2010 Recruiting Board

Moved to committed:
SC QB Cornelius Jones. This recruitment train has been chugging along on the track to inevitable commitment for quite some time, and he committed at Michigan’s camp on Monday. Local paper commitment article.

The situation of TX LB Holmes Onwukaife is much less clear, but it appears as though he’s been given the same treatment that FL CB Travis Williams received when he tried to commit earlier this spring: The coaches told him to wait it out, and make sure he was making the right decision. In other words, they told him not to commit.

Sam Webb Detroit News fluff on the Sound Mind, Sound Body Camp in Detroit. Included is the indication that MI QB Commit Devin Gardner is all but assured to take over the throne as the to player in the state of Michigan, replacing recent MSU commit DE William Gholston (though the indications have been piling up since long before Gholston’s pledge). Gardner has excelled at QB in such events recently, so much so that he’s taken to showing off his athleticism at WR as well.

The paring down of QBs will be done a little more liberally, now that it’s unlikely that Michigan is in the market for another.

Removed TN QB Barry Brunetti, who committed to West Virginia.

Removed FL QB Christian Green, who hasn’t been considering Michigan all-too-seriously of late.

FL RB Eduardo Clements made his way to Michigan’s camp this week, and it seems as though the Wolverines may be his new leader.

Removed FL OL Brent Benedict, who committed to Georgia.

OH DE Darryl Baldwin seems to have settled on a final list of schools that does not include Michigan. The Buckeyes, Spartans, Nittany Lions, and Irish will vie for his services. I’ll leave him on the board for now, since that’s the first I’ve heard of such a narrowing. However, don’t expect him to remain much longer: Ohio State may be receiving a commitment soon.

FL DE Delvin Jones has named a top 3 of Alabama, USC, and Tennessee. With the Wolverines not on his short list, he’ll be a candidate for removal sooner rather than later.

Removed MI DE/LB William Gholston, who committed to Michigan State. This was a shocking turn of events that was not at all expected.

DC LB Javarie Johnson has named a top 4 of Michigan, Michigan state, Maryland, and Miami of Florida. The linebacker, who only likes schools starting with the letter “M,” has not formed a timetable for a decision (and no, he hasn’t committed to Michigan, though that would likely make the Wolverine coaches ecstatic).

TX LB Corey Nelson bizarrely named Michigan his leader a while back, sight unseen (and despite holding offers from other bigtime schools). The teammate of RB commit Tony Drake has since changed his tune, however, and it doesn’t seem like Michigan is in his top 5 or top 10, much less his leader. Drake may not have a ton of time to sway Nelson, since the linebacker intends to shorten his timetable for a decision.

OH LB Jordan Hicks has named three of his official visits. Ohio State, Texas, and USC will receive officials, with Alabama, Georgia, and Florida likely to be contending for his 4th and 5th visits. Michigan is nowhere to be seen on the list, but with his teammate, TE Alex Smith, apparently very interested in the Wolverines, they have some upward mobility in his favorites list. Still, the Buckeyes and Longhorns are probably a prohibitive top 2.

After Michigan offered last week, OH S Bobby Swigert has now also received an offer from Ohio State (info in header).

SC CB/WR Nick Jones has Michigan among his favorite schools, and claims a Michigan offer (the veracity of which I’m skeptical about). He’s yet another Byrnes, SC product that Michigan is recruiting, though it seems less and less likely (i.e. rapidly approaching zero probability) that any of the bigtime prospects from that school – RB Marcus Lattimore and DEs Brandon Willis and Corey Miller – will even visit Ann Arbor, much less pick Michigan. Miller, at least, has not begun to narrow his list of suitors yet.

Removed MI CB Mylan Hicks, who committed to Michigan State.

Posted under Football

Featuring Michigan Lacrosse coach John Paul and yours truly. We talk about lacrosse, and even get into a little bit of football at the end, as I predict a 6-6 season on the gridiron for the Wolverines.

Listen Here.

Posted under Analysis, Football, Other Sports

Tyler Burgoon has been on fire in the Cape Cod League.  In 4.1 innings (3 appearances), he’s struck out 8, walked one, given up ZERO hits, and earned 3 saves.  How’s that for lighting them up?  It’s good to see he’s finally healthy from the shoulder injury he incurred covering a bunt early in the season.  Tyler was interviewed this week by CapeCodOnline.com.  He does discuss the injury, which was pretty interesting and backs up some info we heard during the season:

Not only was it a tough, physical process to come back from, but getting on the mound for the first time and throwing, knowing that my shoulder wasn’t really there. It’s kind of hard to get back there and throw strikes.

