2010 Michigan Football Recruiting Board. This was kind of a slow weekend, so there isn’t a whole ton of news. However, the later recruiting update this week will probably be pretty full. (Translation: I was on vacation this weekend and want to get the Monday recruiting post up without any further delay).

For those worried about the low ranking of slot commit Drew Dileo, hopefully his being ranked #17 in Louisiana will assuage those fears a bit. Louisiana is typically a talent-rich state, that #17 in that state is comparable to top-10 in Michigan in nearly every year. Couple that with the fact that Tiger Rag is an LSU fansite (like a Scout or Rivals page, but to the best of my knowledge, unaffiliated), and likely to slightly underrate the prospects who have already committed to out-of-state schools, and he’s probably a slightly better get than previously believed. Add in the stellar academic credentials, and things don’t look so negative, after all.

Josh Helmholdt Free Press fluff on who might be the second QB in Michigan’s class of 2010.Mostly non-informative, though he does say that the most likely options at this time appear to be LA QB Munchie Legaux, SC QB Cornelius Jones, and TX QB Jeremy Johnson. MI QB Robert Bolden is primarily interested in pro-style offenses… and Oregon? Either way, it’s unlikely that he’d end up in maize-and-blue.

This is also the time of year where we’ll start to hear about which prospects are planning to make it in to Ann Arbor for summer camps and other summer visits. FL OL Torrian Wilson and RB Eduardo Clements from Booker T. Washington in Miami plan to make it in for summer camp. Look for more comprehensive lists to start being formed as the time approaches.

Added NC DE Fre’Shaud Hunter, who has received a Michigan offer (info in header).

Added TN LB Justin Maclin to the board. He’s received a Michigan offer (info in header).

Added FL CB Merrill Noel, who has received a Michigan offer (info in header). Noel is one of the strong contingent of Pahokee players this year, headlined by WR De’Joshua Johnson. Johnson (who would be a prototypical slot in the spread offense) has stated he doesn’t want to play in a spread, and has eliminated Florida and Michigan, despite saying that he would love to play with his former teammates like Vincent Smith and Martavious Odoms. However, Pahokee does have a number of defensive players, including DTs Richard Ash, Doral Willis, and Antonio Ford, along with LB Zachery Allen who, like Noel, was just offered (info in header). If the Wolverines want to keep the Pahokee pipeline open (and they most certainly do), there are plenty of legit options in the class of 2010.

By the way, since 400-some recruits have been nominated for the Army All-American Game, I’m not going to bother individually listing which prospects with Michigan interest have been nominated. However, I may throw in “US Army Game nominee” when I bring them up in the context of having other news to discuss.

Removed:
DC QB Ricardo Young and VA CB Derrick Hopkins. Both committed to Virginia Tech.
MI QB/Ath Tony Lippett committed to Michigan State.
OH OL Andrew Norwell. Yeah, he’s been committed to Ohio State for a really long time now, and I just noticed he was still on the board.
OH LB Scott McVey. See above.
VA LB Aramide Olaniyan. It appears as though his commitment to Duke will hold.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Following up on the 2009 recruiting update from a day ago, here’s its 2010 counterpart. The recruiting board esta aqui.

Added: MI WR Baquer Sayed. Michigan already has a couple of wideouts in the class of 2010, but Sayed seems like he may be a pretty good one, and he’s right in the Wolverines’ backyard:

“Very rarely do we have a 6-2 receiver that can run, jump and catch the ball the way (Sayed) can. I don’t know if he is going to run a 40-yard dash in front of a college scout and give him a blazing time [4.6 range]. Baquer can improve that, definitely. That is my job and the rest of our coaching staff’s job to get him to do that.” [Sayed’s coach Fouad Walker]

“I think, as a high school receiver, Sayed could be the best in the state,” said [Scout analyst Allen] Trieu. “Prospect wise, Jackson brings a little more size and Banks brings a little more explosiveness. However, I think Sayed has the best ball skills of the three.”

Sayed also mentioned potentially playing both basketball and football in college, though he would choose football if he could play only one. His recruiting has been slow to start so far, but looks to be picking up:

Sayed doesn’t hold any offers at the moment, but Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Indiana, UCLA and Bowling Green all have sent letters expressing interest.

Also added to the board: PA CB Cullen Christian. He has been offered by Michigan ($).

