All-conference performers in Southeastern Conference play include 2010 WR commit Jeremy Jackson of AA Huron and 2010 RB prospect Nick Hill from Chelsea.

2010 OH TE Greg Gainey has transferred from Trotwood-Madison to Thurgood Marshall. Without the pipeline advantage, and at a position of little need, will he remain a Michigan target? He stays on the board for now, but he’s a candidate for removal.

2010 PA DE Dakota Royer was picked to his All-conference team on offense and defense. Stats? Stats.

56 catches for 1,099 yards (20 yards per grab) and five TDs. 132 tackles, 11 sacks.

He has offers from Penn State, Pitt, Stanford, and Maryland at this point.

Want some fluff on 2010 IL QB Detchauz Wray? It’s your lucky day!

Junior quarterback Detchauz Wray completed 133 of 228 passes (58.3 percent) this season for 2,564 yards and 38 touchdowns while throwing only five turnovers. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound signal caller also rushed for 260 yards and five touchdowns…

Wray’s impressive numbers have gained the attention of several Division I programs. The Flyers’ standout has already received offers from Arizona and Kansas State, Sunkett said. Illinois and Kansas have also shown Wray interest.

Sunkett said East St. Louis’ offense doesn’t call for the quarterback to run often but that Wray has the ability to be a dual threat. However, Wray’s stature may force him to change positions, possibly wide receiver or cornerback, at the next level.

For now, he’ll remain at QB on the board, but he is a definite position-change candidate down the road.

Though Minnesota recently lost their OL coach, the new hire has already hit the road to recruit a few UM prospects:

Meanwhile, new Gophers running game coordinator-offensive line coach Tim Davis, who left No. 1 Alabama last week for Minnesota, spent Monday, his first day with the Gophers, in Phoenix recruiting 6-foot-6, 265-pound Taylor Lewan [2009], a nationally sought offensive lineman. Today, Davis plans to be at Cretin-Derham Hall, which has 6-8, 296-pound junior offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson [2010], who is among the country’s elite prep players.

Lewan is heading to Ann Arbor this weekend for his official visit. Other prospects on the docket include:
NC CB Josh Hunter (North Carolina Commit).
FL S/LB Commit Mike Jones.
FL K Commit Brendan Gibbons.
Speaking of Gibbons, he’s been selected to the Army All-American Bowl. He will be headed there instead of the ESPNU game, to which he was already committed.

From yesterday’s WTKA Recruiting Roundup with Sam Webb:

• Will Campbell enjoyed his Michigan official last weekend. Both parents want Will to go to Michigan, and have mentioned that recruiters have seemed… disingenuous… at some other schools, particularly in regards to treating Will’s mother like an annoyance.
• 2010 OH RB Erick Howard grew up liking Michigan, and the Wolverines would start at an advantage if he is recruited down the road.
• 2009 MI TE Dion Sims has eliminated Michigan. I knew he was never really going to end up here, and I’ve been saying (even when he was still on the table) that he doesn’t seem like a guy who likes football or has the necessary intensity to enjoy it in Rich Rodriguez’s program. It’s sad to lose another instate guy, but c’est la vie.

Another recruiting post sometime late this week or early next week.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Lots of recruiting stuff came out over the past few days, so expect another update coming soon.

Recruiting Boards:
2009 Class & 2010 Class.

In case you thought he didn’t recruit, The Freep’s Mark Snyder confirms that Rich Rodriguez has indeed been on the road:

Nonetheless, Michigan’s football coach has been covering the country as part of his recruiting plan. He said he started in Detroit, was in Chicago on Wednesday and will hit California, Texas, Florida and Ohio this month before he’s off the road.

You can guess who he’s visiting in each place. Snyder also reports that Rodriguez expects 8 early-enrolling recruits from the class of ’09. Those would be Tate Forcier, Shavodrick Beaver, Vincent Smith, William Campbell if he re-commits, Anthony LaLota, Brandin Hawthorne, Mike Jones, and Vlad Emilien.

Added to the 2009 Board: LA DE Bennie Logan, who has been offered (info in header).
Added to the 2010 Board: NE DB Darius Evans. He grew up in Ohio and likes the Big Ten (info in header).

There’s been something of a minor inter-freakout among the Michigan fanbase over a comment posted by DandyDon.com about 2009 MI DT William Campbell.

As for William Campbell, I list him at 60-40 because he has told an LSU commitment more than once that he was going to sign with LSU.

