Del Valle (TX) Del Valle running back Tavierre Dunlap committed to Michigan on Saturday evening. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Mississippi State, Notre Dame, TCU, Texas Tech, UCLA, and USC, among others.
Dunlap is listed at 6’0″ and 195 lbs. As a junior in 2019, he ran 128 times for 1,341 yards and 20 touchdowns, adding 20 receptions for 208 yards and 3 scores. As a sophomore in 2018, he ran 186 times for 1,449 yards and 17 touchdowns. He claims an 11.23 in the 100 meters and a 4.63 laser-timed forty.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #37 RB
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade, #27 RB
247 Sports: 4-star, 91 grade, #14 RB, #220 overall
Hit the jump for more.
Dunlap was offered by Michigan back in the spring. I assumed not much would come of it because, you know, Texas and all. Also, there’s the whole issue of West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield running back Donovan Edwards, and whether or not Michigan would pursue another guy at the position hard for fear of scaring off Edwards. Michigan went ahead and continued to go after Dunlap, and things seemed to be trending the right way as of a couple weeks ago. It seemed like a commitment might be on the horizon, and then he went ahead and posted on Saturday afternoon that he would be announcing his commitment at 7:00 p.m.
Dunlap is a no-nonsense runner. He gets the ball and gets north-south quickly. He runs with some power, and he’s not afraid to lower his shoulder. His breakaway speed against good competition appears better than his so-so forty time would indicate.
Dunlap doesn’t show a whole lot of wiggle, and that breakaway speed could be deceiving. If teams can bottle him up at the line of scrimmage, I’m not sure how much he can create on his own.
Overall, I get a little bit of a Chris Perry vibe from Dunlap, although Perry ran a little duck-footed. Dunlap will probably end up a little ways over 200 pounds. Perry didn’t make too many people miss and rarely broke away, but he was a solid all-around back. Dunlap should be a serviceable back worthy of starting some games depending on how the depth chart shakes out.
Dunlap is the first running back in the 2021 class. Michigan will certainly continue to pursue Edwards, but the Wolverines can’t afford to whiff at the position. They would gladly take two backs if those two backs are Dunlap and Edwards.
Dunlap would be the first Michigan player to come from Del Valle, but they are also recruiting class of 2022 5-star receiver Caleb Burton. Michigan signed three Texas products in 2018 (TE Mustapha Muhammad, CB Gemon Green, S German Green), but none have been significant contributors, and Muhammad transferred to Houston.
TTB Rating: 78
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I like Dunlap and think he could be a decent back. Good acceleration and decent 1-cut explosion. Can take on runners and shows adequate speed. I like how he falls forward. I wish we saw more of him catching the ball but that may just be their offense. A solid pickup and I think the TTB grade of 78 is accurate.
Thunder, did you watch any tape of the MSU back, Audric Estime? He seems very similar to Dunlap. Unfortunately, he’s going to the dark side. How would you compare the two?
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I watched his highlights just for you. I think Estime is a little slower, not quite as north-south. Estime is more De’Veon Smith, and Dunlap is more Chris Perry/Karan Higdon. So yeah, I would rank Dunlap higher, and he’s also playing against tougher competition at Del Valle, which has 3,000+ students in a football-crazed state.
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They call Dunlap the “Thunder” to Edwards’ “Lightning”.
IDK – in those highlights Dunlap looks pretty explosive…but then again, that line opened up the Grand Canyon for him too.
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An 11.23 100m is not a great time. If he was 220 lbs I’d think differently. With that said, I don’t think we can discount the fact his initials are TD.
I can’t tell. From these highlights I can see he sticks to his blocks, picks a hole and runs through it. He gets downfield and has ok speed and ok balance. I can’t tell if he has the ability to create when nothing is there, because his OL and downfield blocking is usually pretty superb.
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