Hello: James Hudson

[Photo: Sean Scherer/247]

Three-star Toledo (OH) Central Catholic DT/SDE James Hudson committed to Michigan this afternoon, capping off a recruitment that turned wildly unpredictable, as those who followed the ever-changing Crystal Balls have noticed.

Hudson nearly committed to Michigan on an unofficial visit in June. Michigan State then surged into contention and perhaps the lead on a late July visit. Things really got weird this weekend—the insider buzz pointed to Michigan heading into his BBQ visit, MSU in the immediate aftermath, and this morning had turned back to the Wolverines. Insiders can only work with the information they're given, and the information in this case went back and forth as both programs pushed for Hudson's commitment; a final effort from Michigan's staff last night sealed the deal.

[Performs tap dance.] Crootin!

After all that, Hudson is the 19th commit in the class of 2017 and the third at defensive tackle, joining Aubrey Solomon and Phillip Paea.

GURU RATINGS

Hudson is ranked as a four-star on three of the four sites (albeit a low one on ESPN), and he's pretty close to making the cut in the composite rankings—the last four-star on there is #318 overall. There's a decent split between Rivals/247 and Scout/ESPN, with the former pair considering him a top-250 recruit.

Hudson is listed at 6'5" and 270-280 pounds on all four sites. Michigan is recruiting him as a three-tech DT, and he could also end up as a SDE (Anchor) in Don Brown's defense; those two spots are relatively interchangeable.

SCOUTING

I'm pretty sure Scout just added their free eval this week:

Evaluation

Big kid who offers some flexibility because he can play on the edge or move down inside depending on situation and package. Light on his feet for a big guy and naturally powerful. Can bend well enough to get the leverage needed to use that strength. As he's gotten bigger, in our view, he's transitioned from more of a pure edge guy to a five-tech or potentially even a true tackle depending on the scheme.

Strengths

• Body Control and Balance
• Size
• Strength

Areas to Improve

• Suddenness

The sticking point with Hudson is his feet, and specifically whether he's got enough explosiveness to stick on the defensive line. Scout calls him "light on his feet" above, and when he gets moving he's pretty nimble, but they also note "suddenness" as an area for improvement. Looking at his film, Hudson doesn't get a great jump off the snap—he's no Mo Hurst in that department. After MSU's lineman camp following Hudson's sophomore season, Scout's Dave Berk went so far as to suggest he should play on the offensive line:

We watched Hudson in his teams state championship game this past season and liked what we saw. Great frame with long arms has many feeling the Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic product is a future stud along the defensive front.

However, after watching his during drills and one-on-ones, we feel his future is brighter as an offensive tackle as he didn't show the feet needed to be elite along the defensive front. Some might recruit Hudson as a defensive lineman but a future tackle with a bright future is what we see.

Michigan State obviously disagreed, but Berk isn't the only one who's mentioned Hudson could be more viable on offense. On the plus side, Berk and others like Hudson's potential as an offensive tackle. Scout's Bill Greene also noted that possibility when Hudson committed to Kentucky last summer (he decommitted when bigger offers came in). His scouting report called Hudson a "big, quick, agile athlete" whose "best football is years down the road," before bringing up the issue of burst off the snap:

There is a question about explosion off the football, and that is probably why Kentucky sees him as an inside defensive player. People also think he will eventually have to move to the offensive line because he might be a tweener on defense, but to me that's a positive not a negative. I've always thought he could be an excellent offensive tackle, and consider his versatility a plus, not a minus.

Greene concluded that "the ceiling is high" for Hudson; he doesn't seem too concerned. The O-line talk has mostly subsided since then—notice there's no mention of it in Scout's own eval—and there was even one analyst who liked Hudson's first step; here's Rivals's Josh Helmholdt after taking in last year's regular season finale:

The 6-foot-5, 271-pound Hudson is one of the most impressive physical specimens in Ohio's 2017 class and he was able to toss opposing players with east during Friday night's game. He played exclusively at defensive end in the first half, before platooning in at left tackle and helping spur his offense's second-half comeback. Defensively Hudson has a great first step and registered several big tackles for loss, especially late in the game when Central Catholic needed stops. He still needs to polish the rough edges, but the Kentucky commit's raw tools are exceptional.

Rivals subsequently bumped Hudson into their top 250, with Helmholdt saying he "looked like a man among boys."

As ESPN evaluation indicates, strength is the, er, strength of Hudson's game:

Stout and physical defender that demonstrates he can fire out low and uncoil and when he wins with quickness and leverage can hold ground one-on-one and at times against current competition even knock blockers back on their heels. When he shoots hands displays upper body strength to press and disengage, but can be quite inconsistent with bringing his hands and struggle to quickly get off blocks. Needs to work on anticipating and taking on the double team. Capable on occasion of powering through contact and disrupting with some penetration.

Power is his strength at this stage and will likely be greatest asset in his arsenal in college. When fires out low and can get into blockers frame can deliver a pop with hands and push them back. Outside of trying to power his way through, looks to lack plan and needs to better utilize his hands.

While they peg him as "a bit of a tweener," they conclude he's a "player with tools to develop into tough presence especially against the run."

OFFERS

Hudson holds offers from Alabama (likely an "offer"), Bowling Green, Cal, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami (YTM), Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Rutgers, Tennessee, Toledo, and West Virginia.

HIGH SCHOOL

Central Catholic is one of the best programs in Ohio's Division III, winning the state title in 2014 and making the championship game again last season. The program has only produced a couple four-star prospects of late, however: Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer and Jayme Thompson, a 2013 recruit who signed with Ohio State, transferred, and is now at Indiana.

STATS

According to 247, Hudson recorded 82 tackles, 25 TFLs, and 8.5 sacks in his junior season.

FAKE 40 TIME

Hudson's Scout profile lists an estimated, unsourced 40 time of 5.05 seconds, which gets three FAKEs out of five.

VIDEO

Junior highlights:

Sophomore highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Hudson projects as a three-tech, and while his temporary hangup with committing to Michigan reportedly stemmed from concern about the depth chart, there's an opportunity for him to see the field early. With Chris Wormley and Matt Godin set to graduate, Mo Hurst is the only scholarship three-tech on the roster slated to return in 2017, though Rashan Gary can obviously chip in some snaps there.

That would put Hudson in an immediate competition with classmates Aubrey Solomon and Phillip Paea for a spot in the rotation. With Hurst gone by 2018, all three of those guys should see at least rotational snaps early on in their careers. Hudson has the added advantage of potentially being able to play SDE, as well, which increases his chance of seeing the field early—there's not a lot of depth on the roster there, either.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan is now at 19 commits in a class that should reach the upper 20s. They're probably set at DT, but they could look to add another SDE type—four-star in-stater Deron Irving-Bey is still a take and Michigan reportedly made a strong impression on him at the BBQ. Other positions of need include WR, TE, OT, OC, OLB, CB, and S. Here's the class as it currently stands: