At the top of his press conference Rich Rodriguez basically went through the list and talked briefly about each commit. A lot of it was coach-speak and praising the high school coaches, but there was quite a bit of useful information (as opposed to Lloyd Carr press conferences, which were awesome in their own way) on most of the players. One interesting thing in general is that Rodriguez let us know who the lead recruiter was for each player, and for just about everyone from Florida it was Rod Smith. I guess that’s why need a de facto third QB coach. On to the players:

Isaiah Bell

Coach mentioned that the staff is really tight with Youngstown Liberty coach Jeff Whittaker. It’s not that stacked of a school, but seems to produce a bit of talent ona regular.  He said that Bell would start competing as a safety, but if he can but on enough weight, may move up to outside linebacker.

William Campbell

Looking at depth chart would probably tell you this too, but Rodriguez said that Campbell will play defense only and will compete for playing time right at the outset.  Campbell got the instant impact tag from the coach.  Will said himself that his goal is to start his freshman year.  Even though he is a really funny, kind of goofy guy, I get the feeling that he’s super competative; I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be a RB/QB playing against Michigan in two years. Campbell is now doing the full Barwis workout and says the toughest part was the running becuase since the all star game he’s been relaxing and “got fat.”

Vlad Emilien

Coach said he could play either Safety position and will probably be moved around to positions of need.

Tate Forcier

Apparently in the Spring, Jason Forcier was in town and talked with Rodriguez. He basically said he’d recruit Tate for Michigan.  I just can’t help but wonder how different this last year would have been if Forcier hadn’t transferred… Oh well.  Obviously will come and compete right away for time at QB. When a reporter asked Rodriguez if he was confident that he’ll end up with a really good quarterback he responded that “we’ll have a really good competition.”  Tate says he works much more on accuracy and a quick release than arm strength. In some passing drills he claims he hit Mike Cox and Kevin Koger in the back of the head because they weren’t expecting the ball to get there as quickly as it did.  After his interview with the TV crews at the press conference, most reporters were surprised at how well he handled himself.  He really seemed like a pro.

Jeremy Gallon

For some reason, I gor the feeling that Rodriguez is especially excited about Gallon, but I’m probably just projecting my own excitement.  Coach said he’ll compete immediately at slot.  Tim has made this argument that Odoms is a pretty good slot receiver, but the concept of the slot receiver may be more appealing than Odoms himself.  Rodriguez also mentioned that he’ll immediately be in the mix for returning kicks.  Obviously, Coach didn’t talk about grade issues in specifics, but he mentioned that there are about 2-3 recruits who haven’t been approved by the Clearinghouse and that all of those recruits of realistic plans to follow that will allow them to qualify.  Rodriguez didn’t really seem to worried about grade issues.

Check out Varsity Blue throughout the day for the tidbits on the rest of recruits.

Posted under Football, Personnel, Recruiting

I had originally planned to include this information as part of a regular recruiting post, but there was just too much to fit it all in one place.

The rosters for the annual Big 33 All-Star game (Ohio v. Pennsylvania) have been announced. Your players of interest:

Pennsylvania:
LB Dan Mason

Ohio:
WR/Ath Micah Hyde
RB Commit Fitzgerald Toussaint
OL Marcus Hall
CB Mike Edwards
CB/S Commit Justin Turner
S/LB Commit Isaiah Bell

The game will be played June 20th in Hershey, PA. Last year’s game had highlights (most notably of Michigan freshman Michael Shaw) available on the internet, so keep an eye out.

While we’re on the topic of All-stars, the first 10 players for the Army All-American Bowl in 2010 were announced at the combine, and they are:

Markeith Ambles of Henry County (McDonough, Ga.); Dillon Baxter of Mission Bay (San Diego); Robert Crisp of Chapel Hill (N.C.); Michael Dyer of Little Rock Christian; Jake Heaps of Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.); Malcolm Jones of Oaks Christian (Westlake, Calif.); Marcus Lattimore of Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.); Christian Lombard of Fremd (Palatine, Ill.); Chris Martin of Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland); and Lache Seastrunk of Temple (Texas).

Baxter is committed to USC, Lombard is committed to Notre Dame (has nobody shown him their track record for destroying the careers of talented offensive linemen over the past four years?). All of the other prospects are included on the recruiting board already, except Ambles, who has now been added as a wide receiver (slot). Ambles, Crisp, Dyer, Lattimore, and Seastrunk are probably going to be very serious Michigan targets. Jones may be a USC commit, though I believe that article is simply mistaken.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Highlights from the ESPNU/Under Armour All-American game, featuring Michigan commits Craig Roh, Taylor Lewan, and Isaiah Bell.

