Don’t forget, you can always visit the 2010 Recruiting Board here, or by clicking the link on the left sidebar.

Moved to Committed:
FL S Marvin Robinson. And there was much rejoicing. Also, there was a weird “OMG Half Shirtlessz” picture.

SC RB Marcus Lattimore has named Auburn his favorite after visiting for the Tigers’ spring game. I would be surprised if this lead holds up after he visits other schools, including Michigan, which he’s currently scheduled for the OSU game. His top 10 remains unchanged, but Auburn has shuffled their way to the front.

Has Michigan offered FL RB Darion Hall? Yes, according to Phil Kornblut:

Clemson has an offer out to running back Darion Hall (6-0, 200) of Naples, Fla. He has also been offered by Arkansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, SMU, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Michigan. He also is hearing from Miami and Florida.

I’ve added him to the board as offered.

Sam Webb Detroit News fluff on MN OL Seantrel Henderson, the consensus #1 overall recruit. Both Michigan and MIchigan State are in his current top 10. He also won’t announce a decision until one of the All-star games (he hasn’t decided whether he’ll participate in the Army or ESPNU game). I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan tries to get Eastern to land MN Ath JD Pride, so Henderson could be close to his good friend.

PA OL Seth Betancourt is currently looking at the SEC. Distance from home apparently matter to him, though he’s currently considering every school that extends him a scholarship offer. Michigan is not yet among those schools, but such programs as Pen State, Boston College, and West Virginia are.

Seems as though there’s a bit of a controversy surrounding NC DT Gabe King and several other athletes who were looking to transfer to Northern Guilford High School next year. Northern’s principal has already resigned over the ordeal, and it should be interesting to see if King’s eligbility at that school is threatened.

OH DE Darryl Baldwin has come out with a final four that includes Michigan (along with MSU, OSU, and ND). The article was crafted by a Sparty author, so be mindful of bias and incapability of forming a complete sentence. I keep forgetting whether it’s Baldwin or Derrick Bryant that is a supposed lock to OSU, so remain mindful that one of them is.

There was a weird situation early Sunday, in which Bob Lichtenfels of Scout.com said DC LB Javarie Johnson had committed to the Wolverines. GBW (on Lichtenfels’s own network, oddly enough) quickly pulled out their best Mike Gundy and said “THAT AIN’T TRUE.” Over the course of the day, they posted several articles (or “blogs” as they idiotically call message board posts) that ultimately showed they were correct, though he’s still listed as a commit on Scout. Still, Johnson did visit Ann Arbor this weekend and leave with an offer, so Michigan is interested in him. Additionally, commitment rumors don’t really crop up without some form of reciprocated interest. I’ve added Johnson to the board, and he might be a prospect to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

TX LB Caleb Lavey committed to Oklahoma State. This is weird, because Michigan had previously been considered the heavy favorite for him. After a brief visit to Oklahoma State, the lifelong Michigan fan immediately committed to the Cowboys. I’m not going to take him off the board quite yet, because, well, WTF? Oklahoma State? Seriously?

IN DE/LB Blake Lueders has a top 6 that does not include Michigan. It does include BC, Stanford, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Wake Forest, and UNC. However, somebody instruct LTP that “Top 6” != “Final 6.”

SC S Bashaud Breeland has named a top 3 of Clemson, South Carolina, and Virginia Tech. He is still considering the rest of the schools that have offered him (including the Wolverines), but those three stand out for now.

FL CB Nickell Robey is pretty good at track, fyi. Despite a hamstring injury, he managed to win the long jump and triple jump, and finish fourth in the high jump.

Florida’s Spring Game may have gotten the Gators some recruiting returns of their own. Of note to Michigan fans:

Lithonia, Ga., Martin Luther King running back Mack Brown, who some have labeled as the No. 1 target on the Gators’ board this season, said that Florida has officially taken over as his top school.

