Tag: 2013 recruiting

Patrick Kugler, Wolverine

Wexford (PA) North Allegheny offensive guard Patrick Kugler committed to Michigan (image via 247Sports.com)

Wexford (PA) North Allegheny offensive lineman Patrick Kugler committed to Michigan on Saturday.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Arizona, Cal, Florida, Florida State, Iowa, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, Stanford, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, among others.

Kugler is a 6’5″, 280 lb. lineman.  He claims a 5.1 forty, a 300 lb. bench, and a squat of 415 lbs.  North Allegheny’s team went 14-1 during his 2011 junior season.

Ratings:
ESPN: 4-star OT
Rivals: 4-star OT, #54 overall
Scout: 4-star OG
247 Sports: 4-star, 92 grade, #20 OT, #190 overall

Kugler was reportedly stopping by Michigan as a side trip when the main target of the trip was to head to Michigan State’s junior day.  He never went to MSU, though.  After visiting Ann Arbor on Friday and meeting the coaches, he fell in love with the coaching staff and decided to commit.

I have yet to find any highlights of Kugler, so it’s difficult to see what his strengths and weaknesses are.  What we do know is that his older brother Rob signed with Purdue in the class of 2011; Rob redshirted as a true freshman.  His father Sean has been the offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers since the beginning of 2010, so we can assume that he has instilled a solid foundation of technique in Patrick.  The eldest Kugler also spent a few years as a Detroit Lions assistant coach in the early 2000s.

For lack of my own scouting report, here’s what Bob Lichtenfels says about him over at Scout:

STRENGTHS  Feet  Intensity  Nasty Streak AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT  Size

Kugler is a technician and he is nasty. He finishes his blocks and always plays to the whistle. He has great feet and gets to the second level as well as anyone. Very dominant at the point of attack. he is equally adept at run blocking and pass protection. He is very cerebral and is rarely in bad position. Very good knee bend and deceptively athletic. Needs to fill out his frame more, but that will come with age and experience.

If and when highlights of Kugler appear, I’ll offer my own thoughts on his game.

This is absolutely ridiculous, but at this point, Michigan has concluded its recruiting of the offensive line for the class of 2013.  Unless one of the 2013 kids decommits or if there’s unexpected attrition, the coaches wanted five linemen and got five linemen . . . and they accomplished that task more than eleven months prior to National Signing Day.

The only other Michigan recruit from North Allegheny High School was linebacker/defensive end Chris Rogers in the 2004 class, who never played for Michigan and ended up at Penn State instead.

Weekend Visitors: February 24-26, 2012

Beaver Falls (PA) Blackhawk quarterback Chandler Kincade (image via Scout)

Remember last week when a bunch of players gave me carpal tunnel?  Me, too.  But it’s not happening again this weekend.

Jack Keeler – OT – Barrington (IL) Barrington:  Keeler is a 6’7″, 285 lb. tackle with offers from Northern Illinois, Toledo, West Virginia, and Western Michigan.  He is a good player, but Michigan only plans to take one more offensive lineman.  With some elite kids still on the board, I think it’s unlikely that they’ll pursue someone with a relatively low profile like Keeler. (Highlights here.)

Chandler Kincade – QB – Beaver Falls (PA) Blackhawk: Chandler is a 6’4″, 215-pounder who’s currently committed to Pitt for the class of 2014.  He made his pledge back in November before Todd Graham left for Arizona State and a bunch of others headed for Arizona, so he may be thinking of a change of scenery.  His only current offer came from Pitt, which is probably partly because he was injured for much of the 2011 season.  He had just 547 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception in five games.  His highlights are pretty awesome . . . especially since he’s a 9th grader in them:



Patrick Kugler – OG – Wexford (PA) North Allegheny: Kugler is a 6’5″, 280 lb. guard prospect with offers from Arizona, Cal, Florida, Florida State, Iowa, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, Stanford, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and several others.  He’s the #54 overall player to Rivals, although I have yet to see any highlights of him.

Logan Tuley-Tillman – OT – Peoria (IL) Manual: Tuley-Tillman committed to Michigan last weekend.  He’s also angry at me for saying “he’s not that good right now,” despite the fact that I went on to say that he has a chance to be very good once he gets some quality coaching.

I guess TTB Andrew won’t be interviewing Mr. Tuley-Tillman anytime soon.

Junior Season Highlights: Shane Morris

Poll Results: Biggest position need in 2013?

Kenny Demens (#25) and Jordan Kovacs (#32) will both graduate after the 2012 season

A couple weeks ago I posed this question: Which position is Michigan’s biggest need in 2013?

As you can probably tell, a lot of things have happened since that poll was posted.  But here are the results anyway.

WR: 35%
More than a third of the voters picked wide receiver, a position that has begun to be addressed with the recent commitment of Columbus (OH) Marion Franklin’s Jaron Dukes, a 6’5″, 197 lb. possession guy.  The coaches are likely looking for one or two more receivers to complement Dukes, preferably a speedster or two who can stretch the field.

