Stephen Schilling is widely regarded as Michigan’s best offensive linemen, and will be a third-year starter for the Wolverines in 2008. He makes the switch from right tackle to guard, which is a more natural position for him, and allows him to take advantage of his athleticism. Schilling has started 24 of the 25 games in his Michigan career, though he missed last year’s Ohio State game (not-so-coincidentally a subpar rushing performance) with an injury.

Vladimir Emilien will be a true freshman in 2009, but that doesn’t mean he’s unlikely to garner much playing time. Emilien enrolled in the winter semester, and took part in the Wolverines’ spring drills. He was one of the more impressive defensive players this spring, and may even have a chance to make it into the starting lineup.

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The poll will remain open for 7 days, closing at 5PM next Sunday. Have your heart set on a particular candidate? Try to sway others in the comments. The full bracket is visible here.

Other Open Polls:
Minor v. Sheridan.
Gibbons v. Van Bergen.
Warren v. Stokes.

Posted under Football, Personnel

At the top of his press conference Rich Rodriguez basically went through the list and talked briefly about each commit. A lot of it was coach-speak and praising the high school coaches, but there was quite a bit of useful information (as opposed to Lloyd Carr press conferences, which were awesome in their own way) on most of the players. One interesting thing in general is that Rodriguez let us know who the lead recruiter was for each player, and for just about everyone from Florida it was Rod Smith. I guess that’s why need a de facto third QB coach. On to the players:

Isaiah Bell

Coach mentioned that the staff is really tight with Youngstown Liberty coach Jeff Whittaker. It’s not that stacked of a school, but seems to produce a bit of talent ona regular.  He said that Bell would start competing as a safety, but if he can but on enough weight, may move up to outside linebacker.

William Campbell

Looking at depth chart would probably tell you this too, but Rodriguez said that Campbell will play defense only and will compete for playing time right at the outset.  Campbell got the instant impact tag from the coach.  Will said himself that his goal is to start his freshman year.  Even though he is a really funny, kind of goofy guy, I get the feeling that he’s super competative; I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be a RB/QB playing against Michigan in two years. Campbell is now doing the full Barwis workout and says the toughest part was the running becuase since the all star game he’s been relaxing and “got fat.”

Vlad Emilien

Coach said he could play either Safety position and will probably be moved around to positions of need.

Tate Forcier

Apparently in the Spring, Jason Forcier was in town and talked with Rodriguez. He basically said he’d recruit Tate for Michigan.  I just can’t help but wonder how different this last year would have been if Forcier hadn’t transferred… Oh well.  Obviously will come and compete right away for time at QB. When a reporter asked Rodriguez if he was confident that he’ll end up with a really good quarterback he responded that “we’ll have a really good competition.”  Tate says he works much more on accuracy and a quick release than arm strength. In some passing drills he claims he hit Mike Cox and Kevin Koger in the back of the head because they weren’t expecting the ball to get there as quickly as it did.  After his interview with the TV crews at the press conference, most reporters were surprised at how well he handled himself.  He really seemed like a pro.

Jeremy Gallon

For some reason, I gor the feeling that Rodriguez is especially excited about Gallon, but I’m probably just projecting my own excitement.  Coach said he’ll compete immediately at slot.  Tim has made this argument that Odoms is a pretty good slot receiver, but the concept of the slot receiver may be more appealing than Odoms himself.  Rodriguez also mentioned that he’ll immediately be in the mix for returning kicks.  Obviously, Coach didn’t talk about grade issues in specifics, but he mentioned that there are about 2-3 recruits who haven’t been approved by the Clearinghouse and that all of those recruits of realistic plans to follow that will allow them to qualify.  Rodriguez didn’t really seem to worried about grade issues.

Check out Varsity Blue throughout the day for the tidbits on the rest of recruits.

Posted under Football, Personnel, Recruiting

Safety Vladimir Emilien of Plantation High School in Lauderhill, Florida has given his word to become a Michigan Wolverine. Emilien is a 6-1 190-lb player who has been clocked at 4.50 in the 40-yard dash. He is a 3-4-star prospect to each recruiting site, and and marks Michigan’s 20th commitment in the class of 2009.

