Darryl Stonum is one of the most explosive receivers on Michigan’s roster, though he’s only caught one touchdown in his career, against Purdue (to be fair, the entire team only had 11 TD receptions last year). He’s been cited as someone who has a lot of physical talent, but maybe has a bit of maturing to do before he can live up to his potential. Regardless, Stonum is definitely considered among Michigan’s best deep threats from the split end position in 2009.

Roy Roundtree was one of three Trotwood-Madison commits in Rich Rodriguez’s first recruiting class, and is the player who set of the now-infamous Joe Tiller rant. Roundtree has practiced at both wide receiver and slot in his Michigan career, though he redshirted last year to add some weight for the college game. Thus far, the highlight of Roundtree’s Wolverine career is the 50-yard touchdown bomb he caught from Tate Forcier in the 2009 Sring Game.

The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Thursday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.

Other Open Polls:
Gibbons v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Stokes.
Schilling v. Emilien.
Mesko v. Ortmann.
Cissoko v. Toussaint.
Forcier v. Patterson.

Completed 1st Round Poll:
Minor defeats Sheridan, appx. 947-53 (numbers not final).

Posted under Coaching, Football, Misc., Personnel

Removed SC QB Dylan Thompson. The signal caller (who actually hadn’t seen much interest from the Wolverines) committed to South Carolina.

MI WR Marcus Beaurem out of Sterling Heights Stevenson was impressive at Michigan’s camp, and was able to earn an offer from Central Michigan last week. Then, he committed to… Bowling Green? yesterday. Kind of a weird whirlwind recruitment.

Removed FL WR DeJoshua Johnson. The Pahokee product and prototypical slot receiver committed to Florida State.

Fluff on PA DT Sharrif Floyd. It’s the type of article that really reminds you that, these aren’t just football players, they’re kids whose lives hang in the balance:

“I was always frustrated at a young age, but growing up in a bad situation, there are only two ways you can go, run the streets and sell drugs, or go another way and do something with your life,” Floyd said. “I grew up in a drug environment. I grew up around all of that stuff. I’ve had people I grew up who were locked up, some of them were shot and killed. After one of my friends died, I stayed away from a lot of things after that.”

Regardless of where this kid ends up, it’s hard to wish him anything but the best of luck in coming out of a bad situation and making something of himself. Floyd will announce his decision at the Army All-American Bowl.

Sam Webb Freep fluff on OH DT Jibreel Black. His final 5 list consists of Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Kentucky, and Indiana (where his older brother is a defensive lineman). He grew up a Michigan fan, and though that’s the only campus he’s not visited on his list, the Wolverines have a chance because of that distinction.

DC LB Javarie Johnson has reached a decision on his college destination, and will announce that information this week (info in header). The week is almost over, so I assume that announcement is forthcoming soon. Remember, Johnson is the one who was so enthused about his Michigan visit that his coach thought he had committed to the Wolverines. Still, it’s been a while since he has been to Michigan, and though the Wolverines are featured on his recent top 4 list, I would be mildly surprised if he picked Michigan.

Added GA S Detrick Bonner. The safety from Leulla, GA has been offered by Michigan, and currently says he’s favoring the Wolverines. He also likes Clemson.

Removed FL CB Merrill Noel. The Pahokee Blue Devil committed to Florida State.

Removed GA CB Jonathan Mincy, who committed to Auburn.

Removed FL CB Cody Riggs, whose final list of 5 includes Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, and Tennessee.

FL CB Lorenza Wood, who was once a strong Michigan lead, is expected to pick Notre Dame tomorrow. If that does indeed happen, he’ll be removed on Monday.

Two more prospects that can probably be crossed off the list: GA LB Tyrone Cornileus, who is likely headed to Miami of Florida, and DT Mike Thornton, who will pick between Georgia and Georgia Tech soon.

In your occasional 2011 mention, quarterback Christian LeMay from North Carolina has been offered by Michigan (info obvious from header). He joins OH QB Braxton Miller, a likely OSU lock, as the offered quarterbacks in next year’s class.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Despite never having played a down for Michigan yet, Tate Forcier is one of the most popular Wolverines on the roster. With the dicey quarterback situation last year, and a rousing performance from Tate in the Spring Game, it’s easy to see why. The true dual-threat QB was a record-setter in high school, and with an early enrollment in Ann Arbor, he’s poised to be Michigan’s starter on opening day.

Adam Patterson has had limited playing time so far during his career in Ann Arbor (1 tackle and a forced fumble in 2008), but is expected to be a key member of the defensive line rotation in 2009. He has the ability to play strongside defensive end or even defensive tackle. With three of Michigan’s 2008 starters departing, a big season from Patterson could go a long way to solidifying the Michigan defense.

The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Tuesday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.

Other Open Polls:
Minor v. Sheridan.
Gibbons v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Stokes.
Schilling v. Emilien.
Mesko v. Ortmann.
Cissoko v. Toussaint.

Posted under Football, Personnel

The Big Ten has announced times for the first three weeks of its teams’ seasons, and an additional one. Michigan’s games are as follows:

September 5 v. Western Michigan. 3:30, ABC.
September 12 v. Notre Dame. 3:30, ABC.
September 19 v. Eastern Michigan. 12, BTN.
October 31 @ Illinois 3:30 (2:30 local) ABC.

On top of that, we already know that the Iowa game will be played under the lights in Kinnick on ABC or ESPN.

Somewhat surprising that the Western game made it onto ABC, but I guess the network executives are expecting a pretty good game. The Notre Dame and Eastern times/channels are no-brainers.

I believe BTN rule is that each team must appear on the network 3 time during the season, with at least one of the appearances being a conference game. That leaves two games remaining in Michigan’s schedule that will be headed for BTN. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Indiana game, already announced to be played at noon, ends up there, especially if the Hoosiers are as bad as everyone (including me) predicts, and Michigan struggles to start the year.

That leaves (at least) one more game to be sent to the Big Ten Network, and Delaware State is a no-brainer for that one. If Purdue is as terrible as it appears they will be, the contest against the Boilermakers is likely to be sent there as well. Still, in a year that Michigan is expected to go through some growing pains, having 3 games already announced to be on ABC, another one (Iowa) likely, and Ohio State a mortal lock to be on netowrk is a pretty good accomplishment.

Posted under Football, Media

It seems that much news discussing the Michigan Lacrosse team eventually works its way to future D-1 status. Coach Paul and I talked about it on the Michigan Daily podcast last week, and now Operations Director Joe Hennessy is answering similar questions in the Free Press. He talks about the (previously-mentioned here) future facility:

We’re in the process of looking at doing a full reconstruction of Elbel Field. … We’re currently looking at converting that to our full-time field with FieldTurf and lacrosse lines. It would be open to other folks but with a new brick facade and limited access… Right by there, near the train tracks, on the opposite side of that we’re looking at building our own facility. It’ll house offices, with a weight room, a training room, locker rooms and laundry facilities. It’s a multimillion-dollar project.

It doesn’t sound like it’s as far along as I’d previously thought, in terms of regent approval, but the blueprints are certainly really cool.

And I didn’t intend for most of the post to be about this, but I guess that’s sometimes how life happens. Rebuttal to the rebuttal from Black Shoe Diaries. I was originally going to spend a bunch of time doing some actual research and perhaps journalism-like activities, but I decided I don’t care enough, and I’d just like to clear up a few things instead.

Most of the stupid arguing is over the Brother Rice dominance, which is pretty far from important to me. The only take-home point was that a theoretical Michigan varsity team would recruit from that school. That said, did Brother Rice win the Mythical Lacrosse National Championship in 2008? Per Black Shoe Diaries:

Other than this self promoting, unreferenced photo from the Brother Rice website, there isn’t any evidence any of this is even close to true.

Except, like, there is. Funny what typing “Brother Rice lacrosse championship” into Google will find you:

The Warriors went 23-0 last year and finished No. 1 in the STX/Inside Lacrosse national rankings.

Yes, Brother Rice definitely decreed from on high that they earned a national championship, and not some third-party organization. As far as the two previous years that Rice claimed National Titles, their veracity is certainly in question (ESPN:

The Warriors have won 11 of the last 13 state championships and five of the last eight Midwest titles. They’ve also gone undefeated three times since 2004, and there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight.

certainly doesn’t back up the claim, though it does speak to the fact that Rice is, almost without question, the dominant midwest team. The only indications I’ve seen of the previous two national titles do indeed come from Rice), and the details may not be quite right, but the point is the same: Rice is no slouch in the lacrosse world. Consistent top-25 finishes (even in down years) means that the school can compete. Are they always the best? Almost certainly not not, but that’s absolutely tangential to the point, that they produce D-1 prospects, and hopefully enough for Michigan to use a number of them to be competitive at the next level.

As far as the 13 D-1 players (and yes, saying “more than a D-1 team” was a joke: D-1 lacrosse teams are only permitted to grant 12.6 scholarships, which they give out in partials. The 13 Rice players moving on to D-1 will only get partial scholarships as well, of course). The 2008 team featured 11 D-1 players, and like I said, I can’t find the original article (from the Oakland Press circa late April if there are enterprising VB fans out there) about the 13 number from this year. In a rudimentary search of the internets (“brother rice lacrosse roster”), encompassing approximately 5 minutes, I found at least these players, with likely many more:

Class of ’08
Joey Fontanesi – Maryland
Michael Hamilton – Hofstra
Andrew Cote – Johns Hopkins

Class of ’09
Nick Dollik – Penn State
Danny Henneghan – Penn State
TJ Yost – Quinnipiac
Brian Walker – Yale

Lacrosse recruiting information is epically hard to find, and rather than scour the roster of every D-1 team to find Rice alumni, I think the point is made. Of course no lacrosse team is going to be fielded entirely of players from Michigan (just like even Maryland and Virginia’s teams are not composed entirely of native sons), but there is definitely some talent in the state. Don’t miss the forest for the trees here.

“There are probably some Michigan natives out east, I don’t feel like looking through any more rosters, but the point is a UM team would be competing with ND, OSU and perhaps PSU for midwest recruits and there simply aren’t enough to go around (and keep in mind they don’t stand a chance of picking up guys who Cuse, Hopkins or Maryland think are worth a phone call). “

That’s stupid. Of course no Michigan team would field a roster composed entirely of midwest players. I said as much in my original post. Thank you for making an asisnine statment, implicitly attributing it to me, and then rebutting it. Michigan would absolutely have to recruit the east coast, the same way they have been, with 16 current players on the roster who come from states that touch the Atlantic Ocean. Sure, as a new program, Michigan would probably have a ton of trouble recruiting, but as Brian mentioned last week, since when has Michigan struggled getting kids from New York to come here? With (potentially) some of the best facilities in the country, it wouldn’t take long for Michigan to build a respectable, though not Syracuse/Maryland/Hopkins-level recruiting ability.

Posted under Other Sports

Boubacar Cissoko is a sophomore cornerback who hails from Detroit’s Cass Tech High School. He gained some playing time in nickel packages last year as a true freshman, and will be expected to move into a starting role opposite Donovan Warren this season. He tallied 15 total tackles on the year, and should see that number increase dramatically with expanded playing time.

Fitzgerald Toussaint is an incoming freshman, one of 2 hailing from Youngstown, Ohio. In his senior season at Libery High School, he destroyed all comers through the first 8 games, before faltering slightly in his final few. Still, he rushed for over 200 yards, and is expected to be a good inside runner with breakaway speed for the Wolverines.

The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Tuesday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.

Other Open Polls:
Minor v. Sheridan.
Gibbons v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Stokes.
Schilling v. Emilien.
Mesko v. Ortmann.

Posted under Football, Personnel

As always, highlighted players are returning for 2009. If something’s not right, let me know in the comments.

Illinois Offense

QBs

Juice Williams returns for his senior year, after an up-and-down career so far. His backup, Eddie McGee, is a junior, and got extensive playing time in 2006.

Illinois QBs Passing 2008
Name	Comp	Att	%	Yds	TD	Int	Yds/Att
Juice Williams	219	381	57.48	3173	22	16	8.33
Eddie McGee	4	9	44.44	59	0	0	6.56

Illinois QBs rushing 2008
Name	Rush	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Juice Williams	175	719	5	4.11
Eddie McGee	14	83	0	5.93

Analysis

Williams has progressively gotten better over the course of his career. He was awful as a freshman, and good (when healthy) as a sophomore. As a junior, however, his inconsistency probably cost the Illini a game or two – and ultimately a trip to a bowl game. McGee has a different skill set than Williams, and is often considered the slightly better runner.

RBs

Daniel Dufrene returns as the starter for his senior campaign, and he’ll again be splitting time with sophomore Jason Ford. Fellow sophomore Mikel LeShoure will also get a number of carries. Sophomore Zach Becker will start at fullback once again.

Illinois RBs Rushing 2008
Name	Rush	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Daniel Dufrene	117	663	0	5.67
Jason Ford	81	294	8	3.63
Mikel LeShoure	35	126	1	3.60
Troy Pollard	6	37	1	6.17

Illinois RBs Receiving 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Daniel Dufrene	30	271	2	9.03
Jason Ford	9	79	0	8.78
Mikel LeShoure	6	66	0	11.00
Troy Pollard	2	10	0	5.00
Zach Becker (FB)	1	2	1	2.00

Analysis

A year after losing Rashard Mendenhall, the Illini had a few players step up and platoon to fill the void. They didn’t match his production (6.4 ypc!), but they did move the ball on the ground. The mobile quarterback certainly helps open up running lanes for RBs, and the group should continue to progress. Aside from Dufrene, this was a very young unit, so the other players may have improved dramatically.

Receivers

Junior Arrelious Benn. Enough said. Oh, also enormous senior Jeff Cumberland, and talented senior TE Michael Hoomanawanui. Replacing Will Judson will be something of a task, but the Illini have a number of younger players ready to step up.

Illinois Receivers Receiving 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rec
Arrelious Benn	67	1055	3	15.75
Will Judson	21	401	2	19.10
Jeff Cumberland	20	352	4	17.60
Michael Hoomanawanui (TE)	25	312	2	12.48
AJ Jenkins	11	287	3	26.09
Fred Sykes	12	156	1	13.00
Chris Duvalt	10	156	4	15.60
Hubie Graham (TE)	2	25	0	12.50
Alex Reavy	1	10	0	10.00
Chris James	1	1	0	1.00

Illinois Receivers Rushing 2008
Name	Rec	Yds	TD	Yds/Rush
Arrelious Benn	23	101	2	4.39
Jeff Cumberland	1	23	0	23.00
Chris Duvalt	1	-5	0	-5.00

Analysis

The Illinois receiving corps could really start and end will Arrelious Benn. He’s so physically talented that it’s unfair. However, he only ended up catching 3 touchdown passes last year, which is at least partially due to Juice’s inconsistency. Hoomanawanui came in for some praise by television crews last year, and Cumberland is an enormous target who insists on remaining at wideout, despite his 6-5, 255-lb stature.

Offensive Line

Xavier Fulton and Ryan McDonald depart from the front lines at Illinois, and left tackle Fulton was drafted by the NFL. The aptly-named Eric Block will return for his fifth year, and he’ll man the center position. True sophomore Jeff Allen started at right tackle for most of last year, which is rather impressive if you ask me. Fellow sophomore Corey Allen also played last year as a true freshman, and he’s expected to be the starting left tackle. True senior Jon Asamoah and redshirt junior Randall Hunt will man the guard positions.

Analysis

Fulton was good enough to get drafted, so losing him will hurt, especially replacing him with a relatively-inexperienced Corey Allen. The Illini have a really young OL, as their bookends will both be true sophomores. The line should take a slight step back from last year, but the results might not show on the field if Juice’s consistency can improve.

Offensive Analysis

The key to this offense is Juice Williams. If he can perform like the guy who ripped Michigan’s defense to shreds last year, the Illini should be able to put astronomical totals on many teams. If he plays like the guy who led his team to an embarrassing defeat to Western Michigan in Ford Field, the offense might be hurting. Arrelious Benn’s health could be important as well. He was outstanding as a freshman despite a chronic shoulder injury, and was perhaps even better last year, except for the ball actually getting to him most of the time. The run game is option-based, so the young offensive line won’t be as much of a liability as it would be for some teams, but it could still hold the offense back a bit. Still with all the playmakers on this team, if they can perform to expectations, it should be a pretty good year.

Illinois Defense

Defensive Line

Will Davis and Derek Walker depart from the defensive end positions, and Davis was god enough to earn a spot in the 6th round of the NFL draft. Those two will likely be replaced by redshirt junior Clay Nurse and redshirt senior Doug Pilcher. At tackle, David Lindquist has graduated, but true junior Josh Brent will still be manning the middle. He’ll likely be joined by true sophomore Corey Liuget in the starting lineup.

Illinois Defensive Line 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Fum	Int
David Lindquist	44	7.5	4	0	0
Will Davis	36	7	3.5	0	0
Josh Brent	34	8.5	1.5	0	0
Derek Walker	33	7	6	1	1
Corey Liuget	26	5	1.5	1	0
Doug Pilcher	21	6	2.5	0	0
Clay Nurse	9	1	1	0	0
Antonio James	5	1	1	0	0
Jerry Brown	4	0.5	0	0	0

Analysis

This is a position group that lost 3 of its 4 starters, one of whom was good enough to be selected in the NFL draft, and another of whom was just outside that range. A step back can be expected. The new defensive ends are not likely to be nearly as explosive as at least Davis. At tackle, David Lindquist had a bunch of tackles (rare for an interior lineman), so replacing his production might be something of a task. However, Liuget had good guru approval, and performed well in his playing time last year, so he might be able to perform comparably.

Linebackers

Brit Miller, best known for playing alongside the American Flag Tie Guy (J Leman) two years ago, has departed, and takes with him by far the most tackles on Illinois’s team. Rodney Pittman and Sam Carson also leave the corps, giving the Illini only one experienced player: Martez Wilson. Sophomore Russell Ellington and redshirt junior Dustin Jefferson were next on the team in tackles, but they were so far behind the top 4 players that their experience doesn’t give them a huge advantage over any of the other players on the roster.

Illinois Linebackers 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Fum	Int
Brit Miller	132	15.5	6	1	1
Martez Wilson	73	5.5	3	0	0
Rodney Pittman	53	3.5	1	0	0
Sam Carson III	36	3	0	0	0
Russell Ellington	8	0	0	0	0
Dustin Jefferson	5	0	0	0	0
Ian Thomas	4	0	0	0	0
Conor Gillen	3	0	0	0	0
Tad Keely	2	0	0	0	0

Analysis

Wilson was stabbed in a bar over the winter, so his conditioning probably didn’t advance as much as he wanted over the off-season. That said, he already started out as a very physically-gifted player, so it shouldn’t be a huge hindrance. The knock on him has been undisciplined play, so as the new leader of the linebacking corps, he’s going to have to be able to bring some consistency to the second level. The rest of the players are rather inexperienced, so Wilson might need to have an All-Big Ten type of year for the Illini to succeed, unless someone is able to step up and surprise.

Defensive Backs

Corner Vontae Davis departed early for the NFL, and replacing a first-rounder at corner is going to be a tough task for the Illinois defense. Redshirt junior safety Travon Bellamy will probably be the new leader of the Illinois defense, along with true senior Donsay Hardeman, who finished with the third most tackles in the secondary, despite missing 4 full games. Junior Bo Flowers will provide depth there. At corner, Dere Hicks will become the #1 guy as a true senior. The other corner spot us up for grabs, as there are almost no experienced players on the roster. I would assume sophomore Tavon Wilson is the guy there.

Illinois Defensive Backs 2008
Name	Tack	TFL	Sack	Int	Fum
Vontae Davis	78	7	0	2	0
Travon Bellamy	53	0	0	0	0
Donsay Hardeman	44	0.5	0	1	0
Dere Hicks	43	4	1	1	1
Bo Flowers	23	1	0	0	1
Nate Bussey	21	0	0	0	0
Garrett Edwards	20	0	0	0	0
Tavon Wilson	11	0.5	0	0	0
Supo Sanni	9	0	0	0	0
Antonio Gully	3	0	0	0	0
Cody Stunkard	3	0	0	0	0
Miami Thomas	3	0	0	0	0

Analysis

If the Illini can stay healthy, they should have a pretty good and experienced secondary, outside of the #2 corner. However, that could be an important position, as even with Vontae Davis last year the secondary was still subpar. Another year of experience should help, but the corner situation might be bordering on dire, unless one of the experienced safeties has the agility to play on the line of scrimmage.

Defensive Analysis

The Illini lost a lot on defense, and their two best players were both enough to make the NFL draft. The front seven was fairly decimated, and the secondary lost the player who was holding the whole thing together. Without a good pass rush, and without Vontae, the passing game could be a really serious achilles heel for this team. The linebacker situation also means it might not be particularly difficult to run on them, either, considering with seniors at linebacker and defensive line they were still well below average.

Special Teams

Placekicker Matt Eller was a redshirt freshman last year, and returns for another year booting field goals. Punter Anthony Santella will be a redshirt junior.

Illinois Kicking 2008
Name	XPM	XPA	%	FGM	FGA	%	Long
Matt Eller	39	41	95.12	15	20	75.00	51

Illinois Punting 2008
Name	Punt	Yds	Avg
Anthony Santella	53	2088	39.40
Matt Eller	1	35	35.00

Analysis

Eller and Santella were both average last year, though Santella was probably a little less good, considering he was 8th in the Big Ten in punting. Eller actually seemed to be better on long attempts, and rounded into form over the course of the year. With another year of experience (and likely a better offense), both specialists could be in line to have better years.

Overall Analysis

Consistency is the name of the game with this Illinois team. If Juice can stay consistent, the offense will be capable of putting up some big numbers. On defense, they are likely to really struggle. The offense will have to carry this team, and give the defense some help. Regardless of any improvement in yardage totals or efficiency, the Illini could see an improvement in record, considering they had an unlucky string of games that they probably had no business losing (WMU, Minnesota, Northwestern).

Posted under Analysis, Football

Zoltan Mesko enters his fourth year as Michigan’s starting punter (though he also split time with Ross Ryan in 2006), and is expected to be one of the top punters in the nation. The towering Romanian from Twinsburg, Ohio is among the more popular players on the Michigan team, primarily on account of his awesome name.

Mark Ortmann will enter his second year as Michigan’s starting left tackle, having replace #1 NFL draft pick Jake Long. Ortmann missed a game with injury last year, but played both tackle and guard along Michigan’s improving offensive line in 2008. If the Michigan rushing attack improves in 2009 as expected, Ortmann will turn in a strong year.

The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Monday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.

Other Open Polls:
Minor v. Sheridan.
Gibbons v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Stokes.
Schilling v. Emilien.

Posted under Football, Personnel

MGoBlue confirms the report on John DiLaura as well as introduces us to new commit Zach Johnson today.  This brings the recruiting class to 9 freshman.  For DiLaura, see our previous post.  As for Johnson, he’s listed as an infielder/right handed pitcher.  Google searching tells me he played  catcher in high school, so maybe we’re looking at third or first base in Ann Arbor.  To quote MGoBlue:

Johnson comes to the Wolverines after six varsity letters with one in football, two in baseball and three in basketball at Grandville. As a senior, he was named a first team all-conference and first team all-district baseball selection after leading the OK-Red League with a 2.21 earned run average and .550 batting average.

Sounds solid.  The article also mentions both players had fathers who played collegiate ball, DiLaura’s at Toledo, Johnson’s at State.

Still no word on the commitment status of Fields (6th round to Tigers), Dennis (10th to Rays), or Biondi (35th to Tigers).  I’m sure we’ll find out by September.

Posted under Baseball

Somewhat brief update today after the blitzkrieg of news last week. 2010 Recruiting Board.

Moved to committed:
OH CB Courtney Avery, onetime Stanford commit. Commitment post. Michigan offered him Thursday, and he committed Saturday. He’s seen at left tossing the rock as a highly prolific HS QB.

Michigan doesn’t seem to be high on the list of FL RB Roy Finch anymore. Oklahoma and Stanford appear to be his top two choices at this time, though he maintains that he is still open to everyone. Finch plans to make a commitment before his high school seaso kicks off.

FL WR Kenny Shaw, the former high school teammate of Ricardo Miller at Dr. Phillips High School, is still favoring the Florida State Seminoles. He’s had them on top for quite some time, and is expected to end up in Tallahassee.

Removed NC WR Anthony Creecy, who committed to NC State.

FL OL Torrian Wilson visited Michigan last week for a pretty long stay. I don’t expect him to make a decision any time soon, but it does appear a though the Wolverines are still in a pretty strong position.

SC OL Eric Mack seems to be heading towards a commitment to South Carolina. In nearly every article, he mentions that he’s excited at the prospect of playing with several of his former teammates, should he choose the Gamecocks. Still, Mack intends to wait until Signing Day before making a decision, so schools will have plenty of time to get back into his recruitment.

Removed OH OL Dakota Anderson, who committed to Ball State.

MI DT Jonathan Hankins came to Michigan’s summer camp looking to ern an offer from the Wolverines, and prove that he was getting his body into good shape. However, as Sam Webb reprts on the WTKA recruiting roundup, Hankins’ conditioning was still not what the Wolverine coaches were looking for, and he might have to keep waiting to maybe earn that offer.

SC DE Brandon Willis from Byrnes (the same school as 5* RB Marcus Lattimore) will be releasing a top 5 list sometime this week. Neither Clemson nor South Carolina will be on it, and though I’d be moderately surprised if Michigan makes his final 5, the Wolverines did get a shout out in the article, which means there’s maybe a slightly better chance than I give them credit for.

FL CB Lorenza Wood will announce a decision on Friday between Michigan, Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech. Though he was once a Michigan lead, conventional wisdom now has him committing to the Irish. He also has a ridiculous plan for his commitment:

Apopka cornerback Lo Wood’s father — Lo Wood Sr. — told the Sentinel on Tuesday night (June 16) that his son will make his college football commitment on June 26, and he won’t know who it will be until his son tells him the night before.

At that time, Lo Jr. and Lo Sr. fly to the city of the school of the younger Woods’ choice, and they make the announcement on campus.

Having fun buying plane tickets on, like, an hour’s notice.

Removed FL CB Lamarcus Joyner, who has officially narrowed his list of suitors to Ohio State, Florida State, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.

MI P Mike Sadler and FL P Brandon Tarpley each excelled at Michigan’s kicking camp over the weekend. If Michigan looks to extend an offer to a kicking specialist (which they probably will with Zoltan graduating after 2009) it will probably be one of these guys. I won’t add them to the board, because there’s not a listing for punters on it.

In a bit of 2009 news:
Incoming freshman RB Fitzgerald Toussaint participated in the Annual Big 33 Classic, in which he helped lead his Ohio team to a 38-31 victory over Pennsylvania. Toussaint, Michigan’s only commit playing in the game, caught 1 pass for 54 yards and a touchdown, and ran 4 times for 11 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown.

Posted under Football, Recruiting