We are still playing catch-up, and hopefully I’ll have time to get through them all this week and put out a general recruiting update. Next up in the order they committed, 3* AL linebacker Tim “Deuce” Spurlock Jr. A name that Courtney Morgan suggested when he came onboard, Spurlock was invited to Michigan’s camp in June, hit it off with LBs coach George Helow, earned an offer, and seemed on the verge of committing in July before Michigan apparently told him to hold off while they pursued some A-1 targets, all but one of whom have since come off the board.
That plus an extraordinary start to his senior season—Spurlock had 21 tackles, 6 TFLs and 3 sacks in one game this season—seems to have been what shifted him into the take category. He came up for the Rutgers game, committed before kickoff, and announced that Sunday.
GURU RATINGS
I should note that 247 is in the middle of a composite update so Spurlock might be in the 1,000s by the time the time you read this. He was at 994 when I started and 999 at 4:06 PM yesterday when I put this article in the hopper.
Rivals: 6’2/220 |
ESPN: 6’2/200 |
247: 6’2/200 |
247 Comp |
3*, 5.5, NR Ovr
NR OLB, NR AL |
3*, 78, #308 SE
#52 OLB, #29 AL |
3*, 85 (NR Ovr)
#94 ATH, #38 AL |
3*, 0.8527, #999 Ovr,
#79 ATH, #42 FL |
3.40* ➡ |
3.61 ⬆ |
3.42* ➡ |
3.53 ⬆ |
Bottom row is a conversion of the above to a 5-star scale. Arrows show trend of recruiting rankings. An arrow is like a third of a star.
The only movement in the rankings came when ESPN added Spurlock to their database recently. They’re also the most bullish—the other two sites have him ranked down where the 2-stars used to roam before their kind were decimated by FBS over-settlement. The extra 20 pounds reported by Rivals seems significant if we consider the program pays a lot of attention to size. My program source says Spurlock was 215 when they had him up here to camp last summer, and the school roster (via MaxPreps) reads 217. If his senior season continues as it has there’s a lot of room to move up.
The Michigan recruiting comp here is exacting, if ancient (sorry coach, but we are). Roy Manning was listed at 6’2”/210 out of high school, and made the bottom of some regional lists as a “futuristic” SAM linebacker who could cover in space or blitz an edge. The more recent example is Devin Gil, who was ranked around the same spot but was also smaller and not as athletic. Michael Barrett and Dhani Jones are in range as well.
[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.]
31