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| Matt Godin |
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 273 lbs.
High school: Novi (MI) Catholic Central
Position: Strongside defensive end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #81
Last year: Godin was in high school. He had 90 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks.
Godin committed to Michigan last May after being publicly disappointed about not getting offered earlier. The coaches saw his 6'6" frame, now up to 273 lbs., and thought he would fit in well as a strongside end. Godin's recruitment paid off in another way by helping to garner a commitment from 2013 running back Wyatt Shallman, Godin's teammate at Catholic Central; and it almost helped land Danny O'Brien, a defensive tackle from Flint who ultimately signed with Tennessee. Godin played both ways at times for the Shamrocks, playing as both an offensive tackle and defensive lineman.
Going into his freshman campaign, Godin should be near ready in regard to his size. He's expected to play strongside end, and senior starter Craig Roh is expected to have about 280 lbs. on his 6'5" frame by the time the season begins. Roh is a technician, however, and Godin needs to work on that aspect of his game. He has a chance to see the field because of a lack of depth at the strongside end position. Last year's starter, Ryan Van Bergen, graduated and Roh is moving from the weak side. Meanwhile, Godin will have to contend with fellow freshmen Tom Strobel and Chris Wormley, as well as walk-on Nathan Brink and redshirt freshman Keith Heitzman. It seems likely that Godin will eventually grow into a 3-technique defensive tackle, but in the meantime, the battle for the backup strongside end will be interesting to watch.
Prediction: Backup defensive end
I remember his whole deal around the time of the offer. At first I thought he came off as an entitled prick, but if feeling snubbed lights a competitive fire under his butt, that's good for Michigan.
ReplyDeleteGodin is going to have to learn to work for the first time in his career. This isn't a bad thing but he did not put his best effort forth at CC and also it wasn't always demanded of him either. Godin has the tools and the potential to be a beast but Wormely is going to be a huge hurdle for him given your scenario. Will have to learn to battle with technique at the next level and as is always said, play lower. He has very good open field speed which will catch some by surprise I think. Had a habit of taking plays off and not pursuing till the whistle but this tendancy will be gone by practice #2 with Montgomery I bet : ) He will mature into a solid player - first season might be a bit of a shock but that is not atypical for any incoming frosh.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Godin runs pretty well. He's not a bad athlete but, as you hinted, he's not consistent.
DeleteMeh, I've never been too impressed with Godin's film... I think he gets buried on the depth chart.
ReplyDeleteGodin's recruiting was interesting. I give him credit because the coaches wanted to slow play him a longer, but he forced their hand. The kid wanted into UM badly and his overt love for the school probably helped him earn the scholarship. You can contrast him with O'Brien, who was much more coy about whether he liked UM. Not sure if the coaches thought as highly of O'Brien, but he may have earned Willie Henry's ship if he had shown more enthusiasm to the coaches.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see how it shakes out with Godin, Strobel, and Wormley. They are all big-framed kids. A couple years down the road, UM will have a lot of beef to rotate in on the DL. When was the last time UM brought in three 6'5"+ 260+ DL prospects, all with legit shots to stay at DL? I think two of the three guys play, with Godin the most likely red-shirt. Although I did read somewhere else that Godin is really developing physically and could make a push earlier than expected.
If anything, Henry earned O'Brien's scholarship. Don't buy the hype - The coaches wanted O'Brien badly, as did many other programs nationally, but he never really wanted to come to Michigan. Once Pipkins committed, they didn't have to pursue O'Brien aggressively, but still would have taken him if his interest wasn't so tepid. O'Brien wasn't particularly coy about his disinclination to attend Michigan - he publicly stated Tenn was his leader and publicly said he had doubts about his fit in liberal Ann Arbor. He was careful not to disparage UM, and took a mature wait-and-see approach. He was complementary of the new coaching staff but never expressed much enthusiasm for the program.
DeleteI'd argue that the coaches wanted O'Brien badly enough that it influenced their decision to offer Godin. I don't think he 'forced their hand' any more than Berkley Edwards is forcing their hand.
It's clear the coaches wanted some bigger-bodied SDEs and they lined up all three of the guys you mentioned. Badly needed depth along the DL and Godin was a decent local talent with a big body. One of these 3 probably won't pan out and another will probably slide inside for backup DT duty. My guess is that's Godin's role - future backup DT.
