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| Royce Jenkins-Stone |
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 240 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Position: Linebacker
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #52
Last year: I ranked Jenkins-Stone #35 and said he would be a backup SAM linebacker with 20 tackles and 1 sack. He started two games and made 8 tackles.
When Jenkins-Stone was a recruit, defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Greg Mattison told him that he could be the next Ray Lewis. Fast forward three years, and Jenkins-Stone finally made his first appearance in a starting lineup against Miami-OH. Playing mostly special teams throughout the year, he set a career-high with 8 tackles. He was recruited as a middle linebacker, and he looked like the type of kid who would bulk up and at least have the prototypical build of a MIKE, if not the skills of one. It appears that the skills were lacking, but he was listed at just 221 lbs. last year, which was six pounds lighter than the undersized, 6'0" outside linebacker James Ross III. Jenkins-Stone's career has definitely not gone in an expected direction.
Fast forward another year, and Jenkins-Stone is the biggest he has ever been at 240 lbs. Something finally clicked in the weight room or at the buffet table, and maybe it's the fact that he's entering what could very well be the final season of his football career without making much of an impact. Rather than being a middle linebacker, though, the new coaching staff seems to think of him as a quasi-defensive end. He played Buck linebacker in the spring game, which is the new staff's name for a weakside end. I ranked fellow Buck linebacker Lawrence Marshall at #43 yesterday (LINK). Both players will probably be backups to Mario Ojemudia, but Marshall is somewhat limited to pass rushing while Jenkins-Stone is more of a run-stopper, has some position flexibility, and has been playing special teams his whole career. At this point Jenkins-Stone is probably just a guy, but he can give someone a breather and maybe make an occasional play in the run game or on kick coverage.
Prediction: Backup Buck linebacker, special teamer; 18 tackles
Another major disappointment from the Hoke era. Does it really matter if he's more of a run stopper when he's never actually stopped much of anything? Does it matter that he has "position flexibility" when he's not a good player at ANY position?
ReplyDeleteAgain, too many guys on this list are dropping as they get more experience. Not the hallmark of a successful program with good player development.
You speak the truth. It's mind boggling the amount of big time recruits Hoke pulled that haven't developed. Pretty sad in fact. I wonder what some of them might have become had they gone elsewhere.
DeleteYour last paragraph says it all. The longer most stay the less "champions" they have become of late. Lewis and Bolden have been in my mind the only guys to really "climb" as they stayed in the program (Clark the other last year) - other guys more or less are the same or regress. Guys like Stribling and ross pop early and then take a step back. Wilson flat lined (to the point they were benching him last year to start games when the options were Jeremy Clark). Mario O is a flat line. Des Morgan is basically the same guy he was 2 years ago. Those are our starters - forget the backups like Jenkins-Stone or Strobel or Dymonte Thomas.
DeleteMeanwhile Sparty throws guys on their D in their 2nd year in spot duty and by 4th and 5th year are monsters. And their high level recruits actually pan out - I wonder if Malik would somehow have been a bust at UM - or Nicholson. Over there those are considered the bedrock of their D the next 3 years....or 2 before they both go pro a year early.
And that is the "good side" of the ball in terms of development for UM. So much talent was either misdiagnosed (which I disagree with because not every recruiting service could be so off on 80% of our class year after year when other classes at other schools with similar ranks don't bomb out to such a high degree) or just plain under the hand of bad coaches. Based on where most of these coaches landed post UM I vote the latter (accounting for 10-20% of any class bombing out as normal attrition).
I thought he was a fullback. You would too if you saw vid of the DLS game. He was a beast, they knew he was coming the whole second half Everybody hit him, four yards later he'd fall down, get up, go back to the huddle and everybody would do it again. He made me think of Russell Davis.
ReplyDeleteAgree completely. RJS' offensive HS highlights were superior to his defensive ones, especially during his senior year. I remember watching RJS closely during his first spring game and came away with conclusions that A) he is closer to 6'0" than his listed 6'2" and B) he did not have the instincts for playing LB. Have not seen anything over the last couple years to dissuade that impression.
DeleteRJS is another in a long, very long now, of Cass Tech grads that were highly ranked and under performed once in college. This is why I'm not losing any sleep over the Cass Tech pipeline being derailed by Sparty and O$U....no biggie IMO until I start seeing the results at the next level.
ReplyDeleteBarksdale turned out pretty good. So did Gholston in college. The tiny corners haven't worked out (Dior Mathis also didn't play much at Oregon), but that's probably more about their size than anything else.
DeleteThe idea that something might be wrong with Cass Tech players is based off the presumption that recruits should be college-ready. We of all people should know by now that this isn't the case. You can probably expect OSU to turn Damon Webb into a useful player (or better) because that's what OSU tends to do. Sadly, at least until now, you could also expect a 4- or 5-star U-M player to not develop, regardless of where he's from, since that's the track record.
Cass Tech is the only pipeline Michigan has....or should I say had?
DeleteI like the analysis here and I agree that he could be in the mix for a role, some type of role and if Ojemudia or an LB get hurt, he could get called upon even more. This might be a smidge high for such an unproven senior but we're still in the 40s so it's fair.
ReplyDeleteI remember when he and James ross were going to be an unstoppable duo - when you look at these 2 and richardson out of that class and the offers you just shake your head. At least ross had 1 very good year.
ReplyDelete