I swear, I’m really trying to avoid doing these posts with any regularity.

• Ricky Barnum has sprained his ankle, and will miss a few spring practices to get wrist surgery. His wrist was (apparently) pretty damaged, and he was working through it before. While it sucks that he’s sustained another injury, at least it gave him the opportunity to get the wrist taken care of.
• Denard Robinson has claimed the 2nd-fastest 100m dash time in the country so far this year for high-schoolers. The incoming QB ran a 10.44 time, and expects to run in the 10.3s when track season gets underway in earnest. (Photo by Tom Ervin for the Miami Herald).
• Devin Gardner plans to publicly commit to Michigan either Thursday or Friday. He apparently did so silently at junior day, but wanted to finish out his basketball season before worrying about dealing with the press.
• Darryl Stonum has debunked the rumors that he’s intending to transfer from Michigan at the end of spring practice.
• SPRING GAME WOO GET AMPED.
• VB (Paul and Tim, at least) plans to be at todays 3:05 PM baseball game at the Fish. Feel free to say hello to us.

And, in site news: If you take a look at the top of the right sidebar, the subscription options have changed slightly. You can still subscribe via RSS, but there are now other possibilities. There is now an official VB Twitter account to which you can subscribe @VarsityBlue. You can subscribe via e-mail, which will inform you whenever there is a new front page post on Varsity Blue. And, perhaps what we’re most excited about, we’re going to start rolling out a VB Newsletter, which we’ll send out once a week (you can help us determine which day when you sign up), and will include a recap of the week’s action on Varsity Blue, along with a bit of information that may not have made it to the front page, and even a preview of what is coming in the next week. It might start out a little spartan in design (no pun intended), but we’ll be beefing it up in short order.

In other site news, we plan to debut a couple new features on VB in the coming weeks, though they’re not quite ready for public consumption yet. I’ll keep you posted when everything is ready to go live.

Posted under Baseball, Blog News, Football, Personnel, Recruiting, Spring Coverage

With the 2009 recruiting class out of the way, it’s time for recruitniks to shift attention to the 2010 class for the Michigan Wolverines. Obviously, I’ve been paying quite a bit of attention to the matter on this site, and that will continue.

By the way, for those who have asked me when I’m going to start looking at the 2011 class, since I’ve become so used to worrying about two recruiting classes at once, dont hold your breath. It will be at least into summer, and more likely into the fall, before I start looking in-depth at 2011 prospects.

Without further ado, I’d like to reintroduce you to the 2010 Recruiting Board. Since I’ve neglected 2010 information for the past week or so, due to 2009 Signing Day, there should be a couple updates this week so I can get caught up a bit. On to the new information:

FL CB Lorenza Wood, widely regarded to be the frontrunner to be Michigan’s next commit in the class of 2010, took a recent visit to Georgia Tech (info in header). He is also expected to make a visit to Michigan for a Junior Day sometime this winter/spring. Wood also picked up an offer from Notre Dame.

MI RB Nick Hill, also considered a prospect that Michigan is likely to land if they want him, traveled to (and enjoyed) Notre Dame’s recent junior day (info in header).

If you can wade through all the fluff on Brandin Hawthorne and Brendan Gibbons, there is a tidbit of info in this article, which states that FL Slot DeJoshua Johnson (from Pahokee) has been offered.

…and while we’re on the topic of South Florida 2009 tandems who have had a junior teammate offered, Deerfield Beach’s RB Cassius McDowell received word from Rich Rodriguez that he is welcome to follow Adrian Witty and Denard Robinson to Ann Arbor. He has been added to the board. Witty and Robinson each had a bit to say for themselves, as well:

”If I go up there and work the way I know I’m going to work, I’ll be the starting cornerback at Michigan next fall,” said Witty, who visited Kansas State, Michigan and FIU.

“I’m not the kind of guy who likes to sit on the bench… I want to be the face of Michigan,” Robinson said.

More power to them, and I’m sure Michigan fans wouldn’t complain if their predictions turned out to be true.

Other early 2010 offers: OH WR Jerald Robinson. Michigan is his first D-1 offer. The coach at Canton South has also attended RR’s coaching clinic in the past, so there is a good relationship started there. Of course, Robinson has since committed to Michigan.

