On Signing Day, Florida cornerback Adrian Witty of Deerfield Beach pledged his word to become a Michigan Wolverine. Witty, who stands 5-9 ans 175 pounds, was Michigan’s 20th commit of the 2009 recruiting class, and the 7th from the Sunshine State. His name is also often spelled “Whitty,” in case you’re one to scour the internets for information of your own.

Recruiting Notes
Michigan’s recruitment of Adrian Witty picked up pace rapidly through a matter of circumstance. Following the decommitment of Shavodrick Beaver, the Wolverines needed to add a second quarterback to the class of 2009. The best option available was Deerfield Beach quarterback Denard Robinson, a good friend and high school teammate of Witty. The Michigan coaching staff immediately starting recruiting both prospects heavily, as Witty himself plays a position of need for the class. The two came on a visit to Ann Arbor together for the January 9th recruiting weekend, and enjoyed themselves despite the snowy atmosphere. On the contrary, they actually partook in a snowball fight with various members of the coaching staff, and a good time was had by all. Witty was offered by the Wolverines on the visit. He also had offers from Kansas State and Florida International, and was picking up steam with a Florida recruitment (likely because the Gators also wanted an in with Robinson). However, a Florida offer never materialized, and on Signing Day, Witty went with the Wolverines.

Player Notes
The only other offers for Witty being KSU and FIU is evidence of why he was a lesser-regarded prospect. He missed his entire junior year with an ACL injury, and didn’t get fully healthy during his senior year. If healthy, Witty likely would have been a much more highly-regarded player. He is a smallish corner with good speed (described to be as fast as Robinson prior to the knee injury), and may be a good complement to the taller Justin Turner as the class’s other corner. Witty garnered a 2-star rating from Scout and Rivals. Even if his guru rankings prove to be accurate, he is certainly worth taking if only to assist with Denard Robinson’s recruitment.

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Posted under Football, Recruiting

In the hustle and bustle of the world’s most stressful LiveBlog, I didn’t have time to put up commitment posts of Michigan’s three newest commits. Here’s Je’Ron Stokes, Michigan’s final commit (thus far) of the class. Adrian Witty and Denard Robinson in the days to come.

Je’Ron Stokes, a wide receiver from Philadelphia Northeast High School, has pledged his intentions to become a Michigan Wolverine. Stokes is a 6-1, 180-lber with enough speed to be a legitimate deep threat from the split end position. He is Michigan’s 22nd commitment of the 2009 recruiting season.

Recruiting Notes
Very early in the recruiting process, Stokes made it clear that he coveted a Michigan offer, and if he were to receive one, the Wolverines would be right in his top group of schools. Eventually, Stokes received that offer – just days after he had committed to the Tennessee Volunteers. Stokes cited his relationship with the Tennessee coaches as one of the deciding factors in his commitment, though if he had waited just a little while longer for that offer to come through, he may not have committed to Tennessee at all. Of course, when Phil Fulmer was fired, that naturally gave Je’Ron a little pause regarding his commitment to the Volunteers. He backed down from his commitment, especially after new coach Lane Kiffin encouraged both 2009 QB commits to explore their other options. Stokes took his Michigan took advantage of his newly “soft” status, and invited Je’Ron to campus for the January 16th recruiting weekend. The recruits took in the Michigan basketball loss against Ohio State Saturday night. Leading up to Signing Day, there was alternating optimism and pessimism on Stokes from the Michigan side of things. When he announced his decision on CSNPhilly.com at 3:00, however, Michigan was his choice.

Player Notes
Je’Ron Stokes is a four-star receiver to both recruiting sites, and garners a rating of 82 from ESPN (high four-star). Stokes is a very speedy player, and has an ability to stretch the field for his offense. He has decent speed at about 6-1, though he will need to put on some weight to avoid injury in college, as he currently only weighs around 180 pounds. Stokes displays good hands, but at his current size, he likely isn’t going to show them off by making tough catches in traffic over the middle. He participated in the Army All-American Bowl, where he made a couple grabs.

