Tag: Ben Gedeon

Recruiting Update: April 16, 2012

Hudson (OH) Hudson linebacker Ben Gedeon committed to Michigan last week.

COMMITMENT
Hudson (OH) Hudson linebacker Ben Gedeon committed to Michigan.

OFF THE BOARD
Snellville (GA) South Gwinnett linebacker Reginald Carter committed to Georgia.  Michigan offered Carter early, well before his junior season began.  However, Carter tore his ACL in South Gwinnett’s first game of the year and missed the rest of the season.  A high school defensive end, Carter is supposed to play inside linebacker for the Bulldogs.

Richmond (VA) Varina cornerback Tim Harris committed to Virginia.  He had been talking about visiting Ann Arbor this summer, but I would expect that visit to be canceled.

Olney (MD) Good Counsel linebacker Dorian O’Daniel committed to Clemson.  Michigan was high on O’Daniel’s list earlier in the recruiting cycle, perhaps even sitting atop it.  But O’Daniel was told that the Wolverines were full at his position so he canceled what was supposed to be a visit for this weekend’s spring game with cornerback teammate Kendall Fuller.  Clemson doesn’t ever produce much in the way of linebackers, but Kavell Conner (Indianapolis Colts) had a decent season in 2011.

SPRING GAME VISITORS
You can find more details in the weekend visitors list, but here’s a bare-bones list of the guys who were at Saturday’s spring game:

Fenton (MI) Fenton P Kenny Allen
Nashville (TN) Montgomery Bell DE Alex Bars
Nashville (TN) Montgomery Bell OT Blake Bars
Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas DE Joey Bosa
Wheaton (IL) St. Francis OG Kyle Bosch
Rockford (MI) Rockford OT Ben Braden
Pickerington (OH) North TE Jake Butt
Pickerington (OH) Central DE Taco Charlton
West Des Moines (IA) Dowling Catholic WR Amara Darboh
Lake Forest (IL) Lake Forest WR Bo Dever
Columbus (OH) Marion-Franklin WR Jaron Dukes
Parker (CO) Ponderosa OT Chris Fox
Olney (MD) Good Counsel CB Kendall Fuller
Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison TE Devin Funchess
Sylvania (OH) Southview S Allen Gant
Aurora (IL) Marmion Academy OG Ryan Glasgow
Novi (MI) Catholic Central DE Matt Godin
Cleveland (OH) Glenville DT Willie Henry
Detroit (MI) Crockett TE Khalid Hill
Detroit (MI) Crocket CB Khalil Hill
Detroit (MI) Cass Tech LB Gary Hosey
Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer RB Drake Johnson
Bloomington (IL) Normal QB Josh Kirshenbaum
College Station (TX) A&M DT Christian LaCouture
Grand Rapids (MI) Forest Hill Eastern LB Mark Lawson
Woodbridge (VA) C.D. Hylton LB E.J. Levenberry, Jr.
Fenton (MI) Fenton TE Quinton Mandle
Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison LB Mike McCray
Detroit (MI) Loyola DE Malik McDowell
Toledo (OH) St. John’s DE Matt Miller
Warren (MI) De La Salle QB Shane Morris
Detroit (MI) King RB Dennis Norfleet
Duluth (GA) Northview DB A.J. Pearson
Mentor (OH) Mentor DE Tom Strobel
Crete (IL) Crete-Monee WR Laquon Treadwell
Peoria (IL) Manual OT Logan Tuley-Tillman
Cincinnati (OH) Sycamore TE A.J. Williams
Toledo (OH) Whitmer DE Chris Wormley

QUICK HITS
Joey Boas named Alabama, Florida State, Michigan, and Ohio State as his top four after the visit.

Christian LaCouture named LSU, Nebraska, and Michigan as his top three after the visit.

Ben Gedeon, Wolverine

Hudson (OH) Hudson linebacker Ben Gedeon committed to Michigan

Hudson (OH) Hudson linebacker Ben Gedeon committed to Michigan.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, and Virginia, among others.

Gedeon is 6’3″ and 215 lbs.  As a junior in 2011, he rushed for 1,600 yards and 27 total touchdowns, and made 120 tackles on defense to go with 5 tackles for loss.

Ratings:
ESPN: Unranked LB
Rivals: 4-star ILB, #8 ILB, #224 overall
Scout: 4-star OLB, #13 OLB, #159 overall
247 Sports: 4-star ATH, 90 grade, #21 ATH, #255 overall

Gedeon’s highlights are a little sparse.  He has two highlight videos available.  One shows only special teams and offense from his sophomore year.  The other has a few clips of offense and defense from his junior season. There’s not a whole lot to glean from those two for a kid who’s destined to play linebacker.

The kid is a pretty good overall athlete.  He has played a lot of positions at Hudson, including quarterback, tailback, slot receiver, tight end, and linebacker.  When he was first offered by Michigan, I thought it was as a tight end, and I thought he would be a very good U-back prospect.  It was soon revealed that he was being recruited as a linebacker instead, and his future there is a little murkier.  Highlights show a kid who runs pretty well, hits pretty hard, and plays downhill.  His skill set suggests that he could fit at WILL, but if he’s truly 6’3″, then he might end up being a little too big to play that weakside spot.  He seems more likely to play the MIKE linebacker position.

There are no significant weaknesses to be found in his highlights, although his college coaches will have to work a little bit on his initial stance.  I would also be interested in taking a look at Gedeon’s coverage abilities.  Considering his abilities as a receiver and his running ability, I would think that coverage should be a strength or at least something that he can turn into a strength.

