su'a cravens

Today's recruiting roundup discusses the commitment of Scott Sypniewski, the new ESPN rankings, the status of Jordan Wilkins, and much more.

Hello: Scott Sypniewski

Edited but probably NSFW, because Lil Jon

As you know by now, Michigan offered and accepted a commitment from Ottawa (IL) long snapper Scott Sypniewski on Wednesday, sparking a rather mixed reaction followed by a reaction to the reaction, if you follow. Like Brian*, you can put me down for "thoroughly perplexed," especially given the timing of the offer—even if there's a potentially pressing need for a long snapper, wouldn't that be determined in the fall (especially given the presence of 2012 preferred walk-on Tyler Tokarsky) as opposed to June?

That said, Sypniewski at least represents one of the top players nationwide at the position, which has seen an increase in scholarship offers recently according to this Rivals article from May:

At least 25 of the 121 non-academies in the FBS ranks have long snappers who were awarded scholarships directly out of high school or junior college. Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell estimates that represents about a 20 percent increase over the last five or six years.

So, at least Michigan isn't alone; the article claims that students of long-snapping guru Chris Rubio earned scholarships to LSU, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Arizona State, and Michigan State (that would be one-time Michigan walk-on pledge Taybor Pepper) last year.

While I'm still not sure it was the wisest move to take a specialist at this juncture, there's one argument against taking Sypniewski that I'll address here: the cries that taking him precluded Michigan from bringing on Laquon Treadwell, Derrick Green or Jordan Wilkins, Kendall Fuller or Leon McQuay, and Joe Mathis. Like, four of those guys.

While Michigan is in great shape for Treadwell, he's the only player among that group that I'd say has a better than 33% chance of becoming a Wolverine, and that figure might be generous for most of those guys. Green keeps popping up in articles that don't mention Michigan($), Wilkins appears to be a strong Auburn lean (more on him later), Fuller has strong ties to Virginia Tech and Clemson, McQuay is a top-flight Florida recruit, and Mathis changes his favorite every time he visits a new school. Not trying to sound overly negative here, just trying to be realistic: getting any two of those players would be fantastic. There's no way in hell Michigan was getting four no matter how the numbers worked out.

In other current commit news, ESPN updated their top 150, introduced the ESPN300, and released their team rankings for the class of 2013. Unsurprisingly, Michigan tops the team rankings; the full list is here, but paywalled, while TomVH's analysis of the team rankings is free, which totally makes sense. Other Big Ten+ teams in the top 25: Ohio State (7), Notre Dame (10), Penn State (14), and Michigan State (22).

As for changes to the individual player rankings, TTB has the full breakdown, as usual. The big movers were Jourdan Lewis, who rose 15 spots and into the top 100, Mike McCray, who fell 29 spots, and Patrick Kugler, who jumped from #123 to #112. In all, Michigan has 15 players in the ESPN300, including 11 in the ESPN150. Shane Morris is the top-ranked commit at #32, which represented a five-spot rise for him.

Also releasing rankings was OhioPreps.com, the Rivals outlet focused on, um, Ohio. Michigan's Ohio commitments stand out among their position rankings for the class of 2013:

• DeVeon Smith is the #1 running back
• Jaron Dukes is the #3 wide receiver
• Jake Butt is the #1 tight end
• Taco Charlton is the #1 defensive end
• Mike McCray and Ben Gedeon are the #1 and #2 linebackers, respectively
• Gareon Conley is the #3 cornerback
• Dymonte Thomas is the #1 safety

Call me crazy, but I think the Wolverines are having a good deal of success in Ohio this year. Next thing you know, jerseys will be selling like hotcakes down there.

Quickly: Haven't had your fill of special teams highlight tapes? Good! Here's 2012 walk-on K/P Kenny Allen drilling a bunch of field goals. Jake Butt is invited to The Opening. Shane Morris earns an invite to ESPN's Champion Gridiron Kings event. Matt Pargoff, like Seth on Wednesday, ranks Michigan's top recruiting classes of the last 20 years.

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*MGoHiveMind! Conspiracy! Dey took our jobz!

Change Of Plans For Wilkins

So, yeah, about TN RB Jordan Wilkins—the four-star back was initially slated to visit Ann Arbor on Saturday, but he'll have to reschedule after realizing that he has to take the ACT that day ($). Wilkins maintains that he wants to see all of his final four schools—Auburn, Michigan, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee—before making a commitment, but this still doesn't bode well. Sam Webb profiled Wilkins in the Detroit News, and Wilkins reiterated that he very nearly committed to Auburn on Monday. Message board rumors also have Wilkins maybe not liking Michigan's depth chart so much, which means this is ominous:

So what are major factors?

"Early playing time and coaches," said Wilkins. "I know I want to play with guys I get along with — that I can come and talk to about anything. I like coaches that I can talk to about anything because my high school coaches right now are like my second parents. I've always been close with my coaches, so that's another big thing.["]

Wilkins would like to have his decision made before his football season starts. My guess is that decision won't be Michigan.

The Wolverines somewhat surprisingly showed up on PA WR Robert Foster's top seven yesterday, joining Alabama, Pitt, Ohio State, Michigan State, Oregon, and USC. According to Foster's assistant coach, via an article by 247's Steve Wiltfong($), he's planning to visit Michigan and MSU this month. Foster also plans to take all of his official visits before deciding, so even if there's mutual interest here, it may be tough for Foster to find a spot in the class. One receiver who may move a little faster is MD WR Paul Harris, who will visit on June 19, according to Tremendous. He's one to keep an eye on.

Tim Sullivan reports that TX DT Hardreck Walker plans to make a decision by the end of the summer, but will continue taking visits, and he plans on taking an official to Michigan ($, info in header). We'll see how this one plays out, since the Wolverines are no longer really in need of a DT unless they decide that Henry Poggi fits best at strongside DE. Even then, shoehorning another defensive lineman in the class could prove difficult.

Quickly: Steve Wiltfong reports that Michigan offered CA ATH Darren Carrington, but there isn't an article to go with the tweet, so for now that's all the info we've got regarding any potential interest or visits. Michigan made the top five for AZ CB Cole Luke along with Notre Dame, Texas, Nebraska, and Cal. Happy trails to Su'a Cravens, who shocked the world by committing to USC. Cravens says he still plans to visit Michigan and his other finalists, but I wouldn't hold out hope for a switch. Don't do this, people.

Quick 2014 Updates

Not as much action as recent weeks on the 2014 front, but IL CB Parrker Westphal did visit campus on Tuesday and came away mighty impressed. He told Tremendous that Michigan is now the school by which he'll measure all of his other visits and he plans on being in Ann Arbor again for the BBQ at the Big House. Westphal is coached by former Michigan CB Todd Howard, who will likely accompany Westphal on his next trip.

Michigan is in line to get a very big visit, and visitor, in GA OL Orlando Brown, son of the late NFL lineman of the same name. Brown told 247's Clint Brewster that he'll visit Michigan on July 14th ($). Brown, who stands at 6'9"(!!), 360 pounds(!!!), projects to be one of the top tackles in the 2014 class.

The Wolverines will also get summer visits from a pair of quarterbacks. IN QB Brent Lyles will camp at Michigan on June 20th($), while OH QB DeShone Kizer plans to check out Ann Arbor again on either the 17th or 21st of this month ($). Kizer is one of two 2014 quarterbacks, along with MI QB Chance Stewart, getting a strong look at an early offer, while Lyles is hoping to break into that group.

Today's recruiting roundup examines new rankings from Rivals and 247, recaps the IMG 7-on-7 tournament, checks in on Laquon Treadwell and Su'a Cravens, and there's something about a letter that almost certainly won't draw any attention.

