After being the subject of rumor for the past week-plus, Steven Threet has officially told the press that he plans to transfer from Michigan. Threet was the starting quarterback for large portions of 2008, and was actually quite successful when healthy. It’s a shame to see the young man leave, but you really can’t blame the kid, as he really wants to play, and do so in a scheme that fits his skill set.

The Threet transfer probably does mean one positive thing for Michigan fans: that Tate Forcier has looked good enough in the training program and volunatary QB-WR workouts as to pose a significant threat to Threet’s starting position. Of course, it also means bad things, like “Michigan only has 2 quarterbacks between safety and Nick Sheridan.” The QB depth situation becomes almost as bad as it was last year, though the second option (likely to be Denard Robinson) is a step up from either Sheridan or Justin Feagin.

This clears out the depth chart somewhat for a class of 2010 prospect to find it quite appealing (Devin Gardner, come on down!), but harms Michigan in the short term. Wherever Threet ends up (rumors have said Eastern Michigan, under former Michigan DC Ron English), I certainly wish him the best of luck.

Posted under Football, Personnel, Recruiting, Spring Coverage

With the 2010 recruiting year already underway (several teams already have commits), the 2009 class isn’t quite wrapped up for a few teams. Minnesota has been reportedly communicating with 4* RB Trabis Ward, and Michigan is still talking (just starting?) with 3* ATH Larry Raper.

That said, within the next week (who knows? maybe even today), I’ll start publishing 2010 recruiting class rankings, and hopefully the final 2009 rankings will take place soon enough.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Jim Stefani has a few QBs of interest to add to the recruiting board:

Barry Brunetti QB 6′1 206 4.65 Memphis University School Tennessee
Anthony Gonzalez QB/DB 6′2 193 Bethlehem Liberty Pennsylvania
Ricardo Young QB/ATH 6′0 155 4.78 Washington Woodson D.C.
Kain Colter QB/WR/DB 6′1 185 4.60 Greenwood Village Cherry Creek Colorado
Gavin Webster QB/DB 6′0 200 4.45 Lutcher Louisiana
Santez Emory QB 6′3 200 4.57 Franklin Heard County Georgia

…and also some good information on a few guys who are already there, so check out the article.

GA QB Barry Bostic has been offered by Georgia Tech, and they are his new leader (info in header).

Fluff on 2009 WR Commit Cameron Gordon, which also mentions his class of 2010 teammate, QB Devin Gardner:

Next year it will be Devin Gardner’s turn to celebrate his college choice with the Inkster faithful. The Vikings’ star quarterback could be throwing passes to Gordon at U-M or be the opposition if Gardner chooses to attend Ohio State, a school so high on him that head coach Jim Tressel visited recently and watched Gardner play in Inkster’s basketball game against Wyandotte Roosevelt…

“I was pretty excited at first,” said the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Gardner of the Tressel visit. “My heart was beating really fast, but as the game went on I just settled down and played within the team. I like basketball, but football is my first love.

Despite Tressel’s visit, Gardner is still not sporting an Ohio State offer.

The “other” instate QB, OLSM’s Robert Bolden, was recently the feature of an article by Sam Webb in the Detroit News. It’s pretty clear that Gardner is probably a higher priority for the staff (and with good reason), but Bolden might be a good fallback guy in the class.

The Free Press has an early in-state top-10 for next recruiting year, and The Sporting News had a national top-10 like substance. Gardner is on both lists, and Bolden is on the former while FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller is on the latter. From the former, I’ve added MI RB Chris Robinson from Ovid-Elsie to the Recruiting Board.

While we’re on the topic of early top-X lists, how about top-30 offerings from two of the biggest football counties in south Florida. Broward top-30, and Miami-Dade top-30.

Some Rivals fluff on VA QB Phillip Sims, who is still not mentioning Michigan (though he does talk about West Virginia). With his insistence on playing in a pro-style scheme, and no mention of the Wolverines yet, his tenure on the board may be close to coming to an end.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

With the 2009 recruiting class out of the way, it’s time for recruitniks to shift attention to the 2010 class for the Michigan Wolverines. Obviously, I’ve been paying quite a bit of attention to the matter on this site, and that will continue.

By the way, for those who have asked me when I’m going to start looking at the 2011 class, since I’ve become so used to worrying about two recruiting classes at once, dont hold your breath. It will be at least into summer, and more likely into the fall, before I start looking in-depth at 2011 prospects.

