Monday Recruitin' Opens Presents Early
Hello. I'm writing these for a bit since recruiting and basketball are going to be most of what goes on for the next month, and by splitting it up we can do a better job at both.
Early Christmas presents, or coal
A couple of recruits high on Michigan's radar are announcing this week. On the 16th, FL LB Devin Bush announces. He says he's already decided, but that didn't prevent Michigan and FSU from dropping in on him with in-home visits last week. Michigan has been supremely confident in Bush's recruitment for a long time, but the departure of DJ Durkin did throw a wrench into things:
"For us it was bittersweet. It was like, ‘dang! We didn’t get a chance to work underneath him,” if he (Bush Jr.) choose (Michigan). But my son hasn’t chosen a school yet. So we’re just happy for D.J. and we’ve had to sit back and see what else unfolds.”
That quote has an air of someone trying to put the cat back in the bag. Uncertainty at DC—every single one of Bush's finalists save FSU has seen their DC depart—has Michigan people a bit more doubtful. Meanwhile Josh Newberg, an FSU mod who is a person to pay attention to, just ballz'd Bush to FSU.
Michigan still thinks they're getting the guy, but significant doubts are cropping up. Allen Trieu has an article in the News quoting Webb heavily that offers the lay of the land.
NJ RB Kareem Walker announces on the 17th. Walker announced that date after an in-home with Harbaugh, and before his official visit to Arizona State this weekend. FSU and Auburn are regarded as the only real competition. The the 247 FSU mods are not at all optimistic($), the main Auburn guy ballz'd Walker to Michigan, and Wiltfong isn't wavering.
That is looking good, but it doesn't seem like it's the 100% lock it felt like a month ago. New Jersey-based recruiting guy Todderick Hunt feels like it'll be Florida State, FWIW, but I'm not sure how seriously to take that when he's commenting on his own article thusly:
Obviously Michigan is the overwhelming favorite and he could very well end up there, but the recent sequence of events has me thinking FSU.
Okay then.
Official visit weekend: commits
Michigan brought in a bunch of commitments: IN RB Chris Evans, NJ DE Ron Johnson, NJ WR Brad Hawkins, IN QB Brandon Peters, FL CB Antwaine Richardson, and TX DT Jordan Elliott. Commit visits are usually no-news events and these were no exception. The most newsworthy thing about any of those guys is that Richardson is no longer enrolling early.
Two of the visits should move a couple commitments from 98% to 99%. Evans had a slight waver as he announced visits to both in-state schools, but none of the three major sites have a report that indicates he actually went to either. Meanwhile Elliott returning with his mom two weeks after he came up for the Ohio State game should further solidify that commitment.
Elliott seems somewhat annoyed he has to keep telling people that Michigan is final answer. This is mostly because Texas folks keep saying there's a chance; in response Elliott's twitter feed is nonstop Michigan boosterism. He is not giving the appearance of a guy who is going to flip again.
Nate Johnson adds self to above list
[Shelley Mays/The Tennessean]
Michigan also had a handful of uncommitted prospects. TN WR Nate Johnson dropped for M about the instant he arrived. Ace's Hello post covers him in detail, including a couple of excellent explanations for why 247 is high on him while others aren't:
Then the season came and Johnson validated his camp performances and was just unstoppable. It was a crime that he didn't win Mr. Football. He played with a quarterback that he had been with for years and their offense was crazy good (undefeated with very few close contests) but Johnson made it tick. He's one of the best route-runners in the country, has great hands, fantastic body control and he has a much bigger catch radius than his 5-11 size would suggest. He's also added good weight and strength as he's progressed in high school. At this point, he reminds me some of Christian Kirk down at Texas A&M in terms of body type.
That's a free post with plenty more at the link. With the flood of impressive late offers (Penn State, Miami, Tennessee and Michigan just last week) maybe other sites take another look. Scout hasn't even ranked the guy, which is kind of boggling since he had over a thousand receiving yards in both of his last two years in high school and was committed to a Power 5 school for months.
While numbers are getting tight now, Sam Webb says Michigan might take another wideout. It won't be FL WR Eddie McDoom(!), who committed to Oregon on an official this weekend. We are of course all devastated to lose such a name but if it can't be Michigan, Oregon seems appropriate for a fast guy named MCDOOM. Oregon's up to 25 commitments but has just two WRs and still has room for CA WR Dylan Crawford. They're in on a couple other WRs; if one of those guys drops then it might be time to talk about Crawford getting pushed over to M.
