Tuesday Recruitin' Moves Up
Visit Reaction: M Leads For Jackson
While the game itself didn't have the desired outcome, last weekend proved to be a good one for Michigan's recruiting efforts. Four big-time official visitors took in the game and the Wolverines look to have a great shot with at least three of them.
Top-100 CA ATH Lamar Jackson, who could be a corner or safety at Michigan, told 247's Steve Lorenz that the Wolverines now lead after his official ($):
"Yeah, I'd say Michigan leads," he said. "The Michigan experience kind of spoke for itself. The atmosphere at the game was incredible, the academics at Michigan are great and I learned a lot about the program, the players and the leadership of Coach Harbaugh was really impressive to me. I wasn't sure heading into the visit because it's a long ways away and I was not familiar with the weather, but the visit definitely changed my mind on things."
Michigan is clearly in great shape. This was Jackson's fourth official and he hasn't scheduled his fifth; while many considered USC the odds-on favorite, he has no plans to see them on an unofficial before announcing his decision at the Under Armour game.
Five-star GA TE Isaac Nauta is right up there with Rashan Gary as the top overall target on the board, and he told Scout's Chad Simmons he was "very surprised" by how much he liked Michigan ($):
"Coach Harbaugh told me and showed me that there is a both, a need for me, and a want for me at Michigan. We looked at film, we had a talk, and I saw a lot. at the end of the visit, I was just surprised more than anything else.
"I just did not expect it to be that way. My mind about Michigan has definitely been changed."
Lorenz chatted with us on MGoRadio yesterday and said the visit couldn't have gone much better; that said, he also thinks Nauta still ends up at Georgia, though Michigan has made this a tough decision. Nauta plans to announce at the Army All-American Game.
Top-100 WR Dylan Crawford spoke to Rivals' Adam Gorney after his official visit and discussed his potential role at Michigan ($):
"I really like how it went," Crawford said. "I could see myself fitting in there. I feel like I could play there. I like the coaching staff and obviously the Michigan education is solid and the networking there is unreal. "They don't really have a slot player who could take the fly sweep. They were showing me all the footage about how they have to bring Jabrill (Peppers) on offense to do the bubble screen routes and stuff like that. They said if I was there they wouldn't need to do that."
After talking to a couple sources close to Crawford's recruitment, Lorenz put in a Crystal Ball pick for Michigan ($). One team to watch is Oregon; they haven't offered Crawford yet and could become a major factor if they do.
Finally, after taking officials to both Notre Dame and Michigan, top-100 CB David Long told Scout's Greg Biggins he isn't certain about his Stanford commitment:
"I think there's still some question if they want me more for receiver or corner," Long said. "Notre Dame and Michigan both are recruiting me 100% for corner but I think that's still in question a little with Stanford.
"I'm still committed but I'm also thinking about maybe opening things up a little to make sure I'm doing the right thing. It's such a huge decision and I want to make sure I'm 100% comfortable with it. You can't go wrong with Stanford and I know that but I just want to be totally sure about this."
Long said he "got a little better vibe and felt more comfortable at Michigan" compared to Notre Dame. He's still a Stanford commit and the other California schools will be in the mix as well.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
More Visit Fallout: M Leading For McCaffrey?
While there hasn't been direct word from top-100 2017 QB Dylan McCaffrey that I've seen, Rivals thinks Michigan has the early edge after he visited campus again last weekend ($):
Michigan would appear to be the early leader. The level of confidence in that projection is very low given that McCaffrey plans to take his time while he gathers as much information as possible, but he thoroughly enjoyed his trip to Ann Arbor over the weekend to see the Wolverines take on rival Michigan State. It was his second visit to Michigan this year and McCaffrey has felt like a priority for the coaching staff since he landed the offer.
McCaffrey has become the clear top quarterback on the board for Michigan in this class, ahead of fellow four-star Davis Mills.
Michigan hosted three-star 2016 WDE Terrell Lucas for an unoffical visit. This quote he gave to Scout's Corey Bender is telling:
"I loved the game and how involved the fans were. One hundred eleven thousand seven hundred forty people, that's a lot," Lucas said. "It was very cold, but that's something I'm going to have to deal with. I didn't see much of the campus, but the Big House was amazing.
"I didn't get to talk to any of the coaches, though, since it was a big game. I think it's going to be even better on my official visit."
Lucas seems like he'd jump at the opportunity to commit, but I think Michigan has other prospects at WDE/BUCK that they want to give a shot to join the class first.
Three-star 2017 TN RB Chase Hayden told Lorenz that the MSU game was "the best visit I've been on for sure," which is especially notable since he's a Tennessee legacy who's visited Knoxville multiple times ($).
Commit Updates: Attrition Is Happening
Four-star Southfield RB Matt Falcon may still end up at Michigan, but if he does, he'll be on medical scholarship, per Scout's Allen Trieu. Falcon had surgery in June to repair the same torn ACL that cost him his sophomore season of high school; Lorenz posted that Falcon is scheduled to have another surgery on the same knee in December and Michigan's doctors haven't cleared him to play ($).
Falcon, who's clearly broken up about the situation, is now deciding whether to attend Michigan or find a school that will clear him to play; Wisconsin appears to be a distinct possibility. For what it's worth, Trieu posted on the TMI board that this was in the works before the recruitment of Kareem Walker heated up again.
Meanwhile, Rivals quietly removed three-star MD LB Dele' Harding from Michigan's commitment list, which was a long time coming. There's been no official word on Harding's status but it's been expected for a while that he and Michigan would part ways.
Three-star Farmington ILB David Reese now has another mid-year enrollment opportunity after picking up an offer from Nebraska. Reese also recently added a Texas offer and could enroll early there, as well. Michigan still has a spot for him if he's willing to wait to enroll; we'll see how that develops.
Speaking of Nebraska, three-star AL RB Kingston Davis has added them to his visit schedule, per TomVH.
Etc.
After Ohio State added a commitment from four-star RB Antonio Williams, it doesn't look like five-star NJ RB Kareem Walker will stick in their class. Garrett Fishaw is hearing that from his Ohio State source:
“(OSU) does expect Walker to decommit and things will then be over between the two sides. They’ll stick with Williams and McCall in this class and then take two for 2017. Unless there’s some major coaching changes and some elite kid falls into their lap.”
While Michigan should be the favorite if Walker decommits, Fishaw added a note that another, unnamed power program is "in the mix" to flip him, as well.
Four-star CO WDE Carlo Kemp told Rivals' Blair Angulo he plans to make a decision soon ($):
"I really like both [Michigan and Notre Dame]. I don't have any other visits planned. If I do try to get one or two more in they would have to come quick. I don't want to take those in November. I really don't want to drag this out any longer. Hopefully I can make a decision in the next couple weeks coming up or after my season is over. I'm looking at everything. The biggest things are where can I get the best of both worlds, academically and athletically."
Kemp would fill a major need at BUCK; this looks close to a coin-flip.
There's enough happening on the basketball recruiting front, including a potential commitment from four-star WI SG Jordan Poole on Friday, that I'll have a full hoops recruiting roundup tomorrow.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:23 PM ^
Ace is very timely with these regular updates, patience my son.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:30 PM ^
All good news but judging by what they said, Nauta and Jackson weren't seriously considering us before this visit seeing as they were so "surprised." Idk, i may be just paranoid.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:38 PM ^
Remember, these kids have been getting recruited for 2-3 years. They've been on lots of college campuses. They've gotten the recruiting sell from lots of coaches. They have a baseline in their heads. And Michigan still blew them away. You can expect the facilities to be awesome, and say "yeah, I've seen games with 80,000 fans, what's 110k?" but still have your breath be taken away.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:58 PM ^
I think you might be reading too much into that. One of the recruiting sites said that Jackson has been one of the most heavily recruited prospects.
I can understand him being "surprised" because it was his first visit. He was able to meet Stephen Ross this weekend and spoke to Jamar Adams who now works for Ross in NY. He said that he saw the value of a Michigan degree and the networking opportunities.
October 20th, 2015 at 8:53 PM ^
I remember last year, one of the top Cali recruits (Adoree Jackson?), speaking truthfully, said that he hadn't been to the Midwest before and pictured it as a sort of "barren wasteland". He liked it when he visited, but maybe a lot of the players from either coast don't have an accurate perception of what Michigan is like. Most recruits seem to really like the campus, the trees and the town and all that, when they visit. I think that we do win people over when they visit, but sometimes we do have an image that needs to be overcome just to get to that point.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:31 PM ^
Spare my ignorance -
Why won't we let Reese enroll early? Is there any sort of negative that comes of that?
October 20th, 2015 at 2:35 PM ^
The Spring practice time is a good thing.
My cynical side says they're doing this because they'd rather get a bigger name currently on their board at LB.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:36 PM ^
That's my concern as well. Or our admissions requirements won't let it happen. I'm hoping it is the latter.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:41 PM ^
I believe it has to do with roster/scholarship spots more than anything.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^
Michigan may have already promised those slots to other commits or be holding them open for guys they're still recruiting. I'm okay with either, FWIW, so long as they didn't previously promise Reese he could enroll early.
October 20th, 2015 at 3:10 PM ^
Are you sure? I was fairly confident that we could have an unlimited number of EE's. The only limit was how many wouldn't count against the 25 per year limit (3).
