As always, the 2010 Recruiting Board has a running tally of all the updates.

A very Michigan-tastic relay team of Denard Robinson, Adrian Witty, 2010 RB Cassius McDowell, and Donte Dotson (who does not play football) won the Florida State Track title in the 4×100 relay, with a time of 40.64. They did not, however, break the state record of 40.54, partially because of a bad handoff between Witty and Dotson:

”I’m mad we didnt break it but happy that we won states,” Robinson said. “It’s a great experience. I don’t know what happened. Our exchange wasn’t that good from first to second. That is what got us. It means a lot. To two-peat means a lot, especially after losing two legs from last year.”

If only there were video of this whole thing… ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE:

The legs are as follows: Dotson, Witty, McDowell, Robinson. All are very fast. Robinson finished 3rd in the 100m dash, with a time of 10.62.

Oklahoma-oriented radio interview/podcast-like-substance with CA RB Brennan Clay. Talks about how big a threat the Scripps Ranch offense was, in large part thanks to Tate Forcier. Brennan caught 70 passes and ran 107 times, so he’s definitely a multi-skilled threat. Not to sound the alarm bell quote yet, but he lists about 10 of his offers, and Michigan is not among the schools he names.

IL RB LaSteven McKinney is among the 400 nominees for the Army All-American Game, and he talks a little bit of recruiting.

Former Michigan and 10-year NFL running back Tyrone Wheatley is the [EMU] Eagles’ running backs coach and has kept tabs on McKinney.

“I talked to Coach Wheatley yesterday on the phone,” McKinney said. “He said that I’m definitely the type of player that they like and I remind them a lot of Reggie Bush. They said that they can’t see why I don’t have anymore offers yet, so it was a very good compliment and he seems like a pretty good guy.”

“I’m thinking I should have everything narrowed down by national signing day,” McKinney said. “I’m very open-minded about everything.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s given at least a glance later on, though it sounds like it would be for either defense or slot:

McKinney is also a polished receiver, as Racki sometimes uses the standout in the slot… Though he is a productive running back at the high school level, McKinney is being recruited by many schools as a defensive back because of his fluid hips and quickness. Racki said every Big Ten school, including Illinois, has shown interest with only Michigan State recruiting McKinney as a running back.

I would presume that, since Michigan has 2 RB/Slots prospects already committed, he would be a defensive guy, or maybe a contingency plan for a decommit. He may be the type of kid who comes to Michigan’s camp, as the Eastern Michigan coaching staff typically attends.

OH RB/DB Christian Bryant has received his Ohio State offer, so it’s likely only a matter of time before he commits to the Buckeyes. Like many Glenville players, the Ohio State offer was all that was holding him back from becoming a Buckeye. He may wait a while to announce a commitment, as Glenville players often do, but he’s as good as Scarlet.

Has Michigan offered FL WR Ace Sanders? I had’t previously heard of the kid, and I’d be shocked if they offered yet another WR (albeit a slot). Still, I was wrong in questioning a report last week, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, and at least add him to the board as unoffered.

They’re also still visiting the high school of NC WR Anthony Creecy. Again, I’m skeptical of their desire to take another true WR, but this is a results-based recruiting board, so he’s added. Of course, any additional WR recruit may still end up at another position.

FL WR Quinton Dunbar has Michigan in his top 6, despite aforementioned glut of wide receiver recruits for the Wolverines. The need for another outside wideout is low, and a recruiting class heavy in wide receivers isn’t exactly inviting to recruits, so look for Michigan to miss one of the next couple cuts for Dunbar, barring unforeseen circumstances.

After visiting Ann Arbor earlier this spring, FL OL Torrian Wilson named the Wolverines his favorite. I assumed, like many other Michigan fans, that after the afterglow of the trip started to fade away, that Wilson would back off that statement, and eventually start favoring another school (such as the hometown Miami Hurricanes, which took 8 Miami Northwestern prospects in the class of 2008). Recent indications, however, are that Wilson still favors the Wolverines. Better yet, he plans to decide sometime this summer, which means other schools don’t have a ton of time to catch up with Michigan. Keep an eye on this one though, since I wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘Canes made a push at Torrian.

