The Wolverine

January 2021

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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JANUARY 2021 THE WOLVERINE 31   FOOTBALL RECRUITING evaluation. He loves to get physical and will have even more success in that area once he adds muscle mass. I did not see as much as a I would have liked from a coverage standpoint, but his junior tape shows he can play a center-fielder role and make plays when the ball is in the air. His under- rated athleticism was showcased when he lined up at wide receiver this season. The bottom line is he has the poten- tial to be a gem in this class and in my opinion is very close to four-star status. 15. LB Jaydon Hood Hood is a bit of an enigma. His junior film screams four-star prospect. He's an athletic inside linebacker with a ton of speed and fires through gaps like a missile. However, his senior season left a lot to be desired. Hood transferred to na- tional powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) this offseason and was a rotational player. My in-game evaluation saw him show no gap integrity, get walled off on several plays and there was basically no production. He was benched for the remainder of the game after halftime. On the surface, the 6-1, 212-pounder looks like a perfect attacking middle linebacker, but his senior-year results raise questions. Was the transition to STA just difficult or did Hood regress? That's something he'll have to answer at the next level. Ranking him is extremely difficult, and I can't get that in-game eval out of my head. 16. WR Andrel Anthony Anthony is the prospect with the most incomplete evaluation on this list. I saw him at a camp last year, so my in-per- son eval is old. However, from that set- ting and on film, Anthony's athleticism jumps off the charts. The 6-2, 180-pounder can jump out of the gym, so it's no surprise Michigan talked to him about playing basketball as well. He has long arms with an excel- lent catch radius, but is very skinny and will need to add weight. He can out-leap defenders, is great tracking the ball and has plus body con- trol. Though not overly fast, he has the speed to get vertical and make plays on deep routes, while he's also able to turn short passes into big gains. He can continue to improve his route running, the athletic profile is there and he does everything well, but he isn't necessarily exceptional at anything. He should be a very solid receiver, on the outside and in the slot. 17. LB Tyler McLaurin Another high-floor, low-ceiling kid, McLaurin is a smart, instinctive player with a great build at 6-2, 220 pounds. His length and frame, which can sup- port plenty of weight, leave some room for him to outperform his ranking as a consensus three-star recruit. On the field, he spent a lot of time in the middle and does a great job of shooting gaps to make stops at or be- hind the line of scrimmage. Though not a plus in pass coverage, McLaurin can hold his own in that area. He does have a bit of an issue shed- ding blocks, but he can diagnose at a high level. He doesn't bend well enough to transition over to being a full-time pass rusher, though flexibility has been a key area of focus this offseason. If he stays at linebacker, McLaurin seems destined for the weakside spot. However, his biggest upside might be at defensive end. It wouldn't be surpris- ing to see him put on a ton of weight and spin down. He's a smart kid that will pick up things quickly, but needs a few years for physical development, and it should be noted that he's another that did not have a senior season. 18. RB Tavierre Dunlap Dunlap had a really rough in-game eval this fall, tallying less than 20 yards against Texas powerhouse Austin West- lake. I tried not to factor that too much since it was just one bad game, but I still have some question marks. The 6-0, 196-pounder lacks agility and quickness but has good long speed once he gets loose, evidenced by de- cent track times for his size. The bigger back is built well in both his upper and lower halves, allowing him to power through defenders. He has Hassan Haskins-like upside and will likely be in the same mold once he arrives at Michigan. He's more of a north-south runner that can wear down a defense than a playmaker in the open field. He'll need to become more explo- sive and continue to work on short-area quickness but is a solid take. 19. OL Greg Crippen I have seen Crippen live four times, including twice this fall. The 6-4, 285-pounder shows elite-level tech- nique and hand placement. He's also a consistent snapper from the center po- sition who does all the little things right. He showed improved strength and body structure from his junior to senior year, a benefit from being at power- house IMG Academy for multiple years. On the negative side, Crippen has very heavy feet, so improving quickness is a must while he continues to develop in the strength and conditioning program. He has guard flexibility but isn't overly nasty and needs to add more physical- ity to his game. He could develop into a starter late in his career. 20. DL Dominick Giudice Giudice is the lowest rated of Michi- gan's commits this cycle by all three major services and the only one in the class with a two-star rating from any of them. However, he has the potential to be a regular rotational contributor after three years on campus and may even surpass those expectations. Giudice has added some really good weight since committing to Michigan last March. The 6-4, 265-pounder will definitely slide inside and has a big frame with plenty of strength to go along with it. On his senior film, Giudice showed the power to toss around opposing linemen and dominate against weaker competition. He plays with a relentless motor and has shown improvement with the way he uses his hands, but a clear lack of athleticism prevents him from going higher in my ranking. Giudice fits the cliché billing as a lunch-pail recruit with a chip on his shoulder. Overall, the team is getting a big, strong, mean kid who will be the hardest worker in the room. ❑ Signee Andrel Anthony set the East Lansing (Mich.) High School record with 1,971 career receiving yards. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND

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