Recruiting Boards can always be found on the left sidebar. 2009 & 2010

First things first: it’s quite obvious that, this late in the recruiting process, there are only a few realistic prospects left on the board. There may be other guys that end up wearing the right colors, but it’s more likely that they come out of the woodwork. So, a lot of prospects came off the 2009 board in the past week (unrealistic though some of them may have been). Let’s review:
MS S/WR Dennis Thames. Mississippi State Commit.
TX CB Demontre Hurst committed to Oklahoma State, but may still visit the Canes.
FL DB Jonathan Scott picks WVU.
AL LB Tana Patrick is now only considering Bama, Auburn, USC, MIami of Florida, and Tennessee.
FL CB Jayron Hosley is going to USF, whether he has publicly committed (yet) or not.
CA OL Michael Philipp, who hadn’t really been considering Michigan in quite some time, commits to Oregon State.
NC OL Travis Bond picked UNC over Michigan, adding to the ridiculously large recruiting class in Chapel Hill.

SC OL Quinton Washington is one of the few remaining targets that Michigan has a chance with. The Sporting News’ The Recruitnik blog gives an entirely uninformative update on his recruitment. Phil Kornblut says he visits South Carolina, which is Michigan’s main competition for his signature. Considering he came out of that visit not only uncommitted, but also unwilling to say USC was his leader, chances here don’t look dire. However, he did leave the visit “knowing what he wants to do,” which may be bad, considering it probably means “my last visit rulzed.” Regardless, he does not plan to publicly commit until signing day.

LA LB Barkevious Mingo, who visited LSU this weekend, does not plan to commit anywhere until signing day.

LA WR Travante Stallworth is still “committed” to Auburn, but has a top 3 of Michigan, South Carolina, and Auburn. RichRod has his in-home tonight. Stallworth seems a little more effusive about Michigan than his other choices:

“At Michigan, it was different than any other college campus I’ve ever been to,” he continued. “They have outstanding facilities and the academics are top of the line. Coach (Rich) Rodriguez wants me to come in as a slot receiver and even said I could try quarterback. If it didn’t work out, I could switch to receiver. They just want to get the ball in my hands in the open field.”

RR will also be in the home of DE Sam Montgomery, who has taken 2 officials without committing anywhere. He wants to go to business school, which means Michigan is by far the best option out of his current choices in that regard. He’s still going to LSU, Tennessee, and Oregon.

Freep fluff on the visit by PA WR Je’Ron Stokes (along with a general discussion of WR recruiting). If Stokes gets through his PSU visit without committing, Michigan’s chances in this one aren’t bad. Stokes didn’t really appear to be enjoying himself too much at the hoops game though (photo of Darryl Stonum, Stokes, and Jeremy Gallon by Matt Pargoff in the Detroit Free Press).

Tennessee has hopped in on OK DT Commit Pearlie Graves. The likelihood he ends up in Ann Arbor is ever-dwindling.

FL QB Austin Dantin is practically begging for an offer, though if he’s stooping that low this late in the process, that probably means he’s unlikely to get one. He’s added to the board regardless.

The Palm Beach Post ranked the area’s top 25 seniors:

6. Brandin Hawthorne, LB, 6-1, 181, Pahokee, Enrolled at Michigan

8. Vincent Smith, RB, 5-9, 180, Pahokee, Enrolled at Michigan

11. Brendan Gibbons, K, 6-0, 215, Cardinal Newman, Verbal to Michigan

Hooray South Florida guys.

MI QB AJ Westendorp appears likely to accept a scholarship offer at a D-II or DI-AA school, rather than accepting a walk-on offer at Michigan.

…And this update is getting enormous, so I’ll drop the 2010 knowledge on you later this week.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Recruiting Boards:
2009 & 2010.

2009 LA DT Commit DeQuinta Jones was his district’s Defensive Player of the Year. Teammate Rueben Randle, who is nominally still listing Michigan, was his offensive counterpart. Picture by Kita Wright of the Bastrop Daily Enterprise.

Chalk another Michigan commit up to the national All-star game list:

a Michigan-bound Tiger football player will be headed to San Antonio for the
All-American Bowl, as J.T. Turner has been chosen to play in the ninth edition
of the game on Saturday, Jan. 3 at the Alamodome.

As the date approaches, I’ll make sure to keep you updated on who to watch in each game.

2009 MD RB Tavon Austin decision details:

Austin has narrowed college choices to West Virginia, Maryland, Michigan and North Carolina. He said he will wait to decide until the Feb. 4 signing date.

This is consistent with what has been coming out of the Austin camp recently. It wouldn’t seem that Michigan has a great shot at him, but with McGuffie leaving, the situation with Austin can only be helped.

Removed FL S Jonathan Scott from the 2009 board:

And now, Jonathan will choose between West Virginia, South Carolina and Alabama, the three schools that have offered him a free ride so far.

After getting on him early, Michigan never really seemed to be a real player for Scott, so this is no surprise.

2009 SC DE Sam Montgomery will visit Michigan in January. The 4-star is favoring LSU over the Wolverines, UNC, Tennessee, Oregon, and the in-state South Carolina schools.

Removed MI TE Dion Sims from the 2009 board. I was never high on him as a recruit for Michigan (we don’t need a TE in this class, and he doesn’t seem to have the nasty edge to play DE – never mind the fact that his heart isn’t in football at all). He will choose between Ohio State, Michigan State, and Miami of Florida.

Added to the 2009 board: AL LB Tana Patrick. Info in a Scout Header:

Alabama linebacker Tana Patrick still denies a leader, but mentioned Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Miami, Florida State and LSU as his six favorites

2010 OH LB Scott McVey was Player of the Year according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He should be a bigtime recruit not too far down the road. Ohio State has already offered.

