Te’Cory Couch (image via 247 Sports)
Hollywood (FL) Chaminade-Madonna cornerback Te’Cory Couch committed to Michigan on Sunday. Previously committed to Tennessee, he also had offers from Kentucky, LSU, Miami, and Wisconsin, among others.
Couch is listed in some places at 5’10”, 165 lbs., though there are other listings that have him at 5’9″ and 148 lbs. He claims a 4.7 forty, a 4.32 shuttle, a 38″ vertical, and a 175 lb. bench press.
RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 79 grade, #24 CB, #272 overall
Rivals: 4-star, #20 S
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #32 ATH, #330 overall
Hit the jump for more on Couch’s commitment.
Michigan offered Couch back in January, along with a couple of his teammates. Couch had been committed to the Volunteers since June of 2017, but he was considered a soft commitment. Going into an official visit this past weekend for Michigan’s spring game – which was canceled – there were rumors swirling that Couch was the most likely visitor to commit. He ended up pulling the trigger while he was in Ann Arbor.
Regarding Couch’s size, I think he has hit a growth spurt over the past couple years, because I don’t think height is a real issue. While he’s not huge, he claims to be 6’1″ on his Hudl account, and he’s probably somewhere between there and 5’10”. He has the ability to be physical at the line of scrimmage, though he’s not consistent with it (perhaps by design). He has good hips, and he does a good job of finding the ball in the air. He’s also a solid tackler who can help support in the run game.
Couch doesn’t have elite speed, and by the looks of the first highlight on his reel, he’s not particularly dynamic with the ball in his hands. He plays a lot of man coverage, but he needs to be more consistently physical at the line of scrimmage or else his speed will get taken advantage of in college. He also needs to add size and strength, because even at 166 lbs., he would struggle to deal with bigger players in college.
I think Couch is a good fit for Michigan. He shows in his film that he can play bump-and-run coverage, and he’ll be doing a lot of that in Ann Arbor. Michigan has done well with corners who aren’t the fastest, such as Brandon Watson and Channing Stribling, so I think Couch can do similar things.
Michigan now has 8 commitments in the 2019 class, and Couch is the first defensive back. The Wolverines took four defensive backs in 2018. After this season they are scheduled to lose Brandon Watson and Tyree Kinnel, though there could be other departures from underclassmen.
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I think he’s closer to 5’9 than he is 6’1. So, if the thing around here is tall corners, he ain’t. So there has to be something.
I think it’s that, on film, he looks really hard to play against. They run him out there on guys with serious size and stride advantages, but he gets his hips up under them before they can even begin to shove him off and they never can unwind enough to even step into the route. He does this time and time again, so you have to believe in it.
It will be interesting to hear about him covering DPJ, Black and the huge kid whose name escapes me at the moment. I think he’s gonna catch some palms to the grill.
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I’m a little stumped on this commit. His offer list and 4-star status make me think I’m missing something. His HS highlights look ok, nothing that makes him really stand-out. Looks very slight but it doesn’t stop him from throwing his body around and tackling a larger RB. Seems to know leverage and how to cut a WR off his route. I like some things about him. What I’m not seeing is the big play abilities. I also see a lot of film at camps of him getting beat by WR’s. Actually, getting torched! He also uses his hands too much at times later in the routes. Overall, he’s a solid player and a guy who will probably drop out of the top 300 over time. Don Brown really likes him though so we got that going for us. If I was to use Thunder’s scoring I’d call him a 74.
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My advice: Value game tape over the camp highlights. I do like to watch camp highlights on occasion just to get a feel for foot quickness, leaping ability, etc., but when it comes to FOOTBALL, they’re not very useful. Cornerbacks at camps have no help anywhere – there’s no LB ready to chuck a crossing WR if they cross their face, there’s no deep safety help, there’s no Maurice Hurst running at the QB’s face, etc. The offensive player has a huge advantage in those one-on-ones.
I agree he doesn’t appear to be a big-play guy, which I mentioned in the write-up. I wouldn’t call Jeremy Clark or Channing Stribling big-play guys, either, though, and they did pretty well for themselves at Michigan.
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Good point about the camps. He just had a lot of video on him and it wasn’t all that great. It seemed like he was guessing the routes instead of reacting to them. Almost trying to cheat underneath too much which left him vulnerable to anything over top.
I do agree. Game tape is good and he may be a solid pickup. However, I don’t see the comparison to Jourdan Lewis (like some others have) who consistently made plays. Granted, he has another year to make those plays and show them off in his final year.
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lewis comparisons are foolish. theyre similar size / build and both like to press but thats about it. lewis dominated all 3 phases at cass tech (for several years if i recall), turning in impact performances on O, D and ST. i only see couch on D with maybe a ST play here or there. hes a nice prospect but hes not a lewis type athlete (maybe hill too as he was also pretty explosive on tape).
i still think hell be a valuable piece for don brown given his lateral quickness, physical style and competitive nature but aside from being 5’10” and lanky, i dont see the comparisons. not knocking the pickup, just the references to lewis
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Vert Hill and Jourdan Lewis are listed at 5’10.
This coaching staff taking any DB under 6′ should be seen as a sign of their talent/ability/potential.
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