Columbus (OH) Marion Franklin WR Jaron Dukes committed to Michigan on Wednesday
Columbus (OH) Marion Franklin wide receiver Jaron Dukes committed to Michigan on Wednesday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Illinois and Toledo.
He’s a 6’5″, 197 lb. wideout who claims a 4.6 forty. As a junior in 2011, he caught 36 passes for 670 yards (18.6 yards per catch) and 7 touchdowns.
Shortly after Dukes was offered, he admitted that Michigan was his prohibitive favorite. He grew up as a Michigan fan despite living in Columbus. Raise your hand if you’re surprised he committed.
Put your hand down, smartass.
Considering Dukes’s highlight film consists of about four clips, there’s not a whole lot to go on. He’s 6’5″, which is tall. The 6’3″ Jehu Chesson recently said the coaches want him playing at 210-215 lbs., so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dukes up around 230 or 235 lbs. eventually. That means Dukes will likely be a jump ball nightmare for opposing teams.
Dukes lists a 4.6 forty, which is probably a fib. He’s not very fast. First of all, you can see it on film. Secondly, if you’re 6’5″, 200 lbs., and actually fast, then your offer list consists of more teams than Illinois and Toledo.
I’ve said before that Dukes reminds me a bit of Ernest Wilford, the former Virginia Tech and Jacksonville Jaguars receiver. He’s not going to outrun anyone unless they try to tackle him and bounce harmlessly to the turf. It’s easy to outrun people when they’re lying on the ground. But hey, those kinds of skills turned into some big-time receptions for Junior Hemingway because Denard Robinson would just chuck the ball downfield and the 6’1″, 225-ish Hemingway would outmuscle smaller and weaker defensive backs. Dukes probably isn’t in danger of becoming the next Calvin Johnson, but if Michigan gets some red zone touchdowns or Hail Mary receptions out of him, it will be worth it.
Michigan is expected to take two or three wide receivers in the 2013 class. This takes care of the jump ball/possession role. Now it would be nice to see Michigan put the full court press on a guy who can stretch the field with his speed and/or catch some underneath passes and run after the catch.
This is Michigan’s first ever recruit out of Marion Franklin High School.
– Shane Morris dropped from #12 to #14
– Dymonte Thomas dropped from #35 to #40
– Chris Fox dropped from #39 to #47
– Kyle Bosch jumped from #55 to #42
– Jake Butt dropped from #70 to outside the top 247
– Taco Charlton jumped from #115 to #99
– Wyatt Shallman dropped from #149 to #187
– Jourdan Lewis dropped from #218 to outside the top 247
– David Dawson jumped from outside the top 247 to #195
The rest of he top 247:
3. Vernon Hargreaves III – CB – Florida
4. Laremy Tunsil – OT – Florida
6. Jaylon Smith – LB – Indiana
9. Su’a Cravens – S – California
11. Robert Foster – WR – Pennsylvania
14. Shane Morris – QB – Michigan (Michigan)
18. Keith Ford – RB – Texas
19. Kendall Fuller – CB – Maryland
21. E.J. Levenberry – LB – Virginia
23. Jonathan Allen – DE – Virginia
25. Jake Raulerson – OT – Texas (Texas)
26. Alquadin Muhammad – DE – New Jersey
28. Ty Isaac – RB – Illinois
29. Adam Breneman – TE – Pennsylvania
30. Cameron Burrows – CB – Ohio
39. Leon McQuay III – CB – Florida
40. Dymonte Thomas – S – Ohio (Michigan)
42. Kyle Bosch – OT – Illinois (Michigan)
43. Eddie Vanderdoes – DT – California
44. Steve Elmer – OT – Michigan (Notre Dame)
45. Kevin Olsen – QB – New Jersey
46. Michael Hutchings – LB – California
47. Chris Fox – OT – Colorado (Michigan)
48. James Quick – WR – Kentucky
52. Marquez North – WR – North Carolina
57. Darius Latham – OT – Indiana
58. Jake Oliver – WR – Texas (Texas)
59. Justin Manning – DT – Texas
60. Ethan Pocic – OT – Illinois
66. Henry Poggi – DT – Maryland
75. Laquon Treadwell – WR – Illinois
76. Hunter Bivin – OT – Kentucky
80. Ishmael Wilson – OG – Texas (Texas A&M)
82. Tray Matthews – S – Georgia (Georgia)
83. Eli Woodard – CB – New Jersey (Ohio State)
89. Logan Tuley-Tillman – OT – Illinois (Michigan)
94. Darrell Daniels – WR – California
99. Taco Charlton – LB – Ohio (Michigan)
100. Tashawn Bower – DE – New Jersey
102. Greg Webb – DT – New Jersey
104. Tim Harris – S – Virginia
105. Elijah Daniel – DE – Indiana