Not to besmirch the honor of Dandy Don, but regardless of his source, I don’t think the information is correct. All reports on Campbell’s LSU visit have indicated he was less-than-enthused, and barring a sea-change in his sentiments, I think Michigan is still the leader, especially after he stormed the court following the hoops upset over Duke. Also storming the court after the upset over the Blue Devils? 2010 DE William Gholston, pictured below in the lovely purple T-Shirt, along with Brandon Graham in the black jacket.

2009 SC OL Quinton Washington. He’s receiving his in-home visits, including one from his Michigan recruiter. He’ll go on a couple visits of his own following his participation in the Shrine bowl.

Still (somewhat surprisingly, given the lack of information about him relating to Michigan) considering the Wolverines is 2009 GA CB Darren Myles. Michigan appears to be in his de facto top 6, along with Alabama, LSU, West Virginia, Purdue, and Georgia Tech.

2009 FL CB Jayron Hosley plans to take an official to Ann Arbor the weekend of January 16.

2009 MD LB Jelani Jenkins is a finalist for the high school edition of the Butkus Award. Other notable finalists: MSU Commit Chris Norman, OSU commit Dorian Bell, AL LB Tana Patrick.

Though I thought he was planning to make a commitment a couple weeks back, 2009 MD RB Tavon Austin now says he’ll wait until signing day. West Virginia is his current leader, followed by Maryland, UNC, and Michigan.

2010 OH OL Matt James. He has now been offered by Notre Dame (info in header). They seemed to be right in the thick of things before they offered, I’d now assume they are an early leader.

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

Matt asks:

Though no BCS title game, if the Heisman comes down to a 2-man race (which it appears with Bradford and McCoy), do you think voters will vote the “I feel bad for Colt since his team got screwed” card?

I can’t really think of an instance where that sort of of logic has come into play. On the contrary, it seems like the Heisman winner typically comes from one of the teams playing for the national title. Of course, the BCS mess is as big as ever this year, and I also can’t think of a time where a team that got screwed to the degree that Texas is (in the eyes of some), all the while having a viable Heisman contender.

At this point, it appears that Sam Bradford’s performance in the Big 12 Championship Game will determine whether it is McCoy or Bradford who ends up with the stiff-arm trophy. Considering the quality of the defense the Sooners face (Missouri is 91st in total defense and 80th in pass efficiency D), I imagine Bradford will get the trophy.

An Anonymous commenter:

If Will Campbell does not enroll early at Michigan, can we take that as a non-commit?

He said he would enroll early and isn’t looking like he is going to… so we can assume he is not committing correct?

This question was actually answered pretty well by WLA-er chitownblue in the same comments thread:

Anon – it would likely mean that he hasn’t made his decision soon enough to enroll early. Nothing more. He never said “I’m going to enroll early, specifically at Michigan, and late if I go somewhere else”. The two (going to Michigan/enrolling early) are two unlinked decisions.

Campbell has stated his intention to enroll early at whichever school he picks. If there is no wind of his enrollment at Michigan by the time we would expect to know about this (and it would probably have to be fairly soon, as students are already registering for Winter semester classes), it shouldn’t be a big deal. The important question is whether it comes out that he is enrolling early at another school. If not, it just means that he won’t enroll early anywhere.

RJ says:

Looking at the video of Breaston in the NFL makes me think that we didn’t use his talents well enough at U of M. On offense Breaston, was never utilized the way that the Cardinals use him now. It seemed like most of the passes he caught were short.

The old staff tried to use Breaston as a deep threat, but they never managed to get him to catch the ball over his shoulder on the go route. He was used over the middle in his time at Michigan as well. Essentially (especially in 2006, where he was one of the most underappreciated members of the team), he played a slot role (with some combination of Edwards-Avant-Manningham-Arrington outside). He would be a great fit in the slot in the new offense as well, despite not being sub-6-foot. I shudder with excitement when I think how awesome it would have been to have him at QB in the current offense.

Griffin Fraley asks in the comments:

On your recruiting board for 2010, where did you come up with the projected star ratings for the players? I’m looking at this link: http://www.fvsports.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=372&ltemid=94

Just curious if you have any other top 2010 lists i can look at.

I started with that list, then added a bunch of other prospects from other sources, assuming most of them were going to end up in the 3-star range. As I’ve heard more about particular prospects, I’ve either promoted or downgraded their rankings. I have also used the Scout.com 2010 instate rankings and Florida 2010 rankings from SoFlaFootball and the Varsity Sports Media Magazine.

For the most part other than that, they’re wild-ass guesses from me.

Bob asks:

Does Michigan have an offer on the table for [Cameron] Gordon? On either side of the ball?

