Tag: Salt Lake City (UT) Highland HS

Recruit Tracker: Bryan Mone

Bryan Mone

November 1, 2013: Highland lost to Smithfield (UT) Sky View by a score of 27-14 in the first round of the playoffs. Mone had 4 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. He ends the year with 30 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. Highland ends the year at 7-4.

October 25, 2013: Highland beat Bountiful (UT) Bountiful by a score of 17-10. Mone had 4 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. Highland is now 7-3.

October 16, 2013: Highland beat Magna (UT) Cyprus by a score of 35-25. Mone had 2 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Highland is now 6-3.

October 11, 2013: Highland beat Salt Lake City (UT) Skyline by a score of 21-14. Mone had 2 tackles. Highland is now 5-3.

October 4, 2013: Highland lost to Woods Cross (UT) Woods Cross by a score of 41-21. Mone had 6 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. Highland is now 4-3.

September 27, 2013: Highland beat Clearfield (UT) Clearfield by a score of 16-8. Mone had 3 tackles and now has 21 tackles and 1 sack on the year. Highland is 4-2.

September 20, 2013: Highland lost to Salt Lake City (UT) East by a score of 29-7. Mone had 5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. He now has 18 tackles and 1 sack on the season. Highland is 3-2.

September 13, 2013: Highland beat Kearns (UT) Kearns by a score of 35-14. Mone had 2 tackles. Mone has 13 tackles and 1 sack on the year. Highland is now 3-1.

September 6, 2013: Highland beat West Herriman (UT) Herriman by a score of 7-3. Mone had 1 tackle. Highland is now 2-1.

August 30, 2013: Highland lost to Syracuse (UT) Syracuse by a score of 17-14. Mone had 6 tackles. Highland is now 1-1.

August 22, 2013: Mone’s Salt Lake City (UT) Highland team beat Hyrum (UT) Mountain Crest by a score of 37-7. Mone had 4 tackles and 1 sack. Highland is 1-0 on the season. (Highlights.)

Bryan Mone, Wolverine

Salt Lake City (UT) Highland defensive tackle Bryan Mone (image via Scout)

Salt Lake City (UT) Highland defensive tackle Bryan Mone committed to Michigan on Tuesday.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from BYU, Mississippi, UCLA, Utah, and Wisconsin, among others.

Mone is a 6’4″, 315 lb. defensive tackle who had 70 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks as a junior in 2012.

RATINGS
ESPN: N/A
Rivals: 4-star DT, #12 DT, #172 overall
Scout: 4-star DT, #7 DT, #111 overall
247 Sports: 4-star SDE, 93 grade, #8 SDE, #114 overall

Mone was Michigan’s first offer for the class of 2014.  He maintained that Michigan was his leader almost all the way throughout the process, partly because rising sophomore fullback Sione Houma is an alumnus of Highland.  Mone took an unofficial visit to Michigan for the Northwestern game this past season.

Mone played a lot of strongside end for Highland last season, but his size and skill set suggest that he’ll end up somewhere on the interior in college, either at nose tackle or 3-tech defensive tackle.  He has really grown in size from his sophomore season, when he was listed as a 255 lb. defensive end.  He’s legitimately up around 315 now, and the weight doesn’t look sloppy.  He shows good feet and an ability to stay low, which are both promising qualities for someone with his size.  Perhaps the most impressive thing about him is his hands; he shows an array of moves, and he understands hand placement to keep offensive linemen out of his body.  That’s an important skill that kept someone like Quinton Washington off the field for his first few seasons at Michigan.

There aren’t many weaknesses that show up on film.  Mone might not ever be one of the top two or three guys at his position in this class because he’s not quite as explosive as some other defensive tackles that get ranked that high (Eddie Vanderdoes, Montravius Adams, Andrew Brown, etc.), but he does look like a player who could be one of the top five or seven defensive tackles.

When I watch Mone’s film, I see Johnathan Hankins, the Ohio State Buckeye who is projected as a potential first round pick in the upcoming 2013 NFL Draft.  Mone isn’t extremely fast or quick, but he understands leverage and he carries his weight well.  There will be a step up in competition from the high schools of Utah to the Big Ten, and that may require an adjustment period.  But with his size, athletic ability, and the technique he has already shown, I think Mone could be an early contributor for the Wolverines.

TTB Rating: Pending until I finalize the 2013 TTB Ratings, which will be soon but I’m busy

Sione Houma, Wolverine

Utah fullback Sione Houma (with ball) committed to Michigan last week

Salt Lake City, UT, fullback Sione Houma committed to Michigan last Monday.  He chose Michigan over offers from Utah, Utah State, and Washington.

Houma is a 6’0″, 211 lb. prospect with a reported 4.53 forty yard dash.  Last season he rushed for 1,211 yards and 9 touchdowns from the fullback position in a triple option offense.  His size and skills have led him to be ranked as a 2-star prospect by Scout . . . and not at all by anyone else.

Houma looks to be a typical West Coast-style fullback.  He’s not huge and he’s not particularly fast, but he’s got a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  He shows an ability to adjust to the ball in the air on short passes, he has a little bit of vision, he breaks away for an occasional long run, and he breaks some tackles in the process.  His film won’t wow anyone, but not many fullbacks’ films do.  One thing I really like about Houma is that he runs with a great forward lean when going through traffic.  Since he’s not particularly tall, that means anybody who hits him in the shoulder pads is bound to go backwards.  That body lean means that anybody who gets into his legs will probably bring him down, so he needs to work on his footwork a little bit.  But it’s hard to take a high runner and make him run low, because guys just aren’t comfortable making that transition.

Another thing I like about Houma is that he probably doesn’t have the speed to break 50-yard runs or receptions, but he does have the ability to outrun linebackers and turn a 4-yard swing pass into a 10- or 15-yard swing passes.  That skill won’t turn him into a superstar, but having a fullback who can gain some yards after the catch will be a valuable commodity when Michigan runs split backs and the quarterback decides to dump off the ball.  Salt Lake City isn’t known for its football talent (only four 2011 prospects from the city signed FBS letters of intent – two to Utah, one to Navy, and one to Oregon State), but Houma looks superior to his peers.

Fullbacks aren’t exactly hot commodities in the spread-oriented offenses of today’s college football landscape, but Houma looks to be a slight upgrade from the John McColgans, Obi Oluigbos, and Vince Helmuths of the world.

TTB Rating: 69