 

 Podcast Video: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted under Recruiting

Let’s start with the odd/potentially important news. 2009 OH CB Dale Peterman didn’t seem to be too high on Michigan’s radar. However, there is this random quote from a basketball article:

Only one player, Ursuline’s Dale Peterman, who is expected to announce early next week that he will be attending the University of Michigan to play football, fouled out.

Take that for what it’s worth (very little, if you ask me). To the best of my knowledge, he hasn’t been offered.

All-League teams from the San Diego Area include a UM commit and a 2010 prospect:

Eastern League

First-team offense–Wesley Cody (Mira Mesa) Sr.; Tyler Gaffney (Cathedral Catholic) Sr.; Dana Barbaro (St. Augustine) Jr.; Allen Aguilar (St. Augustine) Jr.; Duante Jones (Patrick Henry) Jr.; Robert Forcier (Scripps Ranch) Sr.; Brennan Clay (Scripps Ranch) Jr.

Good for Tate, and I assume having him on the team will help with the recruitment of Clay, if Michigan wants him.

Not to be outdone, FL RB commit Vincent Smith was named his area’s Player of the Year.

Fluff on Michigan’s Ohio commits that are playing in all-star games this weekend. Justin Turner:

Projected as a defensive back once he gets to Ann Arbor, athlete Justin Turner (6-0, 186) of Massillon Washington is representing both Ohio and Michigan in the Army All-American Bowl. He is rated as the No. 25 athlete prospect in the country by ESPN.

Turner, ranked No. 7 in the state by Ohio High, was a two-way standout for Massillon at running back and at defensive back. He rushed for 1,380 yards and 11 touchdowns on 207 carries on offense. Defensively, he had 29 tackles, three interceptions (two for touchdowns) and a forced fumble for the Tigers (6-5).

Turner was a first team All-Ohio selection on defense in Division I and was also a member of the Ohio High/ONN All-Ohio team.

Isaiah Bell:

Headlining the Ohio contingent in the Under Armour game is Youngstown Liberty safety Isaiah Bell on the Black Team. Ohio High ranks Bell (6-2, 200) as the No. 32 prospect in the Class of 2009 while ESPN has Bell as the No. 9 safety in the country and No. 91 player overall.

…and uncommitted prospect Marcus Hall:

Offensive tackle Marcus Hall (6-5, 290) of Cleveland Glenville was a first team All-Ohio selection this season in Division I and an Ohio High/ONN All-Ohio team selection. Hall is rated as the No. 3 player by Ohio High magazine for the Class of 2009 and ESPN has Hall rated as the No. 11 offensive tackle in the country and No. 78 overall.

Hall is the highest rated player nationally from Ohio participating in the three all-star games.

He is considering scholarship offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois, Miami (Fla.) and Tennessee. While the Army All-American Bowl has evolved into a stage for players to announce their college choices about a month before National Signing Day, Hall does not plan on announcing at the game wanting to take all of his official visits before he decides.

2010 FL RB Eduardo Clements sounds like he may be a Miami of Florida lock:

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound running back with documented 4.45-second speed in the 40-yard dash rushed for about 900 yards this year in the hammer-hard competition of Dade County. His first scholarship offer was from Miami, something he savors.

“I mean, my first scholarship offer was from the Canes,” Clements told SN Today. “I was thinking about how my childhood favorite—that I was so up about—had just offered me a scholarship. It was great that people were looking at me and seeing how hard I work.”

He also sports offers from South Florida, Central Florida, West Virginia, Boston College, Iowa, Oregon, Rutgers, and a few others. He doesn’t plan to commit anywhere until his senior year, but it sounds like Miami certainly has a leg up on the competition.

Removed 2009 MN WR Bryce McNeal, a former commit. He announces his decision (already made) this weekend at the Army All-American Bowl between Oregon, Clemson, Minnesota, and Colorado.

Added 2010 FL OL Torrian Wilson. SoFlaFootball reports he has been hearing from Michigan.

2009 MI QB AJ Westendorp has earned a scholarship offer (info in header). This vastly decreases the likelihood he’ll walk on at Michigan.

It doesn’t sound like FL CB Jayron Hosley will be into the weather when he comes on his official visit:

The Michigan staff better have a hill and a sled for Jayron when he visits Ann Arbor Jan 16. He heard about the snow Michigan received a week or so ago and is not feeling that. “I heard they got a bunch of snow and some people even lost power, I don’t want that [laughing].” Michigan seems to be behind the 8 ball now, but like I always said, sell him early playing time. The early playing time, showing him snow actually can be fun [sledding is fun for all ages], and see where it gets you.

If you want to hear Jim Carty’s take on the William Campbell situation, head over to his site to listen to the audio from his weekly WTKA appearance. For the record, Sam Webb still thinks Michigan gets him.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Yeah, so obviously this one was supposed to be published before the one that came out earlier this week, but oh well. On to the information.
Recruiting Boards:
2009 & 2010. These are also always available if you look directly to the left.