Michigan will continue to look to Pahokee for talent in the future, and DL Antonio Ford may be one possibility in the class of 2010. SoFlaFootball brings the info:

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Ford has the impressive frame and long limbs coaches look for in lineman. The talented lineman is still maturing and his size is only a fraction of what he will end up being in the future.

Ford is currently offerless, but is getting communications from Duke, West Virginia, and Maryland.

OH LB Scott McVey recently visited Ohio State, where he enjoyed himself greatly (info in header). All the news on McVey has been rather Buckeye-centric lately, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up committing to the Bucks.

FL DB LaMarcus Joyner has a pretty solid top 3 of Florida, FSU, and Ohio State (in that order). He is not considering MIami of Florida, and it will be interesting to see if any other schools (namely Michigan) will be able to break his top group’s stranglehold on his recruitment.

PA LB Sam Bergen tore his ACL this past season, but that won’t stop him from being a bigtime recruit:

Bergen was, and strives to be again, the top linebacker in the Mountain Valley Conference. Despite the injury, Bergen, like his older brother Max, who is a redshirt freshman at Stanford, remains a top recruit — and he’s got two binders of letters from universities across the country to prove it.

As of now, his favorite schools include but are not limited to Notre Dame, Penn State, Illinois, Rutgers, Stanford and Boston College.

FL RB Eduardo Clements sat down for an interview with SoFlaFootball. He currently favors FSU, Boston College, and Miami of Florida. He’s trying to put on some weight going into next season to have a more successful year.

FL WR/Slot Chris Dunkley talks offers with SoFlaFootball, but he refuses to discuss a favorite. He says all of the schools that he is considering are even, though it seems Florida and Georgia may be just a bit out front. He is considering taking summer visits to USC and West Virginia.

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 Boards: 2009 & 2010

2009 MI WR Cameron Gordon has received his offer (Sam Webb audio). I personally would like to see him end up in Ann Arbor, though Iowa should provide tough competition.

2009 NC OL Travis Bond has been added to the North Carolina squad for the Shrine Bowl.

How’s this for a non-update from 2009 FL DB Angelo Hadley? His top 4 remains unchanged, and he will visit Michigan in January.

As has been the case for some time now, Hadley, whom Rivals.com rates as a three-star prospect, is still considering four schools: Florida, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina… Hadley has taken an official visit to UNC and will trip to Michigan in January.

Among his favorites, Florida has not offered, and he can’t set up an official until they do.

Class of 2009 visitors this weekend, courtesy of the Free Press and Sam Webb (audio):
December 6th:
Thomas Gordon
Teric Jones
Isaiah Bell
Fitzgerald Toussaint
Justin Turner
MI DT William Campbell
FL (via a JC in Mississippi) DE Pernell McPhee. The former Pahokee Blue Devil is a Mississippi State commit.
GA WR Jamal Patterson (Stanford commit).
PA WR Je’Ron Stokes (Tennessee commit). Canceled per Webb.

A bevy of information from the Chicago Sun-Times on 2010 prospects:

Loyola defensive end Chance Carter is giving up basketball to concentrate on football… To live up to his enormous potential, he must dedicate himself to football.

C.J. Fiedorowicz of Johnsburgh, a 6-7, 240-pounder with 4.5 speed, is a high-bred tight end in high school. That will be his position in college.

Christian Lombard of Fremd, at 6-6 and 285-pounds, is one of the best offensive linemen in the country. Colleges came in to evaluate him in the fall and bragged about him. He has great feet, is fundamentally sound, very mobile and makes few mistakes. He was offered by Iowa as a freshman. At last count, he had 29 offers.

Michigan is among those offers. He is one of the top OL targets in the 2010 class.

2010 OH LB Scott McVey seems to be blowing up a bit:

McVey certainly was among the best players on display during Ohio’s showcase weekend of six state finals. His was the grand finale.

McVey was in on six sacks – four of them solo sacks – and hounded Elder quarterback Mark Miller on numerous other plays. He was credited with eight total tackles, but the numbers do not begin to tell the story of the 6-1, 220-pounder from South Euclid who spends his spring running over hurdles instead of through linemen.

His stock is on the rise. Might he be able to garner an offer soon? He now has one from the Buckeyes (info in header).

Removed:
2009 GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. He has a final 3 sans Michigan (info in header).
2009 GA S/QB Donavan Tate. Commits to North Carolina.

Posted under Football