Franklin (MI) Groves offensive tackle Avery Gach committed to Michigan on Friday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan State, and Ohio State, among others.
Gach is a 6'5", 290 lb. prospect.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #34 OT, #296 overall
On3: 3-star, 89 grade, #32 IOL
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #14 OT, #145 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #13 IOL, #196 overall
Hit the jump for more.
Gach is a Michigan State legacy and has more connections to the Spartans than the Wolverines, but when given the choice . . . well, most sane people will pick the maize and blue.
Gach is an interesting prospect. He shows a desire to finish and reported 90 pancakes for his junior season, according to Hudl. He shows some good straight-line speed, and once he latches on to defenders, his feet keep churning non-stop. He has some good reps in pass protection to cut off edge defenders.
There are some red flags, though. He appears to be a bit of a waist-bender instead of a knee bender, and he can be somewhat mechanical in his movements. He keeps a narrow base and doesn't often win the leverage battle; he wins most of his battles with his size and foot churn, but he does not flex through the hips as much as I would like to see. He tends to pop up too high, and even on his highlights, his first step is a split second too late. There are times where he struggles to redirect to mirror pass rushers. And because of his narrow base, a lot of his "pancakes" tend to be holds that appear to go uncalled because he's so physically dominant.
Overall, I think Gach has some nice athleticism to get out and pull, but I worry both about his viability as a tackle (he lacks some lateral quickness) and as a guard (he plays too high and too narrow). The athleticism may be enough to overcome those weaknesses, but in general, it seems like guys who are waist-benders do not hit their ceilings as often as guys who are a bit more flexible.
Michigan now has five commitments in the class of 2025. Gach is the second to join the class after Jim Harbaugh's departure, following defensive lineman Nathaniel Marshall.
TTB Rating: TBD
Thunder, what has your experience been with waist-benders? Can that habit routinely get coached out of them to become knee-benders, or is it usually pretty static? I remember how frustrating it was to see Ben Braden play that way.
ReplyDeleteI'm not the world's greatest coach or anything, but my experience with waist-benders is that they will always be waist-benders. Occasionally, coaching will kick in, but especially when someone gets tired, they revert back to what is most comfortable for them. You're not going to take a finesse running back and turn him into a pile-pusher, and you're not going to take a run-stopping safety and turn him into an elite coverage guy.
DeleteWaist-benders can play - it's not like they'll be mired on the bench forever - but it limits their upside. Ben Braden was a massive human being, but he was just so-so at Michigan and didn't really do anything at the next level.
Momentum. Will this guy be a stud? Who knows, but if there's a position group to trust Moore with, OL is it!
ReplyDelete