joe mathis

Today's recruiting roundup wraps up last weekend's high school football action and more.

Jake "Butts" In Early*

Tim Sullivan reports that tight end commit Jake Butt made arrangements with his high school and the Michigan coaching staff to graduate in December and enroll early ($). Kyle Bosch, Taco Charlton, Ross Douglas, and Logan Tuley-Tillman are also slated to arrive in Ann Arbor this winter, and Dymonte Thomas will likely join that number as well.

Given the lack of depth at tight end, this is great news for the Wolverines. Devin "The Funchess" Funchess emerged on Saturday as the future at the position, but he's more of an H-back ("U"-back in the Borges offense) or big wide receiver than a traditional tight end, while Butt has the versatility to play with his hand down or off the line. Butt has a good shot at earning a large role in the offense next year and this increases his shot of earning a starting job right away.

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*Jesus, I'm sorry.

Backs On Backs On Backs

Michigan only has two running backs committed in the class of 2013, but you wouldn't know that based on last weekend's high school football games. Cornerback commit Ross Douglas rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries to lead Avon to a 40-14 victory. Future Wolverine linebacker Ben Gedeon tallied 107 yards on 18 carries to help Hudson to a win of their own. Safety Dymonte Thomas spearheaded a Marlington comeback with 166 yards and two touchdowns—including the go-ahead score—on 19 carries. Then there was 285-pound nose tackle Maurice Hurst Jr., who pounded in a one-yard touchdown in a Xaverian Brothers blowout victory, set up by a 24-yard run in which he dragged two defenders to the brink of the goal line.

Actual running back DeVeon Smith toted the rock 26 times for 183 yards and the game-winning touchdown for Warren Howland despite a sore shoulder, but that's to be expected, right?

It's hard to believe, but some Michigan commits had the nerve to excel at non-RB positions over the weekend, as well. Two-way lineman Chris Fox, who is slated to play guard for Michigan, paved the way for a 34-14 Ponderosa victory and earned the admiration of a Highlands Ranch coach:

"Hey, Foxie," an opposing assistant coach yelled Saturday afternoon after the final play. "Great job. You kicked our butts."

Shane Morris, who received his Under Armour All-American Game jersey at a school pep rally last Thursday, completed 9-of-18 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown as De La Salle beat Dearborn Fordson, 40-19.

Wide receiver Jaron Dukes hauled in six catches for 92 yards and a touchdown to help Marion-Franklin to a 28-3 victory over Canal Winchester.

Perhaps the biggest star of the weekend, however, was Gilman DT Henry Poggi, who tallied 11 tackles and 3 1/2 sacks in a 13-6 triumph over national powerhouse Don Bosco Prep. The loss snapped a 46-game winning streak for the Ironmen.

Etc.

While the Air Force game wasn't the huge visit weekend that Michigan State will be, there will still some major targets on campus. A large Cass Tech contingent made the short trip from Detroit, including 2014 CB Damon Webb, who told Tremendous that he could see himself ending up in Maize and Blue. 2014 Grand Rapids Christian OL Tommy Doles took in the game and told Allen Trieu($) that the B2 stealth bomber flyover was "incredible." 2013 in-state kicker J.J. McGrath was on hand as well and told Tremendous the visit really helped Michigan, though the deciding factor for him will likely be which school offers him a scholarship.

Things have been quiet on the Joe Mathis front, at least where Michigan is concerned, and it sounds like it could stay that way for the 2013 California four-star: he told Rivals analyst Adam Gorney that he plans to take official visits to Texas A&M, Washington, and Utah, and isn't sure where else he'll visit following a good trip to UCLA ($).

Happy trails to 2014 five-star AL RB Bo Scarbrough, who predictably made an early pledge to hometown squad Alabama.

Today's recruiting roundup discusses newest 2013 commit Ross Douglas, Shane Morris's Elite 11 finals performance, BBQ at the Big House visitors, and more.

