Richmond (VA) Benedictine defensive tackle Joel Starlings decommitted from Michigan on Sunday.
If you read my commitment post, you know I wasn't a huge fan of Starlings (LINK):
With that review, I’m sure you can guess that I’m not sold on Starlings. He has a lot of potential because of his athletic profile, but if he were to go up against a college line right now, he would get donkeyed 15 yards down the field and planted on his back. Whether he becomes a good player or not seems entirely dependent on how much he buys into coaching, and it would be nice if he starts that buy-in during his senior year in 2022
One reason could be that defensive line coach Shaun Nua left for USC, but another reason could be that Starlings just wasn't that determined to attend Michigan. After all, he tweeted shortly after committing that his recruitment was open, and that was when Nua was still seemingly firmly entrenched in Ann Arbor. So the writing had been on the wall for a couple months.
Michigan now has zero defensive linemen committed in the 2023 class, but there's plenty of time to address the position group.
We need big bodies. This kid looked like he needed lots of development, but the need is there
ReplyDeleteOnward
I'm guessing his getting donkeyed is a function of his tendency to stand up rather than stay low.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago now I attended a high school game in central West Virginia. Talent is not thick on the ground there: the high school that was hosting this game had maybe 20 players total, and that included a girl listed as a defensive lineman. The opposing team that night was considerably better-staffed, and much bigger overall.
The home team won, with smaller players and fewer of them. The reason why is because the opposing team's bigger linemen had terrible technique. They'd just stand up, and that was it. The home team smaller guys were consistently getting under the bigger guys and moving them. It was amazing to watch.
Michigan needs to get some big defensive lineman. There's no two ways about it. They have to do it. It's has to be the highest priority on the team. They can get by with what they have now against 90% of the teams. But they can't get by against teams like Georgia and Alabama. They could go 13-0 next season and get in the playoffs again with the type of interior D Line they had this year. But in the playoffs it will show, and it will hurt them. You can't do smoke and mirrors with the weak points of the team in the playoffs. They weak spots only get exploited there.
ReplyDeleteEasy come easy go I guess.
ReplyDeleteI imagine Elston is already working on replacements.