The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1094509
APRIL 2019 THE WOLVERINE 53 COMMITMENT PROFILE T his movie has played before. Michigan procures a commit- ment from a lowly three-star offen- sive linemen only for that player to shoot up the rankings and become a very coveted prospect. A recent showing featured class of 2019 signee Trente Jones. A three-star lineman from Loganvillle, Ga., when he committed to Michigan in late February of his junior year, Jones finished his prep career ranked as the nation's No. 12 offensive tackle and No. 90 overall prospect. Now, another version may develop with Baltimore St. Frances three-star offensive tackle Micah Mazzccua. The 6-5, 330-pounder picked up his Michigan offer in late January and immediately started looking hard at the Wolverines. He is only the No. 23 player in the state of Maryland right now, but Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman definitely sees the potential for that to change as Mazzccua heads into his senior season. "When you look at how big he is and you watch hi film, you're just impressed with how a guy that size can move so well," Friedman said. "He's 6-6 and over 300 pounds, but he can really bend well and he fires off the line really well. He plays with a great aggressiveness, too. "He has plenty of room to improve. There's plenty to work with for the strength and conditioning staff, and when it comes to technique he has a lot of room to improve there, too. There's no doubt that he has four-star potential, that's for sure. "It's more about where is he dur- ing his development and is he show- ing the progress from one evaluation to the next." Co-head coach at St. Frances Henry Russell echoed Friedman's sentiments. Mazzccua has only been at St. Frances for one year, but the staff — including Russell — has seen the big lineman grow by leaps and bounds. "He's pretty raw at this point, but I think he's got a tremendous amount of potential," Russell said. "He's really just starting to scratch the surface on how good he can be. I thought he got better for us as the year went on. He was really good and physical, while looking athletic at the same time. " I t h i n k that's what M i c h i g a n s a w a n d got excited about. I'm r e a l l y e x - cited to see h i m g r o w this spring a n d s u m - mer, and I hope for a great senior year out of him. If he keeps growing like he has, I expect him to go up to Michigan and compete and work hard. He's going to try to get on the field early." Even opposing coaches noticed Mazzccua's upside. Keymar (Md.) Silver Oaks Academy head coach Kevin McLeod had to game plan against St. Frances' loaded roster and Mazzccua stuck out. "He has all the traits, and he'll be big and physical at the Michigan pro- gram," McLeod said. "It's tough to say what his ceiling is at the next level, because it's so tough to catch those defensive ends off the edge. "It depends on how much work he puts in. But he'll already be showing up as a physical freak." U-M now has two commitments walking the halls of St. Frances with Mazzccua and four-star outside line- backer Osman Savage in the fold. The staff has offered 13 other Panthers, and they'd love for their two future Wol- verines to convince a few of their bud- dies that Ann Arbor is the place to be. — Brandon Brown Huge Offensive Lineman Micah Mazzccua Has High Upside Mazzccua, a 6-5, 330-pound offensive line- man at Baltimore St. Frances, is rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 23 player in Maryland by Rivals. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM FILM EVALUATION Strengths: Micah Mazzccua's biggest strength is his ability to move at his size. He plays guard for St. Frances and is an absolute terror on plays where he's asked to pull. He gets out in front of ball carries and looks like a 330-pound fullback running down the field. He's athletic enough to get to the second and third level and also maintains balance while blocking much smaller, quicker players in space. He always seems to stay square and rarely do defenders shed him. Areas Of Improvement: Mazzccua is raw. He's bounced around a bit as a prep player, and he's had different coaches and has played different positions. He'll settle in at a place like St. Frances but he's got a long way to go technically, which is one of the things that make him so intriguing. He's big, athletic and strong, but really doesn't know what he's doing just yet. Michigan Player Comparison: Physically, Mazzccua compares pretty well to Ben Braden. Mazzccua is actually bigger than Braden was at the same point in his high school career. Braden was a hulking lineman in high school, and Mazzccua may be as much as 40 pounds heavier than he was as a junior. The two linemen are actually pretty similar in ability as well. Braden was a true tackle in high school whereas Mazzc- cua plays guard. Both are huge, athletic guys who do abnormally well in space for players of their build. — Analysis from TheWolverine.com Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman on Mazzccua "When you look at how big he is and you watch his film, you're just im- pressed with how a guy that size [6-5, 330] can move so well. … There's no doubt that he has four-star potential."