How did the injury happen?
It was a game against Oakland. There was a play in the outfield, and the throw got past the catcher. I was back there backing it up and I kind of overextended my (pitching) arm and fell. It didn’t feel too good. … Both my (shoulders) are really loose, so I think that was how I was able to come back from it really quick.

How long were you out?
I think it was two weeks.

And slightly less interesting, Burgoon also won’t pitch without Burt’s Bees lip balm in his back pocket.  I only point this out as I’ve recently become addicted, too.

Posted under Baseball

For details on the contest (or whatever it is) check out last week’s post on the matter. Here’s the bracket:

Click the bracket to see it in all its full-size glory. Battles will start tomorrow, with fan voting determining the winners. Each battle will last about a week, with a new one starting each day (yes, they’ll overlap). When the first round is complete in 16 days, I’ll take a break to recap the action, and we’ll move along.

Posted under Football

Delaware State Offense

QBs

Vashon Winton was a 4-year starter for Delaware State, and among the school’s all-time leaders in total offense. Replacing him will be Anthony Glaud, a Bowling Green transfer who saw some playing time last year. BC transfer Chris Johnson will also compete with Glaud.

Delaware State QBs Passing 2008
Name	Comp	Att	%	Yds	TD	Int	Yds/Att
Vashon Winton	135	240	56.25	1321	8	14	5.50
Anthony Glaud	47	75	62.67	523	2	3	6.97

Delaware State QBs Rushing 2008
Name	Rush	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Vashon Winton	127	486	10	3.83
Anthony Glaud	14	-42	0	-3.00

Analysis

Typically, you’d see “4-year starter departs” and think that the QB situation for Delaware State would be terrible coming into 2009. The situation is helped a little by the fact that Glaud was deemed worthy of 1-A scholarships coming out of high school, and also by the fact that he got some PT last year. He’ll likely be a better passer than Winton (as he was in his duty in 2008), but a far inferior runner. Johnson brings a BCS-level pedigree, but is new to the program.

RBs

The cupboard is nothing if not bare.The top 3(!) rushers for Delaware State are gone (don’t laugh too hard – it’s not impossible for this to happen to Michigan after 2009), leaving only little-used redshirt sophomore Jaashawn Jones. Fullback Jason Randall also worked at running back this spring.

Delaware State RBs Rushing 2008
Name	Rush	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Chris Strother	123	577	1	4.69
Kareem Jones	82	407	2	4.96
Phil Morgan	9	33	0	3.67
Jaashawn Jones	18	31	3	1.72

Delaware State RBs Receiving 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Chris Strother	17	99	0	5.82
Kareem Jones	9	66	1	7.33

Analysis

Jones is the only running back on the DSU spring roster, so Jones’s legs will get mighty tired unless there is some help from recruiting. Considering Glaud is not a running threat, Jones will have to do nearly all the lifting. At least, at 6-1 and 225 lbs, he’s a big enough boy to take the pounding.

Receivers

The hits keep coming in terms of offensive losses for Delaware State. Their top receiver, Eddie Brown, is gone, but the two players right behind him are returning, at least. Senior Larrone Moore and sophomore Darius Jackson will carry the majority of the receiving load, with Jackson coming out of the slot. Redshirt senior Erick Jones will be a big outside threat at 6-3.

Delaware State Receivers Receiving 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Eddie Brown	36	369	2	10.25
Larrone Moore	32	319	1	9.97
Darius Jackson	18	300	1	16.67
Derrick McNeil	24	206	0	8.58
Erick Jones	13	167	4	12.85
Zacharri Charles	13	122	0	9.38
John Newman	9	94	0	10.44
Jahmel Bashir (TE)	7	49	1	7.00
William Griggs	3	33	0	11.00

Delaware State Receivers Rushing 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Eddie Brown	3	15	0	5.00
Brandon Hudson (DB)	1	11	0	11.00
Larrone Moore	1	7	0	7.00
Darius Jackson	1	3	0	3.00
Derrick McNeil	1	1	0	1.00
Erick Jones	1	0	0	0.00

Analysis

The losses to this personnel group are not as severe as under center, but they’ll certainly hurt. DSU will count on Jones and Moore to keep defenses spread wide, and Jackson will get his fair share of underneath stuff out of the slot, along with Zacharri Charles. The corps has some depth, but the quality in the starters is questionable.

