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31Oct 2018

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Visitors: Michigan vs. Penn State

Everett (MA) Everett WR/CB Mike Sainristil (image via Boston Globe)

This is an incomplete list of visitors, because I’m sure more will pop up between now and next Saturday. But here’s an early look at the players who are planning to be in town for the November 3 game against Penn State.

2019

Erick All – TE – Fairfield (OH) Fairfield: All is committed to Michigan (LINK).

Karsen Barnhart – OT – Paw Paw (MI) Paw Paw: Barnhart is committed to Michigan (LINK).

Zach Carpenter – OG – Cincinnati (OH) Moeller: Carpenter is committed to Michigan (LINK).

Quavaris Crouch – LB – Charlotte (NC) Harding: Crouch is a 6’2″, 230 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Michigan, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 5-star, the #2 athlete, and #28 overall. Right now all nine crystal ball picks are in favor of Clemson.

Kalen DeLoach – LB – Savannah (GA) Islands: DeLoach is a 6’0″, 206 lb. prospect who has been committed to Florida State since July; he also has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, and Michigan, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #13 outside linebacker, and #242 overall.

Chris Hinton, Jr. – DE – Norcross (GA) Greater Atlanta Christian: Hinton is committed to Michigan (LINK).

Kenny McIntosh – Ft. Lauderdale (FL) University School: McIntosh is a 6’0″, 205 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, and Oklahoma, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #10 running back, and #186 overall. The crystal balls are 100% in favor of Miami. This is his official visit.

Kobe Myers – LB – Waterford (MI) Mott: Myers is a 6’1″, 190 lb. prospect with offers from Cincinnati, Iowa, and some MAC schools. He’s a 3-star, the #158 athlete, and #1933 overall.

Jackson Ostrowsky – QB – Mt. Pleasant (MI) Mt. Pleasant: Ostrowsky is a 6’0″, 195 lb. prospect with an offers from Central Michigan.

Nolan Rumler – OG – Akron (OH) Hoban: Rumler is committed to Michigan (LINK).

Mike Sainristil – CB – Everett (MA) Everett: Sainristil is a 5’10”, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Boston College, Michigan, and North Carolina, among others; he recently decommitted from Virginia Tech. His crystal balls are 100% in favor of Michigan now. Hit the jump for more visitors.

Ray Vinopal, Wolverine

Ray Vinopal

Cardinal Mooney (Youngstown, OH) safety Ray Vinopal celebrated today’s state championship victory by announcing that he had committed to Michigan. He called the coaches on Wednesday to let them know about the commitment, but it was kept quiet so Vinopal could concentrate on beating DeSales High School (Columbus, OH) in the championship, which he and his teammates did with a 35-7 win.

Vinopal is a 5’10”, 178 lb. high school free safety/running back who will most likely play strong safety in Greg Robinson’s defense. (Remember, the strong safety for Robinson is usually the deep safety.) Cardinal Mooney is a traditional powerhouse, having produced players like Penn State RB Brandon Beachum, Ohio State DT John Simon, and Notre Dame safeties Dan and Kyle McCarthy in recent years.

I have been lukewarm on Michigan’s pursuit of Vinopal since he was offered. He’s a 2-star recruit to each of the three recruiting services (Rivals, Scout, ESPN), but more than that, I’m just not that impressed with the film I’ve seen. Vinopal has some physical limitations. He’s listed at 5’10” or 5’11” and anywhere from 170 to 178 lbs., but he looks small on the field. His 40-yard dash time is listed at 4.56, which you know is a lie, considering the fact that Pat White ran a 4.55 at the NFL Combine last year. Vinopal’s other scholarship offers came from the likes of Bowling Green, Kent State, and Air Force.

