[2024] Recruiting Class Grades Batch 2

[tsweezy]

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

This year obviously progressions happened way earlier so it's a bit different of a read.

 

University of Michigan

Big Ten

2023: 3-9 (2-7)
 

Recruiting Class Basics:

Michigan signed 7 4-stars, 10 3-stars, and 4 2-stars. They signed 18 players with B or better potentials and 4 B overalls. Rankings below:

ESPN: 99th
Rivals: 22nd
247: 8th

Composite: 22nd

 

Signees below:

Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
Brian Estep	4	C+	A	C	Pass Blocking	Cheshire	CT
Michael Alibrando	3	C+	A	CB	Ball Hawk	Pandora	OH
Phillip Cosand	3	C+	B	CB	Zone Coverage	Lafayette	LA
Daniel Nemmers	3	C+	A	CB	Zone Coverage	Factoryville	PA
Dominic Miller	3	C	B+	CB	Man Coverage	New Wilmington	PA
David Vadeboncoeur	4	C+	B-	DE	Speed Rusher	Hillsdale	MI
Victor Mork	2	D	A-	DE	Speed Rusher	Beardstown	IL
Floyd Washington	2	D	A	DE	Run Stopper	Rockford	MI
Dexter Wong	0	D	A	FB	Receiving	Toledo	OH
Edward Kelly	3	C	B+	K	Accuracy	Kentfield	CA
Ernst Clark	4	B-	C+	OG	Balanced	Milford	OH
Timothy Ward	0	D	D-	OLB	Coverage	Springboro	OH
Ryan Kingsley	0	D	F	OLB	Pass Rush	Fort Wayne	IN
Javier Evans	4	B-	C+	OT	Run Blocking	Manvel	TX
Dale Osborne	4	B-	B-	OT	Run Blocking	Stephens City	VA
Ray Hochstetler	4	C+	B+	OT	Balanced	Shaker Heights	OH
David Koppelman	3	C	B	P	Balanced	Franklin	KY
Darrell Lussier	4	B-	A-	QB	Pocket	Medina	OH
Willie Frazier	2	D	A	QB	Balanced	Abernathy	TX
Jim Noles	0	D	C+	RB	Power	Beverly Hills	MI
Nelson Torres	3	C	B	SS	Ball Hawk	San Marcos	CA
Jeffrey Fuller	3	C	B	TE	Receiving	Cibolo	TX
Manuel Ellis	3	C	B	TE	Vertical Threat	Modesto	CA
Paul Cervantez	3	C	A-	WR	Possesion	DeQuincy	LA
Robert Dennis	2	C	B+	WR	Speed	Colville	WA

