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| Huber Heights (OH) Wayne safety Tyree Kinnel (image via 247 Sports) |
Kinnel is a 6'0", 190 lb. prospect who claims a 4.4 forty.
RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star S
Rivals: N/A
Scout: 4-star, #24 CB
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #18 S
Kinnel had openly wanted a Michigan offer, but it was a while in the making. He earned his offers from Arkansas and Kentucky this spring, the latter from a program that is making serious inroads with good prospects in the state of Ohio. Kinnel camped at Michigan and Ohio State over the summer, but he left Michigan's camp without an offer and publicly stated his frustration with the situation. A little over a month afterward, the coaches extended an offer. He thought about it for a few weeks, returned to campus on Saturday for a visit, and committed to the coaches.
Kinnel shows pretty good instincts and playmaking ability in the passing game. He plays free safety for his high school team, so he should be comfortable playing in deep coverage once he gets to college. He shows a nice, smooth backpedal. He's able to go up and get the ball at its highest point, and he shows solid recovery speed. Kinnel takes good angles to the football and appears to be cognizant of not allowing big plays.
While listed at 6'0" and 190, Kinnel does not look close to that size on video; he looks 5'10" or perhaps 5'11" and 170-175 lbs. There's a chance that he has grown since his sophomore season, but if not, he looks rather slight. I mentioned the good angles, but Kinnel isn't the most physical tackler once he arrives at the point of attack. He doesn't arrive with much authority and tries to swing guys to the ground rather than driving his feet through the tackle.
I have not looked at the 2015 class as thoroughly yet as the 2014 kids (for obvious reasons), but I have a hard time believing that Kinnel would be the top safety on Michigan's board; yet he's the only one Michigan has offered up to this point. While he has the ability to be solid in a Thomas Gordon type of way, he does not look like a potential star. His speed is adequate, but his size and tackling are both a little questionable for me. All that being said, he's only about to start his junior year, so improvements in both areas could be forthcoming. This is a good prospect, but Michigan has generally been recruiting elite prospects, especially early.
This is Michigan's sixth commitment for the class of 2015 and the second defensive back, joining Cleveland (OH) St. Edward cornerback Shaun Crawford, who committed a day earlier. The last Wayne High School prospects to commit to Michigan were brothers Terry and Terrence Talbott, a defensive tackle and cornerback from the 2010 class, respectively; both left the program before contributing much. Michigan also recruited Wayne product Braxton Miller, now the starting quarterback for Ohio State.
TTB Rating: I will not assign ratings for 2015 prospects until the 2014 class wraps.
I think you nailed this review, completely agree. I have warmed up to this committment after reading about his leadership ability and his being a student of the game. His build is kind of interesting. If you look at his neck up, he looks like a 230 lb linebacker. The rest of his body looks like a boundary corner. It will be interesting to see his final size.
ReplyDeleteNot too concerned about his physical stature, or lack thereof since he'll no doubt redshirt which means 3 yrs at least away from seeing the field. That is a long, long time for a growing kid. He'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny to read interviews and consider how the HS coaches are expected to generate effusive praise about a kid who has only completed his sophomore year. I'm waiting for one coach to be honest and say, "well, I barely know the kid - I've only coached him for a year. He only has one varsity season under his belt."
ReplyDeleteThe only explanation for Hoke jumping on this kid is outstanding camp performances this summer. He apparently turned heads with his coverage at OSU's camp. There's no reason for Hoke to reach at this point, so they must have seen something exceptional in him.
The odd thing is that the coaches waited over a month after they saw him at camp to offer him. If he truly wowed them at the camp in late June, I wouldn't think they would have waited until the end of July to offer him.
DeletePerhaps at the time of camp, UM's coaches liked him a lot but felt they could get away with slow-playing him until the fall. He was largely unknown until impressing scouts at OSU's camp. A couple scenarios that would cause the UM coaches to move their offer timing up:
Delete1. The kid was reportedly very upset with not receiving his coveted offer from UM, so he may have been willing to move on and focus on other schools. Some kids are just not as patient with back-burner (wait and see) treatment. I remember this happening with Godin a couple years ago. Slow-playing is a huge luxury for a coach when you know you have a kid in the bag, but you can't always get away with it.
2. Other programs were starting to take interest based on his OSU camp and UM did not want to deal with the risk. Not sure about this one, but it seems plausible.
A curious offer. Given how much emphasis this staff puts on size, any smaller recruit must bring a lot to the table to get an offer. Or so I'm telling myself, since his offer list is rather unimpressive.
ReplyDeleteHis recruiting profile is much higher, but maybe he's a program depth/character guy a little like Samuleson, Wagner, Pallante, etc.
Perhaps, but other than Pallante, they offered guys like Samuelson and Wangler a lot later in the process.
DeleteI also find it curious timing. If you are going to offer this early as was said it could have done after the camp. Nothing changed between now and then. If you were not going to offer then why not wait til end of October when you can get nearly a whole season of tape on him (or any potential other players at the safety position). A lot can happen between a sophomore and junior season - some kids will rocket up, some will drift down etc. Sounds like a good intangible guy and for all we know he becomes the best player in the class but while some of the other offers like Harris and Campbell are obvious this one I don't see why they rushed it.
Delete@Thunder
DeleteYeah, he has far more shine to him than those guys and the timing is indeed different - but it seems to me that his character/fit might be playing a big role in his offer just like those guys. Typically guys offered this early are pretty elite, while he's more of 3.5 star guy.
@Mark
It could have something to do with other recruits in '15 or even '14. Maybe the coaches are starting to see they're not likely to get one of the elite safeties in the '14 class (e.g., Nicholson) so they went with a guy they feel comfortable with in '15 instead. Or it could have something to do with Cole, etc. in '15.
Just guessing, but often when a surprise twist like this comes you end up hearing later that things fell off with another higher profile recruit, and then it becomes a chicken or egg thing where some fans or Rivals analysts will say "we didn't want him anyway".
Apparently the coaches have said the Safety position is full now for the 2014 class. Seems Kinnel may have something to do with that...chicken or egg?
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