Recruiting on the South Plains | FB Michael Pearson

RECRUITING ON THE HIGH PLAINS Measurables MICHAEL PEARSON Position: FB Ht: 5'11" | Wt: 255 lbs | Forty: 4.70 JUCO: Pierce C.C. (Woodland Hills, CA) DTN Profile Video: Clip 1 Rivals | Scout N/A | ESPN | 24/7 Sports N/A Cumulative Ranking: INC Rankings Rivals | , 5.3 Rivals Rating Scout | N/R ESPN | N/R 24/7 Sports | N/R

This is an interesting pick-up, especially for a team that lacks a true fullback, other than Omar Ontiveros, who I thought did a pretty good job when asked to play. As you'll note from the scouting report and the video below, I'm pretty sure that the height and weight listed are accurate, which means that he's an absolute ton of bricks and seeing his special teams play, that's an accurate statement.

This isn't a need, and given the fact that Pearson is a preferred walk-on, there's little to no risk as he doesn't take a roster spot and he apparently loves to play special teams. Those are pluses in my book as special teams is often overlooked (insert jokes here).

The biggest problem with Pearson is that he's very much an unknown, other than the Rivals profile, with a rating of 5.3, which means that he's essentially a role player and that's probably accurate, but teams need role players that do their job..

The Player Speaks

I've already posted this once, but I'll post this again, Pearson was on with Level and Dickens on Double T 104.3 and he's got an interesting story. Pearson is a very motivated individual and he's also a guy that probably appreciates the value of a scholarship. Pearson was a team captain for his Pierce C.C. team last year and he's also 22 years old according to his video. That means that he's probably more mature than most kids coming from the JUCO ranks and he's well thought of by his teammates. One other thing is that his height and weight reminds me of a comic book character, Juggernaut. At the end of the video, he says his nickname is "The Animal", but I kinda like Juggernaut. And yes, my wife thinks its sad that I'm familiar with comic book characters.

Scouting Report

Pearson seemingly plays on every special teams squad, although his film is mainly made up of kickoff and punt coverage. I don't know that there's much for me to add other than what the video offers. There is one play where he's lined up on the line of scrimmage and the opposing team is punting. He sprints through the line of scrimmage and takes on the three defenders in front of the opposing punter and moves all three of them backwards. There are just a few plays where he's playing fullback and again, he is always moving the opponent in a positive direction. I do really like how Pearson is excitable and I think that's an incredibly important part of the game.

MIKE PEARSON LA PIERCE COLLEGE 2011 HIGHLIGHTS (via JERZBUL33)

Mike, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!

The 2012 Class

Everything is after the jump. Cumulative ranking explanation here. Cumulative ranking data here. Quick and easy explanation:

The idea is to take all of the data from all of the recruiting services and put it into just one number. Thus, the idea is that a grade of 68 or 69 is a thee-star player, while a ranking of 83 or 84 is a four-star player. Anything in between those numbers or lower means that the player most likely has a lower grade with one service or another. For example, Quinton White is thought of by all the recruiting experts as a solid three-star player. While a player like Clayton Nicholas is mostly a three-star player but ESPN does give him a four-star grade, so his grade is a bit higher.