2018 LB Cameron McGrone (art by Brandon Whitaker)

New Michigan Man: LB Cameron McGrone Commits to Michigan

Posted onAuthorGarrett Fishaw

Some commitments are complete surprises and others are seen coming from a mile away. And the latest commitment for the current class was much more of that latter as 2018 Lawrence Central (IN) LB Cameron McGrone has committed to Michigan just two days after the 2017 BBQ at the Big House recruiting event.

Commitment

Scouting Report

At times, linebackers from the north get branded as a little less athletic than linebackers from the south. But McGrone doesn’t fit that bill as he’s easily one of the more athletic linebackers in this class. And that’s coming off of an ACL tear at the end of his junior season. According to 247Sports Kipp Adams and Barton Simmons, he was one of the best linebackers at The Opening ($). Imagine what he’ll look like as a prospect once he’s 1000% healed.

With Don Brown’s blitz heavy, aggressive defense, an instinctive, athletic linebacker like McGrone should flourish. Though he’ll have to impress early to jump the other young talent that was recently added to the linebacker room.

Aggressive backer who gets moving downhill in a hurry. Shows good burst and quickness off the snap of the ball and timing when he is blitzing and shooting gaps. Plays with good motor and looks like he is always running at 100 percent. Physical and takes on blocks as well as arrives at ball carriers with impact. Good straight line ability but can still improve on side to side agility and man to man pass coverage skills. Suffered an injury as a junior so must show that he is fully recovered from that as a senior. – Scout.com

Recruitment

McGrone was a bit of an unknown on the Michigan recruiting front for quite sometime in the 2018 cycle. As he didn’t even receive his offer from the staff until his first visit to campus on June 22nd, which also happened to be his birthday. But once that offer came through, he quickly vaulted to the top of the recruiting board and to the top of the potential commitment list. Though there was plenty of love for in-state Notre Dame prior to Michigan extending its offer, it was all Maize and Blue.

I put in the 2nd Crystal Ball prediction to the Wolverines on June 23rd. By the time he pulled the trigger, he had over 20 predictions to UM in place.

The four star linebacker announced that he would be announcing his commitment on the Monday after his visit to Ann Arbor for the 2017 BBQ at the Big House. That was when the writing was even more on the wall that he’d end up committing to the Wolverines. MGoFish’s very own, Brandon “@BillionBus” Whitaker, was brought on to handle his commitment edit.

  • Height: 6’1”
  • Weight: 215lbs
  • Hometown (School): Indianapolis, IN (Lawrence Central)
  • Notable Offers: Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Louisville
  • Rankings: Scout (4*, #25 OLB) – Rivals (4*, #16 OLB) – 247 (4*, #40 overall) – ESPN (4*, #14 OLB)
  • Composite Ranking: Four star, #217 overall, #14 OLB, #2 in Indiana

Highlights 

As for the Rest of the Class

McGrone is the 12th commitment of the 2018 class, the 2nd linebacker commitment, first inside linebacker commitment and the 2nd commitment out of Indiana. And he may be the last linebacker in this class as Michigan missed out on its other top LB target David Reese to Florida on Saturday. But he may not be the last commit out of the Midwest as the staff is in good shape with Carterville (IL) TE Luke Ford, Saint Louis (MO) DE Ronnie Perkins and Saint Louis (MO) DT Michael Thompson.

As for who could possibly be the next to drop to Michigan in 2018, I’ll be keeping a close eye on Naples (FL) S Sammy Faustin, who also visited for the BBQ at the Big House, and let MGoFish know that he plans on deciding before his senior season.

Garrett Fishaw
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