Logan Tuley-Tillman’s stock has grown in the year since he committed to Michigan, but he’s stayed firm, showing off his dedication to the Wolverines in some over-the-top ways and enrolling early as part of arguably the best incoming offensive line class in the country.
Offensive tackle recruit Logan Tuley-Tillman enrolled at Michigan
Logan Tuley-Tillman started early on his Michigan career: he’s already enrolled with the Wolverines so he can practice this spring, and the 6’7, 300-pound offensive tackle has already burned some Ohio State letterhead.
At 6’7, 300 pounds, and with decent athleticism, Tuley-Tillman quickly became a highly-touted offensive lineman recruit, but Michigan was amongst the first to go for him. However, the Peoria, Ill. product quickly rose up the rankings: he became a four-star recruit with offers from o-line factory Alabama, Notre Dame, and many others, with ESPN tagging him as the seventh-best tackle in the country.
But Michigan was always the leader, and he’s made that clear since committing: his profile at Rivals shows him with a Michigan M shaved into his head, and last May, he took a picture of himself burning a recruiting letter from Ohio State. Needless to say, Michigan is his team, and he enrolled early to be a part of spring ball.
Tuley-Tillman likely won't play right away, in part because of the nature of the position, and in part because Michigan's tackle depth received a huge boost when surefire first-round pick Taylor Lewan decided he'd stay in Ann Arbor for another year. Michigan blog Maize N Brew wrote after Tuley-Tillman committed that he's a project with great physical capabilities who will likely need a few years of preparation:
It’s not hard to see why Tuley-Tillman garnered the attention he did, during the process. He’s a huge kid that moves around as though he’s 6 foot, not 6’7 and 280 pounds (in the highlight tape). He’s a persistent blocker that won’t settle until his man is on the turf. His highlights show a lineman that is highly adept at quickly matriculating to the second line of defenders. However, there are so many technical flaws in his game. He plays high, needs to add significant upper body weight, doesn’t use his hands all too well, and seems to bend at his waist more than at his knees. Here is the problem with that, in illustrated form. Still, the upside is there, as is, it seems, the maturity and work ethic to become truly elite.
That perception hadn’t changed much when they scouted his performance in the Army All-American game, writing that “a redshirt and a couple of years of backup duty should spit out a quality tackle.”
Michigan has an absolutely stacked incoming offensive line: they bring in five players considered among the top 200 players at any position, starting with Tillman, continuing with fellow four-star tackle Chris Fox, four-star guards David Dawson and Kyle Bosch, and four-star center Patrick Kugler. They might have landed their entire line for the next few years to come in one fell swoop, something that hasn't go unnoticed at Michigan blog Maize N Brew as they broke down the incoming class:
With guys like (running backs) Deveon Smith and hopefully Derrick Green on board, in addition to the (hopefully) stellar offensive line, picture Michigan’s future offense looking a lot like Alabama’s. Heavy focus on the run game, while using the play-action to catch the defense off-guard. This can be more than accomplished with a quarterback like Shane Morris at the helm and with the wide receivers Michigan already has on board.
Ratings: ESPN, four stars (No. 7 positionally, No. 104 nationally), Rivals, four stars (No. 24 positionally), Scout, four stars (No. 24, positionally)
Vitals: 6’7, 300 pounds, benches 325
Other offers: Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida State, USC, Texas A&M
Twitter: He tweets at @LoganTillman
Recruitment timeline: Tuley-Tillman committed back in February, 2012.
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