A trip to the Northeast allowed The Wolverine to see a handful of Michigan commits and targets in game action.
The action got started on Friday night with a pair of 2021 prospects in four-star offensive lineman Drew Kendall and three-star inside linebacker Casey Phinney out of Dedham (Mass.) Noble & Greenough.
Let’s start off with Kendall, who made an unofficial visit to Michigan over the summer and is ranked as the No. 70 overall prospect in the country.
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Kendall is an athletic prospect in the interior of the offensive line. He moves really, has quick feet and plays with superb technique. In fact, Kendall plays with some of the best technique I’ve seen out of any offensive lineman this season.
The four-star prospect is the son of former NFL offensive lineman Pete Kendall, who also serves as the offensive line coach at Noble & Greenough, so that has a lot to do with it. Kendall is also a smart kid with a high football IQ.
The biggest concern I have with Kendall is his size.
Kendall is very much on the small side for an offensive lineman. He may be lighter than his listed 255 pounds, which means he really needs to add weight to his frame.
If he fills out, Kendall has a chance to live up to his high rankings. But strength and conditioning/the weight room will be key in Kendall’s development.
On the flip side of the ball, I really liked what I saw from Phinney. He only has two offers right now, but Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown knows how to evaluate linebackers, and he's just a really good football player.
While he’s on the shorter side, I’m completely fine with that since I view him as a true inside linebacker. Phinney fills gaps quickly and loves to hit — his jersey had a good amount of blood on it after the game.
Phinney needs to keep working on his fluidity, but he’s certainly not limited athletically. He actually starts at running back for Noble & Greenough and scored a pair of touchdowns on Friday night.
I'm actually surprised he doesn't have more offers. This is a guy that schools like Rutgers, Syracuse, UMass, etc. should be all over early on.
My Saturday got started early as I made my way to Needham (Mass.) St. Sebastian’s to see four-star tight end Louis Hansen. I was in the process of parking when Hansen opened the game with a receiving touchdown.
While he didn’t see a ton of targets the rest of the first half due to subpar quarterback play, I loved the way Hansen ran routes. He has an impressive build for a junior and is a natural pass catcher.
Hansen split out wide frequently, but I was really impressed with him as an in-line blocker. He made one of the more impressive blocks I’ve seen from an underclassman tight end as he hooked the defensive end and sprang his running back free for a touchdown that was called back.
Hansen is without a doubt a complete tight end. And the dude might be a DI level recruit as a defensive end. He actually had four first half sacks and looked dominant at the position.
Michigan was the first to offer 2021 Groton (Mass.) Lawrence Academy athlete Tony Muse, who actually broke his collarbone in the first half while making a tackle on the aforementioned Hansen.
Before the injury, Muse was mostly bottled up at running back but did show some flashes at corner. He is on the small side but is versatile and could be used in various ways at the next level.
My second game of the day was arguably the most exciting as Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham Browne and Nichols took on Belmont (Mass.) Hill in a battle of two of the best teams in Massachusetts.
BB&N has plenty of talent on its roster, especially for a team in New England, including four-star 2020 Michigan offensive line commit Zak Zinter.
I was very high on Zinter before coming over to the Michigan beat and came away even more impressed after watching him live. Zinter is an absolute mauler in the interior offensive line.
Zinter played such a huge roll upfront that Belmont Hill tried to cut him before he could take out multiple defenders. When he did get to the next level, Zinter served up some impressive pancakes.
Zinter is every bit of 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, and he knows how to use his size and brute strength to his advantage. He is built like a mountain but moves really well in short spaces. I also like his frame a lot — he doesn’t have bad weight on him for being a 300-pounder.
In my opinion, Zinter is a high four-star prospect with a chance to end up in the Top 100 when it’s all said and done. Michigan offensive line coach Ed Warinner should have a lot of fun with him once he gets to Ann Arbor.
Michigan, of course, already has an offer out to Zinter’s teammate and elite 2022 inside linebacker Tyler Martin.
Martin is similar to the aforementioned Phinney but stronger, faster, bigger and more athletic. And yes, he’s just a sophomore. That’s a very scary combination.
At 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, there have been questions about Martin getting too big. However, this is my third time seeing Martin live, and he looked better than I’ve ever seen him. He’s slimmed down but still has a broad chest, big arms and tree trunks for legs.
Martin is an intimidating force in the middle for BB&N that loves to get physical. He does a nice job of sifting through blockers, filling gaps and laying the wood when he gets his opportunities.
Martin has a chance to be a special prospect when it’s all said and done. It’s hard to find a lot of faults in his game early on.
While Martin and Zinter shined, Belmont Hill and three-star 2021 Michigan defensive line target Ikenna Ugbaja actually came away with a close 28-21 victory.
Ugbaja didn’t go head-to-head with Zinter too many times. I thought Zinter one the majority of their battles when they did face off. However, Ugbaja moved around in the interior of the defensive line and had success.
Ugbaja has the frame to add about 20 pounds and be a true nose tackle. He needs to continue to hit the weight room, but I liked his technique and craftiness. Ugbaja uses his hands well and knifes through multiple blockers extremely well.
He used those attributes to make a couple of impressive stops in the backfield.
My third game of the day featured four-star 2020 linebacker commit Kalel Mullings, who helped lead Milton (Mass.) Academy to a 35-7 win over Braintree (Mass.) Thayer Academy.
Since I was speeding in from the other game, I only caught the fourth quarter of this game, and Mullings exclusively played running back, so unfortunately, I don’t have any takeaways on him as a pure defensive player.
However, Mullings is as athletic as they come. He was actually recruited as a running back by multiple schools and could certainly play the position at the DI level. He rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the contest, including this one.
Michigan is actually recruiting Mullings as a Mike, but I like him more for the Viper position. While the Wolverines value length at the position, Mullings brings speed, athleticism and playmaking ability.
Lastly, I made the drive out to New Hampshire to see Suffield (Conn.) Academy take on Exeter (N.H.) Phillips Academy. Suffield won convincingly thanks in large part to a strong defensive effort led by 2021 Rivals250 defensive end Kechaun Bennett.
While he wasn’t exactly going up against quality competition, Bennett showed flashes of why he’s considered one of the country’s best pass rushers next cycle. He fires off the edge and uses his speed and length to get to the quarterback.
Bennett played the run extremely well, too. Again, he’s almost impossible to stop as a stand up end coming off the edge. His motor is phenomenal. The play below made everyone of the visitor’s sideline gasp.
Overall, I saw five games over the course of two days. Michigan has made recruiting New England a priority and with Don Brown’s ties and an increase in talent, it wasn’t hard to see why.
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