Since Wilson seems to be holding strong with the Michigan lead, it reduces the downside of FL OL Jose Jose announcing for Tennessee, except for the fact that a player named “Jose Jose” should get the full red carpet treatment on name basis alone.

IN DE Blake Lueders is going to start cutting down his school list (info in header). Considering he recently released a top 6 with Michigan nowhere to be found, don’t be surprised if the Wolverines don’t make his first cut.

FL LB Jeff Luc is among the nation’s top linebacker prospects, and is near the top of the charts overall, as well. I guess, then, that he’s deserving of a pretty serious fluff piece from Gridiron Studs:

He has turned his life completely around through football and faith. Luc now sports a 3.7 G.P.A., is on track to graduate early and wants to be an engineer major in college. As for what college that would be, that’s the big question that Luc will keep people waiting on.

” I don’t have a favorite right now,” Luc says, “I like them all.”

Here’s the video referenced in the article (and it is indeed impressive):

Yay, video.

MD LB Javarie Johnson, though it was erroneouly reported a while back that he committed to Michigan, has in fact not. However, he still did enjoy hi visits to both East Lansing and Ann Arbor, and holds both the Spartans and the Wolverines in high regard. Maryland and Miami still loom in his recruitment, but that group of schools may be an unofficial top 4. Aside from schools of choice, Johnson plans to be a January enrollee, so his decision will likely be made sooner rather than later.

FL CB/Ath TC Robinson, the cousin of S commit Marvin Robinson, is currently favoring Michigan (info in header). If an offer ends up coming through for Robinson the Second, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up in Blue, what with the family connection and all.

Continuing the Pahokee-centric bent from Monday’s recruiting update: Josh Helmholdt expands in the Free Press on Michigan’s recent rash of offers to Pahokee players:

Michigan returned to Pahokee early during recruiting for the class of 2010 and offered four-star wide receiver De’Joshua Johnson.

Smith visited Pahokee High last week and offered three more Blue Devils: linebacker Zachary Allen, cornerback Merrill Noel and defensive tackle Richard Ash. They also have offered wide receiver Chris Dunkley, who will be transferring to Pahokee from Royal Palm Beach High for his senior season.

And as I speculated Monday:

The five Pahokee players with U-M offers plan to travel with Pahokee coach Blaze Thompson to Ann Arbor for a camp in June.

Establishing pipelines obviously helps the players find a comfort level with Michigan, and the staff obviously realizes this. By the way, Tennessee is among De’Joshua Johnson’s tentative list of three finalists, but good luck getting into Pahokee High to talk to him, Kiffykins. I hope hope hope a now-standard Lane Kiffin moment of Social Norm Non-Awareness takes place if he does indeed apologize to the Pahokee community. And, while we’re on the topic, let’s get some SoFlaFootball love from some of the guys who are new-ish to Michigan fans:

Merrill Noel 2010 CB 5′8″ 160: While Noel is being recruited as a cornerback, look for him to be used a lot inside the box this fall for Pahokee. Noel has great speed and is a physical defender. Noel has a host of offers, the latest being Michigan, but the school to keep a close eye on is Wake Forest.

Richard Ash 2010 DT 6′3″ 265: Ash has moved himself into being the top prospect coming out of Pahokee this season. His body is a work in progress and very easily can be around 280-pounds before he leaves high school. Ash’s agility is impressive and is quick off the ball. Today in practice he did a nice job of shooting the guard-tackle gap and getting into the back field. A lot of talk going around that Florida is the school to beat for Ash as of now.

Zach Allen 2010 LB/DE/TE 6′2″ 180: Allen lines up as a defensive end during the 11-on-11 portion of the practice, where he was fairly active. Allen is lean right now, but in the future should be able to add the weight needed to play at a high level. The Alphonso Smith affect seems to be flowing through Pahokee, as Wake Forest is a school to watch for Allen.

