Washington (DC) Gonzaga defensive end Carter Meadows committed to Michigan on Sunday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and South Carolina, among others.
Meadows is listed at 6'6" and 225 pounds. Playing in just six games as a junior in 2024, he made 33 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 forced fumble.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 83 grade, #10 DE, #88 overall
On3: 5-star, 98 grade, #2 edge, #6 overall
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #19 edge, #241 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 94 grade, #5 edge, #34 overall
Hit the jump for more.
Meadows hails from the alma mater of 2025 Michigan signee Kainoa Winston, so there was some familiarity within the program. However, anytime Michigan goes up against other elite programs for a 5-star-level talent, it's going to be difficult to gain traction. Usually the Wolverines do not come out on top in these types of recruitments, but defensive line coach Lou Esposito hung in there and the combination of elite academics with elite football development won out. (I always ignore NIL talk because nobody really knows what the deals are behind closed doors.) Ohio State, Penn State, and South Carolina all got official visits, but the official to Michigan on June 20th sealed the deal.
The intrigue of Meadows's traits is obvious. He's tall and athletic - he has at least one Division I basketball offer - and you can't teach that combination of advantages. His wingspan makes it difficult for offensive linemen to get into his body, and when he decides to go, he can get the edge, track down quarterbacks, create turnovers, and chase guys to the sideline. One of the best things I see from him is that hustle to stop players from getting to the edge; he has the quickness to catch them from behind and is willing to lay out to make those diving tackles that are necessary near the sideline.
For better or worse, Meadows is an extremely raw prospect at this point. He plays very tentative, almost like he's trying to protect his lower body, and I'm not sure if that's just who he is or whether he has in the back of his mind that he wants to stay healthy for basketball season. He's willing to attempt to lock out offensive tackles and has the arm length to do it, but it's very robotic and not reactionary at all; it looks like he's doing a drill in practice. He usually aligns as a 5-tech on the outside shoulder of an offensive tackle, but occasionally he's called upon to spike inside to the B gap; when he does, once again he looks like he's doing a drill and he doesn't rip inside with gusto. There are times even where he has a chance to get dirty and jump in on a tackle, but he makes sure to keep his body clean and away from anybody rolling up on his legs.
Overall, I view Meadows as a boom-bust prospect. There are some very good raw traits to work with, but without an adjustment to his mentality, he's going to have a very difficult time at the next level. Physically, he needs to get stronger so he can take on blocks and lock out tackles; mentally, he needs more reps so he can react quicker to what he's seeing; and emotionally, he looks like he needs to spend some time training with the likes of Mason Graham, who might be able to teach him how to get a little bit dirty. Obviously, they play different positions and nobody goes from Meadows to Graham when it comes to that kind of attitude, but Meadows needs to find his inner ferocity. He could end up like Taco Charlton, who was a 1st round draft pick, or he could end up like Shelton Johnson, who . . . well, yeah.
"Who?" is what you're probably asking yourself right now.
I think Esposito has done a good job of developing players wherever he's been, so I'm going to count on him to chisel Meadows into a good NFL prospect. If he can add some weight, get some confidence, and get some experience under his belt to quicken his reaction time, Meadows could be a situational pass rusher early and then a dominant force by the time he's an upperclassman.
Michigan now has 17 commitments in the class of 2026, where Meadows joins fellow edges Tariq Boney and McHale Blade. The Wolverines have never landed a player from Gonzaga before Evan Link in 2023, but they have had some contributors from the District of Columbia, including safety (turned NFL linebacker) Cato June from Anacostia and safety Quinten Johnson from St. John's. If everyone sticks, there will be three Gonzaga products on the team in 2026, including Link, Winston, and Meadows.
TTB Rating: 86
"Meadows needs to find his inner ferocity"
ReplyDeleteIs there any way to coach or develop that? Do you pair him up with someone already with that temperament, and hope it rubs off? Can it be brought out by coaching "tough love" where you push the kid to the point of getting him mad, then channel that to field activity?
I think there are lots of ways that it can be developed. One is physical strength; when you become the hammer, things get a lot easier. I mean, take any kid who used to get beaten up or picked on, and then put them in the gym for a few years to build up their strength, and they're not the same kid anymore.
DeleteAlso, if you're sitting on the sideline until the coach sees those traits, that can be a great motivator.
I don't think you can just yell at him to "be tougher" or "be more physical" or whatever. It needs to be trained in the weight room and there need to be rewards/consequences.
Wow. I was excited but missing an intangible in the trenches can be a big deal ... anywhere on this defense for that matter
ReplyDeleteThere's still reason for excitement. I mean, any of these kids can become great, and any of them can be duds.
DeleteOf course. But coupled with "basketball" I was triggered by preconceived notions
DeleteInteresting to note the contrast between speculation ignored because we don't know for sure (NIL) but open to speculate about character traits like tenacity and effort and confidence of a teenager. Are we more sure about those things going forward than NIL rumors right now?
ReplyDeletehttps://touch-the-banner.com/goodbye-michael-onwenu/
Effort was questioned here throughout his career but on the field it was nothing but success and now Onewnu's a very good NFL starter, who still weighs in at 350 pounds. Doesn't look like bad weight for an OL either.
