Tag: 2014 recruiting

Scouting Report: Mason Cole

Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake offensive tackle Mason Cole (image via TampaBay.com)

Name: Mason Cole
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 275 lbs.
Position: Offensive tackle
High school: Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake
Class: 2014

Notes: Holds offers from Alabama, Cincinnati, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi State, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, UCF, USC . . . ESPN Watch List . . . Rivals 4-star OT . . . 247 Sports 4-star OG, 96 grade, #4 OG, #62 overall . . . Teammate of 2014 wide receiver offeree Artavis Scott and 2015 wide receiver offeree George Campbell

Strengths: Athletic enough to play left tackle . . . Shows ability to pull effectively . . . Works combo blocks well . . . Agile enough to double team, then latch onto second level defenders . . . Stays low and shows good knee bend when run blocking . . . Thick lower body that should handle added weight well . . . Intelligent football player who recognizes stunts and defensive alignments and makes line calls . . . Communicates well with linemates

Weaknesses: Telegraphs run vs. pass by stance . . . Needs to be quicker off the ball . . . Inconsistent footwork in pass protection . . . Shows a good kick set at times, but sometimes opens up hips too quickly . . . Needs to be more consistently aggressive in run game . . . Lacks ideal length to play tackle at next level

Projection: Left guard.  Cole is a very good athlete and moves well for a guy his size, but he doesn’t have the ideal size and wingspan to remain at tackle on the next level.  He could be a pulling guard in a system like Michigan’s, or he’s agile enough to play in a zone scheme.  I might even look at him at center if I were running zone, but he’s too athletic to waste that agility snapping the ball in a pro-style system.  He doesn’t have the frame to ever be a huge road grader on the offensive line, but he will pull well, pass protect well, and be effective when moving to the second level.  He has the makings of a high-level BCS starter.

Reminds me of: Steve Schilling

Here are Cole’s highlights on Hudl.

Denzel Ward, ex-Wolverine

Denzel Ward

Denzel Ward, a 2014 offensive tackle out of Chicago (IL) Hales Franciscan, is no longer a part of Michigan’s recruiting class.  The 6’9″, 285-pounder committed to Michigan shortly after receiving an offer last year, but things have changed since then.  He was offered by Florida and decided to take a visit there, a move the coaches don’t like.  But he also transferred to IMG Academy in Florida, which is a school specifically geared toward athletes who want to develop and train for the next level.  The problem with the transfer is that he reportedly didn’t even think to tell the coaches that he was moving from Illinois to Florida.  It’s unclear whether the coaches will continue to recruit him, but it appears that the staff decided that he should no longer be considered a commit.

Here’s my commitment post on Ward from October.  I have to say that he was nearly going to commit to Purdue until he got the Michigan offer, and then he immediately jumped on the offer from the Wolverines.  He seemed to be making a hasty decision at the time, and in retrospect . . . it still appears to have been a hasty decision.  There’s still plenty of time for Michigan to replace Ward in the class, but most of the offered recruits with an eye on Michigan look like guard prospects rather than tackles.  Some new offers will likely have to be sent out to get a tackle to take his place, but Michigan might be able to reel in someone like Andy Bauer, Damian Prince, or Braden Smith.

Recruiting Update: January 28, 2013

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech running back Mikey Weber (image via Michigan Citizen)

COMMITMENT
Richmond (VA) Hermitage running back Derrick Green committed to Michigan.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2013
Louisville (KY) Trinity defensive end Jason Hatcher decommitted from USC.  Hatcher is not considering Michigan, but he is now open to Louisville (where his teammate James Quick is committed) or Kentucky, the new head coaching home of former Florida State defensive coordinator Mark Stoops.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Cleveland (OH) Glenville safety Erick Smith was offered by Michigan.  Smith is a 6’1″, 185 lb. prospect with offers from Georgia Tech, Louisville, Ohio State, and West Virginia, among others.  Michigan has also offered his teammate, wide receiver Marshon Lattimore.  Like a lot of Glenville products, Ohio State seems to be the leader.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Detroit (MI) Cass Tech defensive tackle Joshua Alabi was offered by Michigan.  The 6’5″, 245-pounder doesn’t hold any other offers.  He doesn’t get off the ball very well defensively, but the athleticism is apparent.  He moves like a future left tackle, but I’m not sure he’ll have the height and length to play that position; if he can get more aggressive, he’s the type of athlete you would want at strongside end or 3-tech defensive tackle.  Alabi has visited Michigan a couple times, including for last season’s Michigan State game.  He played defensive end, defensive tackle, and offensive tackle for Cass Tech, and is the teammate of 2013 commits David Dawson, Delano Hill, and Jourdan Lewis.