IL DE Chance Carter was also at said Irish junior day, and

Irish Emerge As Carter’s Favorite

Notre Dame was always considered the likely favorite to land him, and this certainly reinforces that notion. The Chicago Tribune reports that Wisconsin is his #2 choice behind the Irish.

CA RB Malcolm Jones was named the Offensive Player of the Year in his district. Despite still not holding a USC offer (although his brother plays for the Trojans), He is considered the top pure running back in Southern California for the 2010 class. The latter article also says that Robert Woods, currently on the board as a safety, will play WR in college. He has been moved on the board.

FL WR Kadron Boone holds the Gators as his favorite (info in header). With Michigan already holding commitments from two wideouts in the class, this likely doesn’t affect their recruiting strategy very much.

Speaking of those WR commitments, FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller recently caused something of a flap when his Facebook or Myspace page mentioned something about taking visits to other schools. The Michigan online community collectively flipped out. I have a few comments on the matter (as did the WLA): 1) A kid picking a school other than Michigan (or in this case, taking visits to schools other than Michigan) is not a reflection of his class or character. 2) It’s early in the process, and fans have absolutely no right to harass recruits, and maybe are putting a little too much attention into them. 3) Please, please don’t inter-stalk recruits on social networking websites. It’s creepy, it’s borderline pathetic, and it’s likely a minor NCAA violation. Don’t do it.

Removals:
TX WR John Harris to Texas.
TX DT De’Aires Cotton to Texas.
TX LB Aaron Benson to Texas.
CA DE Chris Martin to Notre Dame. Upside: now I can finally stop stumbling upon news about the singer from Coldplay. Downside: Notre Dame lands another 5-star.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Reminder: Tim will be appearing on WTKA 1050AM today with John U. Bacon on the Big show at 4pm. You can tune in or listen online here. **CHANGE** The A-Rod “scandal” has forced WTKA to recshedule on me. I’ll let you know when I actually go on. -T

(Part 1 Part 2)

Taylor Lewan

Rodriguez said that Taylor has exactly the type of frame that he looks for in his tackles.  He has a big frame, but still has a ton of athleticism.  Taylor himself has said the Jake Long is his favorite player, and he could end up having a similar game. He’s a bit smaller, only 6’6″ and 270lbs, but with a year or two in a college conditioning program, he should be a monster.  Coach noted that he has only been playing OL for a year, so is somewhat a blank canvas and may have been underrated by the recruiting services.  I’m guessing he’ll redshirt, but I would be surprised if he didn’t contribute down the line.

Denard Robinson

Coach said that Robinson may be the fastest kid they recruited. He doesn’t have the fake 40 times of Teric Jones, but watching his game film, you can really get a sense of how fast he is out on the field.  Rodriguez also conceeded that while Denard may not be the tallest player out there, he has a knack to make plays when it appears there’s nothing there.  The consensus of Robinson is that this is his year to compete to start at QB. If he wins it, he could start for a long time, if not he’ll likely switch positions down the line.  He’s got a lot to work for this offeseason and fall.

Craig Roh

I was kind of under the imppression that Roh would end up taking a red shirt this year, but Rodriguez said that he was excited for Roh to make an “instant impact.”  That could mean pushing the older guys to work harder, but maybe playing time. He’s kind of slight right now coming in at 6’4″ 230lbs, but he’ll have summer conditioning and fall practice to put on some size.  Roh has a unique technique where he starts extemely low. Also, judging by the UA All-American game, he has a mean spin move that is very effective against good HS tackles. It will be interesting if Coach Tall will try to change his technique to a more orthodox style or just help Roh improve his technique.

Michael Schofield

Schofield is very similar in size to Taylor Lewan (I think we’ve figured out Rodriguez’s type), but maybe not quite the all around athlete that Lewan is. Coach seemed very proud to share that not only did Schofield not give up a sack all year, but also the entire unit went the entire season without a holding penalty.  Obviously Schofield has experience playing on a talented, well-coached offensive line.  Hopefully that will help as he gets used to the college game. I have to imagine he’ll red shirt as the OL is fairly deep at this point and he still needs some size.

