2013 Recruiting: Ben Gedeon

Previously: CB Reon Dawson, CB Channing Stribling, S Delano Hill, S Dymonte Thomas, CB Ross Douglas, CB Jourdan Lewis.

Hudson, OH – 6'2", 215
		Scout	4*, #168 overall #14 OLB, #9 OH
		Rivals	4*, #17 ILB, #19 OH
		ESPN	4*, #281 overall #33 ATH, #16 OH
		24/7	4*, #199 overall #6 ILB, #10 OH
		Other Suitors	Ohio State, PSU, MSU, Stanford
		YMRMFSPA	James Ross
Previously On MGoBlog	Hello post from Ace.
Notes	Played on the U19 national team thing.
Film
Junior highlights: That weird Sports Stars of Tomorrow youtube thing covered him.

Ben Gedeon has been on college radars since he was a sophomore All-American being dubbed "the freak" and playing damn near every position his Hudson team had available.

"Need a quarterback, running back, defensive back, linebacker, cover rusher? We have Ben," Narducci said. "He's 6-3, about 210 pounds and he's a real specimen."

The "freak" nickname originates from his days as a middle schooler. Michigan pulled the trigger on an offer in June of 2011 after he camped, which probably makes him the first kid other than Shane Morris in his recruiting year to get one. When Urban Meyer was hired, OSU shortly put their hat in the ring, setting up a Classic Michigan-Ohio State Recruiting Battle that went the right way.

Michigan has won an athletic consensus four star who, like a lot of guys in this class, could have opted for Stanford if he so chose. Gedeon maintained a 4.3 GPA what with his AP classes and such and meanwhile piled up enough tackles—126 as a senior alone—to become his high school team's all-time leader in that category. He also started at tailback, finishing as, well…

He leaves Hudson as the school's all-time leader in scoring (278 points), touchdowns accounted for (48), touchdowns scored (46), rushing touchdowns (37), rushing yards (3,052), rushing attempts (501) and 100-yard games (15).

I call him mini-Jabrill. He comes from a clan of these ubermensch, too: his older brother was a captain at Harvard and now works for Bain (yes that Bain), another older brother is in the Navy, his younger sister is called "Gabbartron."

Gedeon is going to play linebacker at Michigan, likely one of the two nearly-interchangeable ILB spots. His scouting watchwords are "athletic" and "throwback." ESPN's eval is strongly positive($) ("an impressive overall football player with a high probability of success") and covers the gamut:

…needs some time to develop physically, but when that area matches his athleticism and football intelligence we see a lot of production and consistency in his future. He has very good height on a large, leaner frame that lacks great bulk and power. … very quick to read and react. He has sound diagnosing skills and does a great job keeping gap responsibility and playing within the defense. … He's a solid inside filler, beats blockers to point of attack to make plays inside-out. He has the quickness and strength to scrape off-tackle and stay clean on lateral pursuit. He plays with a motor and has the speed, range and athleticism to make plays sideline-to-sideline.

The downside: he needs time to fill out, lacks lower body explosion, and doesn't have "immediate impact ability" at any one position.

Allen Trieu singled Gedeon out for a couple of scouting article($):

Analysis: He's an athletic kid who has played all over the field. …going to be able to run to the football and drop into coverage. …has all of the tools you look for and given the Wolverines' previous linebacker class, he is not a kid who is likely to be pressed into service right away.

The downside is similar: Hudson doesn't play a lot of top teams so he's going to have a bigger adjustment to college athletes, needs time, etc. The second notes that watching a Gedeon game is a bit of a challenge because you have to find him before every play:

…a sideline to sideline kind of guy. He can drop into coverage and come up and rush the quarterback. … at his best when coming forward either as a blitzer or blowing up a play by flying through a crease. He's an aggressive kid who did not hesitate when he found the ball. … let a few offensive linemen lock in on him and get him out of some plays. He's good at using his feet and speed to get around blocks, but I'd like to see him use his hands more to shed once they get into him.

Bottom Line: A great athlete who dominated a couple of the games I watched. I see him as a MIKE or a SAM in college. He's only going to get bigger and he's a pretty strong kid already. He can run, which is certainly an asset and he has good football smarts and savvy.

I seriously doubt SAM is in the cards what with Mike McCray in the same recruiting class, and given his currently lighter frame and athleticism, WLB seems like a more likely landing spot to me. That's just like my opinion man.

