[2024] Recruiting Class Grades Batch Intro

[tsweezy]

It's that time of year again! Time to hand out recruiting class grades!

This is a special introductory post for WMU since @Jieret included me in some of his media. Special privilege's for those who talk about Tennessee 👀

 

 

Western Michigan Unviersity

Mid-American Conference

2023: 5-7 (4-4)

 

Recruiting Class Basics:

WMU signed 3 5-stars, 9 4-stars, 6 3-stars, and 6 2-stars. They signed 10 players with B or higher potential and 3 players with B overalls. Projected Rankings below:

ESPN: 2nd
Rivals: 5th
247: 3rd
247 top-15: 3rd
Composite: 3rd

 

Signees below:

School	Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
WMU	Richard Powley	4	C	A	C	Pass Blocking	Muskegon	MI
WMU	Ryan Topping	4	C	C+	CB	Zone Coverage	Brookfield	WI
WMU	John Gonzalez	2	C	A-	CB	Man Coverage	Fairburn	GA
WMU	Dewayne Sanders	2	C	C+	CB	Zone Coverage	Pendleton	SC
WMU	Anthony Jackson	3	C	B-	DE	Balanced	Metairie	LA
WMU	Juan Marquez	2	D	B+	DT	Pass Rusher	Walton	IN
WMU	Homero Velasquez	2	C	B+	FB	Balanced	Buda	TX
WMU	Edward Beaty	2	D	B-	FS	Zone Coverage	Grovetown	GA
WMU	Ronald Fennell	4	C	B	ILB	Speed	Swainsboro	GA
WMU	Robert Roe	3	C	A-	ILB	Run Stopper	Parma	MI
WMU	Alejandro Rivera	4	C	B-	K	Power	Mesquite	TX
WMU	William Radosta	5	B	C+	OG	Balanced	Yorktown	VA
WMU	Derek Garrett	3	C	B-	OG	Balanced	Portage	MI
WMU	David Hartshorn	4	C	B-	OLB	Coverage	Brooksville	FL
WMU	Anthony Reevey	4	C	C	OLB	Run Stopper	Montague	MI
WMU	Curtis Davis	5	B	B	OT	Pass Blocking	Maroa	IL
WMU	Ronald Demotte	3	C	B	OT	Pass Blocking	St. Louis	MO
WMU	Phan Dighe	4	C	C+	P	Balanced	Greensboro	NC
WMU	Diego Alvarado	3	C	B+	QB	Balanced	Longview	TX
WMU	Carlo Liu	4	C	B-	RB	Balanced	Arlington	MD
WMU	Timothy Khan	5	B	B-	SS	Man Coverage	Madison	MS
WMU	David Pause	3	C	A	TE	Receiving	Van Meter	IA
WMU	Shane Morris	4	C	C+	WR	Red Zone Threat	Charleston	SC
WMU	Clinton Antonson	2	C	C	WR	Speed	Great Bend	KS

 

Below is a breakdown position-by-position of (from L-R) their current roster, what they did on the trail, and the grade I gave them in recruiting that position.

 

