Ahhh, it’s been a while since I’ve had such a headline, and it feels good. Sorry for the delay on the news (I was watching the hockey game at The Arena per Brian’s suggestion), but better late than never, right?

OH DB Justin Turner has pledged to Rich Rodriguez. Turner, a 4-star from Massilon, OH (Washington) is the second member of the 2009 class. Michigan was his early leader, but lost ground during the coaching change. However, after a visit to Ann Arbor with his dad, Turner was comfortable pledging to the Wolverines.

Turner projects as either a safety or corner, measuring at 6-2, 200, and running the 40 in 4.4 seconds. For some video on Turner, we consult our friends at Scouting Ohio:

By the way, thanks to reader Obes. Without him, I probably wouldn’t have gotten to this until tomorrow.

Posted under Recruiting

Chesterton Indiana shooting guard Zach Novak (6-4, 215) has committed to Coach John Beilein of the Michigan basketball program. He is the third player committed to the Wolverines.

His local paper does not like to spellcheck. Like, even for the name of the person the article is about. He was an Indiana All-Star as a junior. Novak is a three point shooter who will fit in well with the Michigan team, other than the fact that he is actually capable of making the occasional shot.

Posted under Basketball

Martavious “Tay” Odoms, a 5-8, 170 slot receiver from Florida, has committed to Michigan. Odoms was expected to sign with the Hurricanes of Miami on a track scholarship. His 40 time is reported at 4.45, but he is a track athlete, and is likely speedier than that. He will also run track at Michigan.

Odoms is an inside (slot) receiver, and a little one at that. He is Michigan’s 24th signed player in 2008. As promised, I see his floor as 2 (he is very short, and his track speed might not translate well to the football field in college), and ceiling as 4 (he is speedy, but his height will always be something of a limitation).

For video on Odoms, check out Sunshine Preps.

Posted under Recruiting

Baseline and potential peak outputs of Michigan’s 2008 recruiting class. Of course, any player could defy expectations, be it positive or negative. These are best guesses based on star ratings, measurables, and perceived intangibles. If Pryor (or any other recruits) commits still, he will be discussed individually.

Main thing to notice about this class is that most of the players do not have very high floors, but nearly all of them have great potential to excel in the future, meaning their ceilings very high. With the strength and conditioning program at Michigan, as well as the scheming of the coaching staff, this bodes well for the future of the Wolverines.

Posted under Recruiting

Sam McGuffie and Kenny Demens have both faxed their National Letters of Intent to Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez. McGuffie was stricken with a case of cold feet, and Demens was occupied with a funeral all day today.

The only other potential recruit remaining is Terrelle Pryor, who is not expected to become a Wolverine. Of course, if he were to sign with Michigan, nobody in Wolverine Nation would be complaining.

Posted under Recruiting

Thus far,

• Ricky Barnum, 4-star center (and former Florida commit)
• Roy Roundtree, 3-star wide receiver (and former Purdue commit)
• Michael Shaw, 4-star running back/ slot receiver (and former Penn State commit)

Have all pledged to Michigan this morning. each is surprising to a certain extent, though all are certainly welcomed with open arms. Michigan is waiting on news from Nick Perry, who is announcing in Detroit at 11EST. Prognosticators are split on this one, thinking he’ll head to either USC or Michigan. Michigan certainly needs him a lot more than the Trojans. Of course, Michigan is also waiting to hear from Terrelle Pryor, who is not announcing, but still holding a press conference at 12:05EST on ESPNU (and I’d be surprised if it wasn’t on News as well). Conventional wisdom on Pryor is as follows:

• Terrelle wants OSU
• Dad wants PSU
• Mom, sister, and Charlie Batch want Michigan

At the press conference, Jeannette Jayhawks head coach Ray Reitz will answer 5 questions that ESPN has kindly given him all week to prepare for, and Pryor will likely lay out the details of his announcement.

UDPATE: Shaw has pushed his announcement back to 1PM. Not sure if this is a good, bad, or neutral thing.

Posted under Recruiting

GoBlueWolverine reports that Patrick Omameh, a three-star offensive lineman from Columbus St. Francis De Sales, has switched his commitment from Cincinnati to Michigan. Omameh only entered the radar of Michigan fans during the month of January, but visited both Michigan and Michigan State during that month.

Omameh is an athletic OT prospect, who currently measures only 6-5, 240, but is expected to grow further. With TE-like current weight, he will almost assuredly need a redshirt year to put on the mass needed to succeed along the offensive line in college. Omameh is also a basketball player, manning the center position in high school. Multi-sport players are typically regarded as perhaps more athletic than their football-only counterparts, particularly basketball players.

With his long arms and projected further growth, expect to see Omameh as a left tackle project in the future. He is also a scholar-athlete, with a 4.0 grade point average.

Posted under Recruiting

Terrence Robinson, four-star slot receiver prospect from Houston, has announced his intention to sign with Michigan on Wednesday. Robinson is a scholar-athlete who chose the maize-and-blue over Boston College and Wake Forest. Robinson announced his choice on the same show that Sam McGuffie and Darryl Stonum made their Michigan commitments. Good luck finding the video on their website. UPDATE: Thanks to commenter Joel for finding the direct link.

Robinson was the Greater Houston 5A MVP in 2007 (the team did not include fellow Michigan commit Sam McGuffie).

Robinson also has some pretty sweet YouTube-age, including the “Dream Shake,”so-named after the Hakeem Olajuwon move.

Posted under Recruiting

Florida dual-threat QB Justin Feagin has given his commitment to Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines. Feagin, who traveled to Ann Arbor this weekend, gave his word during the official visit.

Feagin had favored West Virginia when Rich Rodriguez left for Michigan, and his interest moved with the new Wolverines headman. The offensive scheme was a large selling point for Feagin. He is a two-star prospect on Scout, and a three-star on Rivals. He is a small-school prospect whose numbers were good, but didn’t translate into rankings because of the competition he played against (see: Mike Hart). He was an all-area selection his senior year (as a defensive back, though many of the stats listed in his blurb are from the QB position).

Those who are both interested in Feagin’s film and have a program that plays Windows Media files (I fit only one of these criteria) can click here for video goodness from Sunshine Preps. Also, highlights of the state championship game here. Feagin looks good on offense, bad on defense.

Posted under Recruiting

As expected, J.T. Floyd has committed to Michigan. Floyd is a 3-star DB from Greenville, South Carolina. His other finalist was Tennessee, to whom he had been committed earlier in the recruiting season.

Floyd (5-11, 185, 4.5) is listed as a safety on Scout, but all indications are that Michigan intends to use him as a corner. This makes him Michigan’s second corner in the class, joining Boubacar Cissoko.

He is considered a high-end 3-star, being coveted by Michigan, Tennessee, and several mid-level ACC (is there any other kind?) and SEC teams.

Posted under Recruiting