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech running back Mikey Weber was offered by Michigan.  The 5’10”, 195 lb. running back also has offers from Illinois and Syracuse.  As a sophomore in 2012, he had 1,700 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns.  Weber’s body type looks a lot like Fitzgerald Toussaint’s, but Weber’s more of a slasher and doesn’t show the same kind of lateral movement.


OFF THE BOARD
Phoenix (AZ) Brophy Prep wide receiver Devon Allen committed to Oregon.  Allen flirted with lots of teams out west, and even seriously considered Michigan and Notre Dame for a while.  But he always coveted an Oregon offer, which came recently, and the choice seemed to be pretty easy at that point.

Avon (IN) Avon defensive end Elijah Daniel committed to Ole Miss.  Daniel had previously been committed to Clemson along with the consensus #1 defensive end nationally, Robert Nkemdiche.  Now that Nkemdiche appears to be headed for Oxford sooner or later, Daniel seems destined to be a Rebel, too.

Hamilton (GA) Harris County defensive tackle Jay Ellison committed to Georgia Southern.  That’s an odd development for a player who listed offers from Auburn, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Santa Monica (CA) Santa Monica wide receiver Sebastian Larue committed to Texas A&M.  After decommitting from USC in recent weeks, Larue flirted with the idea of visiting Michigan.  He is now one of about eight wide receivers committed to the Aggies.

Belton (TX) Belton tight end Durham Smythe committed to Notre Dame.  Smythe had previously been committed to Texas, but since he decommitted, it has mostly been a race between the Fighting Irish and Stanford.  He was originally scheduled to take a visit to Michigan this past weekend, but he rescheduled in order to visit South Bend with a bunch of other visitors.  Now it looks like next weekend’s visit to Ann Arbor won’t happen after all.

Euless (TX) Trinity defensive end Gaius Vaenuku committed to Utah.  The 6’6″, 260-pounder pickes the Utes over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and UCLA.

Tempe (AZ) Marcos De Niza cornerback Priest Willis committed to UCLA.  Michigan was never strongly in the running.  The Wolverines were recruiting him as a cornerback, but most teams project him to safety.

MISCELLANEOUS
There were some rumors that Saginaw (MI) Heritage wide receiver Brian Cole, a 2015 prospect, was offered by Michigan.  However, that is not a solid offer, and he was apparently told he’ll have to wait until his junior year for an offer.

Mini Recruiting Update: January 25, 2013

Future teammates? Jourdan Lewis, Dymonte Thomas, Derrick Green, Jake Butt, and Chris Fox pose together

There aren’t many visitors coming to Michigan this weekend, so here’s a mini update on the week’s news:

VISITORS
Grand Rapids (MI) Christian offensive lineman Tommy Doles will be visiting Michigan tomorrow.  The 6’5″, 255 lb. lineman holds two offers, one from Michigan and one from Iowa State.  Doles would likely play center or perhaps guard at the next level.  His teammate is wide receiver Drake Harris, a highly touted recruit who has pulled in offers from Alabama and Ohio State recently; however, there’s been no indication that Harris will join Doles on this trip.

Southfield (MI) Southfield defensive end Lawrence Marshall visited Ann Arbor for the basketball game against Purdue last night.  Along with a Michigan offer, the 6’4″, 205-pounder has offers from Michigan State, Ohio State, Pitt, San Diego State, and Syracuse.  He hasn’t talked about his recruitment a ton, but Michigan is presumed to be his leader.

