Cross Plains (TN) East Robertson cornerback/safety/wide receiver Taylor Groves committed to Michigan on Friday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from LSU, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Tennessee, among others.
Groves is listed at 6'2" and 175 lbs. As a junior in 2020, he made 55 tackles and 2 interceptions. He made a whopping 7 interceptions during his sophomore year.
RANKINGS
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #41 WR
247 Sports: 4-star, 91 grade, #15 S, #188 overall
Hit the jump for more.
Groves was not on my radar until he was offered by the new defensive staff in late January. His interest was immediately piqued, but I was surprised by how quickly that blossomed into a commitment. A little over a week after being offered, he pledged to the Wolverines. This can all be tied back to new co-defensive coordinator Maurice Linguist.
Groves is a big fish in a small pond at a school with fewer than 700 people. He makes opponents look silly, probably because at 6'2" and 175 lbs., he's both bigger and faster than almost anyone he's facing. So his highlights are excellent, but they should be taken with a grain of salt.
But I'll try to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Groves has great height and length and could legitimately play a variety of positions at the next level, from receiver to corner to safety. Defensively, he tackles like a lot of high school outside linebackers. He takes good angles and is willing to wrap up ball carriers. He's excellent at high-pointing the football while it's in the air, and he's great with the ball in his hands. He shows short-area quickness and good long speed.
On the negative side, Groves will need to continue growing and adjusting to higher-level athletes. As I mentioned above, he is playing against kids who mostly look like JV guys, so the jump from East Robertson High School to Ann Arbor will be a big one.
Overall, Groves is an excellent prospect. Normally I have a preference for where a player should play at the next level, but I would consider him an "athlete" and just slot him in where needed or where he most wants to play. He looks like a player who could come in and play immediately at corner, while safety or receiver might take an extra year or so of bulking up.
TTB Rating: I'm not giving ratings for 2022 players yet.
hen I saw his long arms on the first play of the highlights, I said 'wow'. When I saw how he catches in a crowd I said 'wow'. When I saw how fast he is, and his break away speed, I said 'wow'. When I saw how he lowers his shoulder on tackles without hesitation, and how hard the hit is, I said 'wow'. When I saw how hard he comes up on run plays I said 'wow'. I am gld this player is coming to Michigan.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Thunder, that he could see good playing time at corner as a freshman. I can see him playing corner in the pros. I think I'd want to to stay at corner full time, and maybe put a twist to the the opponents by putting him in at offense at times. In my mind he could quickly become the #1 corner if he put his mind to it. Some football players look like they were born to play football. This player is one of them.
Yeah, there are a lot of "wow" plays in here.
DeleteSide note: Alabama is losing corner coach Karl Scott to the NFL, to the Vikings. Scott is credited with significant recruiting, including Patrick Surtain. There's talk Nick Saban already has someone better in mind to replace him. I'm already expecting Alabama to be a cut above all teams again next year, and win the National Championship next year. Though replacing Mac Jones is going to tough to do. He was clearly better than Tua.
ReplyDeleteLet's just hope this commitment sticks. We're a long way from NSD
ReplyDeleteWill Johnson and this player at the corners is very promising.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that would be a pretty dynamite class. And it doesn't include the possibility of Domani Jackson, Jaeden Gould, etc. Michigan won't get all of them, but they could get two or maybe three.
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