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.

Video

Posted under Football, Recruiting

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

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

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

Action since last rankings:
1-25-09 Purdue loses commitment from Shayon Green.  Iowa gains commitment from Matt Murphy. Conor Boffeli. Iowa gains commitment from Dakota Getz.
1-26-09 Michigan State gains commitment from Denzel Drone. Wisconsin gains commitment from Jacob Pederson. Wisconsin gains commitment from Dezmen Southward. Iowa gains commitment from Stephane Ngoumou.
1-27-09 Notre Dame loses commitment from Nyshier Oliver.
1-30-09 Ohio State gains commitment from Kenny Guiton. Indiana gains commitment from Nick Turner. Iowa gains commitment from Nolan McMillan.

I’ve also bolded the recruits from each school who are enrolled (per Rivals) and moved them to the top of their ranking level, since enrolling early is something of an advantage for recruit and should be reflected in the rankings. Obviously, the Rivals lists aren’t complete, so if you know of anything that needs to be fixed, let me know in the comments.

New Rankings:

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Scout headline watch: “Deerfield Coach optimistic on Robinson, Witty.” Posted by GBW, the interpretation is pretty simple: optimistic of Michigan’s chances to land 2009 prospects Denard Robinson and Adrian Witty.

2009 LA LB Barkevious Mingo‘s best friend has accepted a preferred walkon opportunity at LSU. He’s trying to convince Mingo to join him in Baton Rouge:

Glynn added that he hopes to share a dormitory room with teammate Barkevious Mingo should his best friend and Blue Chip prospect choose LSU. “We hang out every day. Coach (Les) Miles told us we could room together if Barkevious decides to come there. It should be a fun four or five years if Barkevious decides on LSU.”

Glynn may get to live out his dream, as Mingo is likely to become a Tiger.

2009 SC OL Quinton Washington visited Tennessee this past weekend, will head to Miami this upcoming weekend, and entertained Rich Rodriguez and co. in-home last week.

Muck fluff featuring a cameo from 2009 RB commit/enrollee Vincent Smith:

“Life is a struggle,” said former Pahokee running back Vincent Smith, now playing at Michigan. “It’s a learning experience because you have to be able to adapt quickly or you can easily get into trouble. Playing sports helped put me on the outside of some of the circumstances and struggles in the town.”

LA WR Travante Stallworth is down to Auburn, Michigan, and South Carolina. He had his Auburn official last weekend, which probably determined whether or not he’ll recommit to the Tigers.

Removed 2009 GA S Darren Myles from the board:

Until recently, OSU was hopeful of adding Atlanta Carver safety Darren Myles — ranked among the nation’s top 10 safeties — to its 2009 class (signing day is Feb. 4).

Myles was supposed to be up for an official visit last weekend, but never came, reportedly because of inclement weather. He now says his decision is between Alabama and Louisiana State.

He’ll also take a Kentucky visit, but all of those options are still distinctly non-Michigan.

Also removed 2009 OH CBs Dale Peterman and Mike Edwards, who committed to Syracuse and Tennessee, respectively. OLs Khalil Wilkes and Henry Conway committed to Stanford and Sparty, respectively. LA DE Bennie Logan committed to LSU, which has to help Michigan (if ever-so-slightly) with SC DE Sam Montgomery.

2010 OH WR Jerald Robinson visited Ohio State for their recent junior day. He is hearing from most schools around the midwest, but has only visited Michigan, Ohio State, and Sparty.

