Michigan football freshmen who are standing out to Sherrone Moore in fall camp
These are definitely names to know NOW! #GoBlue
Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
These are definitely names to know NOW! #GoBlue
He really flew up the rankings this year. #GoBlue
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 |
Hometown | Pittsburgh (Pa.) Central Catholic |
Projected Position | Linebacker |
Height | 6-foot-3 |
Weight | 200-pounds |
Sullivan will likely take a year or two to develop.
Notes
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.
Good news also comes with some bad.
On3 is cementing itself as the new premier recruiting service of late. Founded by Shannon Terry — who also founded Rivals and 247Sports — On3 is forward-thinking and becoming more of a standard than an upstart, though 247Sports is still stalwart in terms of its recruiting rankings.
The company released new recruiting rankings for 2024 on Monday and Michigan football saw four players move up significantly.
Running back commit Jordan Marshall was already in the top 100, but he moved up over 40 spots to No. 31 overall — which is within potential five-star range should he remain there. The cut-off is currently the top 15, but the top 32 according to On3’s proprietary rankings will all be five-stars.
Once a three-star recruit, edge rusher commit Devon Baxter is now a four-star, up to No. 200 overall.
Jaden Smith, another edge rusher/linebacker-type, was unrated at the time of his commitment, but on the heels of ESPN giving him a high-ranking, On3 followed suit, ranking him in the four-star range at No. 249 overall.
Lastly, linebacker commit Cole Sullivan also moved up from being a three-star recruit, and is now a four-star at No. 257 overall.
While that’s the good news, there is also some bad news. Once a five-star, quarterback Jadyn Davis is continuing to plummet across the recruiting rankings, and nowhere is it more stark than on On3. Davis has dropped to No. 188 overall after having been at No. 105 previously.
Of Michigan’s 25 commits in 2024, 15 are four-stars with 10 being three-stars.
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Nice addition to the class! #GoBlue
Michigan football added to its top-ranked 2024 recruiting class on Friday evening when three-star linebacker Cole Sullivan committed to the Wolverines.
According to the 247Sports composite, Sullivan is the 597th-ranked prospect in the nation and the 56th-ranked linebacker. The three-star recruit hails from Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Central Catholic.
Sullivan picked Michigan over Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Stanford and Duke.
The maize and blue have 17 commitments for the cycle and there are a few other 2024 prospects who have crystal balls for Michigan. By adding Sullivan, the Wolverines have three linebackers committed to them in 2024.
After Sullivan committed to Michigan, Twitter erupted with excitement. From analysts giving their opinions to future Wolverine recruits sharing love.
Here are the best Twitter reactions to Michigan landing Cole Sullivan.
Anotha one! #GoBlue
Michigan football continues to add to its No. 1 class in the 2024 recruiting cycle.
Entering Friday with 16 pledges, the Wolverines hoped to make it 17 by the end of day. Well, mission accomplished.
Though the maize and blue are strongly in the sweepstakes for Olney (Maryland) Good Counsel four-star Aaron Chiles — they likely lead for his services — Michigan is looking to add a linebacker from Pennsylvania. 2024 Pittsburgh Central Catholic three-star linebacker Cole Sullivan has been a priority for the Wolverines. Despite being ranked No. 597 in the country per the 247Sports composite, Sullivan has high-profile offers.
On Friday, he committed to Michigan over Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Stanford and Duke.
BREAKING: Class of 2024 LB Cole Sullivan has Committed to Michigan!
The 6’4 200 LB from Pittsburgh, PA chose the Wolverines over Notre Dame, Wisconsin, & others.
Sullivan is the 3rd LB commit in Michigan’s ‘24 Class 〽️https://t.co/VWUXoayZrG pic.twitter.com/1qFq2E8dZX
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 12, 2023
At No. 597 overall, he’s the third-lowest ranked pledge for the Wolverines this cycle.
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Looks like the good guys will get good news soon! #GoBlue
Michigan football already has 16 commitments in 2024, including two linebackers: Nashville (Tennessee) Ensworth four-star Mason Curtis and South Park (Pennsylvania) three-star Zach Ludwig.
