The Board.

Moved to Committed:
TX K Brendan Gibbons.

Added:
SC S DJ Swearinger. Michigan has called the onetime target and former Tennessee commit.
Other Tennessee commits may start dominating this category sometime soon.

New Information:
FL RB commit Vincent Smith. Scouting report from SoFlaFootball.
LA DT commit DeQuinta Jones. Still looking at Oklahoma State (Alabama is the other school he’s still considering, for the record).
MI DT ex-commit William Campbell. Here’s his recruiting schedule for the rest of the fall. Sam Webb thinks OL might be his best fit (audio).
SC DE Sam Montgomery. He’s definitely still planning to come on an official.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. Committed to the awesomely-named Maryland Crab Bowl. Michigan is expected to be in his next cut (audio) – but it’s getting into the top 5 that’s important.
OH S/LB Isaiah Bell. Taking his official visit this weekend (info in header). I’d assume Fitzgerald Toussaint comes along with him.

Removed:
FL QB Eugene Smith. Committed to West Virginia.
SC DE Chris Bonds. Eliminates Michigan from consideration. In case you didn’t believe me the first time.
FL LB Jon Bostic. Uh, not quite sure why he’s still on the board anyway. Michigan is out of it.
AL CB Dre Kirkpatrick. I don’t know how he managed to go this long without an article explicitly trimming his list, but now there’s assurance he can be removed.

Etc.:
Still elsewhere-committed, GA WR Jamal Patterson is hearing from Michigan regardless. Might they be able to convince him to take a visit?
MD RB Tavon Austin is supposed to announced sometime very soon, but I predict his choice will be between WVU and UNC.

Analysis:
QBs on the board committing elsewhere should be something we get used to: Michigan is unlikely to grab another one, but none on the board have technically eliminated the Wolverines, so on the board they stay. The Wolverines will probably start looking for more DB prospects, so keep an eye out. The outside WR position is also yet to be filled, and it’s looking like a prospect who is or has been committed to another school may end up filling the role.

Posted under Football

Moved to Committed:

Posted under Recruiting

Added:
AZ OL Taylor Lewan. Both premium sites have front-page headlines indicating he’s been offered. He’s a teammate of DE Commit Craig Roh.
FL CB Jarvis Byrd. Michigan is showing interest in the Pahokee-an (Pahokeeite?).

New Information:
VA DE Will Hill. Enjoys a Tennessee visit, still plans to visit Michigan before deciding.
SC DE Chris Bonds. The perpetually-injured one now says he’s probably not going to visit Michigan.
FL LB Commit Brandin Hawthorne. He’s still taking other visits. I wonder if the Michigan coaches might discourage that at his official visit this weekend.
FL LB Mike Marry. Michigan is in what appears to be a Top 7 for him. How about a little video?:

MI S Thomas Gordon. Back to deciding this weekend (info in header, the answer is almost always “yes”).
FL CB Mywan Jackson. North Carolina now leads (info in header).

Official Visits this Week:
TX QB Commit Shavodrick Beaver (though that is apparently not the case)
FL LB Soft Commit Brandin Hawthorne
MD RB Tavon Austin
SC OL Quinton Washington

Analysis:
Chris Bonds might be a casualty of 2 DE commits. Michigan’s continued pursuit of o-linemen definitely indicates that they see Anthony LaLota staying on the DL. Michigan definitely still seems to want another CB (in addition to another LB), as their increased interest in Jarvis Byrd seems to indicate. That would fill a need and keep a pipeline open.

Etc.:
MSU picks up a TE transfer. This probably hurts them with Dion Sims. I personally think he wants to go to OSU if he picks football, but the Buckeyes’ class might fill up before he gets a chance to commit there.

Posted under Recruiting

A midyear recruiting prospectus is on tap for this afternoon. For now, enjoy the recruiting update. Board can be found here, as always.

New Information:
MN WR Commit Bryce McNeal. On the news.
SC DE Sam Montgomery. He has narrowed his list, and will reveal top choices soon.
NV DE Keenan Graham. UCLA leads (info in header).
SC DE Chris Bonds. Article from The State about his past injuries.
AR CB Darius Winston. Sam Webb fluff from the Detroit News.
FL CB/QB Mywan Jackson. Apparently Michigan will give him a shot at QB, and he expects to narrow by one school this week.
GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. Video fluff:

Removed:
SC S DJ Swearinger. Tennessee commit.

Etc.:
Don’t forget, Brandin Hawthorne and Vincent Smith are announcing on Saturday. Don’t be surprised if they both don Block-M caps.

Analysis:
Keep in mind, this is the first week that the recruiting update comes before some official visits. On the docket for this weekend: CA QB Tate Forcier and AZ DE Craig Roh.

Posted under Recruiting

Huge update this week. There is actually more that will have to wait to Monday because this update is so JAM-PACKED. Anyway, here’s the board.