Famliarize yourselves, yo.

I know I promised not to spout Army Game nominations just for the sake of doing it, but here’s the list of players from the state of Michigan who are being considered:

Huron wide receiver Jeremy Jackson, Chelsea tailback Nick Hill and Saline quarterback Joe Boisture are three of 10 players from Michigan on the list released this week. The game will be played Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010, in San Antonio’s Alamodome and broadcast live by NBC…

Other in-state finalists include University of Michigan commit Devin Gardner (QB, Inkster) and MSU commit Max Bullough (LB, Traverse City St. Francis), along with Williams Gholston (DL, Detroit Southeastern), Dior Mathis (DB, Detroit Cass Tech), Austin White (RB, Livonia Stevenson), Robert Bolden (QB, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) and Jordan Sanders (DL, Rochester Adams).

So, let’s tally ’em up: 2 Michigan commits, 1 State commit, 1 BC commit, and 6 uncommitted, at least one of whom will land at each of the in-state schools, per conventional wisdom. Speaking of Austin White, he was part of a 1:30.95 4×200 relay team. It’s not quite Denard Robinson fast, but it’s nothing to sneeze at. Dedicated article for his Army nomination.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Northwestern isn’t really very good at all.  They have a 3-16 BigTen record (12-34-1 overall).  Michigan is playing and praying.  We need Purdue to lose at least two against Illinois at home.  We must take care of Northwestern.  If Purdue wins two we’re done.  If they win one, we must sweep.  If they get swept, we must win 2.  We have to hope the weather works in our favor.  That is all.

Rocky Miller Park
Evanston, IL

Game 1 Thursday:4pm  Live Stats
Probable Starters: Chris Fetter (6-3) vs. TBA

Game 2 Friday: 4pm  Live Stats
Probable Starters: Eric Katzman (7-4) vs. Eric Jokish (3-7)

Game 3 Saturday: 2pm  Live Stats
Probable Starters: TBA vs. Joe Muraski (3-5)

No word on audio.  I’m guessing there may not be any.  I’m headed to Austin today to pick up my little sister and head to a funeral.  I should be back by Sunday to hopefully have a post on making the tournament.  We’ll see.

Posted under Baseball

Michigan advances to the semifinals with a 22-6 victory over the SSU Seawolves. They’ll have a day off, then face Colorado, whom they beat 13-4 earlier this season.

More comprehensive recap (of each of the past 2 games), along with a Colorado preview, coming tomorrow.

Posted under Other Sports

First look, obviously. More extensive previews coming as the season approaches. Highlighted players return for 2009.

Update: Pritchard redshirted his (first) junior season in 2007. He has 1 year of eligibility remaining.

Western Michigan Offense

QBs
5th-year senior Tim Hiller returns to helm the Western Michigan offense for the third consecutive year. He also got spot time as a freshman, but redshirted his sophomore year after an injury caused him to miss the entire season. Backup Drew Burdi is a more mobile option at QB, but has received only limited playing time so far in his career with the Broncos. Robert Arnheim has 1 collegiate pass to his name.

Statistics

Analysis
At first glance, the Broncos seem to have two options that both strike fear into the hearts of Michigan fans: an experienced, 5th-year QB who is a 2-time returning starter; a scrambler with passing ability that can gash a team through the air or on the ground. In all honesty, Wolverine fans should be scared about the ability of Hiller, as well as Burdi’s complementary skill set as a backup.

RBs
Brandon West is another 2-year starter coming back for his third go-round in the Bronco backfield for his senior year. The primary backup will be sophomore Aaron Winchester, who did the majority of his work last year towards the end of the season when West was injured. Glenis Thompson is a senior who got a pair of starts last year, but didn’t register more than 7 carries in any game. DeShazor is a walkon who will likely only contribute in garbage time.