Vincent Smith

Je’Ron Stokes

Rodriguez didn’t seem to be taken on the rollercoaster ride the blogosphere was subjected to regarding his commitment.  Coach made it pretty clear the he expects to Stokes to make a pretty quick impact on the football team.  He said Stokes will immediately compete at inside and outside receiver in addition to returning kicks.  Having that amount of flexibility should allow him to see quite a bit of playing time his freshman year.

Fitzgerald Toussaint

Early favorite for best name of the class along with Vlad Emilien.  Tim and I had a chance to see Fitz play live, and while he was largely held in check, he still busted some great runs when it looked like he would be hit for a loss. He has a huge stable of moves and flat out athleticism.  Rodriguez wants him at running back and returning kicks. Coach predicts the Fitz will have an immediate impact on the team.

J.T. Turner

Rodriguez mentioned that some sources considered Turner the best player in the state of Ohio. So that means, along with Campbell and Roh, University of Michigan got commitments from, arguably, the best players from Michigan, Arizona and Ohio.  Turner had a great performance at the UA All-American game, playing corner and some safety.  Coach said he expects to play Turner to play both Safety and CB, and said that unless something unforeseen happens, Turner will see the field as a freshman.  I always get nervous at freshmen in the defensive backfield, but Warren, Jackson and Woodson all had good freshmen years, so maybe my anxiety is misplaced.

Quinton Washington

This was probably the biggest suprise of this class. I was pretty sure he was going to stay at home in South Carolina, but Washington chose the maize and blue, which is good as Schofield and Lewan both appear to be tackles while Washington is an interior lineman. He’s listed at a sizeable 6’3″ 315lbs, and is reported to be athletic to boot.  Like the other two linemen in this class, I’m going to guess that he’ll get a redshirt. There’s a ton of depth this year and having that extra year at the end can really make a huge difference.

Adrian Witty

I’m not sure if this is Rodriguez being political or sincere (probably somewhere in between), but he called Adrian Witty the most “overlooked” recruit in this class. The more cynical fans see Witty as additional bait in order to get a commitment from Robinson, but Coach mentioned that Witty had a very productive senior year with quite a few interceptions.  I have to assume Witty will redshirt this year, and I’m not quite sure where he’ll end up when all is said and down. Hopefully, he’ll be able to contribute.

Posted under Football, Personnel

On National Signing Day, dual-threat quarterback Denard Robinson signed on the line to become a Michigan Wolverine. Robinson stands 6-0, 190, and has been clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.38 seconds. Robinson became the 21st commit in the class of 2009.

Recruiting Notes
Following the decommitments of Kevin Newsome and Shavodrick Beaver, recruiting a second quarterback for the class of 2009 became a priority for the Wolverines. Several prospects became options, including Raymond Cotton, Tajh Boyd, and one Denard Robinson. Robinson immediately got the full-court press from Michigan, who knew they had a tough compeition for Robinson’s signature, going mostly against the home-state Florida Gators. Florida and Michigan were the only two of Robinson’s offers that offered him the opportunity to be a signal-caller at the next level. Robinson took his official visit to Michigan the January 9th recruiting weekend, along with his teammate, corner Adrian Witty. Within a couple weeks, he knew that he wanted to play in the Rich Rodriguez spread offense, but held off on announcing a decision until Signing Day. At his 11AM press conference at his high school, Robinson gave a fake-out by showing up in a Florida Gators hat. However, when he announced his actual intentions, he picked the Michigan Wolverines.

Player Notes
Robinson is a definite dual-threat quarterback, and has speed and moves that Wolverine fans haven’t seen from the quarterback position in ages. He is not only accomplished as a runner, but he can really throw the ball, as well. Robinson has a strong arm, and with some coaching at the next level, could become a very good passer. He has been compared to Rich’s former WVU quarterback, Pat White. The one major knock on Denard Robinson (at least as far the the QB position goes) is size. He is (generously?) listed at just 6 feet tall. One advantage Robinson has over other QB prospects is the ability to switch positions. If playing quarterback doesn’t pan out (i.e. if he gets beaten out by Tate Forcier and/or other QBs down the road), he will be able to switch positions.

