Marky Walbridge, Wolverine

 

Marky Walbridge with head coach Sherrone Moore

Needham (MA) St. Sebastian's offensive tackle Marky Walbridge committed to Michigan on June 25th. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Boston College, Florida, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others.

Walbridge is listed at 6'6" and 280 pounds.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #66 IOL
Rivals: 4-star, 90 grade, #14 IOL, #235 overall
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #64 OT

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan offered Walbridge all the way back in October of 2023 at the end of his sophomore season. The Wolverines typically do fairly well with recruits in the northeast when they want to, so it always seemed like Walbridge would be an option in the class if the coaches decided to push for his commitment. Michigan has also shown that they can develop those kids, such as Zak Zinter and Mike Sainristil. For a while Walbridge seemed to fall off the radar, but then he took an official in mid-June and committed toward the end of the month. This was after he had taken officials to Alabama, Boston College, and Penn State, so despite his so-so rankings, he was pursued by some big-time schools.

I hadn't watched Walbridge's film since he was offered a couple years ago, so when I turned on his junior film, I was pleasantly surprised. He's listed at 6'6" and 280 pounds, but he's the rare type of lineman who tucks the hem of his jersey up under his pads, so he lets his midsection hang out . . . and there's not much belly there. He's a lean linemen who, to be honest, doesn't look like he's a full 280. He looks like he's 260 or 270 pounds during his junior season. But regardless, he's in pretty good shape and moves very well, especially in a straight line. He's able to get out in front of backs on sweeps, he's able to make cutoff and reach blocks, and he's able to climb to the second and third level to make blocks. Two of the three major sites rank him as an interior lineman, but he has a surprisingly deft kick step and shows nice balance and hand placement in pass protection. But the thing I like most about him is his block finishing - he will do whatever it takes to demoralize an opponent, whether it's blocking him to the sideline or literally jumping over a pile to crush someone. His tape is one of the more entertaining films to watch for a lineman, a position where even good players sometimes have pretty boring film.

The key qualifier there, though, is that he's doing it against questionable competition. There are some players on opposing teams who are really thin and outsized by Walbridge, or they're just hunks of immobile meat. You don't really see him dominating players that he's going to see at the next level. We can't expect him to do anything more than dominate lesser athletes, but it does leave questions about how he'll fare against better competition. I do have some questions about his lateral foot speed, too; while he's quick in a straight line and has a well refined kick slide for a high school left tackle, I think redirecting to mirror more athletic players at the FBS level might be a struggle.

Overall, I think Walbridge is a very intriguing prospect, and it's not surprising that teams like Alabama and Penn State were also interested. This isn't a "diamond in the rough." This is a legitimate prospect. For whatever reason, he looks like a Penn State offensive lineman to me. I think Walbridge will end up playing offensive guard or perhaps center at the next level, and I can see him fitting in well with Michigan's offensive philosophy that has guards on the move with traps, pin-and-pulls, counters, etc. He will have to continue to add bulk, though, because Michigan linemen . . . well, they don't play with their bellies showing.

Walbridge is the third offensive linemen in the class, joining Georgian Bear McWhorter and Hawaiian Malakai Lee. All three of them could be "swing" guys who could play on the edge or the interior, so Michigan has some flexibility with these players moving forward. Walbridge would be just the second St. Sebastian's product to suit up for Michigan, and the first since tight end Louis Hansen in 2021, who transferred to UConn after one season.

TTB Rating: 75