a2matt:

Have you heard anything about the Victors message board? Apperntly we are supposed to get to defensive commits by Thursday, one from Texas and 1 from Ohio.

I hadn’t heard about this (until today, when it became the hot news). If true, that would definitely be good news for Michigan football.

From Texas, I think the only player we are close to getting would be DeWayne Peace. He is a WR/DB. As far as the Ohio guy, I can’t think of anyone that we are close on (that has also been offered). There may be an offer out there I’m not accounting for, or the original poster may have the state mixed up, and Jordan Barnes (Indiana linebacker expected to pick between Michigan and the Alabama schools this week) could be the recruit in question.

More on this story as news of its veracity (or lack thereof) comes out.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board.

Added:
FL S Mike Jones. Michigan is one of the schools he is considering. They may be co-leaders with ND.
IN LB Jordan Barnes. The Michigan target is deciding this week (info in header).

New Information:
FL DE Ryne Giddins. He has made the Army Game, and will announce his decision there.
GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. Fluff.
OK RB David Oku. He will now wait until his official to visit Michigan.
VA RB David Wilson. Michigan is still among his schools being considered.
NC DB Terry Shankle. Michigan is not in his list of 6 favorites.
PA CB Corey Brown. Michigan is in his top 5, but Pitt might be at the top (and OSU is probably up there as well).
FL DB Vladimir Emilien. Really digs OSU.

Etc.:
Fluff on ’08 player Dann O’Neill, fellow freshman Mike Shaw’s track exploits/excellence. As the article states, he is the anchor leg on the winning team.

’09 commit Justin Turner is RichRod’s only head-to-head win against Tressel so far.

Posted under Recruiting

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Episode 2:

Posted under Recruiting, Video

I’ve heard a lot of rumbling about how all of Michigan’s commitments are skill players, rather than linemen. While this is partially true (Michigan also has had a commitment from Will Campbell since the beginning of time), Michigan’s pickup of Michael Schofield changed this somewhat. Of course, the fans are never satisfied, and a couple defensive ends or safeties could go a long way to assuage their fears.

I figured this change was more a reaction to the new regime coming in and needing to be established, until I found an article with this fairly interesting quote:

While the current 10 verbal commitments to the Mountaineers’ next recruiting class are predominantly skill-position players…

This made me wonder about whether there is an inherent quality of the system, or perhaps even the personality of the coaching staff (while most of West Virginia’s old coaching staff is now in Ann Arbor, some members – including the new headman – remain in Morgantown).

West Virginia fans are apparently suffering from the same restlessness of Michigan fans, in hoping that they will stop picking up skill players and start getting some big fellas. The Mountaineer even have 3 linemen to Michigan’s 2, and this is still not enough.

I did a bit of historical research to see if West Virginia’s early commits were typically skill position players. It appears that this wasn’t always the case. Is there a trend here, or just a coincidence? I certainly couldn’t decide.

Posted under Coaching, Recruiting

Scout has updated their player rankings, and that is reflected in these team rankings. I might switch to Rivals rankings soon, because they appear to be less terrible. Also: Purdue, welcome.

Action since last rankings:
6-16-08 Michigan gains commitment from Michael Schofield.
6-19-08 Purdue gains commitment (!) from Ismael Aristide.
6-20-08 Ohio State gains commitment from Duron Carter. Indiana gains commitment from Edward Wright-Baker. Michigan State gains commitment from Dana Dixon.

New Rankings:

Dominic Clarke is now a 3-star, as is Zach Boren. Fellows has been given a fifth star.

Michael Schofield is Michigan’s first OL commit. His athleticism is a good fit for the spread offense. Gallon and Bell have now been ranked as 3-star players.

Howle, Felder, and Morris have been ranked 3-stars. Arcidiacono has been given a fourth star. Curtis Drake is being brought in as a QB unless the Nittany Lions get a top-notch signal caller in this calss (in which case he will likely be a WR). Penn State has a quantity-over-quality class right now.

Fox now ranked a 3-star. Golic drops to 3-star. Kicker fills a need.

An instate WR picks the Spartans.

Keise will probably end up a low 3-star/high 2-star. Same with Rengel.

Zac Matthi
as brings the Badgers past Illinois. His ranking is bumped in my mind by the Wisconsin seal of approval.

Illinois started fast, but has since stagnated (and lost Melvin Fellows to the Bucks).

Ferentz’s glory days in recruiting seem to be over. Barrent drops to 3 stars in Scout update.

At least they have some commits.

Not sure where Aristide will be ranked, but it has to be a more important commit than a long-snapper. He was on the verge of becoming a big prospect before a junior year injury.

Keyt is a long snapper/DE who will greyshirt, according to IUFootball (who deserves props: writing about Indiana football has to be among the most thankless jobs out there). Indiana also picks up a QB commit in Edward Wright-Baker.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board.

Moved to Committed:
IL OL Michael Schofield. Commitment article from Sun-Times.

