big thighs and a big butt, and his upper body doesn’t seem to fill out his jersey and shoulder pads.  That indicates to me that he’s got some filling out to do, and when he does reach maturity, he might be 30 pounds heavier than he was last season.  If and when that happens, he’ll be 6’5″-ish and maybe 285-290 pounds.  Do you turn that guy into a strongside defensive end, a 3-tech defensive tackle, or do you try to make an offensive tackle out of him?  I’m not entirely sure.  He’s got the athleticism inside of him to do any of those things, but it depends on whether he’s healthy and how hard he pushes himself.

Wormley is the 21st commitment of the 2012 class and joins four other defensive ends (if they all stay at that position group) in the bunch.  The last Whitmer product to come to Michigan was tight end Kevin Koger, who will be a senior this season.

TTB Rating: 73

2Aug 2011
Uncategorized 6 comments

Sione Houma, Wolverine

Utah fullback Sione Houma (with ball) committed to Michigan last week

Salt Lake City, UT, fullback Sione Houma committed to Michigan last Monday.  He chose Michigan over offers from Utah, Utah State, and Washington.

Houma is a 6’0″, 211 lb. prospect with a reported 4.53 forty yard dash.  Last season he rushed for 1,211 yards and 9 touchdowns from the fullback position in a triple option offense.  His size and skills have led him to be ranked as a 2-star prospect by Scout . . . and not at all by anyone else.

Houma looks to be a typical West Coast-style fullback.  He’s not huge and he’s not particularly fast, but he’s got a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  He shows an ability to adjust to the ball in the air on short passes, he has a little bit of vision, he breaks away for an occasional long run, and he breaks some tackles in the process.  His film won’t wow anyone, but not many fullbacks’ films do.  One thing I really like about Houma is that he runs with a great forward lean when going through traffic.  Since he’s not particularly tall, that means anybody who hits him in the shoulder pads is bound to go backwards.  That body lean means that anybody who gets into his legs will probably bring him down, so he needs to work on his footwork a little bit.  But it’s hard to take a high runner and make him run low, because guys just aren’t comfortable making that transition.

Another thing I like about Houma is that he probably doesn’t have the speed to break 50-yard runs or receptions, but he does have the ability to outrun linebackers and turn a 4-yard swing pass into a 10- or 15-yard swing passes.  That skill won’t turn him into a superstar, but having a fullback who can gain some yards after the catch will be a valuable commodity when Michigan runs split backs and the quarterback decides to dump off the ball.  Salt Lake City isn’t known for its football talent (only four 2011 prospects from the city signed FBS letters of intent – two to Utah, one to Navy, and one to Oregon State), but Houma looks superior to his peers.

Fullbacks aren’t exactly hot commodities in the spread-oriented offenses of today’s college football landscape, but Houma looks to be a slight upgrade from the John McColgans, Obi Oluigbos, and Vince Helmuths of the world.

TTB Rating: 69

11Jul 2011
Uncategorized 19 comments

Kyle Kalis, Wolverine

Lakewood, OH offensive lineman Kyle Kalis (#67) committed to Michigan

Offensive lineman Kyle Kalis, from Lakewood, OH, committed to Michigan on Sunday.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, LSU, Miami, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  He had previously been committed to Ohio State.

Kalis is a 6’5″, 302-pounder who would be Michigan’s most touted recruit since 2009, when the Wolverines reeled in defensive tackle William Campbell.  Kalis’ recruiting ratings from around the internet:

ESPN: 4-star, #20 OT, #140 overall
Rivals: 4-star, #4 OT, #18 overall
Scout: 5-star, #6 OT, #21 overall
24/7 Sports: 4-star, #8 OT, #52 overall

I can’t help but find those recruiting rankings a little bit funny for several reasons.  First and foremost, I’ve been saying for weeks that Kalis looks like an offensive guard more than a tackle.  Furthermore, every scouting report you can find on Kalis says he lacks the body type of an offensive tackle.  Furtherfurthermore, ESPN has some dudes ranked as offensive tackles ahead of Kalis who are a) not nearly as good and b) not going to play OT in college, either.  You know what they say: if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it must be an iguana.

Why does he look like a guard?

