Friday Recruitin' Doesn't Know What That Word Means
Happy Trails, 2015
Roquan Smith signed his financial aid agreement—but not an LOI!—with Georgia today, ending his recruitment after that whole ordeal with UCLA and their now-departed defensive coordinator, who reportedly still tried to recruit Smith in an unofficial capacity after doing this:
Last Wednesday, Smith committed to UCLA over UGA in front of ESPN cameras. But he decided against turning in his NLI after reports surfaced later that day that Bruins defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich had accepted a job with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
Smith said Ulbrich had told him on the eve of signing day that he had “declined” the job offer from the Falcons, per UGASports. On Thursday, Ulbrich (now with the Falcons) declined comment to the AJC about Smith’s claim.
While Smith didn't end up at Michigan, it's great to see him spurn both UCLA and the LOI process. With Mike Weber sticking out his commitment to Ohio State, we can now close the books on the 2015 class.
Race For QB Spot?
Michigan offered two 2016 quarterback prospects this week, four-stars Brandon Peters and Dwayne Haskins. While Haskins looks like he'll be a difficult pull—a day after the offer, he named a handful of schools sticking out to him that didn't include Michigan($)—Peters looks like a serious candidate to commit. He told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown that the offer vaulted Michigan to the top of his list ($):
"I'm totally pumped," Peters said. "It would be an awesome experience to play under a coach like Jim Harbaugh. It's awesome. I definitely would put Michigan at the top now, to be honest with you."
Per 247's Steve Wiltfong, Peters quickly locked in an unofficial visit for April 4th, Michigan's Spring Game.
With Michigan likely only taking one quarterback this cycle, the Peters news has left many asking where that would leave KJ Costello, the top QB target on the board for Michigan. In what may not be coincidence, Costello is looking to get on campus very soon, per Steve Lorenz:
"I am looking to visit in the next two weeks or so," Costello said. "It'd be my dad and I. I have been talking to the coaching staff all the time."
It looks like, one way or the other, Michigan should have a lot more clarity about their quarterback situation for 2016 in the near future.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
More New Offers
Michigan's handed out enough offers of late that it's time for the ol' bullet point list:
- Top-100 FL WR Eli Stove, who'll be a tough pull from SEC country, added a Michigan offer last week, per Steve Lorenz.
- Four-star FL OLB Devin Bush Jr., a Florida State legacy with an offer from the Noles, got an offer from DJ Durkin, per Scout's Corey Bender.
- Four-star FL DB Craig Watts, who'd been offered by DJ Durkin at Florida, added a Michigan offer from Durkin last week, per GBW's Josh Newkirk ($). Watts doesn't have a top list but said Michigan is "pretty high" right now; he plans to visit in the summer.
- Four-star TX S Jaylon Jones hopes to visit in the summer, per The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan. He's pulled in several major offers of late.
- Three-star GA TE/DE Landon Rice, a longtime Auburn commit, was offered as an athlete, per Lorenz ($).
- Three-star TX OT Austin Myers and three-star PA TE Cary Angeline also added recent offers, according to The Wolverine.
The Wolverines also offered elite 2017 WR/S prospect Devon Hunter, who projects to be a five-star down the road.
This Seems Like A Good Idea
Well, sure, let's go ahead and do this ($):
Five-star junior wide receiver Tyler Vaughns hasn’t heard from Michigan. In fact, he doesn’t even have an offer from the Wolverines.
But he wants one.
Why? Well, because of a certain coaching hire at U-M.
“Because of Coach [Jim] Harbaugh, he’s a great coach,” said Vaughns, who stars for La Puente (Calif.) Bishop Amat. “He’s coached at both levels. I just really want that. It’s nice to have a coach who’s coached on both levels. So he knows how to coach you to the NFL. I most likely want to go past college hopefully.”
Vaughns, the #3 WR on the 247 Composite, added that he'd like to take an official visit to Ann Arbor if he adds the offer. While he already holds offers from USC and UCLA, among others, he says he has no leaders and that distance "has never been a factor."
More 2016 Updates
Michigan is in very good shape with one of their NSD offers, three-star FL OLB Jonathan Jones, per Sullivan ($):
"They're the leader right now," he said. "I feel really good about Michigan. Not only did they just get Jim Harbaugh, but academic-wise, they're ranked No. 11 in School of Business, and that's what I want to go to school for. I've been doing my research on them, and I've also got a lot of family in Detroit on my mom's side. They're looking real prominent for me.
"Either this summer or most definitely during the season, I'll be down there checking out their school. I'll be taking m recruitment most definitely into my senior year. That's what I'm praying for."
Jones has Michigan on top despite more recent offers from Miami and South Carolina.
Top-50 WI OL Ben Bredeson talked about his top four—Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Wisconsin—to 247's Evan Flood ($):
Michigan: "With your brother going there, it's hard to rule them out of anything. I stuck with it through the coaching change and stayed interested. With Coach Harbaugh (Jim Harbaugh) coming in, that's huge. I love that place. I've been up there multiple times. It's a great school, great campus. It's a blast when that stadium gets loud."