Offensive Line

Lineup

The Hornets had a fairly young offensive line last year. The only seniors were starting left tackle Adrian Brown who played in 10 games, Darin Giesler who played in 3 games, and Djamal Kirby who played in 2. Senior Kellen Kemp will be the left guard, redshirt senior Nick Richmond will start at center for the fourth straight year, and senior Jermaine Morrison will play right guard. Senior Mike Maloney, who missed portions of last with injury, will start at right tackle. Redshirt junior Chris Sears is likely to fill in at left tackle.

Analysis

The DSU offensive line is pretty experienced, returning four starters. Of course, they were also subpar in rushing offense and sacks allowed last year. With a less-mobile QB and a new RB, that won’t get any easier. Expect the offensive line to struggle a bit, if only because the talent helping them isn’t that good, and they aren’t far off from their peak already.

Offensive Analysis

The offensive line should be something of a strength, though DSU won’t be able to pound the ball with their limited RB options, especially against a bigger, stronger, faster defense like they’ll face in Michigan. The QB situation could be better for the Hornets, as they at least have a number of viable options competing. Don’t be surprised if they try to move the ball through the air, with the strong line protecting the QB.

Delaware State Defense

Defensive Line

Oh. My. God. I don’t even know where to go with this. There is practically nobody left who played a single down for the Hornets along the defensive front last year. I assume redshirt senior tackle Fabian Dunn and true senior tackle Tyron Hurst will be the starters on the inside in 2009. Andre Carroll is a redshirt junior with suspicious little action last year, but for lack of better options, who should I guess will play? Brian Whitmore is a Maryland transfer and redshirt junior.

Delaware State Defensive Line 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack
Ronn Spinner, Jr.	44	4.5	.5
Andre Carroll	43	2	0
Akiel Russell	40	4.5	1.5
Alimayo Wilder	35	7	1.5
Fabian Dunn	23	1.5	0
Tyron Hurst	10	4	0
James Parker	4	0	0
Eric Jackson	3	0	0

Analysis

There is nobody here. I don’t even know what to say. The best they can fill these spots with are either exceptional true freshmen, or a motley host of upperclassmen who weren’t good enough to play at all last year. Michigan’s improved offensive line should be able to shove the hornet DL around all day.

Linebackers

The hits keep coming for the DSU defense. They lost their top 2 linebackers, though the rest return. It appears as though their base set features only 2 linebackers, who will probably be seniors Josh Pope and Joe Mendes. Backing them up are Ahmad Harris and Eric Sewell.

Delaware state Linebackers 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Fum
Kevin Conner	95	4.5	1	1
Jackie Watkins	60	8.5	2	0
Josh Pope	32	3.5	2	0
Joe Mendes	21	4.5	3.5	0
Ahmad Harris	6	0	0	0
Eric Sewell	2	0	0	0

Analysis

Only playing 2 linebackers means that DSU only has to have 2 linebackers to fill in spots. It also means that they have to replace all of their tarts at the position from last year. Fortunately, Pope and Mendes are experienced upperclassmen, but they still will have their feet to the fire for the first time in 2009.

Defensive Backs

Finally, a position at which Delaware State returns its leading tackler. Of course, then they have to go and lose 4 of the next 6. It’s hard to tell what positions these guys play, so I’ll just list them. I would guess based on his size that junior Avery Grant is a corner, but he had the most tackles on the team last year, so I assume he’s a safety or rover-type. 5th-year Jerome Strums seems to be a nice big safety, as does his classmate Mike Gable. I assume redshirt sophomore Stephon Hampton is a corner.

