Commitment #10: C David Molk

Michigan has its tenth commitment for 2007 and first on the offensive line in the personage of Illinois center David Molk, who you may remember from such quotes as "Notre Dame is a smelly"...

“We had a lunch after the camp but the (Notre Dame) coaches all sat in one corner and didn’t talk to anyone and I didn’t get that. When we left, Coach Ianello told me that he’d be in touch.”

... and, well, that should be enough for anyone. Molk has several other positive attributes aside from tremendous taste in schools: he is a member of the Scout 100 and a four-star on that site, though this nugget from his profile on that site may be concerning:

Molk is car like quick off the ball.

Hopefully a typo, not a legitimate comparison to a 1978 Gremlin. Rivals is less enthused, offering three stars (possibly because he gave them the most unflattering picture in the history of the universe), but ESPN rates him a 78 -- the same rating given Ryan Van Bergen and Vince Helmuth, just outside their top 150 -- and commands you to enjoy him($):

You like Molk because he's a high-motor guy who plays physical. There is more to playing offensive line than just hitting people, but it is nice when you have a prospect with ability who shows a nasty side.

"Nasty" veers dangerously close to verboten sports cliche, but you will let it stand because ESPN tells you to.

Not blessed with the natural ginormity that most offensive linemen have, Molk worked his way up from pipsqueak:

As a freshman, Lemont's David Molk was a 5-6, 175-pounder who bench-pressed only 110 pounds and squatted 250.

As he prepares for his senior season, Molk is a 6-2, 270-pounder who bench-presses 370, squats 550 and power-cleans 320.

Now he lives in the weight room:

I'm addicted to lifting," he said. "That's my hobby. When I'm bored or mad, I lift. I started out to try to be the strongest guy in the weight room. Now that I have passed everyone in school history, I'm trying to be the strongest kid I ever heard of. I heard of someone who benched 400 pounds at a combine. Now that's my goal.

"My friends think I'm crazy. The weight room closes at 5 o'clock, so I go to a gym in town for another hour of lifting. Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Ohio State are concerned if I can handle people at my size. I feel I can. I hope to prove it this fall. I found out that centers can be as short as 6 feet tall and still compete in the NFL."

Molk sounds as driven as any kid can be and gets a talent thumbs up from two of three sites. Might have some trouble against potential Gabe Watson types but should be a hell of a pull-blocker a la Greg Eslinger. Thumbs up.