brevin jordan

We're back after a basketball-induced hiatus, and oh lord so many tabs. Some of this might be dated for recruitniks.

Hello pending for Myles Sims?

via Brandon Brown

Michigan has moved into what appears to be a strong lead for GA CB Myles Sims, fielding crystal balls from both local analysts and Lorenz. Brandon Brown also asserts that Michigan leads; it's a good sign that he got a bunch of photos from the Sims family, one of which is above. Sims's parents were both GM engineers so they've got a connection to the state.

The 6'3" Sims is "perhaps THE top overall target" at cornerback per Lorenz; he recently attended a camp in Atlanta and performed well:

Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake cornerback Myles Sims was the quickest defensive back at the event and he has a huge wingspan. Michigan looks like the team to beat.

Webb attended this camp and provides a more comprehensive scouting report:

6'3, 179 and really fluid. You wonder if kids as long as him are coordinated, if they have loose hips. The answer for Sims is yes, all of the above. He showed ability to break on the ball exceptionally well. Has really good football and ball speed, a really good jumpball guy. Wants to be a corner and looks like he could play it at the college level.

Webb also reports that 1) Sims plans a return trip to Ann Arbor this spring and 2) he wants to commit within a month. That would be Michigan, then.

If Sims really is a change-of-direction guy at 6'3" he's quite a find. Michigan could have two of those guys on the roster next year with tall-ass shuttle maven Benjamin St-Juste in the 2017 class.

Random mid-March visit weekends turn out to be important

Since recruitin's hiatus, Michigan's hosted number of high-priority targets. Amongst them is MI OL Ryan Hayes, the #1 prospect in the state. Hayes told Steve Lorenz that Michigan made a "big move" with him:

"Michigan definitely made a move," Hayes told Wolverine247 on Sunday night. "A big move. The visit blew me away for sure. I had never been to Ann Arbor or on Michigan's campus and it really, really exceeded my expectations."

He further reports that Hayes is thinking about moving up his timeline, which is usually good for the school that got the most recent visit. He's got an MSU visit coming up but the real competition appears to be Notre Dame, which has been a thorn in Michigan's side despite going 4-8.

4.5* NY TE Jeremy Ruckert, the #1 TE in the 2018 class, is closing in on a decision that many expected would be Ohio State. A visit to Ann Arbor may swing that. Lorenz reports that it's the "full expectation" that this is a battle between Good and Evil with everyone else on the outside looking in. Ruckert apparently doesn't talk to anyone, but Scout's Brian Dohn caught up with his coach. This sounds relatively encouraging:

So, when will Ruckert decide?

"He will know more once he gets back from Michigan," Lombard said. "I think that will give him more of a clear-cut answer. I know he wants to visit there. He was already there, but I know he wanted to give Michigan one more look."

Ohio State "definitely" led before that visit per Lorenz but a return visit to Michigan that could finalize his recruitment sounds like he's torn and trying to decide, hopefully by watching lots of Michigan TE film.

4* OH WR L'Christian Smith, a gentleman in the Funchess mold, was on campus two weekends ago. Michigan secured an official down the road per Lorenz, but I wouldn't get your hopes up too much here. He took an official to OSU this weekend and has another one scheduled in April. Kentucky somehow leads on Smith's crystal ball with 9 of 10 picks, all of which will be flipped elsewhere in the near future.

OH LB Dallas Gant is apparently the only guy on Michigan's board at LB right now; he was supposed to come in either last weekend or next and without any reports about him in my tabs I imagine that the visit is still in the future. Michigan was a little slow to offer Gant but they've picked it up significantly.

Lorenz reports that Michigan did well with FL OL Verdis Brown, who's from Chicago by way of IMG, and is now a major factor. Ohio State is the main competition.

Michigan leads for 3* FL S Sammy Faustin, per Marich, after a recent unofficial. Unclear if he is a take at this point. The other schools he's reporting offers from are in the Iowa State-Purdue-Virginia range. There were a number of kids who popped up in the last class, seemed on the verge of a commit, and then faded away. Not sayin', just sayin'.

