The Board

New Information
MD RB Tavon Austin. Will visit North Carolina this weekend, then decide between the Tarheels and UM. Considering he never visited Ann Arbor…
FL Slot commit Jeremy Gallon. Selected to the Army AA bowl, and named the district player of the year.
SC OL Quinton Washington. Selected to the Shrine Bowl.
IL OL Commit Michael Schofield. Der uberfluff.
SC DE Sam Montgomery. Selected to the Shrine Bowl.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. Fluff.
SC S Devonte Holloman. Choosing between Clemson and Michigan for 5th official.
FL S Angelo Hadley. Deciding whether to visit Michigan with Mywan Jackson or not.
FL CB Mywan Jackson. Recently suspended for disciplinary purposes. Bad boy.

Removed:
Travis Hawkins. Maryland commit.

Etc.
Freep fluff on recruiting teammates. Sam Webb in the News about which recruits fans probably don’t have to worry about.

Analysis
Austin will be off the board soon, though that’s no surprise considering he suddenly cancelled a Michigan visit early this year. It’s sounding more like Michigan probably won’t have a chance with Devonte Holloman. They’ll get a shot at Mywan Jackson, though it sounds like Angelo Hadley isn’t all that interested in Michigan (however, see the Freep article about recruiting teammates).

Posted under Football

The Board.

New Information:
MD RB Tavon Austin. Has a top 3 of Michigan, North Carolina, and WVU.
MI DT William Campbell. Sam Webb still thinks Michigan ends up grabbing him (audio). Scouting reports on him and his teammates.
MI RB Teric Jones. Scouting report (same as above).
MI S Thomas Gordon. Scouting report (same as above).
MI WR Cameron Gordon. Sam Webb News fluff.
SC S Devonte Holloman. May make a commitment without getting a chance to visit Michigan. It sounds like Michigan is no longer under consideration, though different sources have said otherwise recently. He’ll stay on the board for now.
FL S Vladimir Emilien. Michigan the team to beat? (audio). He’s deciding November 23rd.
FL CB Jayron Hosley. Doesn’t sound like Michigan is really involved at all. Also, all-access video piece.
MD CB Travis Hawkins. He’s deciding today. Final four of PSU, Maryland, Oregon, and Michigan. Maryland and Oregon are the likely final two there.

Removed:
TX S Craig Loston. LSU Commit.

Etc.:
In the audio above, Sam Webb gives a little treatise on Michigan’s in-state recruiting in 2009. His feelings are essentially the same as mine, in that people are making a big to-do when there is no substance to the “allegations.”
Freep fluff on the senior recruits at the MSU game.

Analysis:
I’ve been wondering for some time if Michigan will get back in on Cameron Gordon, if only to help with his junior teammate, Devin Gardner. It appears as though he’s resigned to ending up at linebacker, though Michigan may be filling up at the position. Who knows how it’ll end up, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Michigan go after him at least a little bit more.

Posted under Football

Board.

Moved from Committed:
TX K Anthony Fera. He’s headed to Penn State now.

Added:
OH CB Mike Edwards. He now has an offer (info in header).
FL K Brendan Gibbons. Probably Michigan’s #1 kicking target now.

New Information:
GA QB/S Donavan Tate. He now say’s he’ll go to college regardless of where he gets drafted by the MLB. Southern Cal, UNC, Bama, Michigan, and Georgia comprise his current top 5.
MI DT William Campbell. Michigan’s top remaining target for 2009.
SC S Devonte Holloman. His teammate (and former UM target) Stephon Gilmore has now committed to South Carolina. Might that help convince Holloman to commit there?
NC OL Travis Bond. He’ll be in this weekend (info in header).
FL CB Angelo Hadley. Michigan is in his top 4 (info in header).

Removed:
OK CB Gabe Lynn. Down to a final 5 that does not include Michigan.
TX K Anthony Fera. Penn State commit.
IL DE Craig Drummond. He’ll pick between Illinois and Wisconsin.

Etc.:
FL WR Willie Haulstead is not on the board because he’s a Florida State commit, but he will be in for the MSU game this weekend.
The Freep weighs in on many of the guys who will be around. Sam Webb does the same in the Detroit News.

Analysis:
Fera’s loss is sad, and I would love to have him, but it appears as though he has moved on, and Brendan Gibbons is now the kicker du jour for Michigan.
Columbus Dispatch article in which MI TE Reid Fragel disses Michigan’s instate recruiting effort. Gee, an OSU commit trying to badmouth Michigan, I’m so surprised. Much ado about nothing.

Posted under Football

The Board.

Moved to Committed:

Moved from Committed:
MN WR Bryce McNeal. Decommitted Monday night.