Moved to Committed:
2009 MI WR Cameron Gordon. Commit article.
2009 AZ OL Taylor Lewan.

Moved from Committed:
2009 IN LB Jordan Barnes. From the sounds of it, he isn’t going to give Michigan a ton of consideration going forward after his decommit. He has been removed from the board.

Also removed from the board: 2009 VA QB Kevin Newsome, who has committed to Penn State.

Added to the 2010 recruiting board: AL WR BJ Chitty, a recent Auburn decommit (audio)

Might 2010 FL RB Corvin Lamb be favoring FIU?:

The kid you’re thinking about, Northwestern High’s Corvin Lamb, a junior, who has not committed to FIU just yet.

Uh, what? If FIU were to land this kid (likely a top-100 type), it would be something of a major coup. I guess stranger things have happened, so be on the lookout. However, other sources indicate he’s a big Florida fan. That makes a little more sense, considering it’s not crazy.

2009 OH S Commit Isaiah Bell will likely end up at linebacker at Michigan (info in header). Obviously, this stems from what the coaches have told him is his likely position here, though I guess that could theoretically mean a bandit-type position if there is indeed a coordinator change.

Among those visiting Florida last weekend was 2009 MD LB Jelani Jenkins. Michigan is in the mix to get one of his remaining official visits. Word on the street, however, is that he’s all but committed to the Gators, with Penn State as the only likely challenger remaining.

2009 JC DE Pernell McPhee enjoyed his official visit. So much, that he has now proclaimed he favors UM over Miss State. Oddly for a kid from Florida (via Mississippi), he likes the cold and snow, and he also enjoyed himself at the hoops game. He’s still nominally committed to Mississippi State, so he remains off the board for now, but UM might be right in this one. The JC signing period started yesterday, and he has not signed an LOI anywhere.

New offers? New offers:

“Michigan assistant coach Jay Hopson was in Coushatta, La., recently to check out one of the Bayou State’s top rising prospects – Red River defensive end Bennie Logan. After U-M’s evaluation, Logan had an offer from Michigan. Assistant coaches also extended offers to Tallahassee (Fla.) FAMU defensive end Alex Williams and Lancaster, Texas, cornerback Demontre Hurst on recent visits to their schools.”

Logan had already been added to the board. Williams will be added, and Hurst re-added after he was on it briefly earlier this year.

2010 FL LB Anthony Hamm really, really likes Florida. He’s now teetering on the edge of removal, and it sounds like he’ll commit to the Gators soon anyway.

Want to know who else sounds like a lost cause? 2010 Pahokee DT Doral Willis. When an article is entitled “I Would Commit to Miami on the Spot,” he’s pretty much a done deal, assuming the ‘Canes offer. I’ll leave him on the board for now, in case they don’t.

Posted under Recruiting

One of the most convenient things about Youngstown, Ohio, is the fact that it resides directly next to I-80. I-80, you may realize, is the route taken from Ann Arbor to State College. How perfect, then, that Youngstown Liberty Leopards, who boast two Michigan commits on their football team, had a home game at their stadium (from which you can literally see I-80), on the night before Michigan’s game at Penn State?

Being the enterprising Michigan fans/bloggers/general creeps that we are, Paul and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take in a game starring Fitzgerald Toussaint and Isaiah Bell. Want to hear more? Well, read on…

The game began at 7, but we arrived shortly after 6. The stadium was your general high school type, with a set of aluminum bleachers for both the home and away fans. We were among the first people there, so we tested out the camera, looked around, and practiced signing our names with the last name “Toussaint.” During warmups, Fitzgerald Toussaint was one of the team captains. In fact, throughout the night, he seemed to be a real leader of his team.

By the time the game began, we were pumped and ready to see Fitz destroy all comers. Essentially, the story of the night is that this never happened. Toussaint had some opportunities to make plays, but a couple of his teammates (including Julius Ferrell – who didn’t look much like a D-1 prospect, though the knee brace he was wearing may have had something to do with it) got the better opportunities, as Howland’s defense was keying on Fitz all night. He ended the game with 124 yards rushing on 30 carries, including a 5 yard sack on a halfback pass. His long run of the night was 21 yards. He was thrown to once and it was intercepted.

Isaiah Bell was also a starter on offense, at one of the wide receiver positions. He was thrown to 3 times, with 1 reception (on a screen) for four yards. The other two passes, using the UFR metric, would be classified as a 0 (bounced to him) and a 1.

Bell was also one of Liberty’s safeties, playing free in the middle of what appeared to be a cover-3 system most of the game. It was clear that, despite his size, Isaiah’s job was to play centerfield and let absolutely nobody by him. He was hesistant in run support, but I think that was a schematic choice, rather than a criticism of him. He finished the game with 5 tackles, though he left during the fourth quarter with an ankle injury (he could put almost no weight on his left leg).

