Reasoning the Rest Pt.2 (Class of 2012)

This just makes me happy....

Onto the rankings......

These players all have the potential to play at a high level, or else they would not have a full-ride scholarship to play at The University of Michigan. But through discussions, film, and myriad other recruitnik's analyses, the remaining players in the class all exhibit some sort of question mark that prevented us from giving them a higher ranking. 

Jeremy Clark (79) is a very intriguing prospect, and we actually felt like we could have rated him even higher if we had more available film. Our best player comparison for Clark would probably be a taller Jarrod Wilson, to be honest. I hate to use the term 'Center-Fielder' again, but Clark's film looks a lot like Jarrod Wilson's in the way that they make breaks on the ball when it is in the air. Clark does a good job of tracking the ball, while still maintaining great awareness (had 4 touchdowns on INT returns last season). For someone as lanky as himself, he is also not afraid to come up to make a hit. We actually decided to list Clark as an ATH, because we feel like his skill-set would also translate extremely well to WR, and  we would not be surprised to see that position switch when he arrives on campus. At 6'4", with decent speed  and physicality, Clark could be a big target in the passing game. 

Personally, I think we all would have loved to rank Clark even higher... The kid was willing to Grey-Shirt to become a Wolverine, in spite of other full-ride offers and interest, and that has to make any Wolverine fan extremely excited. Our biggest reservations on Clark, however, were the lack of extensive film, the potential for him to outgrow the Safety position, and the level of competition that he plays against. Either way, we were obviously still extremely excited about Clark's decision to become a Wolverine, and he was rewarded with a scholarship.

Tom Strobel (76) is a defensive end that could potentially play a number of positions on the line depending on his growth. We do not think he is quite as big as his listed height and weight, however. He seems like a high-effort player that could definitely make his way into a DL rotation at some point, but we were not as impressed with him as other sites. Listed as a WDE, Strobel seems to lack the 'quick-twitch' pass rushing capabilities that will definitely be needed in the B1G. His lack of production in high school is semi-alarming and sort of reminded us of Chris Rock (2011 DE commit). We think Strobel is the least likely of the DL commits to make an immediate impact due to the belief that he does not look very strong for a player his size and will likely have to 'experience' a few seasons on campus in order to add the necessary good weight. His rating is based mostly off of an uncertainty at how he will develop, not a belief that he is destined to be a perennial back-up. Strobel exceeds academically, is extremely well-spoken, and is exactly the type of person you want in your locker room.

Willie Henry and Tom Strobel

AJ Williams (76) is a very interesting recruit, and many people are expecting him to step right on the field this year due to the lack of depth (AKA non-existence) at the TE position. This sounds like a wonderful proposition, but we feel like AJ Williams's size is a huge question mark for his future at TE. The kid would be massive at the TE spot. He recently played LT in the 2012 Ohio North-South All-Star game, and his high school film is entirely blocking (which we think he is good at). Williams definitely has the opportunity to come in and play as a blocking TE, or an 'extra-tackle,' but until he arrives on campus and is running with the TE's in practice, we are holding our reservations. 

Enormous...

Blake Bars (75) has a pretty impressive offer sheet and is a great grab for the Wolverines as we aim to try and develop a true 2-Deep on the OL. Bars shows relentless run-blocking and finishing at some points in his film, but we do not see the athleticism required to deal with the speed-rushers in the B1G. Bars reminds us of Elliot Mealer in a way. He displays good tenacity and could potentially play a number of positions, but he doesn't really do anything extremely well. He will have to add weight, and we think he has the frame to do so, but his technique will need to be revamped if he ever has a shot at playing Tackle. Bars is absolutely a necessary component to the class, but we feel like he is definitely at the lower end of the talent spectrum in comparison to the rest of the 2012 OL haul and the 2013 OL super-haul.

Allen Gant (74) plays very smart, aggressive football, but we are not exactly sure where he will fit in at Michigan. Gant shows the ability to make big time tackles near the LOS, and actually has some decent highlights at the WR position. Gant seems pretty physically developed for a high school kid and looks like he is already heavier than any safety on Michigan's roster.  Our reservation with Gant is that he does not possess the fluidity and agility to be able to patrol the deep-middle of the field and that he will continue to grow completely out of the position. 

Kaleb Ringer (73) has gotten pretty good reviews coming out of Spring Practice and looks like he has added substantial mass since high school. Ringer shows the ability to make hard hits and crash through blocks to attack the ball-carrier, but he does not seem overly fluid or quick. Ringer will definitely find himself at one of the ILB spots in Michigan's defense, but we are not sure if he has the athleticism required to play the Will.

Drake Johnson (73) is a fairly large, extremely fast, and highly productive running back prospect, but we always seemingly find him at the bottom of the class in terms of rankings. We were really not sure what to think of Johnson, and we do not know how his game will translate to college. Some of our concerns were that he runs too upright, and most of his production is a product of his straight-line speed. Obviously, anyone with Johnson's outstanding track speed has the ability to beat a defense, but we have not yet seen his ability to make a lot of the cuts and changes of direction that are required in college when the players on the defense are extremely fast, too. 

Sione Houma (67) has been recruited for the Full-Back position, and we have not really been given a great understanding of what the position will mean in the future of this offense. Houma, in any instance, will have to add a pretty hefty amount of weight in order to lay the wood on B1G defenders. He could be an instrumental asset to the run game of this team in the future, but the uncertainty of how he will be used and how he will react to substantial growth are too big of questions for us at this point in time.