Luke Schoonmaker 2018 Signed Profile

GBMW Readers: Here is a overview of University of Michigan recently signed commitment Luke Schoonmaker.

During the summer Michigan fans got a surprise, a relatively unknown east coast prospect committed to Michigan’s class of 2018. With several whiffs from the “big stars” this year and last, Michigan is still in need of quality tight ends. Besides Luke, Michigan wanted and received two other highly rated tight end prospects in Mustapha Muhammad (TX) and Ryan Hayes (MI).

The story on many sites goes something like this: Michigan saw Luke at a satellite camp at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. The staff present, unknown to many followers at the time, really were wowed by his speed, size and overall athleticism. Supposedly Luke received an offer that for some reason, not that hard to figure out, was kept on the silent side. Skip forward in time and all of a sudden a five star tight end commits to Ohio State and Luke announces a commitment to Michigan.

On most sites, Luke is rated as a three star recruit. With his commitment to Michigan his rating will draw more attention from all sites. Hudl has good film, but most of the film features him as a quarterback. The competition Luke has faced is not high level. Still, Michigan has done well lately in Connecticut and Massachusetts. And a good athlete is a good athlete.

Luke Schoonmaker has attributes that coaches see and then dismiss star ratings. He is close to 6’ 6” and 225 pounds, athletic, and for his size fast. He has played quarterback and tight end. Look at his film and you will see a left-handed quarterback that gets rid of the ball quickly and with decent but not overwhelming velocity. His baseball scouting report shows a fastball speed of 78 miles per hour. This means he is an average high school pitcher velocity wise, but he also plays first base. His future appears to be football, plain and simple.

Like most very good athletes at similar situations, Luke’s talent was spread out to benefit the team. At tight end there is no real indicator of overall speed, route ability, or blocking ability. But the few catches on film show some ability to get free in a zone and display good hands. A quarterback who runs the inside read should have good hands, especially a guy who is well over six foot. The test will be holding on to the ball in the chaos major college tight ends face weekly.

This is a boom or bust commitment. Obviously, this is by far Luke’s best offer. But that is the advantage of satellite camps in somewhat obscure locations. The coaches simply saw an athlete with tons of upside. The downside is that Luke will need at least two years to catch up to the level of size and play he will encounter. Luke is not a plug and play NFL prospect five star.

His speed has been reported as sub 4.6. Note that Carlos Brown ran a 4.54 at one time or another that was electrically timed. This reported time of 4.58 is almost certainly a kind hand-held event. Still, this guy has a nice stride and ran for notable yards out of the quarterback formation. He is probably faster than some tight ends now playing for Michigan. His rushing yards were made more on straight line speed than juking. He dances a little in the hole, but to little avail. On passing routes, he showed just enough instinctive jukes to throw a guy off, somewhat like Jake Butt.

Luke Schoonmaker
Height: 6’6
Weight: 229
Birthday: Sept. 28, 1998
Number: 44
Current Position: Quarterback / Wide Receiver / Tight End
Future Position: Tight End
City/State: Hamden, Connecticut
High School: Hamden Hall
Head Coach: Joe Litna
Recruiter: Coach Greg Frey and Don Brown
Official Visit: 12/9/2017
Committed: 7/25/2017
Signed: 12/20/2017
Top 5 Offers: UConn, Indiana, Navy, Rutgers, and Temple.
40-Time: 4.54
Enrolled Early: No
Class: 2018 Michigan Wolverine Recruiting Class (Signed).

Follow Luke Schoonmaker: on Twitter

Luke Schoonmaker‏ @LukeSchoonmaker Dec 20

Rankings:

24/7:
ESPN:
Rivals:

Note: Stars do matter, but are not absolute in predicting success within a football program. So, with that in mind the GBMW Staff has cleverly come up with a new system of ranking. We are using footballs instead of stars, how can one argue against a system that clever? Below are the interpretations of football power predicted way too boldly long before it matters. In other words, we will give informed opinion with the crystal ball and let the players determine what will happen through years of hard work.

Criteria: Raw talent, athleticism, position of need, intangibles.

GBMW Staff Rankings:

10 footballs: Instant impact player.
9 footballs: Three or four-year starter at a high level.
8 footballs: A starter with all league potential.
7 footballs: A meaningful starter at some time during a career.
6 footballs: A spot starter or special teams player.
5 footballs: Not in the two deep after a two years.
4 footballs: Never made it.
1-3 footballs: See the above.

We have him at 6 1/2 footballs.

2018 Michigan Football Recruiting Class

Side Note: Remember just as we did during the season with grading positions or groups we are very tough graders and expect a lot out of those positions or players so this is no different here.

Overview:

Luke is a low rated, high ceiling prospect. Last year as a junior he was an athletic high school quarterback who should be able to adapt to the tight end position. Luke has the length and skill needed to play tight end at Michigan. Luke rushed for 600 yards, scoring 13 touchdowns. He also passed for 900 yards and 5 touchdowns. Luke, showing versatility, also caught 5 passes, two being touchdowns. No GPA was listed.

Strengths:

Luke is very athletic for a player with superior length. He runs well and also shows good flexibility and bend. His film also shows good hands and decent toughness.

Concerns/Needs Work:

Luke definitely needs to add weight and get stronger. A big chore will be for him to learn the fundamentals and foot work needed to become a contributing tight end. Becoming proficient in the blocking game will probably be Luke’s biggest challenge.

Red-shirt or play his Freshman Year?

GBMW Staff believes he will likely red-shirt his first year. There will be or likely four tight ends ahead of him as the current roster goes right now.

Luke Schoonmaker reminds the GBMW Staff of — Current Michigan Football Player — Zach Gentry — who plays Tight End position.

Prep
• Attended Hamden Hall Country Day School (2018) coached by Joe Litna
• Helped team win New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Championship in 2016, and led the team to win its regional bowl game in 2017)
• Led Hamden Hall Country Day to a regional bowl win as a senior
• Played quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, cornerback during his high school career

Key Statistics
• Caught 22 passes for 343 yards and one touchdown as a senior
• Had 34 carries for 306 yards and two touchdowns while completing 18-of-37 pass attempts for 201 yards and two TDs during his senior season
• Recorded five receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns as a junior
• At quarterback during his junior year, went 55-for-92 for 878 yards with five TDs and five INTs while adding 53 rushing attempts for 623 yards and 13 TDs
• Also was a pitcher and first baseman on the school’s baseball team

Honors and Rankings
• 247.com three-star prospect, ranked the No. 35 tight end overall and No. 3 player in Connecticut
• ESPN three-star prospect, rated the No. 20 tight end and No. 2 player in Connecticut
• Rivals three-star recruit, rated the No. 48 tight end overall and No. 1 player in Connecticut

Personal
• Luke Schoonmaker was born Sept. 28, 1998

Video Highlights:

2018 Michigan Wolverine Football Recruiting Class:

Michigan has 16 signed commits at this time.

Michigan has three verbal commits with Otis Reese (LB), Kevin Doyle (QB), and Ronnie Bell (WR) who will have the opportunity to sign their letter of intent on February 7, 2018.

Final Thoughts:

We welcome Luke Schoonmaker to Michigan and hope he has a successful career on and off the football field as a student-athlete at the University of Michigan. Go Blue!

Written by GBMW Staff — CoachBT, Doc4Blu, and ErocWolverine

Go Blue — Wear Maize!