Prep Kickoff Classic Presser Wrap

The Detroit Sports Commission Prep Kickoff Classic—formerly known as the Big Day Prep Showdown—will be held this year at Wayne State on August 24-25, and features a headlining matchup between Division 1 state champ Cass Tech and Division 2 champs Birmingham Brother Rice. Yesterday, the Detroit Sports Commission held a luncheon promoting the event, so I made the drive up to Detroit with the promise of an opportunity to interview some of Cass Tech's top players.

Unfortunately, every team but Cass Tech sent a contingent of players, and I left the event empty-handed. Well, save for this photo of Southgate Anderson's terrifying mascot:

Don't all thank me at once, now.

Hello: Ross Douglas

As ryebreadboy noted in the comments of yesterday's Hello post, recruits have a knack for making my job a little difficult, so of course OH CB Ross Douglas committed yesterday while I was in Detroit. There's this guy named Brian who does a decent job of blogging himself, however, so the site didn't miss a beat. Douglas's commitment has spurred the usual slew of scouting reports, including one from Scout's Bill Greene that compares him to the same player Brian did, Courtney Avery. More from Greene ($):

Douglas is a pure speed athlete, first and foremost. He can run and jump with the best of Ohio's top defensive backs ... He has a lot of upside as a cornerback, because he has a lot to learn about playing the position. The skill set is more than adequate, and all he lacks is game experience at the position, but he will get another year's worth this season.

The usual concerns about height crop up, as well. The fact that Douglas has done so well at corner despite his inexperience at the position is a good indicator of his natural athletic ability.

ESPN's Billy Tucker also provides a report; this excerpt comes from above the paywall fold:

Not the biggest perimeter defender but he can cover with very good footwork, transitional skills and above average speed. Does a good job in both man and zone schemes. While not the biggest or fastest, Douglas closes with good burst, is instinctive, technically sound and well-rounded.

Matt Pargoff caught up with Douglas's high school coach, who had nothing but good things to say about his character:

“No one works harder than Ross when it comes to football,” said Elder. “In all my years of coaching high school football, I’ve probably never had a kid that works as hard at it as he does. I’ve watched him grow from the freshman that started at corner for us to the senior that he is now, and it’s been a lot of fun to coach him and watch him develop.

“He’s a high character kid. He comes from a great family. I just talked to Coach [Brady] Hoke on the phone probably about an hour ago and the one thing I told him was, I can promise you – obviously they know he’s a great football player or they wouldn’t recruit him – but I said he’s a great kid who will never embarrass your program. That’s something that I’m proud of as a coach. He’s a good kid. He treats people with respect. He’s a good student. He’s going to do things the right way and work hard.["]

A welcome addition to the program, to be sure.

Bonus: Rivals has a free article on sleeper prospects that is largely devoted to Michigan's recruitment of Channing Stribling.

Elite 11 Or 25 Or Whatever

Depending on where you look, Shane Morris was either the best quarterback at the Elite 11 (Scout), in the top four (Rivals), or outside of the top 11 (the Elite 11 staff). You can judge for yourself, as Fox Sports/Scout provides video of all of Morris's throws from the camp. His performance was a little uneven, especially when throwing deep, but then you watch the throw at 2:25 and swoon:

Scout's Scott Kennedy cites Morris's big arm in naming him the top QB at the camp, though he also has the same concerns you likely do after watching the above video:

The biggest arm at the camp, Morris shook off a rough outing on his first day to steadily improve each week. Morris is capable of making throws that only a few in this class can hope to match. Needs to develop better field vision and consistency.

Rivals has a slightly more in-depth evaluation ($):

4. Shane Morris, Warren (Mich.) De La Salle: Morris is at the top because of his high ceiling. He has great size, a cannon of an arm and he has started to show the ability to put more touch on his ball. His long ball didn't sail like it has in the past and no one can sling it where it needs to be faster. The interesting thing about Morris is that while he's learning to drop the ball into spots rather than zip it all the time and learning to throw across his body more, he becomes more impressive. He's no longer just a kid with a hose for an arm, he's becoming a complete quarterback.

