Name: George Rooks
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 270 lbs.
High school: Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter's Prep
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Rooks was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 41 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 8 sacks.
TTB Rating: 80
Rooks was one of the big fish the Wolverines were trying to reel in at the end of the 2021 class, since they needed defensive tackles - especially athletic ones. Rooks comes from an athletic family: his dad played defensive line for Syracuse and got drafted by the Giants, and his sister played college basketball, including one season at Michigan. More of the athletic type than a space-eater, Rooks played quite a bit of defensive end in high school.
At the next level, Rooks will probably move into the interior, probably to more of a 4i or 5-tech position. I could also see him being used at the nose tackle position in certain pass rush situations. But all of that will probably come sometime down the road, since he is still a little bit light and probably needs to adjust his technique to handle combo blocks a little better. He is athletic enough to possibly get on the field toward the end of games in non-critical situations, but a redshirt is also a strong possibility.
Prediction: Redshirt
Another welcomed & needed addition. Hope he's ready to contribute next year, but agree not much should be expected this fall
ReplyDeleteDidn't know his sister played at UM - good info!
Great get. Excited to see what he can do in the years to come.
ReplyDelete-LANK