Pahokee is likely to be a recruiting point of emphasis for the foreseeable future. 2010 Slot Dennis Hall highlights from SoFlaFootball:

Dennis Hall from SoFLAfootball on Vimeo.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

The Board.

Moved to Committed:
FL S Vladimir Emilien.

New Information:
MD RB/Ath Tavon Austin. I was about ready to remove him, but not it looks like he’ll visit December 12th.
AZ OL Taylor Lewan. Visited Minnesota this past weekend. Maybe helping Michigan in this one: the Gophers just lost their OL coach.
MI DT William Campbell. Bama-related mention.
IN LB Commit Jordan Barnes. Same as above (link the same as well).
FL LB Commit Brandin Hawthorne. Visiting Pitt this weekend (info in header).
OH CB Commit Justin Turner. Not losing faith in Michigan.

Removed:
FL S Jonathan Scott. No apparent interest.
SC S DJ Swearinger. South Carolina commit.

Etc.:
UNC CB Commit Josh Hunter intends to visit Ann Arbor. I had been ready to eliminate OH OL Marcus Hall, because he had been naming a top group without us, but now it looks like he’s planning a Michigan visit. I still think the Wolverines don’t stand a chance, but he’ll remain on the board until they’re officially eliminated. GA WR Jamal Patterson remains “100% committed” to Stanford.

Posted under Football

Ed. Note: The premium sites are now reporting otherwise on Gordon’s decision, fyi.

The Board has got it all, man.

• Remember: Cass Tech S/QB Thomas Gordon announces his decision this weekend. Here’s a little Cass Tech fluff, too.
• IN LB Commit Jordan Barnes unofficially visited Purdue last weekend. Not sure if you should read anything into that, so take it FWIW.
• Major (5 page) Tate Forcier fluff from the AANews. Obligatory “omfg he should mma w/ mike b.”
• Michigan is going hard after Georgia commit LB Mike Gilliard. They probably won’t land him, but it’s a good sign they’re after at least 1 more LB.
• I’ll give a few 2010 tidbits here and there as the season progresses (more about the 2010 board tomorrow). A top instate player will have a hard time going against Green and White when it comes to his recruitment.

Posted under Recruiting

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

I forgot to link it Monday, but don’t forget that the board is here.

Moved to Committed:
LA DE DeQuinta Jones. The awesomely-named one is also added to the board in this update. Commit article.

New Information:
VA QB commit Kevin Newsome. Some glorious, glorious reassurance from Sam Webb that he is firmly committed, and recruiting other players to Michigan. Now in convenient print form! Newsome speaks with SI about transferring to Hargrave.
FL QB Eugene Smith. He made the Elite 11. And is performing quite well.
FL S Jonathan Scott. Michigan in his top 3 (info in header).
SC DEs Sam Montgomery and Chris Bonds. Both plan to take officials to Michigan.
FL CB Mywan Jackson. Michigan visit this weekend.
NJ DE/OL Anthony LaLota. Narrows his list to 7 (including the Wolverines).
NV DE Keenan Graham. Will he decide before getting a chance to visit Michigan?
MS S Rod Woodson. Now reports an offer.

Removed:
AL DE William Ming. Alabama commit.
IN LB TyQuan Hammock. After not getting the Michigan offer he wanted, commits to Michigan State.

Analysis:
Hooray, a defensive end! Michigan will want at least one more in this class, likely a speed rusher. Other sources of celebration: Reassurance on the Newsome front! Hooray!

Posted under Recruiting

The Board. A few guys on the board attended the Tuscaloosa Nike Combine.

Added:
FL S Vladimir Emilien. He has received a Michigan offer, but he is another of those guys Ohio State fans are supremely confident about.
LA OL Chris Faulk. Michigan offer. Have to assume LSU is leading. He also plays discus in track.
GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. He has received a Michigan offer.

New Information:
VA RB Tavon Austin. Link to about 30,000 videos.
FL S Jonathan Scott high jumps.
OH DE Davon Custis. He is fast for a DE.
TN OL Alex Bullard. He is going to cut to 5 schools soon, with the first 3 being ND, Tenn, and Florida. Can UM be one of the last two?
LA WR Rueben Randle. Spring fluff.
PA CB Corey Brown. If he gets an OSU offer, expect them to be the favorite.

Etc.: 2008’s Kevin Koger is pretty fast for a guy his size. Barwis fluff from Detroit News.

Posted under Recruiting

Since a flurry of updates over the past couple weeks, it’s been 5 days since the last recruiting update. Once everything settles down a bit more (i.e. no commitments), I plan to probably do 2 updates a week. The collaborative board with MGoBlog is still in the works; I’ll give an update to you when I know more about it. For all the info, make sure you visit the recruiting board. I may be adding an all-star game field to the board soon, so readers will know which Michigan prospects are headed to the Army game or the ESPNU game.

Added:
MD RB Tavon Austin. He now sports a Michigan offer.
SC QB Stephon Gilmore. He has been offered by Michigan.
FL S Jonathan Scott. He has reportedly been offered by Michigan.
MD CB Travis Hawkins. Reporting a Michigan offer.
(The last two pieces of information come from Scout articles, but the information itself is apparent from the headlines).

New Information:
SC DE Chris Bonds will officially visit Michigan.
FL WR Nu’Keese Richardson video.
AZ DE Devon Kennard fluff.
OK RB David Oku. Has a Brightcove video diary. Entry 1. Entry 2.
IL OL Chris Watt’s older brother Kevin plays for Northwestern.
IN QB Jordan Luallen has GT as his favorite (premium article, but the info is in the headline).

Removed:
PA WR Je’Ron Stokes. He has committed to Tennessee.
TX S Craig Loston has officially narrowed his choices down to Clemson and LSU.

Posted under Recruiting