Position	Current position grade	Current status	Number signed	Recruiting status	Crooting Grade
C	D+	WMU actually has 3 centers with SO eligibility on roster and a 3-star from last cycle. Sadly they are all C overalls right now and there are not even any individual attributes greater than C overall. In 3 words: not great Bob.	1	Richard Powley is actually a really good pickup. The 9th best center in the class with A potential, he should get the starting nod as a freshman so he can start growing and getting reps. Definite upgrade	B+
CB	B-	The CB room is good on the high end, if a little lacking depth. Omari Stanley is the only blue chip in the room, and as a RS SO A- looks like he'll be an A overall locking down half the field next season. The other starting position is going to be taken by '21 signee Michael Gonzalez, an A potential 3-star who's already a B overall (albeit a low B). The other 4 guys in the room are mediocre, they might have one B- as their CB3 but at least they're a consistent zone team.	3	They've signed 2 each class and continue that with 2 (real) players and a 2 star C potential who will never matter here. Ryan Topping will be the second blue chip in the room and could potentially be CB3 if things shake out his way. John Gonzalez (no relation to Michael) is their 2 star A potential which is nice because he has a couple guys ahead of him so has plenty of time to develop. Only issue is he's a man coverage guy which is a clash (unless they're planning on switching schemes in the future).	B-
DE	B	This is a really deep room (but with no real stars). There are probably going to be 4 B/B+ players in the room but no A overalls. They have had a 4 star each of the last 2 years who are progressing into serviceable role players already. A mix of archetypes they may be able to mix and match starters depending on what scheme they're matched up against.	1	Anthony Jackson is... ok. They weren't super in need of bodies so this wasn't very critical, but a 3 star B- potential is very middle of the road for a team with WMU ambitions.	C
DT	C+	This is a thinner room than DE that's for sure.They have a single B- overall and a C+ (both 2 stars with just ok potentials). They signed a trio of 3s and a 4 the last 2 classes and none of them have any good attributes yet. They should grow up relatvively quickly but probably 2 years away from being a great room.	1	Another singular 2 star with B+ potential and D overall. He is going to need at least 3 seasons of progressions before being trusted to start. Still though, at least they signed someone	C
FB	F	They have ZERO on roster (but also haven't played any so oh well	1	I guess they signed him for the lolz. I'm not sure if their long term plan is to continue the air raid, but I'm just going to assume they aren't going to want to pull one of their blue chip skill players off the field for a 2 star FB anytime soon.	D+
FS	B	Next year Bradley is likely going to be the starter as a senior 3 star B+ overall player. A good zone coverage with smarts if not a lot of physical skills, he'll tide them over until last years 4-star Brandon Eckerman takes over.	1	Another 2 star D overall B- potential player. Eckerman is the future so this year didn't really matter at FS but he's still not good	D+
ILB	B	They will have Moore, who is a speedy senior 4-star with A+ speed/agility already. He's going to be an absolute monster manning the middle next year, although they will have very little behind him, likely choosing between a pair of C+ potential 3-stars from last year. Hopefully he doesn't get hurt.	2	BIG step up here. Ronald Fennell is another 4-star speed backer who will eventually replace Moore. They also have Robert Roe, a 3 star A- run stopper who could sub in when they need more muscle. Great reload class should have them set for the future.	B+
K	B	Duke Lotulelei has 2 more years on campus and is a B already. Not going to win awards, but will be above average before he departs. Their last 2 years they signed 1 stars though who basically aren't people	1	We know they took a big swing at #1 kicker Bruce Knight. Unfortunately for them, Knight picked a better program and they had to move to plan B. Rivera is still a great signee though, as a top-10 kicker prospect in the country. Blue chip with B- potential, the assumption is he'll take over as a RS SO and be a 3 year good starter	B+
OG	B-	They signed a B overall pass blocker last year who is their 2nd best in the room. They'll have another B overall senior pass blocker at the other spot, and a 3rd for backup. In 2025 though they don't really have a great 2nd OG lined up	2	5-star alert!! William Radosta is the 33rd overall croot in this class and the 4th best OG. He will be right in the mix for a starting spot next year, but it's likely Jieret lets his seniors play and graduate before sliding Radosta in for the rest of his career. this definitively locks up the 2 starting OG spots for several years. They also got a solid 3 star for more depth options.	A
OLB	B-	They signed Seantrel Garate (5-star) in 2021 and he's already an A overall who's locked down a spot and should be an all-american candidate next year. They have a couple other 3-star underclassmen but none of them are ready for primetime. Maybe Chatwood is a B- next season and takes over the other spot. Either way, that OLB2 slot could do with an upgrade	2	A double 4-star class is certainly a good class. Both are C overalls so likely won't start right away, but the expectation is that now they have more options to run in competition and when Garate leaves after 2025 they'll have A- ish replacements to step in	B+
OT	C+	They have a pair of B overall players from the class of '20, but it's not a very strong B. After progressions they should be fine starters but I don't know how well they can stand up to any A overall DEs they might get paired up against. Similarly they signed a pair of 3 stars last cycle who will be good eventually, but aren't there yet. Shout out to Alex Sweezy for his name and for being a rising senior who hopefully gets his starting chance next year and doesn't get jumped by like a 5-star signee or anything	2	5-star alert!! Curtis Davis is the 4th best player in the whole class AND has a B potential. Absolute monster who should immediately be a good starter and play 4 years before going in the early 1st round. 4 years of security at OT is always a great pickup (sorry Sweezy). Another 3-star pickup too to add a lottery ticket and see which of their depth chart pieces progresses best to replace Aroldis on the other OT spot once he leaves	A
P	C+	This is the least important position and it's.. fine. They have a 3 star rising junior and senior who will play ok but nothing special. Time is probably ripe to sign the next in that line though	1	Got Phan Dighe, the 3rd best punter in the class from Greensboro, NC. He's probably a redshirt candidate and gives WMU 2 more cycles before they have to look at punter again. Nice work with the specialists this class	A-
QB	B-	It was a disappointing season for Broncos fans accustomed to Scribner being one of the best to ever throw it. OG Torres certainly threw it a LOT, but not particularly stellarly. Some called for David Ponce de Leon to get snaps but Jieret seemed against putting in a scrambler even if he was higher rated. Last years 4-star signeeWillie Robinson wasn't ready, and this off-season there may be some interest in seeing if he's ready to unseat OG. It'll be interesting to see which of those 3 start the next year or 2, but long term Willie seems to be the future plan.	1	Meh, just signed a backup arm. Willie is clearly their future plan and it looks like they weren't wasting too many resources going for an ultra-elite player to upgrade from that. Probably don't need another starter until next class or the one after.	C
RB	C+	This has been a firmly air raid program and their RB room backs that up. Richaun Allen will be a senior B overall next year and their best option. They signed a trio of 3-stars in the last 2 classes but again those guys are not ready for a starting role just yet. Either way, the ground game is not going to carry this team anytime soon.	1	Carlo Liu might try to change that though. Their first blue chip RB signee, Carlo is a balanced C overall with B- potential who won't play in 2024 but could start making noise in 2025 and beyond. He's certainly on paper the most talented back to join the program so an upgrade there	B
SS	C	Nothing particularly impressive here. Their senior 2-star is going to be a borderline B overall which isn't very good. They did sign a 3-star each of the last 2 classes who may provide B+ play down the line but this isn't a strong point on the roster.	1	5-star alert!! Part 3 (a banger of a class, wow). Timothy Khan is an absolute phenom, 7th overall prospect, best SS in the class. Pulling him all the way from Mississippi, Khan should actually be an instant freshman starter and that is rare to sign someone so good they walk onto campus as an upgrade. The future of the SS position went from being tepid to a program strength now which was needed as the other MAC programs had good enough coaching to pick on it. The only nitpick is that Khan is a man coverage safety while all other safeties on roster (except one of the Sr. FS) are zone coverage so that could be a minor mismatch.	A
TE	C+	They have talent in this room with a 4 and 2 3-stars, but it's still fairly young. Whitcomb was their blue chip signee last year so the future looks fine, even if it isn't quite ready for next season	1	Another sleeper, Pause is a 3-star with A potential and while he won't be ready until ~2026, he will likely be a good TE2 option for those last 2 years.	C+
WR	C	For an air raid program, WMU is missing on WR talent commensurate to their ambitions. Lorenzo Whalen will be a RS SR A overall next year which is great as a WR1 option. They'll also have a few B overalls which are serviceable, and lenty of 3-star talent in the pipe.Eli Madison is the only 4-star in the room as a RS FR who's borderline B- right now. I think they need a true WR1 or a couple more blue chips to get enough targets for Willie in the future of this offense.	2	It's.. ok. Shane Morris was a good 4-star pickup although not an instant impact guy. Clinton is meh. 2 star CC doesn't move the needle. I do think WR needs to be a VERY high priority quite soon for the coaching staff on the trail	C

