Commitment Analysis: What Louis Hansen means to Michigan
For the third time in a week, an elite 2021 prospect is making his commitment announcement exclusively on Rivals (watch announcement below), as Thursday saw tight end Louis Hansen announce he's headed to Michigan.
Hansen chose the Wolverines over Wisconsin, Duke, Iowa, Florida, Michigan State, and many others. The Rivals100 prospect out of Needham (Mass.) St. Sebastian’s Country Day is the fifth member of Michigan’s 2021 recruiting class.
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ASK FARRELL: Which conference produces the best tight ends?
CLASS OF 2022 TOP 100: Monday's release | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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HOW IT HAPPENED
New England has become somewhat of a hotbed for tight ends in recent years so Hansen was identified fairly early in the recruiting process. Offers began piling up but it was clear Michigan would be a major contender for his commitment. Boston College, Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Florida, Georgia and a few others drew serious interest from Hansen and he made a handful of trips.
Penn State got Hansen to camp last offseason and his stock rose fairly quickly after some clips of his workout emerged.
This spring was going to be busy for Hansen, with visits to Florida, Michigan and Michigan State in the works, but he had had enough of the recruiting process. Hansen decided to end his recruitment with a commitment to Michigan.
WHY IT’S BIG FOR MICHIGAN
Michigan has had some very solid tight ends over the past few years and that’s unlikely to change with Hansen entering the picture. Hansen brings a lot to the table as a flex tight end but he also is physical enough and strong enough to be an end line tight end as well. Expect Michigan to use him in a variety of ways but, most importantly, he'll be a great red zone threat and should create mismatches in the middle of the field with linebackers and safeties.
As for the implications on the recruiting trail, let it be known that Don Brown is still the ace recruiter for the New England region. Brown and Hansen are very close and the same goes for the people in Hansen’s inner circle. Brown will almost certainly make Michigan a top contender for any elite prospect in New England, something that has become a trend ever since he arrived in Ann Arbor.
TEAMS IT HURTS THE MOST
Boston College, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Duke are really feeling the brunt of losing out on Hansen’s commitment. Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley can’t let elite prospects leave his backyard if he hopes to build a competitive team. Penn State prioritized Hansen early in the process but it steadily became clear that the Nittany Lions would not be able to land his commitment. Wisconsin and their coaching staff built a really good relationship with Hansen but the opportunity at Michigan was too good to pass up, especially after Wisconsin signed two tight ends in the 2020 class. Duke did a great job recruiting Hansen and they were probably his second choice. Everything the Blue Devils do on and off the field was very appealing to him but his relationship with Don Brown at Michigan was too strong to overcome.