Early Signing Day: Cole Sullivan signs with Michigan football

He really flew up the rankings this year. #GoBlue

Ratings

Stars Overall Position State
247Sports 3 #71 LB #19
On3 4 185 #11 LB #5
Rivals 4 212 #11 LB #4
ESPN 3 #35 LB #15
247Sports Composite 4 316 #24 LB #5
On3 Consensus 4 332 #28 LB #6

Vitals

Hometown Pittsburgh (Pa.) Central Catholic
Projected Position Linebacker
Height 6-foot-3
Weight 200-pounds

Notable offers

Readiness Level

Sullivan will likely take a year or two to develop.

Notes

  • Committed May 12, 2023

Scouting report

Via Touch the Banner:

Sullivan is a long and lean linebacker. At 6’3″ or 6’4″ and listed everywhere at 200 lbs., he has a long way to go before his body is done developing. The first thing that stands out on his film is his quick-twitch change of direction ability, which is impressive for a fairly tall player. He plays with nice knee bend and a low center of gravity on both sides of the ball. Speaking of both sides of the ball, Sullivan is a jack of all trades who plays inside linebacker, outside linebacker, edge rusher, tight end, slot receiver, and long snapper. He has good makeup speed coming off the edge and chasing down players in the backfield. I like the angles he takes to ball carriers, aiming for the outside shoulder to keep contain.

Versatility can also be a curse, at least in the short-term. Sullivan can be a little slow to make reads at inside linebacker and shows some indecision. From the edge position, he can get crossed up sometimes. There are a couple points in the film where he gets his feet crossed up so badly that he’s almost falling down when he makes plays, but he’s such a superior athlete at this juncture that he has the explosiveness to still succeed against high schoolers. While he does have some explosiveness and shows aggression, he’s going to need to eat and lift right to max out his lean body.

Overall, Sullivan is a great addition to Michigan’s class. If lean athletes are willing and able to wait out the process of adding healthy weight, I think they generally do pretty well. I think Sullivan is at his best coming off the edge as an outside linebacker who occasionally drops into coverage (a la Jaylen Harrell), but his body will need time to develop.

Film

Original commitment story

Michigan football adds commitment No. 17 in 2024