Gedeon didn't hit many camps but did go to a NTFC as a rising junior, impressing with his athleticism:

We saw Gedeon at two camps in the off-season. In early season film, though, he has looked even more athletic than when we saw him running around in just shorts and a t-shirt. At each new evaluation, Gedeon seems to have lost a little of the stiffness we saw out of him in our first evaluation. He may not quite be the 6-3, 215 pounds he is listed, and he does not blow running backs up, but Gedeon can run with backs and tight ends and will make for an athletic linebacker at the next level.

The picture here is a bit muddied by guys saying he's not that good at getting sideline to sideline and projects in the middle because of his toughness, another evaluation that declares him a "violent football player," and that Trieu projection to SAM/MLB. I'm of the belief he could become a college-level violence merchant… in time.

One thing everyone agrees on: this is a hard-nosed throwback football player.

• Bucknuts: "…great athlete. His junior highlights were outstanding. He makes plays all over the field. He’s almost a throwback type. He’s just a tough, hard-nosed football player.”
• Scout: "Pure football player with a throwback mentality and style."
• Touch The Banner: "He's a throwback linebacker who does a little bit of everything."

In addition, you can put Gedeon on the ever-growing pile of players that have whatever the opposite of character issues are. His coach:

"If you have a daughter, you want her to marry this kid,” Wright said. “He’s an extremely hard worker and he’s very dedicated. He comes from a work ethic family, where nothing is given to you and you’ve got to earn it. He’s athletic and smart – he’s got the whole package.”

One trait in particular stands out the most about Gedeon.

“I would say his perseverance,” Wright said. “He will continue to work as hard as you ask him to work. He’s always going to be the guy that gives you maximum effort on the field and in the classroom. He is a guy that can play a lot of positions, he’s very bright, he gives you great effort and he does the right thing.”

Gedeon and guys like Gedeon will see Michigan's attrition rate plummet to Penn State or Wisconsin levels, and help turn Michigan's recruiting from paper wins to actual ones.

Etc.: ESPN compares him($) to former Texas safety Blake Gideon, because last names. Coach($):

"Going through even from the seventh grade on, he was always better than everybody [his age]. That's why you go to Michigan: because you're better than everybody."

Big hands I know you're the one:

“He laid out with one hand and it just stuck. He’s got the biggest hands of anybody I’ve ever seen,” Alex said. “And he gets up like it’s no big deal. I called him and said, ‘Ben, that was the greatest catch I’ve ever seen.’ He was like, ‘Aw, it’s pretty good.’ His humility and calm nature has earned him the nickname ‘Gentle Ben.’ ”

Why James Ross? Gedeon is probably not going to be the kind of instant starter-ish player that Ross was, but that's largely because James Ross is still on the roster. Ross is a non-huge instinctive linebacker who should develop into a primo WLB; he was a consensus four star approximately in the same range as Gedeon. Both project as quicker cover-oriented linebackers who use their minds to get ahead of everyone else on the field.

Differences: Gedeon may have an inch or two and could fill out to MLB size. Early indications are that Ross is a savant at play recognition, and if that turns out to be true it's tough to project anyone replicating that.

Guru Reliability: Moderate. They're all in the ballpark, guy had a high profile for a long time, but camp-averse. Obvious four-star camp-averse guys tend to get thrown in a bin and left there.

Variance: Low-plus. Academic anti-risk, lots of experience at the spot he projects to in college (and several he doesn't). Very likely to be a contributor of some variety. Does need some development.

Ceiling: High. Athletic, smart, football player. Football.

General Excitement Level: High-minus. Though Gedeon isn't a top 100 player at any site, Michigan wanted him after he camped and pursued him hard; he's probably underrated.

Projection: With a solid, senior-free two-deep in front of Gedeon at the two ILB spots a redshirt is a possibility. Linebackers often get dragooned into coverage units, like Royce Jenkins-Stone did last year. Gedeon is a leading candidate for "burned redshirt that I harp on over and over again" of the year. That year of separation from Ross would be most excellent.

In any case, Gedeon is likely to end up at WLB with his athleticism and a frame that's not likely to top out at 250, so he's got some time to play James Ross's apprentice. He'll start working his way into the lineup after his freshman year with an eye towards a two-year career as a starter after Ross is raptured up by the NFL.