Tag: scouting report

Scouting Report: K.J. Williams

Bethlehem (PA) Liberty wide receiver K.J. Williams

Name: K.J. Williams
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 190 lbs.
Position: Wide receiver, safety
Class: 2014
High school: Bethlehem (PA) Liberty

Notes: Holds offers from Arizona, Connecticut, Michigan, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, UCLA, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin . . . As a junior in 2012, had 59 receptions for 986 yards and 11 touchdowns . . . Rivals 4-star, #22 WR, #193 overall . . . Scout 4-star, #35 WR . . . 247 Sports 4-star, 92 grade, #12 ATH, #163 overall

Strengths: Thick-bodied kid with frame to add significant weight . . . Should easily reach 210 lb. range if he’s 190 now . . . Good speed but won’t blow people away . . . Able to catch passes outside frame of body . . . Good leaping ability . . . Should turn into a good blocker with his frame

Weaknesses: Not particularly elusive . . . Should run with a little more attitude and physicality . . . A bit of a long strider . . . Mediocre route runner . . . Does not set up routes well . . . Does not use hands well to beat press . . . May be susceptible to press man coverage

Projection: Wide receiver. Williams is a good high school athlete but lacking refinement in some areas.  Basically, he looks like a good-sized, fairly fast player in a somewhat simple offense that runs him on a lot of fly routes, a few fades, and a few slants.  He appears to be a physically mature player, which makes me wonder a little about how much room for development there is; the technical things can certainly improve, but he might be closer to his peak as an athlete than some other players.  I think he can be a serviceable player at the BCS level with potential to be more if he can play with more physicality.

Reminds me of: LaTerryal Savoy

Likelihood of committing to Michigan: Williams visited Michigan a couple weekends ago and, according to reports, was close to committing.


Highlights: Check out Williams’ highlights on Hudl.

Scouting Report: Joe Mixon

Oakley (CA) Freedom running back Joe Mixon (image)

Name: Joe Mixon
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 207 lbs.
High school: Oakley (CA) Freedom
Position: Running back
Class: 2014

Notes: Holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Boise State, California, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Fresno State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Idaho, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Nevada, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, USC, Utah, Utah State, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia, and Wisconsin . . . As a junior in 2012, he had 1,500 yards rushing, 450 yards receiving, and 31 total touchdowns . . . As a sophomore in 2011, he had 1,134 yards and 13 touchdowns . . . Rivals 4-star, #9 running back, #82 overall . . . 247 Sports 4-star, 95 grade, #8 running back, #75 overall . . . Committed to play in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl . . . Former teammate of class of 2013 Michigan offeree Darrell Daneils, a wide receiver who signed with Washington

Strengths: Very physical runner . . . Runs feet very well through contact . . . Keeps balance well with wide base when necessary . . . Able to get low in traffic . . . Shows ability to jump cut laterally . . . Shifty runner who makes cuts going near full speed . . . Appears to be a big part of the passing game . . . Shows the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield . . . Finishes runs really well . . . Will deliver a blow to tacklers rather than waiting to get hit . . . Stays inbounds to gain extra yardage

Weaknesses: Good but not great speed . . . Likes to jump over tacklers, which may cause him to take some unnecessary damage . . . Sometimes likes to run laterally and reverse field, something that won’t work as well against better competition

Projection: Running back.  I like Mixon a lot, and he looks like he could be a very good college running back.  He’s a very physical runner with good speed, and I think he looks like he would fit best in a downhill running scheme, because he can make full speed cuts and he runs with a lot of power when he squares his shoulders.

Reminds me of: Michael Cox.  This is not a joke.  Some of Mixon’s highlights look like some of Cox’s best plays, although Mixon looks like a more polished product.

Likelihood of committing to Michigan: Mixon recently released a list of his top fifteen schools, which includes the big-time programs you might expect (Michigan, Ohio State, UCLA, USC, etc.).  Pulling big-time kids out of California will be difficult, but at least the Wolverines have made the first cut.