It’s been reported on the premium site that Gordon got offered sometime last week. Sam Webb confirmed it to the non-paying world on today’s WTKA recruiting roundup. This information will be included in the next recruiting update. Since Gordon has been insistent that he wants to play WR, I imagine they said he’d have a chance to contribute there, and switch positions if it didn’t work out.

Posted under Football

The Board.

Moved to Committed:
FL S Vladimir Emilien.

New Information:
MD RB/Ath Tavon Austin. I was about ready to remove him, but not it looks like he’ll visit December 12th.
AZ OL Taylor Lewan. Visited Minnesota this past weekend. Maybe helping Michigan in this one: the Gophers just lost their OL coach.
MI DT William Campbell. Bama-related mention.
IN LB Commit Jordan Barnes. Same as above (link the same as well).
FL LB Commit Brandin Hawthorne. Visiting Pitt this weekend (info in header).
OH CB Commit Justin Turner. Not losing faith in Michigan.

Removed:
FL S Jonathan Scott. No apparent interest.
SC S DJ Swearinger. South Carolina commit.

Etc.:
UNC CB Commit Josh Hunter intends to visit Ann Arbor. I had been ready to eliminate OH OL Marcus Hall, because he had been naming a top group without us, but now it looks like he’s planning a Michigan visit. I still think the Wolverines don’t stand a chance, but he’ll remain on the board until they’re officially eliminated. GA WR Jamal Patterson remains “100% committed” to 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.

Moved to Committed:
TX K Brendan Gibbons.

Added:
SC S DJ Swearinger. Michigan has called the onetime target and former Tennessee commit.
Other Tennessee commits may start dominating this category sometime soon.

New Information:
FL RB commit Vincent Smith. Scouting report from SoFlaFootball.
LA DT commit DeQuinta Jones. Still looking at Oklahoma State (Alabama is the other school he’s still considering, for the record).
MI DT ex-commit William Campbell. Here’s his recruiting schedule for the rest of the fall. Sam Webb thinks OL might be his best fit (audio).
SC DE Sam Montgomery. He’s definitely still planning to come on an official.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. Committed to the awesomely-named Maryland Crab Bowl. Michigan is expected to be in his next cut (audio) – but it’s getting into the top 5 that’s important.
OH S/LB Isaiah Bell. Taking his official visit this weekend (info in header). I’d assume Fitzgerald Toussaint comes along with him.

Removed:
FL QB Eugene Smith. Committed to West Virginia.
SC DE Chris Bonds. Eliminates Michigan from consideration. In case you didn’t believe me the first time.
FL LB Jon Bostic. Uh, not quite sure why he’s still on the board anyway. Michigan is out of it.
AL CB Dre Kirkpatrick. I don’t know how he managed to go this long without an article explicitly trimming his list, but now there’s assurance he can be removed.

Etc.:
Still elsewhere-committed, GA WR Jamal Patterson is hearing from Michigan regardless. Might they be able to convince him to take a visit?
MD RB Tavon Austin is supposed to announced sometime very soon, but I predict his choice will be between WVU and UNC.

Analysis:
QBs on the board committing elsewhere should be something we get used to: Michigan is unlikely to grab another one, but none on the board have technically eliminated the Wolverines, so on the board they stay. The Wolverines will probably start looking for more DB prospects, so keep an eye out. The outside WR position is also yet to be filled, and it’s looking like a prospect who is or has been committed to another school may end up filling the role.

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

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

The Board.

Moved to Committed:

Moved from Committed:
MN WR Bryce McNeal. Decommitted Monday night.

Added:
SC S Devonte Holloman. The former Michigan target has decommitted from Clemson. Potential visits include Michigan.
TX S Craig Loston. Also a Clemson decommit. Michigan was in on him early, but they may not be a player anymore. He’ll get a little time on the board until we can figure out if he’s a viable target.

New Information:
MI DT William Campbell. He’s set his visits. Sam Webb reveals what they shall be.
LA DT Commit DeQuinta Jones. He’s looking around a little bit. Might it result in a decommitment?
AZ DE Craig Roh. His game this Friday will be broadcast over the internet. You can find it at aia365.com. Just as a disclaimer, I couldn’t gt this site to work properly during the week, so don’t get your hopes too high.
MD DE Jason Ankrah. Visiting PSU for the Michigan game this weekend.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. He has trimmed to 15; Michigan is in.

Removed:

Etc.:
A sort of state-of-the-recruiting class statement from Josh Helmholdt in the Free Press.
Not on the board because he’s technically still committed to Florida, but Nu’Keese Richardson still intends to visit for the Michigan State game next week.

Analysis:

Posted under Football