Logan Tuley-Tillman, Wolverine

Peoria (IL) Manual offensive tackle
Logan Tuley-Tillman

Peoria (IL) Manual offensive tackle Logan Tuley-Tillman committed to Michigan on Sunday evening.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Purdue, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Tuley-Tillman is a 6'7", 300 lb. lineman who projects to the left tackle position in college.  As a junior in 2011, he recorded 61 pancake blocks.

Ratings:
ESPN: Unranked OT
Rivals: 4-star OT, #109 overall
Scout: Unranked OT
247 Sports: 4-star OT, 94 grade, #13 OT, #85 overall

Tuley-Tillman had originally planned to take all of his official visits.  He essentially wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to travel and see the country.  However, Michigan went on a bit of a run in the past couple days with commitments from three offensive lineman.  The coaches probably want to take four or five linemen in this class, and if he had waited much longer, he might have been left out in the cold.  Unfortunately, he won't be able to travel the country just yet if he wants to stay committed to Michigan (the coaches won't let kids travel elsewhere without considering them decommitted).  On the plus side, if everything goes well, he'll get a chance to visit California, Florida, Arizona, or Louisiana when Michigan takes trips to BCS bowl games in the next few seasons.

It's analysis time, and here's where things get rough:

Logan Tuley-Tillman is not very good right now.  He has size, athleticism, and potential galore.  But every offensive line recruit Michigan picked up this weekend has better technique than him.  Tuley-Tillman played for a 3-6 Manual team that emphasizes the run, and even his footwork in the running game is questionable.  It looks like Tuley-Tillman has never had a day of quality offensive line coaching.

When he run blocks, he stands up too high.  He picks his foot up and puts it right back down where it was.  He crosses his feet at times.  He keeps a narrow base.  When he pass blocks, he doesn't give ground, which opens things up for speed rushes.  And you can see during his Core 6 videos (here and here) that he doesn't know how to cancel the inside rush if those speed rushers try to make an inside move.  He is a huge project at this time.

That's the bad stuff.  Now for the good stuff:

Tuley-Tillman could be a very good blindside tackle in a few years.  If he takes to the coaching at Michigan and learns footwork and technique, the sky is the limit.  He's got skinny legs and a big butt, which makes him a prime candidate to carry added weight in his butt and upper body and turn into a 315 lb., mobile tackle.  He also displays a nasty attitude about blocking that will serve him well when he figures out how to put it all together.

It's somewhat difficult for me to project Tuley-Tillman down the road.  He has all kinds of potential, but it all depends on how quickly he figures it out.  Less athletic guys than him have turned into multi-year starters in recent years (Perry Dorrestein, Mark Huyge, etc.).  He could be a first round pick in 2018, or he could get frustrated and leave Michigan early.  He loves the University of Michigan, which will hopefully keep him around through the tough times.  But it's not going to be an easy road for him to adjust.

Jake Butt, Wolverine

Pickerington (OH) North tight end/defensive end Jake Butt (#84)

Pickerington (OH) North tight end Jake Butt committed to Michigan on Sunday evening.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, and Wisconsin.

Butt is a 6'6", 230 lb. prospect who claims a 4.7 forty.  He had 27 receptions for for 424 yards and 7 touchdowns as a junior in 2011.  He also had 17.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks from his defensive end position.

Ratings:
ESPN: 4-star DE
Rivals: 4-star TE, #96 overall
Scout: Unranked DE
247 Sports: 4-star TE, 90 grade, #10 TE

Butt previously proclaimed Michigan his leader "by far."  He visited Michigan this weekend and was enamored enough to sit down with his parents, talk it over, and immediately call up the coaches to commit.  Despite planning to hold off on committing, Michigan's recent run on commitments and the recent commitment of Detroit (MI) Crockett tight end Khalid Hill seems to have sped up his recruitment.