Delaware State Defensive Backs 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Int
Avery Grant	68	8.5	2	0
James Romain	44	2	0	4
Francis Adjei	40	1	0	3
Jerome Strums	40	.5	0	3
Michael Gable	40	6.5	1	1
Donta Herrod	15	1	0	1
Quinton Brown	11	0	0	0
Stephon Hampton	7	0	0	0
Brandon Hudson	6	0	0	3
Bernard Conley	5	1	0	0
Stan Banks	4	0	0	0
Quentin Ferguson	3	0	0	0
Gerald Bouknight	3	0	0	0

Analysis

Without being able to figure out which positions the Hornets are losing players from, it’s hard to pass serious judgment on how their secondary will perform in 2009. Still, they lose a ton of experience (and most of the team’s total interceptions), so I can’t predict they’ll tear the world apart, especially against guys with D-1 size (Greg Mathews), speed (Darryl Stonum) or moves (Martavious Odoms).

Defensive Analysis

Yikes. This looks like a very poor defensive team. It appears as though Grant will be the main bright spot, and a lot of young players will have to step up if the Hornets want to stop anyone, much less a team with the talent of Michigan. Running the ball and passing should both come fairly easy to the Wolverines.

Special Teams

The Hornets return senior kicker Riley Flickinger and punter Nick Lochner.

Delaware State Kicking 2008
Name	FGM	FGA	%	Long	XPM	XPA	%
Riley Flickinger	10	20	50.00	35	24	25	96.00

Delaware State Punting 2008
Name	Punt	Yds	Avg
Nick Lochner	54	2118	39.22
Riley Flickinger	2	18	9.00

Analysis

Though both Flickinger and Lochner return, neither was particularly good last year. It looks to be tougher sledding for both this year, as Delaware State’s offense looks to have more trouble moving the ball in general, and in the redzone in particular.

Overall Analysis

Bill Martin figured it out this time. If you’re going to play a 1-AA team, you will be expected to win. It doesn’t matter if you play the best team, or the worst team. You do not get any more credit for playing a good 1-AA team and beting them than if you had played a worse team, and it doesn’t matter if you lose to the best 1-AA team, they’re still lower-division. Because of that, just find the shittiest team you can. Michigan has done that for next year. A poor 1-AA team that loses most of its key pieces should be easy victory for the boys in blue.

Posted under Football

GBW and TheWolverine are both reporting on their front pages that South Carolina QB/Athlete Cornelius Jones has pledged his word to become a Michigan Wolverine. Jones hails from Spartanburg HS in Spartanburg, SC, and is Michigan’s 14th public commitment in the class of 2010. The signal-caller stands 6-2 and 190 pounds.

Recruiting Notes
Aside from the obvious prospects like Devin Gardner, Jones was one of the first players to enter Michigan fans’ collective radar for the class of 2010. Despite not playing football his freshman or sophomore year, apparently due to a disciplinary issue (or problem with the previous coaching staff; it’s never really been cleared up, Jones’s highlight tape from a spring scrimmage found its way into the hands of Michigan’s coaching staff. Rich Rodriguez and company liked what they saw, and extended a verbal offer (which the Detroit media, in full anti-Rodriguez mode at the time, spun to indicate that Rod was clueless or something). As it turned out, the offer did not come through at that time, but Michigan offered him in January, and was still among his first offers. It was that early interest that helped Michigan stay in the forefront of his recruitment, as the Wolverines led wire-to-wire. Jones always maintained that he was trying to work out a visit to Michigan, and that visit eventually ended up taking place for the Wolverines’ 2009 summer camp. At that time, he realized Ann Arbor was the place for him, and he committed to don the maize-and-blue.

Player Notes
Jones is a dual-threat quarterback in the same mold as Devin Gardner, who can really hurt you with his feet, and has some improving to do in the passing game (certainly understandable for a high school junior). Jones isn’t quite the physical specimen that Garnder is, but might be a slightly better passer at this time. That’s an exciting prospect for Michigan fans, as he’s only played football (and quarterback) for one year thus far! With further coaching at both the high school and college levels, he should blossom into a true threat in both phases of the game.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Small news, but the teams for next year’s challenge have already been posted.  This time the BigEast will send the same number of teams as the BigTen rather than letting a few off the hook for previously scheduled competition.  The big addition to the field is Louisville, who made it to the super regionals this year (as well as several NCAA appearances the last few seasons).  The final schedule hasn’t been announced, but I’m hoping those in charge try to format the teams to face the best of each league.  Getting the RPI boost of Louisville/USF and random third place BigEast teams could help the third place team in the BigTen when it comes to tournament time.