Scouting Report: Erick Smith

Cleveland (OH) Glenville safety Erick Smith

Name: Erick Smith
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 195 lbs.
Position: Safety
High school: Cleveland (OH) Glenville
Class: 2014

Notes: Holds offers from Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and West Virginia . . . Rivals 4-star safety, #228 overall . . . 247 Sports 4-star, 90 grade, #26 safety . . . Attends alma mater of Michigan defensive end Frank Clark and defensive tackle Willie Henry

Strengths: Good straight line speed . . . Good leaping ability . . . Solid inside-out pursuit player . . . Not afraid to hit . . . Runs feet after contact . . . Does a good job of wading through traffic . . . Sheds blocks aggressively . . . Very aggressive blitzer . . . Seems to be excited about getting into backfield

Weaknesses: Somewhat limited as an athlete . . . A good athlete, but doesn’t really leap off the screen . . . Needs to use hands better to shed blocks . . . Could improve backpedal . . . Hips lack fluidity transitioning out of backpedal

Projection: Strong safety.  I don’t think Smith is at his best backing up in coverage, although he does have decent range and athleticism.  He’s a good tackler who deals well with traffic, so I think he would fit best playing in the box, helping with the run, and then occasionally giving the offense a different look by playing deep coverage occasionally.

Reminds me of: Thomas Gordon.  While Smith appears to be a little taller, his playing style reminds me of current Michigan safety Thomas Gordon.  Gordon, of course, has been playing free safety for the past couple seasons, but he has been playing strong safety this spring and may fit best at SS in the long term.

Likelihood of coming to Michigan: Ohio State appears to be the leader, but if the Buckeyes falter in his recruitment, the Wolverines appear to be lurking in that next group of schools.

Scouting Report: Adoree’ Jackson

Junipero (CA) Gardena Serra cornerback Adoree’ Jackson

Name: Adoree’ Jackson
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 172 lbs.
High school: Gardena (CA) Junipero Serra
Position: Cornerback
Class: 2014

Notes: Holds offers from Arizona State, Boise State, California, Colorado, Florida, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oregon State, SMU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington, and Washington State . . . State champion in long jump . . . As a junior in 2012, had 70 tackles, 5 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles . . . Rivals 5-star, #2 CB, #8 overall . . . Scout 4-star, #8 CB . . . 247 Sports 4-star, 97 grade, #4 CB, #33 overall . . . Teammate of Michigan linebacker offeree Dwight Williams . . . Attends alma mater of former Michigan targets George Farmer (USC) and Marqise Lee (USC)

Strengths: Excellent change of direction . . . Very fluid hips . . . Great recovery speed . . . Very confident player . . . Good vision and field awareness . . . Should be adept in man coverage but also good in zone . . . Tough runner with ball in hand . . . Dynamic ball skills . . . Versatile player who could play wide receiver, cornerback, and returner

Weaknesses: Sits too high in backpedal . . . Largely gets by on superior athleticism . . . Very thin player who might struggle with bigger receivers and run support . . . Could afford to be more physical in coverage . . . Has tendency to high-step into endzone, which may get him in trouble

Projection: Cornerback, punt returner.  Jackson is the type of athlete who could play in all three phases of the game, and I would not be surprised to see a team put him at cornerback but also play him occasionally at wide receiver.  A Charles Woodson comparison seems timely here, but Woodson was a bigger and more physical player.  Jackson looks like a potential shutdown cornerback and quite possibly a future All-American.

Reminds me of: Branden Smith (Georgia cornerback)

Scouting Report: Kyle Berger

Cleveland (OH) St. Ignatius linebacker Kyle Berger

Name: Kyle Berger
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 210 lbs.
High school: Cleveland (OH) St. Ignatius
Position: Linebacker
Class: 2014

Notes: Holds offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, and West Virginia . . . As a junior in 2012, had 44 tackles for loss and 10 sacks . . . Rivals 4-star OLB, #204 overall . . . 247 Sports 4-star OLB, 90 grade, #22 OLB . . . Attends alma mater of Michigan linebacker Jake Ryan and former Michigan players Pat and Mike Massey, among others

Strengths: Good speed for a kid his size . . . Quickness is impressive, but straight line speed is even more so . . . Has good length . . . Plenty of room to fill out to 240 lbs. or so . . . Uses hands well to shed blockers . . . Very disciplined player . . . Stays home and doesn’t overpursue . . . Stays very balanced in pass rush and pursuit

Weaknesses: Has a tendency to false step . . . Needs to play more on balls of feet . . . Could work on hand placement and getting hands on inside of blocker’s frame rather than outside . . . Would ideally need a year or two to fill out physically . . . Can get outmuscled in the run game

Projection: Outside linebacker.  Berger is too long and lean to play inside, but he looks like an ideal fit at outside linebacker in a 4-3 Under defense.  He has good pass rushing skills and would be a disciplined run stopper.  He’s not the most explosive athlete, but he has good speed and plays with tenacity.  I like his demeanor on the field.  If he gets too big or is needed at weakside end, he could eventually play there, too.  He looks like a high level BCS player.

Reminds me of: Jake Ryan. I know it’s kind of an obvious pick, but the frame and playing style are very similar.

Here are Berger’s highlights on Hudl.