Statistics

Analysis
West is actually a very capable running back, averaging 4.6 yards per carry in 2007, and over 5 yards per carry last year. He is also the biggest of the Bronco stable (pun entirely intended), checking in at a mere 5-10, 188 lbs. The rest of Western’s backs fall primarily in the “speedy little bastard” category, though most of them don’t have particularly great speed of note. With several returning producers at RB, they may lean a little more on the running game this year – so we might see the depth of the RB group when they visit Michigan Stadium

Receivers
The top 2 players depart for Western, along with their top tight end. Juan Nunez is a 6-footer who actually averaged the best yards per catch out of any of the players with an appreciable sample size. He’ll have to make the transition from 3rd option to the man that the defense will key on. Will he be able to maintain that big play ability? Though the top TE departs, then next two returning players after Nunez are tight ends. Senior Matt Stevens and junior Anthony Williams might be a good security blanket for Hiller, who will be looking for new players to fill the roles vacated by the departing players. The Broncos will really need some unexpected players to step up on the edges. Sophomore Deshon Lawrence might be that guy, for lack of other options. Caleb Clark was only a junior last year, but is not listed on the 2009 Bronco roster.

Statistics

Analysis
The Broncos are seriously thin at receiver, which might prevent them from adequately taking advantage of their senior QB. With tight ends looking to be the strongest position, and a good running back group returning, play action passing might be a good option for the Broncos. They don’t have a big group of receivers to return to, so it seems as though teams may be able to key in on what few guys they do have in order to slow down the passing game.

Offensive Line
Lineup
The offensive line for the Broncos should be quite strong this year, with a number of returning starters. The tackle positions should be mostly locked down, with redshirt sophomore Anthony Parker, who started every game last year and was named all-MAC freshman, and Redshirt Junior Phillip Swanson, who made 13 starts last year, bookending the line. Redshirt senior Paul Wasikowski, redshirt junior Nick Clemens, and redshirt junior Nick Mitchell Manning the inside spots. The positions are a little flexible, obviously. Adding depth are redshirt sophomores Jonathan Jack and Lee Pathan. The only player the Broncos lost to graduation was Steve Ellingson.

Analysis
The OL should be strong for Western, with a lot of game and starting experience coming back. They may not be the biggest line Michigan will face, nor the most talented, but they certainly make up for it in experience. They should be able to run the ball well and protect the passer adequately.

Offensive Analysis
The Western offense returns some key pieces, mostly every important QB and almost every important RB. The receiving corps will be a serious question, and as mentioned above, I expect the tight ends to be some of the main receivers, especially early in the year before new wideouts are able to step up and prove themselves as playmakers. With a presumed strong running game and tight ends, play action is a likely bet for the Broncos scheme.

Western Michigan Defense

Defensive Line
Defensive end Zach Davidson and tackle Nick Varcadipane led the line in stops last year, but they’ll both be gone in 2009. Senior tackle Cody Cielinski will become the main man in the middle. He will likely accompanied by sophomore Drew Nowak or Chris Pyant, whoever os bigger. The other, who had previously been a tackle, may slide outside to take on a strongside responsibility, and junior Weston Peiffer, who had very limited playing time last year, will be expected to step up as a pass-rushing option.

Statistics

Analysis
This is a super-weak group, with almost no depth at (actually, no depth beyond the starters). They’ll rely on guys who haven’t played a down of college football yet to be the backups. With Michigan’s offensive strength looking to be the running game, with 5 returning offensive linemen and Brandon Minor, they should be able to exploit this group.

Linebackers
Like the line, the Bronco linebacking corps loses its top two tacklers. Senior Justin Braska will have to take a huge leap forward for the Broncos, becoming the cornerstone of the position group. Sophomore Mitch Zajac will be expected to contribute as a starter for Western, and there is NOTHING other than those guys, based on the current roster. Porter and Krasinski both had eligibility remaining after last year, but neither is listed on the current roster.