No oars for you

Mayfield is presumably on the left

MI OL Jalen Mayfield decommitted from Minnesota shortly after receiving a Michigan offer; unsurprisingly he is now expected to end up in Michigan's class sooner rather than later. Lorenz reports that he is a take and that the Gopher staff believes he'll complete the flip process sooner rather than later.

OTOH, Brice Marich caught up with Mayfield himself; Mayfield told him that he won't be making a decision until the end of the summer. He also confirmed Michigan leads. The timeline is likely moot. Mayfield got an MSU offer before his Minnesota commitment, so the Spartans are not a factor. Going 3-9 will do that.

We've crystal balled Mayfield to Michigan because obviously.

Playing from behind for Thompson-Robinson

NV QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and NV TE Brevin Jordan have an upcoming unofficial to Michigan in a couple weeks that appears to be Michigan's last shot at convincing them Ann Arbor is the place for them. UCLA lurks, with Webb asserting that he thinks the Bruins lead for both. UCLA is "trending" for DTR per Wiltfong.

Meanwhile, FL QB Joe Milton—also known as "the rest of the QB board"—picked up a Florida offer and is fielding crystal balls to the Gators. Milton has scheduled an Spring Game visit, though, and Michigan's doing pretty well with kids when they get them on campus. Have to think Harbaugh's quarterback whisperer pitch will be intriguing to any QB with an offer.

Well... whose fault is that?

Various and sundry schools are pursuing NJ S Shayne Simon, Michigan amongst them. He talks to Partridge "a lot" and relates that Michigan expects 14 guys to get drafted this year. He says positive things about a half dozen schools in this article, and then at the end an old beau appears to say some things:

Tennessee recently started showing interest in Simon, whose contact is former Michigan coach and Vols defensive line coach Brady Hoke.

"Where he's been at in terms of Michigan, and how he recruited Jabrill Peppers there, is (significant)," Simon said. "We've been talking lately about how they are on the up-and-up, and how football down there is different. They have whole different mindset down there, and just playing that competition is something that is intriguing."

If Tennessee, the "champions of life" school, has a whole additional level of intensity than Brady Hoke has known that rather explains why his Michigan teams degraded into self-poopin' protoplasm over the course of his tenure.

FWIW, Lorenz put in a CB for Simon to Michigan as they continue a "relentless pursuit."

Lists are narrowing, as they do

Many and they are debatably useful so here are some bullets:

• Michigan is top three for TX CB Gemon Green with in-state schools TCU and Texas; they've also offered Green's twin brother German. Gemon is a 3.5* on the composite ranked just inside the top 400. German is a generic three star at the moment. Why the discrepancy? German tore his ACL about a year ago. Newkirk asserts that the twins are a package deal, as they so often are. Michigan offering both should be looked at as a sign of seriousness.
• 4* FL OL Curtis Dunlap put Michigan in his top five along with Florida, OU, Arkansas, and Georgia. Dunlap is at IMG and has talked Michigan up a bit early in his recruitment.
• 5* CA WR Amon-Ra St Brown appears to have a loose top five of M, ND, Stanford, Cal, and Ohio State. (One of these schools is not like the others.) He's got brothers at ND and Stanford; he positively describes Harbaugh as "stern."
• Per Lorenz, 4* FL TE Will Mallory's loose top four consists of M, Georgia, Clemson, and Miami. Family ties are still projected to win out.

Wobble watch

Webb reports that GA LB Otis Reese plans on taking various visits and has already been to Georgia. Michigan is on the docket "in the coming weeks," so I wouldn't look at this as the prelude to an inevitable decommit like Kai-Leon Herbert, especially with Aubrey Solomon in Ann Arbor. Webb:

He was out in his Maize and Blue cleats and gloves and was answering questions from numerous recruits about what Michigan is like.

I'd imagine some of these are team trips, as one does. Moving Reese decommit DEFCON from 5 to 4, but still relatively unconcerned.

IN OL Emil Ekiyor is probably at DEECON 3 right now after telling reporters that he hadn't actually had much contact with the staff recently. That's changed:

“I have been in a lot more contact with the staff,” Ekiyor confirmed. “I have been talking with Coach (Jim) Harbaugh lately and Coach (Tim) Drevno has been talking to me a lot, so our relationship is pretty good right now."

