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| Jessica Burciaga is somewhat attractive. |
This comes a couple days after the fact, but I put up a recruiting post on Friday over at Maize ‘n’ Brew.
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| Running back/receiver/cornerback/safety Nelson Agholor |
The 2012 Offer Board has been updated:
Colorado tight end Evan Baylis committed to Oregon.
North Carolina offensive tackle Brock Stadnik committed to South Carolina.
Added Illinois cornerback Anthony Standifer.
Added Florida running back Nelson Agholor.
Added Illinois defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson.
Added Arizona cornerback D.J. Foster.
Added Missouri wide receiver Durron Neal.
Michigan linebacker James Ross committed to Michigan.
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| Orchard Lake St. Mary’s linebacker James Ross |
James Ross, a linebacker from Orchard Lake, MI, committed to the Wolverines on Monday morning. He chose Michigan over offers from Arizona State, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, and USC, among others.
Ross is 6’0″ and 215 lbs. He’s a 4-star prospect and the #2 inside linebacker to both Scout and 247 Sports, and a recent post from Rivals mods stated that he will be a 4-star on their site, too. ESPN is maybe sorta kinda thinking about ranking players. Ross had 103 tackles, 5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries and 1 interception as a sophomore. As a junior for OLSM, he notched 95 tackles, 5 sacks, 5 fumble recoveries, and 1 interception for a team that went to the state championship game in 2010.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s has been good to Michigan (and football in general) over the past twenty years. Other notable products of OLSM include former Wolverines David Bowens, DiAllo Johnson, Jermaine Gonzales, Grant Mason, Chris McLaurin, and Morgan Trent. The Eagles have sent players to Florida State, Penn State, and Ohio State recently, and Ross is the first one to choose Michigan since McLaurin in 2005.
There’s essentially nothing to dislike about Ross as a prospect. Even though he’s not lightning fast in a straight line, he’s a true “quick twitch” athlete. Watching his feet and hips move, he has the agility of a safety. But the most impressive thing about Ross is how quickly he diagnoses plays. I’m not sure that I’ve seen a high school player – and certainly not a Michigan recruit – make quicker decisions and find the ball faster than Ross does. There are times when he knifes into the backfield so quickly that it almost seems as if he’s blitzing. He plays on the balls of his feet and never seems to get caught flat-footed. His ability to get into his drops and flip his hips is on par with Jonas Mouton, a second round NFL draft pick a few days ago. Mouton was somewhat slow to diagnose plays, but he was superb at getting into his pass drops. Ross also has a fantastic, innate ability to make subtle movements to avoid blockers.
If I were forced to find weaknesses in his game, I would mention two things. First, he’s a little bit small at 6’0″ to 6’1″ and 215 lbs. He could get on the field at Michigan at 225-230 lbs., so I don’t think size will prevent him from being a solid college player. However, it could potentially be a drawback down the road if he becomes an NFL prospect. Second, there are times when he leaves his feet to make tackles. He flashes the ability to run his feet on contact and drive ballcarriers backward, but it’s not 100% consistent. He won’t get on the field for Greg Mattison if he doesn’t run his feet consistently, though, so I imagine that will be fixed quickly.
I’ve seen comparisons made to Ian Gold, but I’m hesitant to make that particular comparison. I saw Gold play in high school; he was a fantastic running back (and sprinter), but defense wasn’t really his forte at the time. Ross would probably lose to Gold in a foot race and the OLSM product is already bigger than Gold as a collegian. I don’t really see a Michigan parallel, but the player Ross reminds me of is Jonathan Vilma, the former Miami Hurricane and current NFL linebacker.
Ross is the eighth player to commit to Michigan in the class of 2012. In somewhat of an oddity, all eight players have committed in pairs by position. Two offensive linemen committed within a couple days of each other (Ben Braden, Caleb Stacey), then two linebackers within a couple days of each other (Kaleb Ringer, Royce Jenkins-Stone), then two tight ends (A.J. Williams, Devin Funchess), and now Joe Bolden and Ross.
Ross was initially reported to be recruited as a weakside linebacker, but recent comments by Josh Helmholdt at The Wolverine suggest that Michigan was more recently talking to him about playing the SAM linebacker position. Personally, I don’t see a 6’0″, 215-pounder developing into a strongside linebacker in a 4-3 under defense, but my opinion has very little to do with what Greg Mattison does. We’ll just have to see what happens. There’s no question in my mind that Ross should be able to compete for playing time at Michigan within two years of getting to campus. Whether he plays at WILL, as an undersized MIKE, or as an oddly shaped SAM, this kid looks like a potential All-American.
Go Blue!
TTB Rating: 92
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| When I searched for a picture of “Dominique Wheeler,” no good photos showed up . . . except one of Dominique Piek. |
The 2012 Offer Board has been updated:
Texas DE Devonte Fields committed to TCU.
California DT Aziz Shittu committed to Stanford.
Ohio LB Joe Bolden committed to Michigan.
Added Texas WR Dominique Wheeler.
Texas RB Jonathan Williams committed to Missouri.
Wisconsin LB Vince Biegel committed to Wisconsin.
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| Joe Bolden has some unfortunate team colors, but we’ll forgive him. |
Joe Bolden, a linebacker from Colerain High School in Cincinnati, OH, has committed to Michigan. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Arizona, Boston College, Cincinnati, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Penn State, South Florida, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, and West Virginia, among others.
Bolden stands 6’2″ tall and weighs 225 lbs. As a junior, he had 90 tackles, 4 sacks, and 2 interceptions. According to Scout and 247 Sports, he’s a 4-star prospect. Rivals and ESPN, both of whom are lagging behind in rankings, have not bothered to rank many prospects yet. ESPN thought about it briefly and put him on the 150 watch list, and Rivals put him on the 250 to Watch list, which indicates he’ll be no lower than a 4-star prospect to them, either.
Athletically, Bolden isn’t out of this world. He’s not extremely big or fast, he’s not particularly sudden, and not every play ends with an explosive tackle. However, he seems to have exceptional play recognition skills. He takes his one read step and then goes to the ball. While he’s not exactly a quick-twitch athlete, he has above average coverage skills because of his instincts and awareness. Bolden also seems to have a top-quality motor with the willingness to chug back into plays that others would give up on. He flies to the football, makes solid contact, and wraps up ballcarriers.
The more I’ve seen of Bolden, the more I like him. He seems like a good kid and nearly has a 4.0 grade point average. He’s just a good all-around football player. With his play recognition skills, I would like to see him play MIKE linebacker at 240-245 lbs. I think he has the size and athleticism to play SAM, but quick diagnosis is key for a MIKE.
Colrain High School has produced a fair amount of talent for Michigan. The most notable player for Michigan fans is probably B.J. Askew, a tailback/fullback who has played in the NFL with the Jets and Buccaneers. The Cincinnati school also sent running back Mister Simpson and linebacker Cobrani Mixon, but both players transferred after one year. Simpson is out of football, but Mixon was an all-conference player at Kent State and is hoping to get drafted this weekend.
Bolden is the third linebacker commit in the 2012 class, following Kaleb Ringer and Royce Jenkins-Stone. There has been some talk that Jenkins-Stone – originally reported to be headed for MIKE – will end up playing SAM, and Bolden might give the coaches that flexibility.
Bolden gives the Wolverines seven commitments now, plus an additional player reported to be a silent commit. The class is scheduled to be approximately 17 players strong, but that will surely grow in the months to come.
TTB Rating: 77