*** This weekend gave me a chance to see three-star Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback and Michigan commit Ja'Den McBurrows live for the second time. The first setting was a short private workout, so it was great to get a full game in. And man, McBurrows really impressed. If any of y'all watched the game on ESPN2 then you guys should have noticed that McBurrows never got thrown at. And by never, I mean a whole one time. On that target, McBurrows nearly came away with an interception. McBurrows was tasked with playing man on an island against a much taller receiver on the outside, and he didn't flinch at all. McBurrows took away his side of the field. The dude was a blanket all night.
*** Let's just go ahead and say Don Brown is around and continues to run press man as opposed to zone. McBurrows is the type of corner that can do that and excel. He did it Friday night against great competition — American Heritage is one of the top programs in South Florida — and I have confidence that he can do it at the next level. Despite size limitations, McBurrows likes to get physical. But he relies more on his patience and feet and never really overshot on the receiver release. And that's what stood out to me the most. McBurrows can be physical if he wants to but doesn't need to because of his technique. There is more to playing man than just keeping guys at bay with length and physicality.
*** Which brings me to my next point. It's great if you can land a Will Johnson. The five-star 2022 prospect is everything the aforementioned Brown desires in a corner. Johnson is tall, long, physical and overwhelms wide outs at the line of scrimmage. McBurrows doesn't fit that mold at all, but that doesn't mean he's any less successful at playing man. While he's not super speedy straight-line, McBurrows is quick and has great natural instincts. Slower, taller corners aren't getting the job done at U-M right now. And I don't think they will unless they are supreme talents like Johnson..Someone brought up Andre Seldon in my Twitter mentions on Friday as a comp for McBurrows. I always viewed Seldon as a nickel. I think McBurrows has a better chance to be an island corner and play some nickel. If Michigan can't land elite guys like Johnson with they build they want at corner, prospects with the skillset of McBurrows may be the next best option.
*** I caught some of the Michigan vs. Indiana game on the way back from Miami, and McBurrows actually reminds me a bit of Indiana corner Taiwan Mullen. I saw Mullen in 7v7 last spring, and he brings some of those similar traits that I just talked about with McBurrows. He also brought some of that South Florida dog with him to the Big Ten. Like Mullen, McBurrows is from Fort Lauderdale, and guys down there are a bit of a different breed. McBurrows is a nice kid like every other recruit in the class, but he has a bit of a different edge than the rest. You need that mindset to excel at corner. And more importantly, Michigan needs guys like McBurrows. He doesn't make dumb plays on the field, but he talks trash, is the first to start amping up his teammates on the sideline and lets you know that he's beating you. Give me 100 Ja'Den McBurrows, and I'd be a happy coach.
*** The love fest is over. It's time to be negative for a bit. Michigan linebacker commit and three-star Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas linebacker Jaydon Hood was extremely underwhelming. This is a guy that we've been talking about as one of the most underrated prospects in the class. But maybe Rivals has it right, and everybody else has it wrong. Hood didn't look like an All-American to me. He was at best a low three-star. Now, I'm not going to just kill Hood on this thread or over-judge based on one game, but this was just a bad performance. There has been some major regression from junior to senior year. I don't know how much of that has to do with Hood transferring to a new high school, but there should be that much of an adaption process for a Michigan commit.
*** Hood started the game and recorded two tackles in the first half. He didn't see the field again (except for special teams) in the second half. I was actually standing right next to STA defensive coordinator and NFL Hall of Famer Jason Taylor when he was screaming into his headset about the linebackers. The next series, Hood was gone, and the group actually played a lot better, which is extremely discouraging. Don't believe me? I'm sure ESPN has a replay somewhere. Hood has speed and athleticism, but he looked lost at the position. He couldn't shed blocks, he didn't fill the right gaps, he missed assignments, etc. Between Hood and Tavierre Dunlap, those are two of the worst in-game evaluations I've seen in my entire time covering recruiting.
*** Overall, I would keep Hood where he is from a rankings standpoint and maybe even drop him lower. I'm going to watch some more film on him this week because I can't believe how subpar he was. On the flip side of the coin, I wouldn't argue too much on McBurrows staying a high-three-star. I get the size and length limitations. But I would personally bump him up to a 5.8 four-star. He was terrific last night, and the in-game eval verified what I saw from him in the private workout session in the summer.
*** Let's just go ahead and say Don Brown is around and continues to run press man as opposed to zone. McBurrows is the type of corner that can do that and excel. He did it Friday night against great competition — American Heritage is one of the top programs in South Florida — and I have confidence that he can do it at the next level. Despite size limitations, McBurrows likes to get physical. But he relies more on his patience and feet and never really overshot on the receiver release. And that's what stood out to me the most. McBurrows can be physical if he wants to but doesn't need to because of his technique. There is more to playing man than just keeping guys at bay with length and physicality.
*** Which brings me to my next point. It's great if you can land a Will Johnson. The five-star 2022 prospect is everything the aforementioned Brown desires in a corner. Johnson is tall, long, physical and overwhelms wide outs at the line of scrimmage. McBurrows doesn't fit that mold at all, but that doesn't mean he's any less successful at playing man. While he's not super speedy straight-line, McBurrows is quick and has great natural instincts. Slower, taller corners aren't getting the job done at U-M right now. And I don't think they will unless they are supreme talents like Johnson..Someone brought up Andre Seldon in my Twitter mentions on Friday as a comp for McBurrows. I always viewed Seldon as a nickel. I think McBurrows has a better chance to be an island corner and play some nickel. If Michigan can't land elite guys like Johnson with they build they want at corner, prospects with the skillset of McBurrows may be the next best option.
*** I caught some of the Michigan vs. Indiana game on the way back from Miami, and McBurrows actually reminds me a bit of Indiana corner Taiwan Mullen. I saw Mullen in 7v7 last spring, and he brings some of those similar traits that I just talked about with McBurrows. He also brought some of that South Florida dog with him to the Big Ten. Like Mullen, McBurrows is from Fort Lauderdale, and guys down there are a bit of a different breed. McBurrows is a nice kid like every other recruit in the class, but he has a bit of a different edge than the rest. You need that mindset to excel at corner. And more importantly, Michigan needs guys like McBurrows. He doesn't make dumb plays on the field, but he talks trash, is the first to start amping up his teammates on the sideline and lets you know that he's beating you. Give me 100 Ja'Den McBurrows, and I'd be a happy coach.
*** The love fest is over. It's time to be negative for a bit. Michigan linebacker commit and three-star Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas linebacker Jaydon Hood was extremely underwhelming. This is a guy that we've been talking about as one of the most underrated prospects in the class. But maybe Rivals has it right, and everybody else has it wrong. Hood didn't look like an All-American to me. He was at best a low three-star. Now, I'm not going to just kill Hood on this thread or over-judge based on one game, but this was just a bad performance. There has been some major regression from junior to senior year. I don't know how much of that has to do with Hood transferring to a new high school, but there should be that much of an adaption process for a Michigan commit.
*** Hood started the game and recorded two tackles in the first half. He didn't see the field again (except for special teams) in the second half. I was actually standing right next to STA defensive coordinator and NFL Hall of Famer Jason Taylor when he was screaming into his headset about the linebackers. The next series, Hood was gone, and the group actually played a lot better, which is extremely discouraging. Don't believe me? I'm sure ESPN has a replay somewhere. Hood has speed and athleticism, but he looked lost at the position. He couldn't shed blocks, he didn't fill the right gaps, he missed assignments, etc. Between Hood and Tavierre Dunlap, those are two of the worst in-game evaluations I've seen in my entire time covering recruiting.
*** Overall, I would keep Hood where he is from a rankings standpoint and maybe even drop him lower. I'm going to watch some more film on him this week because I can't believe how subpar he was. On the flip side of the coin, I wouldn't argue too much on McBurrows staying a high-three-star. I get the size and length limitations. But I would personally bump him up to a 5.8 four-star. He was terrific last night, and the in-game eval verified what I saw from him in the private workout session in the summer.