Statistics

Analysis
Wow, unless they have a true sleeper stud that redshirted last year, or coming in for the 2009 recruiting class, the Broncos have next to nothing at the linebacker position. Braska is your classic big ‘backer, while Zajac is more of a speedster who can play in space. This thinness of this unit (a theme on the defense so far, no?) should add to Michigan’s ability to pound the ball.

Defensive Backs
Louis Delmas, an NFL second rounder, is gone. So is corner EJ Biggers, who was also drafted by the NFL. Let’s add insult to injury by removing CJ Wilson, who exhausted his eligibility without being selected by an NFL team. The starters are probably up in the air, because that’s a lot of replacing to do. Strong safety Mario Armstrong, the only returning starter, has his spot in the secondary locked down. Junior Jamail Berry will probably be the other safety, though he is also listed at strong. Josh Price, a sophomore, will man one of the corner positions, and senior Andy Dorcely might step up to be the other. The defensive backfield will probably have more quality depth than the other defensive areas, but quality of the starters themselves is in question.

Statistics

Analysis
Like all of the defensive positions, secondary will be a weak point for Western this year. Forgive me for making assumptions, but something tells me it’s not likely that the Broncos replace two NFL draftees with players of similar ability. If it was Ohio State, I might not make such an assumption, but Western is more geared towards hopefully getting lucky with a sleeper than recruiting can’t-miss prospects. The Broncos’ corners should be fairly weak, along with one of the safety positions.

Defensive Analysis
Wow. This is not going to be a good defense at any level. With Michigan’s presumed leaps forward on offense, they should be able to tear right through Western up and down the field. 5 returning starters on the OL should be able to pound the ball right through the weak DL and linebackers (though the Bronco DL should have good size, which is important to note as far as not being crushed off the ball). In the secondary, I assume Michigan will keep the throws fairly simple for Tate Forcier in his first live college action, probably with lots of play action and screens to keep the throws easy. He probably won’t be run all that much, either, just enough to get his feet wet, so to speak.

Western Michigan Special Teams

The Broncos return all their kicking specialists from last year. In the return game, they loses every punt returner of note, but RB Brandon West was their top kick returner.

Statistics

Analysis
Expect more of the same next year, with perhaps improvements from Potter, because he was a true freshman who improved over the course of last year.

Overall Analysis

Western should be a pretty darn good offensive team this year, though it remains to be seen how well they’ll respond to losing the most important pieces of their receiving corps. The run game should set up the pass with experienced backs and linemen, and Hiller will look to decrease usage some, but increase efficiency with easier passing situations. Defensively, however, the Broncos look like they might be a wreck, unless a miracle happens. I would expect this game to be something of a shootout, but with Michigan’s defense able to key on the run and the tight ends, and no proven threat on the boundaries for Western, they should be able to hold the Broncos.

Posted under Analysis, Football

After defeating the Texas Longhorns 11-5 tonight, the Michigan Wolverines have advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2009 MCLA National Championship, where they will face #9 seed Sonoma State, who beat Lindenwood 10-9. Tomorrow’s game takes place at 7PM MDT (9 Eastern) at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Denver.

I’ll post a more comprehensive recap of the Texas game (in addition to the Sonoma State game) on Thursday, which is either the day between the quarters and semis for the team, or the day after their season comes to a (most unexpected) conclusion. For now, though, a brief preview of Sonoma State.

The Sonoma State Seawolves hail from the West Coast Lacrosse League. Sonoma State, a Cal State University, is located in Sonoma, CA, north of San Fransisco. The Seawolves finished tied for fifth in the WCLL, and upset regular season champion Cal in the conference tournament 1st round before being upended by Cal Poly 17-9.

Freshman Attack Marcus Silva paced the team in scoring with 36 goals and 27 assists. After Silva, there is a cavernous gaping hole in terms of amount of production, then a group of three players all within 4 points of each other. Junior Midfielder Jordan Ambler scored the same number of goals as Silva, but finished with only 45 points because he only notched 9 assists on the year. Attacks Clatin Kuhns and Casey Wood, a senior and a sophomore, respectively, each tallied 41 points for the Seawolves. After that group of 4 players, nobody scored more than 18 goals for Sonoma State.

