It's been over a year since I last sat down to blog. Crazy... Anyhow, watching the two NFL conference championship games today, I felt compelled to put pen to paper, err, I mean, fingertips to keyboard, and write a bit about the offensive line talent in the state of Michigan.
In today's NFL conference title match-ups, there were eight starting offensive tackles combined for the four teams left in the playoffs. Of the eight starting tackles, FOUR were from the state of Michigan. If that fact alone doesn't tell a college football recruiter, especially those from Michigan's five Division I college football-playing programs, the level of offensive line talent in the Great Lakes State, then I don't know what will.
Of the eight starting tackles, four were from the state of Michigan and one each from Pennsylvania, California, Arizona and Illinois. The four tackles from the Great Lakes State were Eric Fisher (6-7, 315, Kansas City Chiefs, CMU, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek), Jared Veldheer (6-8, 320, Green Bay Packers, Hillsdale, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern), Joe Staley (6-5, 295, San Francisco 49ers, CMU, Rockford) and Jack Conklin (6-6, 310, Tennessee Titans, MSU, Plainwell). The other four starting tackles were Mitchell Schwartz (Kansas City, native of California), Bryan Bulaga (Green Bay, native of Illinois), Mike McGlinchey (San Francisco, native of Pennsylvania) and Taylor Lewan (Tennessee, native of Arizona).
I've said it many times before in this blog, but it is truly mind-boggling how any of Michigan's five D-I college football playing schools could ever have offensive line issues. There is so much high school football offensive line talent in the state of Michigan every single year, it, at best, defies logic or, at worst, a complete ignorance of high school football in the Great Lakes State, that our five D-I college football programs can't have top-notch O-lines each and every season. It's inexcusable and downright unforgivable to those who know high school football in Michigan to watch our five D-I football programs struggle upfront offensively -- ever.
If you look at our five D-I football playing schools, you could make an argument the best offensive lineman in recent years from each program has been a player from the state of Michigan. At WMU, Taylor Moton (6-5, 290, Carolina Panthers current starting offensive tackle, Okemos HS), is a standout, while at CMU, the aforementioned Fisher (Kansas City starting tackle and former No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft), is a star. Over at U-M, Jake Long (6-7, 320, former No. 1 overall selection in the 2008 NFL draft, four-time Pro Bowl pick, first-team All-Pro, played from 2008 through 2016 for Dolphins, Rams, Falcons and Vikings, Lapeer East HS), is one of the greatest ever from the Great Lakes State, while at EMU, T.J. Lang (6-4, 315, two-time Pro Bowl pick, Super Bowl champion, played from 2009 through 2018 for Packers and Lions, Birmingham Brother Rice HS), was one of the NFL's elite offensive guards during his playing days and at MSU, the aforementioned Conklin (Tennessee starting tackle, first round draft pick and first-team All-Pro selection), is currently one of the NFL's best.
On a side note, Andrew Wylie (6-6, 310, EMU. Midland HS) started for the Chiefs all season this year at offensive guard before an injury sidelined him. Along with Lang, Wylie is one of the Eagles' greatest offensive linemen in recent memory. Why Eastern's entire O-line isn't stacked with state of Michigan talent is beyond me.
Anyhow, I'll step off of my soapbox for now. It's just amazing to me when I see our five D-I playing football programs without a dominant state of Michigan presence on each of their O-lines every season. I just shake my head...
Speaking of dominant offensive line presence, the class of 2021 in the state of Michigan is absolutely stacked from top to bottom with O-line talent this upcoming season. Off the top of my head, there are at least 20 to 25 Big Ten-level offensive line prospects in the Great Lakes State for the class of 2021. This upcoming year's O-line class is one of the deepest and most talented in recent memory. I know the rest of the country recruits the state of Michigan hard for its high school football talent every year, but it's still no excuse for our five D-I-playing programs to not sign four or five O-linemen from the Great Lakes State every season -- especially this upcoming year.
Here are the Top 10 offensive line prospects for Michigan's class of 2021 --
1. Garrett Dellinger -6-6, 280-OT-OG- Clarkston-Will be four-year starter for one of the Midwest's top high school football programs. Outstanding athlete. Played hoops for Wolves' top-ranked basketball team. Has all the tools. Good feet, long arms, coordination, solid knee and waist bend and good strength. Verbal to LSU
2. Rocco Spindler-6-4, 290-OT-OG-Clarkston-Might be the best two-way player in the state of Michigan, if not the Midwest. Father Marc played defensive tackle in the NFL for the Detroit Lions. Like his father, Rocco is also a high-level D-Tackle prospect. Intense, physical and powerful, Spindler is a man among boys at times. Teams with Garrett Dellinger to form arguably the best 1-2 lineman combo in the nation. Verbal to Notre Dame
3. Giovanni El-Hadi-6-6, 285-OT-Sterling Heights Stevenson-Smooth, efficient offensive tackle for the Titans. Behind El-Hadi, Stevenson reached the Division 1 (big school) state semifinals last season. Long arms, excellent pass protector, but also a strong run-blocker for Titans. Verbal to U-M
4. Raheem Anderson-6-3, 285-C-Detroit Cass Tech-The state of Michigan's No. 1-ranked center prospect. When Anderson locks on to a defensive lineman, it's all over. A strong, bull of a young man, Anderson is also a top recruit along the defensive line. Verbal to U-M
5. Josh Thompson-6-4, 295-OG-C-Fenton-Maybe the most physical, powerful, road-grader of an offensive lineman in the Great Lakes State. Still raw, like most of these players, but Thompson's upside is off the charts. I love his size and brute strength. I see him being a 6-4, 320-pound beast of a center/guard at the next level. Verbal to Northwestern
6. Caleb Tiernan-6-8, 265-OT-Detroit Country Day-Incredible prospect. A bell-cow-type player on both sides of the line of scrimmage for Country Day, last year's Division 4 state runner-up. Good range, long arms, solid balance and a physical, intense nature have made Tiernan a Big Ten-level recruit. Verbal to Northwestern
7. Cole Pape-6-6, 315-OT-Delton-Kellogg-So unbelievably under-recruited. Will be a three-year starter for southwest Michigan program that has sent two linemen to Division I college football programs in the past few seasons. I love this kid's potential. A big, mean, small-town, farm-boy-type physical giant, Pape is also one of his area's top basketball players. Not just a big kid, Pape is an athlete with exceptional feet and coordination. His ceiling is as high or higher than any player on this list.
8. Terrence Enos Jr.-6-5, 310-OT-OG-Detroit Cass Tech-From one of the nation's top programs, Enos Jr. is a physical brute of an offensive lineman. I see him being 6-5, 330-pounds at the next level and playing inside as a run-blocker of the highest order. Verbal to Pittsburgh
9. Ramier Lewis-6-7, 295-OT-Belleville-A massive young man from one of the country's top programs. Raw, but has all the physical tools. After four or five years at a high-level college football program, Lewis could be playing on Sundays. U-M, Kansas, Iowa State, Kentucky offers
10. (tie) Dalton Dueweke-6-4, 290-OG-C-Utica Eisenhower-Physical, strong O-Lineman from suburban Detroit school. Plays some of the best competition each and every week the state of Michigan has to offer in the Macomb Area Conference, Dueweke would make a nice guard or center at the next level. Verbal to WMU, Michael McAninch-6-4, 295-OG-C-Jackson County Parma Western-I love this kid. Never stops. Good motor. Strong lean/bend and terrific run-blocker. Might be the best overall run-blocker of any offensive linemen in the state of Michigan. Named to the Jackson Citizen-Patriot Dream Team last season as a junior. Like Josh Thompson and Cole Pape, McAninch is highly under-recruited, in my opinion. It's baffling to me. Big Ten, where are you on this kid?
Other top offensive line prospects in Michigan's class of 2021 (this list is fluid and will be filled in with additional prospects as the year progresses) -- Brandon Honorable-6-7, 295-OT-Detroit King (Verbal to Pittsburgh), Davion Weatherspoon-6-2, 285-C-OG-Harper Woods (Verbal to Ohio), Carson Briggs-6-5, 270-OT-OG-Traverse City Central (Verbal to WMU), Charlie Sims-6-5, 320-OG-Detroit Cass Tech (Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri offers), Weston Jones-6-5, 265-OT-Romeo (Verbal to Brigham Young), Carter DeGraaf-6-5, 290-OT-OG-Hudsonville (CMU, WMU offers), Carter Cushman-6-4, 250-OT-Plainwell, Kyle Main-6-4, 285-OT-Frankenmuth, Brayden Swartout-6-7, 285-OT-Essexville-Garber (Verbal to CMU), Ethan Boyd-6-7, 285-OT-East Lansing (Verbal to Michigan State), Walker Martin-6-2, 280-C-Montague (Muskegon Chronicle Dream Team), Lucas Edgar-6-2, 280-OG-C-Davison (Flint Journal Dream Team), Max Munn-6-5, 265-OT-Ludington, Matt Valleries-6-5, 325-OT-Walled Lake Western, Conner Compton-6-4, 290-OT-Lake Orion, Jonathan Scott-6-3, 325-OG-Detroit Mumford, Alex Lanzon-6-3, 285-OG-C-Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (will be three-year starter for Division 1 powerhouse program), Ben Simmons-6-6, 240-OT-Birmingham Groves, Trevor Jones-6-4, 265-OG-Ypsilanti Lincoln (Verbal to CMU), Tayvid Elmore-6-1, 280-OG-C-Muskegon (Muskegon Chronicle Dream Team), Logan Fuller-6-5, 305-OT-Hudson, Will Felts-6-3, 280-C-Clinton, Jackson Marsh-6-4, 290-OT-Sand Creek, Dalton Hart-6-1, 280-C-Jackson Lumen Christi, Josh Kipp-6-3, 265-OT-OG-Coleman (Midland Daily News Dream Team selection, one of northern Michigan's top prospects), Grant Porter-6-4, 295-OG-C-Howell (350 bench, 5.2 40), Ben Haas-6-4, 250-OG-Clarkston, Landon VanBeek-6-5, 230-OT-Grand Haven (Muskegon Chronicle Dream Team), Jalen Johnson-6-3, 310-OG-River Rouge (Verbal to Ball State), Chance Moore-6-4, 315-OT-River Rouge (Verbal to Morgan State), -- **the following players are two-way big-time D-I prospects who could play on either side of the ball at the next level -- they are in my Top 10 for defensive line in Michigan** -- Damon Payne-6-4, 295-OG-DT-Belleville (Verbal to Alabama), Derrick Harmon-6-3, 320-OG-DT-Detroit Loyola (Verbal to Michigan State), RuQuan Buckley-6-6, 260-OT-DE-Wyoming Godwin Heights (U-M, Iowa State, Florida State, Kentucky, Nebraska offers), Kyle Fugedi-6-6, 270-OT-DE-Livonia Franklin (Verbal to Miami (OH)), Caleb Banks-6-6, 255-OT-DE-Southfield A & T (Verbal to Arizona State), Rayshaun Benny-6-5, 270-OT-DE-Oak Park (MSU, U-M, LSU, Ohio State, Auburn, Texas A & M, Iowa, Florida State, Oregon, Purdue, Arkansas, Nebraska offers).
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