Commit #20 DT Henry Poggi

As I stated last night, 2013 DT Henry Poggi would be making his college decision this morning.  He has announced that he has selected Michigan.  This marks Michigan's 20th commitment for 2013 and he joins what is already an elite recruiting class.

This is a big pick-up for Michigan because it solidifies Michigan's 2013 defensive line.  Last weekend, 4* DT Maurice Hurst, Jr. committed to Michigan, giving the Wolverines two solid interior defensive linemen for 2013.  Michigan has had some great defensive tackles as of late including Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen, but the 2011 and 2012 recruiting classes were a little weak depth-wise for the interior defensive line.

Obviously, Michigan had good recruits in 2011 and 2012, most notably 5*  Ondre Pipkins in 2012, but once again, that's only one player.  With Hoke and Mattison's frequent rotations for the defensive, one or two guys cannot carry the team.  That's why the pick-up of Poggi is major for Michigan.  Michigan will have picked up 5 defensive tackles between the 2012 and 2013 classes, with four of those being true interior linemen.  There shouldn't be much doubt that Michigan's defensive line should be almost as fierce as its heralded offensive line in the near future.

Poggi is the rated as the #2 DT in the country and 52nd overall.  At 6'4" and 260 pounds, the kid is an animal and absolutely destroys people.  Rated as a 4* across the board, he's one of the better recruits in the entire country.  This gives Michigan 14 players with at least a 4* commitment in the 2013 class according to Rivals.  There's nobody who can question the merits of this class with those kinds of numbers.  If this class doesn't finish #1 on signing day it will be pretty surprising.

Poggi will probably play most of his time at the 3 tech position, but might move around some if the coaching staff needs him at another spot.  He's smaller than both Hurst and Pipkins right now, so it's doubtful he will play time at nose tackle, but he should be big enough to play just about anywhere else on the defensive line.  I"m not sure if he's more college ready than Hurst right now because of his size, so it will be interesting to see who can get early playing time.  I don't predict Poggi will have a huge impact in 2013, but he should definitely be a solid player on Michigan's defensive line for the time afterward.

Poggi's pickup is great for Michigan and marks Michigan's first real victory over Alabama this year.  Perhaps it will be a sign of things to come not only on the recruiting trail, but also when the two teams square off in Dallas in September.