Washington (DC) Gonzaga offensive tackle Evan Link committed to Michigan on Monday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Maryland, Miami, Penn State, and Stanford, among others.
Link is listed at 6'6" and 290 pounds.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #33 OT
On3: 4-star, 93 grade, #11 OT, #125 overall
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade, #50 OT
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #43 OT
Hit the jump for more on Link's commitment.
Link is a high academic prospect who was offered by the Wolverines over a year ago. His recruitment to Michigan seemed to be hot and cold over that stretch. He was slated to take an official visit to Michigan back in June, but that visit had to be canceled. He then made an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor for the BBQ at the Big House (LINK) and committed the next day.
Link is a big body with a solid frame. He's rather lean, which I like because those guys seem to be able to put on good weight within a year or two, whereas it seems to take longer to reshape players with bad weight to begin. He has good basic technique. I like his initial kick set, and he does a good job in pass protection of keeping defenders out of his body. He uses his body position well to cut off players and work his butt to the playside, and he does a nice job of walling off second level defenders when climbing.
On the negative side, Link is very robotic. His first kick step is good, but after that he can get lost and does not have quick enough to catch up to defenders who elude him. He performs his initial assignment, but he does not react well to counter moves or defenders' redirection. I like film of high school linemen to include pancakes or finishes downfield, and there's not much of that on Link's film. He tends to stop his feet and does not move well laterally once defenders react to where the ball is going. If Link were a musician, he would be good at playing chords but not so good at improvisational jazz.
Overall, Link has some decent skills and technique, but his upside is limited because of diffidence and a lack of standout athleticism. He reminds me of a lot of prototypical Northwestern Wildcat linemen, who are . . . you know . . . okay. If I had to name a Michigan lineman for a comp, I might go with someone like Nolan Ulizio, who started for a little bit before finishing his career at Pitt.
Michigan now had 13 commitments in the 2023 class, including interior lineman Amir Herring. Link would be the first player from Gonzaga to sign with Michigan.
TTB Rating: 72
Big, offers from smart schools, I like it ...
ReplyDeleteDiffident, is not a great quality in an athlete.
ReplyDeleteNot sophisticated enough at lineman film to pick up on the diffidence, but he's definitely not nasty. I can see the robotic.
There are instances where he picks up one guy, then quickly adjusts to a second. It wasn't exactly poetry in motion, but it was quick. It's likely unreasonable to expect poetry from a 6'6" 290 17/18 year old kid.
He gets out and runs well. That part of it looks easy for him.
I like him better than I did Ulizio. I think he has better feet, maybe not as mean.
Im not at all feeling good about 2023 recruiting. The window for a run at a National Championsip is small. Its gone after 2 years.
ReplyDeleteThe window for a National Championship run was never there. Michigan simply does not have enough high-caliber players at all positions to compete at that level. What happened in the playoff game vs. Georgia showed that. I'm starting to wonder if even Ohio State can compete at the levels needed. They're certainly more serious about it than is Michigan, but whether they can run with what's going on at Georgia, Alabama, and Texas A&M is to be seen.
DeleteI truly do believe at this point Michigan fans have to settle into the idea that football should be enjoyed, as best it can be, from September through November. January football probably isn't much in the cards.
I too am not feeling good about 2023 Recruiting. I too agree that the window for a National Championship was never there. As a fan, I would be happy with 1 win over OSU every 3 years, win the Big Ten every 5 years. Anyone expecting Michigan to compete with Bama/Georgia/OSU every year is delusional.
DeleteIt's been a while since Michigan has had a top 5 recruiting class. And probably decades since they had consecutive ones. One class isn't going to change the fact that a handful of schools (led by Alabama, OSU, Georgia) have an increasingly large share of talent and thus a substantial advantage on the field. Michigan getting the 5th, 10th, 15th, or 30th ranked class in one year won't change this fact. One good season isn't going to overturn a multi-year trend - particularly with bigger factors like NIL
DeleteSo I'll agree with the Anon that said a championship window was never there in that sense. Michigan is up against a lot of challenges here despite traditional prestige - demographics, weather, passion, money. Michigan is elite but not THAT elite.
