Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Wolverine Wednesday: Thomas to Announce on Saturday

Don Brown didn't like big defensive tackles which some folks call run stoppers.   Big 300+ pound guys that clog up the middle of the offensive line of an opponent.    In my mind, I imagine a RB having to stop in the backfield due to a couple of these big run stoppers clogging up the lane he wanted to run through.  The RB then has to pivot right or left and runs into a Michigan LB for a TFL.  

Michigan has started to recruit these "Big Fella's" again and 2022 DT Tawfiq Thomas is one of them.  He is from Tampa and comes in at 6'3 and 360 pounds.  That's right folks a high school senior is already 360 pounds.  

He is a big man but the services are a bit unsure of his projected success.  He is rated as a 3 star and the 1032th player in the country by 24/7 composite, 137th defensive lineman, and 140th player in Florida.   His offer list also has a ton of Arkansas, Kansas, MAC Schools, Syracuse, Maryland, and so on.   I know what your first thought might be, "how in the hell are we going to beat OSU with recruiting players ranked in the 1000's?".

Its a fair statement, but you have to start somewhere.   Also kids are grossly under rated in this cycle due to the lack of football being played, camps, etc.   Thomas is a current high school teammate of current Michigan DE commit Mario Eugenio who is a 4 star prospect.  Always good to have teammates on a roster as they can feel much more at home then not knowing anyone in Ann Arbor.  

Is this a home run recruit?  Probably not, but it could also be the first step in fixing the Michigan defense and getting back to stopping the run.   I love a good run stopper! 

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