Video

Posted under Football, Recruiting

The 2009 board, including extraneous prospects, can be seen here: 2009 Recruting Board.

As for the information on still-realistic prospects:

There has been a massive downturn in confidence among the Michigan internet fanbase for two important prospects. FL QB Denard Robinson has been downgraded significantly (with Florida now being considered the favorite, although he won’t be able to play QB there). Florida Gator Country is still not confident on Denard, but they’ve certainly changed their tone from the last few days, citing “murmurs”:

IS THERE STILL A CHANCE? I don’t think this one is likely for Denard Robinson, but I have definitely been hearing some murmurs to suggest that Denard is a possibility in this class. Do I think it’s likely? …

…and the Miami Herald has some fluff on Robinson’s final decision. The Toledo Blade says he’ll anounce his decision at the same time as Witty, but that isn’t accurate from what I’ve heard, so take it for what it’s worth.

The other prospect of dwindling confidence is PA WR Je’Ron Stokes. Michigan had been considered a pretty strong front-runner for Stokes ever since his visit, and so the other schools Stokes was considering (Tennessee and Illinois) spent all their effort talking down Michigan. Stokes is evidently worried about not getting the ball enough, not getting enough playing time, and even Rich Rodriguez being fired after this year, all of which are vary from moderately stupid to hilariously ridiculous. Regardless, Michigan is no longer a prohibitive favorite, and they likely trail one of the other schools at this point.

SC DE Sam Montgomery has trimmed his final list to three schools, and Michigan ain’t one of ’em. Conventional wisdom has him signing with either UNC or LSU.

SC OL Quinton Washington was widely regarded to be down to just South Carolina and Michigan coming into the week, and Phil Kornblut confirms that is the case, and that Washington hadn’t announced his decision as of last night, because he hasn’t decided:

“He’s a confused young man right now,” [Timberland coach Art] Craig said. “He’s torn completely in half,” between USC and Michigan.

If you take out Kornblut’s little addendum, it can be deduced that his heart and his head may be telling him different things. Washington is still expecrted to make a final decision sometime today.

LA DT Commit DeQuinta Jones is expected to announce at 12:30 tomorrow between Michigan, Arkansas, or Tennessee.

No updated information on FL CB Adrian Witty or OK DT Commit Pearlie Graves, so everything can be considered status quo on those two for the time being.

Is it possible that Michigan hops on a fewer sleeper prospects if they dont land the majority of these guys? It’s certainly possible, but I’d be surprised if it was more than one or two guys. The more likely scenario is they bank a couple scholarhips for ’09 (give them to preferred walkons during the season) and hopefully gear up for a big 2010 class.

Posted under Football

2009 Board.

With just a couple days until 2009 prospects sign their letters of intent, the information should be coming fast and furious for Michigan recruiting fans. As such, updates on the 2010 class are suspended until at least Thursday (and probably even later than that). Without further ado, here’s the latest information on all the recruits that Michigan is currently in the running for (as well as a few eliminations of other guys):

First, some removals:
MI QB AJ Westendorp committed to Central Michigan.
FL QB Austin Dantin committed to Toledo.
OH OL Marcus Hall selected Ohio State, in the shocker of the century.
PA OL Tahir Basil (who had pretty much no Michigan interest), committed to Lafayette.
MN CB Varmah Sonie. Committed to Northern Iowa.

FL CB Adrian Witty has set a press conference at 11AM on Signing Day to announce his decision. No word on whether his teammate, QB Denard Robinson, will announce at that time as well. Even is he doesn’t, the announcement from Robinson will probably come some time on Signing Day. For good measure, here’s a little fluff on Robinson. Indications are still (with no definitive word) that the two are a package deal, which would help Michigan.

SC OL Quinton Washington will announce later today or tomorrow between Michigan and South Carolina. Michigan and USC insiders are equally confident on this one, so there is no indication which one he’ll select.

PA WR/slot Je’Ron Stokes will announce his decision sometime on Signing Day. He is thought to be choosing between Michigan, Illinois, and Tennessee. I’ve also re-added Stokes to the board, because regardless of his commitment to Tennessee, he’s clearly open, and Michigan may in fact be the favorite.