The Seawolves played 3 goalies over the course of the year, with senior Mike D’Angelo the main man between the pipes. He stopped 58.8% of the shots he faced on the year, and allowed 6.8 goals per game. The other options in net are freshmen David Massey and Michael Clothier.

Sonoma State played several of the same opponents as Michigan in 2009. SSU defeated UC-Santa Barbara 8-7 (Michigan prevailed 7-5 over the Gauchos), lost to Minnesota-Duluth 16-4 (Michigan beat the Bulldogs 18-10), beat Colorado State 9-8 (Michigan won a 16-3 contest over the Rams), and won against Colorado 8-7 (Michigan beat the Buffs 13-4). On the basis of that information, since club lacrosse stuff isn’t particularly easy to come by, they certainly should be a much tougher test than Texas was.

Posted under Other Sports

MCLA Lacrosse National Tournament. 1st Round.

You can review my preview here.

Pump-up video, via MFlowBlue, covers the CCLA tournament championship:

CCLA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament from Wes McGowan on Vimeo.

CoverItLive (no, I’m serious) will include the UMichLacrosse Twitter feed, which will be able to give some play-by-play and scoring updates. I’ll be in and out a bit, but if you participate, please try to keep this particular chat on-topic (that can include asking questions of me if you have no idea what the hell certain things are). We can talk about other sports some other time. The chat will start around 5:45, the game starts at 6, and should last about 2 hours.

Posted under Other Sports, Video

The first game just started. If you’re in Ann Arbor, make it out to the double header. The second game should start around 6:30pm. If you’re not in Ann Arbor, the game is on WCBN’s stream.  The two announcers are admittedly “not quite into it yet” and “having a tough time here.”  There’s been some less than awesome announcing, but it appears to be getting better here in the 3rd inning.  Live stats are also available, but they added another set of ads to it – a floating blimp between innings and another annoying side bar pop up. Uggh… CBS College Sports, I hate you so much right now.

This is the last home game of the season so make it out before its too late.

Posted under Baseball

I’m not going to pin this on Mark Snyder, because if he wrote the headline, I’d be surprised, but “Ex-quarterback Threet gives starting nod to Sheridan in spread offense” is really, really not what’s going on in this article:

“I feel like Tate has a good opportunity coming in early with the extra reps in the spring and that should be beneficial,” he said. “But Nick does a good job of executing the offense the way they want it to be run. People may point out the physical things Tate or Denard may have at a physical advantage, but a lot of time at quarterback in this system comes down to decision-making.”

Is it just me, or does that quote have a whole lot more “Hey, I’ll be impartial and not endorse anyone. Now leave me alone and let me go to Arizona State” than “I decree that Nick Sheridan shall be the starter” ? I’d have to go with a lot more of Option B. Before the internets go crazy on this, look at what Threet actually said, and not so much the headline of the article.

Of course, most Michigan fans at this point are willing to endorse Tate Forcier for obvious reasons:

But honestly, whichever quarterback wins the job, be it Forcier, Sheridan, or Denard Robinson, that’s my guy. Primarily because I don’t have a say. People criticized Rich Rodriguez (and perhaps rightly so) for starting Sheridan over Threet last year, and while Threet may have been better, he certainly wasn’t head and shoulders above Sheridan.

All that’s left is the waiting…

Posted under Football, Media

Update: I fixed the spelling. Apparently I started the article one way and finished another. It is DiLaura.

from De La Salle's picasa

The newest preferred walk-on to the Michigan baseball team is reported to be John DiLaura.  DiLaura is a catcher for De La Salle Collegiate High School.  I haven’t found much as far as stats on the internet.  The MaxPrep page for De La Salle hasn’t been updated with player stats this year.  So we’re left with just what the report of his preferred walk-on status tells me.