Morris has consistently improved his ability to change speeds since last fall if you believe his camp evaluations (and I'm not sure why you wouldn't).

If you're curious, South Florida commit Asiantii Woulard took home camp MVP honors; other standouts included Penn State commit Christian Hackenberg, USC commit Max Browne, and Miami (YTM) commit Kevin Olsen.

BBQ Visitors and 2013 News

I've been asked several times for a list of this weekend's BBQ at the Big House visitors, and thankfully Tremendous has done the legwork for me. The list of 2013 uncommitted recruits is small, just VA RB Derrick Green (AZ WR Devon Allen visits the day before the BBQ). One notable name not on the list is IL WR Laquon Treadwell, but fear not: he'll be at the Gridiron Kings camp with, you guessed it, Shane Morris. A slew of 2014 prospects will attend, including offered recruits like MI CB Damon Webb, IL CB Parrker Westphal, and OH LB Michael Ferns. Ferns, especially, could be one to keep an eye on, as he's already named a top three of Michigan, Notre Dame, and Penn State with plans for an early decision; given the situation in Happy Valley, this could already be a two-horse race.

FL WR Alvin Bailey narrowed his list to a group of eight: UCF, Georgia, Florida State, Texas A&M, Auburn, South Carolina, Michigan, and Notre Dame. He gave more detail to Rivals's Chris Nee, saying that among those schools, UCF, Georgia, South Carolina, and Michigan stand out ($). Word is Bailey even has favorites among that top group, South Carolina and UCF, and given Michigan's scholarship situation and the difficulty pulling a prospect from the South, I'd still bank on Treadwell as the most likely WR to end up in the fold.

As mentioned above, Derrick Green will be in Ann Arbor this weekend. He recently took a trip to Auburn, however, and came way saying he "got that feeling," about the school, as did his mother ($). I've never been particularly optimistic about Michigan's chances of landing Green, and that stance hasn't changed.

CA DE Joe Mathis, for whatever it's worth, tells 247's Todd Worly that Michigan remains in his top three with Nebraska and Washington, with all three schools even for now ($).

Happy trails to HI DT Scott Pagano, who committed to Clemson yesterday.

Today's recruiting roundup discusses a shift in the 2013 team rankings, Dymonte Thomas's 7-on-7 performance, the latest on Jordan Wilkins and Kendall Fuller, and more.

Consensus No More

Last week's recruiting mailbag addressed the possibility that USC could pass Michigan for the top spot in the team recruiting rankings; this week that came to pass on Rivals—and 247, which already had Alabama ahead of the Wolverines—following Jalen Ramsey's commitment to the Trojans. Because this stuff matters, man, Rivals lays out the scenario in which Michigan can reclaim the first position; if the Wolverines land a top-75 overall commit (to take a completely random example, Laquon Treadwell), they'll pass USC barring any other movement in the rankings or future commitments, and since it's July that totally won't... oh, wait. This is really stupid.

Of much greater use is Tim Sullivan's breakdown of the Wolverine commits who could rise in the rankings: Shane Morris, Jourdan Lewis, Patrick Kugler, Csont'e York, and Gareon Conley are all mentioned as potential risers for various reasons spanning from proximity to the next ratings level (Morris, Lewis, and Kugler), camp performances (Lewis, again), and sleeper status (York and Conley).

If you're basing your recruiting service preference on their ranking of Michigan, both ESPN and Scout still have the Wolverines on top, though in ESPN's case that's likely due to their lack of continual updates. Viva Scout, I guess.

The Forgotten Five-Star



Oh yeah, that guy.

Whether it's due to his early commitment or relatively quiet summer on the camp circuit, Dymonte Thomas seems to be the forgotten marquee player in Michigan's 2013 class. Last weekend, however, he appeared in the NFL High School Player Development 7-on-7 tournament, and Steve Wiltfong reports that he lived up to his blue-chip billing:

Playing safety for the Browns was Michigan commit Dymonte Thomas, who was as good as advertised. A good looking prospect on the hoof, the nation's No. 7 safety glides around the secondary, eating up turf to make deflections on throws to the other side of the field. On one particular play Thomas ran right, only to change direction when he saw the play was going the other way to get a pass breakup on a throw to the left side of the field.