One guy who had a major slip on how he feels about Florida was Delray Beach, Atlantic wide receiver James Louis. In an interview with Scout.com after Saturday’s game, Louis actually said he’ll be a Gator soon. He didn’t commit, but he said it looks like he will.

Both are downgraded from “longshot” to “extreme longshot” at this point. I’m not sure exactly how interested the Wolverines were in Louis anyway, but it looks like he’ll be off the board soon enough. By the way, the author of the article estimates that there were over 1,000 recruits and parents of recruits at the game. Something for Michigan to aim for in future years, no?

Removals:
LA DT Risean Broussard. Committed to Tennessee.
FL LB BJ Butler. Committed to Georgia.
TX LB/S Luke Muncie. Committed to LSU.
OH CB Mike Dorsey. Committed to West Virginia.

Robey Photo by Ernst Peters of The Ledger.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

As time goes by, it seems more and more inevitable that SC QB Cornelius Jones might pick Michigan. He’s going to visit this summer.

Removed VA QB Phillip Sims. He committed to Alabama, relieving me of my responsibility of looking for excuses to drop him. I’m comin’ for you next, Heaps.

ESPN recruiting fluff on GA RB Mack Brown. From the article it appears as though he’s more of a speed back than a big back, which I had previously pegged him as. Still, with 2 backs in the class, I wouldn’t be surprised if the coaching staff holds out for Marcus Lattimore or bust (“bust” here meaning “Austin White/Nick Hill“). Additional Brown mini-fluff from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

MD RB Marcus Coker, who was part of the mass offering of DeMatha players last week, has now confirmed that he’s received an offer from the Wolverines (info in header). Still no definitive word on any of the other four guys.

I’d kinda pegged IL TE CJ Fiedorowicz as a Notre Dame lock, but it appears as though he’s favoring Iowa and Ohio State at this point. Michigan doesn’t seem to be in the thick of his recruitment, but he’d be an awesome weapon in the spread offense.

OH DE Darryl Baldwin was scheduled to visit Ann Arbor on Monday, though there haven’t been any (free) reports on whether said visit was positive or not.

Michigan is still showing interest in IL DE Louis Trinca-Pasat. Sun-Times fluff on Trinca and his teammate OL Laken Tomlinson. I’ve added Tomlinson to the board.

It’s almost difficult to NOT read the tea leaves, as each day brings further evidence (in header) that FL S Marvin Robinson is going to commit to the Wolverines, and do so sometime soon. That would (hopefully) open the floodgates a bit for some other defensive recruits to hop on board. Speaking of which, Josh Helmholdt goes over the spoils of the spring game in the Freep, including a tidbit on Marvin:

“I love the Michigan fans and I love the support they give their players,” Columbus (Ohio) Brookhaven defensive end Derrick Bryant remarked. “I was thinking some college stadiums don’t have that many people that come for a regular game and they had that many people for a scrimmage.”

“It was definitely a great environment to see all the people there supporting Michigan,” added Livonia Stevenson running back Austin White…

The recruiting results of Michigan’s spring game weekend could be immediately seen with the Saturday commitment of Flower Mound (Tex.) Marcus running back Stephen Hopkins. Several more players, however, elevated Michigan on their list of favorites following visits this past weekend.

[Torrian] Wilson, a 6-4, 315-pound offensive lineman ranked as the No. 131 player in the country by Rivals.com, named Michigan his leader after finishing up a five-day visit in Michigan. Eagle Lake (Fla.) Lake Region four-star safety Marvin Robinson, the No. 99 player in the country according to Rivals.com, also named the Wolverines as his top team and expects to make his commitment official in the next 2-3 weeks.

The Wolverines were already Robinson’s leader, though the imminent commitment thing is new this week. FL OL Torrian Wilson enjoyed the spring game as well, but it will still be tough to pull him from the Hurricanes. The other two gentlemen enjoying themselves can obviously be nothing other than a positive.