The weekend is February 26-28, so schedule your spring break plans now.

Posted under Baseball

Some things that didn’t fit in Thursday’s update is thrown in here as well, so it should be a JAM-PACKED! update. Here’s the 2010 Michigan Recruiting Board.

Super-non-informative article on the recruitment of PA QB Anthony Gonzales (#6). He’s fast enough to play QB for his high school team, and is described as “slippery.” Though Michigan hasn’t offered yet, that certainly fits the description they’re looking for in this class: a good second QB who can potentially change positions down the road if everything works out with the other players. There is no Michigan mention in the article, and Penn State is presumed to be the favorite by the author, with Pitt just behind. Still, if the Wolverines don’t have a second QB committed by the time the season rolls around, Gonzales may be a candidate to pick up an offer.

LSU has jumped into the fray for IA QB/Ath AJ Derby (info in header). He is becoming a bigger and bigger prospect, which means he may be less likely to accept an offer to play second fiddle to Devin Gardner in the QB class of 2010. Of course, it’s still highly likely he plays at Iowa, where his dad played. The Chicago Sun-Times’s Second Season blog thinks it’s Iowa or Florida for him.

Continuing the deluge of QB news, SC prospect Cornelius Jones has set up a summer visit to Ann Arbor (info in header). Smart money is on this visit happening for camp this week. Jones has had Michigan at or near the top of his list for quite some time now, so a good visit with the Wolverines might be enough to convince him to commit.

Removed MI QB Robert Bolden, who does not have the Wolverines on his list of 6 finalists. I’m not disappointed, because I still maintain that Bolden is more of a pro-style QB than a true dual-threat who would thrive in the Rich Rodriguez spread.

Fluff/brief recruiting info on FL RB Cassius McDowell from SoFlaFootball. McDowell is out for the spring with a broken leg, and has been using his newfound free time to pick up the pace with schoolwork, and enroll early in the fall at his school of choice. The teammate of 2009 signees Denard Robinson and Adrian Witty counts the Wolverines among his offers.

Removed FL RB Darion Hall, who committed to Miami. This is not a surprise. You may recall that I was not particularly stoked on Hall, especially considering he apparently has some maturing to do “on and off the field.”

FL/MI WR Ricardo Miller has apparently changed his tune about which Ann Arbor-area high school he’ll be attending, according to Sam Webb. Rampant speculation and semi-disturbing high school fantasy football leagues by Michigan fans have cluttered the interwebs this weekend, but the fact of the matter is, he’s going to go to the school that gives him the best education and opportunity to succeed on the football field.

PA WR Andrew Carswell‘s continued interest in Michigan (they’re in his top 3 with BC and Pitt) may be explained by the fact that he’s a multiple-position player. If he ends up committing to Michigan (I still think it’s something of a longshot at this point), he could end up playing linebacker on defense.

Removed MD WR EJ Scott, who committed to Virginia.

Removed AL WR Soloman Patton, now a Florida Gator.

In your latest breathless MN OL Seantrel Henderson update, a couple fun factoids that may play a role in his recruitment. First, new Gophers OL coach Tim Davis might send his son to Cretin-Derham Hall. That would certainly not hurt Minnesota for Seantrel (unless said son is a total d-bag, but I digress). Another interesting friend item on Henderson:

According to Lemming, Henderson may want to attend the same school as friend J.D. Pride, another Minneapolis-area player. According to Rivals.com, the only offer Pride holds is from Minnesota.

If the Wolverines ever offer Pride, a QB/Ath, it would certainly help their case. Also, maybe Pride could net an Eastern Michigan offer? That could still help the Wolverines land Henderson. I believe both Henderson and Pride are camping at Michigan, and Eastern’s coaches traditionally head across town to take part.

Recruiting info on GA DT Jeff Whitaker, with nary a mention of Michigan. It sounds like he probably won’t end up with an offer. With the Wolverines perhaps having less of a need for DTs in the unconventional defense of Greg Robinson, perhaps they’ll only need one tackle in this class.

MI DT Jonathan Hankins may be their guy at the position, as a camp offer is likely to come through, especially considering even the stingy Buckeyes have deemed him worthy of a scholarship. Sam Webb had a “gut feeling” on the Recruiting Roundup Thursday that Hankins would be blue if offered. For those who are unfamiliar with the WTKA morning show, Sam’s “gut feeling” means that he has heard directly from a source that the information is true.

