Somewhat-explanatory fluff on SC QB Commit Cornelius Jones. Sounds like he was running with the wrong crew within the past couple years, but has turned himself around:

“I realized I wasn’t going to do anything with my life if I was to keep going on the road I was going,” he said. “I got in touch with one of my positive friends, and he took me to coach Brown. He gave me a chance, and I’ve been running with it every since.”

“He came into my office one day and said he was told he couldn’t play football at Spartanburg anymore,” Brown said. “He wanted to know if that policy still stood after I took the job. He didn’t have any prior discipline reports and had a 3.7 GPA, so I knew that this was a kid that had been doing what he was supposed to do.”

With the scant amount of football he’s played, there’s a ton of upside with Cornelius, and Michigan fans should be excited to have him in the same class as Devin Gardner. Better still, it seems as though any potential character issues are firmly in his past, and Michigan will get an upstanding citizen as well. Also, there’s now a highlight video of Cornelius available. Alas, Youtube version has already been taken down, so click through and enjoy.

Removed OH QB Derek Roback. He’s down to a final 3 (info in header), and since Michigan never showed any interest in him, it’s pretty clear they aren’t among th finalists.

MI RB Austin White has set an announcement date (info in header). It’s coming up soon, and considering that Michigan had been deemed the leader for Austin within the past few days, it’s highly likely he’ll be pledging to the Wolverines. Keep an eye on Austin in the near future.

Michigan doesn’t seem to be heavily involved with Denard Robinson and Adrian Witty‘s teammate, RB Cassius McDowell. However, if their recruiting does shake out quite the way they’ve planned, he’s definitely a strong possibility for Michigan. In the past, he has spoken of being interested in the Wolverines. Video from McDowell’s junior season:

Cassius McDowell from SoFLAfootball.com on Vimeo.

Removed IN RB Roderick Smith. He committed to Ohio State last week, which I neglected to mention in the last recruiting update.

OH WR Tyrone Williams is likely to commit to Ohio State sometime soon (info in header).

Removed FL WR/DB Kadron Boone. He has a top 9 that he’s looking to trim into a final 5 sometime soon. Michigan is not on said list.

Removed IL TE CJ Fiedorowicz, who committed to Illinois. He hadn’t been prominently listing Michigan.

Fluff on SC OL Eric Mack, with no Michigan mention. It appears as though he wants to play his college ball in the South, looking at the teams he does talk about. He will not commit to any school until after his senior season.

Removed OH OL Travis Jackson, who committed to Michigan State.

Removed NJ OL Dante Weaver, who committed to Temple.

I left him on the recruiting board because I figured he may take visits, and that appears to indeed be the case for Cal commit TX DT Jay Guy (info in header). Michigan is among his offers, but it’s unclear whether that interest is reciprocated on his end. If so, an official visit may be in order.

Michigan is in the top 6 for PA DT Sharrif Floyd. If the Wolverines can get him on campus, he could be the answer to defensive line recruiting woes over the past two classes. As an added bonus, Penn State (regarded to be his favorite) already has two defensive tackles committed, making Michigan a much more attractive option.

Ohio DE Darryl Baldwin plans to make a college commitment by the end of the week. Though Michigan was strong for him early in the recruiting process, I think most analysts are expecting him to end up elsewhere, probably Ohio State.

Fluff on CT LB Khairi Fortt. He has a Michigan visit in his plans for the summer, and he’s hoping to narrow his list of scholarship offers to about 10 by the end of the month. He won’t announce a final decision until during his senior season, however.

Surprise, surprise. FL LB Christian Jones favors Florida State. He has a list of top schools (which doesn’t include Michigan) and plans to make a tour of unofficial visits to several colleges this summer. If that trip happens without a stop in Ann Arbor, or any other indication that the Wolverines are in the running, I’ll remove him from the board.

Removed GA LB Tyrone Cornileus, who has a final four of Gerogia Tech, Miami of Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Removed OH LB Cameron Ontko, who committed to Wisconsin. His brief stay on the board comes to an abrupt end.

CA S Sean Parker will visit Michigan for an official this fall, though he’s not sure exactly when that will be.

FL CB Keion Payne counts Michigan among his offers, but it doesn’t appear that Michigan is one of the schools that has a good chance to land him. It appears as though Miami of Florida and Ohio State (if they offer) are his leaders.

2011 FL RB Demetrius Hart “has favorites” (info in header). We’ll use the mighty VB cryptography kit to decipher who that might be: 1) This article is posted on TheWolverine, therefore Michigan must be among the favorites 2) The article is written by a TheWolverine staff writer, confirming the conclusion of part 1, and implying that Michigan likely leads. Hart has said in the past that he’d probably commit to Michigan as soon as he can get an offer in writing (September 1st, for the record), so this information is not surprising.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Removed SC QB Dylan Thompson. The signal caller (who actually hadn’t seen much interest from the Wolverines) committed to South Carolina.

MI WR Marcus Beaurem out of Sterling Heights Stevenson was impressive at Michigan’s camp, and was able to earn an offer from Central Michigan last week. Then, he committed to… Bowling Green? yesterday. Kind of a weird whirlwind recruitment.

Removed FL WR DeJoshua Johnson. The Pahokee product and prototypical slot receiver committed to Florida State.

Fluff on PA DT Sharrif Floyd. It’s the type of article that really reminds you that, these aren’t just football players, they’re kids whose lives hang in the balance:

“I was always frustrated at a young age, but growing up in a bad situation, there are only two ways you can go, run the streets and sell drugs, or go another way and do something with your life,” Floyd said. “I grew up in a drug environment. I grew up around all of that stuff. I’ve had people I grew up who were locked up, some of them were shot and killed. After one of my friends died, I stayed away from a lot of things after that.”

Regardless of where this kid ends up, it’s hard to wish him anything but the best of luck in coming out of a bad situation and making something of himself. Floyd will announce his decision at the Army All-American Bowl.

Sam Webb Freep fluff on OH DT Jibreel Black. His final 5 list consists of Michigan, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Kentucky, and Indiana (where his older brother is a defensive lineman). He grew up a Michigan fan, and though that’s the only campus he’s not visited on his list, the Wolverines have a chance because of that distinction.

DC LB Javarie Johnson has reached a decision on his college destination, and will announce that information this week (info in header). The week is almost over, so I assume that announcement is forthcoming soon. Remember, Johnson is the one who was so enthused about his Michigan visit that his coach thought he had committed to the Wolverines. Still, it’s been a while since he has been to Michigan, and though the Wolverines are featured on his recent top 4 list, I would be mildly surprised if he picked Michigan.

Added GA S Detrick Bonner. The safety from Leulla, GA has been offered by Michigan, and currently says he’s favoring the Wolverines. He also likes Clemson.

Removed FL CB Merrill Noel. The Pahokee Blue Devil committed to Florida State.

Removed GA CB Jonathan Mincy, who committed to Auburn.

Removed FL CB Cody Riggs, whose final list of 5 includes Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, and Tennessee.

FL CB Lorenza Wood, who was once a strong Michigan lead, is expected to pick Notre Dame tomorrow. If that does indeed happen, he’ll be removed on Monday.

Two more prospects that can probably be crossed off the list: GA LB Tyrone Cornileus, who is likely headed to Miami of Florida, and DT Mike Thornton, who will pick between Georgia and Georgia Tech soon.

In your occasional 2011 mention, quarterback Christian LeMay from North Carolina has been offered by Michigan (info obvious from header). He joins OH QB Braxton Miller, a likely OSU lock, as the offered quarterbacks in next year’s class.

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

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