Tom was indoctrinated into Ohio State culture at a young age and admits to having a bias toward the Buckeyes in the early stages of his recruitment. Playing for the Mentor, OH Cardinals, Strobel developed into a top-flight recruit and garnered over twenty D-1 offers. He also excelled in the classroom, earning academic honors and a 3.9 GPA.
In short, he’s just the kind of recruit that Brady Hoke and the coaches love to reel in.
I should be talking with Tom in the near future, so leave a question for him in the comments section if you have any Tom Strobel related catching up to do.
Always a West Side Cub and now a Michigan Wolverine, James took a break from working out, hanging out and training to give us his thoughts on several topics and answer a few reader questions.
Living in Ann Arbor: “I think it’s a great place. It’s not too far from my family, but there’s enough distance to where they’re not going to be in my face every day, so I’ll take a break from that. But it’s a nice place, and I like the people there. And also, everything’s real close. You’ve got the mall there, and nothing is too far out of reach.”
Choosing Michigan: “The month before [I committed to Michigan] I visited Penn State, and I just wasn’t getting the same vibe from there. It was, of course, before everything came out. But it just wasn’t the same for me; coaches didn’t even know who I was. One of the things my dad told me when I was choosing a school was that I needed to find a good reason for choosing that school over Michigan. Like, what’s the reason for skipping over Michigan? And playing for the state that you live in and [the team] that you’ve grown up watching your whole life – it’s a big deal. I’m a family man, and my family’s all Michigan fans. So to make them proud is something I really want to cherish and really want to do.”
Getting on the field: “I’m not the type of player who can just sit out and wait my turn. I want to compete, and I’m looking to do that with anybody, and I really want to get on the field. Coach Mattison said that the opportunity will be there; it’s just up to me to attack that opportunity and take full advantage of it. My mindset is that I’m going in, and I’m trying to play. . . . I’ve been training this off-season, and I think I’m going to be very prepared to come in and make something happen this year.”
Playing WILL, playing hockey*: “All I know right now is that they want to play me at the WILL, so I can be out in space a little bit and be able to come up in the box also. So it’s something that I’m comfortable doing. . . . I really like the position. You don’t get as many big guards running at you, so that’s kind of good. . . . I played hockey for a long time, and just being in that fast-paced environment helped, being able to see things. Hockey is really fast; you have to be able to move, and I think that really translates well to the football field.
Staying quick: “I’m 6’1” and 225 lbs. right now, and a lot of criticism I get is because of my size. But I always like to throw this out there: my favorite two linebackers, Ray Lewis and Patrick Willis, are only 6’1″. I guess this sport has come down to where it’s all about size, but I feel that at the end of the day, that doesn’t matter. It’s how well you play and perform. . . . I’m pretty sure they [the coaches] don’t want me to get too much bigger because then you start taking away from what I’m good at, and that’s being quick and finding the ball as fast as possible. So I guess I’d say 230 or 235 pounds. But there’s no telling where they want me to be. I haven’t really heard. I feel as if I can be effective at 230 lbs., just 230 solid. I think I can be as effective as possible at that weight. Just like in the Draft, I believe it was Lavonte David from Nebraska. He was only 6’1” 233lbs. And I think we’ve got some of the same playing style.”
Mattison motivation: “The first time I met Coach Mattison, he brought me to his office, and we were watching Ravens film. He was just pointing out the position that I’m going to be playing. So just watching film on that, he had me sold right there. He coached Ray Lewis, and he’s one of my favorite players of all time; I really look up to that guy. . . . What [Coach Mattison] tells me to do to be prepared – well, really not too much. He’ll just come up to me every time he sees me and say little things like, “I hope you’re the player I really think you are.” He just gives me little hits like that. . . . Oh yeah, he’s a funny guy. Also, I went to his office, and he had his iPod, so I was like, “what kind of songs are you playing on there?” so he turned it on and there was all types of stuff: Brianna, Lady Gaga, all types of stuff like that. He was like, “Yeah, my daughter put all that stuff on there.”
Meaningful ambitions: “I have a really good plan for my future. One of my dreams is to have a program to train kids from about [age] 12 to 17, but there would also be mentoring, too. And it’s more out of Detroit because there are a lot of kids out of Detroit who are very talented but never make it because they take the wrong paths. So being able to reach their lives while they’re young, reach out to that kid early and show him the path that he can take to make it – maybe you can change some lives.”