Added to the 2010 board: OH DE Derrick Bryant and MI Ath Daniel Easterly, at the recommendation of commenter Griffin Fraley. Also added: FL OL Chaz Green, a high school teammate of QB prospect Christian Green who has been garnering some pretty good attention himself.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Action since last rankings:
1-16-09 Illinois loses commitment from Craig Drummond. Northwestern gains commitment from Davon Custis.
1-17-09 Penn State gains commitment from John Urschel. Penn State gains commitment from Shawney Kersey.
1-18-09 Indiana gains commitment from Damon Sims.
1-19-09 Michigan State gains commitment from Kevin Muma. Northwestern gains commitment from Damien Proby. Minnesota loses commitment from Taikwon Paige.
1-22-09 Michigan State gains commitment from Henry Conway. Penn State gains commitment from MIke Wallace (Not That Mike Wallace). Wisconsin loses commitment from Conor O’Neal.
1-24-09 Illinois gains commitment from Eric Watts.
1-25-09 Illinois gains commitment from Akeem Spence. Iowa gains commitment(!) from Micah Hyde.

New Rankings:

Up: Duron Carter (from 3*)

Down: Cierre Wood (From 5*). Up: Jordan Cowart (From 1*)

Down: Sean Stanley (from 4*)

Up: Tommie Hopkins (From 2*), Tom Kynard (From 1*)

Up: Cooper Gerami (From 1*).

Up: Najee Tyler (From 1).

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Tennessee is trying to nab LA DT DeQuinta Jones from Michigan’s evil clutches. Rich Rodriguez was also in-home this week, and DD will visit Michigan and Tennessee over the next two weekends, respectively.

The volunteers’ new staff is also trying to fortify their commitment from PA WR Je’Ron Stokes with in-home visits (commitment swap?). He has visits remaining to Illinois and Georgia Tech over the next two weekends. Without PSU jumping headlong into things, I’d imagine Tennessee and Michigan are the realistic choices for Stokes.

Speaking of elsewhere-committed wideouts, FL WR Willie Haulstead is taking his FSU official this weekend. If he comes out of the visit without reaffirming his commitment, MIchigan’s chances have to look pretty good.

RR also visited with SC DE Sam Montgomery last night. The Wolverines are in Sam’s top group, and most of his in-home visits have taken place over the course of this week.

Sam Webb Freep fluff on 2010 MI CB/Slot Dior Mathis.

“The education is first for my parents and my coach,” he said. “They always stay on me about that, so education first. The second thing is, am I going to be able to play as a freshman? The third thing is I want to win a national championship. Those are really the main three goals right now going into college. I’m just going to take my time, focus on my grades and wait until my senior year (to make a decision).”

Wolverine commitments Teric Jones and Thomas Gordon aren’t shy about sharing their opinions about where they think their young comrade should go. “Every time they come around, they always tell me, ‘Go Blue,’ ” Mathis said.

So, the relevant information is as follows: 1) the other Cass Tech guys are (rather predictably) recruiting him for the Wolverines, 2) he wants to be able to win a championship at his school, 3) and he won’t decide until sometime during his senior year. #3 is good for Michigan in terms of #2, in that they’ll have a chance to prove that 2008 was a fluke by the time Mathis decides.

2010 TX RB Lache Seastrunk may be part of an enormous package deal.

There is talk fluttering around that there is a mega package deal in the 2010 class that involves some of the best players in the entire nation. Oregon isn’t a front runner for the package deal that includes probable overall #1 player Lache Seastrunk, [TX CB] Toney Hurd JR, [TX OLB] Shaun Lewis, and [LA Slot WR] Trovon Reed.

Michigan has consistently been mentioned as one of Seastrunk’s front-runners (in the top 5-ish, behind a top 2 of Texas and LSU), so I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan gets in on the other guys. They have been added to the board. For his part, Reed (a high school quarterback) liked the way West Virginia used Pat White under RR.

Fluff on 2010 AR RB Michael Dyer.

2010 PA CB Cullen Christian was apparently in the house for Michigan’s hoops loss to Ohio State on Saturday. I haven’t seen any confirmation ex post facto, so take that for what it’s worth.

2010 GA QB Blake Sims and teammate Slot Tai-ler Jones are expecting visitors from some midwest schools this week. There is also mention of junior days, which leads me to ask “when is Michigan having junior days?” I assume, at this point, it likely won’t be until after signing day as the 2009 class gets finished up in full-throttle mode.

