2010 Michigan Recruiting Board.

OH QB Caleb Watkins appears to be a MAC-level talent. With that in mind, along with the fact that the Wolverines already have two quarterbacks committed, he’s ready to be removed from the board.

Josh Helmholdt says in the Free Press that which has already been internet scuttlebutt for quite some time: MI RB Austin White has been a Michigan lean since early this spring. The rest of the article is mediocre at best, with the general idea being “MSU is way better because they signed 12 guys from the state of Michigan last year,” but, like, Michigan only wanted maybe 304 of them, so what’s the point?

FL RB Eduardo Clements counts Michigan among his top 3 with Georgia and Miami. He plans an additional pair of official visits to Tennessee and South Florida.

FL RB Giovanni Bernard seems to have eliminated Michigan from the running:

“I have it nailed down to my nine right now. I don’t know exactly when I’ll make my choice, maybe make my one school decision around signing day. I’m just really trying to enjoy this, really concentrate on the schools I’m wanting to go to and at the same time concentrate on football. Right now, the nine schools are Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, FSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Notre Dame, and Nebraska.”

I’ll leave him on the board just a little while longer until it can be confirmed he’s naming a final 9, rather than just a top 9. He plans to announce his commitment near Signing Day.

GA RB Mack Brown will be announcing his decision in July, and is down to two choices (info in header). Since Michigan hasn’t been involved in his recruitment lately, it’s probably safe to assume that the Wolverines won’t be his choice. That’s reason enough for me to remove him from the board.

Removed GA RB Kendrun Malcome, who committed to UGa.

Removed MI RB Nick Hill, who committed to Michigan State. Actually, he was a guy who reeeally wanted a Michigan offer, so I’ll leave him on the board just a bit longer.

Removed PA RB Dom Timbers, who committed to Syracuse.

Fluff on LA WR Trovon Reed, about losing his mother this spring. Reed is a prototypical slot receiver, and part of a potential mega-package including TX RB Lache Seastrunk. With these factors in mind, it’s hard to imagine a reason that the Michigan staff hasn’t heavily pursued him, and instead went for players like Tony Drake and Drew Dileo. There’s always the chance that they know something we don’t, but doesn’t it seem like they didn’t even give top-ranked guys a chance? Michigan isn’t mentioned in the article, and Reed is soon to be long gone from the board.

FL WR Chris Dunkley doesn’t seem to be too high on Michigan anymore (if he ever really was):

“I like West Virginia, I like Florida, Florida State. I like Ohio State, I like USC, and I like Georgia. That’s not in any order I’m just naming schools off the top of my head.”

Since that’s not an official list at this time, I’ll leave him on the board. He plans to announce his decision during the Under Armour All American game in January.

Removed OH OL Taylor Miller, who committed to Toledo.

GA DT Michael Thornton has received a Michigan offer (info in header). His alleged excitement about it is more likely to be headline writing rather than an indication of his actual interest, though, so don’t think he’ll be committing to Michigan any time soon.

OH DT Jibreel Black has selected Indiana. This is only a moderate surprise, since his brother Larry already plays for the Hoosiers. However, Jibreel had a much more impressive offer sheet than his brother coming out of high school, including teams like Michigan and Michigan State. I wouldn’t put it past this Michigan staff to give Black one more big push. If they don’t, I’ll remove him from the board.

GA DE Henry Anderson was considering a Michigan visit this week:

Clemson and South Carolina will make the cut with DE/OL Henry Anderson (6-6, 245) of College Park, Ga., when he gets down to a final 10 this week. Anderson said last week Georgia Tech, Stanford and Virginia also will be on the list. He will visit Wisconsin on Tuesday and might see Michigan while he’s up in that area.

No word on whether he actually made it, but if he did, the Wolverines are likely to be on that top 10 list. When it is revealed to a free source, we’ll know if Michigan is still under consideration.

In your occasional 2011 snippet, Bucknuts guru Bill Kurelic thinks that 2011 OH CB Greg Brown might be committing to Michigan sometime soon. Brown has been favoring Michigan for a while now (though it had been thought that OSU was making a play for him this spring), and received an offer from the coaching staff following Michigan’s camp.

