Scouting the MHSAA Finals
Of course, I'm no talent scout, but even the untrained eye can make a few observations on watching a few high school players go against good competition. Also sprinkled in are thoughts from Michigan HS football guru Prepseer.
Cameron Gordon
He won't wow you with his speed, but I was surprised how good his hands were (especially after hearing they may be something of a liability). He was definitely Inkster's go-to receiver, and made a few good plays and showed no fear going after the ball in traffic. Defensively, he showed that he can lay a pretty big hit, though he wasn't a huge factor on that side of the ball. I still think that, if he wants to play receiver at the next level, whichever team he picks will see enough skill to give him a chance there.
Devin Gardner
Watching Gardner play, it's really natural to think "wow, he should know better than to do that," until you remember that the kid isn't a Division-I player yet. Hell, he's not even a high school senior. He showed good escapability and running skills, though he's not the easy-strider that other big run-pass QBs (i.e. Vince Young or Terrelle Pryor) have been. At this point, he's still improving as a passer, though I don't think he was as bad as many people who had never seen him play before were expecting. Prepseer:
AJ Westendorp
Michigan fans have been talking about this kid a ton lately, thinking he might deserve a scholarship offer. After having the chance to watch him, I'm not sure he's quite that good, but he's the type of guy I'd love to have as a preferred walkon if he's interested. He plays a similar offensive system to Michigan, with a zone-read option game and lots of horizontal passing. He is also a tough runner - he reminds me a lot of CMU's Dan LeFevour in that respect. He could also throw well on the run. The biggest knock on him is his arm strength - he simply doesn't have enough to earn D-I scholarship offers. Anything thrown past the line of scrimmage was thrown with a big loopy path, and the deep balls tended to look like ducks, and hung in the air for a long time. His strength actually reminded me a bit of Nick Sheridan, though his game was appreciably better in just about every other respect. Prepseer:
MSU Commits Bennie Fowler and Max Bullough
Fowler actually impressed me a lot. He had much better size than I was expecting, and pretty good speed, too. He's a guy who will have to develop a bit before he is ready to play at the Division-I level, but if you're Michigan State, those are the guys you have to thrive on. I didn't think Bullough was anything special, until I looked at the boxscore and realized he was the leading tackler - in any of the state finals games. He looked really small to me, though of course it's important to remember he's just a junior.
If happened to watch any of the finals games, be sure to fill in your thoughts in the comments.
Cameron Gordon
He won't wow you with his speed, but I was surprised how good his hands were (especially after hearing they may be something of a liability). He was definitely Inkster's go-to receiver, and made a few good plays and showed no fear going after the ball in traffic. Defensively, he showed that he can lay a pretty big hit, though he wasn't a huge factor on that side of the ball. I still think that, if he wants to play receiver at the next level, whichever team he picks will see enough skill to give him a chance there.
Devin Gardner
Watching Gardner play, it's really natural to think "wow, he should know better than to do that," until you remember that the kid isn't a Division-I player yet. Hell, he's not even a high school senior. He showed good escapability and running skills, though he's not the easy-strider that other big run-pass QBs (i.e. Vince Young or Terrelle Pryor) have been. At this point, he's still improving as a passer, though I don't think he was as bad as many people who had never seen him play before were expecting. Prepseer:
Gardner has blossomed into a 5 star recruit, in my opinion. I don’t kow what his actual Rivals rating is. As a Junior, he may not be rated yet. But, he has a number of BCS offers and I’m thinking he will be a 5 star when rated next year...I'm not sure about his making a commitment that early (he seems like the type who will at least take a couple visits, if not wait until January or February to make a choice), but you have to like hearing good things like this about a definite Michigan target.
I predict he will commit before next season.
AJ Westendorp
Michigan fans have been talking about this kid a ton lately, thinking he might deserve a scholarship offer. After having the chance to watch him, I'm not sure he's quite that good, but he's the type of guy I'd love to have as a preferred walkon if he's interested. He plays a similar offensive system to Michigan, with a zone-read option game and lots of horizontal passing. He is also a tough runner - he reminds me a lot of CMU's Dan LeFevour in that respect. He could also throw well on the run. The biggest knock on him is his arm strength - he simply doesn't have enough to earn D-I scholarship offers. Anything thrown past the line of scrimmage was thrown with a big loopy path, and the deep balls tended to look like ducks, and hung in the air for a long time. His strength actually reminded me a bit of Nick Sheridan, though his game was appreciably better in just about every other respect. Prepseer:
I don’t think he has great arm strength (something that could keep him at the Div. 2 level), but he is extremely accurate and he reads the coverage very well. Several times he would go to the third, even fourth receiver all while eluding the DCD pass rush.He's a smart player who would certainly warrant a scholarship if he had a much stronger arm. His coach used to be at Glades Central, and Rich Rodriguez has always recruited the muck hard. Maybe there's a relationship there that could facilitate a preferred-walkon situation.
MSU Commits Bennie Fowler and Max Bullough
Fowler actually impressed me a lot. He had much better size than I was expecting, and pretty good speed, too. He's a guy who will have to develop a bit before he is ready to play at the Division-I level, but if you're Michigan State, those are the guys you have to thrive on. I didn't think Bullough was anything special, until I looked at the boxscore and realized he was the leading tackler - in any of the state finals games. He looked really small to me, though of course it's important to remember he's just a junior.
If happened to watch any of the finals games, be sure to fill in your thoughts in the comments.
Labels: football, recruit2010, recruiting
12/02/2008 10:53:00 AM
Does Michigan have an offer on the table for Gordon? On either side of the ball?
12/02/2008 01:34:00 PM
Bob, Cameron got his UM offer ~1 to 2 weeks ago. It's for the D side of the ball but apparently they are having discussions about playing both sides. I don't think he's an automatic UM lock as he wants to play on the O.