Added:
SC S Devonte Holloman. The former Michigan target has decommitted from Clemson. Potential visits include Michigan.
TX S Craig Loston. Also a Clemson decommit. Michigan was in on him early, but they may not be a player anymore. He’ll get a little time on the board until we can figure out if he’s a viable target.

New Information:
MI DT William Campbell. He’s set his visits. Sam Webb reveals what they shall be.
LA DT Commit DeQuinta Jones. He’s looking around a little bit. Might it result in a decommitment?
AZ DE Craig Roh. His game this Friday will be broadcast over the internet. You can find it at aia365.com. Just as a disclaimer, I couldn’t gt this site to work properly during the week, so don’t get your hopes too high.
MD DE Jason Ankrah. Visiting PSU for the Michigan game this weekend.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. He has trimmed to 15; Michigan is in.

Removed:

Etc.:
A sort of state-of-the-recruiting class statement from Josh Helmholdt in the Free Press.
Not on the board because he’s technically still committed to Florida, but Nu’Keese Richardson still intends to visit for the Michigan State game next week.

Analysis:

Posted under Football

All information (past and present) lives on the board.

New Information:
VA QB Kevin Newsome. Still nominally considering Michigan, though Forcier’s commitment pretty much shuts the door on the Wolverines re-landing him. More on Newsome: Michigan isn’t one of the 3 locks to make his top 5.
OK RB David Oku. Spoke less-than-effusively about his Louisville visit. This is recruiting-speak for “I couldn’t have hated it more.” However, he rescheduled his announcement for next Wednesday. Without having visited Michigan, the Wolverines’ chances seem pretty low.
GA TE Terrell Mitchell. Michigan is still on him.
MI DT William Campbell. Some more information on his decommitment, including that he plans to enroll early wherever he chooses. Re-recruitment article from the Freep. Sam Webb discusses Campbell in the Detroit News. Quoth the mother:

“He’s still basically committed to U-M, but I said there is nothing wrong with going to visit a few schools. There is nothing wrong with that.”

This doesn’t sound too bad. Also, the article says he won’t announce his decision until the Army game, which would contradict a recent assertion that he will enroll early.
NJ DE Anthony LaLota. Michigan and PSU are widely regarded to be his de facto top 2. Also, Scout indicates that he is likely deciding soon.
MI S Thomas Gordon. The Cass Tech player has said he’d be a near-lock to Michigan were he to get an offer, and now he has it (info in header). Is his commitment just a matter of time?
FL S Jonathan Scott. His brother transfers from OSU. I guess coming to Michigan would no longer let them engage in sibling rivalry.
MS S Dennis Thames. Fluff, including top schools (Michigan still up there). His injury will keep him out 4-6 weeks.

Removed:
MI RB Hersey Jackson. He is out for the season with an injury. He hadn’t earned a Michigan offer, and needed a big senior year to get one. So much for that idea.

Analysis:
Like I said immediately in the wake of the Campbell “decommitment,” nothing has really changed for Big Will. When he was “committed” he said he’d take 5 visits and probably pick Michigan, and following his “decommitment,” he’s saying… that he’ll take 5 visits and probably pick Michigan. On that basis alone, there’s nothing to freak out about (if we didn’t really have him before, did we really lose him).

Etc.:
NC S Devonte Holloman. He will take visits other than Clemson. Typical “not including elsewhere-committed prospects” rules apply, but keep in mind that one of them will be to Michigan. He is planning to enroll early, fwiw.
MI WR Commit Bryce McNeal. A bit of fluffy stuff.
TX QB Commit Shavodrick Beaver. Don’t forget, he plays on ESPN2 in a couple hours.

Michigan Targets Visiting South Bend This Weekend:
NC OL Xavier Nixon (though he’s not on the board anymore, could a strong game from the Wolverines rekindle his interest in Michigan?).
SC DE Chris Bonds (have seen a “maybe” next to this one).

Posted under Recruiting

The Board.

Added:
FL OL Matt Alajajian. He has been offered (info in header).
NC QB Everett Proctor. He would be a backup QB/DB. Michigan might give him the opportunity to start his career as a QB to get him to commit. He is HS teammates with Xavier Nixon.

New Information:
OK RB David Oku. He has trimmed his list to a top 5, still including Michigan (and no longer including OSU or USC).
MN WR Bryce McNeal. Sam Webb in the DetNews.

Removed:
NC DB Devonte Holloman. Committed to Clemson.
MI WR James Jackson. Committed to Ohio State.
CA QB Tate Forcier. Michigan is probably done recruiting him.
PA OT Eric Shrive. THE Pennsylvania State University.

Analysis:
As I said when it happened, James Jackson hurts because he is an instate guy spurning Michigan to go to Ohio State. He loves the school, but never really got a vibe going with the new coaching staff. His location makes it possible for Rodriguez to continue recruiting him. Holloman hurts because it means another year, no 5-star safeties. He had been planning a Michigan visit tomorrow, and it seems as though his commitment may have been to avoid having to go on the visit when he knew he actually wanted to become a Tiger.