Without further ado, I’d like to reintroduce you to the 2010 Recruiting Board. Since I’ve neglected 2010 information for the past week or so, due to 2009 Signing Day, there should be a couple updates this week so I can get caught up a bit. On to the new information:

FL CB Lorenza Wood, widely regarded to be the frontrunner to be Michigan’s next commit in the class of 2010, took a recent visit to Georgia Tech (info in header). He is also expected to make a visit to Michigan for a Junior Day sometime this winter/spring. Wood also picked up an offer from Notre Dame.

MI RB Nick Hill, also considered a prospect that Michigan is likely to land if they want him, traveled to (and enjoyed) Notre Dame’s recent junior day (info in header).

If you can wade through all the fluff on Brandin Hawthorne and Brendan Gibbons, there is a tidbit of info in this article, which states that FL Slot DeJoshua Johnson (from Pahokee) has been offered.

…and while we’re on the topic of South Florida 2009 tandems who have had a junior teammate offered, Deerfield Beach’s RB Cassius McDowell received word from Rich Rodriguez that he is welcome to follow Adrian Witty and Denard Robinson to Ann Arbor. He has been added to the board. Witty and Robinson each had a bit to say for themselves, as well:

”If I go up there and work the way I know I’m going to work, I’ll be the starting cornerback at Michigan next fall,” said Witty, who visited Kansas State, Michigan and FIU.

“I’m not the kind of guy who likes to sit on the bench… I want to be the face of Michigan,” Robinson said.

More power to them, and I’m sure Michigan fans wouldn’t complain if their predictions turned out to be true.

Other early 2010 offers: OH WR Jerald Robinson. Michigan is his first D-1 offer. The coach at Canton South has also attended RR’s coaching clinic in the past, so there is a good relationship started there. Of course, Robinson has since committed to Michigan.

IL DE Chance Carter was also at said Irish junior day, and

Irish Emerge As Carter’s Favorite

Notre Dame was always considered the likely favorite to land him, and this certainly reinforces that notion. The Chicago Tribune reports that Wisconsin is his #2 choice behind the Irish.

CA RB Malcolm Jones was named the Offensive Player of the Year in his district. Despite still not holding a USC offer (although his brother plays for the Trojans), He is considered the top pure running back in Southern California for the 2010 class. The latter article also says that Robert Woods, currently on the board as a safety, will play WR in college. He has been moved on the board.

FL WR Kadron Boone holds the Gators as his favorite (info in header). With Michigan already holding commitments from two wideouts in the class, this likely doesn’t affect their recruiting strategy very much.

Speaking of those WR commitments, FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller recently caused something of a flap when his Facebook or Myspace page mentioned something about taking visits to other schools. The Michigan online community collectively flipped out. I have a few comments on the matter (as did the WLA): 1) A kid picking a school other than Michigan (or in this case, taking visits to schools other than Michigan) is not a reflection of his class or character. 2) It’s early in the process, and fans have absolutely no right to harass recruits, and maybe are putting a little too much attention into them. 3) Please, please don’t inter-stalk recruits on social networking websites. It’s creepy, it’s borderline pathetic, and it’s likely a minor NCAA violation. Don’t do it.

Removals:
TX WR John Harris to Texas.
TX DT De’Aires Cotton to Texas.
TX LB Aaron Benson to Texas.
CA DE Chris Martin to Notre Dame. Upside: now I can finally stop stumbling upon news about the singer from Coldplay. Downside: Notre Dame lands another 5-star.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Post-Signing Day BTB Roundtable hosted by Zombie Nation.

1. Were you pleased with this year’s recruiting class? Where did your team excel? Where did they fall short?

I was pleased to the tune of about a B+. Michigan picked up 2 QBs, which were desperately needed, a few good athletes, and some big bodies up front. They could have done better recruiting a couple more DTs (obviously, they lost two on Signing Day), and some linebackers. Other than that, it was a very good class, especially coming off a 3-9 season.

2. Name one or two players you want to see get on the field ASAP, and where you think they will fit in.

Tate Forcier is the obvious choice for most Michigan fans, as the QB play for Michigan last year was a choice between a healthy Nick Sheridan or a hurt Steven Threet for most of the year. I’m also pumped to see Will Campbell (along with Forcier, one of Michigan’s 7 early enrollees) at defensive tackle, Justin Turner in the secondary, and any number of the speedy little bastards Rich picked up in ’09.

3. This one’s purely for the sake of argument. Much has been made about the SEC’s recruiting ‘dominance’ over the Big Ten, particularly this year. Either validate that claim, or try to prove it wrong. At least vent a little bit. You know you want to.

Michigan in particular, and the Big Ten as a whole, just need to win. The Wolverines recruited ridiculously well, all things considered. The Big Ten needs to shake its national perception (fair or not) that it’s a weak conference. Of course, I think the Big Ten, top to bottom, is unlikely to ever recruit as well as the SEC, because an overwhelming majority of the nation’s top players come from the Southeast.