SC DE Sam Montgomery took his final official visit (to Tennessee) this weekend, and now:

Montgomery is considering the Vols along with Clemson, USC, Michigan, North Carolina and LSU. “We have to go home and make some comparisons and throw things around and go from there,” Mrs. Montgomery said. “The list does have to be trimmed. We’ll possibly cut some tonight. We’ll be in contact with some schools to get some answers and some clarifications. Distance is not going to be a factor.”

Montgomery plans to announce Wednesday morning on ESPN.

Schools will be eliminated (I assume somewhat publicly) as he goes, with a final decision announced Wednesday morning on ESPN (I assume ESPNU).

DT commits Pearlie Graves (from Oklahoma) and DeQuinta Jones (of Louisiana) are wavering, and have been for quite some time. I assume we’ll hear confirmation of final choices from those two by Signing Day. Michigan really needs at least one, and preferably both of them, to pick the Wolverines.

Most other recruits are pretty much out of the question, though there’s a possibility that the Wolverines pick up a sleeper or two. Everyone else will stay on the board for the time being until there’s official reason to remove them.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Recruiting Boards can be found to the left at any time or right here: 2009 & 2010.

Decent recruiting overview with less than a week left from the Free Press.

OH CB Commit Justin Turner has apparently been offered the #2 jersey when he arrives in Ann Arbor. This would surprise me, as Boubacar Cissoko has been rumored to be switching to #2 this year.

LA DT Commit DeQuinta Jones gave a little feedback on his Michigan visit:

“Snow was piled up everywhere,” said Jones, who verbally committed to the Wolverines over the summer. “But it really wasn’t that cold to me.”

One of the highlights of the trip for the handful of recruits was getting to pay a visit to coach Rich Rodriguez’s home. “We went to coach Rodriguez’s house and played pool,” Jones said. “It’s a three-story mansion.”

Overall, Jones says his visit, “went real good.”

He also said he won’t be sure where he’s going until signing day comes and goes, but current scuttlebutt among those on the internets is that he’ll still end up with Michigan.

2009 FL QB Denard Robinson is considered a Florida lean? This goes against all the conventional wisdom on Robinson and Witty, but it is worth noting in case there’s something to it.

2009 PA WR Je’Ron Stokes is considering taking a visit to Georgia this weekend. I’m not quite sure how serious that interest can be, considering it’s pretty much come from nowhere. Rich rodriguez was also in his home “most of the evening” on Tuesday.

2009 SC DE Sam Montgomery was visited by South Carolina Monday, but he doesn’t plan to head to Columbia before Signing Day for an unofficial, so it seems like South Carolina probably isn’t a player here. Sam will announce his decision on ESPN at 10 or 10:30 on Signing Day. Also a very brief mention of his visit to LSU, wherein LSU commit Chris Faulk commits on his bubbly personality.

2009 LA LB Barkevious Mingo visited Alabama over the weekend.

Superfluff on 2009 MI QB AJ Westendorp. The article seems to say that he’ll definitely accept a scholarship offer somewhere (and Michigan doesn’t seem likely to offer). He might even pick GVSU over Central Michigan if the Chips offer. He’s verrry close to being removed from the board.

2010 SC QB Cornelius Jones is getting Michigan interest, though he’s no longer reporting a Michigan offer as he (falsely) was over the spring/summer.

2010 FL WR/Slot Chris Dunkley has a top 5, and Michigan isn’t in it. The big 3 Florida schools, Georgia, and West Virginia are.

The 2010 contingent from Byrnes, SC (including RB Marcus Lattimore, one of the nation’s top prospects, and fellow target DE Brandon Willis) made their way to Duke’s junior day last week, and will visit Florida State this weekend.

Michigan Sports Center does a bit of super-sleuthing to determine that Michigan has offered 2010 MI QB Robert Bolden.

Removed:
2009 VA QB Tajh Boyd. Clemson.
2009 TX WR Josh Gordon. Baylor.
2009 TX CB/WR DeWayne Peace. Arizona.

Guys who weren’t on the board but can pretty much be forgotten about now:
2009 LA WR Travante Stallworth. Reaffirmed to Auburn.
2009 FL WR Willie Haulstead. Don’t entirely forget about him, but he’s reaffirmed his FSU commitment.