Delance on campus
Things are looking up for TX OT Jean Delance, who has been a major priority for Harbaugh and company for months now. Delance was popularly thought to be favoring Texas, but now the buzz is that it's a Michigan-LSU battle. Steve Wiltfong reports that he's close to putting in a crystal ballz($) for Michigan… and that he's close to putting a ballz for LSU. Dangit, Wiltfong.
Let's read too much into a tweet with a colloquial phrase in it, shall we?
Ann Arbor it's been real see you all again! 〽️ pic.twitter.com/qLMzO7ALKM
— Jean Delance (@JeanDelance74) December 13, 2015
Michigan lock.
Delance told an LSU site that he was planning to be committed by January, so it's one of those three teams, period, and with Texas on route to RichRodding Charlie Strong it looks like Texas is suddenly playing from behind.
Read between the linebackers
The considerable, if indirect, debate between the various recruiting sites as to how hard Michigan is recruiting CA LB Caleb Kelly has been resolved by Kelly himself:
As for his recruitment, Kelly said he has not talked with Michigan since his visit, which he thought was strange so he hoped to get in communication with them soon. Oklahoma remains a serious contender and he said the Sooners have not stopped their aggressive approach to recruiting him.
Kelly seems to like Michigan more than Michigan likes him. I would not expect Kelly to end up at Michigan unless there is a 180 by the coaching staff.
Meanwhile, vibes are still mostly good with FL LB Jonathan Jones. He took his official visit this weekend as well, and while this is not a great quote when you think you're leading for a guy…
Jones was accompanied on the trip by his mother and she came away equally impressed.
“She said my decision just probably got a bit harder,” said Jones. “It's a great school and she said there are great people. If I went there she would feel very comfortable.”
…later he said he "most definitely" thought about committing on his trip and even the Notre Dame side of this thinks Michigan is the likely choice. He's got a visit to Duke next weekend, and plans on a Signing Day announcement.
Bush and Jones are Michigan's clear top targets. They must be supremely confident in both to all but invite a David Reese decommit and go forward with few or no obvious other options save TX LB Dontavious Jackson on their board.
Cornerbacks moving things around
CA CB David Long, a Stanford commit most people don't think will end up at Stanford, did not make a planned visit to Washington this weekend. UCLA and Michigan have "a little more of his attention" according to Rivals' Adam Gorney. Meanwhile the 247 mods at Washington were recently all but guaranteeing Long flipping to the Huskies. 'Crootin'.
Long told Scout that Michigan hiring Lance Anderson away from Stanford would "give them the upper hand," but that he doesn't think Anderson would take the DC job if offered.
Meanwhile, MI CB LaVert Hill's recruitment has also gone full 'crootin' after months during which he was reputed to be the most locky lock on Michigan's board despite a nominal commitment to Penn State. So:
- Hill likes DJ Durkin and his departure shook up Hill's recruitment extensively. Webb reports that Greg Jackson will be key, and that his brother will vouch for the guy all day.
- Despite the uncertainty, Hill took his official visit this weekend. This marks the 750th time Hill has been in Ann Arbor this year, for which he receives a tiny pewter tree from the mayor's office.
- He's now planning to take all five visits, with UCLA and USC on the docket. He has already been to Tennessee and Michigan; MSU is other team scheduled to get a visit.
- Hill and MI WR Donnie Corley are now planning to announce on the same day. Corley was set to announce on the 18th but now that's off the table. That's probably good for M since they're believed to trail a couple schools in his recruitment. Corley claiming there is "a significant chance" he and Hill are a package maybe not so much.
After the visit Wiltfong did re-iterate he still expects Hill to end up at Michigan, but he had backed off on his certainty that would happen. Rivals is reporting that Maryland is trying to get in, which isn't a huge surprise.
Prepare another 2017 Hello post, Ace, and then another maybe
Michigan picks up a commitment from 2017 GA WR Jeremiah Holloman, a teammate of 2017 RB commit Kurt Taylor. Tim Sullivan catches up with him:
The 6-3, 190-pounder is a three-star unranked within the state or at his position, but has plenty of physical potential. He won the Georgia 6A state title in triple jump this spring with an effort of 47 feet, 5.5 inches. He also placed sixth in both the long jump (22-0.25) and high jump (6-4). …
"Basically on the outside, I'm a big, dynamic player," he said. "I'm speedy with the routes, nice precision with my routes. I can cause a whole bunch of threats from short routes to going deep or jumping over corners. I'm just a threat on the field."
