HIGH SCHOOL
McGrone attended Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence Central, where he was a 4-star, the #7 outside linebacker, and #118 overall. He was chosen for the Army All-American Bowl that year in 2018, despite having torn his ACL as a junior. I gave him a TTB Rating of 80, and here are a couple paragraphs from my writeup on him (LINK):
McGrone’s blitzing is perhaps the best phase of his game, but it’s the way that he plays the ball carrier in the backfield that is most impressive. Some guys are mauling blitzers who just eat up everything coming their way, but McGrone plays with a low center of gravity that allows him to redirect and make plays all over in the backfield. Lawrence Central brings him from various angles, and he plays fast and reckless. He uses his hands well to shed blockers, and even when he gets caught up in the trash, he fights non-stop to shed. When he arrives at the ball carrier, he’s a violent hitter who runs through people. Unless he has hit a growth spurt, he has a solid frame but probably shouldn’t get too much larger than 235 lbs. or so in college, which is still a decent size.
On the negative side, McGrone has that injury history that can sometimes come back to repeat itself. It’s always concerning to have a guy who already tore an ACL. His play recognition skills need to improve, since he occasionally finds himself a half-step out of position on basic run reads. That may be partially the reason why his coaches choose to blitz him so often, to negate some read-and-react deficiencies.
Hit the jump for more.
COLLEGE
McGrone played in just one game as a true freshman, preserving his redshirt as he was behind first round draft pick Devin Bush, Jr. That was followed up by another expected year of playing a backup role behind Josh Ross, but Ross got injured and in stepped McGrone. There were some hiccups, but McGrone played well enough to be named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten as he made 65 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass breakup, and 5 quarterback hurries. That led to some high expectations for 2020, but a wrist injury suffered in the pre-season stunted his play. He made 26 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks while wearing a cast, but a leg injury in game five ended his season and, ultimately, his college career.
CAREER STATS
91 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass breakup, 5 quarterback hurries
AWARDS
Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (2019)
SUMMARY
I think my evaluation of him in 2018 was pretty accurate. I expected him to stay for more than three years, so I also expected some more development. He got out of place sometimes, and while playing with a cast didn't help, I think he underperformed in 2020. When I think of the defensive malaise at Michigan in 2020, the first person I picture is McGrone. He was constantly out of position, unready for the play to begin, and just doing his own thing on defense. The middle linebacker should be the heart and soul of the defense, and McGrone just didn't play like that. He looked like he did not want to be on the field against Wisconsin, and another singular play stands out from 2020 when he nearly jumped offsides against Indiana, and then stood in the A gap, mean-mugging the center repeatedly and faking like he was blitzing, even though it was clear he was the one who made the mistake.
I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR...
...leaving too early.
PROJECTION
McGrone is listed at 6'1" and 236 lbs., which is adequate for an NFL linebacker. I expect him to run a decent time at the Combine, but I don't believe it will be a blazing 40 time like Bush's (4.44). To me he looked slower and a little heavy in 2020, so maybe draft preparation will help him out a little bit there. The problem with McGrone is that he doesn't have a) much tape or b) much positive tape. He never started for a full season, and as I mentioned above, he never really progressed enough for my liking when it comes to diagnosing plays. This feels a little bit like a Donovan Warren situation. In that case, Warren played cornerback at Michigan for three seasons, declared for the draft, didn't get drafted, and then bounced around practice squads for a few years before calling it quits.
I wish the young man good luck, but am puzzled by this decision. He's fast, but not significantly faster than others. He's physical, but not in a standout way. There's just so much room for development, I could see him going undrafted
ReplyDeleteHe's got a full season worth of starting under his belt which is pretty similar to where Taco Charlton was when he went in Round 1. While McGrone is younger, and coming off a shortened COVID year, he has plenty of tape to work off. Remember that the games he missed last year were Army and Middle Tenn. He came on against Wisconsin, made an immediate impact, and went on to play against PSU, ND, OSU and Alabama. That's more scout-worthy material than a lot of prospects will produce in 2 or 3 full seasons of starting at a smaller conference or even maybe a place like Iowa.
