Madison (AL) Madison Academy linebacker Deuce Spurlock committed to Michigan on Sunday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Auburn, Pitt, and South Carolina, among others.
Spurlock is listed at 6'2" and 200 lbs.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #51 OLB
Rivals: 3-star OLB, 5.5 grade
247 Sports: 3-star, 85 grade, #92 ATH
Hit the jump for more.
Michigan offered Spurlock back in early June after a solid camp performance warranted it. At the time it looked like he would commit pretty soon, but then Michigan kept pursuing other linebackers. It seemed like the Wolverines wanted some other guys more and put him on the back burner. That seems to happen a lot with players from the south, who commit to northern programs so rarely that the vast majority of offers seem to produce unrequited interest. So it was not a surprise to see the mutual interest seem to fade. The surprising part was that the two parties seemed to attract each other once again. Spurlock ended up taking an official visit to Ann Arbor for the Rutgers game and committed a day later.
Spurlock is tall-ish and thin at the moment, so he's probably a little ways away from getting on the field at Michigan. If his 200 lb. listing is accurate, he has a couple years of time in the weight room ahead of him before hitting the 220-230 lbs. he should weigh. But he can run and he's aggressive. He spends time on offense playing wide receiver, and he has the speed to run away from a lot of defenders. I also like his change of direction skills. He should be a plus blitzer because of his acceleration and change of direction, and he has the speed to run from sideline to sideline.
There are some technical things Spurlock needs to improve. He does not always read plays quickly, and he can take poor angles at times. He can also be a little overly aggressive, so he needs to slow down a little bit, break down, and make plays that are in front of him rather than running wildly into the backfield and then having to change direction at the last second. As players get bigger and stronger in college, they'll be more likely to break arm tackles.
Overall, I like Spurlock and I was a little confused when Michigan seemed to back off on him later in the summer. He seems to be the type of athlete that Michigan wants on defense, an athletic guy who can run all over the field. He will make mistakes, but he has the speed and aggression to make up for some of his shortcomings.
Michigan now has 18 commitments in the 2022 class, including three potential inside linebackers: Spurlock, Micah Pollard, and Aaron Alexander. Spurlock is the first commitment from Alabama since Nico Collins and J'Marick Woods signed with the Wolverines in 2017. No players have come to Michigan from Madison Academy, but well regarded running back Max Martin (Bob Jones High School) came to Michigan from Madison, AL, back in 2004.
TTB Rating: 78
Welcome young man, I hope it works out ...
ReplyDeleteDid you do Mason Graham and I am missing it?
ReplyDeleteHis, is the only film I've watched all year, only because Wiltfong compared him with Eddie Vanderdoes and I got pumped.
He ain't Eddie Vanderdoes, unfortunately. I can see that he needs to not be standing up, but beyond that I wanted to hear your thoughts on the kid.
I like him, but he ain't Eddie Vanderdoes. He's enough not Eddie Vanderdoes that I thought it needed to be repeated.
I started it but have not published it yet.
DeleteAnd I agree that Not Eddie Vanderdoes is not Eddie Vanderdoes.