Expert Analysis: First Impression On New Michigan Commit Dominick Giudice
Last evening Michigan picked up a commitment from Freehold (N.J.) Mater Dei three-star weakside defensive end Dominick Giudice. The rising senior committed to the Wolverines sight unseen over the service academies, schools from the Ivy League and several programs in the MAC.
Former Michigan All-American defensive lineman Chris Hutchinson took a look at Giudice's film and gave Wolverine Digest a very full rundown of what U-M is getting in the 6-4, 262-pounder.
Strengths
The first thing you see is that he’s got good instincts. There may be a guy or two on him but he can find the ball. In double teams he finds the ball. When there’s a sprint out he finds it and chases it down. That’s the biggest thing I saw in him — finding and getting to the ball. That’s a big part of being a good football player. I think he’s got good hands too, and that’s part of it.
I love it when a defensive lineman makes a tackle 10-15 yards down the field and you see him do that on a lot of plays. I think for a kid that’s 6-4, he does a nice job of staying low. He’s not 6-6 or 6-7, but for a 6-4 guy in high school who is facing kids who are his size or smaller, he does a good job at staying low. Someone who already has that in his game is going to translate to the college game much quicker.
Areas of Improvement
There were a few instances where I saw his helmet up, peeking in the backfield. It’s his junior year so you anticipate him making some significant gains in the weight room. I would expect his quickness off the ball to improve as he develops. Sometimes a four- or five-star kid, who is already 18 or 19 years old, will look like a college player out there. With junior film of a three-star, younger kid, there’s a lot more projection involved. You have to see what their body type is like and how much you’re going to get out of a kid like that. That's what I think he is.
*Giudice will turn 18 in September
Takeaway
He looks like a kid that I think is going to improve a lot. Being committed to Michigan is going to put a target on his back and that will likely push him.
As he gets older and stronger, he’s going to look a lot different. He’ll hit that weight room and really keep developing. As he gets more and more playing time and takes more reps, that will significantly improve his game. Combine that with working out, getting older, getting more explosive and working on his hands and I think it’ll make his game during his senior year a lot different than it was his junior year.
