Michigan Dips Into Lone Star State Again

Texarkana quarterback Ryan Mallett - even though he transfered - Cypress all-purpose dynamo Sam McGuffie, Sugar Land wide receiver Daryl Stonum and now Klein running back Terrance Robinson have all left the state of Texas and headed north to Ann Arbor. Robinson committed to the Wolverines shortly after the Super Bowl Sunday evening.

Sugar Land has been very kind to the Wolverines as I did not even mention the two Sugar Land commits from last season - LB Brandon Herron and DB Troy Woolfolk. That is six very talented young prospects over the past two classes that chose Michigan.

Mallett was the top QB in the nation last year, McGuffie is just outside this year's Athlon Consensus 100 and Stonum is No. 39. These are top-flight talents that Michigan has gone into Texas to land.

Robinson is a perfect fit for Rich Rod's spread-zone-read-option attack. In fact, he is a striking resemblance to WVU starting running back for 2009: Noel Devine. Robinson is small but he is not quite Devine small. He is fast but not quite Devine fast. But more importantly he is very comfortable and familiar with the spread-option. Klein ran an almost exact replica of WVU's rushing attack.

The 5-9, 175 pounder shows great speed and burst with some surprising power. He does not mind putting his head down to finish a run. He has great agility using solid quickness to weave in and out of defenders. He shows the mental capacity to run between the tackles, I just wonder about his durability and size in the Big Ten. He certainly makes up for his lack of size with great speed and toughness, though.

I would like to see him add some thickness and will need to work on his blitz pick-up and receiving skills (he could be a nice slot receiver too) but should be a dynamic little playmaker for the Wolverines. Hey, Mike Hart was too short and too small to be any good too, right?

If Michigan and Rich Rod can land Terrelle Pryor and Nick Perry this class will be a top-5 class nationally. Sneaky good class for the boys in Maize and Blue.

Photo by Athlon Sports