Player Notes
Emilien had a fairly impressive offer sheet prior to his commitment, and is known as a safety prospect who can play either position. He has good speed in the defensive backfield, and could excel under the tutelage of Mike Barwis. He has fairly good size as well, and will likely end up as a big run-supporting strong safety. Emilien has a good reputation of going 100% on every play, a good sign that he meets Rodriguez’s all-important criterion of “loves football.”

Recruiting Notes
Emilien was offered at the beginning of May, though it seemed even at that time that he was bound for Ohio State. All indications from the beginning of his recruitment showed that he was a heavy Buckeye lean. However, the OSU class filled up fairly quickly, and there was no longer room for him in the class of ’09. When Ohio State allegedly pulled an offer from one of their commitments following an off-field incident, it appeared as though Emilien’s break may have come. However, he never committed to the Buckeyes, and after the Michigan State game official visit, the Wolverines may have taken over the top spot in his mind. Originally planning to announce yesterday, Vlad delayed his decision until today, and picked Michigan over Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Stanford.

Posted under Football

The Board.

Moved to Committed:
OK DT Pearlie Graves. Woo!

Added:
FL DE Victor Gray. The Dr. Phillips prospect is a HS teammate of 2010 commit Ricardo Miller.

New Information:
SC OL Quinton Washington. Might he be favoring Michigan? Finalist for Mr. Football.
MI DT William Campbell. Army All-American.
IN LB Commit Jordan Barnes. Still committed, but also looking elsewhere.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. Lays out some of his scheduling for cuts and visits.
FL S Vlad Emilien. Don’t forget: He decides Sunday.

Removed:
FL Slot/DB Marsalis Teague. Focused on four non-Michigan schools.
GA TE Terrell Mitchell. Eliminates Michigan. No surprise here, as he hadn’t said anything about the Wolverines in a long time.
OH DE Tank Carradine. Commits to Illinois.
SC S Devonte Holloman. Commits to South Carolina.
FL CB Jarvis Byrd. Commits to NC State.

Etc.:
MI LB Jeremy Gainer will not be added to the board, because he is still committed to Indiana, but the Livonia Clarenceville player is now looking around. He’s added to the list of guys technically committed elsewhere, but hovering on the edge of inclusion (Willie Haulstead, Jamal Patterson, Je’Ron Stokes, and now also Kenny Bell).

Analysis:
Graves is a good pickup – as long as it doesn’t move Michigan down for Dequinta Jones and William Campbell. It appears that Michigan is getting in on more and more elsewhere-committed recruits. Snake oil time? With Bill Lynch not looking like he’ll have a long tenure at Indiana (though he likely won’t be fired after this year), Jeremy Gainer may be there for the taking if the Wolverines decide they want him.

Posted under Football

The Board.

New Information:
MD RB Tavon Austin. Has a top 3 of Michigan, North Carolina, and WVU.
MI DT William Campbell. Sam Webb still thinks Michigan ends up grabbing him (audio). Scouting reports on him and his teammates.
MI RB Teric Jones. Scouting report (same as above).
MI S Thomas Gordon. Scouting report (same as above).
MI WR Cameron Gordon. Sam Webb News fluff.
SC S Devonte Holloman. May make a commitment without getting a chance to visit Michigan. It sounds like Michigan is no longer under consideration, though different sources have said otherwise recently. He’ll stay on the board for now.
FL S Vladimir Emilien. Michigan the team to beat? (audio). He’s deciding November 23rd.
FL CB Jayron Hosley. Doesn’t sound like Michigan is really involved at all. Also, all-access video piece.
MD CB Travis Hawkins. He’s deciding today. Final four of PSU, Maryland, Oregon, and Michigan. Maryland and Oregon are the likely final two there.

Removed:
TX S Craig Loston. LSU Commit.

Etc.:
In the audio above, Sam Webb gives a little treatise on Michigan’s in-state recruiting in 2009. His feelings are essentially the same as mine, in that people are making a big to-do when there is no substance to the “allegations.”
Freep fluff on the senior recruits at the MSU game.