Posted under Recruiting

A couple big hits to Michigan’s recruiting efforts, as two of their top prospects are off the board. Holloman is probably a bigger hit than Jackson, as he seemed to be more interested in Michigan than Jackson did, and will be harder to get back on campus to sway his decision (especially since he was supposed to come here this weekend). Jackson had cooled on Michigan over the course of time, but if Rodriguez and co. really want him, they should at least be able to get him back on campus to visit, as he is an instate prospect.

Both prospects will be removed from the next edition of the Recruiting Board. On a side note, I don’t understand how Clemson has consistent recruiting classes that can be described as “kind of awesome” and teams that can be described as “kind of terrible.”

Posted under Recruiting

Now updated to account for Teric Jones commitment.

I don’t really intend to update the recruiting board every day, but when something big happens (such as a commitment), it’s kind of necessary. Tom Beaver speaks on Grand Haven radio.

OH DB Justin Turner moved to committed. Free Press article.
MI RB Teric Jones moved to committed.

New Information:
MI WR James Jackson wants to do football and track in college. Have him talk to Morgan Trent.
FL WR Andre Debose Track fluff.
OK RB David Oku plans to decide on his birthday (October 10th), if possible.
IL DE Craig Drummond won’t take visits until after his ACT is done with. Top 5 of M, IL, USC, Kstate, and Tennessee.
NC S Devonte Holloman will decide after official visits, and maybe early.

Etc.: Steve Spurrier apparently thinks the new clock rules will help teams that run a no-huddle offense (hey, that’s us!). My boy John Bacon slams him some Carty.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board.

Thanks to a couple guys who e-mailed me about new prospects, and always to Brian, for unearthing a few I hadn’t heard about yet. I checked out these guys and added the ones I found to meet the arbitrary criteria I established for the board.

Added:
OH DE Devon Curtis. A high school teammate of Patrick Omameh.

New Information:
VA QB Kevin Newsome will not play QB if he goes to WVU. Track article on Newsome and HS teammate Javanti Sparrow.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins may want to stay closer to home, according to his coach.
MN WR Bryce McNeal on the GopherHole.
UT OL Xavier Sua’Filo is committed to the ESPNU Under Armour game.
MI DT William Campbell and PA LB Dorian Bell are committed to the Army game.
NC S Devonte Holloman fluff from Yahoo.
TX S Craig Loston is down to two schools. I don’t think either of them is Michigan.

Etc.: Toledo Blade article on the QB situation. Recruiting fluff from the Freep. Administration Op-Ed responding to the Carticle.

Posted under Recruiting

One last recruiting update before I head off to a land of indeterminate internet access known as “spring break.” Over the next week, I’ll post if I have access, but otherwise I plan on having Paul go back and post the highlights (read: lowlights) from the home basketball games so far.

Anyway, the board. LSU junior day information courtesy of Bayou Bengal Blog.

Added:
TX RB Jazsman Mitchell. A little guy who will probably end up a slot WR if he comes to Michigan.
TX RB Hasan Lipscomb. Included because of the impact he may have on Russell Shepard. The two are high school teammates and friends who are both going to LSU’s junior day this weekend. Lipscomb grew up as a fan of the Bayou Bengals.
LA DT Chris Davenport. Top DT who is attending LSU’s junior day this weekend.
SC DE Chris Bonds. Michigan is in his top 5.

Removed:
TX DE Mike Brockers. Committed to LSU.

New information:
TX QB Russell Shepard. He is attending LSU’s junior day this weekend. His current girlfriend goes to LSU (not sure why he needs to date someone two years older than him, but I digress). They are considered in his top 3 along with Texas and Michigan.
FL QB Eugene Smith. His dad attended Miami of Florida. Various sources have him listed as a pro-style quarterback, despite his 4.65 dash time.
MS QB Clayton Moore. He is a pass-run or pro-style QB rather than run-pass. A second team All-State selection as a junior. He may enroll early at the school of his choice. He is also a baseball propect who may opt to play minor leagues instead.
PA WR Todd Thomas. He now reports a Michigan offer.
MI WR James Jackson. His offer from Lloyd Carr’s staff has been reaffirmed.
MS WR Dennis Thames. First team All-state selection as a junior.
NC OL Xavier Nixon. He is a nimble center for his basketball team. Has relevance to his foot quickness.
MS DT Josh Boyd. 2nd team All-state as a junior.
MS LB David Conner. First team All-state as a junior.
NC S Devonte Holloman. Wants to trim his list to 5 by summer. HS QB.
TX S Craig Loston. Michigan is in his top 5.

Posted under Recruiting