Etc.
Je’Ron’s younger brother, Malik, is a 2010 prospect as a dual-threat QB. He is likely to end up in the high three-star/low four-star range, and may be a good complement to a more highly-rated player like Devin Gardner.

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Posted under Football, Recruiting

Of the five in play:

Committed:

• Denard Robinson
• Adrian Witty

Elsewhere:

• Pearlie Graves (TTU)

In Play:

• Je’Ron Stokes
• DeQuinta Jones

Posted under Football

Stay tuned right here for you signing day coverage with Tim as well as Brian and TomVH from MGoBlog. This is going to be heavily moderated. We will only accept questions or information that supplements the panelists’ answers to a question.

Around 2:30 I’ll be at the press conference and Twittering in with comments from Rich Rodriguez and other coaches. Rumor is that some of the early enrollees will be there.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

First, the important information: What will be going on at Varsity Blue tomorrow? Starting around 11AM or slightly before, we will be opening up a CoverItLive liveblog to cover all of Signing Day. I should be around most of the day, Brian from MGoBlog will be by around 11:30 or 12, and (perhaps most excitingly) Paul will attend the Rich Rodriguez press conference at 3pm.

Brian and I (and maybe MGoBlog recruiting intern TomVH, if he’s available) will be primarily answering questions from the other participants, in addition to sharing news as it becomes available to us. Paul will send in comments from the press conference via Twitter. This CIL will be more of a Q&A-type thing, rather than a free-for-all like the game chats usually are. It will run all day, so be sure to stop by every so often and check it out (the software archives all the comments, so you can drop by and see what you’ve missed).

Onto the final recruiting information:

Rivals has a convenient writeup of most of this information.

• As mentioned before, Adrian Witty’s conference is at 11 (it should be the first of the day). Denard Robinson will either announce then or wait until 7PM. SoFlaFootball’s Luke Stampini thinks Michigan leads for Robinson, with Florida gaining.
• DeQuinta Jones makes his final announcement at 1:30M ET.
• Je’Ron Stokes, who reportedly has had Michigan make a resurgence in his recruitment after being considered all-but-dead earlier today, announces live on an internet at 3:00 on CSNPhilly.com. It will re-air on Comcast SportsNet Philly at 6:30.
• Pearlie Graves signs at 9 and announces at noon.

Stop by tomorrow and take part in the CoverItLive; it should be really fun.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Raw data in .xls format here.

Half 1

Half 2

Game totals

Individual players:

Aside from the elbow, Manny didn’t have a particularly good game. He complemented bad shooting with a bunch of turnovers as well.

LLP’s shooting is mostly frightening because he’s missing the really easy ones. That speaks to a mental hurdle. Hopefully Beilein will be able to take care of that with a long week of prectice.

Suspended, yo.

As Michigan’s best offensive weapon for most of the day, Purdue was able to concentrate on him. Both 3-point makes came early in the game (Michigan’s first 6 points).

Didn’t look to shoot the ball, and got surprisingly little playing time. As the most consistent 3-point shooter on the team, he could have been used better once Harris went out.

His makes were notable (a thunderous dunk and the tip-in to give Michigan a halftime lead), but he was fairly quiet.

Shot the ball horribly, but he actually wa on a number of positive shifts.

When CJ Lee plays 3/4 of the game, your team is undermanned; he made the gritty walkon plays we’ve come to associate him with.

He is so athletic, but his basketball skill is so limited. It’s a shame Beilein didn’t have another year with him, as Jevohn could have been made into a real player if he’d had a legitimiate coach for more than 2 years.

I’m actually surprised his differential was that close to zero. He was on the floor for pretty much the entire Purdue run early in the second half that toasted Michigan’s chances to win. He can’t shoot to save his life, either..