Analysis:
I’ve been wondering for some time if Michigan will get back in on Cameron Gordon, if only to help with his junior teammate, Devin Gardner. It appears as though he’s resigned to ending up at linebacker, though Michigan may be filling up at the position. Who knows how it’ll end up, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Michigan go after him at least a little bit more.

Posted under Football

Ed. Note: The premium sites are now reporting otherwise on Gordon’s decision, fyi.

The Board has got it all, man.

• Remember: Cass Tech S/QB Thomas Gordon announces his decision this weekend. Here’s a little Cass Tech fluff, too.
• IN LB Commit Jordan Barnes unofficially visited Purdue last weekend. Not sure if you should read anything into that, so take it FWIW.
• Major (5 page) Tate Forcier fluff from the AANews. Obligatory “omfg he should mma w/ mike b.”
• Michigan is going hard after Georgia commit LB Mike Gilliard. They probably won’t land him, but it’s a good sign they’re after at least 1 more LB.
• I’ll give a few 2010 tidbits here and there as the season progresses (more about the 2010 board tomorrow). A top instate player will have a hard time going against Green and White when it comes to his recruitment.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board is here. The updates are here:

New Information:
MD OL Brennan Williams. Down to 4 (BC, Mich, Duke, Wake).
FL TE Orson Charles. Knee surgery, will narrow to a top 5 soon.
OH DE Davon Custis. His leader is Boston College.
FL LB Brandin Hawthorne. His final two has changed. Michigan is still in it. Things still look rosy here.
FL S Vlad Emilien. Top 5 of UNC, Wake, tOSU, Mich, UF. He will probably decide in November.
AR CB Darius Winston. He has accelerated his timetable drastically. This is a bad thing for Michigan, but if he picks the Wolverines, then hooray.
FL CB Josh Robinson. Decision on November 30 (USF and UCF seem to lead).
VA CB Javanti Sparrow. Top 6 doesn’t include Michigan, and Kevin Newsome is no longer his teammate. Should he be dropped soon?

Etc.:
A really crappy article that seems to think Winston is a Mich commit. A good sign? Probably not.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board.

Added:
FL S Mike Jones. Michigan is one of the schools he is considering. They may be co-leaders with ND.
IN LB Jordan Barnes. The Michigan target is deciding this week (info in header).

New Information:
FL DE Ryne Giddins. He has made the Army Game, and will announce his decision there.
GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. Fluff.
OK RB David Oku. He will now wait until his official to visit Michigan.
VA RB David Wilson. Michigan is still among his schools being considered.
NC DB Terry Shankle. Michigan is not in his list of 6 favorites.
PA CB Corey Brown. Michigan is in his top 5, but Pitt might be at the top (and OSU is probably up there as well).
FL DB Vladimir Emilien. Really digs OSU.

Etc.:
Fluff on ’08 player Dann O’Neill, fellow freshman Mike Shaw’s track exploits/excellence. As the article states, he is the anchor leg on the winning team.

’09 commit Justin Turner is RichRod’s only head-to-head win against Tressel so far.

Posted under Recruiting

The Board. A few guys on the board attended the Tuscaloosa Nike Combine.

Added:
FL S Vladimir Emilien. He has received a Michigan offer, but he is another of those guys Ohio State fans are supremely confident about.
LA OL Chris Faulk. Michigan offer. Have to assume LSU is leading. He also plays discus in track.
GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. He has received a Michigan offer.

New Information:
VA RB Tavon Austin. Link to about 30,000 videos.
FL S Jonathan Scott high jumps.
OH DE Davon Custis. He is fast for a DE.
TN OL Alex Bullard. He is going to cut to 5 schools soon, with the first 3 being ND, Tenn, and Florida. Can UM be one of the last two?
LA WR Rueben Randle. Spring fluff.
PA CB Corey Brown. If he gets an OSU offer, expect them to be the favorite.

Etc.: 2008’s Kevin Koger is pretty fast for a guy his size. Barwis fluff from Detroit News.

Posted under Recruiting