4. Going into next year (already), where does your team need to focus its efforts? How about the Big Ten as a whole? What can the conference/your team do better to attract more highly-regarded recruits, or is it even an issue?

Defense should be Michigan’s #1 priority, as they got a couple top guys (Campbell and Turner), but missed out on players like Jelani Jenkins (who would have considered the Wolverines much longer than he did, save for the 3-9 season), Darius Winston, and the two defensive tackles, Pearlie Graves and DeQuinta Jones. With a more successful 2009 (fingers crossed), the Wolverines should have an outstanding 2010 class, especially with all the top prospects they’re in on early.

One word/number answers…

How many freshmen (in your class) redshirt in 2009?

13 (of 22)

Did you watch live TV coverage on signing day? If not, how many times did you hit ‘refresh’ on your browser on signing day?

I had it on in the background as I was moderating the world’s most stressful LiveBlog. I didn’t refresh at all, and most of the information I got was actually from readers pitching in during the blog.

Are you going to your spring game?

Yes.

For the record – it was impossible to answer those questions with enough detail to make them interesting, while only using one word.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

WR/DB Jerald Robinson has told Rich Rodriguez that he intends to sign with Michigan a year from now. Robinson stands 6-2 190-lbs, and has been clocked at 4.55 in the 40-yard dash. He hails from Canton South High School in Canton, Ohio.

Player Notes
When Michigan offered Robinson last week, many Michigan fans were (understandably) perplexed. With commitments from two outside wideouts already in the class of 2010, why keep going after them, especially this early in the process? However,one of Robinson’s key traits is his versatility to play many positions. Once he gets to the college level, he could play wide receiver or safety, and considering he’s still just a high school junior, he could even add more weight and play linebacker. Certainly the Michigan staff had a plan in order when they offered him, and they aren’t just loading up at one position. He was an area all-star:

Robinson led South in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns this year and was second in receptions. The junior standout caught 34 passes for 756 yards and seven touchdowns. Five of his seven touchdown catches were 20 yards or longer, including an 86-yarder and a 56-yarder.

Robinson also recorded 56 tackles in the defensive backfield and led the team in interceptions with seven.

in addition to being named first team all-state.

Recruiting Notes
I first became aware of Robinson when Jim Stefani mentioned him on his spectacular underclassmen recruiting blog as a prospect of interest for Michigan. In the run-up to Signing Day 2009, he wasn’t mentioned much, as the focus was on completing this year’s class. However, after the ’09 class was inked, Rodriguez and Co. almost immediately sent Robinson an offer (his first D-1 scholarship). After coming home from an Ohio State visit with only his Michigan offer in hand, it didn’t take long for Jerald to jump on it, and he told just about anyone who would listen yesterday that he would be committing today. A commitment is expected to come to fruition, and he will be the 3rd commit in Michigan’s recruiting class of 2010.

Video

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Action since last rankings (pace yourself; there’s a lot):
1-28-08 Iowa gained commitment from Jake Reisen.
1-30-09 Indiana gains commitment from Griffen Dahlstrohm(!).
2-1-09 Michigan State gains commitment from Jairus Jones.
2-2-09 Ohio State gains commitment from Marcus Hall. Illinois loses commitments from Jamar Bass and Cornelius Carradine. Purdue gains commitment from Antavian Edison.
2-3-09 Ohio State loses commitment from Justin Green. Illinois gains commitment from Justin Green. Michigan gains commitment from Quinton Washington. Illinois gains commitment from Michael Buchanan.
2-4-09 Michigan loses commitments from Pearlie Graves and DeQuinta Jones. Michigan gains commitments from Denard Robinson, Adrian Witty, and Je’Ron Stokes. Penn State gains commitment from Justin Brown. Notre Dame gains commitment from Manti Te’o.  Illinois loses commitment from Kraig Appleton. Wisconsin gains commitment from Kraig Appleton. Minnesota gains commitment from Eric Carter. Minnesota gains commitment from Eric Jacques. Purdue gains commitment from Kevin Pamphile.
2-6-09 Notre Dame gains commitment from Roby Toma.
2-7-09 Illinois loses commitment from Darryl Lee.

These won’t quite be the final rankings, as a few schools (Michigan among them) may pick up a late recruit or two. I may also give another set of rankings when we know who has enrolled for the fall. First 2010 rankings should be coming next week, as long as there are no changes to the 2009 classes.

Bolded players are already enrolled at their school of choice.

New Rankings:

Posted under Football, Recruiting

On National Signing Day, dual-threat quarterback Denard Robinson signed on the line to become a Michigan Wolverine. Robinson stands 6-0, 190, and has been clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.38 seconds. Robinson became the 21st commit in the class of 2009.

