Tag: 2013 recruiting

Taco Charlton, Wolverine

Pickerington (OH) Central defensive end Taco Charlton poses with fellow 2013 commit Shane Morris (image via Twitter)

Pickerington (OH) Central defensive end Taco Charlton committed to Michigan on Saturday.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Pitt, Purdue, Syracuse, and UCLA.

Charlton is a 6’6″, 240 lb. outside linebacker for Central, but he projects to start out at weakside end for Michigan.  He claims a 4.8 forty, a 315 bench, and a 345 squat.  He had 40 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 7 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery as a sophomore in 2010.  I have yet to find statistics for his junior season.

Ratings:
ESPN: Unranked DE
Rivals: 4-star DE, #183 overall
Scout: Unranked DE
247 Sports: 4-star OLB, 93 grade, #9 OLB, #143 overall

Charlton was offered by Michigan in September 2011.  It was known that Michigan sat at or near the top of his list ever since the offer, and he was rumored to be on the verge of committing for the last few weeks.  In fact, most message boarders seemed to think that Charlton was the mystery recruit planning to announce on Sam Webb’s WTKA show yesterday at noon, which turned out to be Wyatt Shallman instead.  Charlton waited until late Saturday evening to share his commitment.

Much like with fellow Saturday night commit Chris Fox, there aren’t a whole lot of Charlton highlights available for analysis.  Those that are available show a long, lean, athletic kid with a good motor . . . who’s just kind of out on the field chasing after the ball.  I don’t see a whole lot of football fundamentals or discipline.  He’s a very raw prospect who, I think, needs to work on reading blocks and maintaining gap discipline.

Luckily for Charlton – and for Michigan – the Wolverines brought in a cadre of defensive end prospects in the 2012 class, so Charlton should have the opportunity to redshirt if necessary.  He has the right attitude and athleticism to play at the next level, but he’s a project.  I imagine he will likely start out at weakside end at Michigan, but he could very well grow into a strongside end by the time his career is over.

He is the ninth commitment in the class of 2013 for Michigan.  He was also the sixth player to pick Michigan on Saturday.  In one day Michigan tripled its number of pledges.  Charlton will join fellow Pickerington Central alum Tamani Carter, who will be a redshirt freshman safety this fall.

Chris Fox, Wolverine

Parker (CO) Ponderosa offensive tackle Chris Fox

Parker (CO) Ponderosa offensive tackle Chris Fox committed to Michigan on Saturday.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Colorado, Florida State, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Purdue.

Fox is a 6’6″, 297 lb. offensive lineman who looks to me like a right tackle, but he could also move inside to guard.  He claims a 5.5 forty.

Ratings:
ESPN: 4-star OT

Rivals: 4-star OT, #46 overall
Scout: 4-star OG
247 Sports: 4-star OT, 95 grade, #8 OT, #48 overall

Fox’s recruitment was considered to be a two-horse race between his home state Buffaloes and the Wolverines, but Colorado isn’t really considered to be a hot destination these days.  This is a big loss for the home state team, because Fox was generally considered to be the state’s top recruit.  At least Fox won’t have to adjust to the cold when he arrives in Ann Arbor.  He was offered in June 2011, visited campus last summer, and obviously made a return trip this weekend.  When kids travel to Michigan a second time from somewhere as far away as Colorado, you can assume they have serious interest.

Most of Fox’s highlight film comes on the defensive side of the ball, so it’s hard to get a great feel for him as an offensive lineman.  He is a very aggressive defensive tackle who flies around the field more than most 297 lb. kids do.  Aside from his attitude, I also like the fundamentals of how he plays defense.  He stays low, uses his hands well, flies to the football, gets his hands up to disrupt throwing lanes, etc.  If that discipline and those fundamentals also apply to his offensive skills, then he has a lot of upside.

Fox should presumably start out at the right tackle position in college.  He shows good athleticism as a defensive player, but I’m not certain he has the lateral quickness to play left tackle; I won’t rule it out without seeing more film of him, though.  I also think he has the body to move inside and play guard.  His body type reminds me quite a bit of 2012 commit Kyle Kalis, whom Coach Funk plans to start out at right tackle.

This is Michigan’s first recruit to come out of Colorado since tight end Steve Watson in the class of 2007.

David Dawson, Wolverine

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech offensive guard David Dawson (left, #55) committed to Michigan today

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech offensive guard David Dawson committed to Michigan today.  He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, and West Virginia.