108. Derrick Green – RB – Virginia
111. Matt Rolin – LB – Virginia
119. Dorian O’Daniel – LB – Maryland
135. Shaq Wiggins – CB – Georgia (Georgia)
147. Kyle Hicks – RB – Texas (Texas)
155. Priest Willis – CB – Arizona
159. Jacob Matuska – TE – Ohio
168. Mike McCray – ATH – Ohio
181. Durham Smythe – TE – Texas
187. Wyatt Shallman – DE – Michigan (Michigan)
190. Patrick Kugler – OT – Pennsylvania
194. Jason Hatcher – DE – Kentucky
195. David Dawson – OT – Michigan (Michigan)
200. Sebastian Larue – ATH – California
205. Billy Price – DT – Ohio (Ohio State)
206. Wyatt Teller – TE – Virginia
207. Chase Abbington – S – Missouri
214. Chris Hawkins – S – California
216. Cameron Walker – CB – California
226. Jay Ellison – DT – Georgia
231. Alex Anzalone – LB – Pennsylvania
ADDED TO THE BOARD
St. Peters (MO) Fort Zumwalt South running back Chase Abbington received a Michigan offer on Tuesday, depending on whom you believe. The Wolverine’s Tim Sullivan says yea, and Wolverine Nation’s TomVH says nay. Regardless, I’m adding him to the list because I include anyone who has a check mark next to his name on any of the big sites. He had 1,459 yards rushing and 27 touchdowns as a junior in 2011. At 6’4″ and 210 lbs., he could play several positions. His offer list includes Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and UCLA.
Damascus (MD) Damascus wide receiver Zach Bradshaw received a Michigan offer on Friday. Bradshaw is a 6’3″, 205 lb. wideout with offers from Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers, South Carolina, West Virginia, and several others. As a junior in 2011, he had 35 catches for 470 yards and 11 touchdowns; 25 carries for 220 yards; and 2 punt return touchdowns. Michigan pursued cornerback Brandon Phelps out of Damascus back in 2011, but Phelps picked Virginia instead.
Massillon (OH) Washington cornerback Gareon Conley was offered by Michigan on Thursday. Conley is a 6’2″, 170 lb. corner who reminds me a little bit of former Michigan commit Anthony Standifer. His only other offer so far is from Northwestern. He attends the alma mater of former Michigan players Shawn Crable and Justin Turner.
Bastrop (TX) Bastrop cornerback Antwuan Davis was offered by Michigan last week. He’s a 5’11”, 170 lb. cornerback who only played a portion of the 2011 season due to a stress fracture in his back. He sat out one game with the injury, but then returned the following week, thinking it was only a muscle injury. That might be a hint about how tough he is and how much he likes to play football. He also has offers from Alabama, Baylor, LSU, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.
Arlington (TX) Martin running back Kyle Hicks was offered by Michigan on Thursday. He’s a 5’10”, 170-pounder with offers from Arkansas, Baylor, TCU, Texas, and Texas A&M, among others. As a junior in 2011, he ran the ball 212 times for 1,685 yards and 26 touchdowns. He attends the alma mater of redshirt freshman quarterback Russell Bellomy, as well as 2012 target Devonte Fields (TCU).
Santa Monica (CA) Santa Monic wide receiver Sebastian Larue got offered by Michigan on Wednesday. Larue is a 5’11”, 185 lb. kid with offers from Arizona State, Boise State, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, and UCLA, along with a few others. Larue is a 247 Sports’ #193 overall prospect and the #15 athlete, while he’s a Rivals 4-star and their #141 overall prospect. He claims a 4.42 forty and scored 17 touchdowns as a junior in 2011.
Randolph (NJ) Randolph offensive guard Brendan Mahon was offered by Michigan last week. He’s a 6’5″, 302-pounder with offers from Florida, Miami, Rutgers, West Virginia, and several others. Mahon is an early 4-star to Rivals and the #190 player in the country, while on 247 Sports, he’s the #9 guard nationally and a 3-star prospect.
Dallas (TX) Kimball defensive tackle Justin Manning received a Michigan offer. He’s a 6’3″, 275 lb. kid with offers from Arizona, LSU, Miami, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, and USC, among others. He had 43 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles despite missing four games due to a torn meniscus. His preference would be to play the 3-tech defensive tackle spot. Rivals ranks him as the #89 player in the country.