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	Croot Grade
C	B-	Going into the '24 season, Michigan has a pretty strong group of redshirted upperclassmen in senior 2-star Cole Lalli (B+) and Junior James Wilson (B). So two more years of B+ play before they run out of players at the position	1	A really high potential 4-star is just what the doctor ordered. He is definitely an all-conference potential player and doesn't need to step in right away before he's ready	A-
CB	B	So Michigan is once again a team that hasn't fully bought into a particular scheme. Their two starting seniors this year are an A overall lock-down CB1 and a bit of a drop to a former 2-star B overall. Both are Man coverage guys. Behind them are a 4-star (Fr) zone and a 3 star (Fr) man corner who are going to be the future. They definitely need reinforcements ASAP and probably also need to pick a lane for archetype.	4	Sub. Please stick to one archetype, you're just throwing prospects away and confusing yourself. All 4 are high potential 3-stars which fits the roster quite well and any/all of them have potential for breakout progressions and making some future noise.	B
DE	B+	I actually quite like this room. A couple of blue chips in the room and another handful of 3s. Good upperclassman quality and a lot of returnees as well (only losing 1 player after this year). I think an A-/B+ combo is pretty solid this season and next year should be something like an A/B+/B trio which is even better.	3	I think Vadeboncoeur is the only worthwhile guy in this group, but a high potential blue chip is always a win. Especially with them redshirting a few 3-stars last year I think this guy is a good complement to the current room	B
DT	B+	DT is actually really good as well, albeit a little thin. I don't know that Mich has been setting up for a 3-4 vs 4-3, but they have a pair of nose tackles who are dominant. (Jr) Keith Jackson is an A overall A potential player who could be the best player on the team next season. Behind/beside him is (So) 4-star Waguespa who is a B+ right now and will give 2 more years after this of likely A- and above play. Behind them though is not a whole lot so they need to start grooming the next generation soon	0	It maybe wasn't a necessity to get a guy here, but it would've been ideal from a grooming perspective. Now they'll need to aim for some pretty solid players next cycle as whoever they recruit will likely be starting as an underclassmen.	C-
FB	C	They have a (Fr) 3-star C+/C player. I mean he's fine, I don't have high expectations for FBs, won't do a lot	1	They got a walk-on, whoop-de-doo	- (I don't care about FBs)
FS	B	They aren't great right now, but a strong pipeline. Malik is a (Jr) who likely starts at B overall. They have a B- (So) who wanted to be the next starter but is likely passed up by 4-star (Fr) B- Bobby Rashid. This room is definitely set for a while	0	Again, they have a really good FS pipeline so this was hardly an urgent need, but my philosophy is still to always take at least 1 per year just in case	C-
ILB	B-	Ok after seeing this they probably want to be a future 4-3 team. Stacy Griffin is an A- (Sr) and they have another B overall senior next to him. The future though belons to So Phillip Garris who is a bluechip B ovr A pot. player who will be a high draft pick I think. Nobody else really projects as a future starter among the underclassmen.	0	Now this is a little scarier to not take any. Next year they will have Phillip Garris and a senior Broxton. Their recruit this year would probably not have played but would have been good injury insurance in case something happens to Garris. Hope he stays healthy	D+
K	D+	Ew, gross. Starting a senior C+ is not ideal, but even worse is only having a single walk-on behind him. Needs help ASAP	1	Yay they actually got a kicker worth a damn. Kelly might be better than Kohn off the bat, idk but either way he'll be starting by next year at the latest	C+
OG	B	In fairly good shape here. They have a blue chip B/A- pot true soph who looks like a road grader for the next 3 years. They have a pair of upperclassmen high potential B overall 2-stars as well to round out this year and next. Beyond that though again they don't have an OG2 on the roster yet for '26	1	One of their 4 B overall croots, Clark is a really nice pickup who answers the question of who the future OG2 is. Good get	B
OLB	C+	Again, those (So) class guys look good. Breyvic Smith is a blue chip B overall who is a lock for a couple years of starting time. On the other side this year is senior Norwood (B overall) followed by... a soph 3-star C overall. They don't have a great option for OLB2 in the room next season as it stands	2	two walkons here who literally don't matter. It's still the Breyvic Smith show for as long as he's here	D+
OT	A-	Bryn Bushrod is the only 5-star on the roster and he looks the part of a true elite A overall blindside protector. They have another pair of B+ (Jr) 3-stars as well to rotate on the opposite side. Great pass blocking options. Of course that trio will depart after next season and they only signed a pair of walkons last year	3	Home-run room here! 3 Blue chips (2 of them B overalls) is phenomenal and interestingly they're all run blockers whereas the current OTs are all pass blockers. It'll be a perfect situation where Michigan can slot them right in as starters when they hit their (So) year and continue a long stretch of dominant OT play.	A
P	C+	Punters are punters, they're fine here. Much better than kicker that's for sure	1	They took the same level of punter last year, this doesn't move the needle for the team	C+
QB	?	Michigan. Quarterbacks. Everyone please clap. 12 of them rostered this year, but they actually have an intriguing battle at the top between RS SR Bobo Sims who had a massive progression to become an A- Field General. The alternative is (Jr) scrambler Henry Brown who is a former blue chip A- overall who will also be here next season. All depends on the kind of offense breadman decides to run but it's an interesting conundrum. Everyone else in this room is dogwater	2	Frazier is kind of a meme signing to get another QB, but Lussier is the real deal. I think he's going to be a top-10 QB out of this class and could very well beat out Henry for the starting position next season as he has tremendous arm talent. Best of all is signing him from Buckeye high and keeping him away from arch-rival OSU	A
RB	B	Less flashy than QB, 8 RBs is still quite a lot to roster, and 7 of them are 3-stars. It looks to slide on seniority with B+ options in Sr and (Jr) Seth and Cesar. Yannick Last Name could get some play as a B- (so) thanks to his A+ potential for the future. Overall the RB room should be solid for the next 3 years but not sure they'll have a true home-run hitter yet	1	Got a walk-on, but the room was fine before hand	C-
SS	C	They've had some good progressions from the 2-stars in this room and have a B+ this year. They didn't recruit any last season though so it's somewhat important to get somebody in here	1	An ok guy for an every-other year signee. A 3-star with B potential, Torres will probably be serviceable as an upperclassman.	C+
TE	A-	Eric Braverman is a GREAT option at TE1 and could have the chance to put up some big numbers both this and next year. Behind him is (So) blue chip Zeller who is a B/B- good TE2 player. Having these guys for multiple years stacks up very well against any other rooms (although again, a bit thin behind them)	2	They have a top-tier TE room, and signed a pair of 3-star B potential guys to keep it up, so they'll be good and got more depth but neither of these guys are Braverman that's for sure.	C+
WR	B+	Really good options here with an A- junior and a trio of B+ guys. They have a few blue chips in the room as well and frankly I think people underrate these weapons.	2	The current WR room is deceptively good, but these types of guys are bread and butter. Cervantez is the 3-star A- potential possession guy who makes a name for himself as a senior after a few progressions. Dennis is a B+ pot. 2-star who is basically an extra lottery ticket	C+