Posted under Football

Scout headline watch: “Deerfield Coach optimistic on Robinson, Witty.” Posted by GBW, the interpretation is pretty simple: optimistic of Michigan’s chances to land 2009 prospects Denard Robinson and Adrian Witty.

2009 LA LB Barkevious Mingo‘s best friend has accepted a preferred walkon opportunity at LSU. He’s trying to convince Mingo to join him in Baton Rouge:

Glynn added that he hopes to share a dormitory room with teammate Barkevious Mingo should his best friend and Blue Chip prospect choose LSU. “We hang out every day. Coach (Les) Miles told us we could room together if Barkevious decides to come there. It should be a fun four or five years if Barkevious decides on LSU.”

Glynn may get to live out his dream, as Mingo is likely to become a Tiger.

2009 SC OL Quinton Washington visited Tennessee this past weekend, will head to Miami this upcoming weekend, and entertained Rich Rodriguez and co. in-home last week.

Muck fluff featuring a cameo from 2009 RB commit/enrollee Vincent Smith:

“Life is a struggle,” said former Pahokee running back Vincent Smith, now playing at Michigan. “It’s a learning experience because you have to be able to adapt quickly or you can easily get into trouble. Playing sports helped put me on the outside of some of the circumstances and struggles in the town.”

LA WR Travante Stallworth is down to Auburn, Michigan, and South Carolina. He had his Auburn official last weekend, which probably determined whether or not he’ll recommit to the Tigers.

Removed 2009 GA S Darren Myles from the board:

Until recently, OSU was hopeful of adding Atlanta Carver safety Darren Myles — ranked among the nation’s top 10 safeties — to its 2009 class (signing day is Feb. 4).

Myles was supposed to be up for an official visit last weekend, but never came, reportedly because of inclement weather. He now says his decision is between Alabama and Louisiana State.

He’ll also take a Kentucky visit, but all of those options are still distinctly non-Michigan.

Also removed 2009 OH CBs Dale Peterman and Mike Edwards, who committed to Syracuse and Tennessee, respectively. OLs Khalil Wilkes and Henry Conway committed to Stanford and Sparty, respectively. LA DE Bennie Logan committed to LSU, which has to help Michigan (if ever-so-slightly) with SC DE Sam Montgomery.

2010 OH WR Jerald Robinson visited Ohio State for their recent junior day. He is hearing from most schools around the midwest, but has only visited Michigan, Ohio State, and Sparty.

Added to the 2010 board: OH DE Derrick Bryant and MI Ath Daniel Easterly, at the recommendation of commenter Griffin Fraley. Also added: FL OL Chaz Green, a high school teammate of QB prospect Christian Green who has been garnering some pretty good attention himself.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Recruiting Boards (2009 & 2010) can be found anytime in the left sidebar.

LA DT Commit DeQuinta Jones visited Arkansas last weekend, and seemingly enjoyed himself.

Jones is set to visit Michigan this weekend and plans to visit either Mississippi State or Ole Miss the following weekend. He said he isn’t certain when he’ll make a decision.

“I might wait until signing day and surprise a lot of people.” Jones said.

Given the conventional wisdom regarding his recruitment, a reaffirmation of his Michigan commitment might be the most surprising thing possible. I’m still super-leery of a guy who is (nominally) committed being unsure of when he’ll make a decision.

Michigan and Florida are likely to be the final 2 for FL QB Denard Robinson. Florida is out in the lead, but the Wolverines are making a strong push:

One interesting dynamic could be his teammate, defensive back Adrian Witty, who will visit Florida on the weekend of Jan. 23. Kansas State is offering the pair the chance to play together on the next level, and Michigan may follow suit. If that happens, especially in the case of the Wolverines, it will be interesting to se e if the temptation to play alongside his high school teammate proves too much for Robinson to pass up. That said, I still feel Florida is the team to beat here.

