While most schools have junior days in January and February, Michigan will follow its winter Junior Day with one Saturday.

As the staff started the year, they were behind from having to catch up with 2008 recruiting year. The junior day, a barbecue, should give them a chance to play catch-up, as well as display a family atmosphere about the program. The weather is not expected to be exceptionally warm, but sunny skies should make for good BBQ weather.

Prospects expected to attend include Bryce McNeal, and Pennsylvania DB/WR Corey Brown.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board.

Added:
FL OL Matt Alajajian. He has been offered (info in header).
NC QB Everett Proctor. He would be a backup QB/DB. Michigan might give him the opportunity to start his career as a QB to get him to commit. He is HS teammates with Xavier Nixon.

New Information:
OK RB David Oku. He has trimmed his list to a top 5, still including Michigan (and no longer including OSU or USC).
MN WR Bryce McNeal. Sam Webb in the DetNews.

Removed:
NC DB Devonte Holloman. Committed to Clemson.
MI WR James Jackson. Committed to Ohio State.
CA QB Tate Forcier. Michigan is probably done recruiting him.
PA OT Eric Shrive. THE Pennsylvania State University.

Analysis:
As I said when it happened, James Jackson hurts because he is an instate guy spurning Michigan to go to Ohio State. He loves the school, but never really got a vibe going with the new coaching staff. His location makes it possible for Rodriguez to continue recruiting him. Holloman hurts because it means another year, no 5-star safeties. He had been planning a Michigan visit tomorrow, and it seems as though his commitment may have been to avoid having to go on the visit when he knew he actually wanted to become a Tiger.

Posted under Recruiting

RJ furnishes us with a link, summarizes by giving us this snippet of information:

Sam Webb said this morning that the days of Michigan recruiting players that only play qb. Brandon McGee and a few other dual threats who play other positions are what they are looking for. Tate Forcier and all the other qbs can be pretty much taken off.

I removed all QBs except two categories when Shavodrick Beaver committed to Michigan:

• Guys who could play another position and learn QB for emergency situations.
• Tate Forcier.

It now sounds like Forcier can be removed from that list. However, I think the scope of RJ’s message is a little overextended. For 2009, Michigan is probably done recruiting QBs (unless they are multiple-position guys), but in the future, if there’s a Tate Forcier-type guy, they would take him. So, for this year, it means Forcier is off the board.

Posted under Recruiting

A couple big hits to Michigan’s recruiting efforts, as two of their top prospects are off the board. Holloman is probably a bigger hit than Jackson, as he seemed to be more interested in Michigan than Jackson did, and will be harder to get back on campus to sway his decision (especially since he was supposed to come here this weekend). Jackson had cooled on Michigan over the course of time, but if Rodriguez and co. really want him, they should at least be able to get him back on campus to visit, as he is an instate prospect.

Both prospects will be removed from the next edition of the Recruiting Board. On a side note, I don’t understand how Clemson has consistent recruiting classes that can be described as “kind of awesome” and teams that can be described as “kind of terrible.”

Posted under Recruiting

The board. You may notice it’s been reorganized so the offered prospects are at the top of each table. If I missed anything, let me know in the comments to this post so I can fix it.

Added:
NC DB Terry Shankle. He’s been offered (info in header).

New Information:
TN OT Alex Bullard. Top 6 includes Michigan. Tennessee with the edge currently.
AZ DE Craig Roh. He will play in the ESPN Game.
SC DB Damario Jeffrey. Top 10 does not include Michigan.
OH OT Marcus Hall. His top 6 has changed but still includes Michigan.
IL OG Chris Watt recruiting fluff. No Michigan mention (but no mention of OSU, either). He’s #1 in Illinois.

Etc.:
Freep’s top 5 instaters. Lots of Michigan targets expected for the OSU Nike. Happy 2nd birthday Michigan Football Saturdays.

Posted under Recruiting

Former Lowell QB Keith Nichol has stated that Michigan may his destination following his transfer from the University of Oklahoma. Nichol, a pass-run threat, committed to Michigan State, then rescinded his verbal once John L. Smith was fired as head coach. He ended up a Sooner, but received his scholarship release after two years, when he saw that he would likely not gain any major playing time.

Will Nichol end up at Michigan State? He’s not a great fit for the Spartan offense, which now features the statuesque quarterbacks that Michigan fans were so glad to get rid of. Nichol also spurned the school (and by extension, the new coaching staff) once, so it’s unclear whether he will be accepted with open arms. Still, the current depth chart situation looks perfect for Nichol to come in and take the reins in 2009.

At Michigan, the offensive scheme is more suited to Nichol’s athletic ability. However, he grew up a big Michigan State fan, and who knows if he could see himself playing for the University of Puke? Also, I’m not so sure that Rich Rodriguez and co. would want a player who won’t be able to hit the field until 2009, and even then only has three years of eligibility. Since Justin Feagin will be able to play in 2008, he will have a year of game experience over Nichol, and he has more athletic ability. By the time Nichol is eligible in 2009, Feagin will be but a sophomore, and (at least) two new quarterbacks with 5 years to play 4 will be around.

So what’s the advantage of taking Nichol? It doesn’t seem like the smartest move for Michigan from a football standpoint, and I’ll be surprised if he ends up here.

Posted under Personnel, Recruiting

I’ve come to realize that the commitment pages aren’t always updated by the end of the week, so if you’re a fan of a school that doesn’t get much notice, drop any commitments your team might get in the comments.