 

I like Michigan's current roster much more than I thought I would honestly. They've had a ton of redshirted guys progress well and are all coming back for next year when they could genuinely make some national noise. As for this years class they really did well on a couple of rooms which I liked to see, but holistically they did leave a few holes and punted on a few rooms. Nothing dire immediately, but when you don't sign anyone for a few rooms / years you really ratchet the pressure up such that losing a few flips could be disasterous and there's not a ton of flexibility in who they need to croot. Overall though I think the roster is a future top 1/4 of the conference

 

Class Grade: B-

 

 

Washington State University

Pac-12

2023: 5-7 (2-7)
 

Recruiting Class Basics:

Washington State signed 9 4-stars, 8 3-stars, and 2 2-stars. They signed 14 players with B or better potentials and 4 B overalls. Rankings below:

ESPN: 118th
Rivals: 20th
247: 28th

Composite: 33rd

 

Signees below:

Name	Stars	Ovr	Pot	Pos	Archetype	City	State
Jim Gibson	3	C	A-	C	Balanced	Wallingford	CT
Bin Huynh	4	B-	A-	CB	Zone Coverage	Rancho Cucamonga	CA
Christopher Gallina	3	C	B+	CB	Zone Coverage	Tacoma	WA
Tracey Barsan	0	D	F	CB	Ball Hawk	Pendleton	OR
William Calwell	3	C	A-	DE	Balanced	Adna	WA
John Willhelm	3	C	B-	DE	Balanced	Milford	PA
Bo Watson	4	C+	A+	DT	Nose Tackle	Xenia	OH
Paul Jones	3	C	B-	DT	Balanced	Lehigh Acres	FL
Brett Knight	0	D	F	DT	Pass Rusher	Vale	OR
Jimmy Olmos	0	D	F	FB	Rushing	Kennewick	WA
Cory Stewart	0	D	B+	ILB	Speed	Caldwell	ID
Joseph Matthews	4	C	A-	K	Accuracy	Adna	WA
Douglas Mcintosh	4	B-	B-	OG	Run Blocking	Fort Lauderdale	FL
Pascual Aguirre	3	C	B+	OLB	Coverage	Del City	OK
Don Guido	4	B-	B	OT	Run Blocking	East Wenatchee	WA
Donald Dallin	0	D	A-	OT	Pass Blocking	Sugar City	ID
Marcus Sims	0	D	F	OT	Run Blocking	Ashton	ID
Orion Lewis	4	B-	C+	QB	Balanced	Bozeman	MT
Timothy Reese	4	C	B-	RB	Speed	Kennesaw	GA
Benjamin Moss	4	C+	A	SS	Zone Coverage	Waco	TX
Thomas Tran	4	C	B+	TE	Vertical Threat	Wahiawa	HI
Burke Giddings	3	C	C+	WR	Possesion	Lynden	WA
Seung Law	3	C	C	WR	Red Zone Threat	Rutherford	NJ
Lewis Nevels	2	D	A	WR	Red Zone Threat	Alexandria	VA
David Gallegos	2	D	B	WR	Red Zone Threat	Chula Vista	CA