Damn liberals
DeleteDamn liberals
DeleteO'Brien's overall stock dropped during the summer and into his senior season. He did not have a great senior season. It was to the point where the coaches felt he was near his ceiling physically and could not develop into a starting talent at UM. The coaches may have wanted him badly at one point, but they definitely were not pursuing him aggressively by early fall. I believe he would have rather signed with UM than UT when all was said and done.
DeleteGodin definitely forced the coaches hands. He told them outright that he bled maize and blue, but was not willing to be slow played while they were offering a bunch of other DL. Had they slow played him longer, Godin would have given up on UM. The key difference between Godin and Berkley is that one was a Tier 2 recruit, and the other is a Tier 4 in the coaches' eyes.
It seems rather peculiar that all these recruits that Michigan doesn't land start getting negative reports about them after they cool on Michigan - and only from Michigan-related outlets. These sort of patterns make me very skeptical about the sources.
DeleteNot everyone wants to go to UofM and that's just fine.
I don't know where you get your info about what the coach's tier system rankings are but Godin got an offer and Edwards has not (yet). So obviously, yeah, the coaches seem to like Godin more. I suspect O'Brien had some role in that, but I think it was a minor one. Godin also had better offers all around. We'll see about Berkley. I wonder if the coaches aren't a little concerned with a legacy like him having a sense of entitlement, especially considering Braylon's relationship with Carr.
It is clear this coaching staff wants tough kids and kids who are willing to work hard.
O'Brien was meh as a player. I was never impressed. I'm glad we got Willie Henry instead.
DeleteIs his final TTB rating 70?
ReplyDeleteJust curious, I thought you said that anything taller than 6'5" for a 3-Tech was detrimental. Do you still see a move inside and do you still think being that tall will make it harder?
ReplyDeleteI do think it's detrimental to be too tall, but I don't think he's athletic enough to be a DE for his entire career. There's a fair chance that he will be a bench player at either spot.
DeleteRunning with Lankownia's comments..
ReplyDeleteBerkley at the recent camp was not even watched by Michigan staff. Now, I know that could also mean they know him and don't need to pay attention but you can absolutely tell who they are eyeballing and interested in by the interaction and they work those kids through extra reps, move them up to get reps with other players, and talk to them specifically outside of drills. The day I was there I didn't see any (specifically Jackson) interchange with Edwards - he did work out with Mike Hart's group a lot though. At the end of the day he just picked up and left with his dad and didn't linger.
Obrien was soooo locked into Tennessee .. Michigan was never his leader although he might have thought a bit more about it when Hoke reaffirmed the offer. The kid bleeds that region of the country. Very into the hunting, fishing, and atmosphere. Michigan also really cooled on him based upon his performance and effort during his senior season. Godin wasn't offered to lure O'brien. Godin in any other season probably would not be an offer by Michigan but that's all you need is the chance and then prove yourself.
The disconnect for me is between "any other season probably would not be an offer by Michigan" and the circumstance that he was best friends with O'Brien. I certainly agree that it was always an uphill battle to get DOB away from TENN, but it's that sort of relationship that might tilt the balance. Godin was a decent recruit, but I think the timeline shows the coaches were a little hesitant.
ReplyDeleteAs for Michigan cooling on him -- again, I don't buy that. I never heard of any reports of any other programs cooling on him. Those reports originate from the same insiders that tend to spin everything in a pro-Michigan lite. The kind of people who will talk up a recruit until he cools on Michigan and then diss the kid. See it time and time again. If they're not choosing Michigan it obviously means they have some sort of deficiency. For that reason, I tend to take their opinions with a grain of salt and respect the national or regional reporters a little more - since they're accountable to more than one fanbase.
I think it's going to take some attrition at the RB spot for Edwards to earn an offer. It seems pretty clear at this point that the coaches would rather give a scholarship to another position instead of giving it to Edwards.
ReplyDeleteThe UM coaches are not that high on him, that much is clear. Iowa's his first big offer, so the UM coaches aren't alone. I'm not expecting him to get an offer at this point, but I think that's a decision that could haunt the program.
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