He's trying to set up another visit to campus, but he has three "locked in" officials so will remain a soft commit for much of the recruiting cycle. Those visits are to Alabama, Michigan, and Florida State.

Grudging 2019 section

MI CB Marvin Grant picked up Iowa and Michigan offers in short succession, which likely indicates he will be a four-star type when it comes time to decide these things for the 2019 class. Grant is at King, which has sent cornerbacks to Michigan in each of the last two classes; Trieu says Michigan is in a "GREAT" position early in a very strong in-state class.

Lorenz confirms a Steve Wiltfong report that Michigan leads for 4.5* KY DE Stephon Herron Jr after his recent unofficial.

5* GA LB Owen Pappoe is set to take an unofficial to Michigan next month. Guess who the coaching staff is comparing him to? You get zero guesses. You are still correct:

“[Partridge] talks to me every other week,” he mentioned. “He says they want to use me like they did Jabrill (Peppers).”

Michigan also offered IMG RB Noah Cain, the #1 RB in the 2019 class.

Etc.

Trieu reports that MI OL Marquan McCall will be at the spring game; once thought to be a Michigan slam dunk, he's now a guy they'll have to "fight for." There is an absolute ton of quality OL in the state this year.

Offer out to 4* MO DE/DT Ronnie Perkins, says he's interested and "can't wait to meet" Harbaugh so a visit seems likely. Similar stuff with 4* TX DE Jarell Cherry: offer, no list, vague visit plans. Ditto 3* FL RB Jashaun Corbin and AL RB Asa Martin: offer, interest, etc.

4.5* FL OL William Barnes is another new offer but he's got a slightly less vague visit plan, "maybe this month" and if not by the summer. Barnes is from Apopka, which is Jeremy Gallon's high school alma mater.

GA CB Chris Smith will visit in a couple days.

CA QB and USC commit Matt Corral says he'll "probably" take officials to Michigan and Alabama. Expectations remain low. Lorenz calls this a "very, very uphill battle." Similar situation with CA QB Cameron Rising, an Oklahoma commit.

Happy trails to Clemson transfer Jake Fruhmorgen, who decided on Florida, GA OL Jalil Irvin (Auburn), and CA RB TJ Pledger (Oklahoma).

The Thompson-Robinson Conundrum

Michigan's QB board consists of NV QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the end*. Thompson-Robinson has publicly stated that UCLA will be very hard to beat, and nobody believed him. The last seven crystal balls have been to Michigan, including a number of 24/7 contributors and Lorenz. Combine those facts with an impending commitment...

Recruitment isn't fully shutdown but is getting pretty close. One of these schools will have my word soon ... God bless. pic.twitter.com/M6Wdlaugae

— DTR. (@DoriansTweets) February 28, 2017

...and you've got one of those intriguing recruitments that make everyone nervous. Mom is in Michigan's corner.

wishing my beautiful mother a Happy Birthday ! you mean the world to me and couldn't be more thankful to have you in my life #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/w7oS1yjWgs

— DTR. (@DoriansTweets) December 23, 2016

UCLA's coach is on the hot seat. Thompson-Robinson has a hyphen. He knows Harbaugh's rep:

"Coach Harbaugh is a quarterback guru," Thompson-Robinson said on Sunday during the Pylon 7v7 National Championships in Vegas. "With Pep Hamilton there now, that's put the icing on the cake in my opinion. They've really made me a priority throughout the process as well."

You'd think this would be a perfect situation for Michigan, but for whatever reason UCLA just keeps poking its nose in. Boo, UCLA. Go away.

Thompson-Robinson's teammate, NV TE Brevin Jordan, might help out here. Jordan's an H-back type who could be Khalid Hill 2.0, and not every school has a hammer panda:

"Michigan, that's big time," Jordan told 247Sports on Sunday. "The way they run their program is like a professional team with Coach Harbaugh there. They have the Jordan brand, the area is beautiful. I see them as "Tight End U" out there."

They're coming up together this spring.

*[Probably. They did toss an offer to 3.5* FL QB Joe Milton a few days ago. One dollar says that's not commitable unless DTR decides to go elsewhere. FWIW, Milton is Anquan Boldin's cousin and Boldin was pro-Harbaugh after their time together with the 49ers.]

Grad transfers are crootin' too

Per Brice Marich, Cal grad transfer Aaron Cochran has not had any contact from Michigan. I'm surprised, since I know the plan to get 85 scholarship guys to fall camp included Devin Asiasi. You'd think Michigan has a spot and you'd think "guy who started most of a Pac-12 season" would be better than air.

Obligatory Daniel Faalele section

This is like seeing the Loch Ness monster pop out of the lake and pancake a dude:

2018 @IMGAcademy OL @DanielFaalele_ ...all 6-foot-9 and 395-pounds..."rag dolling" guys at @UAFootball Camp Orlando. @TomLuginbill pic.twitter.com/ui9ZLkBoq4

— Gerry Hamilton (@HamiltonESPN) February 26, 2017

Hilariously, Andy Staples met twitter's blunt end because of this video. He's got a piece coming up on Faalele, and after mentioning this he got multiple replies along the lines of "why doesn't he take on someone his own size?" I have bad news about Yokozuna for you, Twitter.

I already made the "little brother" joke months ago

in west philadelphia, born and raised, on the playground is where i spe

4.5* FL OL Nick Petit-Frere isn't close to having a list; Sam catches up with his coach, who has good things to say about both of Michigan's OL coaches and emphasizes that he is a very legit student who doesn't care about distance:

“Nick is a tremendous student and we know academics are important,” said Ciao.  “I think Nick knows that he also going to play football and football is important to him. His decision will be based on what’s the right fit for him as a football player and as a student athlete.”

He'll visit a select list of schools before next season begins. Michigan will endeavor to be one of those, and one dollar says they will. Sam not only talked to Petit-Frere's coach but he also had an extensive interview with the recruit in question:

Sam Webb: When I spoke to Coach Ciao he said there were a couple of places that you were going to try to visit during the spring. Do you have an idea of which places you might hit?

Nicholas Petit-Frere: Michigan was a choice I wanted to go up to. I'm also considering Notre Dame possibly too. A lot of schools have contacted me, trying to get me to come up for a junior day or spring practices, so there's a lot of schools I'm looking at for spring break. That's going to be a good amount of time to do some of the visits I can."

This sounds like the kind of recruitment that boils down to Stanford/ND/Michigan, not Michigan/FSU/Alabama.

Various new names

Here's your early-cycle bulleted list of guys who just popped up on the radar:

• 4* TX RB Keaontay Ingram is a new offer who is "definitely interested"; no visit scheduled yet. Texas is on him, so that will be a tough pull.
• 4.5* FL OL William Barnes picked up an offer from Greg Frey. Barnes is at Apopka, Jeremy Gallon's alma mater. Barnes plans a spring visit and says he's "very interested."
• 4* FL OL Curtis Dunlap lists Michigan in a top four. He's at IMG.
• 4* CA OL Tommy Brown says he's "very interested" in Michigan. No visit, etc. Teammate of big time 2019 QB JT Daniels, FWIW. For whatever reason I assume anyone named Tommy Brown will end up at Notre Dame, which went 4-8 last year.
• 4.5* CA LB Solomon Tuliaupupu plans to take in Michigan as part of a swing through various power programs this spring.
• 4* MO CB Mario Goodrich told Josh Newkirk that "Michigan is #1 for sure" after landing an offer. Jordan was cited. Vague visit plans, vague National Signing Day decision plans, rinse, repeat.
• 3* GA CB Chris Jackson named Michigan and Michigan State as his top two. Jackson's dad went to MSU, if you're wondering about the odd geography here. He wants to decide early; unless Michigan thinks Jackson is seriously underrated by the recruiting services that probably means MSU since he's ranked around #800 on the composite and Michigan has a tight class.
• 4* GA CB Chris Smith says Michigan has made him a "priority" and that Harbaugh compared him to the Tasmanian Devil. No top list, vague visit plans, rinse, repeat.
• FL S Sammy Faustin picked up an offer and says he will visit in April. Faustin is currently unranked by everybody.