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	Croot Grade
C	B	WAST has a great pipeline up the middle, with balanced Hemingway (RS JR) starting this and next year as a B+/A- starter. Behind him there's good depth and the heir apparent is SO blue chip Reid who transitions them to more run blocking	1	Gibson is a really solid pickup as a 3-star with A- potential. He's not expected to start anytime soon so he'll likely take a redshirt and develop into all-conference potential by his (Sr) year	B
CB	B-	Looks like a 50-50 mix of zone and ball hawk guys. Theyve got a really high A overall senior locking down one side of the field but he's leaving next year. The other side is manned by blue chip Jr B+ Bullard so they'll have another ~A- overall next year as well. Behind that they icked up another blue chip last year but who is only a B- currently (very close to B though imo). A good pipeline actually for the next few years but not a ton of depth or super-stars. Slightly above-average room for a team in the top-half of a P5 conference imo	3	Bin Huynh is a candidate for all-name PAC player imo. He's also a blue chip cover corner with A- potential and already B- overall. This was a top-10 corner prospect in the nation, arguably top-5, and an absolute great addition. They also got a good depth guy with Gallina	B+
DE	C+	Slightly less good of a room, they've got a B+ junior and a B senior manning the edges. Looks like they're transitioning from speed rushers to run stoppers over the next 2 years as well. I'd expect next year to be a pretty big step up from the current room as they'll be starting a senior/junior blue chip pair (both balanced), and then their next best guy is a current C+ sophomore. Looks like a good opportunity to grab another blue chip at least by next cycle	2	They have good upperclassment, so the recipe is to pickup a pair of depth 3-stars with high potential since they'll have years to progress. Oh look at that, exactly what WAST did. Nice work	B-
DT	C-	Based on the DE room, you'd think they're moving to a 3-4, but ILB recruits are at a premium and that room doesn't look phenomenal. DT is THIN though. They have a B+ senior this year, but next to him is a B- soph? and then after Gerber graduates they only have a 1 and 2 star to fill in. Urgent to get a good croot from this class if they want to have 4-3 as an option at all	3	Bo Watson is a massive nose tackle in the middle, one of the extremely rare 4-stars with A+ potential. A perfect fit if they do go 3-4, he's going to be an absolute stud once the seniors leave and he takes over the middle. Paul Jones is another pickup since they do need some depth there	B+
FB	B+	Jeremy Allen is a blue chip (So) who's already a low B+ overall and they'll get 3 years of great play out of him. Not a lot of urgency to get his backup yet either. I wonder if they move him to running back considering his archetype and the impending demise of the RB room	1	None signed (walkon), didn't need one	-
FS	B+	JR Ehinger is a phenomenal coverage guy. A 2-star A- overall is not that common and he looks to be a great coverage backstop. Next year though they'll only have one guy in the room (albeit a blue chipper high quality run stopper). I think this cycle is perfect to grab an average 3-star depth guy	0	None signed, I think they needed one	D+
ILB	C+	If they run a 4-3 this isn't a bad room in the future. It's kinda meh for a 3-4 though and considering the trade-off between ILB2 and DT2 I'm kinda eh. Spurlin is a great field general prospect. A 4-star from last class who grew from C+ to a B-, you'd expect him to be a good starter the next 2 years. The issue is that he's the best guy in the room and that's sub-par for a top program. They did pick up an additional 3-star last year as well, so I do actually like the room next year and the year after, they just aren't good now	1	None signed, they had a good class last year though	C-
K	C+	Well, this year they're in great shape with an A- overall in Brantly. Kid's got a super accurate leg. They have a fine backup as well. Of course both of those guys are seniors so let's see if they added anybody good this cycle. If not it'll be code red emergency next year	1	Whew, whoever they signed this year would be the starter next year. Matthews is a top-5 K prospect (4-star, A- potential) so he actually fits right in and will give them many years of accurate XPs	B+
OG	B-	Another crop of run blockers here, they've got a great current set-up and pretty good future prospects. Tartt is the star here, an A- junior from the first crooting class. He's got that LG spot on lock this year or next. Alongside him are a pair of B+ senior options. Next year they'll have a 4th year 3-star, with a few other 3-stars in the wings. None of them are likely to become A overalls, but they are at least average if not better. Not an urgent position group to address, but definitely possible to upgrade	1	If the current OG room is filled with good depth but few stars, Mcintosh adds that star power. One of their 4 B overall signees, he also has B- potential which pegs him as a future all-conference contender	B+
