Richard Ash goes blue

Yesterday Michigan received a huge boost in recruiting when Pahokee DT Richard Ash committed to the Maize and Blue. Previous reports stated that Ash had committed to West Virginia last week, but a visit to Ann Arbor changed his mind.

Ash is a four-star prospect from Pahokee, FL - that's right, that Pahokee. The same school that has been raided by Michigan 3 times in the last two classes. So far only WR Martavious Odoms has seen significant playing time, but diminutive RB Vincent Smith saw action (and played well) against Delaware State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. LB Brandin Hawthorne is expected to contribute at the spinner position this year as well.

Many Michigan fans have been clamoring over Rodriguez and Co's recruiting skills, and how they've completely ignored the defensive side of the ball, but Ash is a big-time prospect that fit's a position of need. However, he's not exactly what you think of as a true defensive tackle. In reality, he's more of a fit at the RVB DE/DT position.

Ash is a 3-tech defensive tackle who is best when he's playing at 240-250 lbs. He was extremely highly-touted in his junior year, with offers from every team in the nation including USC, Florida, LSU, etc. But he showed up to a lot of camps at about 270 lbs and performed poorly, so a lot of top teams cooled on him. Basically, I think he's a kid with a lot of talent who has a tendency to slack, which isn't always great to hear, but with Mike Barwis & co. working on him, I think he'll find a solid weight, stay in shape and contribute well. Also, Ash is reporedly only 16 years old, meaning he still has plenty of time and room to grow.

With the commitment of both Ash and T. Talbott at the 3-tech position, and Ryan VanBergen only a junior this season, both will have a chance to redshirt, bulk up a bit, and learn the technique required to play the position. This will pay great dividends in the future as we're starting to build up some defensive depth as well. Overall, a solid get, and hopefully the staff can land a certain Nose Tackle from Detroit who's being pesky about his choices..