Virginia transfer center Olu Oluwatimi committed to Michigan via Twitter on December 27:
#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/eqPYvXtyzM
— Olu (@bigolu55) December 27, 2021
A product of Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha, Oluwatimi was a 6'4", 275 lb. prospect in high school who signed with Air Force in 2017. At the time he was a 2-star, the #160 offensive guard, and #3300 overall. After spending a year in Colorado, he transferred to Virginia and sat out the 2018 season due to transfer rules. He missed his first possible game in 2019 due to a hand injury, and then he would go on to start the next 32 games for the Cavaliers. In the 2021 season, he was named a Rimington finalist as one of the top three centers in the country.
Hit the jump for more.
Now listed at 6'3", 310 lbs. (he got shorter), I have to be honest and say that I expected more when I searched out some Virginia film. I'll admit I only watched one game vs. Miami, but Oluwatimi takes a lot of plays off. He doesn't always move his feet very well, and he picks and chooses when to finish plays. And I say that in comparison to some of his UVA linemates, who can be seen hustling to follow plays while Oluwatimi is walking behind.
I'm a little bit leery of Oluwatimi's signing with Michigan in light of the Willie Allen experience going into 2021. For a brief refresher, he was an LSU signee who transferred to Louisiana Tech and then transferred to Michigan for a semester and then transferred to UMass for the fall, where he played in just three games. Playing in the Big Ten at Michigan week in and week out is a different ordeal than playing in the ACC at the University of Virginia, a program that is lucky to go 6-6.
Overall, it's certainly not a bad thing to land a Rimington finalist to try to replace sixth year senior Andrew Vastardis at center, but I'm not convinced that he'll beat out the other guys on Michigan's line. Not only does Michigan have youngsters Greg Crippen, Raheem Anderson, and Reece Atteberry, but there was also talk last off-season that another of Michigan's starters, guard Zak Zinter, could have started at center in 2021. But going from chronic hustler Vastardis to a guy with some obvious loafs, I have some questions.
Let's hope this was one bad game, and what the coaches saw in the other 11+ is more indicative of what we will be getting
ReplyDelete*also hope Ryan Hayes puts in the kind of work that can earn him a 1st Round opportunity
Yeah Hayes has Hutchinson example to work off of. He's good already but can be great if he works hard. Vast majority of OL get better with age, experience, development so I think we can project Hayes as all conference caliber but he's the one who has to put in the work.
DeleteI will be disappointed if Hayes isn't First/Second Team All-Big Ten next year. Even though I've been saying for years that it's roughly a lifetime achievement award (a guy on a good team who starts for several years is going to get recognized on the OL), he's talented enough to actually deserve it if he plays up to his potential.
DeleteWhere can I go to enter my bet against this take? I'd like to see a TTB rank so we can get this critical view down more formally.
ReplyDeleteFrom my seat over here in the hot takes sometimes backed by data zone... I see a Rimington award and strong PFF grade and all conference ACC honors against, well, one game of highlight review and an accusation of low effort.
I appreciate that Michigan has good young talent at the position but the coaches wouldn't be recruiting a proven vet if they didn't see the benefit. And yeah, you can bring up Allen here but he was a gamble like Whitley. Hayes and Steuber steeped up - maybe Allen helped.
Oluwatimi is on another level, more like Danna or Rudock, except coming in with more talent and fewer questions. Oluwatimi raises not only the floor obut the ceiling of the 2022 team substantially. HUGE deal.
Only reservation I have is that OL continuity is so important. New guy coming in at OC has not worked well most years.
DeleteHopefully Oluwatimi is integrated in without issue but Vastardis was a big part of the 2021 OL even if his talent level was a big drop from Ruiz. Crippen and the other guys will have that edge and they aren't freshman anymore either.
BUT. We're talking about an All American caliber player proven at a power 5 program. He's going to be good and should slot in easily. Let's not overthink.
There are several examples of guys coming in that didn't noticeably help, including Whittley, Wayne Lyons, Ed Warinner, Willie Allen, Alan Bowman, the CB from Utah whose name I'm forgetting, etc. It's harder to find a transfer who helps (Jake Rudock, Mike Danna) than one who doesn't.
DeleteJohn O'Korn might be the third best transfer during the Harbaugh era, unless I'm forgetting someone.
Yeah, this year's crop (Baldwin, Bowman, Whitley) illustrates your point about transfers in general. Many of them are attempts to plug holes. I think your skepticism of transfers, in general, is warranted. But none of those guys were ranked anywhere near being an All American.
DeleteOluwatimi is BY FAR the most proven transfer we've ever had. TBD if he'll be the most impactful of course but we're on another level here. This is more "gaining a major asset" than "filling a need" IMO.