Overall, I like Gedeon as a prospect.  He’s a throwback linebacker who does a little bit of everything.  He reminds me of a couple other guys who seem to be turning into good college players – Desmond Morgan and Joe Bolden.  Both of those guys were versatile high school players who don’t necessarily wow observers with their athleticism, but they’re just good football players.  I like the fact that Gedeon, like Morgan, is an integral part of his high school team’s offense.  It gives defensive players a little extra understanding of how the game works.

Michigan won’t lose a ton after this season (Kenny Demens is the only senior starter; Brandin Hawthorne is a senior backup; Mike Jones is a redshirt junior third-stringer who may not return in 2013).  Gedeon will have a chance to see the field as a backup in 2013, but I would expect him to redshirt.  If there is no attrition at the inside linebacker positions, he will have two or three guys ahead of him at both spots (Morgan, Bolden, Antonio Poole, James Ross, and Royce Jenkins-Stone).

Gedeon is commitment #17.  There are technically only two spots remaining in the 2013 class, but most analysts expect the class to reach 23 or 24 players.

TTB Rating: 82 (rating system)

Visitors for the Ohio State Game

Shane Morris, Bri’onte Dunn, and Dymonte Thomas were in attendance for last week’s victory against Nebraska and will be in town again for the Ohio State game. (image via Twitter)

Fenton (MI) Fenton P Kenny Allen: A preferred walk-on who’s committed to Michigan.

Terre Haute (IN) North Vigo TE Calvin Blank: Blank is a 6’4″, 226 lb. prospect from the class of 2013.  He holds an offer from Toledo.

Pickerington (OH) North DE Jake Butt: Butt is a 6’6″, 220 lb. prospect from the class of 2013.  He holds offers from Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue, and UCLA.

St. Louis (MI) Ladue Horton Watkins WR Jehu Chesson: Chesson is a 6’3″, 182-pounder who holds an offer from Michigan, along with several other BCS schools.

West Des Moines (IA) Dowling Catholic WR Amara Darboh: Darboh is a 6’2″, 180 lb. prospect who will be taking his official visit to Ann Arbor this weekend.  It has long been rumored that Darboh would probably commit to Michigan shortly after his official visit, so he’s on commitment watch.

Chicago (IL) Simeon OT Jordan Diamond: Diamond is a 6’6″, 289 lb. prospect with an impressive offer list.  His teammate Chris Bryant is a true freshman guard for the Wolverines, and Michigan held an early lead before Diamond slowed down his recruitment and visited other schools.  At this point there is no clear leader.

Canton (OH) Glenoak RB Bri’onte Dunn: Dunn is a 6’3″, 215 lb. prospect who’s current committed to Ohio State.  The potential sanctions in Columbus might be problematic for Dunn, who would fit in well in a power running offense.  The rumor mill suggests that the hiring of Urban Meyer would be a negative for Dunn, since Meyer doesn’t have much of a track record for developing backs like him.

Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison TE Devin Funchess: Funchess is committed to Michigan.

Sylvania (OH) Southview S Allen Gant: Gant is committed to Michigan.

Puyallup (WA) Puyallup OG Joshua Garnett: Garnett is a 6’5″, 275 lb. prospect with offers from all over the country.  He is friendly with Michigan commit Erik Magnuson, who has been working on Garnett to get him to Ann Arbor.

Hudson (OH) Hudson LB Ben Gedeon: Gedeon is a 6’2″, 215 lb. prospect from the class of 2013.  He holds offers from Boston College, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and Tennessee.

Birmingham (MI) Seaholm OT Dan Gibbs: Gibbs is a 6’7″, 320 lb. prospect with offers from Ball State and Eastern Michigan.

Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer RB Drake Johnson: Johnson is committed to Michigan.

Shaker Heights (OH) Shake Heights WR/TE De’Niro Laster: Laster is a 6’3″, 215 lb. prospect from the class of 2013.  He holds offers from Akron, Bowling Green, and Temple.

Carlsbad (CA) La Costa Canyon OT Erik Magnuson: Magnuson is committed to Michigan.

Warren (MI) De La Salle QB Shane Morris: Morris is committed to Michigan for the class of 2013.

Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison DE Mario Ojemudia: Ojemudia is committed to Michigan.

Austintown (OH) Fitch DE Billy Price: Price is a 6’4″, 280 lb. prospect from the class of 2013.  He holds offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, UCLA, and West Virginia, among others.

Cincinnati (OH) Oak Hills OG Caleb Stacey: Stacey is committed to Michigan.

Crete (IL) Crete-Monet CB Anthony Standifer: Standifer is committed to Michigan.

Alliance (OH) Marlington S Dymonte Thomas: Thomas is committed to Michigan for the class of 2013.

Toledo (OH) Central Catholic S Jayme Thompson: Thompson is a 6’2″, 184 lb. prospect from the class of 2013.  He holds offers from Bowling Green, Buffalo, and Temple.

Crete (IL) Crete-Monee WR LaQuon Treadwell: Treadwell is a 6’3″, 183 lb. prospect from the class of 2013.  He holds offers from Michigan and Notre Dame.

Peoria (IL) Manual OT Logan Tuley-Tillman: Tuley-Tillman is a 6’7″, 280 lb. prospect from the class of 2013.  He holds offers from Illinois and Indiana.

Tyrone (GA) Sandy Creek CB Shaq Wiggins: Wiggins is a 5’10”, 160 lb. prospect from the class of 2013.  He holds offers from Cincinnati, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Wake Forest, among others.

Cincinnati (OH) Sycamore TE A.J. Williams: Williams is committed to Michigan.

*Attendees are subject to change.