Jeremy Clark, a safety from Madisonville, KY, accepted a greyshirt offer to play football at Michigan. Clark camped at U of M this past week, and the coaches were impressed enough to give him a chance to join the football team. With the 2012 class getting nearer and nearer to completion, there aren’t enough scholarships to go around right now if all of Michigan’s desired pieces flal into place. In a greyshirt situation, the student-athlete must pay his own tuition for the first semester of college (Fall 2012 in Clark’s case), but he will receive scholarship aid beginning in January 2013.
Clark is a 6’4″, 205 lb. prospect at North Hopkins High School. He reportedly runs a 4.47-second forty yard dash, which is exceptional for a kid that size . . . and also probably exaggerated. Prior to the opportunity at Michigan, he had full scholarship offers from Akron, Ball State, Central Michigan, Illinois, North Carolina State, Ohio, and Toledo. Clark says that he won’t succumb to advances from other schools that want to give him a full ride from the beginning, but if his stock continues to soar (he had zero FBS offers up until a couple weeks ago), I can see that coming into question.
Last season Clark had 75 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 8 pass breakups for North Hopkins, which finished with a record of 5-6.
You can take a look at Clark’s highlights below, but there’s not a whole lot of excitement on my end right now. His coach stated that Clark has grown three inches in the last year, and apparently not too many college coaches were too enamored with him until he started camping. So there’s a very good chance that his body has matured throughout the offseason, and if he’s done some work on his own in the film room, he might have improved some of his weaknesses, too. But from what I see here, he’s slow to read plays, slow to react at times, takes questionable pursuit angles, doesn’t have the greatest of playmaking abilities, doesn’t hit hard with consistency (although there are a couple nice blows), and doesn’t wrap up when he tackles. Overall, he looks like a good high school player, but not worthy of high-level FBS interest.
From the way it sounds, Clark is in line to receive a full scholarship offer from Michigan if Akron, OH, safety Jarrod Wilson chooses Penn State or Notre Dame. If Wilson commits to the Wolverines, then the greyshirt scenario will take place. So keep an eye out for Wilson’s decision, which should be soon.
The ESPN 150 was released a couple days ago. Two Michigan commits appear, including cornerback Terry Richardson (#68) and linebacker Royce Jenkins-Stone (#117). Players with Michigan offers:
1. Mario Edwards – DE – Texas (Florida State)
2. Eddie Goldman – DT – Washington, D.C.
3. Dorial Green-Beckham – WR – Missouri
4. Noah Spence – DE – Pennsylvania
6. Keith Marshall – RB – North Carolina
7. D.J. Humphries – OT – North Carolina
9. Stefon Diggs – WR – Maryland
12. Gunner Kiel – QB – Indiana
16. Kwon Alexander – LB – Alabama
17. Arik Armstead – DE – California (USC)
22. Andrus Peat – OT – Arizona
26. Connor Brewer – QB – Arizona (Texas)
30. Kyle Murphy – OT – California
31. Geno Smith – CB – Georgia
34. Jabari Ruffin – LB – California (USC)
37. Cyrus Jones – RB – Maryland
39. Devin Fuller – QB – New Jersey
40. Yuri Wright – CB – New Jersey
41. Nelson Agholor – RB – Florida
42. Avery Johnson – WR – Florida (LSU)
43. Joshua Garnett – OG – Washington
44. Jonathan Taylor – DT – Georgia (Georgia)
45. Dominique Wheeler – WR – Texas
50. Ifeadi Odenigbo – DE – Ohio
53. Ellis McCarthy – DT – California
55. Evan Boehm – OG – Missouri
56. Peter Jinkens – LB – Texas (Texas)
57. Max Tuerk – OT – California (USC)
59. Brock Stadnik – OT – North Carolina (South Carolina)
60. Zach Kline – QB – California (Cal)
61. Patrick Destefano – OG – South Carolina (Clemson)
62. Durron Neal – WR – Missouri (Oklahoma)
63. Jordan Jenkins – DE – Georgia
66. Deon Bush – CB – Florida
67. Darius Hamilton – DE – New Jersey
68. Terry Richardson – CB – Michigan (Michigan)
69. Devonte Fields – DE – Texas (TCU)
70. Ronald Darby – CB – Maryland (Notre Dame)
72. Dillon Lee – LB – Georgia (Alabama)
82. Reginald Davis – WR – Texas (Texas Tech)
84. Darius Powe – WR – California
85. Jordan Simmons – OG – California
88. Aziz Shittu – DT – California
89. Tee Shepard – CB – California (Notre Dame)
93. Dalton Santos – LB – Texas
96. Adolphus Washington – DE – Ohio
97. Jarron Jones – DT – New York
98. Ty Darlington – OC – Florida
100. Tyriq McCord – DE – Florida
101. Se’von Pittman – DE – Ohio
102. Drae Bowles – WR – Tennessee
103. Jordan Diamond – OT – Illinois
106. Latroy Pittman – WR – Florida (Florida)
111. Dwayne Stanford – WR – Ohio
117. Royce Jenkins-Stone – LB – Michigan (Michigan)
119. Avery Young – OT – Florida
125. Zach Banner – OT – Washington
128. Derrick Woods – WR – California
129. Michael Starts – OG – Texas (Texas Tech)
130. Eli Harold – DE – Virginia
132. Dominic Ramacher – TE – Texas (Oklahoma State)
135. Tommy Schutt – DT – Illinois
136. Brian Poole – CB – Florida
138. Jake Rodrigues – QB – California (Oregon)
140. Kyle Kalis – OG – Ohio (Ohio State)
144. Sheldon Day – DT – Indiana
146. Jordan Payton – WR – California (USC)
147. Kent Taylor – TE – Florida
150. Raphael Kirby – LB – Georgia (Miami)
Erik Magnuson: His father would be proud.
