Andrew David, Wolverine

Tag: Massillon (OH) Washington


25Jun 2013
Uncategorized 2 comments

Andrew David, Wolverine

Massillon (OH) Washington kicker Andrew David (#5, image via Friday Night Ohio)

Massillon (OH) Washington placekicker Andrew David committed to Michigan on Monday night. He was just offered yesterday, and it was his first and only offer. David is the first member of the 2015 class.

David stands 5’9″, 160 lbs., and has been the varsity team’s kicker since his freshman season. In that time he has gone 6/11 on kicks from 40+ yards. Altogether, he’s 13/24 on field goals and 88/95 on extra points in his high school career, and 31/74 of his kickoffs went for touchbacks last year. While those stats aren’t particularly impressive in the context of college and professional kickers, they are more so for a high schooler. High school long snappers, holders, and protection units can be subpar, and a kicker’s timing can easily be affected by a bad snap or a bad hold.

RATINGS
ESPN, Rivals, Scout, 247 Sports: Unranked
Chris Sailer: 4.5 stars, #6 kicker

As mentioned above, this was David’s first offer, but he said that this is his dream offer and where he pictured himself playing as he grew up. Chances appear to be slim that he would decommit. He attends the alma mater of 2013 cornerback Gareon Conley, who was once committed to Michigan before choosing Ohio State. If he does indeed sign with Michigan, he will be the first signee from Washington since 2009 cornerback Justin Turner.

The 2015 kicker looks like the replacement for current junior kicker Matt Wile, who will graduate after the 2014 season. Brendan Gibbons is a fifth year senior this year. For the past couple seasons, Michigan has carried three scholarship kicking specialists (kicker Gibbons, punter Will Hagerup, and combo guy Wile) and will have a scholarship long snapper this year in the form of Scott Sypniewski, so perhaps this will open an additional roster spot for a position guy. As of now, the 2015 class is only scheduled to consist of 12 players, but that number will increase as always.

TTB Rating: N/A. I won’t give TTB Ratings for 2015 kids until the 2014 class wraps.

Here are David’s highlights on Hudl.

10Mar 2012
Uncategorized 17 comments

Gareon Conley, Wolverine

Massillon (OH) Washington’s Gareon Conley is Michigan’s newest commit

Massillon (OH) Washington cornerback Gareon Conley committed to Michigan on Saturday.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Northwestern, Toledo, and West Virginia.

Conley is 6’2″ and 165 lbs.  As a junior in 2011, he made 26 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and 4 interceptions.  He also had 3 receptions for 10 yards, 3 punt returns for 39 yards, and 4 kickoff returns for 142 yards.

Ratings:
ESPN: Unranked CB
Rivals: Unranked ATH
Scout: 4-star CB, #20 CB, #227 overall
247 Sports: 3-star CB, 88 grade

Conley was offered by Michigan in mid-February and the word out of Massillon was that he would be a Wolverine – it was just a matter of when.  Even though the Wolverines have zero other commitments at the boundary corner position, it’s quite possible that Conley saw all the other commitments going down and wanted to hop on the train before it got full.  The coaches likely want to take two or three total corners in this class.

Conley is listed as being 6’1″ or 6’2″ on all the recruiting sites, and he’s a long, lanky kid.  He has good speed but he’s not lightning fast.  He does accelerate pretty well for a kid with such long legs, and it’s going to be hard to beat him over the top because of his speed and length.  His wingspan will allow him to jam receivers at the line and reach around receivers to tip away passes without having to interfere with the offensive player.

My concerns with Conley are twofold.  First of all, how quickly will he be able to add weight?  He’s very thin at his height and only 165 lbs.  Michigan is lacking in big corners, so much so that incoming freshman Jarrod Wilson might get a shot to play cornerback instead of free safety.  J.T. Floyd will have graduated by the time Conley arrives, so that will leave Raymon Taylor as the only sizable cornerback; Blake Countess, Delonte Hollowell, and Terry Richardson are all small-ish field corner types, although Countess could probably play the boundary if necessary.  This goes hand-in-hand with Conley’s size questions, but will he become more aggressive with added size?  There are times in his highlights where he seems afraid of contact.  He’s tentative when tackling, tries to drag guys to the ground, and shies away from contact when running the ball. 

Overall, Conley is a very good athlete whose mentality and aggression need to catch up to the rest of what he has to offer.  Once he adds the necessary weight and strength, he should improve as a tackler and run supporter.  I have never seen a kid come to Michigan and fail to add weight; it’s just a matter of how quickly that can happen for him.  But if he doesn’t become a more physical player, he will have a hard time seeing the field.

Massillon Washington is the alma mater of former Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable and former Michigan cornerback (late of Scottsdale Community College) Justin Turner.

TTB Rating: 75 (rating system)