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

Scout headline watch: “Deerfield Coach optimistic on Robinson, Witty.” Posted by GBW, the interpretation is pretty simple: optimistic of Michigan’s chances to land 2009 prospects Denard Robinson and Adrian Witty.

2009 LA LB Barkevious Mingo‘s best friend has accepted a preferred walkon opportunity at LSU. He’s trying to convince Mingo to join him in Baton Rouge:

Glynn added that he hopes to share a dormitory room with teammate Barkevious Mingo should his best friend and Blue Chip prospect choose LSU. “We hang out every day. Coach (Les) Miles told us we could room together if Barkevious decides to come there. It should be a fun four or five years if Barkevious decides on LSU.”

Glynn may get to live out his dream, as Mingo is likely to become a Tiger.

2009 SC OL Quinton Washington visited Tennessee this past weekend, will head to Miami this upcoming weekend, and entertained Rich Rodriguez and co. in-home last week.

Muck fluff featuring a cameo from 2009 RB commit/enrollee Vincent Smith:

“Life is a struggle,” said former Pahokee running back Vincent Smith, now playing at Michigan. “It’s a learning experience because you have to be able to adapt quickly or you can easily get into trouble. Playing sports helped put me on the outside of some of the circumstances and struggles in the town.”

LA WR Travante Stallworth is down to Auburn, Michigan, and South Carolina. He had his Auburn official last weekend, which probably determined whether or not he’ll recommit to the Tigers.

Removed 2009 GA S Darren Myles from the board:

Until recently, OSU was hopeful of adding Atlanta Carver safety Darren Myles — ranked among the nation’s top 10 safeties — to its 2009 class (signing day is Feb. 4).

Myles was supposed to be up for an official visit last weekend, but never came, reportedly because of inclement weather. He now says his decision is between Alabama and Louisiana State.

He’ll also take a Kentucky visit, but all of those options are still distinctly non-Michigan.

Also removed 2009 OH CBs Dale Peterman and Mike Edwards, who committed to Syracuse and Tennessee, respectively. OLs Khalil Wilkes and Henry Conway committed to Stanford and Sparty, respectively. LA DE Bennie Logan committed to LSU, which has to help Michigan (if ever-so-slightly) with SC DE Sam Montgomery.

2010 OH WR Jerald Robinson visited Ohio State for their recent junior day. He is hearing from most schools around the midwest, but has only visited Michigan, Ohio State, and Sparty.

Added to the 2010 board: OH DE Derrick Bryant and MI Ath Daniel Easterly, at the recommendation of commenter Griffin Fraley. Also added: FL OL Chaz Green, a high school teammate of QB prospect Christian Green who has been garnering some pretty good attention himself.

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

Recruiting boards are in the top box on the left sidebar.

Added to the Board:
2010 OH CB/Ath Braylon Heard. He says Penn State and USC are his favorites, and though he doesn’t mention Michigan in the article, I’m sure the Wolverines are interested. He has a good first name for Michigan, and a fairly rad highlight video, as well as an equally good one from his sophomore year.
2010 NJ OL Bill Bilo. Interested in Michigan (info in header/obvious from posting on GBW front page).
2010 HI LB VJ Fehoko. Michigan is corresponding with him, and he seems like a good one – other schools of interest are Alabama, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame. Texas Tech is his current favorite.

Michigan so impressed OH OL Marcus Hall on his visit that he has a new leader (info in header). I wonder who that could be? OSU insiders think Michigan’s lead is ephemeral, but a Glenville product even naming the Wolverines his favorite this late in the process is a huge leap forward for recruiting from that Buckeye pipeline.

FL CB Adrian Witty was similarly impressed on his Michigan visit, but GBW doesn’t even try to play it coy this time, and the info is blatantly in the header. Michigan is by far his biggest offer (only others, to my knowledge, are FIU and KSU), and if HS teammate QB Denard Robinson wants to play with his friend in college, Michigan is their only option.

Tennessee is the favorite for 2009 OH CB Mike Edwards from Cleveland Glenville. The Vols are giving him the full-court press, solidifying their #1 status. He apparently has his Michigan visit this weekend, however, giving the Wolverines a chance to catch up.

Miami of Florida has entered the fray for 2009 SC OL Quinton Washington. Likely the top OL prospect left on Michigan’s board, Q looks to take all of his visits before reaching a decision.

Tennessee coaches (including Kiffin the elder and DaCoachO) were in Louisiana last week to visit 2009 DT Commit DeQuinta Jones and his teammate, WR Rueben Randle. I would assume (and, obviously, hope) that their visit was more targeted towards Randle than Jones.

You can all-but cross 2009 FL CB Jayron Hosley off the board. Following a USF visit, the USF Scout affiliate publishes an article entitled “Jayron Knows Where He’s Going.” Hmm, I wonder where that could be. He still takes his Michigan visit this weekend, though he’s bound to hate the weather.