Ace will elaborate with a forthcoming Hello post. Meanwhile Michigan has offered a third 2017 player at Covington: GA LB Jaquan Henderson, a UCLA commit. He was also offered by Michigan's staff and in the aftermath of Holloman joining up Chad Simmons, Brice Marich, and Steve Lorenz all indicated a flip was somewhere between a real possibility and imminent.
Happy trails
TX DE Jeffery McCullough didn't include Michigan in his top five. He was always a longshot. As mentioned, FL WR Eddie McDoom(!) committed to Oregon.
Etc.
Michigan will poke around Montana State transfer QB Conor Prukop, but most expect him to end up plugging Oregon's odd and ongoing hole at QB. Mattison and Partridge stop in on NJ DE Rashan Gary. NJ WR Donald Stewart has been trending away from M for a while but he had an in-home recently and may be back on the radar. TX RB Rakeem Boyd, an A&M commit, may visit in January.
Michigan had an in-home with AZ DE Connor Murphy, who plans a visit in January. He still seems very open.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:01 PM ^
I, for one, am devastated by the McDoom news.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
But Caleb Kelly has more stars! /s
December 14th, 2015 at 1:08 PM ^
December 14th, 2015 at 2:52 PM ^
Kelly probably just needs another hat on the table. I think your remembering is correct, he's been a strong Oklahoma lean for a while.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
Chris Dougherty (rutgers and 247 guy) is on twitter saying he has "a very reliable source that Devin Bush Jr. is in fact going to commit to FSU"
Hoping he is wrong
December 14th, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^
In my experience Chris is usually tapped in. Especially when making such comments. This is not good. We need LB's in a bad way.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:46 PM ^
This is one of those truly in the air as both UM and FSU coaches feel like they have him. Serious drama on this one unlike most when I am sure the coaches have a pretty good idea ahead of the official announcement.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:56 PM ^
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December 14th, 2015 at 1:10 PM ^
I never expected we would land bush. Florida kid who's dad played at FSU? Yea, not likely.
December 14th, 2015 at 1:41 PM ^
I've seen this scenario play out too many times over the last 20 years of Michigan recruiting—the highly-ranked kid from the south who says really nice stuff about Michigan all the way up to the point where they put on the hat of whatever southern team they really intended on committing to all along. If Bush signs with Michigan, Beveled Guilt will get a contribution from me.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:12 PM ^
... need more sure things, fewer caveats. I guess the recruiting services need to get their eyeballs.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
December 14th, 2015 at 12:12 PM ^
"for which he receives a tiny pewter tree from the mayor's office" +1 infomative and hilarious.
December 15th, 2015 at 1:08 PM ^
I hope that tiny pewter tree grows big and strong to one day have a bunch of little pewter trees of its own to enjoy the holiday season with.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:13 PM ^
He seems like a guy that would enjoy rubbing your face in the dirt after a TFL.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:18 PM ^
Great post.
December 14th, 2015 at 3:36 PM ^
He says Ace right in the post several times, so Seth's the guy to thank here.
Some people just don't pay atension to details.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^
If Richardson and Lavert Hill are no longer early enrollee possibilities, then doesn't it stand to reason the staff miscalculated on David Reese? From what we've been told, Reese wants to enroll in January and UM wasn't able to accomodate his request. Looks as though we could now, except....
December 14th, 2015 at 12:25 PM ^
...except Michigan doesn't want him.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:32 PM ^
makes perfect sense to offer guys you don't want
December 14th, 2015 at 12:39 PM ^
December 14th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
I think they offered him with the idea that he'd come in as a FB. Get a chance at LB, but be open to FB. He was OK with that last spring, but it's dwindled a bit since he has more options. Michigan letting him walk without offering an early enrollee spot, despite one opening up with Richardson coming off, does seem to indicate a lower interest on their end.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:42 PM ^
I don't think you've been following the narrative of David Reese's recruitment to Michigan.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
You should go and read Ace's analysis of how Harbaugh filled...then unfilled...then refilled classes at Stanford before making that sort of statement.
Other schools offer certain guys early and then try to find better guys down the road to replace them. Doesnt mean you didnt want them at the time - things change, fortunes improve, pool of candidates vary over time, etc.
December 14th, 2015 at 6:50 PM ^
Can someone enlighten me/us?
