By Cole Laing
Ty Haywood
Denton, TX (Ryan)
Committed to Michigan
Ty Haywood was originally our 18th ranked Offensive Tackle in last year’s class of 2025 rankings by the Mike Farrell Scouting Staff. Limited Hudl film available from his senior season likely due to his previous commitment to Alabama before flipping to Michigan early this week. I have provided an updated report building upon last year’s evaluation:
Good height and a very good frame at 6’5″ 285 pounds. Good athletic ability with very good explosiveness, flexibility, good foot quickness, balance, and lateral movement. Very good gap blocker, coming off the ball with his very good explosiveness engaging the blocker with very good pad level, displaying very good strength to drive the defender in base, down, and double team blocks.
Good zone blocker, creating good leverage with his foot quickness and lateral movement, with good use of hands to control the defender. Very good jump set, using his foot quickness and explosiveness off the line of scrimmage to quickly engage and pop the defender with his hands. Good vertical set points, creating a half-man relationship with good lateral movement and mirror on the pass rusher. Very good strength to anchor against the bull rush with very good bend and balance. Would like to see him be in more control blocking on the second level, taking better angles to set up the blocks.
Overall, a very good prospect who projects to be in competition to start by year two for the Wolverines.
Zahir Mathis
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Imhotep Institute)
Committed to Maryland
The once-Ohio State commit ended up between Maryland and Florida State, ultimately choosing the Terrapins. The 6’6″ 230-pound EDGE finished his senior season with 34 tackles, four for loss, and three sacks for one of the best schools in Philidelphia.
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Elite height and very good frame, currently a lean build with long arms and legs with room to add mass. Good athletic ability displaying very good flexibility, good acceleration, lateral agility, explosiveness, balance, foot quickness, solid foot speed, and change of direction. Mathis is an Edge player who can align as a stand-up Edge or with his hands in the ground as a DE.
Very good upfield burst, with an explosive first step that gains ground and leverage on Offensive Tackles. Very good speed rush, accelerating upfield and cornering Tackles with a rip move allowing him to quickly close on the QB to make a sack. Good pass rush plan to shift to a power rusher if his speed rush is countered, pushing the OT and using his hands to read the QB in the pocket and shed the block to disrupt the pass. Good run defender, displaying good gap integrity, using his long arms to engage offensive tackles and keep them out of his chest. Good at shedding blocks quickly and making tackles in his gap. His good lateral movement allows him to defend runs down the line of scrimmage on the backside.
Overall, a very good prospect who can contribute by year two in a rotation as an edge rusher, adding weight would allow him to play inside in pass-rushing situations.
Madrid Tucker
Fort Myers, Florida (Fort Myers)
Committed to North Carolina
Bill Belichick has been working hard to fill out his 2025 class and he got Madrid Tucker over fellow first-year coach Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia. Tucker is listed as a 5’9.5″ 155-pound ATH but he will play in the Slot for the Tar Heels. A versatile player, Tucker threw for, ran, and caught for a touchdown in 2024, but was best working in the slot, catching 36 passes for 686 yards and eight touchdowns.
Tucker has solid height with a good frame. Good athletic ability displaying very good foot speed, acceleration, lateral movement, good change of direction, explosiveness, balance, and flexibility. Displays good releases off the line of scrimmage, using his lateral movement and foot quickness to evade defensive backs and get into his route stem. Can run the full route tree with good route stems, and the physical toughness to run across the middle and take on contact.
He wins his routes with his speed and change of direction creating very good separation quickness and providing an open target for his QB. Good manual dexterity to reach and catch balls outside of his frame. Very good grip strength to secure catches when extended and can’t bring the ball into his body. Good after the catch, displaying good speed and elusiveness as a runner to create extra yards.Tends to over rely on his athleticism as a ball carrier and will need to follow his downfield blocks at the next level to be successful after the catch
Overall, a good prospect who will develop into a dependable slot receiver for the Tar Heels, due to his ability to run the full route tree and the mix of athleticism and physical toughness the position needs to succeed.
