The third annual post in which I approximate the baseline and potential of each Michigan commit for the Class of ’09. Of course, it goes without saying that these are estimates, and don’t take into account any extenuating circumstances (i.e. transferring to Arkansas/Ohio State, etc).
Ceilings and floors are on a different scale from each other (yes, this is different than past years, and I probably should have said something about it the first time around, since it’s no longer a strict “floor/ceiling” measure). Floor is a 1-5 scale of readiness to play right away, while ceiling is a 1-5 scale of overall potential.
| Name | Pos | Floor | Ceiling |
| Tate Forcier | QB | 4 | 3 |
| Tate is as well-coached at the QB position as any prospect in the country. Rich Rodriguez thought he was ready enough to play immediately that he didn’t beg Steven Threet to stay. His ceiling, on the other hand, is somewhat limited. He doesn’t have ideal height, and questions about his arm strength persist, though we won’t know for sure until he hits the field. As of now, his potential could be enough to get him to the NFL, but it would be a mild upset, at the least. | |||
| Denard Robinson | QB | 2 | 4 |
| What if Robinson can’t throw all that well? Hell, what if he can’t run all that well? His stats in high school weren’t as impressive as you’d think for a guy who was so highly-recruited (of course, many were recruiting him as an athlete), so perhaps he isnt’ as ready to play as he may need to be. In terms of ceiling, part of me says “not tall, weak-ish arm,” but the other part counters with a very convincing “Pat White clone.” | |||
| Fitzgerald Toussaint | RB | 4 | 5 |
| Maybe it’s because I saw him in person, and maybe it’s because of his impressive video and stats, but I really think Toussaint has what it takes to be a star. His current physical buildup is more solid than a lot of people realize, and should be able to contribute shortly after arriving on campus. He has great speed, balance, and vision, and plays a more physical game than several people as short as he is. | |||
| Vincent Smith | RB | 4 | 3 |
| Smith comes from a very successful program and has enrolled early. Those two factors should mean he is ready to play right away. He is a speed back who doesn’t have elite speed, and he is just a tiny little guy, so his upside may be limited. | |||
| Teric Jones | RB/slot | 2 | 4 |
| His readiness to play might be quite low, as he didn’t even start as a high school junior, and might need to move to a different position when he hits campus. However, his upside is good, as the fastest 40-yard time at the Army Junior Combine has to mean something. | |||
| Jeremy Gallon | Slot | 3 | 4 |
| Switching from high school QB may require an adjustment, but he also plays some wideout and running back, which may help out a bit. He’s a little guy, so he may need to bulk up to avoid injury. As far as potential, he has great balance and legendary ability to avoid tackles in the open field. A lack of top end speed prevents him from being very highly-rated. | |||
| Je’Ron Stokes | WR | 3 | 4 |
| Stokes was a starter on one of the Army All-American teams for a reason, so he should be ready to play. Learning multiple wideout positions (split end and slot) will slow down his process getting onto the field. I don’t see him as having elite size for the wideout position, or optimal shiftiness for the slot position, so his potential might be slightly lower than hoped. | |||
| Cameron Gordon | WR | 2 | 4 |
| Gordon has a reputation as a heck of an athlete who isn’t yet a football player. He’ll get a run at wide receiver, where he may be a step slow, but his better potential is at linebacker, where hopefully he won’t hesitate to bring the physicality that his 6-3 frame is capable of. | |||
| Taylor Lewan | OL | 2 | 5 |
| Lewan has great measurables for offensive tackle, and an admirable mean streak. However, he’s only been an offensive lineman for one year, and he played defensive tackle his entire high school career before that. Once he has time in a strength program and a bit of coaching from Frey, one of the best in the business, the sky is the limit for Lewan. | |||
| Quinton Washington | OL | 4 | 4 |
| Washington was a multi-year starter for a dominant program in South Carolina, which is a pretty good high school football state. He should be as ready to play immediately as any offensive lineman. Of course, that still means a redshirt in nearly every case. | |||
| Michael Schofield | OL | 3 | 3 |
| Schofield has good size and a decent attitude towards blocking, but like every offensive lineman, he’ll need a year to gain size and strength. His video is not nearly as impressive as that of the other two freshman OLs, and while he may end up starting in the future, he doesn’t have “Future All-Conference” written all over him like the other two have the potential to accomplish. | |||
| William Campbell | DT | 1 | 5 |
| The comparison for Campbell coming out of Cass Tech was to former Wolverine Gabe Watson, which explains both the floor and ceiling numbers. When motivated, Watson could be a truly dominating defensive lineman. However, it was getting him motivated that was the issue. I’d like to think Campbell is a little more mature mentally than Watson (though who really knows?), and that this staff has a better ability to motivate. Having a starting spot all-but-assured as a true freshman might not force him to work his ass off like he might need to. | |||
| Anthony LaLota | DE | 2 | 4 |
| LaLota has only been playing football for a little more than one year, so he wont be as able to play as many other players, and he’ll almost certainly redshirt to mold his body and learn some technique. Enrolling early should help him a bit. As far as potential, he has very good measurables for the position, and if he can learn as well as he should be able to, he’ll be pretty good down the road. | |||
| Craig Roh | DE | 3 | 4 |
