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| Wyatt Shallman |
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Novi (MI) Catholic Central
Position: Running back
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #33
Last year: Shallman was a senior in high school. I gave him a TTB Rating of 65.
Shallman committed to Michigan in February 2012, joining his former teammate Matt Godin as a Wolverine. Michigan's coaching staff offered him as a running back, despite a reported size of 6'3" and 245 lbs.; information has since indicated that he was more like 225 lbs., which makes the tailback position a little more feasible. But throughout the recruiting process, Michigan fans have been contemplating whether he'll play running back, fullback, H-back, tight end, defensive end, or outside linebacker.
I have taken some heat from various corners of the internet for discounting Shallman's chances of making an impact at tailback. It's extremely rare that a guy who is 6'3" and 225 lbs. coming out of high school ends up as an impact college runner, let alone if he's closer to 245. I do think he can play tailback in certain situations, such as short yardage and goal line spots. However, I also think he'll have some other talented runners to beat out in the coming years, including a higher rated, more explosive player in the form of Derrick Green, who happens to be about 220 lbs. himself. Shallman should be able to redshirt while the coaches figure out where he fits best.
Prediction: Redshirt
A kid coming in at 6'3" 225 lbs would seem to be a likely SAM prospect, except that I'm pretty sure that Shallman played high school defense with his hand down and the prevailing wisdom in these parts is that it is very difficult for a kid to reposition toward the back on defense.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that this is the one kid coming in this year who might have a hard time finding a home on this team ..... if he's not a fullback.
I think the SAM prospects really need to have great defensive film where they excel at at least one phase like blitzing, read/react, running sideline to sideline, etc. The demands on the position are high and multiple, so kid needs to be able to hang his hat on something from the beginning. Not sure Shallman would fit the bill here.
DeleteIf Shallman is really coming in at 225, and not 245, what's his most natural defensive position, if he ends up flipping to that side of the ball? I would think at 6'3" and 225, with some speed, he'd make a better SAM prospect than a WDE prospect. The opposite of run blocker/occasional pass catcher in space is a run block shedder/occasional pass defender in space, no?
ReplyDeleteMichigan's top two weakside ends this year (Clark, Ojemudia) both were smaller than Shallman coming out of high school. From what I've seen of Shallman, I don't see him as a linebacker. He played defensive line in high school, and as Roanman said above, I dislike the idea of moving guys back in a defense. You can move up (S to LB, LB to DE, DE to DT, etc.), but moving back is a chore.
DeleteI envision Shallman staying on the offensive side of the ball and trying to carve out a role as an Aaron Shea or maybe even BJ Askew type of player, for my $0.02.
ReplyDeleteWhat he said.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine you took heat for claiming Shallman was not a RB. His HS yardage and YPC were not consistent with a UM-level RB. His highlights were all seven yard runs.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I am a little apprehensive about Shallman because he did not excel at any one position in HS. Shallman did not look natural on defense. He is your prototypical athlete with good measurables. Whether or not he plays will depend on if he can block and catch, so who knows. Hoke has been targeting kids with more obvious future positions, which is a nice change from the late Carr and RR days. But taking the "athlete" on occasion is OK.
I agree with everything you said here. He's a pretty good football player, and I think it's okay to offer him and find somewhere that he can fit.
DeletePersonally, I expect Shallman to end up as a FB/HB. Mostly blocking, getting 1 or 2 touches (run or pass) per game and going largely unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'm not thrilled with the staff offering full ride scholarships to FBs right out of HS (Houma and Shallman) but for some odd reason the staff keeps forgetting to check with me before sending out these offers.
It remains to be seen whether Houma or Shallman is worth the scholarship offer, but I don't really have a problem with it. There are players from Michigan's relatively recent past who were worth their scholarships (Aaron Shea, BJ Askew, etc.).
DeleteI mean - Hoke said on signing day that Shallman reminded him of a guy who didn't play RB (Shea), so it's not exactly controversial that anyone here thinks he could end up elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThe 245/225 thing actually makes me LESS inclined to think he is a RB. If he was 245 it would have explained some of the relative lack of speed. There HAVE been backs that big (albeit rarely) but they were powerhouses. In other words, if you're not fast you better be hard to take down and 6'3/225 isn't going to cut it - that's too near lanky to be a powerback. The weight may change but the speed and height probably won't - being tall isn't really a good thing for a RB - so the deck seems stacked against him at the position. But who knows...
Seems like people are skeptical about Shallman in general. Remember, this is a kid the coaches were rumored to want quite badly and fought hard to get him very early on when there were rumors of an MSU lean. He's a very good athlete and, whatever position he ends up, he's going to play a useful role on this team. Low floor kid, IMO.
As for the red-shirt, I doubt it. I see him playing special teams right away. You want a certain number of guys with the LB/TE/H-back/WDE body type to fill out special teams and Michigan is light at those spots due to some of the injuries (Ryan) departures (Jones/Ringer/Robinson), and recruiting (no TEs from Rodriguez).
If Shallman is closer to the 245 listed and picks up blocking he could see time at TE/H-back too - we need depth there with Kwiatkowski graduating and Butt reportedly looking very thin.