Information on a few different guys from Phil Kornblut:

USC has offered RB Roy Finch (5-8, 170) of Niceville, Fla. He also has offers from Oklahoma, Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Oregon, Michigan and Texas A&M.

DB Brashaud Breeland (6-2, 200) of Allendale-Fairfax also was at USC’s practice last Thursday night. He’s considering the Gamecocks and Clemson strongly along with Wake Forest, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Michigan and Tennessee.

So, Finch is now moved to “offered” on the board, and it appears as though Bashaud Breeland (first name sic in the quote, as I believe there’s no “r”) has Michigan in an unofficial top 8 of sorts. There was a bit more information in the article, but it was redundant from previous recruiting updates.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Moved to committed:
TX RB Stephen Hopkins. Commitment Post.

Sam Webb brings the fluff on MI QB Commit Devin Gardner in the Detroit News. Of course, the article wouldn’t be complete without this oft-quoted (in the past week or so) soundbite from Devin:

An Ohio State fan growing up, Gardner said he has had little problem flipping the loyalty switch.

“It’s off,” he said matter-of-factly. “They’re going to get it just like everybody else.”

So, huzzah for that. Speaking of Gardner, Matt Dorsey updates the in-state Top 10 in the Freep. Oddly enough, a Michigan State writer dropped Devin a spot in the rankings after he committed to Michigan. What are the odds?

At least one Rivals writer is pretty confident that TX QB Jeremy Johnson is going to commit to West Virginia after his visit this weekend. He was a “maybe” to visit Michigan this past weekend, but to the best of my knowledge, didn’t show. Stand by for removing him from the board.

Some USA Today fluff on CA RB Brennan Clay, focusing on his relationship with Tate Forcier. The USA Today is much more positive about Michigan’s chances to land Clay than conventional wisdom, for the record.

With the Wolverines in pretty serious need of defensive tackles in this class, but very few elite options out there, it seems as though they should be jumping all over PA DT Sharrif Floyd from Philadelphia. However, at this point, it doesn’t appear that there’s too much mutual interest.

Michigan may be among the favorites for SC RB Marcus Lattimore, but his teammate DT/DE Brandon Willis, does not have Michigan in his top 5.

PA DE Kyle Baublitz is reporting a Michigan offer.

Michigan is joined by 9 other schools in FL DE Lynden Trail‘s list of finalists. The others are Florida, Florida State, Miami, Southern California, Georgia, Alabama, South Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

Michigan has been FL S Marvin Robinson‘s leader for quite some time now (even if he hasn’t always articulated his favorites as such), but it appears that he might be almost ready to take the next step in his recruitment. He says he may commit to the Wolverines within a couple weeks or by the end of spring.

Michigan “is recruiting” FL CB Cody Riggs, though the Wolverines haven’t yet offered.

And how about a removal or six while I’m updating?
OH CB Courtney Avery gives a verbal to Stanford.
FL CB Jaylen Watkins committed to Florida.
FL CB Mark Deas committed to Georgia.
FL LB Gideon Ajagbe has committed to Florida.
NC OL Robert Crisp committed to… NC State?
FL RB Antwon Chisholm from Glades Central brandished a knife at a mall security guard, and it is now unlikely he’ll end up at a BCS school, assuming there’s anyone that wants to take him at all.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

The 2010 Recruiting Board can be found here.

Added to the Board as Committed:

TX RB/Slot Tony Drake, who received an offer and committed immediately. Tony Drake Commitment Post. Jim Stefani posted an information dump on Drake, from which these are the highlights, translated into coherent thoughts:

Overshadowed by several D-I prospects at Skyline, including receivers Mike Davis (LSU) and Joe Powell (Oklahoma), but a legit big-time talent with 4.4 speed. Projects as a slotback in college. Drake combined for 605 rushing and receiving yards as a sophomore, and averaged 10.5 yards per touch. As a sophomore starter at WR he was a second team All-district choice and had 260 yards receiving, combined for 605 rushing and receiving yards, and averaged 10.5 yards per touch.. As a junior back-up RB to senior James White ([3-star] Iowa State signee), he was second on the team in rushing with 55 carries for 429 yards (7.8ypc) and 3 TDs. He added 7 receptions for 73 yards.

