Monday, February 27, 2023

Preview of 2024 In-State Recruiting: #1-5

 

Saline (MI) Saline QB C.J. Carr (image via MLive)

1. C.J. Carr - QB - Saline (MI) Saline
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 195 lbs.
Notable offers: Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State
Commitment: Notre Dame
247 Composite: 4-star, #5 QB, #35 overall
Analysis: Carr is the grandson of former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr and the son of former Michigan quarterback Jason Carr, so everyone expected him to pick Michigan. But he went to "The Dark Side" and committed to the Fighting Irish. Rivalries aside, Carr completed 226/339 passes (69%) for 2,697 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions as a junior in 2022. Considered a borderline 5-star prospect, he has good arm strength, excellent accuracy, and decent mobility. He will be a pocket quarterback at the college level. One noteworthy thing from watching his film is that he's not working with superior athletes at Saline, so many of his throws are to receivers who are well covered.

Hit the jump for more.


2. Brady Prieskorn - TE - Rochester (MI) Adams
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 225 lbs.
Notable offers: Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma
Commitment: Uncommitted
247 Composite: 4-star, #3 TE, #55 overall
Analysis: Prieskorn is another top-100 prospect in the state, and Michigan has a strong chance in this one with both crystal ball picks so far. As a junior in 2022, Prieskorn caught 24 passes for 648 yards and 10 touchdowns. He plays as a wideout in high school where's a physical mismatch for cornerbacks and safeties, but he's not athletic enough to fantasize about playing wide receiver in college. He will have to transition to putting his hand down, which may take some time. However, he's a physical blocker who likes to bully people, and he uses his physicality to run through tacklers, too. Overall, he's a very good prospect and would fit in well with how Michigan likes to use its tight ends. His older brother Caden Prieskorn spent the past few seasons playing tight end at Memphis and recently transferred to Ole Miss for the 2023 season.

3. Nick Marsh - WR - River Rouge (MI) River Rouge
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 195 lbs.
Notable offers: Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee
Commitment: Michigan State
247 Composite: 4-star, #12 WR, #77 overall
Analysis: Yet another top-100 prospect, Marsh has the look of a prototypical pro receiver. He makes a lot of acrobatic and one-handed catches. He also runs sharp routes - though he will have to expand his route tree in college - and shows some shiftiness when he gets the ball in his hands. In other words, there's no reason to expect him to be anything less than a good receiver in college, and he should be a force to be reckoned with down the road in East Lansing.

HIGHLIGHTS

4. Brandon Davis-Swain - DL - West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 240 lbs.
Notable offers: Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee, USC
Commitment: Uncommitted
247 Composite: 4-star, #12 DL, #96 overall
Analysis: Davis-Swain was committed to Notre Dame at one point, but he backed off that commitment in December. Coming from West Bloomfield, it was thought he would lean toward Michigan, where his former head coach, Ron Bellamy, is now an assistant coach. He also has a few former teammates in Ann Arbor, including Donovan Edwards and Makari Paige. Davis-Swain is a little of a tweener without elite athleticism to play an edge rusher role but lacking the size at this point to be a defensive tackle. He will probably end up being more of a strongside defensive end player with the occasional ability to rush the passer but more of a responsibility to stop the run and eat up blockers.

HIGHLIGHTS

5. Jacob Oden - S - Harper Woods (MI) Harper Woods
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 188 lbs.
Notable offers: Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee
Commitment: Michigan
247 Composite: 4-star, #18 ATH, #169 overall
Analysis: Check out my commitment post for full analysis (LINK).

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the post. I've personally withdrawn from HS recruiting to a large degree as the offer list has exploded exponentially, timelines have extended into thinking about sophomores, decommitments have grown to be commonplace and signing day drama has all but disappeared. On top of that, and more recently, NIL has taken hold as a major factor and the Portal is casting a long shadow over HS recruiting in terms of immediate impact. BUT -- that all said --the in-state recruiting battles are still something I take direct interest in.

    Appreciate the post.

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  2. I am wondering about the "prototypical pro receiver" statement. I checked the top 25 NFL leaders in receptions and found only 4 of them are WRs over 6'1. (DK Metcalf, Zay Jones, Mike Evans, and Michael Pittman).

    Given Marsh's size and relatively modest offer list I suspect he lacks the protypical WR's elite speed and quickness. Have not watched a lick of highlights let alone film or in person, I'm just seeing the info presented above and casting a skeptical eye. I know this -- if he's playing in EL it's pretty unlikely I'll be rooting for him.

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  3. I does not seem Michigan went all-in on Carr and possibly that was because he was not all-in on Michigan. I imagine Harbaugh would have certain feelings and expectations about a local kid with family ties to the program. This might be a fascinating situation -- or it might just be that the kid wanted to go somewhere away from home.

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