Butt has an excellent frame to grow into a 250-260 lb. traditional tight end.  He's a large target who ought to be able to make plays in traffic, and with above average speed, he'll be a bit of a matchup problem for opponents.  He adjusts well to the ball in the air and has the ability to make up for mediocre throws from his quarterback.  While there aren't many highlights of him blocking, he does show an aggressive nature as a defensive player that should make him an asset as an in-line blocker.

What I don't see from Butt is the ability to gain yards after the catch.  The plays in his highlight videos don't really get him into open space very much, but there are a couple times where he has an opportunity to make something happen.  I also see some shaky receptions where he juggles the ball a little bit before bringing it in, a trait Michigan fans have seen fairly often with Kevin Koger over the past few years.  But will have to add some weight and strength, but that's not a criticism, because almost every prospect needs to do that.

Overall, Butt is a very good tight end prospect.  He's not the smooth, explosive tight end we've seen making an impact in the NFL recently (Aaron Hernandez, Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, etc.), but he will remind Michigan fans of the tight ends of old - Jerame Tuman, Jay Riemersma, etc., guys who can catch, block, and run a little bit.  With the graduation of Brandon Moore after the 2012 season, Butt may be in line to battle A.J. Williams for playing time at the Y position.

As mentioned above, Butt is the second tight end commitment in the 2013 class.  With two having committed in 2012, as well, it seems that Michigan may be done with tight end recruiting for the cycle.  The last Pickerington North player to commit to Michigan was offensive guard Justin Boren in the class of 2006.

For the best junior highlights, visit Rivals.  Or take a look at these from his sophomore season:

Detroit News: Michigan now 13-point underdog against Alabama

Ashley Valence

If you're planning to bet on the Michigan vs. Alabama game, Michigan is a 13-point dog.  Hop on the betting now if you think it's going to be a close game.

Taco Charlton, Wolverine

Pickerington (OH) Central defensive end Taco Charlton poses with
fellow 2013 commit Shane Morris
(image via Twitter)

Pickerington (OH) Central defensive end Taco Charlton committed to Michigan on Saturday.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Pitt, Purdue, Syracuse, and UCLA.

Charlton is a 6'6", 240 lb. outside linebacker for Central, but he projects to start out at weakside end for Michigan.  He claims a 4.8 forty, a 315 bench, and a 345 squat.  He had 40 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 7 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery as a sophomore in 2010.  I have yet to find statistics for his junior season.

Ratings:
ESPN: Unranked DE
Rivals: 4-star DE, #183 overall
Scout: Unranked DE
247 Sports: 4-star OLB, 93 grade, #9 OLB, #143 overall

Charlton was offered by Michigan in September 2011.  It was known that Michigan sat at or near the top of his list ever since the offer, and he was rumored to be on the verge of committing for the last few weeks.  In fact, most message boarders seemed to think that Charlton was the mystery recruit planning to announce on Sam Webb's WTKA show yesterday at noon, which turned out to be Wyatt Shallman instead.  Charlton waited until late Saturday evening to share his commitment.

Much like with fellow Saturday night commit Chris Fox, there aren't a whole lot of Charlton highlights available for analysis.  Those that are available show a long, lean, athletic kid with a good motor . . . who's just kind of out on the field chasing after the ball.  I don't see a whole lot of football fundamentals or discipline.  He's a very raw prospect who, I think, needs to work on reading blocks and maintaining gap discipline.

Luckily for Charlton - and for Michigan - the Wolverines brought in a cadre of defensive end prospects in the 2012 class, so Charlton should have the opportunity to redshirt if necessary.  He has the right attitude and athleticism to play at the next level, but he's a project.  I imagine he will likely start out at weakside end at Michigan, but he could very well grow into a strongside end by the time his career is over.

He is the ninth commitment in the class of 2013 for Michigan.  He was also the sixth player to pick Michigan on Saturday.  In one day Michigan tripled its number of pledges.  Charlton will join fellow Pickerington Central alum Tamani Carter, who will be a redshirt freshman safety this fall.