So, yeah.

From Jim Stefani‘s Twitter feed:

JimStefaniLook for Devin Gardner to offically go public to Michigan in the next 10 days

That was Friday, so keep an eye out in the next few days. Gardner said he would be announcing as soon as basketball ended, and his team lost 63-56 to Patrick Lucas-Perry (yes, that Lucas-Perry)’s Flint Powers team over the weekend. Thus, the announcement should come any time now.

SoFlaFootball brings the recruiting fluff on FL QB Stephen Morris (he recently got his first offer, from FIU). Also, Morris’s junior highlights:

Stephen Morris from SoFLAfootball.com on Vimeo.

OH QB/Ath Spencer Ware has been selected to the Army AA game.

While we’re on the topic of QB recruits, FL QB Christian Green is favoring Florida State (this is not earth-shattering news, so much as common knowledge by this point. However, he does say that he wants to play in a spread offense. Conventional wisdom also has him wanting to play WR, not QB, at the next level.

After stating in no uncertain terms that Michigan would be getting an official visit from him, SC RB Marcus Lattimore has released a top 10 list, which does indeed include Michigan. It also includes Georgia, Florida State, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, Clemson, Maryland, North Carolina, and Duke. He has also stated that his Michigan official will be for The Game on November 21.

OH WR commit Jerald Robinson has been named 2nd team all-state in basketball.

GA WR Tai-ler Jones, a teammate of QB target Blake Sims, has narrowed his list of potential choices to 7:

“I made a top seven. It’s Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Cal, UCLA, North Carolina and Stanford. I wanted to name a top five, but I just felt like I couldn’t decide which two to cut. So I decided on a top seven.”

No Michigan. With a decision coming by the end of April, the Wolverines don’t have much time to get back in on him, so he’s been removed from the board. Unclear whether this will have any effect on Michigan’s pursuit of Sims.

Added to the board because he’s been offered (info in header): NJ OL Jake Kaufman.

MN OL Seantrel Henderson still has to be considered a longshot for Michigan to land, but he “was especially impressed” with his unofficial visit last weekend.

Josh Helmholdt sees your fluff, and raises with more fluff, Mr. Webb. I’d still consider the Wolverines a heavy underdog to land MI DE William Gholston, but they’ve been able to make some progress in recruiting him. As Helmholdt says in the Free Press, he’s been on campus a lot lately, and has seemed to really like Greg Robinson, particularly the “spinner” position, which would fit his skill set perfectly. Gholston does not plan to make an early decision, which is probably good for Michigan. The longer he waits, the more opportunities he’ll have to visit Michigan’s campus, realize Mark Dantonio is a douchebag, see that 2008 was an aberration, not a trend, etc.

IL DE Chance Carter, long thought to be a Notre Dame lock anyway, has eliminated all but four schools from the running for his services: Notre Dame, Stanford, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. With an early commitment pending (he plans to decide by May), Michigan doesn’t have much of a shot to get into this one, and I’ve removed him from the board.

Sam Webb’s weekly recruiting column in the Detroit News focused on TX LB Caleb Lavey this time around (particularly, his dad’s having been an equipment manager in the 70s). Lavey, who recently visited Ann Arbor and enjoyed himself greatly, grew up a Michigan fan (pictured at left touring the Michigan locker room in 2002, at approximately 10 years old), and is carrying the Robert Tate Forcier Memorial Chilhood Michigan Fandom Picture torch for the class of 2010. With Michigan having offered few linebackers to this point, and Lavey one of them, I’d assume that he is one of their top LB prospects, and perhaps the one with whom they have the best chance this early in the process. He’s currently in the process of unofficially visiting just about every school in America, so don’t expect him to make a decision until the summer. For personal info on Caleb (including his schedule of visits), you can always check out his website.