 

 

This may be a little harsh for a consensus top-3 class, but I'm not quite ready to give this an overall "A" grade. Don't get me wrong, it's VERY good. My only gripe is that it's a little bit unbalanced. Lots of highs but a couple rooms got less focus than I would've liked to see. I think they'll have a few obvious positions to pursue next year but this has been an upgrade class in a lot of areas and I think the fans are happy with this, although it may not show up as points on the field quite yet.

 

Class Grade: A-

[Jieret]

We'll have to see how progressions shake out, but it's very possible Timothy Khan is the only 5* to start right away for us while Davis and Radosta redshirt.

Totally agreed on the grade and the writeup (except for the Bruce Knight part).  OL and LB were very big focuses going in, that's a big reason for the imbalance.  Also because I though more teams were going to fight over John Mendoza than actually happened.  If I'd known that, I might have focused on him instead of Khan - but a Khan in the hand is worth a Mendoza in the bush, or something.

WR is definitely a huge point of emphasis for next cycle though.

[npklemm]

WMU's class is actually doodoo (please please please please please please please)

 

Would love to see Ball State analyzed

[BabaYaga]

3 hours ago, tsweezy said:

It's that time of year again! Time to hand out recruiting class grades!

This is a special introductory post for WMU since @Jieret included me in some of his media. Special privilege's for those who talk about Tennessee 👀

hmmm. Who wrote a game preview for your semi game AND predicted in your favor 👀