Michigan can win a championship though - I'll disagree with they can't because of talent. There have been multiple articles that discuss this - Michigan still has elite talent to compete for championships even though it's a tier below the very top of the elite that continue to consolidate. Moreover, they were just there. I'm saying there's a chance.
DeleteIt's very unlikely but with some breaks it can happen. Despite the outcome of the Georgia game, we weren't that far away last year. MIchigan was mostly lucky last year but very unlucky to draw Georgia straight away in the playoff. I think we should recognize that '21 Georgia was an exceptionally good team - even by Alabama/OSU standards that was a special defense.
But not unbeatable. Had Georgia stubbed their toe in the playoff instead of the SEC champ game, we might have had a very different playoff outcome. What if 2-loss Alabama was out of the playoff entirely, Georgia was a one seed, and we had to play Cincinnati (3 seed) and then Notre Dame/Baylor (4 seed) instead of getting whooped by Georgia in the first round?
Again, not likely, but we weren't that far off from Michigan having a much cleaner, less challenging, path to a championship. It's CFB - weird stuff happens every year.
Michigan is close enough to be in contention when things break right and we got to see that last year. It might be a decade before it happens again though. If you want it to happen ever few years, not every 10-20, you need Michigan to elevate up from a program that's in the top 5-15 to one that is in the top 5.
DeleteIf the goal is not just to hope to get lucky sometimes, but rather to make the playoff consistently, the far bigger hurdle is OSU. Despite 2021, OSU is the school that blocks our path to national titles, not any SEC school - because OSU keeps us out of the party most years. They're our neighbor, rival, and - because a spot has to open for us to grab it - our most likely path to getting a top 5 spot - because one has to open up for us to get it. Knocking OSU off their pedestal (not just beating them every 5 or 10 years like us and PSU do) is the way to get national titles.
It's very hard but 2021 can be a start. A single good year guarantees nothing though.
IMO Harbaugh is one of the better coaches in the country that I can think of to overcome a talent deficit - because he thinks differently and has an identity/vision (powerful run-oriented offense with lots of TEs)
IMO Michigan fans shouldn't expect national titles right now. But they also shouldn't give up hope. It's CFB - things don't go like they are supposed to or are expected to. That's the fun part. But there's also the hard truth that 2021 is more likely to be a culmination than a stepping stone.
Sure, with a very good team and some lucky breaks, Michigan could find themselves the last team standing in a long season and a playoff scenario. I think the odds of it are pretty low, but as you say, there's a chance. But it's a very, very small number.
DeleteThe teams I'm most curious about this year are the following, mostly because I'm curious if the new coaches can move the needle: LSU (Brian Kelly); Oklahoma (Brent Venables); Southern Cal (Lincoln Riley). In addition, I'm curious to see if Clemson has any gas left in its tank, and whether OSU, who I keep hearing is loaded with talent, can put that together to form an SEC-beating team.
DeleteI have a LOT of doubts about Brian Kelly at LSU.
I should have added Notre Dame to that list. Their new coach seems to be doing well on the recruiting trail.
DeleteFirst year coaches tend to do best when they are building on something rather than flipping things over entirely. I'm skeptical about Riley at USC because I think there's just too much work to be done - but expectations seem to be very high. I suppose there's more talent around than your typical 3-6 team, but for 2022 I would think ND, Oklahoma and LSU are all better off.
Delete"He's rather lean, which I like because those guys seem to be able to put on good weight within a year or two, whereas it seems to take longer to reshape players with bad weight to begin."
ReplyDeleteThis is my opinion for OL too - and other positions as well. I'd rather project a guy to grow than try to undo stuff first. It's generally easier to build a new house than to tear down to the studs and renovate.
Not every recruit is going to gain a ton of weight but most successful ones are going to add 10, 20, 30 pounds or more while in college.
You 2 guys write books?
ReplyDeleteYep. Why not? As long as the discourse stays civil, it's a lot of fun.
Delete