2016 Season Countdown: #80 Josh Metellus

Tag: Josh Metellus

14Jun 2016
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2016 Season Countdown: #80 Josh Metellus

Josh Metellus (image via Scout)

Name: Josh Metellus
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Metellus was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 50 tackles and 5.5 sacks.
Final TTB Rating: 71

Metellus was at one time a Georgia Southern commit who earned a Michigan offer at a satellite camp during the summer of 2015. Along with teammate Devin Gil – who was committed to Miami – he decommitted from his former team in favor of the Wolverines. Some believed that Michigan recruited Metellus and Gil in part to lure teammate and prized recruit Devin Bush, Jr., and I think there may be at least some truth to that. However, Metellus has some decent skills as a strong safety and isn’t without value.

I don’t think Metellus has a great chance to contribute this season. Michigan’s two starting safeties will be Delano Hill and Dymonte Thomas. Options behind them include sophomore Tyree Kinnel, freshman Khaleke Hudson, and potentially Jabrill Peppers or Jeremy Clark if an injury forced a position switch. Michigan might play Metellus in garbage time or on special teams just to gain him some experience for when Hill and Thomas graduate, but he shouldn’t be a major factor this season.

Prediction: Redshirt

9Sep 2015
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Recruit Tracker: Devin Gil and Josh Metellus

Devin Gil

September 18, 2015: Flanagan lost to Plantation (FL) South by a score of 13-12. Gil made 11 tackles in the game and now has 18 tackles with 3 pass breakups on the year. Metellus missed this contest with a groin injury. Flanagan is now 2-1.

September 4, 2015: Flanagan beat Coconut Creek (FL) Coconut Creek by a score of 21-14. Gil made 3 tackles and 3 pass breakups, while Metellus made 9 tackles and 2 sacks. Coconut Creek features Michigan targets Malek Young (Georgia), Binjimen Victor, and Trayvon Mullen. Gil now has 7 tackles and 3 pass breakups on the season, while Metellus has 17 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Flanagan is now 2-0.

August 28, 2015: Flanagan beat Parkland (FL) Stoneman Douglas by a score of 35-7. Gil made 4 tackles, and Metellus made 8 tackles and half a sack. Flanagan is now 1-0.

20Jun 2015
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Devin Gil, Wolverine

Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan safety/linebacker Devin Gil (image via Scout)

Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan linebacker/safety Devin Gil committed to Michigan on Friday. Previously a Miami commit, he also holds offers from Central Florida, Colorado, Louisville, Marshall, and South Florida, among others.

Gil is 6’1″, 205 lbs. As a junior in 2014, he made 64 tackles and 3 interceptions.

RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #33 S
Rivals: 3-star S
Scout: 3-star, #93 S
247 Sports: 3-star, 83 grade, #79 S, #1147 overall

Gil committed to Miami in January, but he immediately said that he still wanted to check out other schools who might have interest in him. Michigan started pursuing him in March, and he seemed excited by the offer. As the weeks went along, he showed more and more interest in the Wolverines. He and two of his teammates (2016 safety Josh Metellus, who committed to Michigan earlier this week, and linebacker Devin Bush, Jr.) visited Ann Arbor last weekend, and that sealed the deal. He went public with his announcement Friday morning.

Gil is solidly built in the upper and lower body. He plays some safety and some linebacker for his high school team. As a linebacker, he does a good job of taking on and shocking blockers with his hands, which frees him up to make plays in the run game or coming up on short passes. He is a very physical player and will stick his nose in there against guys who are bigger than him. He also likes to lay out players coming across the middle, and there are some hits which might get him in trouble at the higher levels of football. He reads plays quickly and takes good angles to the football, which is something I have noticed about the Flanagan kids, so they appear to be well coached defensively. (According to Maxpreps, Flanagan went 12-1 in 2014 and allowed point totals of 0, 0, 2, 3, 6, 6, 8, 10, 10, 16, 21, 21, and 28 for an average of 10.1 points allowed/game. They also beat fellow commit Rashad Weaver’s Cooper City squad by a score of 42-2.)

On the negative side, I have questions about where Gil will play in college. I believe he is too stiff in the hips and too slow to trust with deep coverage, so he may be limited to playing strong safety in the box. At roughly 6’0″ and already supposedly over 200 lbs., he may end up as a linebacker, too. The interceptions shown on his highlights are not particularly athletic ones, and his touchdown return on one shows a guy who lacks burst.

I am reminded of 2009 recruit Isaiah Bell, who ended up at linebacker/defensive end before transferring to Lake Erie College, a D-II program in Ohio. I don’t necessarily think Gil will end up being 252 lbs. like Bell, but I do think Bell was a smoother athlete coming out of high school (check out Bell’s highlights HERE). I just can’t buy into Gil as a quick-twitch athlete on the back end. He looks like a limited safety, a small-ish outside linebacker, and/or a special teams guy. The coaches might have to chisel out a role or certain packages for him so he doesn’t get exposed.