ReplyDeleteThe scouts will have seen what they need to see even if he doesn't have a 20 minute highlight tape featuring TD returns against Western Michigan and sacks against Air Force where nobody bothered to block him. That doesn't tell you much about their NFL potential anyway.
It doesn't sound like he's going in the first round but from an experience perspective he's ahead of where Jalen Mayfield was a few months back and the 2020 season only widened the gap (since Mayfield was hurt).
I would be pretty surprised if McGrone goes undrafted. He's got prototypical size and good speed for a modern NFL ILB. His youth will play to his advantage as he will be seen as having more room to learn, grow, and develop than a 5th year vet. McGrone isn't Bush but he's not all THAT far off and Bush was off to a good start in the NFL before he got hurt.
I wish he would have come back though, just because he looked like a much better player than Ross or Barrett. Both those guys will at least give us some returning experience next year, assuming they stick around.
-Lank
What?
DeleteMayfield may be a comparison because neither played much, but Mayfield finished STRONG, against ohio's Chase Young and the Bama D ... mcGrone started hot in B1G play, but tapered off in his last 2 games of 2019. His 2020 season was terrible - he was lost
We're talking about a kid who was all-conference as a sophomore. McGrone didn't forget how to play football. Context: The entire team fell apart in 2020 and the DC was fired.
DeleteAnd if he did forget - the NFL has coaches to remind him.
-Lank
He was HM ... And the NFL has 12 games of film, over two seasons. The last five games - dating back to Ohio in 2019 - don't look good at all
DeleteI don't think much of it is on McGrone.
ReplyDeleteAs a general rule, fans are usually wrong when they grouse about a guy leaving too early. I know everyone likes to think they are smarter than everyone else (Including myself) but these kids and their parents have a whole lot more riding on it than we do. Sure they may have agents with an agenda talking to them but also coaches at their school. In this context they are more objective because they have agents, coaches, teammates, and family all involved to consider the pros and cons while we just want our team to win.
There are some mistakes to be sure, but I fully believe very few would-be NFL players fail to make the NFL because of a poor departure decision. Most of them wouldn't have done it even if they came back to school. Donovan Warren was a decade ago... but more importantly, another year of college wasn't going to help his 40 time.
Furthermore, a whole bunch of guys who would be better off had they NOT come back for a final year. Shea Patterson and Jake Butt come to mind recently.
I've gone through this exercise in basketball and the guys who were wrong to come back dramatically outnumbers the guys who were wrong to go pro. Look at NBA contracts of our alums and think of how many years of production were sacrificed for Michigan. John Beilein probably got many 10s of millions of would-be NBA contracts were sacrificed for free labor by guys deciding to return. Come to think of it, Caris Levert alone is 30 or 40 million (or more!) that he sacrificed to come back to Michigan and battle through injuries... But people will still tell you Jordan Poole wasn't ready...
It's always about potential not production. Once you prove yourself as a player, every year in college threafter is a tradeoff. Your potential is going downhill with age, so you better make that up with a whole lot of skills development. And the idea that guys don't develop in the pros is hogwash. Ask Pat Mahomes and Aaron Rogers about that. Ask Rashan Gary. Ask Duncan Robinson.
-Lank
The truth is this: McGrone should have gone pro after last year, but he wasn't allowed to. Given that, he should have sat out 2020 like Thomas and Collins. But don't tell any Michigan fans that...
DeleteAnd Mayfield probably took a risk that didn't make much financial sense for the sake of some college glory. He's lucky he escaped with only an ankle injury.
DeleteI tell you what, put your spreadsheet to use:
ReplyDelete- how many underclassmen are leaving early for the 2021 draft?
- how does that compare to previous years?
- how many are goin undrafted; what direction is the rate headed?
- is this shift significant?
More guys declare early every year. More guys get drafted (and undrafted) every year.
DeleteYou're welcome.
-Lank
When lank avoids data, you know he's desparate ... that and when he cries racism ... and meltdowns
DeleteI knew you were good at feelingsball but dodgeball too?!
DeleteYou can go google the trend yourself. But you'd rather try to exchange insults than engage in convo.
Who insulted you?
ReplyDeleteYou're known for an overreliance on (cherrypicked) data. Since I already know the answer, I am simply encouraging you to do your own research