Dude can shoot the ball, but at 150 lbs soaking wet, he’s a major defensive liability. If only players could redshirt 2 years, he could add some bulk and become a good player down the road. He should contribute in future years if he can add weight.

What This Says…

Manny Harris and Zack Novak are both really important to this team (and maybe Novak will have his shooting stroke back after an extended practice period with no games to break it up). By the way, I’m disgusted in Purdue’s reputation as this awesome defensive team: if I could describe them in one word, it would be dirty. Chris Kramer is the best example of this, as he flops more than Anderson Varejao, and does more grabbing, bumping, getting through screens using the point of his elbow, etc., than any player I can recall (and it’s a shame the conference rewarded him for it by naming him the Defensive POY last year). Coming out in a mask because he had a little cut on his skin was particularly douchey. I’m now convinced that Purdue’s defensive reputation is built more upon getting away with a bunch of dirty stuff, rather than actually being good on defense (which they are as well, to be fair).

Manny Harris’s ejection was ridiculous, as the refs changed their original call after seeing Kramer was bleeding. By the way, they thought Kramer had broken his nose, which was a fair assumption based on the rolling on the floor he did. Alas, that was all part of his acting job, since the only blood came from a small cut on his nose. Harris didn’t even hit him hard enough to knock him down (watch the replay: he falls opposite of the direction he got hit, and about a half second later), and had Harris moisturized his elbows before the game, this would have been an innocuous offensive foul.

Posted under Analysis, Basketball

GoBlueWolverine hints (in header), and MGoBlog’s Brian Cook confirms, that offensive lineman Quinton Washington of Timberland, SC, has pledged his word to sign with Michigan tomorrow, and wil announce said decision at 3PM today. Washington, a 6-4, 300-lb player who will likely end up at offensive guard, is Michigan’s 21st commitment of the 2009 class, and hopefully opens the floodgates for a few more commitments to round out the recruiting year.

Recruiting Notes
Early in the recruiting process, it appeared to be highly likely that Washington would end up at one of the South Carolina schools. His coach, Art Craig, is well-connected within the state, and it seemed he might steer his top player to either the Cocks or Tigers. When his original top 5 came out in June, the Wolverines were listed… as #6. With Quinton not expecting to make a decision until after his senior year of football, however, the Wolverines had plenty of time to make up ground. Washington visited Michigan for the Wisconsin game, and witnessed the epic comeback in the Big House. On that visit, the Wolverine staff made sure Quinton knew they wanted him to suit up in maize-and-blue when he got to college. After that time, Michigan was never far from the top of Washington’s recruitment. Despite late pushes by Tennessee and Miami of Florida, the final decision came down to Michigan and South Carolina. Washington went with his heart and his head, picking the Wolverines.

Player Notes
Washington was listed as a top-10 player in South Carolina’s lowcountry before his senior season, and his high recruiting rankings would bear that out (he is a 4-star Guard to Rivals, a 3-star to Scout). Washington was honored for his skills not only by finishing as a finalist for the state’s Mr. Football award, but also by being selected to the Shrine Bowl, as well as the ESPNU/UnderArmour All-American Bowl. Washington’s game is strength, and he won the state Weightlifting Championship in the heavyweight division. Washington’s game will be improved by working a bit on his quickness in the zone scheme once he gets to college.

Video

Posted under Football, Recruiting

The 2009 board, including extraneous prospects, can be seen here: 2009 Recruting Board.

As for the information on still-realistic prospects:

There has been a massive downturn in confidence among the Michigan internet fanbase for two important prospects. FL QB Denard Robinson has been downgraded significantly (with Florida now being considered the favorite, although he won’t be able to play QB there). Florida Gator Country is still not confident on Denard, but they’ve certainly changed their tone from the last few days, citing “murmurs”:

IS THERE STILL A CHANCE? I don’t think this one is likely for Denard Robinson, but I have definitely been hearing some murmurs to suggest that Denard is a possibility in this class. Do I think it’s likely? …

…and the Miami Herald has some fluff on Robinson’s final decision. The Toledo Blade says he’ll anounce his decision at the same time as Witty, but that isn’t accurate from what I’ve heard, so take it for what it’s worth.