Action since last rankings:
By request, Notre Dame added.
5-3-08 Iowa gains commitment from David Barrent.
5-4-08 Minnesota gains commitment from Hasan Lipscomb.

New Rankings:

With only 6(ish) scholarships left, this will be a quality-over-quantity class for the Bucks.

Bell will likely end up a high 3-star.

Every player committed to State thus far is from Michigan.

Wood is a very good prospect, but all are slightly overrated because of their school of choice (especially Golic).

Lipscomb is a speedy little bastard from Russell Shepard’s high school, and I think he is likely a little underrated. Keise will probably end up a mid 3-star.

Illinois started fast, but has since stagnated (and lost Melvin Fellows to the Bucks).

Arcidiacono actually had some pretty good offers, albeit from schools that offer anyone with a pulse (Notre Dame and Florida). I think he is a little underrated. Howle will end up a high 3-star.

Wisconsin has all linemen, all from America’s Dairyland.

Their only commit comes from one of the least important positions on the field. Huzzah!

At least they have some commits. Come on, state of Indiana.

T-11th – Indiana, Purdue (0 commits)

Posted under Recruiting

The Board. Changes I’m contemplating for the next update: moving offered prospects to the top of the chart at their respective positions, instead of organizing by stars. Leave comments on whether you think this is a good/bad idea.

Added:
NC WR Jheranie Boyd. Michigan was at his school in late April (and apparently offered). However, Clemson leads (info in header). He won’t decide until signing day.
SC WR Alshon Jeffrey. Offer.
SC DB Damario Jeffery. He has been offered.
IL WR Kraig Appleton. I had knocked him off the list for lack of any knowledge about mutual interest, but Sam Webb reported on WTKA that he has now been offered. Michigan mention.

New Information:
MN WR Bryce McNeal. Fluffy stuff.
LA DT Chris Davenport. LSU insiders expect him to end up a Tiger (not surprising).
GA CB Darren Myles. Michigan visits him.
MI TE Dion Sims. Sam Webb discusses his status in the Freep.
AZ DE Craig Roh. ESPN game participant.

Removed:
TX RB Jazsman Mitchell. No word of mutual interest lately, and Michigan seems to be in enough other RB/slot prospects.

Lots of new adds this week. don’t forget to comment on the potential board reshuffle.

Etc.:
Rivals Michigan recruiting fluff. Definitely disagree that offensive recruiting is the most interesting to watch this season. With a couple system-specific guys in the fold, I’d love to see some DEs.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board. A few guys on the board attended the Tuscaloosa Nike Combine.

Added:
FL S Vladimir Emilien. He has received a Michigan offer, but he is another of those guys Ohio State fans are supremely confident about.
LA OL Chris Faulk. Michigan offer. Have to assume LSU is leading. He also plays discus in track.
GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. He has received a Michigan offer.

New Information:
VA RB Tavon Austin. Link to about 30,000 videos.
FL S Jonathan Scott high jumps.
OH DE Davon Custis. He is fast for a DE.
TN OL Alex Bullard. He is going to cut to 5 schools soon, with the first 3 being ND, Tenn, and Florida. Can UM be one of the last two?
LA WR Rueben Randle. Spring fluff.
PA CB Corey Brown. If he gets an OSU offer, expect them to be the favorite.

Etc.: 2008’s Kevin Koger is pretty fast for a guy his size. Barwis fluff from Detroit News.

Posted under Recruiting

I’ve come to realize that the commitment pages aren’t always updated by the end of the week, so if you’re a fan of a school that doesn’t get much notice, drop any commitments your team might get in the comments.

Action since last rankings:
4-19-08 Minnesota gains commitment from Victor Keise
4-24-08 Northwestern gains commitment from Mike Trumpy.
4-28-08 Iowa gains commitment from Brad Rogers. Ohio State gains commitment from Corey Linsley.
4-29-08 Michigan gains commitment from Shavodrick Beaver. Penn State gains commitment from Malcolm Willis.
4-30-08 Ohio State gains commitment from Zach Boren. Penn State gains commitment from Mark Arcidiacono.
5-1-08 Scout unveils new set of rankings, changing EVERYTHING.

New Rankings:

Ohio State remains the class of the conference, as they pick up more instate players. The lower ranking isn’t something to worry about as linemen are always the most difficult to project. Boren’s commitment is more important to the Bucks in that it meant they got his older brother as well. A couple guys picked up their fourth star (Linsley, Wood), and one lost his (Chris Fields, who was expected to be one of the top players in Ohio).

Michigan adds another 4-star QB in Beaver. Bell will likely end up as high 3-star, Jones and Toussaint have been ranked. Kevin Newsome moves up to 5-star (deservedly).

No movement since the last rankings, but they got pounded by Scout’s reevaluations, losing their only 5-star rating (in Baker).

Losing Melvin Fellows wasn’t enough to drop the Illini below a couple teams with more commits.

Minnesota picks up a mid-range (from OMG SEC Speed Territory) wideout, and sneaks past Wisconsin in the rankings. Moses Alipate moves up to 4-star.

Despite new commits, JoePa is still death to Penn State’s ability to recruit top players. Arcidiacono actually had some pretty good offers, albeit from schools that offer anyone with a pulse (Notre Dame and Florida).

No movement. Their guys aren’t highly ranked, but Wisconsin develops linemen like it’s their job (side note: it is, in fact, their job).

A new commit for Northwestern.

Their only commit comes from one of the least important positions on the field. Huzzah!

T-10th – Indiana, Purdue (0 commits)

Posted under Recruiting