Upland (CA) Upland defensive end Joe Mathis was offered by Michigan on Thursday. He’s a 6’4″, 250 lb. strongside end with offers from Arizona, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, UCLA, USC, Utah, and Washington, among others. He was previously committed to Washington, but the coaching changes caused him to re-open his recruitment. He made 79 tackles and 6 sacks as a junior in 2011.
Everett (MA) Everett offensive lineman John Montelus received a Michigan offer. Montelus is a 6’5″, 295 lb. kid who looks to me like an offensive guard but is listed as a tackle. He has offers from Connecticut, Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, and others.
Washington (DC) Archbishop Carroll linebacker Yannick Ngakoue was offered by Michigan on Saturday. He’s a 6’2″, 226 lb. linebacker who has offers from Florida State, Maryland, Rutgers, Tennessee, and West Virginia. He had 87 tackles and 9 sacks as a junior in 2011.
Forestville (MD) Bishop McNamara offensive tackle Damian Prince, a 2014 prospect, was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’7″, 300 lb. sophomore who already claims offers from Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, Rutgers, and Virginia, along with a few others.
Petaluma (CA) Casa Grande defensive end Elijah Qualls was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 265 lb. athlete who could play defensive line or fullback in college. As a junior in 2011, he ran the ball 166 times for 1,139 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also made 76 tackles and 4 sacks. He holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Iowa State, Oregon State, UCLA, and Washington.
Belton (TX) Belton tight end Durham Smythe was offered by Michigan on Wednesday. He’s a 6’6″, 230 lb. kid with a limited offer list, but it’s a list that includes Baylor, TCU, Texas, and Texas Tech, so there are some other significant programs who are after him.
Moreno Valley (CA) Rancho Verde wide receiver Demorea Stringfellow received a Michigan offer. He’s a 6’2″, 185 lb. wideout with offers from Arizona State, Nebraska, UCLA, and Washington State. Rivals thinks he’s the #107 player in the country.
Placer (CA) Placer defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes received a Michigan offer on Tuesday. He’s a 6’4″, 285 lb. kid whom Rivals projects as a strongside defensive end, but when you’re that size as a high school junior, you’re probably not headed for defensive end. He’s the #21 overall player to Rivals and #44 overall to 247 Sports, although his offer list (Cal, Ole Miss, Oregon State, UCLA, Washington, Washington State) is pretty thin for being so highly ranked.
Los Angeles (CA) Loyola cornerback Cameron Walker was offered by Michigan last week. He’s a 5’10”, 180 lb. kid with a San Diego State offer. 247 Sports ranks him as the #210 player overall and the #15 cornerback.
Tempe (AZ) Marcos De Niza cornerback Priest Willis was offered by Michigan on Thursday. He’s 6’2″ and 200 lbs. with offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Cal, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, UCLA, USC, and Washington, along with several others. He’s a 4-star and the nation’s #89 player to Rivals, while 247 Sports ranks him at #167 overall and the #13 cornerback.
OFF THE BOARD
Arlington (TX) Martin running back Kyle Hicks committed to Texas (see above for more info).
Dallas (TX) Jesuit wide receiver Jake Oliver committed to Texas. Oliver is a big, 6’4″, 194 lb. kid who has caught 193 passes combined in his sophomore and junior seasons. He was offered by the Longhorns at their junior day last weekend and committed a couple days later.
Austintown (OH) Fitch defensive end Billy Price committed to Ohio State. The writing was on the wall when he visited Michigan for the Ohio State game at the end of the regular season and started tweeting smack talk about the Wolverines while standing on the sideline. Here’s a hint for all the children out there: if somebody hosts you at their house, workplace, facility, etc., it’s bad form to insult them while you’re there. An analyst whom I respect says Price is “soft” – and that was well before he committed to the Buckeyes – so hopefully that’s true and Kyle Kalis turns him into roadkill for a few years.
Dallas (TX) Bishop Dunne offensive guard Ishmael Wilson committed to Texas A&M. He was offered by Michigan a couple weeks ago but never expressed interesting in visiting.
Voorhees (NJ) Eastern cornerback Eli Woodard committed to Ohio State. Michigan offered him a couple weeks ago, but even then, it was assumed he would end up in Columbus.
Peoria (IL) Manual offensive tackle Logan Tuley-Tillman committed to Michigan on Sunday evening. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Purdue, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Tuley-Tillman is a 6’7″, 300 lb. lineman who projects to the left tackle position in college. As a junior in 2011, he recorded 61 pancake blocks.