Removed SC DT AJ Cann. He is down to a final list that does not include Michigan, and the Wolverines are out of the race for his services.

FL DE Lynden Trail is favoring Florida as he quests to add more weight to give his body a more appropriate DE size (he’s currently at 210 pounds, standing 6-7).

Removed PA DE Dakota Royer. He has released a final five list that does not include Michigan. He plans to make a commitment in July. In a really odd twist, especially considering The Sporting News’s Recruitnik blog has an article on Royer from the same timeframe, also featuring direct quotes, that Royer is down to a top 10, with narrowing to a top 5 by the end of July. Either way, Michigan isn’t on his list, so he gone. Adios, guy who did this:

Removed PA DE Kyle Baublitz, who will be a Nittany Lion.

FL DE/LB Corey Lemonier is playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense this year at Hialeah, which is probably fairly comparable to the hybrid roles in Michigan’s new defense under coordinator Greg Robinson. It should come as no surprise, then, that Lemonier plans to use one of his official visits on a trip to Ann Arbor. DE/LB is the new WR in this recruiting class, as far as “how many of these guys can we fit in the class?”

MI S/LB/Ath Daniel Easterly currently favors Illinois, but his feelings about the Wolverines are hard to tell, because he won’t name schools that haven’t offered him among his favorites. He is going to camp at Michigan, so if he earns an offer there, the Wolverines would likely be a serious player in his recruitment.

Michigan is a reported offer for OH S/WR Bobby Swigert. He’s apparently camping this week as well.

Removed SC S Bashaud Breeland, now a Clemson commitment.

Removed MD S Jeff Knox, who committed to Pittsburgh.

FL CB Nickell Robey is going to visit Ann Arbor this summer along with FL S commit Marvin Robinson (info in header). This is obviously good news as far as Robey’s recruitment, but there’s also some moderately bad news that relates to Robinson: he still wants to take a visit to Chapel Hill to check out the Tar Heels (info in header). He still plans to honor his verbal commitment, so this isn’t exactly “ACK FREAK OUT”-type news, but the verbal is less than solid, it seems.

Removed OH CB Jordan Paschal. The Trotwood-Madison (Roundtree, Shaw, Moore) product committed to Louisville.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

The summer leagues have started up and a few Michigan players are currently making a difference on their respected teams.  Some guys are MIA.  If you happen to know where one of the other players are, feel free to drop a line in the comments.

GREAT LAKES LEAGUE
Anthony Toth	Lima Locos	SS
Kolby Wood	Lima Locos	RHP
Bobby Brosnahan	Lima Locos	LHP
ALASKA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Coley Crank	Anchorage Bucs	C
PROSPECT LEAGUE (Previously the Central Illinois League)
John Lorenz	Quincy Gems	3B
Garrett Stephens	Richmond Rivercats	1B
NORTHWOODS LEAGUE
Matt Miller	Alexandria Beetles	RHP
Tyler Mills	Alexandria Beetles	RHP
Kevin Vangeluwe	Alexandria Beetles	RHP
TEXAS COLLEGIATE LEAGUE
Travis Smith	Brazos Valley Bombers	RHP
VALLEY LEAGUE
Jeff DeCarlo	Front Royal Cardinals	LHP
Kevin Krantz	Front Royal Cardinals	3B/SS
Brandon Sinnery	Winchester Royals	RHP
Matt Gerbe	Winchester Royals	RHP
CAPE COD LEAGUE
Tyler Burgoon	Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox	RHP
Ryan LaMarre	Wareham Gatemen	OF
FLORIDA COLLEGIATE LEAGUE
Mike Dufek	Leesburg Lightning	1B
Alan Oaks	Leesburg Lightning	P/OF
Other Leagues
Matt Broder	Michigan Rams	LHP

Eric Katzman and Chris Berset were both listed with Leesburg, Katzman so much that he was mentioned in the season preview.

Vangeluwe and Broder show up on Grand Lake’s roster as stated by the Great Lakes League (both as #0), but aren’t on the Grand Lake Mariners team’s site.  I assume that just means they’ve gone to other teams.

