Name: Russell Bellomy Height: 6’3″ Weight: 180 lbs. High school: James Martin High School in Arlington, TX Position: Quarterback Class: Freshman Jersey number: N/A Last year: Bellomy was a high school senior (commitment post here)
TTB Rating: 74
When I wrote the commitment post a few months ago, I compared Bellomy to Al Borges’ old protege Cade McNown. Both players are/were mobile with mediocre arm strength and accuracy. Bellomy doesn’t have physical talents that are off the charts, but he does seem like a quality kid and a good leader. If nothing else, those are good qualities for a backup quarterback to have while he plays second (or third) fiddle to guys who have more natural skills like Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner.
Bellomy ought to be able to redshirt in 2011, at least if everything goes according to plan. With third-year Robinson and second-year Gardner in the mix, the only reason a freshman might see the field is if there’s an injury (or two). And Michigan fans definitely want Robinson and Gardner to stay healthy. Bellomy ought to be capable in a few years, but for now he doesn’t belong on the field.
Many Michigan fans seem worried that the new coaching staff has thrown out offers with what fans deem to be reckless abandon over the last couple months. At last count Michigan has verbally offered 130 prospects from the class of 2012.
The key word there is “verbally.” Due to a new rule for this recruiting cycle, high schoolers cannot receive official, written offers until August 1 of their senior year. That means someone like Stefon Diggs (pictured above) won’t be 100% sure of who’s recruiting him until a little over four months from now. In the olden days, kids could receive written offers on September 1 of their junior years, meaning Diggs would have been offered several months ago.
One thing to watch is how many kids actually accept offers this early in the process. Since they can’t have official offers in hand for another several months, kids may be feeling out the process a little longer. It seems that there have been fewer early commitments in the class of 2012 overall. Only 19 of the 130 offered have already committed to a particular program.
While offers are coming at a much faster rate this year, they seem to be going to higher level athletes. Of the 130 offers, 84 of them (56%) are on the Rivals 250 to Watch list, which means they are likely to be 4-stars or higher. In my opinion, many of the other 46 players have a very good chance of being 4-stars, as well.
By about this time in the past few recruiting classes, Michigan not only had offers out to some lower level guys, but actual commitments from guys like Teric Jones (buried on the bench at RB), Antonio Kinard (a non-qualifier who ended up at Miami), Isaiah Bell (buried on the bench at LB), and Delonte Hollowell (who ended up as a middling 3-star prospect). This is not to say that those guys won’t end up being solid players at some point, but early offers and commitments should be elite kids. You can find the Teric Joneses and Antonio Kinards of the world late in the recruiting game, like Michigan has with Ray Vinopal, Jake Ryan, and Russell Bellomy.
Additionally, Michigan’s midwest recruiting base is pretty talented this season, which means the coaches – and recruits – don’t have to travel far. Forty-four of the 130 offers (34%) are to kids from Big Ten states.
I was not a huge fan of the Brady Hoke hire, so this is not coming from the we-need-a-Michigan-Man-to-right-the-ship perspective: I am legitimately not concerned with the number of offers the Wolverines have put out there. This coaching staff seems to have a better grasp on the type of talent Michigan can and should recruit. I will voice my concern if and when Hoke starts tossing out offers like candy to MAC-level and Big East-level talent, but so far that’s not the case.
Russell Bellomy probably thinks what I think:
“Purdue coach Danny Hope is a tool.”
Russell Bellomy, a quarterback from Arlington, TX, committed to Michigan on Tuesday. He had previously been committed to Purdue but hadn’t been offered by Michigan until Brady Hoke took the head coaching job at Michigan. Bellomy is a 6’3″, 180 lb. prospect who also holds offers from Boise State, Colorado, Marshall, Minnesota, and South Florida, among others.
Bellomy is a 3-star prospect to all three recruiting services, and mostly viewed as a dual-threat quarterback. Scout ranks him as the #39 overall quarterback, while ESPN puts him at #35. Rivals has no opinion on the matter, but at least their site looks pretty.
Watching highlights of Bellomy, his high school team runs an offense that looks a lot like Auburn’s. It’s somewhat surprising that Rich Rodriguez, who needed a quarterback in the class of 2011 after Kevin Sousa decommitted, didn’t pursue Bellomy. Bellomy has some serious wheels and escapability. He only completed approximately 59% of his passes over the past couple seasons, but he threw very few interceptions (seven total from 2009-2010) and ran the ball for 1,200 yards over those two seasons.
Interestingly, Bellomy is a bit like offensive coordinator Al Borges’ old protege, Cade McNown. Bellomy is a little bit taller than McNown, but he’s mobile, has somewhat erratic mechanics, and lacks great arm strength. He shares those qualities with McNown, although the former UCLA quarterback also lacked some leadership qualities. Judging by a couple interviews I’ve seen of Bellomy, he seems to be a very grounded, respectful, humble young man.
I expect Bellomy to redshirt in 2011. Michigan has two capable-to-fairly capable quarterbacks in junior Denard Robinson and sophomore (or redshirt freshman) Devin Gardner. There’s no need to get Bellomy game experience as a true freshman. Experience is only necessary if he’s expected to play in the near future (like freshman Ryan Mallett in 2007, who would presumably have taken over once senior Chad Henne graduated). If injuries to Robinson and Gardner occur in 2011, Michigan’s chances of winning likely go down the drain, whether Bellomy gets a few garbage snaps or not.
The Wolverines are almost certainly finished with quarterback recruiting for 2011. Three scholarship quarterbacks is the minimum number a team should carry, but having four quarterbacks spread out over only three classes would cause a bit of a logjam. Expect to see Michigan pursue another quarterback or two in the class of 2012.
