Who cares about Brennen Beyer (#7)? I think #4's knee is bending the wrong way. Who does he think he is? Joe Theismann?Plymouth High School (Plymouth, MI) defensive end Brennen Beyer committed to Michigan on Thursday evening. Beyer is a 6'4", 215 pounder who had offers from Michigan State, Notre Dame, Texas Tech, and UCLA, among others. It seemed as thought Notre Dame was his #2 school, although the race wasn't very close. He's the #18 defensive end to Scout and a 4-star prospect on their site; ESPN and Rivals haven't ranked him at this point.
Beyer grew up a Michigan fan and wanted to jump when the Wolverines were the first program to offer. But he and his parents made a smart, calculated decision to visit some other schools and not make a rash choice. In the end, though, his heart was in Ann Arbor.
Beyer is being recruited to play the Quick end position currently held by Craig Roh. He's only 215 lbs. right now, but you can see in his legs and torso that he has plenty of room to fill out. He joins a long list of other players who will be vying for playing time in 2011, but ultimately, he'll likely redshirt as a freshman. I expect him to stay at the Quick end position because he has quite a bit of natural ability as a pass rusher, but he could also play tight end or inside linebacker if the situation calls for it.
STRENGTHS
Beyer has excellent explosion off the ball. He's tall, long, and has good straight-line speed. He generally has good pad level. Beyer almost always initiates contact and uses his hands well to deflect blockers. He plays with a somewhat reckless manner in which he finds the ball and then goes all-out to chase the play down, even if he's on the backside; he's the definition of a high-motor player. For the most part, he diagnoses plays quickly.
WEAKNESSES
As with almost every high school player, he needs to get bigger and stronger; he should be at least 235-240 lbs. before playing in college. Beyer is overaggressive at times and gets himself out of position. Has a tendency to turn his shoulders, allowing blockers to get into his chest. He does not drive his feet when making contact with the ballcarrier; stronger runners will gain extra yards after contact. He needs to refine his pass rushing moves, because he uses virtually no technique aside from his speed. Beyer rarely uses his strength to overpower blockers or deliver a strong initial blow. He also needs to work on his three-point stance; his athleticism could be maximized by getting his butt a little higher and using gravity to get off the line a split second quicker.
OVERALL
In many ways, Beyer reminds me of Craig Roh. Both are long, explosive, and relentless. Both are somewhat susceptible to taking the run game head on. Roh was a little more refined coming out of high school and, despite being a little bigger, has a little more athleticism. Roh will be a junior by the time Beyer arrives on campus and, presumably, he'll be backed up by a fifth year senior Brandon Herron and a variety of sophomores and redshirt freshmen (Jake Ryan, Davion Rogers, Ken Wilkins, Jordan Paskorz). Barring a rash of injuries, defections, or position changes, Beyer will likely redshirt in 2011 and have a real shot at contributing in 2013 after Roh graduates.
TTB Rating: 82
Beyer grew up a Michigan fan and wanted to jump when the Wolverines were the first program to offer. But he and his parents made a smart, calculated decision to visit some other schools and not make a rash choice. In the end, though, his heart was in Ann Arbor.
Beyer is being recruited to play the Quick end position currently held by Craig Roh. He's only 215 lbs. right now, but you can see in his legs and torso that he has plenty of room to fill out. He joins a long list of other players who will be vying for playing time in 2011, but ultimately, he'll likely redshirt as a freshman. I expect him to stay at the Quick end position because he has quite a bit of natural ability as a pass rusher, but he could also play tight end or inside linebacker if the situation calls for it.
STRENGTHS
Beyer has excellent explosion off the ball. He's tall, long, and has good straight-line speed. He generally has good pad level. Beyer almost always initiates contact and uses his hands well to deflect blockers. He plays with a somewhat reckless manner in which he finds the ball and then goes all-out to chase the play down, even if he's on the backside; he's the definition of a high-motor player. For the most part, he diagnoses plays quickly.
WEAKNESSES
As with almost every high school player, he needs to get bigger and stronger; he should be at least 235-240 lbs. before playing in college. Beyer is overaggressive at times and gets himself out of position. Has a tendency to turn his shoulders, allowing blockers to get into his chest. He does not drive his feet when making contact with the ballcarrier; stronger runners will gain extra yards after contact. He needs to refine his pass rushing moves, because he uses virtually no technique aside from his speed. Beyer rarely uses his strength to overpower blockers or deliver a strong initial blow. He also needs to work on his three-point stance; his athleticism could be maximized by getting his butt a little higher and using gravity to get off the line a split second quicker.
OVERALL
In many ways, Beyer reminds me of Craig Roh. Both are long, explosive, and relentless. Both are somewhat susceptible to taking the run game head on. Roh was a little more refined coming out of high school and, despite being a little bigger, has a little more athleticism. Roh will be a junior by the time Beyer arrives on campus and, presumably, he'll be backed up by a fifth year senior Brandon Herron and a variety of sophomores and redshirt freshmen (Jake Ryan, Davion Rogers, Ken Wilkins, Jordan Paskorz). Barring a rash of injuries, defections, or position changes, Beyer will likely redshirt in 2011 and have a real shot at contributing in 2013 after Roh graduates.
TTB Rating: 82
Do you like Beyer as a prospect then? A good get for the staff?
ReplyDeleteHe is a good get. I like him as a prospect, especially as an in-state kid. He has a lot of work to do, but luckily, he should have a few years to work on those things before they really matter on the field. And off the field, he seems to be a quality individual.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with a lot of your assessment. In my opinion the biggest thing is noted in these 2 sentences:
ReplyDelete"He needs to refine his pass rushing moves, because he uses virtually no technique aside from his speed. Beyer rarely uses his strength to overpower blockers or deliver a strong initial blow."
Both of those aren't uncommon for a DE coming out of high school, but they also speak to what will be improved on when he gets to UM. Since he likely be asked to contribute right away these things could really go towards making him become an elite player.
Overall, I am really happy with the signing. Beyer flew under the radar for a good portion of the recruiting process. I suspect that had he dragged it out further he would have received more interest from other schools. I fully expect him to be a top 5 in-state player and a 4* DE on Rivals/Scout (with some give/take in there)
@ Nick
ReplyDeleteI agree. If he stays healthy and maintains his production from his junior year, I see no reason why Beyer would be ranked lower than a 4-star recruit by all three recruiting services.
Beyer is already gaining weight and is over 220 and has increased his speed significantly in the off season. His vertical leap has also grown to over 33 inches. Should have a monster senior year even though most teams in his league avoid his side of the field. He is an all-around athlete who is also an excellent b-ball player playing both AAU and starring on his high school team. Several recent combine results show a consistent lowering of his 40 times etc. Going to be fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteI say bulk him up to around 235 and stick him at MIKE. He's good with his hands, initiates contact, diagnosis plays quickly, has great size and is athletic. Not to mention, He's intelligent. That sounds like a prototypical MLB to me.
ReplyDeleteso were is the post saying how wrong you were? nice one. redshirt? nope. getting tons of pt and making plays as a freshman? yep.prolly guna be starting lb next year ... find a new job
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous 4:26 p.m.
ReplyDeleteReally? You're taking me to task for saying he would probably redshirt when, instead, he played in 10 games and made all of 11 tackles? I said in this post that he was a good get and that he would be a good player down the road. You act as if I was insulting him by saying he would redshirt. Jake Ryan redshirted as a freshman, and now he's playing pretty darn well as the starter over Beyer.
But hey, if this is how you want to voice your opinion, go for it.