Whenever Michigan gets its first 2011 commit, the 2011 recruiting board will debut. If you know of anyone who should be on it, let me know in the comments or by e-mail.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

2010 Michigan Wolverines Recruiting Board.

Moved to Committed: OH OL Christian Pace (seen at left). Commitment post. Pace also plans an early enrollment at Michigan.

Big House Barbecue fluff from Josh Helmholdt in the Free Press. Boilerplate stuff.

Fluff on FL QB Jeffrey Godfrey of the “he’s a QB even though he’s 5-11” variety. Godfrey has been told he’s not a QB his whole life, etc. Not to completely discard the article (despite the fact that it was clearly written by someone who should have a job writing things), but Godfrey really sounds like the type of guy Michigan would want to bring in, give a shot at QB for a year or two, then move to a different position down the road.

SC RB Marcus Lattimore and TX RB Lache Seastrunk thoroughly enjoyed their visits to Auburn last weekend (along with seemingly every prospect south of the Mason-Dixon Line), and both are extreme longshots, especially with Lattimore trimming his list to 8 non-Michigan schools earlier this week. Still no word on whether he intends to take the official visit for the Ohio State weekend as he had planned, so I’ll leave him on the list for now. Seastrunk has stated in no uncertain terms that he’ll probably end up playing his college football on the Plains, barring unforeseen developments.

FL RB Darion Hall is talented, but “needs to mature on and off the field.” With the Wolverines already filling up at running back in this class, I would be surprised if they took a guy who might be a risky prospect. He was suspended for half of his school’s spring game.

Prospective future Wolverine Torrian Wilson (who, in the past, has named the Wolverines his favorite and still has them in his top 5) has been selected to the ESPNU-Under Armour All-American Game.

After cutting down his list earlier this week, MN OL Seantrel Henderson, who is at or near the top of most prospect lists, has started planning out some summer visits. He plans to stop by Michigan for sure, possibly for summer camp. While we’re on the subject, let’s look at the reasons that coaches so covet Henderson:

With Michigan visits both in his past and future, the Wolverines are likely among his top schools.

It appears as though the bridges between Tennesse and Pahokee may be on the mend. FL DT Richard Ash has the Volunteers near the top of his list, despite the disparaging remarks made about his hometown by UT headman Lane Kiffin. However, the Gators definitely still lead for the big man from the muck.

Added LA DT Harold Legania. No word as yet on particular interest from Michigan but he may be a prospect down the road. He is a high school teammate of QB prospect Munchie LeGeaux at Edna Carr high school, and the Wolverines might be interested in a package deal for players at two positions of need.

Previously-removed IL DE Chance Carter says he’s only considering Notre Dame, Stanford, and Nebraska, but might also give the Wolverines some consideration if they offer him. With the current players committed (Antonio Kinard, Jordan Paskorz) or on their way to being committed (Ken Wilkins – see below), I don’t see him getting an offer, so I’ll leave him off the board.

OH DE Marcus Rush, who was previously believed to be heavily favoring Michigan, is approaching a decision (info in header). Considering that development came shortly after visiting Ann Arbor for the Big House Barbecue, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was still feeling the Wolverines – enough to commit. However, with several DE/LB tweeners already in the class, I don’t know if there would be room for him at this point.

MI LB/DE William Gholston has named a top-9 list that includes Michigan (along with Michigan State, Ohio State, USC, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Miami of Florida, and Oklahoma). Still, for some odd reason, I’m not holding my breath.

PA LB Ken Wilkins has set a date for his college announcement: Next Tuesday. Wilkins was in town for the Big House Barbecue, and reportedly enjoyed himself immensely. He is expected to pick Michigan at that time.

VA LB Aramide Olaniyan, despite his Duke commitment, is still saying positive things about the Wolverines. I’d left him on the board for the time being, and it seems as though that decision was justified. He’s planning to take other visits, so we’ll see if anything comes of it.

Fluff article on various DBs in Florida, including FL CB Tony Grimes, a recent visitor to Ann Arbor for the Big House BBQ:

“If they try to throw to my side, I’m going to come down with the ball and make a play on it for my team,” Hollywood Hills cornerback Tony Grimes said. Along with a physical style of play and ball-hawking skills, Grimes brings leadership as well. Hollywood Hills coach Scott Barnwell has noticed the impact it has had on his team.

