New Blue: Juwann Bushell-Beatty

Brady Hoke and his staff are known for putting ridiculous strings of commitments together. These last two weeks fall a bit short of ridiculous, but New Jersey offensive tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty does give Michigan its fourth commitment in only two short weeks. Hailing from Paramus High School, Bushell-Beatty plays next to consensus five-star cornerback and Michigan target Jabrill Peppers. More on that later.

Michigan has recruited the offensive line extremely well in the last three years, stacking up multiple four- to five-star prospects on the inside and outside. Where does JBB fit in terms of talent and potential? First off, he's one of the quicker tackle commitments in recent years. This is no small feat, considering that Juwann stands at 6'5", 300 pounds, and he's still only a junior in high school. It looks like he could use a year or two in the weigh room to clean up his frame and add muscle to his lower body: he tends to bend at the waist instead of the knees because he doesn't have a strong enough foundation yet. He has the length to play both tackle positions, but his combination of length and quickness make him a great candidate for the left tackle spot. He looks weaker in the run game than the passing game right now.

DGDestroys gives us his take on Bushell-Beatty:

With two stud OL classes back to back, fans this year were right to expect a class of lower rated projects in the trenches. While Bushell-Beatty may not have the same towering, lumbering athleticism that former commit Denzel Ward did, he still fits snugly in this description.

To me, he looks like a future RT/LT when Shane's here, with the ability to scoot inside and provide depth if needed. One thing I really like about him is his ability to get quick punches into the pads of pass rushers. He may not always consistently get both hands and use his base to anchor them, but that quick punch still often manages to disrupt whoever is headed his way.

A lot of what I don't like could be improved upon with time. For example, he's definitely going to be need to become more acquainted with the weight room before he gets here. As far as his actual play goes, I think his footwork gets sloppy, he's more of a waist bender than a knee bender, and (of course) he plays high.

Still, there isn't anything to really dislike about his commitment. Because of his relatively low ceiling and lack of polish, he'll probably stay a 3*, but if he becomes a quality depth player for 2-3 years, it will be a scholarship well spent.

Overall, Juwann is a lock to redshirt and should go on to contribute at one of the tackle spots somewhere down the line.

Bushell-Beatty turns down offers from Boston College, Florida, Florida State, Miami (Fl), Michigan State, Rutgers, Tennessee and West Virginia. He took unofficial visits to a handful of schools before taking a Midwest tour with teammate Jabrill Peppers. The pair visited Michigan before heading south to Ohio State, and afterward their coach said that Ohio State doesn't even compare with Michigan. It was at that point that I realized Michigan was near the top for both players, and soon it became apparent that the Wolverines would be in it for both until the end. Bushell-Beatty is now committed and Peppers might not be too far behind.

Will Juwann try to lure Jabrill to Ann Arbor with him? It looks like it:

"I'm going to try my best to get Jabrill to come along but at the end of the day it's his decision," he said. "I'll keep doing my best to let him know how I felt about it and I'll get some feedback from him. One thing that I think would be the greatest thing is playing at the next level with a player that I played in high school with."

Some believe that Peppers could commit within a month, so maybe Juwann's efforts are working.