DiLaura is a four-year starter in baseball, the last two as a catcher. This season he’s batting .442 with two home runs.

That sounds pretty solid.  DiLaura had played second base (and occasionally third) before the move to catcher.  I’m not sure where Maloney has him slated in the future lineup.  We recruited 2 catchers last season and we’re unlikely to lose Berset this year.  He may fill the role of Timmy Kal.  The utility player extraordinaire.  Who knows.

Not really important but also interesting is the fact DiLaura is more known for his bowling on campus than his baseball.  He’s been Catholic High School League All-League or Honor list each of the last 3 years.  Impressive.

On a side note, those looking for my recap of Indiana, I had a death in the family yesterday morning, and I just haven’t felt up to it yet.  I’ll get it out when I get to it.  I’ll also be missing most of this weekend’s series due to the funeral.  Don’t expect too much from be between now and then.

Posted under Baseball

2010 Michigan Football Recruiting Board. This was kind of a slow weekend, so there isn’t a whole ton of news. However, the later recruiting update this week will probably be pretty full. (Translation: I was on vacation this weekend and want to get the Monday recruiting post up without any further delay).

For those worried about the low ranking of slot commit Drew Dileo, hopefully his being ranked #17 in Louisiana will assuage those fears a bit. Louisiana is typically a talent-rich state, that #17 in that state is comparable to top-10 in Michigan in nearly every year. Couple that with the fact that Tiger Rag is an LSU fansite (like a Scout or Rivals page, but to the best of my knowledge, unaffiliated), and likely to slightly underrate the prospects who have already committed to out-of-state schools, and he’s probably a slightly better get than previously believed. Add in the stellar academic credentials, and things don’t look so negative, after all.

Josh Helmholdt Free Press fluff on who might be the second QB in Michigan’s class of 2010.Mostly non-informative, though he does say that the most likely options at this time appear to be LA QB Munchie Legaux, SC QB Cornelius Jones, and TX QB Jeremy Johnson. MI QB Robert Bolden is primarily interested in pro-style offenses… and Oregon? Either way, it’s unlikely that he’d end up in maize-and-blue.

This is also the time of year where we’ll start to hear about which prospects are planning to make it in to Ann Arbor for summer camps and other summer visits. FL OL Torrian Wilson and RB Eduardo Clements from Booker T. Washington in Miami plan to make it in for summer camp. Look for more comprehensive lists to start being formed as the time approaches.

Added NC DE Fre’Shaud Hunter, who has received a Michigan offer (info in header).

Added TN LB Justin Maclin to the board. He’s received a Michigan offer (info in header).

Added FL CB Merrill Noel, who has received a Michigan offer (info in header). Noel is one of the strong contingent of Pahokee players this year, headlined by WR De’Joshua Johnson. Johnson (who would be a prototypical slot in the spread offense) has stated he doesn’t want to play in a spread, and has eliminated Florida and Michigan, despite saying that he would love to play with his former teammates like Vincent Smith and Martavious Odoms. However, Pahokee does have a number of defensive players, including DTs Richard Ash, Doral Willis, and Antonio Ford, along with LB Zachery Allen who, like Noel, was just offered (info in header). If the Wolverines want to keep the Pahokee pipeline open (and they most certainly do), there are plenty of legit options in the class of 2010.

By the way, since 400-some recruits have been nominated for the Army All-American Game, I’m not going to bother individually listing which prospects with Michigan interest have been nominated. However, I may throw in “US Army Game nominee” when I bring them up in the context of having other news to discuss.

Removed:
DC QB Ricardo Young and VA CB Derrick Hopkins. Both committed to Virginia Tech.
MI QB/Ath Tony Lippett committed to Michigan State.
OH OL Andrew Norwell. Yeah, he’s been committed to Ohio State for a really long time now, and I just noticed he was still on the board.
OH LB Scott McVey. See above.
VA LB Aramide Olaniyan. It appears as though his commitment to Duke will hold.

Posted under Football, Recruiting