Audio only this week. Enjoy!

 

 Recruiting Update [16:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted under Blogcast

Scout unveiled a new set of rankings, but I’m not going to bother updating the stars for now, since I’m planning to switch to Rivals’ rankings son anyway.

Action since last rankings:
7-25-08 Indiana gains commitment from **OT Colin Rodkey.
7-29-08 Iowa loses commitment from David Barrent. Michigan State gains commitment from David Barrent.Illinois gains commitment from Andrew Carter.
7-30-08 Illinios gains commitment from Jake Feldmeyer. Iowa gains commitment from Jordan Cotton.
8-1-08 Iowa gains commitment from Drew Calrk. Michigan gains commitment from Mike Jones.

New Rankings:

Sam Longo commits. OSU probably has 3-4 slots left for people like Marcus Hall, Jaamal Berry, etc.

A defensive end goes a long way to easing Michigan fans’ fears about the position.

Chris Watt commits, failing to realize that ND OL have underperformed horrifically in recent times. Turk and Tausch have a rating ceiling of high three-stars (standard for non-all-world kickers).

Nate Cadogan commitment is now official. Figueroa and Kuntz figure to be low three-star types, maybe dropping in twos.

Tyquan Hammock goes green after not getting the Michigan offer he wanted.

The Illini grab Terry Hawthorne and Tommie Hopkins. Is Hawthorne’s teammate Kraig Appleton next to drop?

Wisconsin’s OL commits get a bonus half0star because of their inherent Wisconsin-ness. Jeff Duckworth drops for the Badgers.

Gophers pick up Eric Stephens, whom the recruiting sites give vastly different rankings (Scout 2-star, Rivals 4-star).

Dustin Kiel, Lawrence Barnett, Charles Chapman, Mitch Ewald, and Pat McShane commit. While the Hoosiers have a lot of commitments (which would rank them higher in many ranking systems) their abundance of 2-star guys really limits where this class can end up.

Trumpy and Battle will be low threes, Moulton a high two.

Aristide could end up a high three-star. He was on the verge of being a big prospect before a bad junior year injury. Bush will be a mid three-star. The Boilermakers pass Iowa.

Ferentz’s glory days in recruiting seem to be over. Rogers will end up a low two-star.

Posted under Recruiting

Added:
FL CB Josh Robinson. He plans to take a Michigan visit (info in header).

New Information:
MN WR Commit Bryce McNeal. He had been planning to take visits, but is now completely solid to Michigan (audio).
FL CB Jayron Hosley. Michigan is among those recruiting him the hardest.
AZ DE Craig Roh. His top 5 will come out soon. My uneducated guess is that Michigan will be in it.
FL DB Mywan Jackson. Reacts (quite positively) to his Michigan visit.
MD DE Jason Ankrah. Michigan is in his top 7.
AR CB Darius Winston. Though he has backed off his remarks that Michigan leads, his high school coach thinks this is still the case.

Removed:
FL DE Ryne Giddins. Down to a final 6 that doesn’t include Michigan.
NC WR Jheranie Boyd. Michigan outside of his final 10.
FL OL Andrew Carter. Illinois commit.

Etc.:
I urge you to listen to the Sam Webb Recruiting Insider podcast (linked above in the Bryce McNeal section) from WTKA. It provides a lot of good information, and I should really do a better job of listening to it myself (fortunately, VB super-commenter RJ usually helps me out if something particularly interesting is said). Also, Michigan is probably. looking to take a kicker in the class of 2009. The primary candidates are TX Anthony Fera and FL Brendon Gibbons, but the recruiting process for a kicker will be pretty short, so I won’t bother to add them to the board. Just keep those names in mind.

Posted under Recruiting

Orlando safety Mike Jones has pledged his word to become a Michigan Wolverine. Jones (6-2, 197) hails from Orlando Edgewater high school. He projects as a strong safety, or perhaps even a weakside linebacker.

Recruiting Notes
Jones hails from the same high school as junior WR Greg Mathews, which gave him something of a familiarity with the Wolverines (of course, former Edgewater players litter the rosters of such programs as Florida, Ohio State, Notre Dame, UCF, and so on). Though he grew up a Miami of Florida fan, the Canes never played a large role for Mike. From early in his recruitment, Jones indicated that not only was he open to leaving home, but also was favoring a few schools in the midwest. Michigan offered Jones in late spring, and the Wolverines joined Notre Dame at the top of his list. Jones took a late June visit to the campuses of both schools, and at this time, Michigan may have moved to the front of his mind. Without a solid scholarship offer from the Irish, Jones picked Michigan on August 1st.

Player Notes
Jones was injured during his junior season, but was impressive in the five games he managed to get in. Jones has very good height and weight for the strong safety position, and if he adds a bit more weight may be a candidate to move to weakside linebacker. He is very explosive for his size, though he may be someone who “plays quick” rather than actually being fast (this is not a bad thing in Scott Shafer’s defensive concepts). He is a big hitter as well.

Posted under Recruiting

Basketball target Darius Morris plans to announce his college decision tomorrow.

Morris attended Michigan summer camp, and sources have indicated that he will pick Michigan. If he does, the first piece to John Beilein’s recruiting plan will have landed, and the road will be paved for future recruiting classes.

Posted under Basketball