The Big Schill

I definitely stole the headline from a Rivals poster, who I don't know. If you read this and you're mad, speak up and take credit.

Yes, I think that does look familiar.

Five star offensive lineman Steve Schilling has committed to Michigan. Teh yay(!). Schilling's listed as an OT/OG by Rivals and is a bit shorter than Michigan prefers their tackles, but with the obvious need there I'm guessing he'll start on the outside and move inside only if he can't hack it. This does not seem likely, what with the five stars and all.

Schilling chose Michigan over UW, Cal, and USC. Here's the 'notes' section on him from the recruiting board:

high school nickname: "Wolverines." Helmet: Winged, Rivals 100(#25), Scout 100 (#4), Seattle Times article; Seattle PI article; News Tribune article; decides Friday, has dropped USC.

The rankings are out of date, FYI.

Informative update coming.

(Mildly) Informative Update: There's effusive praise out there in scads for Schilling, but as is usually the case with offensive linemen, it's vague. What we do know: Schilling plays RT for his high school team and its crushing ground game. The local papers get downright silly about him:

Stephen Schilling

Offensive line, 6-5/290

Bellevue (Bellevue)

Could be best lineman the state has produced. Ever.

Considering: Washington, Southern California, Michigan, California.

Bio: The last headliner of Bellevue High’s four consecutive 3A state titles. He helped end De La Salle (Calif.) High’s 151-game win streak, a national record, and the Wing-T-based Wolverines knocked off two nationally ranked opponents in back-to-back years. This season Schilling was a consensus top-10 lineman recruit nationally, was named to the Parade All-American team and played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio earlier this month. Schilling, a tackle, received tutelage from offensive line coach Dan Dicks, a former Nugget and part of the UW’s 2000 recruiting class. With his size, speed and athleticism, he is considered one of the state’s best linemen ever.

Emphasis mine. Scout had this bit of analysis during their Army All-American Bowl runup:

From Bellevue, Wash., the 6-foot-5, 285-pound Schilling - ranked as the 2nd-best offensive lineman in America by Scout.com behind behemoth Andre Smith - Schilling is prospect talented and cerebral enough to tackle all five positions across the board, and tough enough and physical enough to compete right away in college for playing time. Not many linemen have the motor Schilling - a two-way star for the Wolverines - has. It's not uncommon for Schilling to be leading ball-carriers 30 and 40-yards downfield in a personal, one-man convoy.

ESPN isn't as effusive, ranking him a comparatively conservative 105 and giving him a 7.1, on the low end of the "very good" scale. They still say nice things:

He is an excellent pulling lineman that gets down the line of scrimmage, turns up field and locates defenders well. He does a good job of always keeping his feet moving and maintaining a good base. He does a great job of finishing blocks.

Etc. There's a lot of that. Lemming chimes in:

Already, he has the build of a major college tackle -- he's well ahead of kids his own age. A great ball-rusher and a natural leader, he earned first-team All-State honors in 2004 while grading out at well over 90 percent of his blocking assignments.

Standard "Lemming is creepy" disclaimer: Lemming is creepy.

So: sounds like a right tackle in the mold of Jansen, Runyan, and Long. Pass blocking is rough but has the agility to play tackle even if he's a tad short. I'm exhaling about the OL thing.