October 20th, 2015 at 3:24 PM ^
...correct. I was thinking about the limit on how many you can back-date. I think you're right that the only limit on early enrollees (putting aside the issue of back-dating) is the overall scholarship limit of 85.
October 20th, 2015 at 4:05 PM ^
Is there a limit on how many players can be in spring practice? I know there is for fall camp and that is why many walk-ons join the team later. But I'd think with departing seniors that shouldn't be a problem in the spring, unless the numbe is significantly less.
The only legitimate reason for dnying a current commit early enrollment status would seem to be on the academic side.
October 20th, 2015 at 5:05 PM ^
Thats my hope. Sign the best players you can.
October 21st, 2015 at 10:04 AM ^
The coaches have their eyes on other players who want to enroll early, and they can only take so many early enrollees. You have to prioritize.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:43 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 2:52 PM ^
for enrolled players. There will be some seniors leaving after this term, but only so many spots will open up.
October 20th, 2015 at 4:09 PM ^
Even enrolled players that are exhausting their eligibility? Do seniors count toward 85 in the spring semester if they're still in school? That seems crazy. Otherwise, how do you get up to 85 with early enrollees?
I guess, with the playoffs moving the end of the season back further and further, I could see an agrument that in the first week or two of the spring term, too many early enrollees would have you technically over the 85 scholarship limit for that small overlap between the end of the season and the new term, but I don't see even the NCAA being that much of a stickler.
October 20th, 2015 at 6:10 PM ^
They are still on scholarship, just like transfers that have to sit out for a year. They're entitled to that final semester of school and there's a hard cap on the total number of scholarships.
That's exactly why we have limited spots for early enrollees. Otherwise, there would be no issue for David Reese. It has nothing to do with bowl games or playoffs, as you surmised. Most schools don't start classes until after them anyhow.
October 20th, 2015 at 3:29 PM ^
I thought an early enrollee could be counted against either class? In the case of early enrollees in Jan they could be counted against the 2015 class or the 2016 - it would all depend on how the numbers work out.
October 20th, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^
wouldn't put you over 25 in the previous class. They do count as being on scholarship as soon as they start classes either way.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:44 PM ^
I thought it had been mentioned that the EE opportunity was a factor for a few higher rated recuits, so they wanted to save those slots for them.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:57 PM ^
I had heard when this news came out a couple weeks ago that UM was reserving EE opportunities for offensive players, which seems like a smart decision to me.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:34 PM ^
This kid is a Harbaugh type guy to the max. Currently committed to Wisconsin and not even a sniff from his "dream school", Michigan. Any chance he gets any love with Dele Harding going away?
October 20th, 2015 at 3:03 PM ^
I would like to be the first to welcome a member of the Burks family to the board.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:43 PM ^
I know his coach at Valor pretty well. I also run into his dad at least once a month on practice fields, in the grocery store, fast food joints, etc. It will be hard to resist the temptation to ask about Dylan...
October 20th, 2015 at 2:48 PM ^
...don't resist the temptation to wear a Michigan hat every once in a while. Actually, a shirt with Michigan may be better. You don't want him talking to you about Mizzou.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^
Play against perennial powerhouse Cherry Creek on Friday night. Big Game!
October 20th, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^
With no UM football to watch on Saturday, it's the perfect excuse to go take in a clash of the titans HS football game. Good family fun.
I am kidding, by the way, about inquiring on Dylan. I know Rod (his coach) well enough to ask him point blank about it (although his answer might very well be something along lines of "what did I say when you bugged me about Kozan?)
October 20th, 2015 at 3:05 PM ^
Can you tell his dad that I thought his little shoulder pads were cool?
October 20th, 2015 at 3:43 PM ^
I'm going with the assumption he'll follow Dad & Bro to Stanford, but if you know Dylan's coach fairly well it couldn't hurt to ask whether we have reason to be optimistic here, right?
Few years back a friend's nephew was a big deal recruit here in the Bay Area & visited Michigan - but old Jim Harbaugh (and his mother) convinced him to stay local and play for Stanford. I wasted no opportunity to drill my buddy to convince his nephew to go to Michigan!
We're still friends, so a few gentle questions of Dylan's coach shouldn't harm your relationship!! ;-)
October 20th, 2015 at 3:53 PM ^
His brother is doing amazing things at Stanford. Going to be a tough one to get out of CA and to MI but hope we can do it if this is who Harbaugh wants.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:50 PM ^
Unh, no, no, it wasn't, I am sorry to say. It would be nice to see us pick up a top notch corner in case Lewis decides to leave. Heck, it would be nice even if he decides to stay.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:51 PM ^
You can't early enrollee everybody...you have to have scholarship spots available.