It’s easy to figure out that James Ross is a great prospect. Take a look at his TTB commitment post, his TTB recruiting awards (yes, that’s plural) or his consensus four star status among the major recruiting sites. Ross also has an offer list that includes USC, Ohio State and Notre Dame, and he’s an alumnus of the U.S. Army All-American game and the International Bowl.
But really, his film speaks for itself.
I should be talking with James sometime in the near future, so leave a question for him if you’d like, and I’ll address it the interview.
Kyle Kalis is a five-star offensive lineman who can claim offers from Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, LSU, and Notre Dame. Most likely NFL bound, Kyle “just wants to tear your head off,” according to Michigan offensive line coach Darrell Funk, while he expects “blood on the field” when playing against Ohio State.
And as you can see, he also has excellent taste in men’s ties.
If you have a question for Kyle, leave it in the comments section, and I’ll bring it up when I interview him.
Cass Tech’s Terry Richardson created a fan firestorm last July when he announced he would be taking recruiting visits to other schools. Although he emphasized that he was firm in his Michigan commitment, Terry wanted to take advantage of his once in a lifetime opportunity to go through the recruiting process and travel the nation. But when the Michigan coaching staff informed him that “they really didn’t want [him] to do it,” Terry reevaluated his situation, thought to himself, “What do I really want?” and chose to sacrifice his free vacations for the opportunity to wear the winged helmet. Satisfied with the decision, Terry recently took the time to reflect on his past, look toward his future, and answer several reader questions.
The Cass Teach Pipeline: “I don’t really say that it’s a pipeline because you do have other players that have gone other places. What I do say is that Cass Tech and Michigan have a great and proud relationship and the fact that we trust them and they trust in us – that’s why they can come in and get great players because we believe in them and they believe in us . . . . With [2013 Cass Tech commit] Jourdan Lewis, I see greatness. For six or seven years we all played ball together for the West Side Cubs, and he has raw ability. He could be a top receiver; he could be a top corner. He’ll fit in wherever you put him at because he’s an athlete.”
Attending Michigan: “I love the staff up there. I love what Coach Hoke and Coach Mattison are trying to do. And two of my best friends are going there with me. . . . After a while I just thought that it would be best for me to go to Michigan – for my family and for me playing football. . . . Coach Wilcher just told me to go wherever I wanted to go. He just said go where I feel I’m wanted at, and go where I fit in. And that’s Michigan.”
Measurables: “My forty yard dash time is 4.47 hand timed; electronic, it’s 4.51/4.52. My 200 meter dash electronic is 22.2; hand timed it’s 21.8, and my 100-meter dash is electronic 10.8, and hand timed it’s 10.7. . . . My height is 5’10” and I’m 163 pounds. For me and ideally for the coaches they want me at 180 pounds, at least. And at the max, no more than 190 solid, because I don’t want to lose my speed and some of the intangible things that I’ve got. . . . I went from 140 to 160-some in probably about two months, so I’m hoping that I can do that again when it comes to being ready for college.”
Preparation: “I train pretty much all the time. I might train for two, three hours; some days like today, I might go for like four hours. Pretty much I’m just lifting weights and eating. Just a whole lot of eating, stuff like peanut butter and potatoes. And just lifting and training hard with James [Ross] and Royce [Jenkins-Stone]; we really try to get it in. Some of it is at Cass Tech, but I train in Total Sports; it’s in Wixom, MI, so I can go out there and do my football drills, too. . . . We’ve been going there for the past three to four years.”
Role at Michigan: “Well, to me personally, playing corner is just playing corner – I don’t believe in any field side corner or the boundary corner. My role is to lock on the best receivers and shut them down. But pretty much they want me playing like the field corner – and maybe some nickel back, too – but pretty much field corner and punt returns/kick returns.”
Forced choice: special teams only or redshirt: “That’s a real good question because I think that might be a high possibility and for me to consider my options. Well, honestly, if Coach Hoke needs me out there – I’ll do it. But other than that, if I can have more time and get my body together and learn the system, then by next year I’d be ready to go. But it all depends on what Coach Hoke would want.”
Making a difference for team 133 and beyond: “I think it’s my ability to be in a position to make a play. If you’re in good position, sometimes the quarterbacks won’t make that throw. With me being in the right position, that’ll help out the linebackers and the D-ends, like Royce and James and Bolden to come up and make a play, too.”