So Much For "Return To Sender"

2013 OL commit Logan Tuley-Tillman caused, shall we say, a bit of a stir on Saturday with a simple tweet reading "#goblue #beatohio". Oh, and there was a picture attached:

Well, that's one way to say you'd appreciate no further correspondence from your future school's rival. While I'm sure this has ruffled feathers on both sides of the rivalry, I must say I thought this was hilarious, a harmless statement from a high school kid having some fun and fueling the fire stoking the flames turning up the heat non-fire-related cliche about The Game. Looking closer, there's a couple of details in the photo worth pointing out:

1. The letter is unopened. It doesn't look like there was any middle step between "receive letter" and "light letter on fire".
2. The luminaries at the Ohio State athletic department believe Tuley-Tillman lives in "Peroia," Illinois. So close, guys.

The photo has made its way to the USA Today, local ABC news, Fox Sports Radio, and corners of the internet far and wide. Football season cannot start soon enough.

In other news, both Rivals and 247 updated their 2013 rankings. The Rivals100 was released this morning; here's the movement of current commits:

• Shane Morris drops from #16 to #22 (still a four-star)
• Mike McCray drops from #44 to #55
• Chris Fox drops from #46 to #57
• Patrick Kugler drops from #54 to #73
• Kyle Bosch drops from #60 to #77
• Dymonte Thomas drops from #77 to #95
• Jake Butt (previously #96) drops out of top 100

Notable targets include VA RB Derrick Green, who shot up to #12 overall and earned a fifth star, FL DB Leon McQuay III (#33), IL WR Laquon Treadwell (#39), MD DT Henry Poggi (#52), and CA DE Joe Mathis (#71).

While the drops across the board don't look great, it's important to remember that several prospects have been evaluated (or re-evaluated with more film or new info from camps) since the initial rankings dropped in February—early standouts aren't so much losing stock as they are being passed by those who have gained exposure in recent months.

Here's the movement in the updated Top247:

• Shane Morris drops from #18 to #22 (first four-star)
• Dymonte Thomas drops from #41 to #45
• Kyle Bosch drops from #42 to #46
• Chris Fox drops from  #53 to #60
• Logan Tuley-Tillman drops from #82 to #85
• Taco Charlton drops from #86 to #90
• Ben Gedeon jumps from #255 to #171
• Mike McCray drops from #173 to #176
• David Dawson jumps from #199 to #196
• Patrick Kugler drops from #192 to #206
• DeVeon Smith debuts on the list at #231
• Gareon Conley debuts on the list at #234

Again, mostly minor drops here, with the notable exception of Ben Gedeon. Any disappointment should be severely mitigated by the fact that Michigan has 12 recruits on the list.

You Down With IMG? Yeah, You Know Me

Auburn Hills hosted last weekend's Michigan Elite/IMG 7-on-7 Regional qualifier, which featured Laquon Treadwell's Core 6 squad facing off against Shane Morris & Co.'s Maximum Exposure. Neither team took the title, though thanks to their IMG national title last year MaxEx gets an automatic invite to this year's national tournament, but several commits and targets were standouts. Treadwell earned top performer honors from 247's Steve Wiltfong:

A smooth route runner, Treadwell is a physical player that does a superb job of catching the ball away from his body and making catches with the cornerback draped on his back. Whether he was going over the middle, leaping over a defender, or catching the ball back shoulder, Treadwell was good for a few wow moments a game. He also has some yards after the catch ability. Defensively, he played safety and came through with several plays on the football.

Morris was #4 on the list due to a performance described as "methodical, accurate, and easy like a Sunday morning," an assessment that is Lionel Richie-approved. Jourdan Lewis, playing for MaxEx, was the #9 performer. Maize & Blue News, a new recruiting/news site started by Matt Pargoff (formerly of The Wolverine) has highlights of Morris (above) and Lewis (here).

The event provided the opportunity for everyone to talk to Treadwell about his recruitment, and he provided similar, if slightly differing, statements for the recruiting sites. He presented a chopped-down list to Pargoff:

“I’ll probably decide during my high school season,” he stated. “I’m still looking at Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Illinois. That’s actually narrowed down a lot. There were a lot of schools on me. I just didn’t know what to do, so I just had to think about which ones I really wanted to go to … But I want to take some official visits.”

That list got a little bit smaller when Treadwell talked to Tim Sullivan ($):

Michigan isn't the only school still in play, but the list of serious contenders for Treadwell's services appears to be dwindling.

"Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Illinois," he said. "That's about it that I can think about off the top."

When he talked to 247's Steve Wiltfong, the list dwindled to four ($):

Treadwell says he remains in touch with about 10 college programs, and has four schools he’d currently have a tough time saying no to in Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

“I’m looking at those four schools pretty hard,” Treadwell said.

Finally, Treadwell found a very roundabout way to name a leader, giving TomVH a top three of Michigan and... TBD ($):

He recently went on the record to say just where the Wolverines rank for him.

"In the top three," said Treadwell, who was in Michigan with his travel team for an IMG 7-on-7 qualifier. "That's the first offer. I love that school."

While he says some favorites have started to emerge, he isn't sure who else is on that list, so it's the Wolverines by themselves for now

Treadwell added that he plans to visit Oklahoma State on June 8th, and there's a chance he sees Oklahoma on that trip as well. He has no other visits planned. He also told GBW($) that he plans to take "probably, two officials" and said of Michigan, simply, "I love that school." Draw whatever conclusions you will from that.

The other big news of the week comes from CA S Su'a Cravens, a longshot for Michigan who is now an even longer shot, according to the Omaha World-Herald:

Five-star safety Su'a Cravens had been scheduled to unofficially visit Michigan and Nebraska next week in preparation for his June 6 decision date. NU, UM and USC were the three presumed favorites.

But the Vista Murrieta (Calif.) two-way star reportedly canceled both trips. Su'a Cravens father, Kevin confirmed the cancellation Sunday night.
“It's accurate,” he said.

According to Kevin Cravens, Su'a has final exams to take, and while the family initially thought he'd be able to make up these exams at a different date, the school, Kevin said, won't allow it. So no visit.

Despite the cancellation, Cravens will still announce his decision on June 6th. If he leaves the state of California, I'll eat two lemons.

Quickly: Michigan makes the top seven($) for AZ CB Cole Luke and the top six($) for Good Counsel S Kirk Garner. CA ATH Elijah Qualls tells GBW's Andre Barthwell that he plans to take an official visit to Ann Arbor ($). LSU leads($) for HI DT Scott Pagano. Magnus scouts VA RB Derrick Green at a 7-on-7 tournament. Tremendous gets a visit reaction from 2014 WR Jaylan Grandison.

Today's recruiting roundup was done a while ago, then I derped and deleted the post. Friday! Pardon my brevity as I discuss updated MaxPreps rankings, Leon McQuay III, and a slew of new 2014 offers.

Alabama Ruins Everything

If you don't get this, watch Shutdown Fullback. All of them.

First, Alabama ruined the sanctity of the BCS (ha!), then defeated Michigan in the first game of their softball super regional last night, and now the Tide goes and passes the Wolverines for the top spot in the MaxPreps team recruiting rankings. Michigan still has the edge in overall commits (18 to 14), but Alabama's eight top 100 commits tops Michigan's five. MaxPreps's Tom Lemming updated that top 100 list this week, and here's where you can find Michigan's commits:

• QB Shane Morris, #16 (5*)
• OL Logan Tuley-Tillman, #50 (4*)
• LB Mike McCray, #63 (4*)
• OL David Dawson, #78 (4*)
• OL Kyle Bosch, #89 (4*)

Other notables include Su'a Cravens at #5, Henry Poggi at #25, and Laquon Treadwell at #30—all those players earned five-star ratings.

Mike McCray, by the way, finally got his Ohio State offer today. If this bromantic text conversation with Shane Morris is any indication, however, he's not going anywhere. If you remember, McCray's father was a captain at OSU. Unless McCray takes a visit to Columbus, there's little reason to be concerned.

One more recruit to get five stars from Lemming is FL DB Leon McQuay III, who's still talking about Michigan after his visit last week. McQuay talked to Tremendous about making beats—he wants to study audio engineering—with walk-on QB Jack Kennedy and also named Michigan to his top five:

"Michigan definitely made a move on this visit. They are in my top five along with USC, Florida, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt". This is a top five for now and is subject to change.