OLB	B	This is an extremely rare case where having a 5-star isn't an auto-A group. Crowley had a disappointing first progression and is still a B+ pass rusher. He's still a very good player and will be extremely good the next two years. On the down-side, the other OLB position is pretty meh. They have a pair of (Jr) 2-stars who are B- overall on the other side which is... not very good. They do have a (Fr) 3-star who will be serviceable in the future but I'm not super impressed on the whole with things	1	They add another 3 star above average potential guy here which is nice, but frankly doesn't move the needle *that* much anymore considering how good the rest of their roster is looking. Still, nothing to shake a stick at	C+
OT	B	Kudos for the consistency with all run blockers and balanced guys for the entire OL. For the tackles, this is a super-young group with a lot of good prospects (although few are good now). The (Jr) Donahue is the only B+ and you assume he starts the next two years. The real good prospects though are twin blue chips from the last class: Cui and Wall who are current B overalls. They should be really good options at one end and to take over from Donahue on the other. Not a high priority at all for WAST	3	OT is a really solid position and they continue getting difference-makers, this time with Don Guido, a run blocking B/B 4-star. This absolutely looks like they want to be an OL-driven program and they are succeeding (at the crooting portion of that anyways).	B+
P	A++	David Ross. David Ross. Maybe he should play QB? Dude is a monster, what else can we say	0	None signed (they have David Ross)	C
QB	C+	There are... no blue chips in this room which is not great considering how seemingly easy it has been to scoop up a late 4-star the last few cycles. Pat Niang could be the guy the next two seasons, but I am kinda meh on a B+ scrambler at this point. They have a few other 3-star options behind him, but they're all still in C+ mid-ness. Maybe Niang becomes the RPO king, but I definitely would advise WAST to snag a blue chip guy sooner than later	1	Finally! A blue chip QB on the Palouse! Orion Lewis is a B overall balanced guy who isn't in the mix to start now, but absolutely should be the guy once Niang leaves. I think he'll elevate the program a little bit on his end as long as he gets weapons to utilize (and with the run blocking OL he won't have too much pressure)	B
RB	C	Very meh here as well. They've got a pair of ok B+ seniors in Walden and Leach, but once those guys leave the room is... bare. A pair of 2-stars are all that is behind them. This / K / DL are probably the most important positions to get good talent at in this cycle	1	Similarly, Reese is an actual good RB prospect with high potential. The blue chipper must have been lured by the run blockers and with his speed should turn small holes into huge gains once he gets a few progressions and the starting nod	B
SS	B	Olt is a top-3 talent on this team, an A overall senior run stopper. A menace to face as he lays the wood on opponents. Unfortunately, after he leaves after this season there will be 1 SS on roster: a current (So) 3-star (although he is a B- already!). I don't think that's enough and would say this is the perfect year to grab a 3/4 star as the future starter here	1	Ben Moss is another A potential blue chip, and will take his place in line as a future all-conference starter at this position. Great line-up here and shows how good the recruiting philosophy of this team is	B
TE	B-	Reed is great, and there aren't actually *that* many A- and above TEs around the country, especially as a receiving threat for the scrambling QBs. Of course the usual caveat with good players is that they're usually seniors. Behind Reed there are a couple of underclassmen 3-stars who are C/C+ overalls. I don't think they'll have massive progressions so it's likely that next year they'll be battling with a B- and some C+ at this position which isn't great.	1	The bottom of this room isn't exciting, and based on their likely gameplans, they'll probably want some good TE play. Tran is a B+ potential vertical threat 4-star so that's a big check mark there. I predict he will feature heavily in their gameplans in 2-3 years	B
WR	B+	Similar issue here. They have 5 rostered receivers (all possession guys!) and 4 of them are going to be seniors. This is actually an excellent year with an A overall, a pair of B+s and a pair of B- overalls. So Niang will have a ton of great weapons, but next year there will be one remnant... a Likely high B overall senior possession receiver. They DESPERATELY need bodies here ASAP	4	Well they need *something* in this room as every signee will fill WR2 slots and beyone. Unfortunately they didn't get any game breakers. A pair of 3-star C potentials are fine, but not exactly freshman all-star material. They also got a pair of 2-stars which.. meh, definitely not good freshman starting material. Interestingly they're going from just possession players to a heavy dose of red zone threats. You can tell they're looking for size.	C

 

I'm actually quite impressed with what they're building here. They have a very distinct identity and are recruiting very well towards it. They have a great mix of both talent and high potential players and almost every positions has constructed a pipeline of talent. They still have a bit of a lack of game-breakers on offense, and not all their defensive positions are nailed down, but this is a team that should expect to be in contention for a top-25 ranking this season and go even higher from there. Now just to see where they'll land in the conference re-aligment shakeups.

 

Class Grade: B/B+