Ratings:

ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 4-star OT, #199 overall
Scout: Unranked
247 Sports: 4-star OT, 90 grade, #28 OT

Dawson is a 6’5″, 305 lb. kid whom I see as an offensive guard rather than tackle.  He claims a 325 lb. bench press and a 5.4-second forty.  He spent his junior season in Texas playing at Cy-Ridge High School, but he transferred back to Detroit after football season ended and will play his senior year for the Technicians.

Dawson shows impressive footwork at times, and he shows a good understanding of protection schemes.  You can tell that he has worked extensively on pass blocking, and I also liked that he shows chemistry with his teammates.  There are some combo blocks that he works very nicely.  He also shows the ability to give a good initial punch.

Unfortunately, this is the first commit of the day that leaves a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth.  Despite the offers from big-time schools such as Alabama and Florida State, I think Michigan may have jumped the gun a little early on Dawson.  In my opinion, he’s not the elite prospect that some of Michigan’s other targets are (such as Ethan Pocic, Chris Fox, etc.).  Not that Dawson’s commitment will necessarily prevent the Wolverines from grabbing those guys, but it does constrict the window a little bit.  Dawson stands up high too often, and when he’s not pulling or pass blocking, he tends to get lazy with his footwork.  His base gets too narrow and he’s passive.  He seems content with just trying to push a guy around with his upper body.  He’s not a great athlete, but he moves well enough to be a an FBS player.  I’m just not sure that the nastiness is there to finish blocks, drive guys into the ground, or get up to the next level.

Dawson’s commitment gives the Wolverines seven commits for the class of 2013.  He’s also the ninth Cass Tech Technician to commit to Michigan since 2008 (Boubacar Cissoko).

Jourdan Lewis, Wolverine

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech CB Jourdan Lewis committed to Michigan on Saturday

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech cornerback Jourdan Lewis committed to Michigan today.  His only other offer came from Toledo, although it was widely assumed that he would be a Wolverine, regardless of who offered.  Whether that affected his recruitment is unclear.

Ratings:
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 4-star CB, #167 overall
Scout: Unranked
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #21 CB

Lewis is a 5’11”, 170 lb. corner who claims 4.4 speed.  He made 52 tackles and 8 interceptions as a junior in 2011.  He also scored 6 receiving touchdowns, 2 punt return touchdowns, and 3 kickoff return scores.

If you look at Lewis’s highlight film, there’s very little not to like.  He has excellent speed, so the claim of a 4.4 forty doesn’t seem too far-fetched.  On top of that, he has very good acceleration   When the ball is in his hands, he’s extremely dangerous, showing good vision and stop-and-start abilities.  He reminds me a little bit of Dre Bly, the former North Carolina and Detroit Lions cornerback.  Due to those ball skills, he might also be able to contribute in the return game.

There aren’t many clips of him coming up to support the run, so that’s a question that remains in my mind.  He does show a couple nice hits, especially against Farmington Hills Harrison, but even then it was evident that Lewis needs to add some strength to his frame.  He’s very narrow in the upper body and can get pushed around a little bit by bigger receivers.

Lewis looks to have a future at the field corner position for Michigan.  He will enter school when the current starter at the position, Blake Countess, is a junior. Lewis is superb in coverage and I think he’s a good enough offensive player to contribute as a receiver at the next level, but that will probably be unnecessary.

It’s amazing how many cornerbacks Cass Tech has produced in recent years.  From Boubacar Cissoko (Michigan) to Dior Mathis (Oregon) to Delonte Hollowell (Michigan) to Kishon Wilcher (Toledo) to Terry Richardson (Michigan) to Jourdan Lewis, that’s six FBS cornerbacks in the span of six years.  And that’s not including Teric Jones (Michigan, class of 2009), who came to Michigan as a running back but played some corner before ending his career early.

Wyatt Shallman, Wolverine

Wyatt Shallman (with Tom VanHaaren)

Novi (MI) Catholic Central running back Wyatt Shallman committed to Michigan on Saturday.  Once again, I wrote up a scouting report on Shallman several weeks ago, so feel free to follow the link for my thoughts on him.

Ratings:
ESPN: Unranked

Rivals: 4-star ATH, #160 overall
Scout: 4-star DE

247 Sports: 4-star, 92 grade, #9 SDE, #181 overall

Shallman has insisted that he is being recruited to Michigan as a tailback, and I won’t call him a liar.  However, I am not too enthusiastic about Shallman’s abilities as a runner.  I do think he has the ability to make an impact in college like former Purdue fullback Mike Alstott, but I don’t think he’s the type of runner who can be a feature back in the Big Ten.  Michigan still needs to pursue a big-play back who can be the type of kid to run the ball 15-20 times a game.  I would prefer to see Shallman used as a fullback/H-back type player.