Friday Night Recaps Week 7: Checking in on that state down south

Welcome to this week’s Friday Night Recaps, a complete roundup of how Michigan’s commits performed during their games. Schools are reaching the latter half of their seasons and a couple had joined Michigan by holding their own homecomings last weekend.

Many teams are locking up playoff spots as the end of the regular season approaches. As a whole, the high school teams have a 131-39-1 record this season. (Not double-counting Belleville’s 7-0 record, which has two commits on the team).

Six teams are still undefeated, including a few schools in the upper echelon across the country. Quinten Johnson and St John’s College of Washington DC are ranked 4th in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25. DJ Turner and IMG Academy are not far behind, coming in at 6th. Archbishop Hoban, home of Nolan Rumler, is 22nd. Zach Charbonnet and Oaks Christian follow closely at 23rd. Needless to say, these schools will be playing deep into their playoffs.

Nolan Rumler

As I mentioned above, Rumler is a member of one of the top teams in Ohio, and a lot of their success can be attributed to the offensive line. This week was emblematic of their season, as they crushed Mentor Lake Catholic 52-3.

Hoban rushed for 200 yards, just in the first half. This was led by Rumler, who usually lines up at left tackle for the Knights. He impressed many after posting his highlights for the first five games of his season a few weeks ago. He plays with extreme physicality, often ejecting his opponent 10, 15, 20 yards downfield.

Rumler will move to the inside of the line at Michigan, but the Wolverines are getting one of the best players in the state of Ohio.

Quintel Kent

After an uncharacteristic 0-2 start to the season, St. Edward’s has ripped off four straight wins, aided by Kent’s stellar play. Their latest effort, a 39-14 win over Indianapolis Cathedral, saw Kent haul in a 55-yard touchdown pass, his sixth of the season.

Kent has been one of the biggest surprises of the season, consistently impressing everyone who witnesses him play. He’s already been bumped in the rankings by 247Sports, and may be in line for more mobility upward after more evaluation. While only 6-foot, he may have the speed and ability to create separation to play on the outside at Michigan.

Gabe Newburg

Staying in Ohio for a third time, Newburg’s Northmont squad scored a huge win on Friday night. They handed Springfield their first loss of the season in a 25-7 victory. This win will put them at the top of their very competitive division.

Newburg has been hung up with an ankle injury for part of the season, but played a big part in their homecoming game, tallying a sack and three tackles for loss.

Watch him cause disruption in his highlights from the game below:

Play of the Week

In this new segment, I’m going to pick one big play from a Michigan commit each week. This week it’s an easy choice, as offensive tackle Trente Jones got his chance to show off his athletic ability on a throwback screen.

He doesn’t just run straight downfield until he gets tackled though. The big man rumbles 21 yards, and absolutely embarrasses a defender with a step-back juke. This is right up there with the Ben Mason hurdle in unexpected displays of athleticism this weekend.

Wide receiver is Michigan’s biggest position need...

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A couple quick notes from this week.

Charbonnet didn’t suit up this week. Oaks Christian hardly needed him, still winning 55-0.

Karsen Barnhart has lined up at tight end for Paw Paw for most of the last two seasons. However, he recently switched his number from 44 to 72. That probably signifies his time at tight end is over, and they’re finally using him on the line, where he’d be way more effective. We’ll see if this is permanent or just a one game adjustment.

(Click to enlarge)

Jonathon Simmons