“With his leadership and having a person of that caliber, these kids pick up their game also and they get to see all of the different college recruiters coming out, and it just raises the level of everyone’s game, which for the team is tremendous,” Barnwell said.

Though the Michigan visit (and a planned return in the fall) seem to bode well for Michigan, that may be more of a pipe dream, as the Hurricanes of Miami are expected to be a heavy favorite.

Michigan has offered SC CB John/Johnavon Fulton. The offer has helped them vault towards the forefront of his recruitment (info in header). However, he still really likes Alabama, and the Wolverines are definitely in catch-up mode.

From Bill Kurelic at ESPN: IL WR Kyle Prater, IA QB AJ Derby, and MI CB/Slot Dior Mathis are all planning to take all 5 of their official visits before coming to decisions. This might leave Mathis and perhaps Derby out of luck, but Michigan would probably make room for Prater if he ultimately decided on the Wolverines.

And now, for the latest edition of your intermittent 2011 recruiting updates: Sam Webb brings the fluff on 2011 MI WR DeAnthony Arnett from Saginaw, seen at right. The Wolverines were the first school to offer Arnett, a true WR with the ability to play slot (think more Je’Ron Stokes than Jeremy Gallon), and are considered the likely favorite for his services. He’s also taken southward trips recently, to camps such as Tennessee, so this will be no cakewalk to land DeAnthony, and Michigan will have to work to earn a commitment from him.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Pushed back a day because I didn’t have internet available over Memorial Day weekend. I’ve also fallen behind in actually updating the board, so look for that to be rectified in the coming days.

2010 Michigan Recruiting Board.

TN QB Barry Brunetti is focused on Penn State, West Virginia, and Mississippi State. He’s a little further down Michigan’s QB board, as the Wolverines haven’t offered yet. However, if Michigan’s other options start falling through, he could be an option down the road – if he doesn’t make a decision before that point.

FL QB Jeffrey Godfrey is taking an extra courseload so he can enroll early at the school of his choice.

OK QB/WR DeMarco Cobbs has a top 10 list, and Michigan is not on it. He says it’s not firm quite yet, so I won’t remove him from the board, but he’s teetering pretty close to removal. He has stated he wants to play WR in college, so Michigan’s opportunity at QB is probably not a huge draw for him.

Absolutely non-informative recruiting fluff about AR RB Michael Dyer. When the entire article is simply asking questions like “What are the chances this five-star recruit will be lined up behind Tyler Wilson or Ryan Mallet for the Arkansas Razorbacks?,” you just don’t have enough material to write an article, dude. The least you can do is include a scouting report or an interview with the kid.

LA Slot Trovon Reed is starting to plan out his summer visits – and Michigan isn’t on the list at this point (Florida, USC, LSU, and Oregon are). With Drew Dileo and Tony Drake already committed, have the Wolverines missed out on their opportunity to land a top-flight slot like Reed? I’ve discussed this recruiting method recently, and though there’s no indication the Wolverines would have been a major player for Trovon, it certainly doesn’t help that there’s apparently no room for him. Reed is part of the planned mega-package including TX RB Lache Seastrunk, and not having any spots available for superstar prospects may be a troubling sign for this class. Speaking of Seastrunk, he performed well in his high school’s spring game.

Speaking of top-flight running backs, SC RB Marcus Lattimore has definitely backed off his claim that Michigan was definitely in his top 5. His current top five consists of Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, North Carolina, and Penn State (in order). No word on whether he still plans to take an official visit to Michigan for the Ohio State game in November.

Tennessee-tilted fluff on FL OL Torrian Wilson. It’s odd that they mention Michigan as “among his top schools” when he’s said in no uncertain terms to national recruiting reporters that Michigan is certainly his #1 school, but whatever. Wilson plans to visit some of the schools he’s interested in this summer (he already visited Michigan for the spring game), and he might be making an early decision.

Michigan has been in contact with FL OL Perry Meiklejohn, according to Phil Kornblut. Though the Wolverines haven’t offered yet, he may be somebody to watch down the road. Also interesting from that article: read from the top, regarding how coaches can affect the star rankings of certain prospects. I wouldn’t say it’s evidence to completely ignore star ratings, but it’s definitely enough (alon gwith other factors) to prompt me to take them with a grain of salt.