Recruiting Notes
Following the decommitments of Kevin Newsome and Shavodrick Beaver, recruiting a second quarterback for the class of 2009 became a priority for the Wolverines. Several prospects became options, including Raymond Cotton, Tajh Boyd, and one Denard Robinson. Robinson immediately got the full-court press from Michigan, who knew they had a tough compeition for Robinson’s signature, going mostly against the home-state Florida Gators. Florida and Michigan were the only two of Robinson’s offers that offered him the opportunity to be a signal-caller at the next level. Robinson took his official visit to Michigan the January 9th recruiting weekend, along with his teammate, corner Adrian Witty. Within a couple weeks, he knew that he wanted to play in the Rich Rodriguez spread offense, but held off on announcing a decision until Signing Day. At his 11AM press conference at his high school, Robinson gave a fake-out by showing up in a Florida Gators hat. However, when he announced his actual intentions, he picked the Michigan Wolverines.

Player Notes
Robinson is a definite dual-threat quarterback, and has speed and moves that Wolverine fans haven’t seen from the quarterback position in ages. He is not only accomplished as a runner, but he can really throw the ball, as well. Robinson has a strong arm, and with some coaching at the next level, could become a very good passer. He has been compared to Rich’s former WVU quarterback, Pat White. The one major knock on Denard Robinson (at least as far the the QB position goes) is size. He is (generously?) listed at just 6 feet tall. One advantage Robinson has over other QB prospects is the ability to switch positions. If playing quarterback doesn’t pan out (i.e. if he gets beaten out by Tate Forcier and/or other QBs down the road), he will be able to switch positions.

Video

Posted under Football, Recruiting

At the top of his press conference Rich Rodriguez basically went through the list and talked briefly about each commit. A lot of it was coach-speak and praising the high school coaches, but there was quite a bit of useful information (as opposed to Lloyd Carr press conferences, which were awesome in their own way) on most of the players. One interesting thing in general is that Rodriguez let us know who the lead recruiter was for each player, and for just about everyone from Florida it was Rod Smith. I guess that’s why need a de facto third QB coach. On to the players:

Isaiah Bell

Coach mentioned that the staff is really tight with Youngstown Liberty coach Jeff Whittaker. It’s not that stacked of a school, but seems to produce a bit of talent ona regular.  He said that Bell would start competing as a safety, but if he can but on enough weight, may move up to outside linebacker.

William Campbell

Looking at depth chart would probably tell you this too, but Rodriguez said that Campbell will play defense only and will compete for playing time right at the outset.  Campbell got the instant impact tag from the coach.  Will said himself that his goal is to start his freshman year.  Even though he is a really funny, kind of goofy guy, I get the feeling that he’s super competative; I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be a RB/QB playing against Michigan in two years. Campbell is now doing the full Barwis workout and says the toughest part was the running becuase since the all star game he’s been relaxing and “got fat.”

Vlad Emilien

Coach said he could play either Safety position and will probably be moved around to positions of need.

Tate Forcier

Apparently in the Spring, Jason Forcier was in town and talked with Rodriguez. He basically said he’d recruit Tate for Michigan.  I just can’t help but wonder how different this last year would have been if Forcier hadn’t transferred… Oh well.  Obviously will come and compete right away for time at QB. When a reporter asked Rodriguez if he was confident that he’ll end up with a really good quarterback he responded that “we’ll have a really good competition.”  Tate says he works much more on accuracy and a quick release than arm strength. In some passing drills he claims he hit Mike Cox and Kevin Koger in the back of the head because they weren’t expecting the ball to get there as quickly as it did.  After his interview with the TV crews at the press conference, most reporters were surprised at how well he handled himself.  He really seemed like a pro.

Jeremy Gallon

For some reason, I gor the feeling that Rodriguez is especially excited about Gallon, but I’m probably just projecting my own excitement.  Coach said he’ll compete immediately at slot.  Tim has made this argument that Odoms is a pretty good slot receiver, but the concept of the slot receiver may be more appealing than Odoms himself.  Rodriguez also mentioned that he’ll immediately be in the mix for returning kicks.  Obviously, Coach didn’t talk about grade issues in specifics, but he mentioned that there are about 2-3 recruits who haven’t been approved by the Clearinghouse and that all of those recruits of realistic plans to follow that will allow them to qualify.  Rodriguez didn’t really seem to worried about grade issues.

Check out Varsity Blue throughout the day for the tidbits on the rest of recruits.

Posted under Football, Personnel, Recruiting

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.

Video

Posted under Football, Recruiting