When I read Bruce Feldman’s Meat Market last year, I read an interesting quote from former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron. When he and his coaches were looking at a prospect’s film, he said something along the lines of, “You can’t knock a kid for technical faults. As a coach, you have to believe you can fix that.” From reading that book and using that philosophy, I’ve taken that advice and applied it, not only to my reviews of recruits, but to my coaching.

And that’s the problem I have with the Vinopal offer and commitment. When I watch him, I don’t see a whole lot to fix. He’s pretty technically sound. He reads plays well, he accelerates well, and you can see that he goes full-speed. He goes all out . . . and I’m still not impressed. He’s not a great tackler. He’s not extremely fast. He’s going to get overpowered in the run game, outrun in open space, and outjumped in the passing game. When he gets to full speed, his running form goes completely out of whack, although that’s something that may be able to be fixed.

Meanwhile, Michigan still has two somewhat realistic options for 4-star safeties Sean Parker (Narbonne, CA) and Rashad Knight (Jacksonville, FL). They’re also recruiting Glenville, OH, safety Latwan Anderson, although he’s almost surely ticketed for Ohio State. The Vinopal commitment also puts the Wolverines at 23 commitments for the 2010 class, a class in which Michigan can only take 25 scholarship players. There are still uncommitted players at other positions out there, such as Maryland linebacker Josh Furman, Florida cornerback Tony Grimes, and Grimes’s teammate, defensive end Clarence Murphy.

Something has to give. Perhaps Michigan’s offer to Vinopal is as a grayshirt player, someone who will pay for his first semester of college until a scholarship opens up. Perhaps Michigan knows that one of their commitments isn’t going to qualify; linebacker Antonio Kinard and slot receiver Tony Drake are rumored to be on the verge of not qualifying.

Either way, I’m not excited about Vinopal’s commitment. Michigan already has Vinopal’s brother on the roster – his name is Jordan Kovacs. Both are short on speed and talent, and both are undersized. I hope Vinopal turns out to be Michigan’s version of former Iowa safety Bob Sanders or even former Minnesota safety Tyrone Carter, but I just don’t see that happening. Vinopal looks like a career special teamer.

16Aug 2009

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Terrence Talbott, Wolverine

Huber Heights, OH, cornerback Terrence Talbott committed to Michigan on Friday, along with his brother, Terry. He chose Michigan over offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin, among others.

Terrence is a 3-star CB at Rivals and listed as 5’10” and 172 lbs. He reportedly ran a 4.47 forty yard dash, but he doesn’t look that fast on film. His coach sates that Terrence has a 38- or 39-inch vertical. All stats considered, Terrence is a very good high school athlete . . .

. . . but I remain less impressed with this commitment than all but Drew Dileo’s in the 2010 class. Terrence does some things well but doesn’t seem to do anything great. He has good speed, but not great. He’s a decent tackler, but not great. He has good ball skills, but not great. The best thing I can say for him, from what I’ve seen, is that he’s largely fundamentally sound. You can tell that he’s not much of a freelancer, which is always nice to see from star high school athletes.

Some Michigan fans have intimated that Terrence only received a Michigan offer so the Wolverines could get a commitment from Terry, his older brother. I don’t think that’s true. Michigan’s depth at cornerback is dangerously thin at this point and that needs to be shored up immediately. Even if Adrian Witty qualifies to play this year, that only gives Michigan five scholarship cornerbacks (not including Teric Jones, who will probably end up at slot eventually). There are some cornerbacks of higher quality still remaining on Michigan’s board (Tony Grimes, Rashad Knight, and Cullen Christian, to name three), but both Knight and Christian could play safety at the next level. Terrence Talbott is a true cornerback prospect.

Fun fact #1: The Talbotts are teammates of 2011 QB prospect Braxton Miller, for whom both Michigan and OSU will be aiming. It’s probably not necessary that Michigan gains an elite QB commitment in the class of 2011, but it would be a luxury.

Fun fact #2: The Talbotts aren’t twins. Terrence is a year younger than Terry, but they’re both on the same grade level.

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