Alabama Steals Elite 2018 Offensive Lineman from Michigan

Roll Tide, Emil.

Michigan football loses top-rated commit Emil Ekiyor to Alabama

Ekiyor, a 6-foot-2, 322-pounder from Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, is the No. 2-ranked center in the 2018 class and the No. 105-ranked prospect nationally, according to 247Sports Composite.

He was Michigan's highest-rated commitment. That honor now belongs to four-star tight end Mustapha Muhammad, the No. 109-ranked player nationally.

Why Alabama wants to flip Michigan commit Emil Ekiyor

Time after time, Ekiyor stoned elite defensive line recruits in one-on-one drills. He did it with technique and smoothness one night, when nobody in the drills wore pads. And when the pads came on, he mixed in raw strength without sacrificing fluidity.

Ekiyor, a four-star guard from Cathedral (Ind.), solidified that he’s one of the handful of best interior lineman in the country, along with the uncommitted Jamaree Salyer and Trey Hill, both from Georgia. There’s a chance he winds up at center.

Emil Ekiyor is considered to be just outside the top 100 players, and is universally recognized as one of the top interior linemen. He projects best as a guard, but has the body type (shorter and stocky, for a lineman) to be a protoype center. He also plays left tackle for his high school, though I don’t think his body type translates well to tackle in college.

He also plays some full back in goal line situations, so we all know he’s really being recruited to replace Da’Ron Payne in the Jumbo Package.

In any case, Ekiyor is an elite athlete. Remember SPARQ scores? Of course you do. It’s the only reason you guys have kept me around these last few years. Well, Ekiyor ended up with a 101.97 SPARQ, or a 2.36 Z-score. What does that mean? It means he’s in the top 99.1% of college athletes in pure athleticism, and behind only Dylan Moses, Nigel Knott, Tony Brown, and Jedrick Wills for the best testing numbers on the team.

Speaking of Jedrick Wills, Ekiyor is nearly an athletic clone, but with 2 less inches of height. 5.19 to 5.18 forty-yard dash. 4.75 to 4.78 20-yard shuttle. 26.3 to 26.0 inch vertical jump. 49 to 50 power throw. (Wills was listed first, Ekyor second). That 50 power throw is easily the best since I’ve been recording Alabama recruits into my database. Second best was Wills with 49. Then there’s a drop-off to Derrick Henry at 44.5 and Da’Ron Payne at 44.

So, Ekiyor has some explosive strength to him. He has a ways to go to be a polished offensive lineman, but that’s pretty typical of most high school seniors not named Jonah Williams.

In any case, he’s another huge (pun intended) addition to the Tide recruiting class, and that coming at the expense of Jim Harbaugh is just icing on the cake.

Roll Tide!