Grudging 2019 section

OH DB Moses Douglass says Michigan is in his top three with Kentucky and Iowa. Douglas is former NFL player and Springfield HC Moe Douglass's son; Douglass the elder played at Kentucky, which explains the odd list. Douglass is a 2019 kid who missed a big chunk of his sophomore season because of injury and thus could be a big timer or a three-star. TBD.

FL LB Anthony Solomon continues to name Michigan his leader after his unofficial to Ann Arbor. He plans to come back for the spring game. If that trip happens we'll start penciling him into the 2019 class—back to back long distance unofficials in a short period of time are always a very good sign.

KY DE Stephen Herron gave Josh Helmholdt some encouraging quotes:

“He has this board in his room showing a bunch of plays and all the kids he has recruited, like Rashan Gary and Donovan Peoples-Jones and Jabrill Peppers. I was impressed that he has that much organization in his life. His desk is not cluttered like other coaches and he knows where everything is at all times.”

Definitely, definitely.

Etc.

Happy trails to NJ QB Arthur Sitkowski, who committed to Miami, and MI QB Theo Day, who committed to 3-9 MSU. Michigan remains focused on DTR to the virtual exclusion of everyone else. Some possibility Michigan would circle back to one or both if DTR's recruitment goes south. Also in happy trails: FL DT Taron Vincent has apparently narrowed his list to OSU and FSU.

Bama offers IN OL commit Emil Ekiyor. "Offer" or OFFER is as of yet unknown; Ekiyor still says he's committed to Michigan. I sort of believe him but if he takes another round of unofficials after this he's 50/50 to stick... at best.

An Actual Piece Of News

flex TE Brevin Jordan

Brice Marich reports that 4.5* NV TE Brevin Jordan and 4* NV QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson are in the process of scheduling an official in early April. Those gents are teammates at Bishop Gorman; Thompson-Robinson is of course Michigan's top QB target, and Jordan is actually a bigger deal than he is in early rankings. DTR said UCLA was the team to beat after they poached Jedd Fisch a few weeks ago; this unofficial will be Michigan's best shot to change that opinion.

Well Played, Purple Stuff

Happy trails to MI CB Kalon Gervin, who committed to Notre Dame a few days ago. That continues a bizarre trend: 4-8 Notre Dame and their coach on the hot seat snatching up various propsects of interest to Michigan. They've got eight early commitments and fully five of those are mutual targets: Gervin, IN RB Markese Stepp, NJ twins Jayson and Justin Ademilola, and MI LB Ovie Oghoufo.

This is quite a turnaround for ND, which had a bit of an MSU-like scramble to fill some spots at the tail end of the last cycle. (It was not nearly as bad as MSU's, because obviously.) Whether these guys will stick with Purple Stuff if Notre Dame spirals towards 4-8 again is currently an open question—I left Stepp off the recruiting overview but Michigan is pushing pretty hard for him.

Paramus braces for influx of Rutgers magnets

4* NJ DE Dorian Hardy has transferred from St Joseph-Montvale to Paramus Catholic. This is good for Michigan's chances, though the Montvale coach wasn't one of those who was super cheesed off by Harbaugh during SATELLITE CAMP DEATHMATCH last year. HC Augie Hoffman:

St. Joseph Regional High coach Augie Hoffmann said he has no issue with the invitation.

“Not at all,” he said. “I got to meet Jim. He is a dynamic person. You can tell he’s passionate about football, and his love for the game and love for the team and work ethic is really at the top of the list.”

Hoffmann himself spoke at Michigan’s camp last month.

So this isn't getting a Bosco kid to transfer to Paramus or anything. Still, Michigan's long-standing relationship with the school means Michigan will get to make its best pitch. Hardy is currently fielding many crystal balls to Alabama, FWIW.