Jake McLouth was originally signed with the Winchester Royals with Sinnery and Gerbe, but that’s no longer the case.  He was released on June 4th.

I’ll check up with these guys in a little while to look at how they did.  Most games started this last week so not much to report on now.

Ex-Player / Now Coaches

Jason Wuefel (’03 ) is also coaching the Butler BlueSox of the Prospect League.  Good for him.

Posted under Baseball

Compare to the previous edition of the recruiting class rankings. Action since last rankings:

6-7-09 Iowa gains commitment from Louis Trinca-Pasat.
6-9-09 Michigan gains commitment from Ken Wilkins.

#1 Michigan – 13 commits
Name	Pos	Rivals	Scout	ESPN
Ricardo Miller	WR	****	****	150*
Devin Gardner	QB	****	****	150*
Marvin Robinson	S	****	****	150*
Jerald Robinson	WR	****	***	77
Ken Wilkins	LB	***	****	77
Jeremy Jackson	WR	***	***	150*
Christian Pace	OL	***	***	150*
Jordan Paskorz	DE	***	***	78
Stephen Hopkins	RB	***	***	77
Antonio Kinard	LB	***	***	77
Drew Dileo	WR	***	***	75
Tony Drake	RB	***	NR	77
DJ Williamson	WR	NR	***	NR

The Wolverines pick up Pennsylvania linebacker Ken Wilkins.

#2 Penn State – 7 commits
Name	Pos	Rivals	Scout	ESPN
Paul Jones	QB	****	*****	150*
Adrian Coxson	WR	****	*****	150*
Silas Redd	RB	****	****	79
Mike Hull	LB	****	****	77
Miles Dieffenbach	OL	***	****	150*
Tom Ricketts	OL	NR	****	77
Luke Graham	OL	NR	***	NR

No change for PSU.

#3 Ohio State – 5 commits
Name	Pos	Rivals	Scout	ESPN
Andrew Norwell	OL	****	*****	150*
Jamel Turner	DE	****	*****	150*
JT Moore	DE	****	***	78
Scott McVey	LB	***	****	77
David Durham	LB	***	***	150*

The Buckeyes have been chillin’ at 5 commits for quite some time.

#4 Notre Dame – 5 commits
Name	Pos	Rivals	Scout	ESPN
Chris Martin	DE	*****	*****	150*
Alex Welch	TE	****	****	79
Christian Lombard	OL	***	****	150*
Daniel Smith	WR	***	****	78
Bennett Jackson	WR	***	****	77

Bennett Jackson picks up a 77 rating from ESPN.

#5 Minnesota – 4 commits
Name	Pos	Rivals	Scout	ESPN
Jimmy Gjere	OL	****	****	79
Lamonte Edwards	Ath	****	***	76
Antoine Lewis	WR	***	***	76
Tom Parish	QB	***	***	73

No change for Minnesota.

#6 Illinois – 3 commits
Name	Pos.	Rivals	Scout	ESPN
Corey Cooper	CB	****	****	150*
Chandler Whitmer	QB	***	***	150*
Shawn Afryl	OL	***	***	69

Nothing new for the Illini, they’ve stagnated for quite some time.

#7 Michigan State – 2 commits
Name	Pos.	Rivals	Scout	ESPN
Max Bullough	LB	****	***	150*
Tony Lippett	WR	NR	***	78

No change for State.

#8 Iowa – 5 commits
Name	Pos.	Rivals	Scout	ESPN
Austin Gray	LB	***	***	77
Louis Trinca-Pasat	DE	***	***	76
James Morris	LB	***	***	74
Jim Poggi	LB	NR	***	NR
Anthony Ferguson	DT	NR	***	NR

Chicago DE Louis Trinca-Pasat picks the Hawkeyes.

#9 Wisconsin – 3 commits
Name	Pos.	Rivals	Scout	ESPN
Konrad Zagzebski	LB	***	****	76
Marquis Mason	WR	***	NR	NR
Bryce Gilbert	DT	NR	***	74

Nothing new for Wisconsin.

#10 Indiana – 1 commit
Name	Pos.	Rivals	Scout	ESPN
Andre Kates	CB	NR	NR	NR

Still just Kates, the unrated one.

Northwestern, Purdue – 0 commits.

Posted under Football, Recruiting