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 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

Though he had previously been committed to the Stanford Cardinal, GBW’s front page is reporting that OH DB Courtney Avery has dropped his Stanford pledge and committed to the Michigan Wolverines. The cornerback out of Lexington, Ohio stands 5-10, 165. He is Michigan’s 15th pledge in the class of 2010.

Recruiting Notes
Avery was on the 2010 Recruiting Board when it debuted, though it was as a dual-threat QB. However, Michigan never seemed to be in strong pursuit of the two-way player. He committed to Stanford in early April, and I removed him from the board. Avery was not quite done with his recruitment yet, though. He visited Michigan this week for summer camp, where he was one of the more impressive players in attendance. When he left, the Michigan coaches let him know that he would receive a Michigan offer. Shortly after that, Avery changed his mind from the Cardinal to the Wolverines, pledging to the Michigan staff.

Player Notes
As mentioned above, Avery is a quarterback for his high school team, in addition to his duties in the defensive backfield. In fact, he is a rather excellent high school signal-caller, and was named his conference’s Offensive Player of the Year as a junior. However, when he gets to Michigan, he will play strictly defensive back, where he tried out in summer camp. He has good hip fluidity and agility, which help him make up for a slight lack in top-end speed. One of the biggest knocks on Avery is his size: he’s listed anywhere from 5-8 to 5-10, which is small even for a cornerback. However, he is rumored to be up to nearly 5-11 now, which not only indicates that’s he’s made up some of the height disparity, but also that he may continue growing. By the time he hits campus, he could be as tall as 6-1. Camp offers are typically a time to say “throw out the rankings” (NR on Rivals, 3* to Scout), since the coaches have been able to evaluate a prospect in the flesh.

Video

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Moved to committed:
TX RB Stephen Hopkins. Commitment Post.

Sam Webb brings the fluff on MI QB Commit Devin Gardner in the Detroit News. Of course, the article wouldn’t be complete without this oft-quoted (in the past week or so) soundbite from Devin:

An Ohio State fan growing up, Gardner said he has had little problem flipping the loyalty switch.

“It’s off,” he said matter-of-factly. “They’re going to get it just like everybody else.”

So, huzzah for that. Speaking of Gardner, Matt Dorsey updates the in-state Top 10 in the Freep. Oddly enough, a Michigan State writer dropped Devin a spot in the rankings after he committed to Michigan. What are the odds?

At least one Rivals writer is pretty confident that TX QB Jeremy Johnson is going to commit to West Virginia after his visit this weekend. He was a “maybe” to visit Michigan this past weekend, but to the best of my knowledge, didn’t show. Stand by for removing him from the board.

Some USA Today fluff on CA RB Brennan Clay, focusing on his relationship with Tate Forcier. The USA Today is much more positive about Michigan’s chances to land Clay than conventional wisdom, for the record.

With the Wolverines in pretty serious need of defensive tackles in this class, but very few elite options out there, it seems as though they should be jumping all over PA DT Sharrif Floyd from Philadelphia. However, at this point, it doesn’t appear that there’s too much mutual interest.

Michigan may be among the favorites for SC RB Marcus Lattimore, but his teammate DT/DE Brandon Willis, does not have Michigan in his top 5.

PA DE Kyle Baublitz is reporting a Michigan offer.

Michigan is joined by 9 other schools in FL DE Lynden Trail‘s list of finalists. The others are Florida, Florida State, Miami, Southern California, Georgia, Alabama, South Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

Michigan has been FL S Marvin Robinson‘s leader for quite some time now (even if he hasn’t always articulated his favorites as such), but it appears that he might be almost ready to take the next step in his recruitment. He says he may commit to the Wolverines within a couple weeks or by the end of spring.

Michigan “is recruiting” FL CB Cody Riggs, though the Wolverines haven’t yet offered.

And how about a removal or six while I’m updating?
OH CB Courtney Avery gives a verbal to Stanford.
FL CB Jaylen Watkins committed to Florida.
FL CB Mark Deas committed to Georgia.
FL LB Gideon Ajagbe has committed to Florida.
NC OL Robert Crisp committed to… NC State?
FL RB Antwon Chisholm from Glades Central brandished a knife at a mall security guard, and it is now unlikely he’ll end up at a BCS school, assuming there’s anyone that wants to take him at all.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

The board.

New Information:
OH QB Courtney Avery. Conference player of the year.
GA QB Blake Sims. Offer list.
PA RB Corey Brown (not to be confused with 2009 PA CB Corey Brown, an Ohio state commit). Currently favors Ohio State, Rutgers, Florida, Penn State, UCLA, and Bama.
FL WR Javon Bell. Fluff with a bit of recruiting info (Michigan not mentioned).
FL Slot De’Joshua Johnson. Junior video. Michigan is “hot in pursuit.”
IL OL Christian Lombard. 10+ minute interview (audio) with a Notre Dame supporter. Takeaways: Doesn’t care how far from home he has to go, looking for good academic support, being recruited by everyone at both tackle positions, thought there were as many MSU fans as UM fans at the game this year.
FL OL Jose Jose. Grew up a Miami Hurricanes fan. It looks like they are by far the team to beat for him.
TX DT Jay Guy. Horns lead for him (info in header).
OH DT Andrew Norwell. Offered by OSU.
IL DE Chance Carter. Has played some offense this season, but it just helped him realize he belongs on D.
FL LB/DE Zachary/Zachery Allen. Video.
FL CB LaMarcus Joyner. Favors Florida State, followed by the other two instate schools.
FL CB Nickell Robey. Fluff.

Etc.:
The watchlist for the 2010 Rivals250 has come out. Of course, it will change a lot before star ratings are actually issued to anyone, but Jeremy Jackson and Ricardo Miller are both on it, though not as “potential 5-star” guys (of which there are only 10). Marvin Robinson is on it as well. Sometime later, I’ll go through and take note of everyone who Michigan has or may have interest in.

Analysis:
Not a whole ton of Michigan-relevant info this time, though it seems like the Wolverines may not have a chance with two of the top DTs on the board. Christian Lombard will probably be a battle, though I don’t think Michigan has gotten itself behind yet.

Posted under Football

The Board.

Moved to Committed:
:(

Added:
IL OL Andrew Schofield. ’09 Commit Michael’s lil bro.

New Information:
TX QB Darveon Trahan. Out for the year with injury.
OH QB/Ath Courtney Avery. He’s not projected as a college QB, but he can really chuck the ball.
OH WR Tyrone Williams. Offered by Ohio State.
FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller. Despite the loss, his MySpace confirms he is more committed than ever.

Removed:
FL RB Jakhari Gore. He’s “A ‘Cane at Heart.” At this point, a Miami commitment appears to be little more than a formality.
MD CB Louis Young. Stanford commit.

Analysis:
Yeah, so I was expecting this update to be a lot more substantive, particularly in the “commits” section. Of course, the loss Saturday didn’t help, but I was thinking Marvin Robinson (at least) was all but verbally committed to Michigan. We’ll see how the recruitment for several of the top kids in attendance ends up playing out.

Posted under Football