2013 Recruiting: Csont'e York

Previously: CB Reon Dawson, CB Channing Stribling, S Delano Hill, S Dymonte Thomas, CB Ross Douglas, CB Jourdan Lewis, LB Ben Gedeon, LB Mike McCray, DE Taco Charlton, DT Maurice Hurst Jr., DT Henry Poggi, OL Patrick Kugler, OL David Dawson, OL Logan Tuley-Tillman, OL Kyle Bosch, OL Chris Fox, OL Dan Samuelson, TE Jake Butt, TE Khalid Hill, HB Wyatt Shallman, WR Da'Mario Jones

Csont'e York is a guy who is really thankful for the emergence of camps everywhere all the time. He hit a bunch of them, impressed, and went from guy with Toledo and Bowling Green offers to Michigan commit. He did this for the usual reason: catching radius.

Bob Lichtenfels caught him at his NFTC appearance, and described Al Borges catnip:

York made everything look so easy that we started to take it for granted. By the end of the camp his circus catches were looking routine. He is very smooth in and out of his breaks. Possesses very good ball skills and gets separation from the defender. He uses his body well to shield defenders from the ball. Smooth, gliding type of runner. Not sure how good his top end speed is, but he is very tough to cover on the short to intermediate routes.

This is the book on the kid. Allen Trieu took in the same camp, said he was "the guy who really emerged" because of the same thing:

He's a tall, lean kid with fantastic ball skills. He's effortless when it comes to adjusting to the ball in the air and making tough grabs that are high or not right on target. He's not a burner, but can create separation and gave a lot of the top DBs trouble.

In another article on the same camp, Trieu added that he's "aggressive attacking the football in the air and has exceptional leaping ability." Top DBs at that camp included OSU commit Cam Burrows, BTW, so York was making a name for himself against serious men.

His coach:

“What makes Csont’e special is his ball skills,” Chandler Park coach John Jergovich said. “His natural ability to catch the ball at its highest point and not catch it with his body. He’s always catching the ball with his hands. His body control is ridiculous.”

Ace scouted him:

York capitalized on the few opportunities he had to make an impact, and all three of his catches—including one two-point conversion—featured his excellent ball skills and body positioning. York knows just where to put himself to shield the defender from the ball, and once he does that it's over—he catches the ball away from his body and reels in anything close. Only once did York have a remote shot at the ball and not bring it in, and on that play he almost made a spectacular one-handed grab on a fade. One play later, CPA ran the same play and he came down with a touchdown.

ESPN's version of same:

York is a long and lanky redzone threat with a wide catch radius and a penchant for making the acrobatic grab look easy. He is tall and lean, but with great flexibility and body control for a tall player that is still growing into his frame. … He is very natural in terms of his change-of-direction skills and body control. Has fluid hips for a taller receiver and is a smooth route runner who doesn't have to gear down a lot when going into and coming out of his breaks. He has long arms and good leaping ability. … His hands are soft and reliable. … Over the shoulder concentration is excellent.

All of this is pretty awesome you guys, and I hacked out about a bunch more stuff in that vein. 247 also notes that he has "extremely long arms," which make him play even taller than his ample height.

THE CATCH? Yeah, the catch. Guy is a consensus three-star despite the above. Why:

The problem with York is he is not an overly explosive player and lacks great speed and a second gear. Builds to top speed, does not bolt to it. Is limited after the catch to just extending plays for positive yards, but not a homerun threat.

Okay. That's why ESPN seems to be all about York but then ranks him in the triple digits. Trieu agrees in his Scout assessment, noting "elusiveness after the catch" and "speed" as negatives and noting that he's "not one who will give you a ton after the catch. On the other hand, "he's not a 4.4 guy, but has a solid burst and can create separation both underneath and downfield."

Also in agreement? Michigan State:

"It was Michigan, and what else should I say?" York said of his decision. "I actually grew up a Michigan State fan, but they said they questioned my speed and needed to see more."

Michigan did not after his camp performances, offered, and nailed him down. A few mid-level BCS schools (Cincinnati, Illinois, Syracuse) had thrown their hats in before that

In the ancillaries section of our post, York's coach says he's an enthusiastic blocker. Like, guy could have come from Pahokee:

" I think one of his biggest attributes is that he loves to block. Loves to block. I think he's just as excited putting a DB on his back or cracking down on a linebacker as he is to catch a touchdown."

