rocco spindler

Why yes we are bad at keeping up with this. Sorry.

Quarterback

Mr. McCarthy went to the Elite 11, which doesn't really give guys enough reps to get any worthwhile scouting from, but did give us a pro day workout reel:

…and the opportunity for some quotes from Trent Dilfer:

“J.J. is really good,” Dilfer said. “The kid is charismatic, he’s competitive, he has juice, I was really impressed with J.J.”

And SI's Tennessee guy:

The Michigan commitment’s quick release combined with the pop off his right hand resonated as others’ began to wear down. He remained strong in his overall performance throughout, and he did not struggle at any level of the field.

And from JJ's personal quarterback trainer:

“It’s noticeable,” Holcomb said. “I don’t want to say each time I see him, but there are aha moments. He’s filling out nicely, it’s healthy and good and he’s growing into his body. He might be the youngest kid (at the Elite 11) and he’s growing. He measured 6-foot-2¾, and matches up physically with some of the bigger kids.”

And a glimpse into those aha moments:

“They had a competition at the end where they had to throw into a window high and tight at the goal line. It was a seam down the left side of the field and they had to throw it high up where only the receiver can get it,” Newkirk said. "He didn’t win it, but he made it to the fourth throw where half of them probably got eliminated after their first throw. He’s pretty consistent and even when he makes a mistake, he learns from it.”

Rivals' EJ Holland talked with SI's director of football recruiting, John Garcia, who thought McCarthy had the second-best week of anybody at the event. Holland unloaded a lot of his own thoughts in there. He and Garcia teamed up again for a scouting bonanza that described a Manziel type who sometimes gets too sped up:

JJ was consistent from an overall performance on a daily basis. But each day he had a couple of really bad throws. JJ does get antsy at times, and Dilfer said as much after the event. He’s definitely not erratic, but he does need to settle himself down sometimes.

The impact of J.J. McCarthy at IMG on other recruits can be discussed below; the short version is it's good to have the IMG quarterback.

[After THE JUMP: Trickling up except where we're not]

I'm not usually your recruiting guy, and there are many on our message board who follow this stuff more closely than I. But since we're down our football recruiting guy during all of this, I found myself trying to play catch-up in the process of writing various Hello posts. While I'm at it, I figured I might as well try to catch you up too. If you're a heavy recruitnik, I recommend you subscribe to one of the paid networks. If you're like me and just want an idea of what they're talking about, this post is for you. If you see something or someone I left out, please say so in the comments.

The Board:

I might as well get this old thing out of the garage.

Icon	Name	Meaning
	Sad Josh	The genre of player with unrequited interest in Michigan. Unlikely to receive offers; most will eventually fade off the list and go to Duke or Michigan State or something.
	Nefarious Eduardo	Player is a longshot. Either they've declared someone else a leader publicly or popular opinion holds that they're likely to go to another school.
	Data	Either no opinion or Michigan is one of a fairly even group of chasing schools. Players in this category maintain no leader or change their leader frequently. The default category for players that we don't know much about yet.
	Happy Teeth	Players who have Michigan in a small leading group or have Michigan as a tenuous favorite. Should be regarded as a good shot, not a slam dunk.
	Mr. Blue	Player is either a verbal or is expected to be one sooner or later. Players with this designation are 65%+ to be Michigan commits.

The order is my interpretation of how likely they are to commit and how many recruiting points are being expended.

A Note on "Stars": These are a general (not exact) average of a player's status among the recruiting services.

A Note on Premium Info: No illicit sharing of said material will appear on this site. Players are listed with interested schools in their profiles; this information is public. Commitments are by definition public. Any assertions as to schools in the mix, decision dates, or leaders I will back up with links to the source of the information.

Quarterback

Commit
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
JJ McCarthy	IL	****.5	Michigan		Hello.

Needs: High. Michigan took just Cade McNamara and Dan Villari in the last two classes after longtime 2020 commit JD Johnson had to give up football for health reasons. The way quarterbacks transfer these days they could lose whoever loses the McCaffrey/Milton battle.

Commit: Michigan locked up blue-chip J.J. McCarthy before the end of his sophomore season. The news today is he'll play his senior season (if there is one) at IMG.

Sometimes a move to IMG is a worrying thing, but not with McCarthy, a 100% locked commit who's been "one of the most passionate commitments the staff has reeled in within the same time frame," according to 247's Steve Lorenz. McCarthy now gets to whisper sweet maize and blue nothings to some of the most talented players in the country all fall. It's a good thing for him as a prospect too: he'll arrive with an extra year of college-level coaching, and enroll early, according to Orion Sang.

Other McCarthy things of more recent vintage include a practice video Rivals's EJ Holland put out($) in a series of embedded tweets on May 4—if you're not a subscriber you get to scroll through his timeline. Rivals's Austin Fox says McCarthy could be a 5-star if there's a senior year. Lorenz recently profiled McCarthy in his new commitment overview series.

Prospects. As far as I can tell they are not pursuing another at this time.

[After THE JUMP: Chipping away]

A similar note as the recent basketball crootin post: I'm taking these posts over for the time being and am still in the process of catching up on target boards and needs and the like. Also, my tabs app crashed the first time I tried to put this together, so I'm missing some stuff from before the last few days. Not making this easier: much of the recent action is with the 2021 class, and it's gonna take me a little longer to get up to speed with that group. I appreciate your bearing with me.

Commit Updates: RJ Moten is an Athlete

While RJ Moten is probably going to wind up at safety or VIPER, one can learn a few things by watching him on the other side of the ball:

#Michigan 2020 DB commit RJ Moten has some wheels. He runs for the 42 yard TD for Delran. @SamWebb77 @TremendousUM @BriceMarich @JoshHenschke @BrianDohn247 @rjmoten_ pic.twitter.com/mPAhXSF64P

— Josh Newkirk (@JoshNewkirk7) September 13, 2019

Invisible jetpack: check.

The Wolverine's new hire, EJ Holland, has hit the ground running. He provided updated scouting reports on each of Michigan's linebacker commits; he's highest on Kalel Mullings, but the Cornell Wheeler writeup caught my eye:

If you are looking for an old school thumper, look no further than West Bloomfield’s (Mich.) Cornell Wheeler. At 6-foot, 230 pounds, Wheeler is built like a true inside linebacker. While he’s a bit undersized, he fills gaps quickly and is a violent hitter.

If he's got some mobility in coverage, that profile sounds familiar.

High school stats are often hard to contextualize, but it's easier when you play against the best program in the country. Blake Corum posted 252 scrimmage yards and a score in St. Frances's 34-18 loss to national #1 Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei; he's now inside the Top247 and may continue to move up.

MGoFish's Harry Hillman posted lengthy scouting reports on two of Michigan's more under-the-radar commits, OT Jeffrey Persi and DL Aaron Lewis. He's quite high on both, comparing Persi to Taylor Lewan and Lewis to Chris Wormley.

One bit of recruiting news among the 2020 commits: Jordan Morant took an official visit to Texas A&M, but heading into the trip there wasn't much concern on Michigan's end. Sam Webb posted a previously unpublished quote from Morant's coach—Anthony Campanile's brother, Vito—in which he said Morant would take a visit to A&M because of a long-standing relationship with DC Mike Elko. There's been nothing from the A&M end since the trip; it doesn't seem like Morant had his recruitment change dramatically.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]