Michigan has indeed offered Witty (by far his biggest offer), so that could certainly help with Robinson. The two had (and enjoyed) their official visit to Ann Arbor last weekend. If Witty doesn’t get offered by Florida, that would be a very good thing for Michigan. There’s also a mini-scouting report on Denard:

One other quick note on Robinson: Photographer Tim Casey and I visited him at practice for the Dade-Broward All-Star Game this weekend, he certainly has a big-time arm. While his size isn’t the greatest (even 6-0 might be a little generous), Robinson is an incredible athlete and deserves every opportunity to play the position on the next level.

Speaking of Witty, Michigan has stopped recruiting 2009 FL CB Jayron Hosley. They apparently feel good enough about cornerback recruiting to take a pass on Hosley, which means they probably feel that they are likely to land Witty, or are likely to offer other prospects that they like their chances with.

Michigan’s last couple (realistic) offensive line recruits for the 2009 class are thick in their recruitments. NC OL Travis Bond visited ECU last weekend, and the author of that article strangely thinks it’s a foregone conclusion that Bond will eventually be committing to the Pirates. I don’t think that’s even close to the case. According to MGoBlog’s TomVH, Bond will announce next week. SC OL Quinton Washington has all sorts of visits going on, and Rich Rodriguez will visit his house next week.

2009 LA WR Travante Stallworth was an official visitor last weekend, and he offered a bit of reaction to Phil Kornblut:

“The Michigan trip went pretty well,” Stallworth said. “I liked the coaches and players. Everything was top of the line with the facilities. And the academics, I liked that, too.”

He enjoyed the visit enough that the Wolverines have pulled even with the schools at the forefront of his recruitment (info in header).

Miami of Florida is the favorite for 2009 TX CB Demontre Hurst. He’s apparently become a hot prospect of late, as several schools seem to have ratcheted up the intensity on him. I would be surprised if he ended up committing to Michigan.

2009 FL LB Mike Marry doesn’t sound like he’ll be visiting Michigan, and he is close to being crossed off the old list. He has visits to Ole Miss, USF, and Duke.

Added to the 2010 board: IL LB Rickey Simpson. He is “Hearing from several.” Hmm, that article was posted on the front page of the Michigan Scout affiliate. I wonder if the Wolverines are one of the teams in contact with him. Info, quite obviously, in header.

2010 FL WR Chris Dunkley has received an offer from Miami. Michigan offered in the fall, but the Canes at least have a hometown advantage.

2010 TX DT Jay Guy has reportedly been offered by Michigan (info in header).

Despite apparently growing up a Michigan fan, 2010 OH RB Erick Howard (the state’s Mr. Football for the 2008 season) currently favors Ohio State (info in header). Obviously, Michigan has some time to make up the gap.

2010 FL CB Lorenza Wood has received his Michigan offer, and the Wolverines have long been his established favorite. Might he pick the maize-and-blue soon?

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Recruiting boards are in the top box on the left sidebar.

Added to the Board:
2010 OH CB/Ath Braylon Heard. He says Penn State and USC are his favorites, and though he doesn’t mention Michigan in the article, I’m sure the Wolverines are interested. He has a good first name for Michigan, and a fairly rad highlight video, as well as an equally good one from his sophomore year.
2010 NJ OL Bill Bilo. Interested in Michigan (info in header/obvious from posting on GBW front page).
2010 HI LB VJ Fehoko. Michigan is corresponding with him, and he seems like a good one – other schools of interest are Alabama, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame. Texas Tech is his current favorite.

Michigan so impressed OH OL Marcus Hall on his visit that he has a new leader (info in header). I wonder who that could be? OSU insiders think Michigan’s lead is ephemeral, but a Glenville product even naming the Wolverines his favorite this late in the process is a huge leap forward for recruiting from that Buckeye pipeline.

FL CB Adrian Witty was similarly impressed on his Michigan visit, but GBW doesn’t even try to play it coy this time, and the info is blatantly in the header. Michigan is by far his biggest offer (only others, to my knowledge, are FIU and KSU), and if HS teammate QB Denard Robinson wants to play with his friend in college, Michigan is their only option.

Tennessee is the favorite for 2009 OH CB Mike Edwards from Cleveland Glenville. The Vols are giving him the full-court press, solidifying their #1 status. He apparently has his Michigan visit this weekend, however, giving the Wolverines a chance to catch up.

