The Recruiting Board. Lots of stuff this week. As always, if you have any tips, e-mail me or drop them in the comments. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but Russell Shepard may want to reconsider his commitment. Ryan Perrilloux has returned from suspension, and the Tigers also received a commitment from another QB.

New Information:
MN WR Bryce McNeal plans to decide at the Army All-American game. Lots of information from the Gopher Hole, including a secret top five (which Minnesota and Michigan are both non-secret members of, leading one to believe they are his top 2). Video interview with MichiganVarsity.
PA CB Corey Brown. Video interview with Sam Webb.
PA LB Dorian Bell. Webb interviewed him as well. Random blog post says he’ll verbal to OSU within a month. Credibility? None.
NC OL Xavier Nixon. Fluff from his high school coach.
GA QB Donavan Tate. Baseball fluff.
IN QB Jordan Luallen. Visiting Georgia Tech this weekend (look near the bottom).
IL DE Craig Drummond. He plans to decide before the season, but will not take visits until his academics are sorted out.
TN WR Marlon Brown names a top 15.
AZ DE Corey Adams is committed to the ESPNU All-star game.

Added:
GA WR Braxton Lane. He has been offered by Michigan. He is a blazer (4.31) who seems perfect for the slot. He also likes teh baseballz.
OH RB Fitzgerald Toussaint. He has apparently earned an offer. A high school teammate of linebacker prospect Julius Ferrell, Youngstown Liberty has another player who may be added in the next update. Will the school be this year’s version of the Trotwood trio?
MN CB Varmah Sonie. Friend of WR Bryce McNeal.

Removed:
OH LB Zach Boren. It appears that Michigan’s bridges have been burned with the Borens. Prior to Justin’s sudden departure, the Bucks had all but conceded him to Michigan. He will attend the school that Justin transfers to.

Etc.: Sam Webb talks about the past weekend’s Akron 7-on-7 in the Detroit News. Prospects Todd Thomas and Jordan Hall on Pennsylvania all-state basketball teams. Saline spring game information. Have fun not going, losers.

Posted under Recruiting

So what does the grand exit of Justin Boren mean to the team? Well, the best offensive lineman is now gone, and one of the two starters who was returning from a talented-but-underachieving 2007 group. Jake Long and Adam Kraus graduated, and Alex Mitchell left the program (he would likely have not made it through spring conditioning, and may have seen the writing on the wall). Now, only Steve Schilling is back for Michigan’s o-line. The reason I only planned for pre-spring and post-spring depth charts (until fall camp, of course), is because of the unpredictability of events like this. A lot of freshmen will likely have to play in the fall.

Unless Rich Rodriguez is able to work some magic and bring Boren back to the team, the unit will be very shaky in 2008. However, given the language Rodriguez used when speaking about Boren (or avoiding speaking about him), it is unlikely that we will see Justin back. This also means that his younger brother Zach is probably out of the picture for the 2009 recruiting class. Boren’s departure will also affect the 209 recruiting class by forcing Rodriguez to take a second very large class of offensive linemen. If they can get production out of the younger players, there will be a very experienced line in the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Posted under Personnel, Recruiting

Removed VA QB Tajh Boyd. He committed to WVU. The most problematic aspect of this is that it means Virginia Tech will go harder after VA QB Kevin Newsome.

Switched GA DB Danavan Tate to QB. His Michigan offer is to play quarterback.

New information on several recruits including:
Added 40 time for Zach Boren (4.7)
Decision timeframe for Marlon Brown (after signing day)

Posted under Recruiting