So with a couple of big-time players in the mix for Liberty, how did they manage to lose this game? There are a couple of main reasons. First things first, Howland was determined to stop Fitzgerald Toussaint, no matter the cost. This hurt them when he motioned to the slot and another running back ran up the gut for a long touchdown. This selling out would have hindered their ability to win even more had Liberty’s QB not been something approaching awful. I didn’t keep stats on him, but he was something like 3/15 with 2 or 3 picks. Yikes. Not good. Howland also avoided Bell and Toussaint on special teams. Those two were the deep men on punts and kickoffs. All the kickoffs were squibbed, and only one punt made it to the returners (a Toussaint 18 yard return was negated by a block in the back).
In terms of playing style and projections, Fitz appeared to me to be much more of an inside runner than expected. Like every high schooler, he has work to do in the weight room, but he should be just fine once he gets to college. Though Bell has athleticism, he also has a pretty strong build. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was able to stay at safety in college, and be a big hitter. However, it is more likely that he adds bulk and becomes a linebacker. As you can see, he has big thighs, and a frame that might be conducive to putting on more weight.

Posted under Football

Coming into the 2009 recruiting season, the biggest need for Rich Rodriguez was the quarterback position. With a few QBs on the 2008 roster, but only one being a dual-threat who is capable of running his system effectively, he needed to get at least one run-pass signal caller, and preferably more. With a highly-ranked QB in Kevin Newsome, and now a second player in Shavodrick Beaver, the quarterback position is solidified, and it could become a strength if Tate Forcier were to become a Wolverine as well. Coming into the Michigan job, Roriguez also needed several slot receivers, and has seemingly recruited 7,000 of them in his time as a headman in Ann Arbor.

So with issue #1 taken care of, what is left?

The most pressing need becomes defensive ends. While most Michigan fans were banking on Detroit King’s Nick Perry to become a Wolverine, Perry had plans of his own, turning to the more attractive depth chart at USC. This left Michigan with slim pickins behind their starters, one of whom (Tim Jamison) is graduating, and the other (Brandon Graham) a potential early entry candidate for the NFL. Michigan will need players to fill this void, and as of right now, it doesn’t seem like they have a ton of great options.

The next main issue that needs to be addressed is the entire defensive backfield, but particularly safety (when was the last time Michigan landed a bigtime safety?). Isaiah Bell is a pretty speedy guy at safety (he returns kicks for his high school team), and if he doesn’t bulk up and become a linebacker, he can hopefully maintain his speed in the backfield. Justin Turner can either be a very speedy safety, or a pretty big corner (for now, I think he is more likely to stay at corner).

The biggest need once safety is addressed is (finally) something on offense. The line has been hit hard by graduation and defections. Though there is a large class coming in, Rich Rodriguez has said he likes to have 16 O-linemen on the roster, and there are currently only 14, which leaves room for 2, and possibly more if Rich Rodriguez can land some top guys.

Posted under Personnel, Recruiting

I really really don’t plan on doing this every day, but the recruiting board must be updated as the commits roll in. Note: I’ve received some information on Justin Turner that leads me to believe he could start as a corner at Michigan. If anything solidifies from it, he’ll be moved accordingly.

Added:
OH S Isaiah Bell. Also, moved to committed. News article.

New Information:
VA QB Kevin Newsome is a National Honors Society member. Not necessarily that relevant to football, but he clearly has his head on his shoulders. Expect a visit to Michigan soon.
NC OL Xavier Nixon recently visited Pitt.
IL OL Chris Watt is probably a Notre Dame lean. He has been to both of their junior days this spring.

Removed:
PA S EJ Banks. Michigan may have burned their bridges with him in the Christian Wilson recruitment.

Analysis
Bell’s commitment probably puts Michigan in good position for his teammates Julius Ferrell and Fitzgerald Toussaint. Judging by his video, he’ll end up a low 4-star or high 3-star by the recruiting services. With a couple good DBs in the fold, the recruiting focus is increasingly shifted to QBs, DEs, and OLs.

Posted under Recruiting

Ohio Safety Isaiah Bell has pledged to become a Michigan Wolverine. He is so new on the radar that he hadn’t been added to the recruiting board yet, though he was slated to be added in the next update. He is a high school teammate of LB Julius Ferrell and RB Fitzgerald Toussaint.

Bell is a 6-2, 200lb safety who had been on the rise before his commitment to Michigan. As is the case with most Michigan commitments, this means his ranking will not rise that much more, and he will likely peak at 3 stars.

More coming on Bell later tonight or tomorrow.

Posted under Recruiting