The other prospect of dwindling confidence is PA WR Je’Ron Stokes. Michigan had been considered a pretty strong front-runner for Stokes ever since his visit, and so the other schools Stokes was considering (Tennessee and Illinois) spent all their effort talking down Michigan. Stokes is evidently worried about not getting the ball enough, not getting enough playing time, and even Rich Rodriguez being fired after this year, all of which are vary from moderately stupid to hilariously ridiculous. Regardless, Michigan is no longer a prohibitive favorite, and they likely trail one of the other schools at this point.

SC DE Sam Montgomery has trimmed his final list to three schools, and Michigan ain’t one of ’em. Conventional wisdom has him signing with either UNC or LSU.

SC OL Quinton Washington was widely regarded to be down to just South Carolina and Michigan coming into the week, and Phil Kornblut confirms that is the case, and that Washington hadn’t announced his decision as of last night, because he hasn’t decided:

“He’s a confused young man right now,” [Timberland coach Art] Craig said. “He’s torn completely in half,” between USC and Michigan.

If you take out Kornblut’s little addendum, it can be deduced that his heart and his head may be telling him different things. Washington is still expecrted to make a final decision sometime today.

LA DT Commit DeQuinta Jones is expected to announce at 12:30 tomorrow between Michigan, Arkansas, or Tennessee.

No updated information on FL CB Adrian Witty or OK DT Commit Pearlie Graves, so everything can be considered status quo on those two for the time being.

Is it possible that Michigan hops on a fewer sleeper prospects if they dont land the majority of these guys? It’s certainly possible, but I’d be surprised if it was more than one or two guys. The more likely scenario is they bank a couple scholarhips for ’09 (give them to preferred walkons during the season) and hopefully gear up for a big 2010 class.

Posted under Football

2009 Board.

With just a couple days until 2009 prospects sign their letters of intent, the information should be coming fast and furious for Michigan recruiting fans. As such, updates on the 2010 class are suspended until at least Thursday (and probably even later than that). Without further ado, here’s the latest information on all the recruits that Michigan is currently in the running for (as well as a few eliminations of other guys):

First, some removals:
MI QB AJ Westendorp committed to Central Michigan.
FL QB Austin Dantin committed to Toledo.
OH OL Marcus Hall selected Ohio State, in the shocker of the century.
PA OL Tahir Basil (who had pretty much no Michigan interest), committed to Lafayette.
MN CB Varmah Sonie. Committed to Northern Iowa.

FL CB Adrian Witty has set a press conference at 11AM on Signing Day to announce his decision. No word on whether his teammate, QB Denard Robinson, will announce at that time as well. Even is he doesn’t, the announcement from Robinson will probably come some time on Signing Day. For good measure, here’s a little fluff on Robinson. Indications are still (with no definitive word) that the two are a package deal, which would help Michigan.

SC OL Quinton Washington will announce later today or tomorrow between Michigan and South Carolina. Michigan and USC insiders are equally confident on this one, so there is no indication which one he’ll select.

PA WR/slot Je’Ron Stokes will announce his decision sometime on Signing Day. He is thought to be choosing between Michigan, Illinois, and Tennessee. I’ve also re-added Stokes to the board, because regardless of his commitment to Tennessee, he’s clearly open, and Michigan may in fact be the favorite.

SC DE Sam Montgomery took his final official visit (to Tennessee) this weekend, and now:

Montgomery is considering the Vols along with Clemson, USC, Michigan, North Carolina and LSU. “We have to go home and make some comparisons and throw things around and go from there,” Mrs. Montgomery said. “The list does have to be trimmed. We’ll possibly cut some tonight. We’ll be in contact with some schools to get some answers and some clarifications. Distance is not going to be a factor.”