PA DT Sharrif Floyd is now hearing from the SEC. He’s tied for 4th among defensive tackles to Rivals. In a down year for talent at the position, and a year of major need for the Wolverines at said position, Floyd is probably one of their top targets along the defensive line.

Speaking of needs at DT, there’s a decent in-state prospect in Jonathan Hankins. This fluff article is (understandably) State-slanted, and it sounds as though both Michigan and Michigan State are planning to offer if he has good performances at their respective summer camps. one thing to keep in mind: he’s a teammate of 5-star OLB prospect William Gholston, and according to the article, the two are pretty good friends. Gholston will attend the Big House BBQ (info in header).

Fluff with video on FL DE/DT Corey Lemonier. His current top-4-ish substance does not include Michigan, and it seems that they aren’t heavily pursuing Corey at all. He does list early playing time as one of the key factors in his decision.

Quick scouting report on NY DE Dominique Easley, who holds a Michigan offer.

FL LB Christian Jones continues to assert that he is not a Florida State lock (though that may be lip service to some of the other schools recruiting him). What I hadn’t previously realized about him: his team last year was terrible. It’s certainly not a reason to not recruit a talented kid, but there is certainly a school of thought out there that recruiting players from programs that are successful year after year (Muskegon, Massillon Washington, Pahokee, Miami Northwestern) brings in players who are ready to win, and used to winning. It also means it’s more likely that there are players from the school in future classes for establishing pipelines.

OH LB/S Kurtis Drummond, a high school teammate of RB prospect Andre Givens, is planning to make a visit to Michigan for the Big House BBQ (info in header). I’ve added him to the board.

FL S/CB Lamarcus Joyner hasn’t mentioned Michigan at all lately, and it seems as though he’s narrowed down his list of possibilities to Ohio State, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee, and USC. One more article indicating a narrowed focus should be enough to completely remove him from the board.

Springtime means track updates!

OH WR/DB commit DJ Williamson excels on the track, not that the Youngstown Vindicator finds us worthy of knowing the actual times:

Deaver Williamson topped the field in both the 100 and 200…

The Raiders’ 4×100 and 4×200 (meet record) relays had the top times and featured Logan, Seawood, Threats and Williamson — the same group that competed at the prestigious Penn Relays earlier this season.

“We did what we expected to do today,” said Williamson. “The heat and the wind and having the back-to-back races made it tough, but we just kept our minds straight and had a good attitude for our races.

“We really want to win state in the 4×100 this year. It was really crazy at Penn, running against the Jamaicans and I think we surprised ourselves a little bit [fourth in the big school division]. We’ll have some good competition next week, so we need to keep our No. 1 spot.”

PA Slot Receiver Alex Kenney logs a 10.67 100m time. He also plans to commit before his senior season – and embraces rastafari ideals… uh… maybe he’ll fit in well at Penn State?

CA S/WR Robert Woods runs a 47.31 and 21.43 in the 400 and 200m, respectively.

2009 OH RB Commit Fitzgerald Toussaint wins the 100m and 4×100, and comes in second in the 200m – all on a hurt wheel. The 100m time was a 10.96, despite the injured hamstring.

The Wolverines have added another class of 2009 walkon, Joe Reynolds from Rochester Adams. Reynolds will attend Michigan on track scholarship, but has also been invited to participate as a wide receiver for the football team. He caught passes for 700 yards and 9 touchdowns as a senior at Adams.

Removals…

OH TE Alex Welch commits to Notre Dame.

CA OL Matthew Jakubiec commits to Arizona.

FL CB Derek Owens has reiterated that he will be a package deal with his teammate and friend, WR Marquel Wade. Considering Michigan is in pretty good shape with a number of DBs (including fellow Floridian Rashad Knight), and they are certainly not in the market for more WRs except for maybe top-flight guys who can play multiple positions, I’ve made the executive decision that both Owens and Wade are removed from the board.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

2010 Michigan Recruiting Board.

OK QB/Ath DeMarco Cobbs has a top 10 list which includes Alabama, Arizona, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Southern Cal. Most schools are recruiting him as a receiver, rather than a QB. Michigan appears to be on the outside looking in. Time for some flufftastic fluff. The list is apparently a fluid one, but I’ve heard very little about Michigan involvement of late.

