Freshmen Faces: Jeffrey Persi
Coming out of San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) J Serra Catholic, Jeffrey Persi was considered a four-star prospect, the No. 323 overall player nationally and the No. 24 offensive tackle in the country according to the 247 Sports Composite. Persi is a natural offensive tackle, which made him very appealing to Ed Warinner early in the process.
Recruitment
Persi committed to Michigan on June 25, 2019 after the massive visit weekend that resulted in double-digit pledges for the Wolverines. Persi was targeted by Michigan early in the process because of his fit as a natural tackle. The long, athletic lineman racked up nearly 30 offers over his high school career and had some very solid options to choose from. He had opportunities from schools like Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, California, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oklahoma, TCU, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington among others.
Player Breakdown/Player Comparison
Build wise, Persi is exactly what coaches look for in offensive tackle prospects. He's long at 6-7 and lean at 275 pounds. He's a former tight end and defensive end, which speaks to his overall ability on the football field, and he's got a great blend of mean and nasty to go along with finesse and athleticism.
As he embarks on his Michigan career, Persi has a phenomenal frame but definitely needs to get stronger. As he moved through camp seasons during his high school career, he was often described as having some of the best feet of any lineman in attendance and as someone who looked extremely comfortable during pass blocking drills. On the flip side he was criticized at times for lacking functional strength, which isn't surprising since he was transitioning from tight end throughout the middle part of his prep career.
Because of his height, length, frame, athleticism and tremendous upside, he reminds me a lot of former Michigan standout and current Tennessee Titan Taylor Lewan.
Lewan checks in at 6-7, 309 pounds now, and is often considered one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL. However, when he arrived at Michigan, he was a lanky 268-pound project who the coaches hoped would develop into a serviceable lineman. He obviously did and ended up being an early first-round draft pick.
Coming out of Michigan, Lewan was described. as a tackle with prototypical size and very long arms and as an athlete who displays above-average footwork. That sounds exactly like Persi in terms of his build and ability as an incoming freshman. The biggest knock on Lewan per Bleacher Report's scouting report is that he shifts his weight to the back of his feet in pass protection and sacrifices balance, which Persi does from time to time as well. Persi is raw, but he has a ton of athleticism and natural size, which makes him the perfect upside type of lineman to mold into a star.
2020 Outlook
Michigan does have four job openings along the offensive line but Persi won't be up for one of them. It's just very rare for true freshmen offensive linemen to make an impact. It's a massive jump from high school to college, especially in the strength department, which makes it tough for rookies to crack the rotation.
Persi has already talked about taking a redshirt in 2020 in order to bulk up and begin learning from Ed Warinner without the pressure of pushing for time. He's a true tackle and should be a very good player at Michigan by year three.
