Commitment Profile: Amara Darboh

Name: Amara Darboh

Location: West Des Moines, IA

Position: WR

Ratings: ESPN – 3* (78), Scout – 4*, 247 Sports - 4*

Recruitment: He made a couple of visits in the spring and summer, but his recruitment really came down to his official visits in the fall. Michigan and Notre Dame were his final two visits, and it was clear to see that UM was his preferred choice. He had the chance to visit Florida too, but decided to commit to Michigan instead.

Offers: Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Iowa State, Kansas State, Nebraska, Vanderbilt and Minnesota.

Stats: Currently stands at 6’2 and around 195lbs, with a reported 40 yard dash time of 4.42. He suffered a shoulder injury during his senior year and thus only played seven games, but he still racked up 48 catches for 765 yards and 11 touchdowns.

ESPN Analysis: Darboh is a combination of strength and quickness as a big receiver with a sturdy build, long arms and nice height. He is part playmaker and part possession player and against this level of competition he can really stand out.

Shows some physicality at the line of scrimmage and is generally quite a good blocker. Shows great ability to find the open spaces in zone coverage and help out his quarterback, but he can also go over the middle and make catches in traffic.

Makes good adjustments to the ball while its in the air, often bailing out his quarterback if the pass is inaccurate. Can often be a body catcher at times, but he secures the ball well. He knows how to use his size effectively, which should make him a good target in the red zone at the next level. The main concern is his top end speed, which doesn't look anywhere like his forty yard dash times would suggest. Needs some polish in his route running, but should be a solid BCS prospect.

Improvements: Speed? For the record, not many reports think he lacks top end speed, in fact others list speed as an asset of his. Route running is an area for improvement, along with other general WR tools.

Film Highlights: Link here.

Final Thoughts: Michigan needs WRs badly in this class, and Darboh is a commit that we should be really happy about. If that forty yard dash time is legit, then Darboh should have the speed and size to give Michigan a proper downfield threat to open up the deep passing game. His size will also come in handy for blocking.

When he gets to Michigan, he will have the chance to compete for playing time immediately along with the other WR prospect that Michigan will land. We're lacking depth at the position, and with Hemingway and Odoms departing, Darboh will have a really good chance to see the field early if he progresses in summer camp.

This commitment won't have a great affect on the rest of the class, as Jehu Chesson has already said that he's still going to visit Iowa, and Jordan Payton just seems like an unlikely option now. Chesson and Darboh did get on well at the OSU game though, and even talked about coming to UM together, so this commitment might help just a bit with him, although I think we will get Chesson anyway.