Moved to Committed:
TX K Anthony Fera.

Added:
A kicker category to the board. Thanks, Fera, ya jerk. Maybe in the light of more recent developments, I shouldn’t be calling anyone committed to Michigan a jerk.

Moved from Committed:
VA QB Kevin Newsome.

New Information:
CA QB Tate Forcier. August 30th visit (info in header).
GA WR Braxton Lane. Skipping football this fall to focus on baseball. Sounds unlikely he’ll hit the gridiron in college.
NC OL Travis Bond. His official visit is set for October 25.
VA DE Will Hill. Fluff.
SC DE Chris Bonds. Michigan and Notre Dame won’t move into his highest group until after he has a chance to see campus. They are still in his top 5.
OH DE Tank Carradine. Does he have an offer? He’s been working on his grades.
FL LB Brandin Hawthorne has set up 5 official visits, despite planning a decision before any of them. If Michigan is his choice on August 30, expect him to either forget about the other visits or not be given all the priviledges (i.e. having a spot saved for you) of a true commit.
OK CB Gabe Lynn. His friend (and former UM target) David Gordon is trying to lure him to Arkansas. Lynn’s junior highlights.

Removed:
PA WR Todd Thomas. He may have trouble qualifying. That may explain why Michigan never really seemed interested, despite his early love for the Wolverines.

Etc.:
MN WR commit Bryce McNeal is a speed prospect, but is currently too skinny to be considered speed and size. Paging Mike Barwis, who will have McNeal built like an All-American in no time flat.
TX QB commit Shavodrick Beaver welcomes competition. I was so much more into this article when there was someone in the class for him to compete with.

Analysis:
Recruiting changes from the developing Newsome situation outlined here. On the defensive end front, Michigan still really needs people. Though Tank Carradine is now reporting an offer, his recruitment remains under the radar, likely because of qualifying issues of his own.

Posted under Recruiting

New Information:
CS DE Chris Bonds. Top 6 (Michigan is oviously in it, considering they have secured a visit).
AL CB Dre Kirkpatrick. Takes in an Alabama practice.
GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. Old, but super fluffy to a hilarious degree.
FL RB Vincent Smith. Video fluff.
MS DB Dennis Thames. He will be on display at some county fair or something.

Removed:
OK RB David Oku. The 2009 Noel Devine has dropped Michigan in an effort to get to a decision faster.
FL WR Rontavious Wooten. Will choose between two non-Michigan schools.

Etc.:
Sam Webb talks defensive end recruiting (audio). Cass Tech is going spread this year. It couldn’t be any worse than their offense was against OLSM when I saw them play last year. The ESPN 150 was released. Relevant persons:
Commits
65. Bryce McNeal (82)
91. Isaiah Bell (81)
147. Kevin Newsome (80)
Targets
5. Dre Kirkpatrick (90)
9. Jelani Jenkins (86)
10. Rueben Randle (86)
21. Shaquelle Evans (84)
22. Sam Montgomery (84)
25. Darius Winston (84)
38. Darren Myles (83)
43. Branden Smith (83)
48. Morgan Moses (83)
67. Craig Drummond (82)
77. Gabe Lynn (82)
78. Marcus Hall (82)
86. Craig Roh (82)
88. Donavan Tate (82)
123. David Oku (81)
132. Eugene Smith (81)
140. Chris Bonds (81)
141. Tate Forcier (81)

It’s utterly ridiculous that Will Campbell is not even in the 150, seeing as how he’s a no-brainer 5-star to both of the other sites, and ESPN spoke breathlessly about him following the Penn State Nike Combine. Just another hit to ESPN’s recruiting credibility (as though they needed one). Their reasoning:

Dominating the combine circuit without pads during one-on-one drills (geared toward the defense) does not give an accurate description of a DT’s ability to truly play the position. When comparing Campbell against the 10 DT’s that made the 150, we felt he wasn’t in the same class talent-wise. He didn’t display the ability to be as explosive as the DT’s above him.

If you’re looking for which idiot at ESPN to complain about, this was said by one Billy Tucker (side note: Campbell’s explosiveness is one of his greatest strengths, besides natural size, of course).

Analysis:
Oku’s removal is sad, but maybe warranted considering the thousands of RBs Michigan has recruited. Same goes for Wooten and slots. Other than those two guys, not a ton of action this week. In the next couple updates, I may start removing prospects that are highly unlikely to end up at Michigan (I’m lookin’ at you, Hersey Jackson).

