Poll: What position should Cullen Christian play?

Tag: Cullen Christian

27Nov 2009
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Cullen Christian, Wolverine

Stop reaching!
Cullen Christian, a highly rated cornerback from Pittsburgh, committed to Michigan on Tuesday night. He had long been considered a Michigan lean, although he was supposedly announcing his choice between Michigan and West Virginia. It turns out that during his press conference, he admitted that he had been a silent Michigan commit since May.
Christian is the #6 or the #3 cornerback in the country, depending on whether you prefer Rivals or Scout. Many observers also think Christian could play safety, and I used to be one of those. Christian did play free safety for Penn Hills High School this year, but that was largely because teams could throw away from him if he was on one side as a cornerback. Free safety allows your best athlete to have an impact all over the field.
But the more I’ve watched of Christian, the more I feel his attributes are better suited for corner. He’s decently physical with jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage, and despite major concerns about his 4.68 40 time that’s listed on Rivals, his anticipation helps him in coverage. My biggest reservation about playing him at safety is that he doesn’t seem to be a very good tackler. He has decent size at 6′ and 180 pounds, but on his highlight films – which are supposed to be his best plays, naturally – his “highlight” tackles are of him diving at the feet of ballcarriers. Even when he has the opportunity for a solid tackle, he goes low. You can see in the above picture that Christian has gone down to his knees and tried (albeit successfully) to tackle the runner.
Christian does have excellent hips, and he also seems to maintain good awareness of what’s going on in the backfield. Some corners are too concerned with what their receiver is doing, and some are too concerned with what the quarterback is doing. He looks like he can process both at the same time, which is important for a good cornerback.
I don’t really know what Michigan cornerbacks from recent memory he plays like. When you watch his film, he almost seems to be toying with opposing receivers and quarterbacks. He never seems to be running hard, but he makes the play. As I said, he’s not a very physical tackler, and a lot of Michigan corners in recent years have been solid tacklers. As far as finding a cover corner, Christian is going to be okay. But there will be moments where you tear your hair out because he misses tackles in the running game.
16Aug 2009
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Terrence Talbott, Wolverine

Huber Heights, OH, cornerback Terrence Talbott committed to Michigan on Friday, along with his brother, Terry. He chose Michigan over offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin, among others.

Terrence is a 3-star CB at Rivals and listed as 5’10” and 172 lbs. He reportedly ran a 4.47 forty yard dash, but he doesn’t look that fast on film. His coach sates that Terrence has a 38- or 39-inch vertical. All stats considered, Terrence is a very good high school athlete . . .

. . . but I remain less impressed with this commitment than all but Drew Dileo’s in the 2010 class. Terrence does some things well but doesn’t seem to do anything great. He has good speed, but not great. He’s a decent tackler, but not great. He has good ball skills, but not great. The best thing I can say for him, from what I’ve seen, is that he’s largely fundamentally sound. You can tell that he’s not much of a freelancer, which is always nice to see from star high school athletes.

Some Michigan fans have intimated that Terrence only received a Michigan offer so the Wolverines could get a commitment from Terry, his older brother. I don’t think that’s true. Michigan’s depth at cornerback is dangerously thin at this point and that needs to be shored up immediately. Even if Adrian Witty qualifies to play this year, that only gives Michigan five scholarship cornerbacks (not including Teric Jones, who will probably end up at slot eventually). There are some cornerbacks of higher quality still remaining on Michigan’s board (Tony Grimes, Rashad Knight, and Cullen Christian, to name three), but both Knight and Christian could play safety at the next level. Terrence Talbott is a true cornerback prospect.

Fun fact #1: The Talbotts are teammates of 2011 QB prospect Braxton Miller, for whom both Michigan and OSU will be aiming. It’s probably not necessary that Michigan gains an elite QB commitment in the class of 2011, but it would be a luxury.

Fun fact #2: The Talbotts aren’t twins. Terrence is a year younger than Terry, but they’re both on the same grade level.

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