The Big List Of Guys Expressing Vague Interest

It's the beginning of a new cycle so there are a billion articles out there about kids with Michigan somewhere on their list of five to twenty schools; in these articles players express an interest in scheduling a visit and say everyone is even. Maybe a third of these kids will actually end up on campus, but here is the nebulous list of possibilities yet unearthed:

• 3.5* NJ RB Iverson Clement will be on campus Thursday, per Lorenz. Michigan's in an early top six.
• 4* CA WR Andre Hunt wants to visit, etc.
• 4* OH WR L'Christian Smith told Land of 10 that he will visit in the near future.
• 4* TX TE Malcolm Epps decommitted from Bama and listed Michigan in a top three with the Tide and Texas A&M. Says he doesn't like cold weather.
• 4* FL TE Will Mallory says Michigan has 'kind of been in his blood' and is 'kind of his dream school' but maintains no public leaders.
• 4* IMG OL Verdis Brown is originally from Chicago. He tells Scout's Jeremy Werner that Michigan is in his early top five, that he misses the cold, and that he's likely to return to the Midwest for school. OSU, UF, Miami, and Illinois are the rest of his early contenders.
• 4.5* VA OL Nana Asiedu put Michigan in his top ten. Clemson is a heavy favorite.
• 4* GA OL Jalil Irvin, who was briefly a Michigan commit before backing off, is making a swing through Michigan and OSU this weekend.
• 4.5* MO DT Michael Thompson says he's interested in Michigan, vaguely plans unofficial.
• 4* TX DT Keondre Coburn is high on Michigan's board per Lorenz; Michigan intends to pursue him heavily. Naturally the instate schools are currently favored. Coburn did tell Scout that he likes Michigan "a lot" and "really want[s] to go see them."
• Michigan offered 3.5* OH DT Aeneas Hawkins. Hawkins is out of Cincinnati and this is a Greg Frey area, so it'll be interesting to see how that develops.
• 4* OH DE Tyreke Smith fielded an offer, now has the full set from the Midwest, says he will visit.
• 4* OH LB Dallas Gant has his Michigan offer at long last and Michigan "will be a factor" per Lorenz.
• Unranked OH LB Brian Asamoah has scheduled an unofficial for March 18th per Lorenz. Asamoah is unlikely to be unranked for long since he's got M, PSU, and UCLA offers already.
• 5* VA LB Teradja Mitchell tells Land of 10 that he "loves" Harbaugh because he's "one of a kind" and will visit Michigan, along with a bunch of other schools, during the spring.
• 5* TX S BJ Foster named Michigan and Ohio State as offers that stick out early, following that with a number of local schools.

This has been your list of guys saying things about stuff.

2019 stuff? I guess

So you've probably heard about CA QB Michael Johnson Jr by now: he is the son of new Michigan employee Michael Johnson and 247's #1 dual threat QB in the 2019 class. If Michigan does get Thompson-Robinson and Johnson that'll be an interesting, Kaepernick-esque shift in Michigan's QB recruiting. I'm so down to see what a Harbaugh-coached Devin Gardner looks like, so bring 'em on.

Also of note is early five-ish star KY DE Stephon Herron Jr, who visited Ann Arbor last weekend. The quotes he offered Steve Wiltfong are highly encouraging:

"The family factor, today I felt like I've been there hundreds of times before when it was only my first. ...

"They were down to earth you don't get to see that side of coaches very often and today it was amazing," Herron said. "Michigan showed me a lot of things other schools haven't and it really stuck out."

Too early to tell whether Herron is like Jay "Everything Is Awesome" Tufele in the last cycle; looks like that will be a recruitment to monitor.

BONUS: Trieu's article on Herron has another interesting quote:

"The entire place stood out," he said. "The coaches welcomed me and all the players did as well. The academics and the fact that the team goes to study abroad every year."

I bet they're hammering that.

Etc.

Slight connection between CA CB Isaac Taylor-Stewart and Jay Harbaugh: Harbaugh's alma mater is Taylor-Stewart's high school. In "not even saying he'll take a visit" news, Michigan offered LA DT Dare Rosenthal, who's 6'7" and therefore makes me think of Pat Massey.