Posted under Recruiting

New Information:
SC OL Quinton Washington. Not expected to take an official to Michigan.
FL QB Eugene Smith. Re-widens his focus after previously having narrowed to a top 5.
CA QB Tate Forcier. Top 6.
PA LB Dan Mason. Will commit to a school at the Army AA game. His current plan for official visits doesn’t include Michigan.
OK CB Gabe Lynn. Fluff.
FL Slot commit Jeremy Gallon. Most important news EVER: he has dreads.
SC DE Chris Bonds. Official visit schedule shaping up. Notre Dame visit for the Michigan game (and he will be unavailable for the big UM-MSU recruiting weekend, when he will be visiting Tennessee).
FL DE Ryne Giddins. Michigan outside of his top 6.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. GBW headline says a super linebacker visited on Saturday, and the accompanying picture is of Jenkins, so we can assume he visited this weekend, no? Video fluff:

Removed:
MS S Rod Woodson. Committed to Alabama.

Posted under Recruiting, Video

I forgot to link it Monday, but don’t forget that the board is here.

Moved to Committed:
LA DE DeQuinta Jones. The awesomely-named one is also added to the board in this update. Commit article.

New Information:
VA QB commit Kevin Newsome. Some glorious, glorious reassurance from Sam Webb that he is firmly committed, and recruiting other players to Michigan. Now in convenient print form! Newsome speaks with SI about transferring to Hargrave.
FL QB Eugene Smith. He made the Elite 11. And is performing quite well.
FL S Jonathan Scott. Michigan in his top 3 (info in header).
SC DEs Sam Montgomery and Chris Bonds. Both plan to take officials to Michigan.
FL CB Mywan Jackson. Michigan visit this weekend.
NJ DE/OL Anthony LaLota. Narrows his list to 7 (including the Wolverines).
NV DE Keenan Graham. Will he decide before getting a chance to visit Michigan?
MS S Rod Woodson. Now reports an offer.

Removed:
AL DE William Ming. Alabama commit.
IN LB TyQuan Hammock. After not getting the Michigan offer he wanted, commits to Michigan State.

Analysis:
Hooray, a defensive end! Michigan will want at least one more in this class, likely a speed rusher. Other sources of celebration: Reassurance on the Newsome front! Hooray!

Posted under Recruiting

The recruiting board is all-new! If you have any problems with the new incarnation, e-mail me right away. If you have any suggestions, questions, etc., let me know.

Since it’s still in the buggy stages, everything is still up to date at the old board as well.

Moved to Committed:
IN LB Jordan Barnes. Commit article.
TX WR DeWayne Peace. Commit article. He may be moved to another position as word comes out about where Michigan recruited him to play.

Added:
FL LB Jon Bostic. He apparently holds an offer.
OK DE Pearlie Graves. Awesome name, Michigan offer (info in header).

New Information:
FL LB Brandon Hawthorne. We already knew Michigan and USF were his top choices, now we know that Louisville, Tennessee, and West Virginia round out the top 5.
SC DE Chris Bonds. Top 5 of USC, USC, Michigan, ND, and ‘Bama.
OH OL Chris Freeman. Article with no Michigan mention. He is teetering near the edge of being dropped.
OK CB Gabe Lynn. Audio interview in the radio, top 5 by end of summer.
OK RB David Oku. Nebraska official 9-27.

Removed:
PA CB Corey Brown. As expected, commits to Ohio State.
PA DE Juantez Hollins. Pitt commit.
MI TE Mitch Kessel. Cincinnati commit. He was a longshot to ever get an offer.

Analysis:
Losing Brown to the Bucks isn’t that big a deal, because it was expected and prepared for, and means OSU is starting to run low on scholarships to give to other ’09 prospects. Barnes is a Chris Graham-ish player, and he may see a move to MAX back. DeWayne Peace could be a good WR or CB.

Etc.:

Posted under Recruiting

The board.

Added
FL LB Brandon Hawthorne. Michigan in his top two with USF (info in header).
SC S David Sims. Offered.
SC S DJ Swearinger. He has a Michigan offer.
FL CB Angelo Hadley. Offer.

New Information
SC DE Chris Bonds. Recruiting fluff with mention that one of his officials will be to Michigan.
OH OL Chris Freeman. WVU-tinted recruiting fluff.
AZ DE Craig Roh. Plans a summer visit to Michigan.
AL DB Dre Kirkpatrick. Plans to take a visit to Michigan.
NC WR Jheranie Boyd. Michigan is in his top 15.
FL OL Nick Alajajian. He plans to make a summer decision without taking a visit to Michigan. Things don’t look so good here.
SC OL Quinton Washington. Michigan doesn’t make his top 5, but is just barely on the outside.
MD Slot Tavon Austin. Georgia has distinguished itself in his recruitment by offering him as a slot. Michigan has done the same (most other schools want him to play RB), but does not garner special mention.

Removed
TN OL Alex Bullard. Notre Dame commit.

Analysis
Alex Bullard isn’t a huge loss, mostly because it was expected. It may also indirectly help out with Chris Watt (whom I believe UM covets more than Bullard) by making the Irish less appealing to him.

Posted under Recruiting