Trust me.
Erik Magnuson, an offensive tackle from La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, CA, committed to Michigan on Saturday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, California, Cincinnati, Colorado, Miami, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State, Stanford, UCLA, Utah, Washington, and Washington State, among others.
Magnuson was reeled in by tight ends coach Dan Ferrigno, who handles a lot of Michigan’s recruiting on the west coast. The coaching staff originally made contact with Magnuson when they were at San Diego State, and they parlayed that early relationship into convincing the young man to drag his butt halfway across the country. Magnuson had maintained that Michigan was his leader for the past couple weeks, and when he finally got a chance to see the campus, that was all it took.
As you can see, the reviews of Magnuson indicate that he is either good or very good. He shows very good balance and mirroring abilities as a pass blocker; his kick slide and ability to cancel inside rushes should serve him well at the next level. He also has a mean streak on the field and likes to finish his blocks.
Something Magnuson lacks is truly elite athleticism. Although he has the traits I mentioned above, his feet aren’t particularly quick. If I were coaching or training him, I would really be working agility training to get his feet moving a little better. Speed rushers could potentially give him some trouble in college and beyond. His run blocking could also use some work. There are times when he uses his upper body to hook defenders rather than getting his feet and hips around to the front side of the block. That won’t work with stronger players. Furthermore, sometimes he lets his base get a little too narrow when run blocking, which could hamper his ability to stay on blocks. That last point is the easiest to correct, though, and shouldn’t be an issue in the long run.
Magnuson seems like a LT/RT tweener to me. He doesn’t have the elite quickness that I’d like to see in a left tackle, but he doesn’t have the mass (right now) or run blocking technique to be great at right tackle. I do think these issues are correctable, but his success depends upon how quickly he can shore up these weaknesses. Hopefully it happens soon.
This gives Michigan 16 commitments for the class of 2012. As things stand now, there are two remaining spots to fill. The Wolverines still need a nose tackle and another offensive lineman; I would prefer a guard since Michigan has four guards who will be fifth year seniors when the 2012 class arrives on campus. A quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and safety would be welcome additions if the class expands.
Tom Strobel, a defensive end from Mentor, OH, committed to Michigan on Friday. He’s a 6’6″, 245 lb. strongside end who picked the Wolverines over offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Stanford, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, among others.
Is it a coincidence that Strobel plays for the Mentor Cardinals, which just so happens to be the same nickname of Brady Hoke’s old team, the Ball State Cardinals . . . ?
Probably.
His current rankings are as follows:
ESPN: 3-star, #56 DE
Rivals: 4-star, #36 DE, #231 overall
Scout: 4-star, #24 DE, #211 overall
24/7 Sports: 4-star, #14 WDE, #169 overall
When three out of four sites agree that he’s a top-250 prospect, then I tend to think that ESPN doesn’t know what it’s talking about (Hint: They don’t). For someone that big who runs a reported 4.8 forty yard dash and has a 28″ vertical leap, anything less than a 4-star rating seems a little foolish. What’s even more ridiculous is that the state of Ohio has several defensive ends who are on par or perhaps even better than Strobel, such as Adolphus Washington, Se’von Pittman, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Pharaoh Brown, and Greg McMullen.
While the majority of the sites agree that Strobel is an elite prospect, what they don’t seem to agree on is his eventual position. He has been projected as a strongside end, a weakside end, and a 3-tech defensive tackle by various scouts. To me he looks like a strongside end all the way. First of all, he has the bulk to play on the strong side without getting knocked off the ball. Secondly, he doesn’t have the athleticism to be an elite pass rusher and come off the edge from the weakside. And third, if he’s a true 6’6″ tall, then I don’t want him inside playing tackle. Anytime tackles get over 6’5″, I think their height becomes a disadvantage.
Strobel has a great motor. There are plays when he gets completely turned around, finds the ball, and makes a beeline toward the ballcarrier. There’s no hesitation or thought of “Maybe I should give up” or “Maybe one of my teammates made the play by now.” He’s also thick from head to toe, which means he should have sufficient upper and lower body strength to keep blockers off of him with his arms while also powering through blockers and ballcarriers with his legs. He uses his hands very well and keeps separation from offensive tackles.
I am slightly concerned about Strobel’s production thus far in his high school career, though. In two seasons of varsity ball, he’s only made 84 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 9 sacks. He did miss a couple games due to injury as a junior, but for a guy with his tools to only make 37 tackles and 2 sacks as a junior in high school is a little bit curious. I also have all kinds of issues with Strobel’s technique. While he uses his hands very well, his butt’s too low in his stance and his right foot is too far back, which makes him cockeyed. With his foot back that far, almost every one of his first steps makes him stand straight up. I’m not too concerned that Michigan’s coaches will notice his stance issues and make the necessary corrections. The more pressing issue is how quickly Strobel will adjust to a new stance, whether he will be comfortable, and whether he can keep his balance once the tweaks are made.
Overall, Strobel seems like a high-floor/medium-ceiling type of player. As a strongside end, perhaps the most important quality is to be relentlessly active, and he does have that quality. However, he will get eaten alive if he doesn’t play lower. The track record of his future coaches speaks for itself as far as coaching up defensive linemen, but I can’t really expect greatness from a kid who had 37 tackles and 2 sacks as a junior. I will be interested to see how he does in the upcoming season, so the following number may change, but as for now . . .