Removed DC QB/Ath Ricardo Young, who will announce a college decision today from a group of school that does not include Michigan.

Michigan’s chances at SC RB Marcus Lattimore, TX RB Lache Seastrunk, and AR RB Michael Dyer are not high (they’re certainly lower than Auburn’s chances). HOWEVA, at least one of them (Lattimore) has stated that he’ll officially visit An Arbor, and this video was too good to pass up (HT: JCCW).

FL RB Eduardo Clements is favoring Miami, Georgia, and Florida State. As mentioned here earlier, Michigan is a fairly recent entrant into the sweepstakes for his services, so they have a chance to claw their way back in.

FL WR Marquel Wade wasn’t previously on the board, but maybe he should be if the Wolverines want any chance to land his teammate, FL CB Derek Owens:

Additionally, it appears Wade and teammate Derek Owens will commit as a “package deal.”

At this point, it’s probably more likely that I should remove Owens from the board than expect Michigan to pick up yet another receiver. I haven’t heard much news on the Owens/Michigan front, so keep tuned for a potential removal in the near future.

SC OL Eric Mack has received a Michigan offer, so I’ve added him to the board.

SC DT AJ Cann has named a top 7 that does not include Michigan: South Carolina, Clemson, North Carolina, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Tennessee.The recruitment has been odd, in that Michigan was thought to be very strong for Cann, and they somewhat suddenly fell off the radar. With a pre-season decision on the table, they probably don’t have much of a shot to get back in this one.

Added UT DT Ricky Heimuli to the board, as he’s received a Michigan offer (info in header).

Somewhat encouraging news that FL LB Christian Jones may not be an FSU lock:

FSU is the clear front-runner because that’s where his father ( Willie Jones) and brother (Willie Jones Jr.) played defense. “Everybody wants to know if they can get him away from FSU,” said Tom Oliver, Lake Howell’s coach. “Christian’s dad wants him to look for what’s best for him. He’s open.”

So it’s certainly possible, if not likely, that someone can pull him away from the Noles.

Sporting News fluff on OH LB Jordan Hicks. Though the Wolverines have offered, his interest level doesn’t seem to be particularly high. Most people have him pegged to end up at OSU or Texas.

After last week stating that Michigan was his leader, TX LB Corey Nelson has named Texas A&M as the top school on his board. At this point, Nelson is already starting to develop a reputation as a guy who chenges his mind with the wind, and to not pay too much attention to his top schools until he starts making visits.

OH LB Jewone Snow plans to visit Michigan again by the end of May. He had previously visited for the spring game with his 2011 teammate Steve Miller.

The Wolverines have extended an offer to FL CB Tony Grimes (info in header). He’s added to the board.

Michigan is showing interest in FL CB Keion Payne. Whether that will result in an offer down the road remains to be seen.

The Penn State Nike Combine went off last weekend, and here are some of the returns for Michigan prospects:

[LB] Khairi Fortt (Stamford, Conn.) passed the “look test” and then showed why he is one of the country’s top prospects. Fortt moved with grace and power and was very difficult to block. He also showed great instincts, the ability to drop into coverage, and the speed to stay with running backs coming out of the backfield on pass routes. Fortt projects as a difference maker at the next level.

Whether he is listed as a defensive end or outside linebacker, Dakota Royer (Manheim, Pa./Central) is an absolute stud. He worked out with the defensive linemen Saturday and showed a fluid and aggressive style. Royer runs like a deer, with long strides. He does not weigh enough right now to play on the defensive line at the next level, but give him two years and he should fill out into the 230-to-240-pound range. One thing Royer has that can’t be taught is the ability to get to the ball in a hurry. In college, he has the potential to be an edge player who must be accounted for at all times.

Sharrif Floyd (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington) was equally as impressive as Royer — the two worked in the same group. Floyd showed strength, power and an intense attitude… There has been some debate as to whether Floyd will play defensive end or tackle in college. Based on his performance at Penn State, put him down as an interior lineman at the next level, and he has the tools to be a very good one.

Defensive back Cullen Christian (Pittsburgh/Penn Hills) may not get as much publicity as his teammate, wide receiver/defensive back Brandon Ifill, but it was Christian who came away from the camp with honors. Ifill did a nice job Saturday and showed why he has scholarship offers from multiple BCS schools. But Christian was even better and was named the camp’s defensive back MVP.

