Is Dominic Nichols Michigan's Next Great Pass Rusher?

Michigan has paraded out one successful EDGE rusher after another over the last several seasons.

After watching guys like Kwity Paye, Mike Danna, Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo and Mike Morris among others achieve high levels of success at Michigan, it's no secret why players like Ijamsville (Md.) Oakdale EDGE rusher Dominic Nichols want to play in Ann Arbor.

At 6-5, 252 pounds, Nichols already looks the part of a college defensive end and he still has a year of high school left. Once he arrives in Ann Arbor, likely north of 260 pounds, the sky could be the limit.

When you watch him on tape, it's interesting, because you can see some flashes of several of the guys mentioned above. He does a good job at turning speed into power like Hutchinson always did, he's got a great straight arm technique like Morris and he does flash some pretty decent athleticism, like Ojabo. 

Hutchinson has an elite motor and has shown to possess some elite-level pass rush moves. Morris is a hulking, strong presence at the EDGE position and Ojabo is simply an elite athlete coming off the corner. I don't think Nichols is on the level of these three guys in their best areas, but he has a little bit of each of them, which sounds like a damn good football player to me. It's going to be really interesting to see how Nichols develops. Can he reach 6-7, 280-plus pounds and play a lot like Morris? Can he learn and perfect several different moves and improve his flexibility to be Hutchinson Light? I don't think he'll ever be quite as fast as Ojabo, but can he hit the weight room hard at Michigan and improve on his raw athleticism? It'll be a while before we see it in Ann Arbor, but there's a nice piece of clay to be molded once he arrives.