Montgomery plans to announce Wednesday morning on ESPN.

Schools will be eliminated (I assume somewhat publicly) as he goes, with a final decision announced Wednesday morning on ESPN (I assume ESPNU).

DT commits Pearlie Graves (from Oklahoma) and DeQuinta Jones (of Louisiana) are wavering, and have been for quite some time. I assume we’ll hear confirmation of final choices from those two by Signing Day. Michigan really needs at least one, and preferably both of them, to pick the Wolverines.

Most other recruits are pretty much out of the question, though there’s a possibility that the Wolverines pick up a sleeper or two. Everyone else will stay on the board for the time being until there’s official reason to remove them.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Raw data in .xls format here. Apologies for the delay in getting these UFRs published. With the next game not until Thursday, The Purdue edition is coming tomorrow.

Half 1

Half 2

Game totals

Individual players:

Manny didn’t shoot particularly poorly, and a few of his misses could have conceivably been called fouls. It was the turnovers that Manny really hurt the team with on this day.

LLP shot better than I would have guessed from watching the game. It would probably be best for him to not start a few games to get his head right, and hopefully he’d be more effective off the bench.

Bad day shooting, though he did his standard job rebounding and making various hustle plays. Also, he got suspended for elbowing a dude in the face.

Really tough day for DeShawn. He started off pretty well, then faded down the stretch (as has become a pretty strong trend lately). He has to play the lion’s share of minutes, is often guarding (and being guarded by) bigger guys, and gets worse looks as his teammates decide to start jacking ill-advised threes.

Not a whole lot of shooting from Kelvin, which is too bad, because he’s certainly one of the best three-point shooters on the team, if not the best. He set his teammates up with a lot of decent looks still.

When Sims struggles, the team really neeeds Gibson to step up and prove his worth. Ohio State does have much better big men (and more depth) than Michigan, but Zack’s perfomance was truly bad.

Yikes. Maybe stepping in for LLP in a starting role isn’t what Douglass needs right now. He’s really been struggling lately as well.

Standard CJ Lee.

When Anthony Wright is playing outside of garbage time (and more than a minute here and there), it’s probably not a good thing for the team’s success.

What This Says…

After the terror that was the opening few minutes of this game, Michigan’s players really settled down and played the Buckeyes evenly for the remainder of the game. Of course, playing even isn’t good enough when you start in an 18-point hole. The shooting was subpar, but Michigan would be able to get through this if it wasn’t for the horrendous turnovers they had. In the .xls sheet, look at all the times Michigan didn’t even have a shot attempt while Ohio State was scoring 6 or 8 points. That’s all due to turnovers. Of course, the Buckeyes helped Michigan a bit by turning it over a bunch themselves. The final score of this game is a little wider than the contest actually was, as Michigan had a technical and a flagrant foul late in the game, and were fouling the Buckeyes at the end to try to extend it.

A couple comments on how unbelievably stupid the BTN analyst was (these are drawn straight from the .xls):

• Michigan’s first 3-pointer in 10 shot attempts prompts the announcer to say “Michigan has been almost exclusively a perimeter team [this game].” At that point, 14 of Michigan’s 20 shot attempts (70%) had been from inside the arc.
• After Michigan gets an offensive rebound, “This will give Michigan a rare opportunity for some second-chance points.” At that point in the game, Michigan already had 8 offensive rebounds, and they ended up beating the Buckeyes in offensive rebounding by a wide margin of 13-4.

Of course, color analysts are often stupid, but BTN has some of the worst of the bunch (don’t even get me started on football). It seems that, especially with this Michigan team, they go into the game with the assumption that Michigan will only shoot threes, and won’t get any offensive boards, and they continue to hammer on those points, even as such trivial matters as “facts” go completely against what they’re saying.

Posted under Analysis, Basketball