2009 PA LB Dan Mason say’s he’s “pretty much narrowed things down to Pitt and West Virginia.” Michigan isnt even mentioned as one of the schools that just didn’t make the cut. He’ll stay on the board for now, as I assume a Michigan offer would put the Wolverines right into the conversation.

SC DE Sam Montgomery enjoyed his Michigan visit:

“I’m high on Michigan right now. They are two steps ahead of everybody. But I’ll wait and make my decision after all the visits.”

Don’t get your hopes too high though, as he has something of a reputation for aying great things about whichever school he’s heard from or visited most recently. If he’s still making such positive comments after his LSU visit, that will be notable. And here’s a little more on his upcoming timetable:

In the next month, Montgomery will take official visits to LSU, Tennessee, Oregon and North Carolina. While Montgomery won’t take official visits to South Carolina and Clemson, he said the in-state schools are still in the mix.

Montgomery said he plans not to announce a commitment. Rather, he said he will announce where he’ll attend college when he signs his national letter of intent.

2009 FL WR Nu’Keese Richardson said Michigan was among his favorites before he committed to Florida in the summer. Is he opening up his recruitment? If so, he has a chance to be re-added to the board later. Keep an eye on ‘Keese for now.

Mgoblog is obviously very awesome, and if you visit this site, you’re undoubtedly a regular reader over there as well. For that reason, I typically won’t link directly to Brian’s info, as it stands on its own. However, in TomVH’s Tate Forcier interview earlier this week, there was some pertinent info on 2010 CA RB Brennan Clay, a high school teammate of Forcier.

TOM: Your teammate, Brennan Clay, is a Michigan target for next year. Is there anything you’ve said to him about joining you, or is there anything you’ll do in the future?

TATE: I’ve been working on him since day one. He’s getting a lot of attention, he just got offered by USC last week. I want what’s best for him, but I have a good feeling if he was going to come back east, this would be a school he could choose. He’s going to come out for spring ball, so hopefully I can convince him. I know he loves Coach Smith and Rodriguez, and he likes Michigan. Talking with those guys is like extended family, they’re just really cool guys, which helps.

Brennan is far from a lock to Michigan, especially with early offers from schools like USC. Michigan certainly has help in the recruitment, though, and it seems (as evidenced by said USC offer) that Clay will be a top prospect in next year’s class. For the rest of the Forcier interview, head to Mgoblog.

2010 MI RB Austin White has been the subject of some transfer rumors lately. However, his dad says he is staying at Livonia Stevenson instead of transferring to Inkster High School.

“As far as we’re concerned, Austin, honestly, is at Livonia Stevenson,” he said. “If we felt there was an academic program strong enough for Austin and he may benefit from being in a quality program, then we will do what’s best for him. But there’s no issue as to why we would be looking or searching outside.”

“They have a good education program. Obviously, the only other place I would like to see Austin is where I’m at, and that would be Pioneer, and I know they have outstanding academics and a strong football program.

“But I can almost guarantee you that Austin would go in the total opposite direction of his dad.”

Mr. White is the principal at Pioneer. The Inskter transfer rumors started because Stevenson’s coach has resigned, and Austin would likely seek a good football program with a good, strict coach (the as-yet-unconfirmed rumor has it that he participated in the MSU Football/Hockey fight that got one of his older twin brothers kicked of MSU’s football team). Inkster’s head coach has a reputation for being a so-called “molder of men.” Obviously, either transfer situation (Inkster or AA Pioneer) would be positive for Michigan.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Board.

Moved from Committed:
TX K Anthony Fera. He’s headed to Penn State now.

Added:
OH CB Mike Edwards. He now has an offer (info in header).
FL K Brendan Gibbons. Probably Michigan’s #1 kicking target now.

New Information:
GA QB/S Donavan Tate. He now say’s he’ll go to college regardless of where he gets drafted by the MLB. Southern Cal, UNC, Bama, Michigan, and Georgia comprise his current top 5.
MI DT William Campbell. Michigan’s top remaining target for 2009.
SC S Devonte Holloman. His teammate (and former UM target) Stephon Gilmore has now committed to South Carolina. Might that help convince Holloman to commit there?
NC OL Travis Bond. He’ll be in this weekend (info in header).
FL CB Angelo Hadley. Michigan is in his top 4 (info in header).

Removed:
OK CB Gabe Lynn. Down to a final 5 that does not include Michigan.
TX K Anthony Fera. Penn State commit.
IL DE Craig Drummond. He’ll pick between Illinois and Wisconsin.

Etc.:
FL WR Willie Haulstead is not on the board because he’s a Florida State commit, but he will be in for the MSU game this weekend.
The Freep weighs in on many of the guys who will be around. Sam Webb does the same in the Detroit News.

Analysis:
Fera’s loss is sad, and I would love to have him, but it appears as though he has moved on, and Brendan Gibbons is now the kicker du jour for Michigan.
Columbus Dispatch article in which MI TE Reid Fragel disses Michigan’s instate recruiting effort. Gee, an OSU commit trying to badmouth Michigan, I’m so surprised. Much ado about nothing.

Posted under Football