Tuley-Tillman had originally planned to take all of his official visits. He essentially wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to travel and see the country. However, Michigan went on a bit of a run in the past couple days with commitments from three offensive lineman. The coaches probably want to take four or five linemen in this class, and if he had waited much longer, he might have been left out in the cold. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to travel the country just yet if he wants to stay committed to Michigan (the coaches won’t let kids travel elsewhere without considering them decommitted). On the plus side, if everything goes well, he’ll get a chance to visit California, Florida, Arizona, or Louisiana when Michigan takes trips to BCS bowl games in the next few seasons.
It’s analysis time, and here’s where things get rough:
Logan Tuley-Tillman is not very good right now. He has size, athleticism, and potential galore. But every offensive line recruit Michigan picked up this weekend has better technique than him. Tuley-Tillman played for a 3-6 Manual team that emphasizes the run, and even his footwork in the running game is questionable. It looks like Tuley-Tillman has never had a day of quality offensive line coaching.
When he run blocks, he stands up too high. He picks his foot up and puts it right back down where it was. He crosses his feet at times. He keeps a narrow base. When he pass blocks, he doesn’t give ground, which opens things up for speed rushes. And you can see during his Core 6 videos (here and here) that he doesn’t know how to cancel the inside rush if those speed rushers try to make an inside move. He is a huge project at this time.
That’s the bad stuff. Now for the good stuff:
Tuley-Tillman could be a very good blindside tackle in a few years. If he takes to the coaching at Michigan and learns footwork and technique, the sky is the limit. He’s got skinny legs and a big butt, which makes him a prime candidate to carry added weight in his butt and upper body and turn into a 315 lb., mobile tackle. He also displays a nasty attitude about blocking that will serve him well when he figures out how to put it all together.
It’s somewhat difficult for me to project Tuley-Tillman down the road. He has all kinds of potential, but it all depends on how quickly he figures it out. Less athletic guys than him have turned into multi-year starters in recent years (Perry Dorrestein, Mark Huyge, etc.). He could be a first round pick in 2018, or he could get frustrated and leave Michigan early. He loves the University of Michigan, which will hopefully keep him around through the tough times. But it’s not going to be an easy road for him to adjust.
Pickerington (OH) North tight end/defensive end Jake Butt (#84)
Pickerington (OH) North tight end Jake Butt committed to Michigan on Sunday evening. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, and Wisconsin.
Butt is a 6’6″, 230 lb. prospect who claims a 4.7 forty. He had 27 receptions for for 424 yards and 7 touchdowns as a junior in 2011. He also had 17.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks from his defensive end position.
Ratings:
ESPN: 4-star DE
Rivals: 4-star TE, #96 overall
Scout: Unranked DE
247 Sports: 4-star TE, 90 grade, #10 TE
Butt previously proclaimed Michigan his leader “by far.” He visited Michigan this weekend and was enamored enough to sit down with his parents, talk it over, and immediately call up the coaches to commit. Despite planning to hold off on committing, Michigan’s recent run on commitments and the recent commitment of Detroit (MI) Crockett tight end Khalid Hill seems to have sped up his recruitment.
Butt has an excellent frame to grow into a 250-260 lb. traditional tight end. He’s a large target who ought to be able to make plays in traffic, and with above average speed, he’ll be a bit of a matchup problem for opponents. He adjusts well to the ball in the air and has the ability to make up for mediocre throws from his quarterback. While there aren’t many highlights of him blocking, he does show an aggressive nature as a defensive player that should make him an asset as an in-line blocker.
What I don’t see from Butt is the ability to gain yards after the catch. The plays in his highlight videos don’t really get him into open space very much, but there are a couple times where he has an opportunity to make something happen. I also see some shaky receptions where he juggles the ball a little bit before bringing it in, a trait Michigan fans have seen fairly often with Kevin Koger over the past few years. But will have to add some weight and strength, but that’s not a criticism, because almost every prospect needs to do that.
Overall, Butt is a very good tight end prospect. He’s not the smooth, explosive tight end we’ve seen making an impact in the NFL recently (Aaron Hernandez, Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, etc.), but he will remind Michigan fans of the tight ends of old – Jerame Tuman, Jay Riemersma, etc., guys who can catch, block, and run a little bit. With the graduation of Brandon Moore after the 2012 season, Butt may be in line to battle A.J. Williams for playing time at the Y position.
As mentioned above, Butt is the second tight end commitment in the 2013 class. With two having committed in 2012, as well, it seems that Michigan may be done with tight end recruiting for the cycle. The last Pickerington North player to commit to Michigan was offensive guard Justin Boren in the class of 2006.
For the best junior highlights, visit Rivals. Or take a look at these from his sophomore season:
