The Recruiting Board can be found here.

The Wolverines have offered MN OL Seantrel Henderson the chance to play basketball during the offseason, one of several schools offering him the chance to do so in order to lure him to their teams. While we’re discussing Henderson, take a look at this hilariously oblivious article on his recruitment. Money quote: “USC may be the dark horse.”

I won’t add him to the board quite yet, but keep an eye on FL OL Ed Christian. He is a Florida State commit, but of the super-soft variety. He’ll take visits during the season, and likes the South Carolina Schools along with Michigan and Tennessee.

Removed SC OL Eric Mack, who hadn’t seemed interested in Michigan for a while. He’s now committed to South Carolina.

Removed FL OL Chaz Green (seen at left), who has what amounts to a final 4 of Florida, USC, Georgia, and Ohio State. He had planned to make a summer commitment, but wants a chance to visit the Trojans and Buckeyes, which may delay his decision. Doesn’t sound like any other schools have a serious shot to get back into the mix for him.

NC DT/DE Gabe King has narrowed his list to an approximate top group, which does not include Michigan. I’ll leave him on the board a little longer until it’s a firm final list of schools.

Removed NC DE Prince Shembo. He’s down to a top 4 (info in header), and hasn’t been a major prospect of interest with Michigan so far this year. It think it’s fairly obvious that the Wolverines aren’t in that final list.

Removed LA DE Jordan Allen. He committed to LSU.

Removed SC DE Corey Miller, who committed to Florida State.

Removed OH DE Darryl Baldwin, now an Ohio State Buckeye.

Michigan is in the top 6 for CT LB Khairi Fortt. He’s soon to visit Georgia, and if they’re up to snuff, the Bulldogs will make the list. Otherwise, he’ll probably be down to a top 5. That leaves Michigan as one of the few schools he likes that, if I’m remembering correctly, he has not visited. He plans a summer Michigan visit, and only plans to take 3 official visits, likely to schools on his list that he hasn’t yet seen. Fortt plans to enroll early at his school of choice in January.

OH LB Jewone Snow is still waiting on a Michigan offer. Unless Michigan plans to fill out the defensive class with really highly-rated guys, it seems like he should be a shoo-in. He’s a middle linebacker (a major position of need), he’s a Michigan legacy (son of Garland Rivers), and has a younger teammate who may be the top prospect in Ohio (2011 DE Steve Miller). If the Wolverines were to eventually offer, it seems like they’d have a pretty good shot at Snow.

PA S Brandon Ifill is planning to visit Michigan by the end of the month (info in header). Despite not having visited Ann Arbor yet, Ifill lists Michigan in his top two, along with Maryland. Would a very good visit convince him that he’s ready to commit?

Sam Webb Detroit News fluff on FL CB Tony Grimes. An article entitled “Michigan will be ‘tough to beat'” probably bodes lots of good quotes for Wolverine fans:

“For me to already have a good connection with Coach Hopson is a big plus.”

“Man, there ain’t nothing like the Big House — let me say that right now,” Grimes said. “It was even bigger than I thought it would be.”

“Michigan is going to be tough to beat,” he said. “It’s a great program. The networking is on point at Michigan and the alumni system is amazing. The coaching staff is building something great over there.”

To date, Grimes has scheduled only one of his five official visits. He plans to return to Ann Arbor for the Sept. 12 matchup against Notre Dame. The remainder of his itinerary is a work in progress.

From the way he effusively speaks about Michigan, that Notre Dame official visit may be a pretty good time to look for a potential commitment from Grimes. Scouting report:

“He is considered by some to be (Florida’s) most physical corner,” said Scout.com Florida analyst Geoff Vogt. “He will beat receivers up mentally and physically, and he does not get beat one-on-one. He has the ability to mirror receivers all over the field and he will come up in the run game and make his presence felt. He doesn’t have lights-out speed, but he is physical, and his competitiveness just can’t be taught.”

He also has decent height for a corner (which I guess is predictable for a guy whose physicality is his most praised attribute). The lack of elite speed may be a question mark, but Michigan already has super-speedy guys like Boubacar Cissoko and Courtney Avery, so a couple taller corners might be in order anyway. lance at UMGoBlog also rounds up a bunch of the available information on Grimes, including video:

Added FL CB Eric Mitchell. This Scout header is particularly revealing: he visited Michigan over the summer, and the Wolverines stand in his top 5 along with Ole Miss, South Florida, Vandy, and Louisville. To the best of my knowledge, he does not yet hold a Michigan offer.

Removed FL CB Travis Bell, who has committed to West Virginia.

Removed FL CB Spencer Boyd, who (as predicted) committed to Notre Dame over the weekend.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Somewhat-explanatory fluff on SC QB Commit Cornelius Jones. Sounds like he was running with the wrong crew within the past couple years, but has turned himself around:

“I realized I wasn’t going to do anything with my life if I was to keep going on the road I was going,” he said. “I got in touch with one of my positive friends, and he took me to coach Brown. He gave me a chance, and I’ve been running with it every since.”

“He came into my office one day and said he was told he couldn’t play football at Spartanburg anymore,” Brown said. “He wanted to know if that policy still stood after I took the job. He didn’t have any prior discipline reports and had a 3.7 GPA, so I knew that this was a kid that had been doing what he was supposed to do.”

With the scant amount of football he’s played, there’s a ton of upside with Cornelius, and Michigan fans should be excited to have him in the same class as Devin Gardner. Better still, it seems as though any potential character issues are firmly in his past, and Michigan will get an upstanding citizen as well. Also, there’s now a highlight video of Cornelius available. Alas, Youtube version has already been taken down, so click through and enjoy.

Removed OH QB Derek Roback. He’s down to a final 3 (info in header), and since Michigan never showed any interest in him, it’s pretty clear they aren’t among th finalists.

MI RB Austin White has set an announcement date (info in header). It’s coming up soon, and considering that Michigan had been deemed the leader for Austin within the past few days, it’s highly likely he’ll be pledging to the Wolverines. Keep an eye on Austin in the near future.

Michigan doesn’t seem to be heavily involved with Denard Robinson and Adrian Witty‘s teammate, RB Cassius McDowell. However, if their recruiting does shake out quite the way they’ve planned, he’s definitely a strong possibility for Michigan. In the past, he has spoken of being interested in the Wolverines. Video from McDowell’s junior season:

Cassius McDowell from SoFLAfootball.com on Vimeo.

Removed IN RB Roderick Smith. He committed to Ohio State last week, which I neglected to mention in the last recruiting update.

OH WR Tyrone Williams is likely to commit to Ohio State sometime soon (info in header).

Removed FL WR/DB Kadron Boone. He has a top 9 that he’s looking to trim into a final 5 sometime soon. Michigan is not on said list.

Removed IL TE CJ Fiedorowicz, who committed to Illinois. He hadn’t been prominently listing Michigan.

Fluff on SC OL Eric Mack, with no Michigan mention. It appears as though he wants to play his college ball in the South, looking at the teams he does talk about. He will not commit to any school until after his senior season.

Removed OH OL Travis Jackson, who committed to Michigan State.

Removed NJ OL Dante Weaver, who committed to Temple.

I left him on the recruiting board because I figured he may take visits, and that appears to indeed be the case for Cal commit TX DT Jay Guy (info in header). Michigan is among his offers, but it’s unclear whether that interest is reciprocated on his end. If so, an official visit may be in order.

Michigan is in the top 6 for PA DT Sharrif Floyd. If the Wolverines can get him on campus, he could be the answer to defensive line recruiting woes over the past two classes. As an added bonus, Penn State (regarded to be his favorite) already has two defensive tackles committed, making Michigan a much more attractive option.

Ohio DE Darryl Baldwin plans to make a college commitment by the end of the week. Though Michigan was strong for him early in the recruiting process, I think most analysts are expecting him to end up elsewhere, probably Ohio State.

Fluff on CT LB Khairi Fortt. He has a Michigan visit in his plans for the summer, and he’s hoping to narrow his list of scholarship offers to about 10 by the end of the month. He won’t announce a final decision until during his senior season, however.

Surprise, surprise. FL LB Christian Jones favors Florida State. He has a list of top schools (which doesn’t include Michigan) and plans to make a tour of unofficial visits to several colleges this summer. If that trip happens without a stop in Ann Arbor, or any other indication that the Wolverines are in the running, I’ll remove him from the board.

Removed GA LB Tyrone Cornileus, who has a final four of Gerogia Tech, Miami of Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Removed OH LB Cameron Ontko, who committed to Wisconsin. His brief stay on the board comes to an abrupt end.

CA S Sean Parker will visit Michigan for an official this fall, though he’s not sure exactly when that will be.

FL CB Keion Payne counts Michigan among his offers, but it doesn’t appear that Michigan is one of the schools that has a good chance to land him. It appears as though Miami of Florida and Ohio State (if they offer) are his leaders.

2011 FL RB Demetrius Hart “has favorites” (info in header). We’ll use the mighty VB cryptography kit to decipher who that might be: 1) This article is posted on TheWolverine, therefore Michigan must be among the favorites 2) The article is written by a TheWolverine staff writer, confirming the conclusion of part 1, and implying that Michigan likely leads. Hart has said in the past that he’d probably commit to Michigan as soon as he can get an offer in writing (September 1st, for the record), so this information is not surprising.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

2010 Recruiting Board. Big update today. Hopefully everything from the last week can get taken care of in the next update.

Fluff on LA QB Terrance Broadway. There’s no Michigan mention, and it appears as though Michigan probably isn’t pursuing him. Broadway is on the fringe of being removed from the board.

Removed OH QB Dwight Macon. He named a top 3 of Ball State, Toledo, and Bowling Green. It appears at this time that he’s probably a MAC-level talent, and of no further interest to Michigan fans.

Michigan is likely to make the next cut for FL RB Brandon Gainer (info in header).

Removed GA RB Kendrun Malcome, who committed to Georgia. Malcome wasn’t a great prospect of interest to Michigan fans, but the Wolverines may feel a ripple effect. Georgia has been the leader for FL RB Eduardo Clements for some time, with Michigan not far behind. Malcome joins 2009 commit Washaun Ealey in the Dawgs’ backfield, and the crowded situation may help the Wolverines look a little more attractive in comparison.

Removed OH RB Braylon Heard, who’s headed to West Virginia.

Removed PA RB Dom Timbers. He committed to Syracuse, and was likely not a Michigan-caliber recruit.

Removed FL WR James Louis. He’s narrowed down to a final 4 that does not include Michigan.

Removed PA WR Andrew Carswell. He committed to Pittsburgh.

Removed FL OL Chaz Green. He’s only focusing on 5 main schools. With a planned decision by the end of summer, that doesn’t give Michigan enough time to try to get back into this one.

OH DT Terry Talbott plans to take all 5 official visits before committing to any school. By the way, he and his (non-twin) brother Terrance happen to attend the same school as QB Braxton Miller, probably Ohio’s top prospect in the class of 2011.

Removed FL DT Richard Ash, who has now been offered by USC. Since USC and Florida were his dream offers, and he has them both now, look for one of those two schools to land the Pahokee product. His early commitment (August 28th) doesn’t give Michigan much time to get back into this one, either.

Sam Webb Detroit News fluff on MI DE CJ Olaniyan. Of note: He’s close to setting a top-5 list, and Michigan is one of the 5-6 schools he’s already visited. the Wolverines look to have a chance for his top list. However, with the way defensive end recruiting has gone so far this season, I’d be surprised if he ultimately ended up in blue.

Removed GA DE Henry Anderson, who picked Stanford.

Added OH LB Cameron Ontko, who is “hearing from Michigan” (info in header).

Removed FL LB Zachery Allen. The Pahokee product (probably Michigan’s last best hope for a Blue Devil in the class of 2010) picked Wake Forest.

The somewhat-odd saga of MI LB/DE Andy Phillips came to an end last week. Early in the week, he said “if I’m going to play MAC ball, I’m going to play at CMU” ($). He was still seeking out better offers, but by the weekend, he was ready to play MAC ball for CMU. I’ve removed him from the board.

Removed MI S Earnest Thomas, who committed to UCLA. He never received much attention from Michigan, but it seems as though he blossomed into a better prospect than many were expecting. In other Orchard Lake St. Mary’s news, QB Robert Bolden, who has already been removed from the recruiting board, is announcing a decision on Friday, likely for Penn State.

FL CB Tony Grimes has set up his official visit to Ann Arbor (info in header). Forthcoming: free news on when that visit actually is.

MI CB Dior Mathis now favors Oregon and Michigan State over the Wolverines. Since Michigan had long been considered the favorite, that’s a bad thing, but there’s plenty of time to get back in the forefront of this Cass Tech player’s radar. Mathis will decide after his senior season, and plans to enroll early at his school of choice.

Sparty fluff on MI P Mike Sadler, who is one of the three kicking specialists Michigan is looking at heavily for this class (WI P Will Hagerup is the only one who has been offered at this point). Also mentioned is OH LB Jewone Snow. Michigan has yet to offer, but does have a family connection in their favor, as he’s the son of Garland Rivers. I wouldn’t be upset if the Wolverines offered for two reasons 1) He’s at MLB, a position of need, and 2) It could only help in recruiting his 2011 teammate, DE Steve Miller.

…and that seems like a perfect transition to talk a little 2011 recruiting and Miller. Video interview (HT: UMGoBlog):

Miller has visited Ann Arbor, but he says that Ohio State was his dream school growing up. If this Michigan coaching staff wants to get truly serious about recruiting, they’ll have to start beating the Buckeyes for prospects from Ohio. Going hard after Miller might be a good way to start getting that going. Steve already holds a Michigan offer.

Since the 2010 recruiting class is already starting to take shape, the 2011 recruiting board should be ready to debut any time. I’ll unleash it on the publis whenever the Wolverines get their first verbal commit for the class of 2011 (which may be coming soon, according to some insiders).

Posted under Football, Recruiting

2010 Michigan Recruiting Board.

OH QB Caleb Watkins appears to be a MAC-level talent. With that in mind, along with the fact that the Wolverines already have two quarterbacks committed, he’s ready to be removed from the board.

Josh Helmholdt says in the Free Press that which has already been internet scuttlebutt for quite some time: MI RB Austin White has been a Michigan lean since early this spring. The rest of the article is mediocre at best, with the general idea being “MSU is way better because they signed 12 guys from the state of Michigan last year,” but, like, Michigan only wanted maybe 304 of them, so what’s the point?

FL RB Eduardo Clements counts Michigan among his top 3 with Georgia and Miami. He plans an additional pair of official visits to Tennessee and South Florida.

FL RB Giovanni Bernard seems to have eliminated Michigan from the running:

“I have it nailed down to my nine right now. I don’t know exactly when I’ll make my choice, maybe make my one school decision around signing day. I’m just really trying to enjoy this, really concentrate on the schools I’m wanting to go to and at the same time concentrate on football. Right now, the nine schools are Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, FSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Notre Dame, and Nebraska.”

I’ll leave him on the board just a little while longer until it can be confirmed he’s naming a final 9, rather than just a top 9. He plans to announce his commitment near Signing Day.

GA RB Mack Brown will be announcing his decision in July, and is down to two choices (info in header). Since Michigan hasn’t been involved in his recruitment lately, it’s probably safe to assume that the Wolverines won’t be his choice. That’s reason enough for me to remove him from the board.

Removed GA RB Kendrun Malcome, who committed to UGa.

Removed MI RB Nick Hill, who committed to Michigan State. Actually, he was a guy who reeeally wanted a Michigan offer, so I’ll leave him on the board just a bit longer.

Removed PA RB Dom Timbers, who committed to Syracuse.

Fluff on LA WR Trovon Reed, about losing his mother this spring. Reed is a prototypical slot receiver, and part of a potential mega-package including TX RB Lache Seastrunk. With these factors in mind, it’s hard to imagine a reason that the Michigan staff hasn’t heavily pursued him, and instead went for players like Tony Drake and Drew Dileo. There’s always the chance that they know something we don’t, but doesn’t it seem like they didn’t even give top-ranked guys a chance? Michigan isn’t mentioned in the article, and Reed is soon to be long gone from the board.

FL WR Chris Dunkley doesn’t seem to be too high on Michigan anymore (if he ever really was):

“I like West Virginia, I like Florida, Florida State. I like Ohio State, I like USC, and I like Georgia. That’s not in any order I’m just naming schools off the top of my head.”

Since that’s not an official list at this time, I’ll leave him on the board. He plans to announce his decision during the Under Armour All American game in January.

Removed OH OL Taylor Miller, who committed to Toledo.

GA DT Michael Thornton has received a Michigan offer (info in header). His alleged excitement about it is more likely to be headline writing rather than an indication of his actual interest, though, so don’t think he’ll be committing to Michigan any time soon.

OH DT Jibreel Black has selected Indiana. This is only a moderate surprise, since his brother Larry already plays for the Hoosiers. However, Jibreel had a much more impressive offer sheet than his brother coming out of high school, including teams like Michigan and Michigan State. I wouldn’t put it past this Michigan staff to give Black one more big push. If they don’t, I’ll remove him from the board.

GA DE Henry Anderson was considering a Michigan visit this week:

Clemson and South Carolina will make the cut with DE/OL Henry Anderson (6-6, 245) of College Park, Ga., when he gets down to a final 10 this week. Anderson said last week Georgia Tech, Stanford and Virginia also will be on the list. He will visit Wisconsin on Tuesday and might see Michigan while he’s up in that area.

No word on whether he actually made it, but if he did, the Wolverines are likely to be on that top 10 list. When it is revealed to a free source, we’ll know if Michigan is still under consideration.

In your occasional 2011 snippet, Bucknuts guru Bill Kurelic thinks that 2011 OH CB Greg Brown might be committing to Michigan sometime soon. Brown has been favoring Michigan for a while now (though it had been thought that OSU was making a play for him this spring), and received an offer from the coaching staff following Michigan’s camp.

Whenever Michigan gets its first 2011 commit, the 2011 recruiting board will debut. If you know of anyone who should be on it, let me know in the comments or by e-mail.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

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

2010 Michigan Wolverines Recruiting Board.

Moved PA DE/LB Ken Wilkins to committed. Commitment post. Local paper article. I didn’t really want to, but I’ll have to fisk:

The word on Wilkins? Well, a good source at Trinity who knows the football program well said Wilkins is talented, but isn’t as athletic as  Andrew Sweat, a Trinity linebacker two seasons ago who is now at Ohio State. “He doesn’t have the agility that Sweat had,” the source said.

Wow, a defensive end doesn’t have the same agility as a linebacker. You deserve a medal for figuring that one out, guy.

More Nike Camp recap from Josh Helmholdt in the Free Press. Relevant players include MI QB commit Devin Gardner:

the 6-5, 210-pound Gardner is dual-threat quarterback and many of his best attributes are not showcased in a non-contact camp setting. Still, Gardner showed that he has spent a good portion of the offseason working on his passing. His footwork is vastly improved and even though he still has an atypical throwing motion, he was able to make all the throws and did so with adequate arm strength and accuracy.

Livonia Stevenson’s Austin White took home the MVP honors at the running back position with considerable ease. The 6-1, 185-pound White was nearly unstoppable in the one-on-one portion of the camp, using his speed to outrun would-be defenders. White’s footwork and agility in the drills portion of the camp also solidified his MVP honors.

Although they did not take home MVP honors, Southeastern defensive linemen Johnathon Hankins and William Gholston both had good performances, too. The 6-3, 320-pound Hankins has put a lot of work into his conditioning this offseason and it showed in his performance Saturday. The 6-7, 240-pound Gholston is the state of Michigan’s top ranked prospect and his combination of size, speed and athleticism is hard to find anywhere in the country.

Other standout performers for the state of Michigan included Saginaw class of 2011 wide receiver DeAnthony Arnett, Inkster running backs/safeties Daniel and Nathan Lindsey, Ypsilanti Willow Run defensive tackle Garret Davis, Warren Fitzgerald linebacker Austin Gray, Cass Tech athlete Daniel Easterly, Lansing Sexton quarterback Taurean Jackson and Hartland 2011 wide receiver Matt Poches.

Removed OK AB/WR DeMarco Cobbs. He’s down to a top 8, which Michigan is nowhere near. He also plans to go down to a top five soon, so there’s little room to sneak onto his top list.

Shortly after a visit to Michigan for the Big House BBQ, and slightly opening the door on his recruitment, OH TE Alex Smith (seen at left) has fully decommitted from Cincinnati. Michigan will probably among the favorites to land his signature, as he’s been on campus multiple times. If they’re able to land Smith, it would certainly help with his teammate, LB Jordan Hicks. Hicks is one of the top linebacker prospects in the nation, and plans to graduate early. He has a top 6 list that he plans to reveal in short order. Ohio State and Texas are locks to be on the list, and Cincinnati will probably make it as well. Your guess is as good as mine for the last three.

MD OL Arie Kouandjio has landed a coveted Ohio State offer, and considering how selective they can be with offensive line recruits (though the results may not be there over the past two years), it certainly means he’s kind of a big deal. He plans to narrow his scholarship offers to a top five by the time his senior season rolls around.

Speaking of OL prospects (and one Michigan has a much better shot with), FL OL Torrian Wilson has modified his top 5, removing Tennessee in favor of… FIU? Lol Kiffin and whatnot. Alabama, Stanford, and Miami of Florida are the others in his favorites list, along with the Wolverines.

OH DE Darryl Baldwin is likely staying close to home when he ultimately selects a school. Though that immediately makes one think he’s likely to be a Buckeye, that’s certainly not set in stone. The original quote from his coach was “Everybody across the country was interested in him, but he’s a Midwest guy and he’s leaning towards staying close to home.” That sounds a bit more positive for coaches across the midwest, no?

Video fluff on FL LB Christian Jones. He still sounds like he’s going to Florida State, so I wouldn’t give him tooooo much thought.

I just added him Monday, but don’t expect GA LB Tyrone Cornileus to stay on the board long. He has a top 3-ish substance without Michigan in it, and he plans to make a commitment within a month.

MI S/LB Daniel Easterly will camp at Michigan in hopes to land an offer from the Wolverines. He hails from the developing Michigan pipeline of Cass Tech.

Removed LA S Ronnie Vinson, who committed to LSU. He spoke early about really liking Michigan, partially due to a connection to Adam Kraus. However, he hadn’t mentioned the Wolverines in a while, and was probably no longer a realistic option.

Added OH twins DT Terry Talbott and CB Terrence Talbott. Michigan has offered both of the brothers (info in header).

This may be weird coming from me, but how about some hoops-related recruiting news? 2009 commit Darius Morris will report to Ann Arbor on June 22 for enrollment in summer classes (info in header).

This update is getting FULL. The rest of the info will be saved for a Monday update.

Posted under Basketball, Football, Recruiting

2010 Michigan Wolverines Recruiting Board.

Moved to Committed: OH OL Christian Pace (seen at left). Commitment post. Pace also plans an early enrollment at Michigan.

Big House Barbecue fluff from Josh Helmholdt in the Free Press. Boilerplate stuff.

Fluff on FL QB Jeffrey Godfrey of the “he’s a QB even though he’s 5-11” variety. Godfrey has been told he’s not a QB his whole life, etc. Not to completely discard the article (despite the fact that it was clearly written by someone who should have a job writing things), but Godfrey really sounds like the type of guy Michigan would want to bring in, give a shot at QB for a year or two, then move to a different position down the road.

SC RB Marcus Lattimore and TX RB Lache Seastrunk thoroughly enjoyed their visits to Auburn last weekend (along with seemingly every prospect south of the Mason-Dixon Line), and both are extreme longshots, especially with Lattimore trimming his list to 8 non-Michigan schools earlier this week. Still no word on whether he intends to take the official visit for the Ohio State weekend as he had planned, so I’ll leave him on the list for now. Seastrunk has stated in no uncertain terms that he’ll probably end up playing his college football on the Plains, barring unforeseen developments.

FL RB Darion Hall is talented, but “needs to mature on and off the field.” With the Wolverines already filling up at running back in this class, I would be surprised if they took a guy who might be a risky prospect. He was suspended for half of his school’s spring game.

Prospective future Wolverine Torrian Wilson (who, in the past, has named the Wolverines his favorite and still has them in his top 5) has been selected to the ESPNU-Under Armour All-American Game.

After cutting down his list earlier this week, MN OL Seantrel Henderson, who is at or near the top of most prospect lists, has started planning out some summer visits. He plans to stop by Michigan for sure, possibly for summer camp. While we’re on the subject, let’s look at the reasons that coaches so covet Henderson:

With Michigan visits both in his past and future, the Wolverines are likely among his top schools.

It appears as though the bridges between Tennesse and Pahokee may be on the mend. FL DT Richard Ash has the Volunteers near the top of his list, despite the disparaging remarks made about his hometown by UT headman Lane Kiffin. However, the Gators definitely still lead for the big man from the muck.

Added LA DT Harold Legania. No word as yet on particular interest from Michigan but he may be a prospect down the road. He is a high school teammate of QB prospect Munchie LeGeaux at Edna Carr high school, and the Wolverines might be interested in a package deal for players at two positions of need.

Previously-removed IL DE Chance Carter says he’s only considering Notre Dame, Stanford, and Nebraska, but might also give the Wolverines some consideration if they offer him. With the current players committed (Antonio Kinard, Jordan Paskorz) or on their way to being committed (Ken Wilkins – see below), I don’t see him getting an offer, so I’ll leave him off the board.

OH DE Marcus Rush, who was previously believed to be heavily favoring Michigan, is approaching a decision (info in header). Considering that development came shortly after visiting Ann Arbor for the Big House Barbecue, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was still feeling the Wolverines – enough to commit. However, with several DE/LB tweeners already in the class, I don’t know if there would be room for him at this point.

MI LB/DE William Gholston has named a top-9 list that includes Michigan (along with Michigan State, Ohio State, USC, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Miami of Florida, and Oklahoma). Still, for some odd reason, I’m not holding my breath.

PA LB Ken Wilkins has set a date for his college announcement: Next Tuesday. Wilkins was in town for the Big House Barbecue, and reportedly enjoyed himself immensely. He is expected to pick Michigan at that time.

VA LB Aramide Olaniyan, despite his Duke commitment, is still saying positive things about the Wolverines. I’d left him on the board for the time being, and it seems as though that decision was justified. He’s planning to take other visits, so we’ll see if anything comes of it.

Fluff article on various DBs in Florida, including FL CB Tony Grimes, a recent visitor to Ann Arbor for the Big House BBQ:

“If they try to throw to my side, I’m going to come down with the ball and make a play on it for my team,” Hollywood Hills cornerback Tony Grimes said. Along with a physical style of play and ball-hawking skills, Grimes brings leadership as well. Hollywood Hills coach Scott Barnwell has noticed the impact it has had on his team.

“With his leadership and having a person of that caliber, these kids pick up their game also and they get to see all of the different college recruiters coming out, and it just raises the level of everyone’s game, which for the team is tremendous,” Barnwell said.

Though the Michigan visit (and a planned return in the fall) seem to bode well for Michigan, that may be more of a pipe dream, as the Hurricanes of Miami are expected to be a heavy favorite.

Michigan has offered SC CB John/Johnavon Fulton. The offer has helped them vault towards the forefront of his recruitment (info in header). However, he still really likes Alabama, and the Wolverines are definitely in catch-up mode.

From Bill Kurelic at ESPN: IL WR Kyle Prater, IA QB AJ Derby, and MI CB/Slot Dior Mathis are all planning to take all 5 of their official visits before coming to decisions. This might leave Mathis and perhaps Derby out of luck, but Michigan would probably make room for Prater if he ultimately decided on the Wolverines.

And now, for the latest edition of your intermittent 2011 recruiting updates: Sam Webb brings the fluff on 2011 MI WR DeAnthony Arnett from Saginaw, seen at right. The Wolverines were the first school to offer Arnett, a true WR with the ability to play slot (think more Je’Ron Stokes than Jeremy Gallon), and are considered the likely favorite for his services. He’s also taken southward trips recently, to camps such as Tennessee, so this will be no cakewalk to land DeAnthony, and Michigan will have to work to earn a commitment from him.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

For the second year in a row, the Michigan Wolverines will be hosting a “Barbecue at the Big House” recruiting event, of which the title is self-explanatory. For those of you who haven’t quite gotten the picture, Josh Helmholdt explains in the Free Press, and includes a couple expected visitors who aren’t on other free lists: FL CB Tony Grimes and OH OL Christian Pace (pictured at left). The guest list is rarely definite for recruiting events, but let’s take a look at some of the other expected visitors, courtesy of Rivals’s Mike Farrell:

Among those expected to attend include committed linebacker Antonio Kinard, defensive backs Latwan Anderson and Cullen Christian, linebacker Ken Wilkins, offensive linemen Skyler Schofner and Andrew Donnal, running backs Tony Jones and Andre Givens, defensive ends Jibreel Black and Marcus Rush and wide receivers Brandon Ifill and Andrew Carswell. This is, of course, in addition to the majority of the top prospects in the state of Michigan.

Others have mentioned possibly making it in to Ann Arbor for the event:

• NJ RB Tony Jones will be making it in (not to be confused with the MI WR by the same name).
• William Gholston will attend.
• OH LB Jewone Snow will be there, and may bring along a couple teammates – including star 2011 DE Steve Miller.
• Bill Kurelic shares that a couple more Ohio guys, including Pace’s teammate, TE Dan Schneider (who Michigan might even be looking at as an offensive tackle) and TE Brad Harrah, should be in attendance.

As Farrell mentioned, expect many of the top in-state players from Michigan and some from Ohio, especially those who are already committed to Michigan, or live in close proximity. Jeremy Jackson is a mortal lock to be there, Devin Gardner will likely show, etc.

The Wolverines also may be receiving a verbal commitment or two over the weekend. Cullen Christian, Marcus Rush, and Ken Wilkins have maintained Michigan as their favorites for some time. Some are surprised that none have dropped for Michigan yet, and Ken Wilkins told mgoblog’s Tom Van Haaren that he might commit to the Wolverines at the first opportunity.

Stay tuned.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

2010 Michigan Wolverines Recruiting Board.

Moved to committed: PA DE/LB Jordan Paskorz. Commitment Post.

Let’s get started with the bad news. For those who were harboring some hope that the Wolverines would be able to steal MI LB William Gholston from the Spartans, it might be time to think again. Take a look at the outfit that the young Mr. Gholston wore to prom (HT: The Only Colors):

So, yeah. Spartans lead. Gholston, despite his frequent trips to ann Arbor, has made even more frequent trips to East Lansing. His high school coach at Detroit Southeastern is allegedly in the pocket of Mark Dantonio, and Gholston grew up a Michigan State fan. All of these factors certainly add up as circumstantial evidence that the Spartans are likely to be the favorite to land Gholston. It’s certainly too early to give up all hope, but it’s probably time to temper some expectations, methinks. It’s unfortunate that he’ll end up moving to defensive end when he gets to East Lansing, when Michigan is offering him the opportunity to remain at linebacker, but there are certainly several factors at play in his recruitment. You can’t get ’em all, so unless he indicates that Michigan still has a definite chance, we’ll kindly move along from Big Will II.

Some offensive soul-searching for the Florida offense in the wake of the Tebow Child’s eventual departure. Michigan isn’t particularly strong with any of the QBs mentioned in the article (TN Barry Brunetti, CA Jesse Scroggins, GA Marcus Smith, and IA AJ Derby – the most realistic prospect in the bunch), but Florida’s schemes will certainly affect their recruiting in this and future classes, which will likely have a domino effect on Michigan, as well.

Speaking of QBs, time to remove one of Michigan’s potential second options from the board: TX QB Jeremy Johnson has finally committed to West Virginia.

In other QB news, FL QB Christian Green has released a top 6, with Michigan nowhere to be found. He’s expressed interest in moving to wideout in college (which would actually be good for Michigan, assuming he’d be willing to play quarterback for at least one year), and seems to be very into Florida State. If I used MGoIcons, he’d get a Nefarious Eduardo up in this joint.

Sam Webb Detroit News fluff on CA RB Brennan Clay:

“I’m open to all the schools right now,” he said. “I’ve told them all that I don’t have a favorite yet and I’m showing them all interest. I’m gonna announce my top 10 before the season starts. I want to take a few official visits and hopefully I’ll be able to commit during mid-season or before our playoffs start.”

Clay, obviously, is the former teammate of presumptive starting QB Tate Forcier, and Michigan has really become more of a factor in his recruitment of late.

Rivals (free) video fluff on MN OL Seantrel Henderson:

Relevant recruiting notes include the fact that he plans to narrow to a top 5 before the season, and take official visits to all of the finalists before eventually making his decision on National Signing Day. He also had some nice things to say about Michigan (probably the most positive-sounding comments about any of the schools he mentioned, for what it’s worth). He said it’s a really big university, and he really likes the campus, plus the coaching staff is pretty cool, and there are nice new facilities and lots of new stuff going on. He didn’t mention this in his Michigan-related snippet, but Seantrel did say he plans to major in business or communications, and wants to go to a school that is strong in either of those. Michigan is excellent in both, so that’s another plus.

Though he went from somebody that the likes of Sam Webb was routinely mentioning as a “hot prospect” for Michigan on the WTKA morning show to a recruit that doesn’t seem to be all that interested in the Wolverines anymore, SC DT AJ Cann is still one of the few interior defensive line prospects on the board at this time. Fluff from his coach:

“A.J. is a humble kid,” he said. “He doesn’t talk about it. A lot of times when you get a kid who’s been offered by 32-35 Division I schools, a lot of kids believe he’s going to get this treatment, he’s going to act this way. A.J.’s the same kid he was before he got those 35 Division I offers.

“He busts his butt in practice. He’s a leader out there. When you tell him to do something, he asks no questions. He’s front of the line, showing young guys what drills we do offensively and defensively the same thing. He’s responded to it well and hopefully, within the next couple of weeks, that will take a little bit off of him.”

So, mostly boilerplate “the teams played hard and somebody won”-type coachspeak about one of his top players, no? However, I’m not quite sure how to interpret the very end of that quote. It sounds like he may be deciding soon.

PA DE Dakota Royer has been a steady prospect over the course of the year, collecting offers in small batches, but never really blowing up. Now, however, he at least has the opportunity to become something of an internet sensation (HT: Black Shoe Diaries):

That’s Mr. Royer jumping out of a 4-foot pool from shoulders-deep. He’s apparently quite explosive, though many sports media outlets would probably rather have you believe that he’s a “gritty” or “lunch pail” defensive end. Michigan has offered Royer, and stands a good chance to be in his top list for the foreseeable future.

OH LB Commit Antonio Kinard often seems to be the forgotten commit in Michigan’s 2010 class so far, but he’s having a successful track season of his own. He is a long jumper, and recently took first place at a meet, thanks to 2 of the best 3 jumps.

VA LB Chase Williams has mentioned Michigan in the past, but it doesn’t sound like he’s particularly interested in the Wolverines:

“This month has been packed with 19 schools including Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Tennessee, South Carolina and Ohio State,” he said. “All of them are saying they want me to come to camp this summer so they can see me in person to see all the things they see on film.”

“I haven’t made a true list of top schools yet,” he said. “I am starting to focus more on the schools that have offered and maybe one or two others. That is because I think I’m making a decision kind of early. I think the time when I cut things down is getting closer, but I know I haven’t approached that barrier yet.

The early decision and lack of strong Michigan interest seem to imply that the Wolverines probably don’t have much of a chance to land him, at least at this time.

AL S Jarrick Williams has not reported Michigan interest, despite being one of the top secondary prospects in the nation. Now, it appears as though he’s narrowed his list of choices to Auburn and Alabama, and I think that’s as good an excuse as any to remove him from the recruiting board.

Fluff in the Broward Sun-Sentinel includes very little information. It’s about how spring high school football – which we don’t have in Michigan, much to my chagrin at times – is no longer just about schemes and whatnot, but also an opportunity for college prospects to show their stuff for scouts, and get noticed, hoping for recruiting results down the road. The only reason I’m even bothering to link it is a pretty cool picture of FL CB Tony Grimes, shown at left making an over-the-shoulder catch, though I have no idea whether he was intercepting or receiving the pass.

FL CB Spencer Boyd is still favoring Notre Dame, and plans to make a summer decision. Like many defensive backs of late (including FL CB Lorenza Wood, who had previously been favoring Michigan and now likes the Irish), he cited the TEH AWESOMEZ recruiting abilities of Irish Defensive Coordinator Corwin Brown, who played for Michigan. Take that as you will, and I’m glad to see a former Wolverine having success in the coaching world, but I’d certainly prefer to see him do so in a place other than South Bend. The biggest threats to the Domers for Boyd seem to be SEC schools.

Like I said in this week’s previous recruiting update, defensive back doesn’t seem to be a huge concern at this point. The Wolverines are holding steady with several prospects, and a commitment this weekend at the Big House BBQ (about which I’ll have more info tomorrow morning) would go a long way to easing the fears of Michigan fans.

Of course, the Michigan coaching staff may not be all that confident in their ability to land some defensive backs, as they’re still handing out offers like candy. The latest is GA CB Darius Robinson (info in header). I’ve added him to the recruiting board.

Non-2010 stuff below.

2009 QB signee Denard Robinson is considered one of the frontrunners (along with 2010 FL CB Cody Riggs) to be the Class 6A-4A High School Athlete of the Year. If he wins the award, it will be due to both his football and track exploits, so congratulations to Denard (HT: The Michigan Football Blog).

A quick note on 2011 FL RB Demetrius Hart. In a weather-shortened spring game, he managed to rip off a 65-yard TD run. He’s considered a top 2011 prospect, and has stated that he’d probably commit to Michigan as soon as he could receive an official offer on September 1st. With Ricardo Miller now at Ann Arbor Huron rather than Hart’s Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, that Michigan love may have declined a bit, but they’ll probably still pursue the diminutive speedster.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Josh Helmholdt was so kind as to post an initial list of Spring Game visitors in the Free Press from which we can make additions and changes to get a visitors list:

Michigan extended invitations to most, if not all of the prospects they have offered scholarships to in the 2010 class and several are planning to visit. A majority of their in-state targets, including Inkster’s Devin Gardner, Detroit Southeastern’s William Gholston, Detroit Renaissance’s Mylan Hicks and Detroit Cass Tech’s Dior Mathis, plan to be there Saturday.

The second largest contingent of recruiting visitors will be from Ohio. Avon Lake offensive lineman Christian Pace, Cincinnati Wyoming defensive lineman Jibreel Black [now with UM offer – ed.] and Columbus Brookhaven defensive end Derrick Bryant all hold offers from the Wolverines and plan to attend the spring game.

Other expected spring game visitors include Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward Latwan Anderson [Recently transferred to Ted Ginn Sr’s private school and will play football at Glenville – a bad thing for Michigan’s chances at him. – ed.]and Eagle Lake (Fla.) Lake Region Marvin Robinson, both top 100 safeties, according to Rivals.com. Another expected visitor, Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus running back Stephen Hopkins, said this trip is his most anticipated of the half dozen or more schools he’s already visited.

From Sam Webb’s recruiting roundups on WTKA (4-7-09)(4-8-09)(4-9-09):

Yes: 
FL/MI WR Commit Ricardo Miller
MI WR Commit Jeremy Jackson 
MI QB Robert Bolden
MI RB Austin White (recent LSU offeree)
MI RB Nick Hill
MI DE CJ Olaniyan (also at practice yesterday)  
MI DT Jonathan Hankins
MI LB Ishmael Thomas from Renaissance.

No: 
SC QB Cornelius Jones (rescheduled for summer camp)
OH OL Andrew Donnal
MD LB Josh Furman
OH DE Darryl Baldwin
FL CB Lorenza Wood

Maybe: 
TX QB Jeremy Johnson might show up. However, West Virginia sources are expecting a commit from him when he visits Morgantown next weekend.

Beacon Sports reports that OH LB Jewone Snow (son of former Michigan RB Garland Rivers) will be in attendance. No word on whether he’ll bring 2011 DE Steve Miller, also mentioned in that update, along with him to Ann Arbor. Miller is expected to be one of the top players in Ohio in the class of 2011. Snow plans to make an early decision, but I don’t think it will be for the Wolverines this weekend.

So, be on the lookout for all these guys at the spring game if you happen to have any interest.

Posted under Football, Recruiting