*** Despite being from the south, I don't necessarily love going to the south. But man, I was really excited to make my way down to Huntsville to see three-star Michigan linebacker commit Deuece Spurlock. As soon as I saw he had a Thursday game, I booked a flight and got on a plane. I love seeing guys that I don't get to see very often (it's kind of like a blank evaluation canvas), and Spurlock is one of the commits I was the least familiar with. A couple of things popped out to me right away. My first thought was 'there is no way this kid is only 200 pounds.' Spurlock has a really thick, compact build. I love his lower half. You can tell he gets after it in the weight room. While he's a tad shorter than his listed 6-foot-2, Spurlock is the ideal inside backer for this scheme from an athletic profile standpoint — I'll expand more on that in a bit. I actually checked in with a Michigan source, who told me Spurlock weighed in at 215 while he was on campus. That definitely appears to be a more accurate weight.
*** Along with his build, Spurlock was tremendous speed and athleticism. He spent a ton of time covering in space and looked comfortable doing so, recording a couple of pass breakups, including two near interceptions. As much as fellow commit Aaron Alexander was praised for his 40, I think Spurlock has more game speed and better change of direction. He's a fluid athlete. In Mike Macdonald's defense, you need to have speed in space (!!!!!!!!) as a linebacker. Spurlock fits the bill. On top of that, Spurlock has great closing speed and can get downhill in a hurry. He loves to get physical and makes plays sideline-to-sideline. He checks the boxes in terms of aggression, explosion and suddenness,
*** Spurlock played as more of an edge rusher throughout the night but as mentioned, he also dropped back into coverage and saw a few plays in the middle. Spurlock also showed off his athleticism by playing a tight end/H-Back role on offense. The opposition spent most of the first half running away from Spurlock, and he had just two tackles at the break. However, Spurlock made a ton of plays in the open field in the second half, notched a few backside tackles for loss and also registered a sack. I believe he finished closer to 10 tackles on the night. I think it would be a little unfair to call him a poor man's Junior Colson, but that thought crossed my mind (maybe middle class?). He plays a lot like Junior, and the staff envisions him playing in that role in Ann Arbor.
*** Spurlock is still a raw prospect. He's playing a bit out of position as an edge since he's more of an inside backer and still needs to polish up some technical aspects of his game. A lot of times, he runs around looking to make a play as opposed to playing with more discipline. Spurlock also stays engaged for far too long especially against really weak competition. He needs to learn to use his strength and athleticism to his advantage. He's so explosive. If he just took better angles, it would help his game a ton. Spurlock can also keep improving his recognition and ability to sift through traffic. He does play against lower level competition in 4A (Alabama goes up to 7A) and will need some adjustment and development time at the next level.
*** Lastly, I want to add some miscellaneous notes. Everyone was giving Aashon Larkins credit for winning over Spurlock due to his Alabama ties, but he wasn't really mentioned last night. New Director of Player Personnel Courtney Morgan identified Spurlock at Fresno State and put him in front of the staff. Both Spurlock and his mother love Morgan as well as linebackers coach George Helow, who took over as his primary recruiter. I was really impressed with Spurlock and his mom. Spurlock is extremely well spoken and just seems like a great kid. I wish I had a chance to get to know him better throughout the process. His mom also seems really passionate about her son and the opportunity he has at Michigan. Just a really good kid and family.
*** Along with his build, Spurlock was tremendous speed and athleticism. He spent a ton of time covering in space and looked comfortable doing so, recording a couple of pass breakups, including two near interceptions. As much as fellow commit Aaron Alexander was praised for his 40, I think Spurlock has more game speed and better change of direction. He's a fluid athlete. In Mike Macdonald's defense, you need to have speed in space (!!!!!!!!) as a linebacker. Spurlock fits the bill. On top of that, Spurlock has great closing speed and can get downhill in a hurry. He loves to get physical and makes plays sideline-to-sideline. He checks the boxes in terms of aggression, explosion and suddenness,
*** Spurlock played as more of an edge rusher throughout the night but as mentioned, he also dropped back into coverage and saw a few plays in the middle. Spurlock also showed off his athleticism by playing a tight end/H-Back role on offense. The opposition spent most of the first half running away from Spurlock, and he had just two tackles at the break. However, Spurlock made a ton of plays in the open field in the second half, notched a few backside tackles for loss and also registered a sack. I believe he finished closer to 10 tackles on the night. I think it would be a little unfair to call him a poor man's Junior Colson, but that thought crossed my mind (maybe middle class?). He plays a lot like Junior, and the staff envisions him playing in that role in Ann Arbor.
*** Spurlock is still a raw prospect. He's playing a bit out of position as an edge since he's more of an inside backer and still needs to polish up some technical aspects of his game. A lot of times, he runs around looking to make a play as opposed to playing with more discipline. Spurlock also stays engaged for far too long especially against really weak competition. He needs to learn to use his strength and athleticism to his advantage. He's so explosive. If he just took better angles, it would help his game a ton. Spurlock can also keep improving his recognition and ability to sift through traffic. He does play against lower level competition in 4A (Alabama goes up to 7A) and will need some adjustment and development time at the next level.
*** Lastly, I want to add some miscellaneous notes. Everyone was giving Aashon Larkins credit for winning over Spurlock due to his Alabama ties, but he wasn't really mentioned last night. New Director of Player Personnel Courtney Morgan identified Spurlock at Fresno State and put him in front of the staff. Both Spurlock and his mother love Morgan as well as linebackers coach George Helow, who took over as his primary recruiter. I was really impressed with Spurlock and his mom. Spurlock is extremely well spoken and just seems like a great kid. I wish I had a chance to get to know him better throughout the process. His mom also seems really passionate about her son and the opportunity he has at Michigan. Just a really good kid and family.