ANNOUNCEMENT
Richmond (VA) Hermitage running back Derrick Green will be announcing his college decision at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow.  Michigan has been his stated leader, and it sounds like Tennessee is running second with Auburn third.  Green appears to be looking for a stable coaching staff; with Brady Hoke appearing to be in it for the long haul and running backs coach Fred Jackson entering his 22nd year with the program, Michigan looks pretty stable.  Both Auburn and Tennessee replaced their coaches this offseason.  Green has also stated that he wants to play in a pro-style offense, which neither of those schools offer.  However, the major hangup for Green seems to be that he thinks the SEC will prepare him better for the NFL.  The Big Ten has not produced elite running backs in recent years, and Green has always maintained that he wants to play at the next level.  If he chooses Michigan, he’ll be choosing a school that hasn’t churned out a productive NFL back since Anthony Thomas, whose last college season was 2000.  In approximately that same span, Tennessee has produced Travis Henry, Jamal Lewis, and Arian Foster; Auburn has the success stories of Ronnie Brown, Cadillac Williams, and even Ben Tate, who rushed for 942 yards as Foster’s backup in 2011.  I have no reason to think that Michigan won’t be the choice, since that’s his recently stated leader, but there are factors working against the Wolverines.

COACHES ON THE ROAD
Here are the names I’ve gathered of whom the Michigan staff has visited this week (all prospects are 2014 guys unless otherwise noted):

Joshua Alabi – DT – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech**
Dominique Booth – WR – Indianapolis (IN) Pike
Shane Evans – OG – Crystal Lake (IL) Prairie Ridge
Derrick Green – RB – Richmond (VA) Hermitage*
Damien Harris – RB – Berea (KY) Madison Southern**
Johnathan Hilliman – RB – Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter’s Prep
Elijah Hood – RB – Charlotte (NC) Catholic
Jamarco Jones – OG – Chicago (IL) De La Salle
Derek Kief – WR – Cincinnati (OH) La Salle
Brandon Lee – LB – Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence Central
Lawrence Marshall – DE – Southfield (MI) Southfield
Mike McCray II – LB – Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison*
Malik McDowell – DE – Detroit (MI) Loyola
Peyton Newell – DE – Hiawatha (KS) Hiawatha
Austin Roberts – TE – Carmel (IN) Carmel
Enoch Smith, Jr. – DE – Chicago (IL) Mt. Carmel
Durham Smythe – TE – Belton (TX) Belton*
Mikey Weber – RB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech**
Parrker Westphal – CB – Bolingbrook (IL) Bolingbrook
Mikale Wilbon – RB – Chicago (IL) De La Salle

*2013 prospect
**2015 prospect

Scouting Report: Nic Weishar

Chicago (IL) Marist tight end Nic Weishare (image via Chicago Tribune)

Name: Nic Weishar
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 215 lbs.
High school: Chicago (IL) Marist
Position: Tight end
Class: 2014

Notes: Holds offers from Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Purdue, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin . . . As a junior in 2012, had 89 receptions for 1,100 yards and 5 touchdowns . . . As a sophomore in 2011, had 77 receptions for 1,160 yards and 13 touchdowns . . . 247 Sports 4-star TE, 90 grade, #6 TE, #231 overall

Strengths: Good frame to add weight . . . Catches ball with hands away from his body . . . Plays wide receiver in high school, which prepares him to play against more skilled players . . . Willing blocker in open field . . . Runs with good body lean . . . Keeps shoulders square when running after catch

Weaknesses: Lacks in-line blocking experience . . . Not an elite athlete . . . Lacks explosive speed and leaping ability . . . Not particularly elusive . . . Should break more tackles with his size advantage . . . Needs to use hands better to break press coverage

Projection: Tight end.  Weishar is a little bit stiff to split out wide in college, so he likely projects to Michigan’s Y-receiver spot rather than U-back.  He would obviously need to add some weight, and he would presumably require some technique work since he doesn’t play in a three-point stance.  He doesn’t show the athleticism to be a huge matchup problem, but he has the hands and size to be an effective receiver in the middle of the field.  He has the look of a future BCS-quality starter and could even develop into an all-conference player in the right system.

Reminds me of: Tyler Ecker