Recruiting Update: January 14, 2013

Tag: Dan Samuelson


14Jan 2013
Uncategorized 1 comment

Recruiting Update: January 14, 2013

Richmond (VA) Hermitage running back Derrick Green

COMMITMENT
Plymouth (IN) Plymouth offensive guard Dan Samuelson committed to Michigan.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Tyrone (GA) Sandy Creek wide receiver Demarre Kitt was offered by Michigan.  He’s a 6’1″, 195 lb. receiver who claims a 4.59 forty.  He also has offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State, and USC, among others.  As a junior in 2012, he had 74 receptions for 1,235 yards and 11 touchdowns.  He has pronounced Clemson and Ohio State to be his leaders.

OFF THE BOARD
Wyomissing (PA) Wyomissing Area linebacker Alex Anzalone changed his commitment from Notre Dame to Florida.  Anzalone used to be thought to be headed to Florida, but seemed satisfied with his Notre Dame commitment . . . until Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly started flirting with the Philadelphia Eagles.  As soon as that happened, Anzalone booked it for the sunshine.  In case you don’t remember, Anzalone was a guy who wanted to visit Michigan before the Wolverines filled up at the position and told him, “You can come to campus, but you don’t have a spot unless something changes.”

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech cornerback Damon Webb committed to Ohio State.  Michigan was one of his first offers, but Webb’s eye wandered to the Buckeyes and LSU early in his recruitment.  There seemed to be some trepidation about him continuing the Cass Tech pipeline to Michigan, and that doubt appears to have been warranted.

MISCELLANEOUS
Richmond (VA) Hermitage running back Derrick Green set his announcement for January 26th at 4:00 p.m.

A handful of recruits made official visits to Michigan this past weekend.

ESPN finalized its 2013 recruiting rankings.

Scout finalized its 2013 recruiting rankings.

13Jan 2013
Uncategorized 6 comments

Dan Samuelson, Wolverine

Plymouth (IN) Plymouth offensive guard Dan Samuelson
(image via Scout)

Plymouth (IN) Plymouth offensive guard Dan Samuelson committed to Michigan on Saturday.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Illinois and Minnesota, along with originally committing to Pitt and most recently being committed to Nebraska.

Samuelson stands 6’5″ and 290 lbs.  He claims a 5.3 forty, a 315 lb. bench, and a 405 lb. squat

Ratings:
ESPN: 3-star OT, 75 grade, #87 OT
Rivals: 3-star OG, #31 OG
Scout: 4-star OT, #25 OT
247 Sports: 3-star OG, 89 grade, #13 OG

Samuelson is a big body who looks like he could play center or right guard at the next level.  He shows a decent ability to drive block, and he likes to knock people around.  He flashes the ability to fire off the ball low and root out linemen.  It’s tough to get a great feel for his all-around game because he plays for a heavily run-oriented team.

It will take some adjusting for Samuelson to play at the next level.  He plays a little high, especially when moving to the second level, and he lacks some ability to move laterally.  He also needs to become more tenacious and stay on his blocks.  Right now he’s a guy who blocks using mainly his upper body, and he fails to keep his feet after impact.  His coaches appear to teach shoulder blocking, which is common in an option offense, but he will likely have to learn hand placement to succeed in college.  There are very few available clips of his pass sets, but from what I saw, he needs to work on remaining balanced and keeping active feet throughout the play.

Overall, Samuelson has some ability, but he appears to be significantly behind the other linemen in the class.  Almost all young linemen need to add weight and strength, but he lags behind in overall athleticism and might be the least technically developed of the linemen outside of Logan Tuley-Tillman.  He looks like a depth player more than a front-line prospect.  With Kyle Kalis a year ahead of him and both Kyle Bosch and David Dawson penciled in at guard in the current class, Samuelson might never glimpse the field except in a backup role.

This is the 25th commitment in the class of 2013 and the sixth offensive lineman.  The talk is that Michigan could take up to 28 players in the class, and perhaps seven offensive linemen.  Corona (CA) Centennial offensive guard Cameron Hunt, who is “committed” to Cal, also took an official visit to Michigan this weekend.

Here are Samuelson’s highlights on Hudl.

TTB Rating: 65