Could the Wolverines add a third on Friday evening?
Though the maize and blue are strongly in the sweepstakes for Olney (Maryland) Good Counsel four-star Aaron Chiles — they likely lead for his services — Michigan has been looking to add a linebacker from Pennsylvania.
2024 Pittsburgh Central Catholic three-star linebacker Cole Sullivan has been a priority for the Wolverines. Despite being 597th overall in the 247Sports composite, Sullivan has high-profile offers. He plans to announce his college commitment on Friday at 7:30 p.m. EDT, choosing among Michigan, Wisconsin, Duke and Stanford.
He has offers from Notre Dame, Penn State, Miami, Michigan State and others.
Priority 2024 Michigan LB target Cole Sullivan is set to announce his commitment tonight at 7:30pm EST. #GoBluehttps://t.co/CDcGQ5qg4l pic.twitter.com/zSqgyvIoXM
— Zach Libby (@LibbyOn3) May 12, 2023
The timing of this is interesting. Chiles recently announced his top group, and Sullivan is set to visit Notre Dame on June 9 for an official visit.
There are four 247Sports crystal ball predictions for Sullivan, all indicating he’ll end up in Ann Arbor.
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Always fun when you have a chance to beat out a rival for a good prospect! #GoBlue
The top-ranked Michigan football 2024 recruiting class continues to make waves. The Wolverines have been offering plenty of high-end talent in recent weeks and the maize and blue have started to trend upward toward getting four-star linebacker Jeremiah Beasley who once was thought of as Michigan State bound.
Beasley isn’t the only linebacker who is trending toward landing in Ann Arbor.
Back in late April, three-star linebacker Cole Sullivan announced a final five of Duke, Michigan, Notre Dame, Stanford, and Wisconsin. Sullivan, at one time, was a Notre Dame lean, but it’s starting to look like the Pittsburgh native may be trending toward Ann Arbor.
Steve Wiltfong, the Director of Recruiting for 247Sports, put in a Crystal Ball prediction for Sullivan to land with Michigan.
Thank you to all of the school the have recruited me. I have narrowed my decision down to these five schools! pic.twitter.com/6itOWMCDib
— Cole Sullivan (@ColeSull18) April 29, 2023
Wiltfong put in a confidence level of ‘6’ out of 10 for the Wolverines to land the 6-foot-3 linebacker.
On3 shows similar sentiments as well. According to the Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Wolverines have a 78.4% chance to land Sullivan whereas Notre Dame has a 17.4% chance.
Sullivan, the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Central Catholic linebacker, is ranked as the 590th recruit in the country according to the Composite rankings. He is the 55th-ranked linebacker in the 2024 class and the 16th-best prospect in the state of Pennsylvania.
In 2022, the versatile linebacker recorded 117 tackles, two sacks, and four pass breakups during his junior year of high school.
Michigan currently has two linebacker commitments for the 2024 cycle: Mason Curtis and Zach Ludwig.
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MSU football is the latest big-time program to extend a scholarship offer to a rising prospect out of Pittsburgh
Michigan State football is the latest big-time program to extend a scholarship offer to a rising prospect out of Pittsburgh.
Cole Sullivan — a linebacker in the 2024 class — announced on Sunday that he’s received a scholarship offer from the Spartans. Sullivan is listed at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, and plays for Central Catholic High.
Sullivan has yet to be ranked on 247Sports, but based on the recent uptick in college interest I’m sure he will be rated soon enough. In the past month, Sullivan has picked up nine scholarship offers, according to 247Sports. Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Cincinnati and West Virginia are just some of the notable programs to offer Sullivan in the past month.
After a great call with @CoachTHollowell I’m excited to receive an offer from @MSU_Football!!@PCC_FOOTBALL @CoachLehmeier pic.twitter.com/UpMK6jITcb
— Cole Sullivan (@ColeSull18) February 12, 2023
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.
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