Just as importantly, McQuay expressed a desire to visit Ann Arbor again; Michigan won't have much of a chance unless that happens. McQuay also talked to 247's Josh Newberg and named a top ten($) that includes the five schools above plus Florida State, Miami, Clemson, Oregon, and UCLA.

McQuay's visit could pay dividends that go beyond his recruitment, as he got in the ear of Seffner (FL) Armwood teammate Alvin Bailey, a four-star receiver who also holds a Michigan offer. According to 247's Todd Worly, Bailey now plans on visiting Ann Arbor this summer, likely by the end of next month ($).

Recently offered TX DT Hardreck Walker "can't wait" to see Michigan, per 247's Clint Brewster, and he's planning to use one of his official visits to check out Ann Arbor ($). Walker also holds offers from West Virginia, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Auburn, Texas Tech, and Northwestern.

AZ WR Devon Allen is still very, very fast:

Allen says he's definitely looking to compete in track at the college level and that the school he picks will likely have a strong presence in track and field. To give you an idea of the caliber of track athlete Allen is, here are his PR's from this season:

100m: 10.49
200m: 20.75
110 hurdles: 13.52
300 hurdles: 36.39
400: 48.45

Yowza. The downside to this is that if Allen is serious about attending a school with a top-flight track program, Michigan could be at a serious disadvantage when going up against Pac-12 and SEC schools. Allen did mention, however, that Michigan is in contact with him the most along with Arizona State and Arkansas.

Quickly: 247 breaks down film on CA S Su'a Cravens. They also, like everyone else, predict him to go to USC. NC WR Uriah LeMay will announce his decision on June 1st, and he'll likely join his brother Christian at Georgia. TTB gives a scouting report on TN RB Jordan Wilkins. Happy trails to VA LB Matt Rolin, who committed to South Carolina.

The Rain In Spain Never Mind I'll Stop Now

Sam Webb's latest offering at the Detroit News profiles 2014 NC OT Bentley Spain, who holds 12 offers, including one from Michigan. Spain's team didn't perform so well last year, but that problem didn't extend to Spain, who told Webb that he didn't give up a sack and recorded "about 60 pancakes." Spain also gave his thoughts on Michigan and mentioned a possible time for a visit:

"They're moving toward a pro-style offense, which I think is very good for me," Spain said. "That's the kind of offense I'd like to play in, ideally. I love what they're doing up there. I think they're really on the rise and they had a great season last year. I think I just need to keep developing relationships with all the coaches and get up there for a visit.

"I'm planning on coming out in early June, but I don't have anything set in stone yet."

Spain currently maintains no favorites and plans to wait on a decision until at least this time next year.

Michigan continues to send out offers to top-flight 2014 prospects, with four more going out this week:

• Michigan joined Baylor, Nebraska, and Virginia in extending early offers to TX S T'Kevian Rockwell, according to 247's Todd Worly ($). Rockwell is a big safety at 6'0", 202 pounds, but after being laser-timed at 10.47 in the 100-meter dash, speed is by no means a concern. He also plays outside linebacker and running back, and if he bulks up at all—probably, considering he's still just a sophomore—one of those will likely be his position in college.
• Tremendous reports that Michigan offered four-star NC TE Jeb Blazevich, who's already bringing in offers from a who's-who of top programs. Blazevich says he'll visit either this summer or, more likely, for a game in the fall. Click through to see his impressive sophomore highlights.
• AZ WR Dionte Sykes also claims an offer from Michigan($), though he tells 247's Clint Brewster that UCLA "will be hard to say no to." He does mention a desire to visit several schools, including Michigan, before he makes a decision.
• Four-star OH LB Michael Ferns already has nearly 20 scholarship offers, and Michigan joined the fray this week ($). Ferns says he'll visit Ann Arbor in June; he's already taken trips to Ohio State and Penn State.

Quickly: Canadian WR Jaylan Grandison will visit today, according to Tremendous. Michigan makes the early top five of DC CB D'Andre Payne, who will be on hand for the June one-day camp ($). Tim Sullivan with a writeup on IL CB Parrker Westphal, who has offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida, and others. Westphal is coached by former Wolverine corner Todd Howard.