That point aside, it's an intriguing scout by Thunder for a highly ranked kid. Charlton really didn't do anything until his senior year production-wise and was a bust in the NFL. He was always flanked by high level NFL talent at Michigan so it seems like he might have been riding some coattails. Impressive physical size (height especially) can fool people sometimes. I hope Meadows is better than Charlton and more productive too, but perhaps our 2 best EDGEs (Gary and Hutch) came in bigger than him, as did our current best. The lesson from Charlton might be that patience is warranted for the long lean ones.
The boom/bust thing does seem apt though as these long lean edge types tend to flame out pretty often. Especially recently. Is he going to be able to hold his ground if they run at him against NFL-caliber OTs? Is he going to have the bend and burst like an Uche or Ojabo? Clearly with his athleticism and frame he has the potential to do some things. We'll see if those things translate to football excellence at edge. He's probably too tall to play anywhere else.
I'll trust Thunder's scout that the kid is a little mechanical in how he plays. This might not be a bad thing though -- a more optimistic assessment might be that he's coach-able. Tim Duncan was mechanical too. (different sport same idea)
Interesting assessment. Thank you Thunder.
Well, one aspect you can see on the field, and one you cannot. The one you can't see is NIL.
DeleteYou CAN see how hard a player runs, his body movements, whether he takes on/avoids contact, etc. compared to other players.
Nobody knows what NIL Michigan offered vs. Ohio State or South Carolina, how much Michigan offered to Meadows vs. Tariq Boney vs. McHale Blade vs. some other prospect who committed elsewhere. Numbers aren't made public, and I doubt Michigan's coaches/GM are saying, "Yeah, we're giving McHale Blade a package worth $30,000, so we'll give you $75,000."
Here was Lance Zierlein's take on Onwenu's weaknesses going into the draft, and some of them indeed point to potential issues with conditioning/effort level:
Weaknesses
Can be a step slow getting out of his stance. Athletic limitations must be accounted for with scheme. Lacks desire level of range as run blocker. Doesn't always play as wide as he's built when attempting to sustain blocks. Needs better post-strike footwork to get blocks sealed. High hands prevent optimal leverage at point of attack. Gets over-extended when patience fails him. Will have trouble against quality rush counters and twisting fronts.
Onwenu also had some struggles early in his career and was benched for a stretch in 2021. You say it was "nothing but success" but he was drafted in the 6th round - which is obviously good, and of course we all wish we were good enough to get drafted into the NFL - and didn't become a consistent starter until his third year in the league.
It's possible for him to both be talented AND have certain weaknesses. Chase Young is a guy who was a 1st round pick and Rookie of the Year, and yet there are also questions about his effort level. He's both talented AND flawed.
It doesn't have to be one or the other.
yeah, aNoN's take is weird
DeleteWithout either verbal acknowledgement or leaked contract details, we can only assume NIL
But tangibles & intangibles can and are assessed on tape, in practice, in the weight room ... even outside of the game
Your TTB ratings are a bit lower for the last three players (Robinson, Meadows, Dabney) relative to their rankings / how they were pursued by Michigan. Robinson and Meadows have a bit more variance to them relative to a typical Harbaugh recruit, but I hope that this isn't a broader reflection of Moore doing a bit more "stargazing" relative to the prior regime.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if they are. Dabney is a 3-star and the #401 overall player in the country. There were 257 players drafted into the NFL last year, so that basically tracks as him being undraftable.
DeleteIf you start at Michigan during a good era (not like the Rich Rodriguez or Brady Hoke era, but when there are actual good coaches in place), you should probably be getting drafted or at least be close to it.
So if Dabney plays like the #401 overall player in his class, I think the odds are that someone else draft-worthy is going to play over him or be brought in as a transfer to play ahead of him, leaving Dabney as either a career backup . . . or someone who transfers to try to play elsewhere.
I think Meadows got a fairly good grade.
DeleteAnd Zion Robinson...we'll see. The number of receivers who perform well at Michigan is pretty small. Maybe the presence of Bryce Underwood will change that, but the guys Michigan throws out there at receiver on a yearly basis is actually very surprising when you think of Peyton O'Leary, Nate Schoenle, Jake McCurry, etc. No offense to them or their work ethic because they earn the playing time, but highly recruited guys like Karmello English have disappeared and guys like Andrel Anthony have transferred while walk-ons or lightly recruited guys are getting playing time against Ohio State.
That's fair. I sometimes forget that your TTB rankings reflect both your view of the player as well as their likelihood of success at Michigan.
ReplyDeleteA bit of a thought exercise, but is there any receiver to which you would assign a 100 score, or are you in wait and see mode to see if we'll throw the ball enough to warrant that type of score?
I try to tell people to read what I say about a player to see what I think of him, but yeah, the TTB Rating is a prediction of how he'll fit at Michigan. Some guys just aren't a good fit in Ann Arbor.
DeleteAt this point I can't see giving any receiver a score of 100. That may change in a year once we see Chip Lindsey and Bryce Underwood, but for now, that's too big of a jump.