June 1 is a kind of unofficial milestone in the recruiting process, signifying the end of the spring evaluation period and beginning of “camp season.” Like the rest of us, college football coaches often take Memorial Day Weekend to rest and recharge because June is a grind — summer official visits, multiple in-person camps, etc. July is usually a bit lighter and then it’s right into fall camp in late July or early August. There’s a reason this lifestyle is not for everyone (myself included).
All of that to say it is also a good opportunity for us on these boards to assess where the recruiting class is and what might be next. I’ll collect tape and thoughts for our commitments as well as uncommitted prospects who have either taken or scheduled official visits, then share some thoughts on overall strategy before some predictions on where the class ends up.
As always, click on the prospect’s name to see tape. Probably will end up being two or three posts due to length.
And we’re off!
The Commitments
OL Julius Tate — clearly a big, thick kid but I don’t know I see the lateral quickness to be effective in pass protection at the P5 level. Most highlights are him pulling and whacking kids on whom he probably has 50+ pounds with a full head of steam. I understand he is tied in with the same OL coach that produced Jordan Knox, but this one is a “trust Anderson” take for me.
OL Idrys Cotton — big, mobile kid with a good frame. I know Anderson is recruiting him as a swing guard/tackle, but I see a guard there. A good guard prospect, but hard to see him sticking at tackle in the B1G for me.
OL Gabe VanSickle — another big, mobile kid with a good frame. Similar to Cotton, being recruited as a swing guard/tackle but I see a guard there. A good guard prospect, but a guard nonetheless.
OL Payton Stewart — this is the kind of tackle prospect I love — big, long kid who looks like could carry weight very easily, already relatively thick in the lower half. Put this kid on a B1G S&C program for a couple years and see how it turns out. Granted our S&C hasn’t been stellar in pumping out high-end OL, but seeing the growth of guys like Tiernan (who looks like a monster now) gives me hope.
TE Patrick Schaller (no highlight tape available, click through for individual games plus basketball clips; I find it easiest to sort by “newest”) — big, long kid with some movement skills but not sure I see the physical skills to be a true matchup problem nor a thumper in the run game. Very similar to the rest of the guys we have in that room right now, IMO… but that’s not the best thing either. A mostly developmental guy that I think we could’ve come back to later in the process, but let’s see how he develops.
DL Callen Campbell – like his length and growth potential once he stops wrestling, I think he probably grows into a 3-tech over time. He’s clearly a man amongst boys playing in the UP, but has the kind of tools you look for to develop. I suspect he would have had much more recruiting action if he lived elsewhere. Not a no-brainer take, but the kind of solid recruit we’ve built our program on historically.
DL Dillan Johnson — probably closer to 6-0 than his reported 6-2, but unsurpringly very good playing strength from a kid who’s a legit national-level wrestler with impressive weight room numbers. Do worry that trying to play football and wrestle will impact his development in both sports, but maybe there’s a solution there. Altogether the kind of kid we want to take, seems like a great program and scheme fit.
All of that to say it is also a good opportunity for us on these boards to assess where the recruiting class is and what might be next. I’ll collect tape and thoughts for our commitments as well as uncommitted prospects who have either taken or scheduled official visits, then share some thoughts on overall strategy before some predictions on where the class ends up.
As always, click on the prospect’s name to see tape. Probably will end up being two or three posts due to length.
And we’re off!
The Commitments
OL Julius Tate — clearly a big, thick kid but I don’t know I see the lateral quickness to be effective in pass protection at the P5 level. Most highlights are him pulling and whacking kids on whom he probably has 50+ pounds with a full head of steam. I understand he is tied in with the same OL coach that produced Jordan Knox, but this one is a “trust Anderson” take for me.
OL Idrys Cotton — big, mobile kid with a good frame. I know Anderson is recruiting him as a swing guard/tackle, but I see a guard there. A good guard prospect, but hard to see him sticking at tackle in the B1G for me.
OL Gabe VanSickle — another big, mobile kid with a good frame. Similar to Cotton, being recruited as a swing guard/tackle but I see a guard there. A good guard prospect, but a guard nonetheless.
OL Payton Stewart — this is the kind of tackle prospect I love — big, long kid who looks like could carry weight very easily, already relatively thick in the lower half. Put this kid on a B1G S&C program for a couple years and see how it turns out. Granted our S&C hasn’t been stellar in pumping out high-end OL, but seeing the growth of guys like Tiernan (who looks like a monster now) gives me hope.
TE Patrick Schaller (no highlight tape available, click through for individual games plus basketball clips; I find it easiest to sort by “newest”) — big, long kid with some movement skills but not sure I see the physical skills to be a true matchup problem nor a thumper in the run game. Very similar to the rest of the guys we have in that room right now, IMO… but that’s not the best thing either. A mostly developmental guy that I think we could’ve come back to later in the process, but let’s see how he develops.
DL Callen Campbell – like his length and growth potential once he stops wrestling, I think he probably grows into a 3-tech over time. He’s clearly a man amongst boys playing in the UP, but has the kind of tools you look for to develop. I suspect he would have had much more recruiting action if he lived elsewhere. Not a no-brainer take, but the kind of solid recruit we’ve built our program on historically.
DL Dillan Johnson — probably closer to 6-0 than his reported 6-2, but unsurpringly very good playing strength from a kid who’s a legit national-level wrestler with impressive weight room numbers. Do worry that trying to play football and wrestle will impact his development in both sports, but maybe there’s a solution there. Altogether the kind of kid we want to take, seems like a great program and scheme fit.