In short, they have guys who are a higher priority that they've promised these precious slots.
If you listen to Sam Webb...Harbaugh has been up front the whole time with the family and they are appreciative. He also said that Harbaugh has reaffirmed they still want him in this class.
The kid graduates early and therefore would like to get started immediately...understandable...but is it so important he would rather go to another school? That would be on him...not Michigan.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:58 PM ^
I don't usually get on recruiting sites but ventured over today...lots of info about Florida State on 247 his page. May be the other contender. Of course, I fully admit that this is just conjecture from a totally uninformed site lurker.
October 21st, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^
Fwiw, Walker reaffirmed his commitment today. He said he would still make his other ov's. His final visit is scheduled for osu. Sounds like it isn't over, but osu may still be the team to beat.
October 20th, 2015 at 3:17 PM ^
what are the remaining positions of need at this point? One more OL, one more DB?
October 20th, 2015 at 3:30 PM ^
DT, LB, DB, and TE are the ones that stick out the most. High profile offensive talent elsewhere is nice, but not critical. With the class of 2013 OL implosion, another OL might be desirable but M signed three in this last class and has four commits here so we're not exactly dealing with the 1 roster OL from two recruiting classes disaster from the RR years.
October 20th, 2015 at 4:09 PM ^
We definitely would want 2 LB's also. I'd say one more OL is not critical, but if a really good one is available, we might take him since we lost 2/3 of the 2013 class already. Certainly a top notch WR would also be desirable as would another DB. Throw in a Kareem Walker and the class would be filled for sure.
October 20th, 2015 at 3:58 PM ^
All of the defense.
Esp the back 7. We lose almost every defensive player in the 2 deep save Hurst (and Mone will be back) post 2016 and guys from this class need to be performers in their 2nd year. The 2015 class only had a tiny 4 defensive players in it with no LBs and no DTs. With basic attrition "don't pan out" etc we might get 2 of those 4 or 3 out of 4 to contribute so this class is really going to cover for 2 years of worth of defensice players.
Also all our higher rated guys right now are on offense while almost the entire D aside from 1 DE are the "project" types.
October 20th, 2015 at 4:24 PM ^
they have plenty of needs. DL, LB and D edge players top the list. plus they can use another OL, a field CB, TE / H.
id love to see them find a lightning fast RB (a true RB with elite quickness and big play ability, not the kid evans who looks like CB or WR) and some ultra quick WR / CB types, versatile athletes in the 5'10" - 6'1" 170-200 lbs range or whatever who project as quick WRs who gain separation or contribute as fluid CBs (basically wherever harbaugh and staff decide they need athletes). the kid pie young from florida would be a good example.
but i always want M to sign lightning in a bottle RB at least every other cycle and you can never have enough versatile, quick athletes who can play both CB / WR
October 20th, 2015 at 3:19 PM ^
I calculated our 2016 class with the information above assuming that all big recruits who gave positives for Michigan this weekend will end up in this class, and all recruits looking elsewhere/decommitting excluded. If this shakes out in a perfect maize & blue world, we'd have the #1 class in the country based on current numbers/rankings.
We can dream, right?
October 20th, 2015 at 3:57 PM ^
All the other classes would need to be adjusted too. Remember they are not all static. Many schools still have 4-7 openings which will increase their score too.
UM will have a high rank because it looks like 25-28 kids will be in it. The difference is now what the "ave player rank" will be - it is actually relatively low for a UM class due to the numerous fliers we've taken on the defensive side of the ball. If those guys get replaced with a Lavert Hill and Lamar Jackson for example you will see a nice bump in ave rating too.
I am not worried about a certain placement anymore with Harbaugh. We used to always be top 10 in crooting and we will be again. But now we have a staff who can do stuff with it.
October 20th, 2015 at 4:13 PM ^
It has been stated below that Early Entries can be included either in the 2015 or 2016 class.
If they are officially in the 2015 class, doesn't that mean that 2015 counts as the first year of their eligibility, essentially loosing a year of playing time?
October 20th, 2015 at 4:49 PM ^
My understanding is that if you are not on the roster, you do not lose the year of eligibility. On a related note, I assume it's a similar reason why BYU players get 4 or 5 years to play despite going on a mission for 2 years.
October 20th, 2015 at 6:40 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 4:40 PM ^
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the class fills up. Even just a few of those top guys would make this class very, very strong.
October 20th, 2015 at 4:55 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 6:13 PM ^
But we all understand that his physical gifts are few and far between. How does our recruiting, or development have to change to find these types down the line?
October 20th, 2015 at 6:38 PM ^
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