Pittsburgh (PA) Central Catholic linebacker Cole Sullivan committed to Michigan on Friday night. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, West Virginia, and others.
Sullivan is listed at 6'3" and 200 lbs. As a junior in 2022, Sullivan made 117 tackles and 2 sacks.
RANKINGS
ESPN: Unranked
On3: 3-star, 89 grade, #37 LB
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade, #34 OLB
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #57 LB
Hit the jump for more.
Sullivan was offered by Michigan in February, just after National Signing Day. With a Notre Dame offer and a name like "Sullivan," I just figured he was leaning toward the Fighting Irish until a few weeks ago when I started to hear whispers that Michigan had a real shot. With momentum building and then the announcement of an upcoming pledge, I finally switched my thinking to believe that Sullivan might be headed Michigan's way.
Sullivan is a long and lean linebacker. At 6'3" or 6'4" and listed everywhere at 200 lbs., he has a long way to go before his body is done developing. The first thing that stands out on his film is his quick-twitch change of direction ability, which is impressive for a fairly tall player. He plays with nice knee bend and a low center of gravity on both sides of the ball. Speaking of both sides of the ball, Sullivan is a jack of all trades who plays inside linebacker, outside linebacker, edge rusher, tight end, slot receiver, and long snapper. He has good makeup speed coming off the edge and chasing down players in the backfield. I like the angles he takes to ball carriers, aiming for the outside shoulder to keep contain.
Versatility can also be a curse, at least in the short-term. Sullivan can be a little slow to make reads at inside linebacker and shows some indecision. From the edge position, he can get crossed up sometimes. There are a couple points in the film where he gets his feet crossed up so badly that he's almost falling down when he makes plays, but he's such a superior athlete at this juncture that he has the explosiveness to still succeed against high schoolers. While he does have some explosiveness and shows aggression, he's going to need to eat and lift right to max out his lean body.
Overall, Sullivan is a great addition to Michigan's class. If lean athletes are willing and able to wait out the process of adding healthy weight, I think they generally do pretty well. I think Sullivan is at his best coming off the edge as an outside linebacker who occasionally drops into coverage (a la Jaylen Harrell), but his body will need time to develop.
Michigan now has 17 commitments in the class of 2024. Sullivan is the third linebacker, following Mason Curtis and Zach Ludwig. Sullivan would be the first player from Pittsburgh (PA) Central Catholic to suit up for Michigan.
TTB Rating: 79
Physical. Sometimes kids as slick with his feet as Sullivan don't want to take contact. There is a clip in his film where he is confronted with a blocker who gets him good and lined up despite Sullivan's best efforts to avoid him, and Sullivan just jolts the kid with a pretty vicious hit comes off the contact and makes the play. That kid felt that hit in his molars. He's a really tough kid if he came back for a second go.
ReplyDeleteReally impressive taking an upper midwest, Irish Catholic kid away from Notre Dame.
I forgot. Check out his basketball film. They have him in the post. You really don't want to have to go screen him. He'll blast you. Probably a foul more times than not, but still pretty fun.
DeleteRoanman
Yeah, I watched some of his basketball film. He definitely plays basketball like a football player.
DeleteKid is jacked, but yeah definitely needs some good weight
ReplyDeleteI don't even know if he's that jacked - he just looks really lean. People think he's like Chase Winovich, but Wino was listed at 6'3" and 225 lbs. coming out of high school. Sullivan is 25 pounds lighter.
DeleteFrank Clark ish
Delete