  • He’s 6’5″.  The last time Michigan had a 6’5″ starting tackle was Steve Schilling, who was a poor fit so he moved to guard for his final two seasons.  Before that it was Rueben Riley, who was clearly only playing tackle in 2006 because Alex Mitchell was an all-time fatty.  So the last legitimate 6’5″ offensive tackle (i.e. one who wasn’t playing awkwardly out of position) was Adam Stenavich in 2005, who was an All-Big Ten player. 
  • Look at him.  Kalis has the build of a guard.  Offensive tackles these days are long and lean, with the lower bodies of tight ends and the upper bodies of Greek gods who binged on carbs for the past week.  Guards look like Bob-ombs.
  • Skills.  Kalis has the footwork and upper body strength to be a great in-line drive blocker, and he has the ability to stay low and root out defensive tackles.  Additionally, he has the speed and quick feet to trap and pull, which will be important for Michigan’s guards in the coming years.
Much like Jarrod Wilson, I firmly believe in Kalis’ abilities translating to college.  His father, Todd, was an offensive lineman for the Vikings, Steelers, and Bengals.  The elder Kalis obviously taught the younger Kalis well.  Kyle comes out of his stance very well for such a big, young player.  He’s quick off the ball, and his footwork is impeccable.  He rarely wastes any movement or gets his feet crossed up, and he keeps a wide base when blocking, which allows him to latch onto blocks and not let go; that’s one major difference between Kalis and guys like Michigan commit Blake Bars and potential Michigan commit Jordan Diamond.  Kalis is also relentless when it comes to driving opponents into the ground.  He’s not a big guy who gets one or two shots on a guy and then grabs a handful of popcorn; if you want to see that, take a look at the film of 2011 USC recruit Aundrey Walker.  Kalis would perhaps be more physically and technically ready to play as a freshman than any lineman (offensive or defensive) in recent memory.
And now I become a Debbie Downer.
I always preach not to get too excited about Michigan recruits until they sign a national letter of intent.  Kalis was committed to Ohio State until late June, and the main reasons for his decommitment were the pending sanctions and the departure of Jim Tressel.  I’m sure the Buckeyes will not stop contacting Kalis, and if they get only a slap on the wrist from the NCAA, I could foresee him going back to Ohio State.  There have been message board rumors that there are a few recruits who have picked other schools to save a scholarship elsewhere, but that those recruits might head to Columbus if the punishments aren’t severe and if OSU seems headed in the right direction under new coach Luke Fickell.  Message board rumors should be taken with a grain of salt and are often fabricated by people with no inside knowledge, but keep in mind that nothing is official until February 2012.  Michigan isn’t too far removed from the plethora of decommitments in the 2009 class or the saga of Jerimy Finch, who was “committed” to Michigan, Indiana, and Florida all in one recruiting cycle.  Kalis has a good future, but don’t jump off a bridge if this story doesn’t develop how you hope.
This brings Michigan’s 2012 class to 19.  The coaches have said they’re looking for six offensive linemen, and Kalis is number five.  He’s also the ninth player from Ohio to pledge to the Wolverines in this recruiting cycle.
TTB Rating: 95

8Jul 2011
Uncategorized 9 comments

Jarrod Wilson, Wolverine

Akron, OH safety Jarrod Wilson (#24)

Akton (OH) Buchtel safety Jarrod Wilson committed to Michigan on Friday afternoon.  He had offers from Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Syracuse, UCLA, West Virginia, and others.  The other two finalists for his services were the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions.

Wilson is a 6’2″, 190 lb. free safety type whose high school coach is Ricky Powers, the former Michigan running back.  Last year the rising senior had 55 tackles and 8 interceptions, 5 of which were returned for touchdowns; he also returned a fumble 88 yards for a touchdown.  His ratings on the recruiting sites:

ESPN: 4-star, #12 safety
Rivals: 4-star, #13 safety
Scout: 4-star, #10 safety
247 Sports: 4-star, 91 rating

I am a huge fan of Wilson’s abilities.  He has the size, speed, tackling ability, and ballhawking instincts that Michigan teams have been lacking for the last several years.  And, perhaps best of all, he’s the elusive Michigan-recruited safety who actually looks like a safety and not a linebacker.  Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison are recruiting linebackers who played linebacker in high school, and safeties who played safety.  Hallelujah!  The next thing you know, they’ll be recruiting running backs and wide receivers who are taller than 5’6″ . . .

Here’s what Wilson isn’t: Steve Atwater.  He’s not a guy who’s going to take Wisconsin’s fat running back du jour and plant him on his hindquarters.  He’ll make the tackles that need to be made, but he’s not the most aggressive hitter.  And that’s fine.

Here’s what Wilson is: a good football player.  He’s got the potential to be All-Big Ten, pick off a handful of passes, and make quarterbacks think twice about lofting the ball down the middle of the field.  Having a 6’2″ guy with hops and ball skills playing center field helps out the defensive line and gives the cornerbacks a chance to gamble once in awhile, knowing that one mistake might not mean a sure touchdown.

Michigan now has 18 commitments in the class of 2012, and this pushes Jeremy Clark to almost certain greyshirt status, which will cause him to count toward the class of 2013.

TTB Rating: 89 (rating system here)