Javarie Johnson (Washington D.C./Dunbar) passed the look test and showed a great attitude Saturday. The 6-foot-3 and 210-pound outside linebacker struggled a bit in pass coverage, but he has the potential with his long and lanky frame to gain plenty of weight and put his hand down and move to defensive end in college.

I’m not quite sure how prominently Michigan figures in Khairi Fortt’s recruitment, but they are players for all of the other guys listed (they’re in the top group for Floyd (info in header)).

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Since I haven’t had the chance yet, I’ll take this opportunity to promote the MGoBlog/VB tailgate before the spring game that Brian mentioned yesterday. The details are: 9AM near the bus stop outside Crisler Saturday morning. For more info, check out the planning thread on MGoBoard.

The 2010 Recruiting Board can be found here. There’s still plenty more info to get out this week, so Friday’s Spring Game Edition of the Recruiting Update may include some non-weekend-related items as well.

As has been widely speculated, Michigan leads for LA QB Munchie LeGaux. With Blake Sims committing to Alabama, LeGaux might be the best option for a 2nd QB in the class at this time. LeGaux photo by Matthew Hinton (not that Matt Hinton?) of the Times-Picayune.

The author of this article seems to think that TX RB Lache Seastrunk has narrowed his list of choices to just 4 schools: Texas, Oklahoma, Auburn, and LSU. I’m skeptical for several reasons: 1) That’s the first I’ve heard of that, and 2) That article was so poorly written as to reduce its credibility to near-zero levels. Take it with a grain of salt.

OH RB Erick Howard has stated in no uncertain terms that he would like to play for Ohio State. This would appear to mean bad things for Michigan’s chances. Of course, he doesn’t boast an impressive offer list yet (despite being Ohio’s Mr. Football last year), and in the past, Michigan has made a living off Ohio players that didn’t end up with Buckeye offers. If he is deemed to be worthy of a Michigan offer, that tradition may continue.

To piggyback off the previous note, Michigan may be trying to develop something of a pipeline throughout the various high shcools of Canton, Ohio (even traditional Michigan feeder school Massillon Washington is in a Canton suburb). Jerald Robinson (Canton South) is already committed for the class of 2009, Jewone Snow (McKinley) is the son of former Michigan great Garland Rivers, and Howard is a prospect. This area is a strong one for Ohio high school football, and if we’ve seen one definite trend in this staff’s recruiting, it’s trying to develop pipelines (Pahokee, Apopka, Cass Tech, Liberty). And recruiting little guys. If we’ve seen two definite trends in this staff’s…

Fluff on FL WRs DeJoshua Johnson and Fred Pickett. Johnson will likely play QB for Pahokee this year, but may play WR alongside Pickett.

Buried in an article on Jay Cutler is the following (not particularly enlightening) information on FL OL Brent Benedict:

As Bolles School offensive tackle Brent Benedict, one of the nation’s top prospects, spent his spring break last week making unofficial visits to six out-of-state schools, Florida coach Urban Meyer sent him a bunch of text messages. On Friday, while competing as a shot-putter at the Florida Relays, Benedict planned to attend a Gators practice and have dinner with Meyer. Memo to Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin: Such contact is legal as long as Benedict remains on UF’s campus. …

As of now, it doesn’t sound like he’s strongly considering Michigan, particularly because his big visit swing didn’t include any schools in the North, much less a trip to Ann Arbor.

A few notes on MN OL Seantrel Henderson. He has his trips in mind (remember, he said Michigan was likely to be his only lock for an official visit at this time). A local Minneapolis columnist said Seantrel’s ready to start taking visits, obviously ignoring the fact that he’s already been to Michigan and Michigan State.

NC OL Robert Crisp has committed to NC State, and he’s been removed from the board.

AL DE Martaze Jackson has been nominated to participate in the Army All-American game. This is a phase of the process of which I had been previously unaware:

Of the 400 nominees, 90 will ultimately be selected and invited to this year’s 10th anniversary game. 

OH LB Jordan Hicks has been selected to play in the ESPNU/Under Armour All American Game. He reports a Michigan offer, and will whittle his list of possibilities down to 10 by his spring break, which one must assume is coming right up.