Removed from the 2010 board: WI LB Konrad Zagzebski, who has committed to Minnesota.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Recruiting Boards can always be found on the left sidebar. 2009 & 2010

First things first: it’s quite obvious that, this late in the recruiting process, there are only a few realistic prospects left on the board. There may be other guys that end up wearing the right colors, but it’s more likely that they come out of the woodwork. So, a lot of prospects came off the 2009 board in the past week (unrealistic though some of them may have been). Let’s review:
MS S/WR Dennis Thames. Mississippi State Commit.
TX CB Demontre Hurst committed to Oklahoma State, but may still visit the Canes.
FL DB Jonathan Scott picks WVU.
AL LB Tana Patrick is now only considering Bama, Auburn, USC, MIami of Florida, and Tennessee.
FL CB Jayron Hosley is going to USF, whether he has publicly committed (yet) or not.
CA OL Michael Philipp, who hadn’t really been considering Michigan in quite some time, commits to Oregon State.
NC OL Travis Bond picked UNC over Michigan, adding to the ridiculously large recruiting class in Chapel Hill.

SC OL Quinton Washington is one of the few remaining targets that Michigan has a chance with. The Sporting News’ The Recruitnik blog gives an entirely uninformative update on his recruitment. Phil Kornblut says he visits South Carolina, which is Michigan’s main competition for his signature. Considering he came out of that visit not only uncommitted, but also unwilling to say USC was his leader, chances here don’t look dire. However, he did leave the visit “knowing what he wants to do,” which may be bad, considering it probably means “my last visit rulzed.” Regardless, he does not plan to publicly commit until signing day.

LA LB Barkevious Mingo, who visited LSU this weekend, does not plan to commit anywhere until signing day.

LA WR Travante Stallworth is still “committed” to Auburn, but has a top 3 of Michigan, South Carolina, and Auburn. RichRod has his in-home tonight. Stallworth seems a little more effusive about Michigan than his other choices:

“At Michigan, it was different than any other college campus I’ve ever been to,” he continued. “They have outstanding facilities and the academics are top of the line. Coach (Rich) Rodriguez wants me to come in as a slot receiver and even said I could try quarterback. If it didn’t work out, I could switch to receiver. They just want to get the ball in my hands in the open field.”

RR will also be in the home of DE Sam Montgomery, who has taken 2 officials without committing anywhere. He wants to go to business school, which means Michigan is by far the best option out of his current choices in that regard. He’s still going to LSU, Tennessee, and Oregon.

Freep fluff on the visit by PA WR Je’Ron Stokes (along with a general discussion of WR recruiting). If Stokes gets through his PSU visit without committing, Michigan’s chances in this one aren’t bad. Stokes didn’t really appear to be enjoying himself too much at the hoops game though (photo of Darryl Stonum, Stokes, and Jeremy Gallon by Matt Pargoff in the Detroit Free Press).

Tennessee has hopped in on OK DT Commit Pearlie Graves. The likelihood he ends up in Ann Arbor is ever-dwindling.

FL QB Austin Dantin is practically begging for an offer, though if he’s stooping that low this late in the process, that probably means he’s unlikely to get one. He’s added to the board regardless.

The Palm Beach Post ranked the area’s top 25 seniors:

6. Brandin Hawthorne, LB, 6-1, 181, Pahokee, Enrolled at Michigan

8. Vincent Smith, RB, 5-9, 180, Pahokee, Enrolled at Michigan

11. Brendan Gibbons, K, 6-0, 215, Cardinal Newman, Verbal to Michigan

Hooray South Florida guys.

MI QB AJ Westendorp appears likely to accept a scholarship offer at a D-II or DI-AA school, rather than accepting a walk-on offer at Michigan.

…And this update is getting enormous, so I’ll drop the 2010 knowledge on you later this week.

Posted under Football, Recruiting