| Roh isn’t quite ready to play this year, because he’s very light for a defensive lineman, but he may get some spot duty in the Memorial Wasted Redshirt position. He has an unorthodox style, but good technique, and with his speed and quickness on his feet (spin move is awesome), he should have the ability to be stellar once he builds up his body. | |||
| Brandin Hawthorne | LB | 2 | 3 |
| A tiny guy out of high school, who, despite enrolling early, has a lot of bulking up to do. Even then, he’s a sub-6-foot linebacker. Even if he has very good speed, it’s hard to imaagine him being an all-purpose backer, rather than a pass-rush or pass-coverage specialist. | |||
| Isaiah Bell | LB | 2 | 4 |
| He’s a high school safety who needs to learn a new position in college. That alone will require a likely redshirt year, and he’ll need to adjust his body pretty significantly to be able to play at the next level. Once he’s acclimated though, he’ll be a very speedy linebacker, with the skills to cover the pass better than most of the players Michigan has now. | |||
| Mike Jones | S | 2 | 4 |
| A similar situation to Bell. His body isn’t quite as naturally big as Isaiah’s, but he also has enrolled early to go through the Michigan weight training program. He’s coming off a series of nagging injuries his senior year, so he might take some time to get back into game shape. After that, he was a little more highly-rated than Bell, but that may be mostly by virtue of where he’s from. | |||
| Vladimir Emilien | S | 1 | 4 |
| He missed much of his junior year with an injury, and isn’t even sure if he’ll be able to go through spring practice at full speed. Hopefully, once that gets worked out, he’ll be able to return to his ball-hawking safety ways. | |||
| Thomas Gordon | S | 2 | 3 |
| He is a short guy with non-blazing speed. That doesn’t bode well for his long-term potential, but he’s certainly capable of surprising me. As far as his floor, he’s only played safety for one year, and the former high school quarterback will have to continue learning a new position when he comes into college. | |||
| Justin Turner | CB | 4 | 5 |
| A tall defensive back who still has the hips and feet to play corner is a very rare thing, indeed. He acquitted himself well in the Army All-American Game (despite giving up a TD), so he’ll probably be fairly ready to play right away. Down the road, fans are expected to see Charles Woodson, but would, say Marlin Jackson be soimeone you turn away for not being C-Wood? | |||
| Adrian Witty | CB | 1 | 3 |
| A little guy who missed his entire senior year with a knee injury probably is not going to come into a BCS-level program and contribute right away. Even after that, Witty doesn’t have great height (listed as short as 5-8), and the only thing really keeping his potential afloat is the state,ent by his high scl coach that he was faster than Robinson before his knee injury. | |||
| Brendan Gibbons | K | 1 | 5 |
| Kickers are generally a crapshoot. Gibbons could awful, he could be awesome. Hopefully the latter is true. | |||
Posted under Football, Recruiting
Per both premium sites, Michigan has received a commitment from RB Tony Drake out of Dallas’s powerhouse Skyline High School. Drake is a little guy (5-8, 160) and could end up at either RB or slot.
DeQuinta Jones may be in a dead heat with Pearlie Graves for the “most spectacularly-named decommit award,” but he runs away with the “weirdest commit story” consolation prize. The first Michigan fans even heard Jones’s name was when he committed to the Wolverines out of the blue while he was at LSU’s summer camp. After a few days of bickering between the premium sites (TheWolverine said he was committed, GoBlueWolverine insisted that it wasn’t a done deal – of course when it was revealed that he did indeed commit, GBW “broke” the story and claimed they were the first on the scene – nice integrity, guys), Jones was considered by all to be verbally committed to the Wolverines.
FL QB Stephen Morris, one of the stars of Michigan’s 2008 summer camp, is making a name for himself. At least, there’s definitely a PR firm 
Gardner appeared on Michigan fans’ radar in the summer of 2008, when he transferred from UD Jesuit to Inkster. He performed at Michigan’s 2008 summer camp as both a quarterback and a wide receiver. The staff liked him at both positions, and offered him as a QB shortly after the Rich Rodriguez 7-on-7 competition. Though Gardner had grown up a Buckeyes fan, he remained open to any school that gave him interest. Give them interest he did, as schools from LSU to Michigan to West Virginia mailed the dual-threat QB official offers. When the Buckeyes told him he wasn’t their top choice in January, he abruptly removed Ohio State from his list, and many speculated that Michigan would take over the top spot. Gardner made his meta-announcement early last week shortly before he took an unofficial to Michigan’s Day. his actual announcement came today, when he picked out the maize-and-blue hat.
uses to escape pursuers. His throwing mechanics need a lot of work, as he has a low/sidearm release, much like that of Vince Young. Through all his current shortcomings as a player, it is important to remember that he is only a high school Junior, and it will be at least a year and a half before he hits FieldTurf: he has plenty of time to work on them (and poor mechanics didn’t seem to hurt Vince Young that much, either). On top of the tangible skills that can be quantified or easily observed, many talent evaluators have branded him with having that indescribable “it factor.” In his junior season, Devin threw for 1,886 yards, 28 touchdowns (several of them to class of ’09 Michigan commit Cameron Gordon), and 7 interceptions. He ran for 1,401 yards and 22 touchdowns. As previously mentioned, he is a bit raw, but will receive plenty of coaching when he gets to Ann Arbor. Gardner will likely be the more highly-rated quarterback in Michigan’s class of 2010, so he will likely hit the field as a freshman.