Jarrod Wilson, Wolverine
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| Akron, OH safety Jarrod Wilson (#24) |
Akton (OH) Buchtel safety Jarrod Wilson committed to Michigan on Friday afternoon. He had offers from Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Syracuse, UCLA, West Virginia, and others. The other two finalists for his services were the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions.
Wilson is a 6’2″, 190 lb. free safety type whose high school coach is Ricky Powers, the former Michigan running back. Last year the rising senior had 55 tackles and 8 interceptions, 5 of which were returned for touchdowns; he also returned a fumble 88 yards for a touchdown. His ratings on the recruiting sites:
ESPN: 4-star, #12 safety
Rivals: 4-star, #13 safety
Scout: 4-star, #10 safety
247 Sports: 4-star, 91 rating
I am a huge fan of Wilson’s abilities. He has the size, speed, tackling ability, and ballhawking instincts that Michigan teams have been lacking for the last several years. And, perhaps best of all, he’s the elusive Michigan-recruited safety who actually looks like a safety and not a linebacker. Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison are recruiting linebackers who played linebacker in high school, and safeties who played safety. Hallelujah! The next thing you know, they’ll be recruiting running backs and wide receivers who are taller than 5’6″ . . .
Here’s what Wilson isn’t: Steve Atwater. He’s not a guy who’s going to take Wisconsin’s fat running back du jour and plant him on his hindquarters. He’ll make the tackles that need to be made, but he’s not the most aggressive hitter. And that’s fine.
Here’s what Wilson is: a good football player. He’s got the potential to be All-Big Ten, pick off a handful of passes, and make quarterbacks think twice about lofting the ball down the middle of the field. Having a 6’2″ guy with hops and ball skills playing center field helps out the defensive line and gives the cornerbacks a chance to gamble once in awhile, knowing that one mistake might not mean a sure touchdown.
Michigan now has 18 commitments in the class of 2012, and this pushes Jeremy Clark to almost certain greyshirt status, which will cause him to count toward the class of 2013.
TTB Rating: 89 (rating system here)