Chris Fox, Wolverine

Parker (CO) Ponderosa offensive tackle Chris Fox

Parker (CO) Ponderosa offensive tackle Chris Fox committed to Michigan on Saturday.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from Colorado, Florida State, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Purdue.

Fox is a 6'6", 297 lb. offensive lineman who looks to me like a right tackle, but he could also move inside to guard.  He claims a 5.5 forty.

Ratings:
ESPN: 4-star OT
Rivals: 4-star OT, #46 overall
Scout: 4-star OG
247 Sports: 4-star OT, 95 grade, #8 OT, #48 overall

Fox's recruitment was considered to be a two-horse race between his home state Buffaloes and the Wolverines, but Colorado isn't really considered to be a hot destination these days.  This is a big loss for the home state team, because Fox was generally considered to be the state's top recruit.  At least Fox won't have to adjust to the cold when he arrives in Ann Arbor.  He was offered in June 2011, visited campus last summer, and obviously made a return trip this weekend.  When kids travel to Michigan a second time from somewhere as far away as Colorado, you can assume they have serious interest.

Most of Fox's highlight film comes on the defensive side of the ball, so it's hard to get a great feel for him as an offensive lineman.  He is a very aggressive defensive tackle who flies around the field more than most 297 lb. kids do.  Aside from his attitude, I also like the fundamentals of how he plays defense.  He stays low, uses his hands well, flies to the football, gets his hands up to disrupt throwing lanes, etc.  If that discipline and those fundamentals also apply to his offensive skills, then he has a lot of upside.

Fox should presumably start out at the right tackle position in college.  He shows good athleticism as a defensive player, but I'm not certain he has the lateral quickness to play left tackle; I won't rule it out without seeing more film of him, though.  I also think he has the body to move inside and play guard.  His body type reminds me quite a bit of 2012 commit Kyle Kalis, whom Coach Funk plans to start out at right tackle.

This is Michigan's first recruit to come out of Colorado since tight end Steve Watson in the class of 2007.

National Football Post: Top 10 offensive players in 2013

Daphne Joy

Last night I posted a link to National Football Post's top ten defensive players.  Here's the offensive version, replete with Shane Morris and four other Michigan targets.

David Dawson, Wolverine

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech offensive guard David Dawson (left, #55) committed to Michigan today

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech offensive guard David Dawson committed to Michigan today.  He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, and West Virginia.

Ratings:
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 4-star OT, #199 overall
Scout: Unranked
247 Sports: 4-star OT, 90 grade, #28 OT

Dawson is a 6'5", 305 lb. kid whom I see as an offensive guard rather than tackle.  He claims a 325 lb. bench press and a 5.4-second forty.  He spent his junior season in Texas playing at Cy-Ridge High School, but he transferred back to Detroit after football season ended and will play his senior year for the Technicians.

Dawson shows impressive footwork at times, and he shows a good understanding of protection schemes.  You can tell that he has worked extensively on pass blocking, and I also liked that he shows chemistry with his teammates.  There are some combo blocks that he works very nicely.  He also shows the ability to give a good initial punch.

Unfortunately, this is the first commit of the day that leaves a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth.  Despite the offers from big-time schools such as Alabama and Florida State, I think Michigan may have jumped the gun a little early on Dawson.  In my opinion, he's not the elite prospect that some of Michigan's other targets are (such as Ethan Pocic, Chris Fox, etc.).  Not that Dawson's commitment will necessarily prevent the Wolverines from grabbing those guys, but it does constrict the window a little bit.  Dawson stands up high too often, and when he's not pulling or pass blocking, he tends to get lazy with his footwork.  His base gets too narrow and he's passive.  He seems content with just trying to push a guy around with his upper body.  He's not a great athlete, but he moves well enough to be a an FBS player.  I'm just not sure that the nastiness is there to finish blocks, drive guys into the ground, or get up to the next level.

Dawson's commitment gives the Wolverines seven commits for the class of 2013.  He's also the ninth Cass Tech Technician to commit to Michigan since 2008 (Boubacar Cissoko).