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| Peoria (IL) Manual offensive tackle Logan Tuley-Tillman |
Tuley-Tillman is a 6'7", 300 lb. lineman who projects to the left tackle position in college. As a junior in 2011, he recorded 61 pancake blocks.
Ratings:
ESPN: Unranked OT
Rivals: 4-star OT, #109 overall
Scout: Unranked OT
247 Sports: 4-star OT, 94 grade, #13 OT, #85 overall
Tuley-Tillman had originally planned to take all of his official visits. He essentially wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to travel and see the country. However, Michigan went on a bit of a run in the past couple days with commitments from three offensive lineman. The coaches probably want to take four or five linemen in this class, and if he had waited much longer, he might have been left out in the cold. Unfortunately, he won't be able to travel the country just yet if he wants to stay committed to Michigan (the coaches won't let kids travel elsewhere without considering them decommitted). On the plus side, if everything goes well, he'll get a chance to visit California, Florida, Arizona, or Louisiana when Michigan takes trips to BCS bowl games in the next few seasons.
It's analysis time, and here's where things get rough:
Logan Tuley-Tillman is not very good right now. He has size, athleticism, and potential galore. But every offensive line recruit Michigan picked up this weekend has better technique than him. Tuley-Tillman played for a 3-6 Manual team that emphasizes the run, and even his footwork in the running game is questionable. It looks like Tuley-Tillman has never had a day of quality offensive line coaching.
When he run blocks, he stands up too high. He picks his foot up and puts it right back down where it was. He crosses his feet at times. He keeps a narrow base. When he pass blocks, he doesn't give ground, which opens things up for speed rushes. And you can see during his Core 6 videos (here and here) that he doesn't know how to cancel the inside rush if those speed rushers try to make an inside move. He is a huge project at this time.
That's the bad stuff. Now for the good stuff:
Tuley-Tillman could be a very good blindside tackle in a few years. If he takes to the coaching at Michigan and learns footwork and technique, the sky is the limit. He's got skinny legs and a big butt, which makes him a prime candidate to carry added weight in his butt and upper body and turn into a 315 lb., mobile tackle. He also displays a nasty attitude about blocking that will serve him well when he figures out how to put it all together.
It's somewhat difficult for me to project Tuley-Tillman down the road. He has all kinds of potential, but it all depends on how quickly he figures it out. Less athletic guys than him have turned into multi-year starters in recent years (Perry Dorrestein, Mark Huyge, etc.). He could be a first round pick in 2018, or he could get frustrated and leave Michigan early. He loves the University of Michigan, which will hopefully keep him around through the tough times. But it's not going to be an easy road for him to adjust.
So are you down on this early commitment like you were with Dawson or is his upside enough to make you like it?
ReplyDeleteI think Tuley-Tillman has more upside than Dawson.
DeleteAs always, TTB, the sober analysis is appreciated. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteWith all the O-Line talent that they have taken on, I think it's great that the coaches aren't afraid of a challenge and of working with a kid for 2-3 years to get him to the point they want him. Do you think Michigan still has room for one more now and who would you like them to finish up with if they do: Pocic, Tunsil, Montelous, etc?
ReplyDeleteI would probably take Tunsil first (a long shot) and Pocic second (less of a long shot).
DeleteGood work keeping up with the 8! commitments.
ReplyDeleteOL was my top concern going into the '13 class, but I think it's been addressed. I think they should take one more guy. Either someone who can play center, or an elite overall prospect. If Kozan ends up coming to AA (seems more doubtful now), I think 4 could be enough in '13.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteTuley-Tillman has been followed a ton over at mgoblog. However, I'm curious about your take on talent vs. technique. In particular, you have Logan and Taco Charlton down as having bad technique and needing a ton of coaching. However, both have a high ceiling. What is your preference? Someone who comes to the field ready to play, or someone who has a high ceiling and a lot of potential yet to be met? I suppose you take some of both, and when you have a lot of depth, you can afford to take on more projects. Still, these two seem to need a redshirt, more than, say, someone like Pipkins.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, I think you try to take a little bit of both "sure things" and "projects." If you look at someone like Blake Bars from the '12 class, he doesn't have as high of a ceiling as Logan Tuley-Tillman, but he's had some good coaching and could have a decent career. With the solid players in the class ahead, Michigan can take a couple chances here in the 2013 class. I would have been less impressed with someone like Tuley-Tillman in the 2012 class, because Michigan needs guys who can play relatively early. I think all of the 2012 offensive line commits are more ready to play from Day 1, and they'll have a chance to get on the field within a year or two. But the coaches can take some time to develop a couple of these 2013 kids without having to plop them on the field as wide-eyed freshmen (or redshirt freshmen).
DeleteCan we try not to piss off our recruits please?
ReplyDeleteI'm not really worried about whether I piss off a recruit by writing honest analysis.
DeleteTo the poster who just left a rude comment:
ReplyDeleteI have my reasons. And frankly I don't care what you think.
Call em as you see em. It's your site.
ReplyDeleteIt's ok to be critical in a constructive manner. I'm sure every single player,whether it be a recruit or a senior,,has things they need to improve on. Not a big deal. Next thing you know,,ppl will be saying you secretly work for Ohio,,kinda like a few ppl did to Benji when he decided to quit his blog @mgorecruit... Some ppl...smh
I don't think coaching is going to be limiter here. LTT has a future if he brings it. Awesome analysis...we've seen technique limit too many Wolverines recently. I read every word and take home most of it. Thanks Magnus for putting it out there where others fear to tread.
ReplyDelete