Gholston photo by Matt Pargoff for the Detroit Free Press, Lavey photo from a family collection.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

The 2010 Recruiting Board lives here.

Removed:
FL OL Leon Orr. Committed to Florida.
VA OL Marquis Wallace. Committed to West Virginia.

THE MOST IMPORTANT RECRUIT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD HAS SURFACED! A Louisiana QB named – I shit you not – Munchie Legaux has apparently been offered by Michigan. Landing him alone would likely make up for missing out on at least Pearlie Grave and DeQuinta Jones, though Barkevious Mingo will require more make-up work. LeGaux has been added to the recruiting board, in addition to our collective hearts.

Offered GA RB Mack Brown has released his first top 4, and the Wolverines are nowhere to be found on it: the list consists of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma.

Bobby Petrino has risked turning off some of the top recruits in Arkansas, including very highly-rated running back Michael Dyer, by offering very few in-state prospects:

“We’re just wondering what’s wrong with the in-state kids, because obviously they do a good job on the out of state kids,” [Dyer] said. “It’s the people who live in Arkansas who are actually having a hard time getting recruited by Arkansas.”

Michigan is interested in Dyer, and though he was considered a lock to Arkansas early in the process, Petrino may end up losing out be cause of a perceived disrespect toward top Arkansas prospects.

SC QB Cornelius Jones won’t announce his decision until Signing Day, and (from the same article) SC DE Brandon Willis, a HS teammate of RB Marcus Lattimore, received a Michigan offer, and he plans to enroll early at the school of his choosing. Speaking of Lattimore, this article has a bit of good information on him. The highlight:

“I grew up a [South] Carolina and Florida State fan, but I don’t really think it will make an impact on my decision,” he said. “But I mainly pulled for Florida State when they had Chris Weinke and Peter Warrick.”

While his childhood preferences may not be a factor in his decision, Lattimore says there are three things that he will be very interested in looking at when evaluating each of his potential schools.

“First will be if the school has my major, which is sports administration or sports management, but probably the second one would be how comfortable I feel there with the players, coaches, and in that environment. Third would probably be the facilities,” said Lattimore.

Michigan’s Division of Kinesiology is among the best nationally for those majors. Lattimore also intends to trim his list of choices to 8 by summer. Considering he’s said Michigan is a lock to receive an official visit, I’d be surprised if they weren’t in the final 8.

FL OL Brent Benedict has received a Michigan offer.

MI DT Tremondae Branch is starting to see his recruitment pick up. Cliff notes:

“I just got home from Michigan’s Junior Day,” Branch stated. “I was really impressed. I had been there before because my older brother played football there, but it seemed like it was at another level. I know they changed the offense since then, but they didn’t change the tradition. It is a great program for anyone…

“But that’s why I’d rather play football in the South,” Branch continued. “Even though the northern schools have a lot of competition with big guys, I just think by playing in the South I’d have to work harder which would make me a better player and it would bring my game to a whole different level…

“Right now I‘m still wide-open to anyone because I do not have any offers yet,” Branch concluded. “I just want to play college football somewhere.”

I haven’t been able to figure out who his brother is. Captain Obvious would say “Alan Branch, obviously,” but I don’t think that’s the case, because Alan is from New Mexico. Does anybody know who Tremondae’s older brother is? Also: Durr idiotic SEC crowing.

Michigan offered MI DE CJ Olaniyan, and that (predictably) made them move up on his mental list of schools. He was at Junior Day last weekend. Following that, a pretty good fluff piece from Sam Webb in the Detroit News.

OH DE Marcus Rush wasn’t able to make it to Junior Day last weekend, but that didn’t stop the Wolverines from offering him (info in header) when he came later in the weekend to take in a spring practice.

AL DE Martaze Jackson was the MVP (“winner”) of the National Underclassmen Combine.

This is either the worst tease for an article ever, or Michigan HASN’T offered IL DE Louis Trinca-Pasat. I’m thinking it is indeed the worst tease ever, and he’s been offered. I won’t note it on the board yet, because I’m relying a little heavily on context clues here.

A little recruiting fluff on FL LB Jeff Luc:

Luc says no school is ahead of any other at this point. Academics and graduation rate are important factors to him, and he said he likely will wait until the fall to make his decision. He plans to major in accounting or engineering.

Michigan is obviously very strong in both of those fields (if they’ll let him major in what he wants, of course).

IL LB Rickey Simpson is hearing from Michigan.

And your “WTF?” news of the day: Toledo fans seem to think Devin Gardner was going to commit to their school before the coaching staff there was changed following 2008. Like, no. Dude, no. I would be surprised if the Rockets have ever landed a 4-star or 5-star prospect at all.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

TX RB Chris Parr, who I’d previously noted has something of a reputation of being a troublemaker, has landed himself in hot water again, this time beating up a 14-year old. I don’t want anything to do with the kid, and I’d assume the staff feels the same way. As far as character risks go, I don’t think this staff would take a kid like Parr, and certainly not while they have many other attractive options on their radar (and after the grief they’ve taken about Chris Henry and Pacman Jones since the move to Michigan). He’s been removed from the board, though I will admit he takes a good mugshot.

Florida has offered FL OL Leon Orr, and it sounds like that’s the place he really wants to end up. He hasn’t committed yet, but he gets an imaginary frowny face icon.

PA DE/LB Dakota Royer is starting to get his recruiting process squared away, and he has numerous offers as well as a list of favorites:

“It was very good … They are up there right now,” said Royer, who has offers from Maryland, Penn State, Colorado, Notre Dame, Illinois, Stanford, UConn, Michigan State, Kentucky and Rutgers.

“Maryland, Pitt, Penn State, Michigan State, Notre Dame — those are my top [schools],” he said.

No Michigan mention, in terms of interest from either side. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he popped up on the Wolverine radar soon – if only to show Little Brother who’s boss.

KS DE/LB Geneo Grissom (already on the board) is indeed getting interest from Michigan. The linked article regards his attendance at the Jayhawks’ junior day.

Are you interested in the latest news on TX LB Caleb LaVey? Then CalebLavey.com is the website for you! His “Recruiting” page indicates he is receiving interest from Michigan (but he does not mention an offer), so he has been added to the board. I assume the site won’t be the most enlightening in terms of details about his recruitment (a la qbforce.com), but thus far it seems to be updated enough to be relevant, so hopefully his dad (who is listed as the contact, and I assume is the one operating the site) will update it frequently.

Michigan leads for PA CB Cullen Christian. They are far ahead of most of the competition, and he visits campus the weekend of March 19th. He has plans to set up visits with several other schools on his list, as well. Christian also thinks he won’t make a final decision until his senior season, giving those schools a chance to play catch-up.

It looks like I should be ready to remove SC DB DeAndre Hopkins from the board. It appears as though he’s highly likely to make a commitment to Clemson at their junior day this weekend. He’ll stay on the board for now in the event that the commitment doesn’t come to fruition.

Lastly, I want to mention (since I’ve been forgetting to do so since the news broke about 3 weeks ago) that FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller is planning to transfer out of Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, and up to Ann Arbor Huron for his senior season. This, obviously, would unite him with fellow WR Commit Jeremy Jackson. That would be a pretty good tandem in the world of SE Michigan high school football. Speaking of Jackson, I found this interview of him on a random blog, whose credibility I can’t vouch for. Take it for what it’s worth.

Big Back Huntin’
With Brandon Minor graduating after the 2009 season, Michigan will likely be in search of another big, powerful back in his mold. Currently, Mike Cox is the only player on the roster who even comes close to being the style of running back that Minor is. Though all the rumblings out of last year’s team indicated that Cox was performing well with the scout team, Only having one bruiser on the roster might not be the most successful gameplan.