MI LB Austin Gray, who was considered to be a possible Michigan lean if he ever got an offer, took an unofficial visit to Iowa last weekend and committed. I’ll leave him on the board for now, because if Michigan ever decides to offer, they might be able to hop back into the race for him.

The Wolverines have tendered an offer for MD LB Troy Gloster (info in header). Gloster hails for Good Counsel Academy, home of 2009 prospect Jelani Jenkins, as well as 2010 Stanford decommit CB Louis Young.

LA S Ronnie Vinson doesn’t have one school atop his list, but has 6 favorites that stand out among his other offers. USC, UCLA, Alabama, Michigan, LSU, and Ole Miss are the schools he’s focusing on most at this point (info in header).

PA CB Cullen Christian, who has long held the Wolverines as his favorite, is now putting a number to that assumption: He says there’s an 85% chance he ends up playing for Rich Rodriguez (info in header).

Posted under Football

If LSU goes after Bryce Brown, might it hurt them with TX RB Lache Seastrunk? The Tigers are widely considered to be in Lache’s top 2 with Texas, and less competition might help Michigan’s chances. Also, dude can dunk. That may be a “well, duh” moment, but for somebody who’s generously listed at 5-9, that’s pretty impressive.

GA S Daunte Carr is hearing from several schools, but so far, Michigan isn’t among them. Little Brother and Notre Dame are chasing him, along with various schools across the south.

VA OL Marquis Wallace is hearing from plenty of schools, but Wet Virginia is his only official offer. Michigan is not listed among the schools giving him attention. At this time, it would appear that Clemson and WVU are his top 2.

FL WR Chris Dunkley says he’ll give more attention to the schools that were on him early. He’s also been selected to the ESPNU/UA All-Star game, and has accepted the invitation.

TX DE Reggie Wilson has a fairly interesting backstory, in that he’s from the Ivory Coast. Whichever school he ends up attending is going to have all sorts of puff pieces on SPN broadcasts of their games, a la Penn State’s Tamba Hali a few years ago. Be careful, because this article is already pretty damn puffy. He had 58 tackles, 12 for loss, and 9 sacks last year.

Josh Helmholdt speculates in the Detroit Free Press about who might be the next recruits to drop for Michigan:

Michigan could find themselves the recipient of several more commitments in the coming months. They are being listed as the favorites by several recruits across the country including Columbus (Ohio) Brookhaven defensive end Derrick Bryant, Apopka, Fla., cornerback Lo Wood and Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips wide receiver Kenny Shaw.

This corresponds with the conventional wisdom, though Bryant has recently said he’s changed his mind, and will wait some time before making a decision. Among fluff on Michigan’s existing commits so far, there’s also an interesting tidbit on MI WR Commit Jeremy Jackson:

He could be moved inside as a stand-up tight end because he is physical enough to handle linebackers and would create mismatches for them in the passing game.

That move would make him a speed mismatch as a tight end, rather than a height mismatch from the wideout position. I hadn’t considered it, but it certainly makes sense, and would slightly alter the distribution of commits in the class so far.

OH CB Christian Bryant likes Ohio State and Tennessee. Given his Glenville association, that makes perfect sense (Ohio State gets any Glenville kid they want, and CB Mike Edwards signed with UT last year). Bryant, like most Glenville kids, plans to take his time before making a decision.

I’ve been forgetting to mention this, but OH OL Andrew Norwell committed to Ohio State. He’s been removed from the board.
TX QB Connor/Conner Wood committed to Texas, so hes been removed.

…and now for your dose of epic stupid when it comes to recruiting:

Penn State is either in the drivers seat, or else in great shape, with every single one of those kids except Malik Stokes. It is the consensus that Stokes is incredibly overrated. He has contacts in the media who have inflated him like they inflated his older brother J’ron. Stokes will be a hot commodity because his brother is a year older than him and just committed in a pretty high profile recruitment, since he decommitted from Tennessee and ended up at Michigan.

Somebody doesn’t know the meaning of the word “consensus,” because it’s literally impossible for there to be a consensus that something or someone is overrated. Yes “J’ron” (which one must assume is intended to refer to Je’Ron) was incredibly overrated, which is why his stock went up after the Army All-American bowl, when he was still committed to Tennessee, and before his Comcast special was even proposed, much less filmed. I’m sure your opinion of the Stokes brothers is in no way altered by Je’Ron not giving the Nittany Lions the time of day, even when they tried desparately to get back in on him late in the process. FAIL.