HOWEVA, Ace caught him and was like WTF?

On most plays York simply jogged downfield if the ball wasn't coming his way…. On two occasions he ran directly into another receiver on downfield routes—part of that may be poor play design or a mistake by the other player, but York's routes weren't exactly precise.

When York did make an effort to block, it was pretty obvious that he was holding, and I'm frankly surprised he didn't draw a flag. When he wasn't able to latch on to a defender's shoulder pads, he was thrown aside with relative ease.

That was not a 49-0 blowout he could take it easy, man, in. York's team lost in double OT. So… blocking is a work in progress, as it is with a lot of high schoolers. Also maybe his routes, though apparently when he's in a camp setting those are excellent.

It is possible his high school team was not the most organized, but Ace mentioned that at times he didn't even bother to run routes in another section of his scouting report. Contrast that with this from the NFTC…

The 6-2 prospect took countless reps, winning most of them and showing great ball skills, route-running and mismatch size. York has impressed us in several different settings and he deserves a lot more college interest than he is receiving.

…and this…

Besides having great size, York is a very technical receiver. He runs clean routes and makes sharp cuts, creating space for his quarterback to find him down the field.

…and there's almost a contract-year vibe from his camp performances. You prefer your guys to be robot killers, because then there's less of a chance they fade away when their motivation leaves them. Maybe there was something sapping his enthusiasm that won't follow him to Ann Arbor. Who knows?

Etc.: Has… unexpected musical tastes.

Bon Jovi is the man I love his radio station on Pandora Poison, Journey & Survivor can't beat them!

This may be why Brady Hoke offered him. Not saying it is, but you can't rule out an impassioned Hall & Oates conversation leading to an offer. Interesting answer to a "who do you respect most on the current team" question:

Which current player on the team he looks up to most: Defensive lineman Frank Clark. I've seen his work ethic. It's good. He goes hard at all times. That motivates me. He told me when I get up there it's about work, and you have to get it done. I also look up to Raymon Taylor, because he has the same work ethic, too.

Would like to be Braylon:

“I want to be the caliber receiver that Braylon Edwards was,” said York. “He was always so good at going up and catching the ball at its highest point and that’s one of my strengths too."

I would like this as well.

It's pronounced "Sawn-tay," FWIW. Has a great, sad story.

Why BJ Cunningham (minus the blocking)? Cunningham was a big-bodied, box-'em out, sit-in-a-zone-hole receiver for Michigan State. This one was hard for me so I asked Ace and he confirmed that York is "certainly a similar body type" to Cunningham. Cunningham used his frame and leaping ability to get balls downfield, since he was rarely able to just blow by guys.

The major difference right now is blocking, which Cunningham was unbelievably good at—like, almost a third tight-end good—and York is… not. York is also about 20 pounds short of Cunningham but should fill out to around the 210, 215 area that he did.

Guru Reliability: Moderate. Some camps, kind of consensus, but not a lot of in-person scouting save Ace's, and it sounds like his compete level was not the same in high school as it was at camps.

Variance: Low-plus. Guy already has all the skills you want but isn't going to become George Campbell (who is committed to Michigan). The plus is for some uncertainty about that compete level.

Ceiling: Moderate. A guy who can be a nice #2 receiver if he works out.

General Excitement Level: Moderate. Scouting reports here are a lot kinder than the rankings, at least for camp season.

Projection: From the camp reports you'd think he would be the receiver most likely to play, but that blocking thing from his high school game makes me (and Ace) think he'll get beat out by either Dukes or Jones to be the freshman WR who plays.

Then, like Jones, he'll have an opportunity next year as Michigan loses four guys who figure to see snaps (Gallon, Dileo, Jackson, and Joe Reynolds). York sounds like the kind of guy who can find a role for himself on third and medium as a chain-moving slant merchant and could play himself into a dozen or so catches. That's where he'll probably stay for the next year since no one leaves, and then he'll have a chance to be the #2 when Darboh leaves.