Miami of Florida has entered the fray for 2009 SC OL Quinton Washington. Likely the top OL prospect left on Michigan’s board, Q looks to take all of his visits before reaching a decision.

Tennessee coaches (including Kiffin the elder and DaCoachO) were in Louisiana last week to visit 2009 DT Commit DeQuinta Jones and his teammate, WR Rueben Randle. I would assume (and, obviously, hope) that their visit was more targeted towards Randle than Jones.

You can all-but cross 2009 FL CB Jayron Hosley off the board. Following a USF visit, the USF Scout affiliate publishes an article entitled “Jayron Knows Where He’s Going.” Hmm, I wonder where that could be. He still takes his Michigan visit this weekend, though he’s bound to hate the weather.

2009 PA LB Dan Mason say’s he’s “pretty much narrowed things down to Pitt and West Virginia.” Michigan isnt even mentioned as one of the schools that just didn’t make the cut. He’ll stay on the board for now, as I assume a Michigan offer would put the Wolverines right into the conversation.

SC DE Sam Montgomery enjoyed his Michigan visit:

“I’m high on Michigan right now. They are two steps ahead of everybody. But I’ll wait and make my decision after all the visits.”

Don’t get your hopes too high though, as he has something of a reputation for aying great things about whichever school he’s heard from or visited most recently. If he’s still making such positive comments after his LSU visit, that will be notable. And here’s a little more on his upcoming timetable:

In the next month, Montgomery will take official visits to LSU, Tennessee, Oregon and North Carolina. While Montgomery won’t take official visits to South Carolina and Clemson, he said the in-state schools are still in the mix.

Montgomery said he plans not to announce a commitment. Rather, he said he will announce where he’ll attend college when he signs his national letter of intent.

2009 FL WR Nu’Keese Richardson said Michigan was among his favorites before he committed to Florida in the summer. Is he opening up his recruitment? If so, he has a chance to be re-added to the board later. Keep an eye on ‘Keese for now.

Mgoblog is obviously very awesome, and if you visit this site, you’re undoubtedly a regular reader over there as well. For that reason, I typically won’t link directly to Brian’s info, as it stands on its own. However, in TomVH’s Tate Forcier interview earlier this week, there was some pertinent info on 2010 CA RB Brennan Clay, a high school teammate of Forcier.

TOM: Your teammate, Brennan Clay, is a Michigan target for next year. Is there anything you’ve said to him about joining you, or is there anything you’ll do in the future?

TATE: I’ve been working on him since day one. He’s getting a lot of attention, he just got offered by USC last week. I want what’s best for him, but I have a good feeling if he was going to come back east, this would be a school he could choose. He’s going to come out for spring ball, so hopefully I can convince him. I know he loves Coach Smith and Rodriguez, and he likes Michigan. Talking with those guys is like extended family, they’re just really cool guys, which helps.

Brennan is far from a lock to Michigan, especially with early offers from schools like USC. Michigan certainly has help in the recruitment, though, and it seems (as evidenced by said USC offer) that Clay will be a top prospect in next year’s class. For the rest of the Forcier interview, head to Mgoblog.

2010 MI RB Austin White has been the subject of some transfer rumors lately. However, his dad says he is staying at Livonia Stevenson instead of transferring to Inkster High School.

“As far as we’re concerned, Austin, honestly, is at Livonia Stevenson,” he said. “If we felt there was an academic program strong enough for Austin and he may benefit from being in a quality program, then we will do what’s best for him. But there’s no issue as to why we would be looking or searching outside.”

“They have a good education program. Obviously, the only other place I would like to see Austin is where I’m at, and that would be Pioneer, and I know they have outstanding academics and a strong football program.

“But I can almost guarantee you that Austin would go in the total opposite direction of his dad.”

Mr. White is the principal at Pioneer. The Inskter transfer rumors started because Stevenson’s coach has resigned, and Austin would likely seek a good football program with a good, strict coach (the as-yet-unconfirmed rumor has it that he participated in the MSU Football/Hockey fight that got one of his older twin brothers kicked of MSU’s football team). Inkster’s head coach has a reputation for being a so-called “molder of men.” Obviously, either transfer situation (Inkster or AA Pioneer) would be positive for Michigan.

Posted under Football, Recruiting