For the record, I think Stokes is nothing more than a second option at QB in the class.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Tennessee is trying to nab LA DT DeQuinta Jones from Michigan’s evil clutches. Rich Rodriguez was also in-home this week, and DD will visit Michigan and Tennessee over the next two weekends, respectively.

The volunteers’ new staff is also trying to fortify their commitment from PA WR Je’Ron Stokes with in-home visits (commitment swap?). He has visits remaining to Illinois and Georgia Tech over the next two weekends. Without PSU jumping headlong into things, I’d imagine Tennessee and Michigan are the realistic choices for Stokes.

Speaking of elsewhere-committed wideouts, FL WR Willie Haulstead is taking his FSU official this weekend. If he comes out of the visit without reaffirming his commitment, MIchigan’s chances have to look pretty good.

RR also visited with SC DE Sam Montgomery last night. The Wolverines are in Sam’s top group, and most of his in-home visits have taken place over the course of this week.

Sam Webb Freep fluff on 2010 MI CB/Slot Dior Mathis.

“The education is first for my parents and my coach,” he said. “They always stay on me about that, so education first. The second thing is, am I going to be able to play as a freshman? The third thing is I want to win a national championship. Those are really the main three goals right now going into college. I’m just going to take my time, focus on my grades and wait until my senior year (to make a decision).”

Wolverine commitments Teric Jones and Thomas Gordon aren’t shy about sharing their opinions about where they think their young comrade should go. “Every time they come around, they always tell me, ‘Go Blue,’ ” Mathis said.

So, the relevant information is as follows: 1) the other Cass Tech guys are (rather predictably) recruiting him for the Wolverines, 2) he wants to be able to win a championship at his school, 3) and he won’t decide until sometime during his senior year. #3 is good for Michigan in terms of #2, in that they’ll have a chance to prove that 2008 was a fluke by the time Mathis decides.

2010 TX RB Lache Seastrunk may be part of an enormous package deal.

There is talk fluttering around that there is a mega package deal in the 2010 class that involves some of the best players in the entire nation. Oregon isn’t a front runner for the package deal that includes probable overall #1 player Lache Seastrunk, [TX CB] Toney Hurd JR, [TX OLB] Shaun Lewis, and [LA Slot WR] Trovon Reed.

Michigan has consistently been mentioned as one of Seastrunk’s front-runners (in the top 5-ish, behind a top 2 of Texas and LSU), so I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan gets in on the other guys. They have been added to the board. For his part, Reed (a high school quarterback) liked the way West Virginia used Pat White under RR.

Fluff on 2010 AR RB Michael Dyer.

2010 PA CB Cullen Christian was apparently in the house for Michigan’s hoops loss to Ohio State on Saturday. I haven’t seen any confirmation ex post facto, so take that for what it’s worth.

2010 GA QB Blake Sims and teammate Slot Tai-ler Jones are expecting visitors from some midwest schools this week. There is also mention of junior days, which leads me to ask “when is Michigan having junior days?” I assume, at this point, it likely won’t be until after signing day as the 2009 class gets finished up in full-throttle mode.

Removed from the 2010 board: WI LB Konrad Zagzebski, who has committed to Minnesota.

Posted under Football, 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

The Board.

Added:
4 from Jim Stefani:
NJ OL Dante Weaver
TX DT De’Aires Cotton
FL RB Roy Finch
OH WR Jerald Robinson

New Information:
VA QB Phillip Sims. Fluff.
TX RB Lache Seastrunk. Closing in on his school’s all-time yardage record.
SC RB Marcus Lattimore. He already has 20 offers. Yeah, he’s kind of a big deal.
FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller. One of the fluffiest articles in history.
OH DE/LB Jamel Turner. He didn’t grow up with a favorite school, and considers himself a “free agent.”
NC DE Prince Shembo. NC State has offered (info in header).

Removed:
SC DT Kelcy Quarles. South Carolina commit.

Etc.:
MI QB Devin Gardner and RB Nick Hill played each other in the playoffs. Gardner’s team won, and is going to the state championship game.

Posted under Football