RB: 23%
Last Saturday Michigan received a commitment from jumbo tailback Wyatt Shallman from Novi (MI) Catholic Central.  The 6’3″, 255-pounder needs a smaller, faster tailback to pair with him.  Head coach Brady Hoke has stated that he’ll always take “a couple” running backs because they’re good athletes who can potentially switch positions.

OL: 13%
Again, this position was addressed with the recent commitments of four  offensive linemen.  The first commitment came from Wheaton (IL) St. Francis’s Kyle Bosch.  He was followed by Detroit (MI) Cass Tech guard David Dawson, Parker (CO) Ponderosa tackle/guard Chris Fox, and Peoria (IL) Manual tackle Logan Tuley-Tillman.

DT: 9%
Michigan grabbed two defensive tackles in the 2012 class to replenish the ranks, but Will Campbell is a senior and Quinton Washington is a redshirt junior.  The coaches have only offered eight defensive tackles thus far, which tells me they’re not panicking about any kind of lack of depth at the position.  They likely believe/realize that at least one of Michigan’s defensive end commits from 2012 will move inside to tackle.

QB: 7%
Michigan has one commitment in 2013, from potential 5-star Shane Morris out of Warren (MI) De La Salle.  After taking one quarterback in the class of 2011 and zero in 2012, Michigan might be putting itself in a precarious position by only taking Morris in 2013.  The 2012 class ended a streak of 14 consecutive recruiting cycles where Michigan took at least  one quarterback.

TE: 2%
At the time the poll was posted, Detroit (MI) Crockett U-back Khalid Hill was committed.  This past weekend the Wolverines also got a verbal from Pickerington (OH) North Y-back Jake Butt.  Both tight end positions have been addressed, but I would not be entirely surprised if the coaches took a third tight end by the end of the class.  The coaches wanted a third tight end in 2012, so at this point, they have addressed 2012’s missing tight end and the graduation of Brandon Moore.

DE: 0% (tie)
Michigan took four defensive ends in the class of 2012, and the only defensive end scheduled to graduate is Craig Roh.  The position was addressed on Saturday with the commitment of Pickerington (OH) Central’s Taco Charlton, a 6’6″, 240-pounder.

S: 0% (tie)
Three safeties committed to Michigan in 2012, and only one graduates after 2012 (Jordan Kovacs).  The Wolverines already have Alliance (OH) Marlington strong safety Dymonte Thomas in the fold for 2013, so that gives Michigan four safeties over two classes.

LB: 0% (zero votes)
Only one linebacker graduates after the 2012 season (middle linebacker Kenny Demens), and the Wolverines just took four linebackers in the most recent class.  The coaches are pursuing a significant number of linebackers in the 2013 class, which tells me a) they’re not happy with their depth and b) they might be expecting some attrition.  Isaiah Bell has yet to see the field in college, Mike Jones has seen the field very little, and Brandin Hawthorne was passed up by a freshman last season; all three might be candidates not to return for a fifth year in 2013.

Scouting Report: Kendall Fuller

Olney (MD) Good Counsel cornerback Kendall Fuller (image via Gazette.net)

Name: Kendall Fuller
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 185 lbs.
Position: Cornerback
Class: 2013
School: Olney (MD) Good Counsel

Notes: Holds offers from Alabama, Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Rutgers, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia . . . Had 25.5 tackles and 3 interceptions as a junior in 2011 . . . Had 30 tackles and 2 interceptions as a sophomore in 2010 . . . Claims a 4.5 forty . . . Rivals 5-star, #4 overall . . . 247 Sports 4-star, 96 grade, #3 CB, #20 overall . . . Scout 4-star CB . . . ESPN 5-star CB . . . Teammate of 2013 target Dorian O’Daniel (scouting report); 2012 targets Wes Brown (Maryland) and Stefon Diggs (Maryland); and Michigan cornerback Blake Countess . . . Older brothers Vincent, Kyle, and Corey all play/played for Virginia Tech

Strengths: Good but not great speed . . . Good acceleration . . . Shows excellent awareness of route combinations . . . Disciplined footwork from the cornerback position . . . Difficult to beat deep . . . Clearly well schooled in nuances of coverage . . . Shows good vision and change of direction with ball in his hands

Weaknesses: Tackling is an issue . . . Soft tackler and runner . . . Not a high effort kid . . . Seems to be on cruise control at times . . . Would like to see him sprint across goal line instead of jog

Projection: Cornerback.  I think Rivals ranks Fuller a little too high at #4 nationally.  He’s a good player, but he’s not the dynamic athlete you would typically see ranked that highly.  He’s a high 4-star prospect, in my opinion, but perhaps not 5-star caliber.  He could go to lots of schools, start as a true freshman, and have a very good career.

Reminds me of: A slightly faster version of Donovan Warren