Michigan now has 17 commitments in the 2016 class. If Gil is a safety, he’s Michigan’s second at the position, joining Metellus. If he’s a linebacker, he’s either the third or the fourth, depending on whether David Reese is a fullback or not; the other two are Dele’ Harding and Dytarious Johnson. The other offered 2016 teammate, Bush Jr., tweeted out today that he would not be making his commitment at January’s Under Armour All-American Game, which seems to imply that a decision is close at hand. The odds are strongly in favor of him choosing the Wolverines as well.

TTB Rating: 58. This is exactly the rating I gave Delonte Hollowell, and that seems to have been roughly accurate (ratings explanation).

17Jun 2015
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Josh Metellus, Wolverine

Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan safety Josh Metellus

Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan safety Josh Metellus committed to Michigan on Wednesday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Florida International, Miami-OH, Middle Tennessee State, and South Alabama, among others. He had been committed to Georgia Southern until a visit to Michigan last weekend.

Metellus is 6’0″, 187 lbs.

RATINGS
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 2-star S
Scout: 2-star S
247 Sports: Unranked

Metellus committed to Georgia Southern in March. Meanwhile, he had two teammates who picked up Michigan offers: linebacker Devin Bush, Jr. and fellow safety Devin Gil, who was committed to Miami. Michigan was going hard after Bush especially, and they set up a satellite camp with Flanagan’s head coach Devin Bush hosting just outside of Miami. Metellus showed up to the camp and earned an offer. He and the other two Flanagan players visited Michigan this past weekend, and both committed prospects chose to decommit while on the trip. Now Metellus is committed (Gil’s decision is still pending).

Metellus looks to be a shade under 6’0″ and while his highlight film says he’s 195 lbs., that is also questionable. Regardless, he has average size for a safety. The first thing that jumps out about Metellus is that he brings everything he has when he comes up to tackle. He’s a solid tackler and can patrol the middle. He wraps up well and runs his feet through contact. I also think he does a good job in run fits and can wade through the trash, changing direction well in small spaces to dodge blockers and find the ball carrier. Metellus tracks the ball well in the air, and it looks like he does a good job of keeping things in front of him.

What Metellus isn’t is a guy who leaps off the screen for any particular reason. He is a solid but unspectacular football player. He lacks great size and will need to get in the weight room so he doesn’t get overpowered. He lacks great speed and is not a dynamic runner if he gets the ball in his hands.

I see a player whose ceiling looks like that of Thomas Gordon, who started at Michigan for a few years but was never outstanding. He did happen to be a turnover machine a few years ago with a couple picks and some fumble recoveries, but that did not last. Gordon bulked up in college and was a solid player.

Michigan now has 16 commits in the 2016 class. Metellus is the first true safety, although both Kiante Enis and Antwaine Richardson could end up there eventually. The Wolverines are not in dire need of safeties, since the only senior is Jarrod Wilson. He is also the third player from Florida, joining Richardson and defensive end Rashad Weaver. There is at least a decent chance that Bush and Gil join him in committing to the Wolverines.

TTB Rating: 71 (ratings explanation)

15Jun 2015
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2016 Recruiting Update: June 15, 2015

Norco (CA) Norco quarterback Victor Viramontes (image via Press Enterprise)

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COMMITMENTS
Delray Beach (FL) Atlantic cornerback Antwaine Richardson committed to Michigan on Friday (LINK).

Cooper City (FL) Cooper City defensive end Rashad Weaver committed to Michigan on Sunday (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Carson (CA) Calabasas safety Marquel Dismuke decommitted from Cal. He’s a 6’1″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan and Nebraska, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 safety, and #246 overall. Dismuke was an early offer by the Jim Harbaugh staff, and he committed to Cal surprisingly early when Michigan thought they had a chance. The Wolverines still might be able to pull him in, but the decommitment came a couple weeks after Nebraska offered, and the Cornhuskers have 89% of the Crystal Ball votes.

Norco (CA) Norco safety Troy Dye was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 200 lb. prospect with offers from Colorado and Oregon, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #41 safety, and #634 overall. He earned his offer at the satellite camp in Mission Viejo. Listed as a safety, he moves like a linebacker and should probably be reclassified by 247 Sports. Regardless, he has some upside as an outside linebacker and still probably slots in as a 3-star prospect. Michigan was his favorite school growing up. His father was born in Michigan and played football at San Jose State (so why not go play for Al Borges and Greg Robinson?), where he also had a baseball career that led to the Houston Astros organization.

Cartersville (GA) Cartersville tight end Miller Forristall was offered by Michigan and then committed to Alabama. He’s a 6’5″, 220 lb. prospect who’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #20 tight end, and #486 overall. As a junior in 2014, he caught 32 passes for 600 yards and 8 touchdowns. The home state Bulldogs never stepped forward with an offer.

Hit the jump for a couple more 2016 offers, some guys who committed elsewhere, and some random bits and pieces.

Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan safety/linebacker Devin Gil decommitted from Miami. He’s a 6’1″, 205 lb. prospect who also holds offers from Colorado, Louisville, and South Florida, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #63 safety, and #941 overall. Gil visited Michigan with a couple teammates this past weekend, and he decommitted from the Hurricanes during the visit, saying he wanted to see who else would show interest in him. He plays safety and that’s where 247 Sports has him pegged, but he looks like he’ll be a linebacker at the next level. His Crystal Ball is 100% in favor of Michigan right now.

Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan safety Josh Metellus decommitted from Georgia Southern. He’s a 6’0″, 187 lb. prospect with offers from Florida International, Miami-OH, Middle Tennessee State, and South Alabama. He’s a 247 Composite 2-star, the #139 safety, and #1957 overall. He is a teammate of Gil and 2016 linebacker Devin Bush, Jr. and visited Michigan this past weekend.

Norco (CA) Norco quarterback Victor Viramontes was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 220 lb. prospect with offers from Colorado, Nebraska, Washington State, and Wisconsin, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #48 athlete, and #676 overall. A teammate of Dye’s, Viramontes attended the second California satellite camp, in Fresno, and earned his offer after Harbaugh saw him run and throw. As a junior in 2014, he was 123/228 passing (53.9%) for 1,784 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions; more impressively, he ran the ball 214 times for 1,757 yards (8.2 yards/carry) and 18 touchdowns. Even better is that his nickname is “Vicious Vic,” so if he ever decides to pursue MMA, he’s got a pretty nice, alliterative name for it: Vicious Vic Viramontes. (You can hear Michael Buffer saying that name, can’t you?) Anyway, Viramontes is a veritable virtuoso on the field who has various valuable skills, like vision and a vibrant arm, to victimize a defense on his way to taking a viselike, victorious grip on a quarterback job. (That’s my way of saying that Vicious Vic can probably go somewhere and be The Man at quarterback in this class, rather than possibly playing second violin fiddle to Brandon Peters.) If quarterback doesn’t work out for him, he could probably play running back, fullback, H-back, linebacker, or maybe strong safety at the college level.

Fort Lauderdale (FL) Cooper City tight end Rashad Weaver was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 245 lb. prospect with offers from Illinois and Syracuse, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 2-star, the #112 defensive tackle, and #1803 overall. He claims a 4.9 forty. Weaver has decent speed but has a lot of technical holes in his game; he’s also a big body who could project anywhere from tight end to defensive end to defensive tackle to perhaps even offensive tackle. He reminds me of New Jersey athlete Jake Pickard from the 2015 class, who was committed to Wisconsin, earned a late offer from Michigan, and ended up signing with Syracuse. Weaver almost immediately named Michigan his top school. The Wolverines are recruiting him as an “athlete” but saying he can play tight end to start his career.

OFF THE BOARD
Manor (TX) Manor defensive end Erick Fowler committed to LSU. He initially showed some interest in the Wolverines, but nothing had transpired in recent weeks between the two parties.

Cranford (NJ) Cranford offensive tackle Will Fries committed to Penn State. He had recently visited Michigan and put the Wolverines in his top group, but that seemed like a formality before a looming commitment to the Nittany Lions.

Mechanicsville (VA) Atlee safety Jaqui “J.J.” Givens committed to South Carolina. The co-defensive coordinator at South Carolina is Jon Hoke, the older brother of former Michigan head coach Brady Hoke.

Converse (TX) Judson defensive end Alton Robinson committed to Texas A&M.

Byesville (OH) Meadowbrook offensive guard Josh Sills committed to West Virginia.

New Orleans (LA) Brother Martin tight end Irvin Smith committed to Texas A&M on an unofficial visit. He is the son of former Notre Dame and NFL tight end Irv Smith. He is also a teammate of 2016 tight end Peyton Aucoin and 2017 linebacker Bruce Jordan-Swilling, both of whom have Michigan offers.

Chesapeake (VA) Indian River linebacker Jaquan Yulee committed to Alabama. Despite listing Michigan early as one of his top schools, he never visited. Recently, the Wolverines dropped out of his top five, and then he became a Crimson Tide. Which sounds weird.

MISCELLANEOUS
Here’s a list of some (but not nearly all) of the participants in Michigan’s Exposure U camp (LINK).

Here are the notable prospects who took part in Michigan’s 2015 Summer Swarm tour, which ended last week (LINK).

Here’s yet another list, this one of visitors from this past weekend and Sound Mind Sound Body campers (LINK).

Scout released a new top 300 for 2016 (LINK).

Houston (TX) Aldine MacArthur defensive end Isaiah Chambers named Michigan to his top ten.

Abbotsford (BC) Abbotsford tight end Chase Claypool named Michigan to his top three.

Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Rancho Santa Margarita wide receiver Dylan Crawford named Michigan to his top ten.

Los Angeles (CA) Loyola cornerback David Long, Jr. named Michigan to his top ten. The guys at 247 Sports have said at times that Long is the staff’s top cornerback target.

Avon (IN) Avon quarterback Brandon Peters, a Michigan commit, was named a finalist for the 2015 Elite 11.

Florence (AL) Florence fullback/linebacker Erroll Thompson named Michigan to his top five. Michigan is recruiting him to play both positions. He is believed to be a strong Alabama lean, however.

Over on Recruiting Season, I updated profiles for: