... Jim talked about:
• His favorites from the class (recorded prior to the Daxton Hill flip): "The kid I'm most excited about is the running back, Zach Charbonnet. He could well be the best running back in the country. It's too close to call between Zach and Trey Sanders, who is either going to go to Georgia, Alabama or Texas…
"I don't think he's the fastest, but he's the biggest. He's got a nice jump cut, he's got amazing flexibility for his size. We're going to need him, and we're going to need him, really, from day one. We're relatively thin next year in the backfield.
"We've got [junior] Chris Evans, who has really yet to prove he's an every-down back at Michigan, and we've got [freshman] Christian Turner, who I know the coaches are high on, and [junior] Tru Wilson, the former walk-on, but after that, there's not much…
"It's very, very critical that Zach come in and contribute from day one. He could be the most impactful running back Michigan has signed, probably since Mike Hart. He's much more highly regarded than Hart was, but whether he has the sort of impact Mike Hart had as a freshman is yet to be seen. It's going to be critical for next year's team, to really have a difference maker at running back.
"Chris Hinton was a five-star, who was a consensus five star at one point and has been brought down to the four-star range. I think he would be a five star as an offensive lineman. That's the position his dad played, and that's the position where I think he's got the most upside. He'd made a heck of an offensive guard.
"His mind is pretty set on playing defensive tackle, and I think that's why he's got the four-star rating. He's a solid defensive tackle. He plays with good leverage, pretty quick feet, athletic, but I haven't really seen the playmaking ability from him on the defensive side of the ball to really merit that sort of a rating.
"It will be interesting to see how his career plays out at Michigan. There's a very good opportunity [at defensive tackle] not just for Hinton but for Mazi Smith, who is another one of our top six or seven kids coming in. He's out of East Kentwood [Mich.], on the other side of the state, the Grand Rapids area…
"Great base, quick off the ball, very strong. This is a kid who, interestingly enough, has Michigan State bloodlines. He's a cousin of former Michigan State stars T.J. and Tico Duckett. He's coming to Michigan, and he's a kid I would not be surprised if he made a very, very early impact. He's pretty close to college ready.
"Another defensive lineman who I like a lot, but who is more of a high-ceiling sort, because he hasn't been playing football that much, is David Ojabo, out of Blairstown Blair Academy, one of the prep schools in New Jersey. They play a very good schedule. He's from Scotland, and he was actually born and raised in Nigeria and moved to Scotland when he was seven years old.
"He moved over to the states to play basketball. The football coach took a look at him and said, 'I want you to try playing football.' His first year playing football was his junior year in high school. Great length, quick feet, runs a sub-11 flat 100 meters, which at 6-6, 245, is nothing to sneeze at.
"He's also an Ivy League-caliber student. He's going to be a great fit at Michigan.
"I think he is criminally underrated by Rivals. That's all I'll say on the matter. Classic high ceiling. Possibly a lower floor, because he's raw. That may be why they're only rating him a three-star, but I think he's got a five-star sort of ceiling, to be blunt.
"Now, will he be ready to come in as a true freshman [and contribute]? I don't know. But we're going to be pretty set. Even though we're losing [junior] Rashan Gary and [fifth-year senior] Chase Winovich, if [junior] Josh Uche bulks up about 10 or 15 pounds, he'll be moving to defensive end full time. We've got [sophomore] Kwity Paye, we've got [freshman] Aidan Hutchinson, and hopefully [redshirt freshman] Luiji Vilain is healthy.
"I think we've got some guys there with some talent. Hopefully, that will give Ojabo the opportunity to redshirt. You can obviously play four games without burning the redshirt, so hopefully he'll see a little bit of game action and show what he can do.
"A kid who is the opposite of Ojabo — a pretty high floor, but he's also got a high ceiling, and is closer to that ceiling — is Nolan Rumler, the offensive guard off four consecutive state championships in Div. III in Ohio, at Akron Archbishop Hoban. A fellow Fort poster actually emailed me about him back when he was in eighth grade. He was telling me how the family was all Michigan, they had very close connections there to one prominent alum. The family is originally from Jackson. They thought this kid was going to end up at Michigan, and he hadn't even been offered yet.
"That's what happened. I think he has got the potential to play center or offensive guard. He's good enough to be in the two-deep as a freshman. Some people feel he could even end up starting, believe it or not. I doubt that, but he's a real road grader. He's the rare freshman offensive lineman who could really come in and play, much like [junior] Ben Bredeson a couple of years ago, but we're in a much stronger position on the offensive line than we were when Bredeson came in, so there's not the critical need for him to play right away."
• A big offensive line class: "One of the diamonds who just committed to Michigan the other day is Trevor Keegan, out of Crystal Lake South in Illinois. I'm really excited about him, because he's a pure tackle. As every Michigan fan is well aware, we have had issues at the offensive tackle position, probably since the days of Taylor Lewan and Mike Schofield.
"Hopefully, some of these issues are going to be resolved. He's a national 150, 200 type of player, a real road grade, and a kid who has the type of skills where he could come in and contribute at a relatively young age.
"Trente Jones, out of Loganville Grayson, a Georgia power, is another offensive lineman, that I like a lot. In fact, many thought he had a better senior year than his more heralded teammate, Wanya Morris, who was ranked one of the top offensive linemen in the class. Some people were more impressed with Jones than with Morris, so that's something right there.
"He's a big kid, 6-5, 300, very quick feet. He could be a guard, could be a tackle, and I'm really excited about his upside.
"Another kid I really like a lot, out of Paw Paw, Mich. — the first recruit we've ever picked up out of Paw Paw, which is in the Kalamazoo area — is Karsen Barnhart. He's a kid at 6-4, mid-280s, with quick feet. You look at the measureables, and you think offensive guard. But he's got unusually long arms and a wide wingspan. With is quick feet, he could very well project at the tackle.
"He first hit my radar several years ago when he first impressed at the Central Michigan Camp. He really shined there. He played a lot of tight end and wide receiver in high school, actually, which attests to his athleticism. It was kind of funny seeing him on that film, going up against some of these smaller, lower-level western Michigan kids. It's going to be a bigger step up in competition for him than it is for a lot of the other kids coming in. He's going to have to get his feet wet and adjust to the competition. But he certainly has the measureables the motor to where, down the road, he could be a very, very fine offensive lineman.
"Two other offensive linemen we got are Zach Carpenter, who comes out of Cincinnati Moeller, a program from which we've recruited several kids over the years. One of the more prominent kids to come out of that program is the late, great, Vada Murray.
"Zach has been a starter for them since his true freshman year, which is a rare thing indeed to see at Moeller. Interestingly enough, Ohio State was his dream school, and they never offered. Their former offensive line coach, who is offensive line coach at Michigan, did. He's an Ed Warriner-type kid.
"He's a bit cut off. He's listed at 6-5, 295, and I'm not sure he's that tall. But he's a traditional road grader type. I'm not sure he's the most effective space, or second-level, lineman. In terms of the power running game, he's a kid that Warriner likes a lot.
"Another kid who I think is undervalued, out of New Canaan, is Jack Stewart. Stewart is highly undervalued, probably because he hasn't gone to many camps and he's playing in Connecticut. He's off the radar of the recruiting services, which for me is a good thing. Who knows? He could be a five-star talent, for all we know. He just hasn't been evaluated by many people."
Here's the full, hour-long podcast, in which Jim_S touches on nearly every commitment/signee: https://michigan.rivals.com/publishing/contents/1995513/edit
• His favorites from the class (recorded prior to the Daxton Hill flip): "The kid I'm most excited about is the running back, Zach Charbonnet. He could well be the best running back in the country. It's too close to call between Zach and Trey Sanders, who is either going to go to Georgia, Alabama or Texas…
"I don't think he's the fastest, but he's the biggest. He's got a nice jump cut, he's got amazing flexibility for his size. We're going to need him, and we're going to need him, really, from day one. We're relatively thin next year in the backfield.
"We've got [junior] Chris Evans, who has really yet to prove he's an every-down back at Michigan, and we've got [freshman] Christian Turner, who I know the coaches are high on, and [junior] Tru Wilson, the former walk-on, but after that, there's not much…
"It's very, very critical that Zach come in and contribute from day one. He could be the most impactful running back Michigan has signed, probably since Mike Hart. He's much more highly regarded than Hart was, but whether he has the sort of impact Mike Hart had as a freshman is yet to be seen. It's going to be critical for next year's team, to really have a difference maker at running back.
"Chris Hinton was a five-star, who was a consensus five star at one point and has been brought down to the four-star range. I think he would be a five star as an offensive lineman. That's the position his dad played, and that's the position where I think he's got the most upside. He'd made a heck of an offensive guard.
"His mind is pretty set on playing defensive tackle, and I think that's why he's got the four-star rating. He's a solid defensive tackle. He plays with good leverage, pretty quick feet, athletic, but I haven't really seen the playmaking ability from him on the defensive side of the ball to really merit that sort of a rating.
"It will be interesting to see how his career plays out at Michigan. There's a very good opportunity [at defensive tackle] not just for Hinton but for Mazi Smith, who is another one of our top six or seven kids coming in. He's out of East Kentwood [Mich.], on the other side of the state, the Grand Rapids area…
"Great base, quick off the ball, very strong. This is a kid who, interestingly enough, has Michigan State bloodlines. He's a cousin of former Michigan State stars T.J. and Tico Duckett. He's coming to Michigan, and he's a kid I would not be surprised if he made a very, very early impact. He's pretty close to college ready.
"Another defensive lineman who I like a lot, but who is more of a high-ceiling sort, because he hasn't been playing football that much, is David Ojabo, out of Blairstown Blair Academy, one of the prep schools in New Jersey. They play a very good schedule. He's from Scotland, and he was actually born and raised in Nigeria and moved to Scotland when he was seven years old.
"He moved over to the states to play basketball. The football coach took a look at him and said, 'I want you to try playing football.' His first year playing football was his junior year in high school. Great length, quick feet, runs a sub-11 flat 100 meters, which at 6-6, 245, is nothing to sneeze at.
"He's also an Ivy League-caliber student. He's going to be a great fit at Michigan.
"I think he is criminally underrated by Rivals. That's all I'll say on the matter. Classic high ceiling. Possibly a lower floor, because he's raw. That may be why they're only rating him a three-star, but I think he's got a five-star sort of ceiling, to be blunt.
"Now, will he be ready to come in as a true freshman [and contribute]? I don't know. But we're going to be pretty set. Even though we're losing [junior] Rashan Gary and [fifth-year senior] Chase Winovich, if [junior] Josh Uche bulks up about 10 or 15 pounds, he'll be moving to defensive end full time. We've got [sophomore] Kwity Paye, we've got [freshman] Aidan Hutchinson, and hopefully [redshirt freshman] Luiji Vilain is healthy.
"I think we've got some guys there with some talent. Hopefully, that will give Ojabo the opportunity to redshirt. You can obviously play four games without burning the redshirt, so hopefully he'll see a little bit of game action and show what he can do.
"A kid who is the opposite of Ojabo — a pretty high floor, but he's also got a high ceiling, and is closer to that ceiling — is Nolan Rumler, the offensive guard off four consecutive state championships in Div. III in Ohio, at Akron Archbishop Hoban. A fellow Fort poster actually emailed me about him back when he was in eighth grade. He was telling me how the family was all Michigan, they had very close connections there to one prominent alum. The family is originally from Jackson. They thought this kid was going to end up at Michigan, and he hadn't even been offered yet.
"That's what happened. I think he has got the potential to play center or offensive guard. He's good enough to be in the two-deep as a freshman. Some people feel he could even end up starting, believe it or not. I doubt that, but he's a real road grader. He's the rare freshman offensive lineman who could really come in and play, much like [junior] Ben Bredeson a couple of years ago, but we're in a much stronger position on the offensive line than we were when Bredeson came in, so there's not the critical need for him to play right away."
• A big offensive line class: "One of the diamonds who just committed to Michigan the other day is Trevor Keegan, out of Crystal Lake South in Illinois. I'm really excited about him, because he's a pure tackle. As every Michigan fan is well aware, we have had issues at the offensive tackle position, probably since the days of Taylor Lewan and Mike Schofield.
"Hopefully, some of these issues are going to be resolved. He's a national 150, 200 type of player, a real road grade, and a kid who has the type of skills where he could come in and contribute at a relatively young age.
"Trente Jones, out of Loganville Grayson, a Georgia power, is another offensive lineman, that I like a lot. In fact, many thought he had a better senior year than his more heralded teammate, Wanya Morris, who was ranked one of the top offensive linemen in the class. Some people were more impressed with Jones than with Morris, so that's something right there.
"He's a big kid, 6-5, 300, very quick feet. He could be a guard, could be a tackle, and I'm really excited about his upside.
"Another kid I really like a lot, out of Paw Paw, Mich. — the first recruit we've ever picked up out of Paw Paw, which is in the Kalamazoo area — is Karsen Barnhart. He's a kid at 6-4, mid-280s, with quick feet. You look at the measureables, and you think offensive guard. But he's got unusually long arms and a wide wingspan. With is quick feet, he could very well project at the tackle.
"He first hit my radar several years ago when he first impressed at the Central Michigan Camp. He really shined there. He played a lot of tight end and wide receiver in high school, actually, which attests to his athleticism. It was kind of funny seeing him on that film, going up against some of these smaller, lower-level western Michigan kids. It's going to be a bigger step up in competition for him than it is for a lot of the other kids coming in. He's going to have to get his feet wet and adjust to the competition. But he certainly has the measureables the motor to where, down the road, he could be a very, very fine offensive lineman.
"Two other offensive linemen we got are Zach Carpenter, who comes out of Cincinnati Moeller, a program from which we've recruited several kids over the years. One of the more prominent kids to come out of that program is the late, great, Vada Murray.
"Zach has been a starter for them since his true freshman year, which is a rare thing indeed to see at Moeller. Interestingly enough, Ohio State was his dream school, and they never offered. Their former offensive line coach, who is offensive line coach at Michigan, did. He's an Ed Warriner-type kid.
"He's a bit cut off. He's listed at 6-5, 295, and I'm not sure he's that tall. But he's a traditional road grader type. I'm not sure he's the most effective space, or second-level, lineman. In terms of the power running game, he's a kid that Warriner likes a lot.
"Another kid who I think is undervalued, out of New Canaan, is Jack Stewart. Stewart is highly undervalued, probably because he hasn't gone to many camps and he's playing in Connecticut. He's off the radar of the recruiting services, which for me is a good thing. Who knows? He could be a five-star talent, for all we know. He just hasn't been evaluated by many people."
Here's the full, hour-long podcast, in which Jim_S touches on nearly every commitment/signee: https://michigan.rivals.com/publishing/contents/1995513/edit
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