1. If a student athlete is going to be an early enrollee, when must he have his paperwork submitted?
2. Is it possible that the reason that Michigan seems so confident with regard to certain student athletes (who shall remain unnamed) is because they've already submitted the requisite paperwork to be an early enrollee?
I understand that things can fluctuate all the way up until a student athlete signs on the dotted line a la Malik McDowell, but I don't know how/if this process is different from those that enroll early. If someone would enlighten me/us, I think it could go a long way towards clearing up some uncertainty.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^
I am not sure why richardson would be an EE guy in th 1st place - he is working his way back from an ACL. He seems like the last guy you'd EE. Also CBs are not a place we need a true freshman to come in and push - we have 3 guys returning plus guys like Brandon Watson in the next tier.
At safety you have Cole and Kinnel who at least have been in AA for a year as next men up so not sure why you count on an EE there.
Different then the LBs. Supposedly they want to give the LB EE to Bush.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
Maybe they wanted him to EE because of the knee injury. So he can get a head start on using UM trainers and doctors to continue the rehab and preparing him to play. Wasnt that something brought up in the whole Matt Falcon thing?
December 14th, 2015 at 1:09 PM ^
Fair point.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:23 PM ^
December 14th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
Man this is starting to feel too similarly to last year, when we finished in 2nd place for a lot of highly rated guys. The difference is that last year felt like we were just suffering from a transitional year and only had a month to put a class together.
I really really hope the coaches are right about the linebackers.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^
We haven't really finished second for anyone mentioned in this post, so it seems like paranoia/pessimism rather than a response to actual events.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:30 PM ^
Bingo
December 14th, 2015 at 1:03 PM ^
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December 14th, 2015 at 5:48 PM ^
If we get Walker and Gary instead I'm cool with it.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:30 PM ^
December 14th, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^
December 14th, 2015 at 12:39 PM ^
That might be a poster they solely put up for recruit visits and photo ops. It doesn't look like it's a permanent addition to the decor.
But I agree the message is fantastic.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:42 PM ^
Delance looks so "thin" for a guy in upper 200s? Sheesh - looks like he could put on another 30 lbs easy and still look solid built and not pudgy. If I just looked at that photo I'd think that was a shooting guard based on his build. His upper legs look thin - maybe that is what is throwing me off.
Also Kiante Enis had an official to Indiana. This after dropping UM only talked to him once in the past month a few weeks ago. So I think tea leaves might have him and Weaver elsewhere by NSD. We'll see.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
Yeah, he's definitely on the thinner side, but I really like him as a LT prospect. D'Brickashaw Ferguson was about 265 lbs. for a large part of his career, so I think it's less of an issue for guys who are going to be blocking speed rushers and such. I think Delance is listed at 291 lbs., which is probably not quite accurate, but I think he's fine size-wise.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
Yea I just mean I am shocked how well he wears that much weight - would never think that was an OL guy. Needs to go do some squats for those thighs!
December 14th, 2015 at 7:38 PM ^
December 14th, 2015 at 10:08 PM ^
I think Davis might get squeezed out if Delance commits to Michigan. I don't know that there's room to take both, and they would prefer a tackle over a guard.
December 14th, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
of the packages we could run with him at TE
December 14th, 2015 at 12:40 PM ^
December 14th, 2015 at 12:42 PM ^
I know many view LB may be the biggest need, but IMO (besides Gary), Walker is the biggest decision. Michigan needs a good to outstanding RB and Walker is the best shot for that. Not saying he is a sure thing difference maker but what are the other options?
If Bush goes to FSU, at least Michigan has a good chance with Jones and an outside shot at Jackson.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
The other option is to move Peppers to running back. Seriously. I don't think Michigan can go into the 2016 season with the same crew it had this past year, and the currently committed 2016 recruits aren't the answer (Kingston Davis, Kiante Enis, Chris Evans).
December 14th, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
I don't think Harbaugh and company would have offered Davis, Enis, and Evans if they didn't think they could help Michigan Football win. How's that conversation go? "Well, you're a decent athlete and a good student, how about you come to Michigan to be a third stringer / special teams player?" Get out of here man.
December 14th, 2015 at 12:58 PM ^
December 14th, 2015 at 1:01 PM ^
Correct. Davis needs work on his conditioning, Evans is very slight for a RB, and Enis looks like a safety (he's not a natural runner, despite his stats).
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