Khalid Hill also participated with the Detroit Lions team and was mentioned as one of 2014 MN QB Ricardo Johnson's favorite targets. I'm getting the distinct impression, based on this summer's events, that Michigan could compete for the NCAA 7-on-7 title if that ever becomes a thing, which I guess means we have a contingency plan if concussions destroy the game of football as we know it (always looking on the bright side, I am).

2013 Options: Waning

While Michigan should have little trouble filling the last two spots in the 2013 class, the list of obvious candidates for those spots continues to shrink. TN RB Jordan Wilkins will announce his decision tomorrow morning, and according to Wilkins himself that choice will come down to Auburn (the favorite), Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. That leaves VA RB Derrick Green—who is slated to visit for the BBQ at the Big House—as Michigan's lone running back target.

Five-star MD CB Kendall Fuller has kept Michigan in his top three for a while now, but an interview with Mike Farrell indicated that they're on the outside looking in ($):

"If I am ready to announce in August then I would say it's a two-team race between Virginia Tech and Clemson," he said. "That's kind of where it is now, I wanted to visit Virginia Tech and Clemson back-to-back to compare them and see if I got a feeling one way or the other. If I decide to wait and decide at the U.S. Army All American Bowl then I will take official visits and Michigan will be one of them. Right now I don't know."

Don't hold your breath for that visit.

We can officially say "happy trails" to MD WR Paul Harris, who rather surprisingly chose Tennessee over USC($), the school long considered to be his favorite. Treadwell remains the clear leader to fill that last wide receiver spot, though Michigan did recently send out an offer($) to three-star NJ ATH Kyle LaPorte, who says he'd like to visit Ann Arbor in August. Unless things move very quickly on that front, however, it's still all about Treadwell.

For what it's worth, Cass Tech DT and Illinois commit Kenton Gibbs says he's still interested in Michigan($) and may attend the BBQ. If he's going to earn an offer, I'd expect he gets it much closer to signing day, as the staff looked at him during Michigan's camp and didn't extend one then; he'll have to step up his performance during his senior season.

Indecisive Joe Mathis Quote Of The Week

We haven't checked in with CA DE Joe Mathis in a while. Mathis, of course, was a one-time Washington commit who's named USC, Michigan, Nebraska, and Washington (again) as his leader at various points in time. Has he shed his fickle ways? It doesn't appear so [emphasis mine]:

When InsideTheU.com last checked in with Upland (Calif.) defensive end Joe Mathis, he was pretty sure that he wanted out of California.

Now that Mathis (6-4, 250) has had a little more time to think things over, he has softened his stance on that issue.

It changed but then again it didn’t, I’m like fifty-fifty on that,” Mathis said. “I want to get out of state but USC, UCLA, or Cal could still be the best place for me. I’m not trying to shut myself off from those schools.”

Michigan, FWIW, is not mentioned in the article. We will now return to your regularly scheduled ignoring of pretty much everything he says until signing day.

2014 Updates

Despite most of the coaches taking a vacation—how dare they, right?—Michigan hosted OH WR Derek Kief for a visit over the weekend. Tremendous has his reaction, as well as notes from a radio interview pertaining to the visit; Kief's expectations were low due to a childhood love for Ohio State, but he said Michigan "had everything I was looking for."

Several top 2014 prospects will make their way to campus in the coming weeks, including mammoth GA OT Orlando Brown Jr., who will visit this weekend after rescheduling from last week ($). Four-star FL OL K.C. McDermott will hit Ann Arbor on the 27th during a Midwest swing($), while MD CB Troy Vincent Jr. [LINK, $] and IL OL Jamarco Jones [LINK, $] plan to attend the BBQ.

Quickly: Tremendous introduces us to NM DL Desmond Branch, brother of the Morelli Slayer. Matt Pargoff compiles an early in-state top 12 for Michigan, topped by Malik McDowell and Damon Webb.