On that note, Michigan recently offered GA RB Mack Brown (Scout header confirms), as well as SC RB Marcus Lattimore. Both fit in the “big back” mold of Brandon Minor, though Lattimore is the more highly-regarded prospect at this time, and may be more of a complete all-around player. Speaking of Lattimore, until recently he had planned to announce his decision at the Army All-American game. Now, he has changed his mind and will wait the extra month or so until Signing Day. From the tenor of that article, it would appear that South Carolina is a heavy favorite.

There is also mutual interest between The Wolverines and CA RB Dietrich Riley (info in header). I’ve added him to the board, and he also fits the bill of “big back.” And last in the big back parade is TX RB Stephen Hopkins. The Wolverines are showing him interest (info in header). I wonder if they want an inside runner in this class. Hmm…

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Recruiting Boards can be found to the left at any time or right here: 2009 & 2010.

Decent recruiting overview with less than a week left from the Free Press.

OH CB Commit Justin Turner has apparently been offered the #2 jersey when he arrives in Ann Arbor. This would surprise me, as Boubacar Cissoko has been rumored to be switching to #2 this year.

LA DT Commit DeQuinta Jones gave a little feedback on his Michigan visit:

“Snow was piled up everywhere,” said Jones, who verbally committed to the Wolverines over the summer. “But it really wasn’t that cold to me.”

One of the highlights of the trip for the handful of recruits was getting to pay a visit to coach Rich Rodriguez’s home. “We went to coach Rodriguez’s house and played pool,” Jones said. “It’s a three-story mansion.”

Overall, Jones says his visit, “went real good.”

He also said he won’t be sure where he’s going until signing day comes and goes, but current scuttlebutt among those on the internets is that he’ll still end up with Michigan.

2009 FL QB Denard Robinson is considered a Florida lean? This goes against all the conventional wisdom on Robinson and Witty, but it is worth noting in case there’s something to it.

2009 PA WR Je’Ron Stokes is considering taking a visit to Georgia this weekend. I’m not quite sure how serious that interest can be, considering it’s pretty much come from nowhere. Rich rodriguez was also in his home “most of the evening” on Tuesday.

2009 SC DE Sam Montgomery was visited by South Carolina Monday, but he doesn’t plan to head to Columbia before Signing Day for an unofficial, so it seems like South Carolina probably isn’t a player here. Sam will announce his decision on ESPN at 10 or 10:30 on Signing Day. Also a very brief mention of his visit to LSU, wherein LSU commit Chris Faulk commits on his bubbly personality.

2009 LA LB Barkevious Mingo visited Alabama over the weekend.

Superfluff on 2009 MI QB AJ Westendorp. The article seems to say that he’ll definitely accept a scholarship offer somewhere (and Michigan doesn’t seem likely to offer). He might even pick GVSU over Central Michigan if the Chips offer. He’s verrry close to being removed from the board.

2010 SC QB Cornelius Jones is getting Michigan interest, though he’s no longer reporting a Michigan offer as he (falsely) was over the spring/summer.

2010 FL WR/Slot Chris Dunkley has a top 5, and Michigan isn’t in it. The big 3 Florida schools, Georgia, and West Virginia are.

The 2010 contingent from Byrnes, SC (including RB Marcus Lattimore, one of the nation’s top prospects, and fellow target DE Brandon Willis) made their way to Duke’s junior day last week, and will visit Florida State this weekend.

Michigan Sports Center does a bit of super-sleuthing to determine that Michigan has offered 2010 MI QB Robert Bolden.

Removed:
2009 VA QB Tajh Boyd. Clemson.
2009 TX WR Josh Gordon. Baylor.
2009 TX CB/WR DeWayne Peace. Arizona.

Guys who weren’t on the board but can pretty much be forgotten about now:
2009 LA WR Travante Stallworth. Reaffirmed to Auburn.
2009 FL WR Willie Haulstead. Don’t entirely forget about him, but he’s reaffirmed his FSU commitment.

Posted under Football

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