Added:
SC TE Jim Teknipp. He wants to visit Michigan this summer.
FL TE Orson Charles. He has a Michigan offer. Most consider him a Florida lock, however.
MD RB Malek Redd. Impressive at Michigan camp.
MD RB Caleb Porzel. Teammate of Jelani Jenkins, and he seems like a good fit for the spread. Michigan is probably playing catch-up, however.
TX WR DeWayne Peace. There is clearly mutual interest for the camper (info in header).

New Information:
SC DB Damario Jeffery. Michigan is in his top 6 (contrary to Monday’s recruiting post).
LA WR Rueben Randle. Miami of Florida leads (info in header).
OK RB David Oku. Sam Webb News fluff.

Removed:
SC DB David Sims. He has dropped Michigan.
LA DT Chris Davenport. It doesn’t appear that he has any interest in the Wolverines.

Etc.:
You can ignore most of the article, but take note of the blurb at the bottom:

ESPN television is currently in production on a special that will profile the top prospects at the Nike and Elite 11 training camps. The information used in this article was gathered as part of the television production process.

Analysis:
Schofield is a good get for Michigan. This is partially because offensive line was a position of some need in this class, and also because he is a particularly good fit with great athleticism. He is moving upward in the rankings.

Posted under Recruiting

Michael Schofield, Michigan’s 10th 2009 commit, is an offensive lineman hailing from Orland Park, Illinois. The Sandburg High School product stands 6 feet, 6 inches tall, and tips the scales at around 270 pounds.

Schofield’s height seems to be evidence that he will be capable of being an offensive tackle down the road. His lighter weight shows the difference between the athletic linemen preferred by the new coaching staff, as Schofield will put on some weight, but probably never play above 290lbs.

Want more evidence that Schofield is athletic? How about taking note of the fact that he is a hurdler on the Sandburg track team?

110 Meter Hurdles
Finals

Place   Heat  Lane   Wind   Competitor, School                                       Time
 1      1     4           Ryan Buchanan (Fr), Bolingbrook                         16.3
 2      1     5           Mike Schofield (So), Sandburg                           16.3 

While his time of 16.3 may not be particularly impressive when compared to Kevin Newsome’s 14.15, there are a few factors to keep in mind. 1) Kevin Newsome is an all-american in track. 2) Michael Schofield is an offensive lineman. Schofield also shows his strength by chucking the discus for Sandburg.

Schofield seems like a future left tackle at this point, with good height and exceptional athleticism. Rivals and Scout are in disagreement on him at this point, with Rivals considering him a 4-star (#15 offensive tackle) and Scout a 3-star (#47 offensive tackle). Judging by offers from schools like Miami of Florida, Penn State, and Wisconsin, Rivals is likely to be a more accurate ranking.

Posted under Recruiting

Michigan’s offensive line recruiting for the class of 2009 has kicked off with the commitment of Michael Schofield. Schofield (6-6, 280) hails from Orland Park, Illinois, where he attends Sandburg High School. He is Michigan’s 10th overall commit for the class.

Recruiting Notes
Schofield attended the BBQ at the Big House recruiting event. He received a scholarship offer from Rich Rodriguez shortly thereafter. Michigan was the most prestigious school pursuing Schofield, and he decided to end his recruitment on June 16th.

Player Notes
Schofield is a tall, nimble lineman. He has very good height (listed anywhere between 6-5 and 6-7) and will likely end up as a tackle in college, though it remains to be seen if he has the skill set to protect the quarterback’s blind side.

Etc.
Thanks to commenter Obes for tearing me away from the Utah preview I was working on to break the news of this commitment, and also to RJ, who text messaged me the news minutes later.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board.

Added:
AR CB Darius Winston. He has decommitted from Arkansas, and the Wolverines are considered to be among his top schools.
NV DE Keenan Graham. Michigan and USC appear to be at the top of his list. He recently visited Ann Arbor (info in header).
FL LB Frankie Telfort. Michigan has offered.

New Information:
IL OL Chris Watt. Has he dropped Michigan? Since he has visited a couple times, he’ll remain on the board until more info comes out.
PA WR Todd Thomas. Michigan makes his top 5.
GA S Darren Myles. He plans to visit Michigan this summer.
SC OL Quinton Washington. He will make a decision after his senior season.
SC S Stephon Gilmore. Article with no Michigan mention. The Wolverines were recruiting him as a backup QB-type. Should he be dropped from the board soon?
GA DB Donavan Tate. Michigan is among the schools that has offered to let him be a two-sport athlete.
SC S Damario Jeffery. Michigan outside his top 6.

Removed:

Etc.:
OH RB Commit Fitzgerald Toussaint. He hasn’t been running track because of a lingering injury.
MI DT Commit William Campbell. Sam Webb fluff in the News.
Fluff on Pahokee High.

Posted under Recruiting

Want to know what the new Adidas home jerseys will look like? A lot like the old home jerseys, with a different logo on them. Thanks to reader Paul for the heads up.

The Big Ten Network and Comcast are expected to announce a deal this week, according to the Chicago Tribune. This comes not one second too soon, and I think all parties involved are relieved to finally have this issue resolved.

For those who have been asking if Jim Stefani’s (awesome) work is available anywhere on the internet anymore, it can now be found here.

Posted under Recruiting