Bredeson also broke out the L-word for Wisconsin, the school he's seen more than any other. Tis the season, I guess.
Four-star LA S Cameron Lewis told Josh Newkirk that he plans to visit Michigan after adding an offer from them last week ($). While he claimed no leaders, he was quick to point out his longtime affection for LSU, which may be tough to overcome.
Four-star NJ S Jordan Fuller is also looking to visit after pulling in a recent offer, per Lorenz ($):
"Michigan is definitely a program I will visit," he said. "It will be late spring, possibly early summer, but they are one school I am looking to head out to now that they've offered. I like the fact that they're a prestigious school education-wise that has a coaching staff with a ton of NFL experience. That's a good combination for me because I want to go to a school where I can get a good degree and also work my way in a position to play in the pros someday, God willing."
Fuller knows Chris Partridge from the New Jersey high school football scene, which can't hurt.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:09 PM ^
Man, I can't think of much sports news in the last year that has pissed me off more than that lie told to Roquan. That is absolutely disgraceful, embarassing, and pathetic. If I ever heard of a staff member of ours pulling something like that, I would seriously question whether the whole staff, Harbaugh included, should remain employed here.
If only teams were punished for stuff like that, either formally or through loss of reputation among recruits. Unfortunately, it seems like the train just keeps on rolling.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:34 PM ^
It is pretty disgraceful, glad he found a way out of it. NSD is a pretty cool day for kids, but hopefully kids who do intend to sign on that day will learn from some of these recent situations and either wait a day or two, or at least ask the right questions prior to signing..Although a blatant lie would still be impossible to avoid with the latter solution.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:35 PM ^
February 13th, 2015 at 4:55 PM ^
Why is the lie to Roquan worse than the lie told Weber? Weren't they exactly the same lie, or did I miss something?
February 14th, 2015 at 2:38 AM ^
February 13th, 2015 at 2:16 PM ^
I really like his scrambling ability. He looks to do a good job of keeping his eyes down field too.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:47 PM ^
The one thing I will caution people about with Peters's scrambling ability is that he's doing it against Indiana competition. It's a big school, but Indiana isn't known for its football. Peters is a good athlete but will be less dynamic as a runner in college.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:52 PM ^
That was my next question on what level of competition he faces. Thanks Magnus
February 13th, 2015 at 2:52 PM ^
That was my next question on what level of competition he faces. Thanks Magnus
February 13th, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
I'm looking for one of these elite QB's to commit soon so that they can help out recruiting their fellow classmates.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:30 PM ^
Is getting these kids on campus. Does anyone know if Harbaugh is planning on continuing the BBQ at the Big House or not ? I haven't read anywhere about it either way, but I cannot imagine he would give up such an advantageous recruiting platform. If he is going to do it, he should plan the dates now so as to get as many of his top targets on campus as possible.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^
Not sure if it is going to be the same thing they did under Hoke, but I'm willing to bet they will do something.
The recruiting support staff seems more active. It looks like they are using social media more to their advantage as well.
February 13th, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^
My guess is that the answer to that is yes, with one small modification. The obvious name change referenced in my subject box.
February 13th, 2015 at 4:52 PM ^
February 13th, 2015 at 5:17 PM ^
Or Har-B-Q
February 14th, 2015 at 11:39 AM ^
Love it. Har-B-Q it is!
Mmmmmm . . . Har-B-Q.
February 13th, 2015 at 5:36 PM ^
unofficials are so huge and obviously one of countless reasons why local / regional schools typically land the elite national type prospects in their regions. youre right, its all about harbaugh and staff getting kids on campus, the sooner the better, particularly their main targets prior to late-in-process official visits.
obviously its difficult for non-regional kids to visit unofficially, trips are pricey and many families just cant afford it - main reason why usc, for example, will never suffer from lack of prospects, tons of kids cheaply hanging in la all year. decent articles written last year outlining the significance of psu and other teams hosting camps at smaller schools down south just to get that added exposure and increased contact with prospects and families earlier in process.
midwest schools have the sound mind / sound body thing (though i know insane rules restrict visits on the day of those type camps, recruiting calendar restricts contact during certain periods, etc), but itd great if um's high school contacts could help arrange annual 7 vs 7 tournys in the region (even in ohio, chi, indy, etc).
any similar event that pulls in kids from west, south, etc for several days, and are typically partially or fully funded by 7 vs 7 clubs, would provide great opportunities for prospects to bookend experiences at non-regional programs and allow coaches earlier, more meaningful contact.
just a thought. but given the significance of unofficials, im sure harbaugh already has partridge and others cooking up ways / means of increasing frequency of unofficials for ca / tx / fl / ga, etc, precisely type kids they want / need
February 14th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
It's not as good as having all the top kids in your backyard, but DTW being a hub is a significant advantage we have. It's easy to get to, ti's easy to get to A2 once you land, and flights are reasonably priced versus other airports.
Compare that with other schools in our region like Penn State or Nebraska or Notre Dame.
February 14th, 2015 at 12:17 AM ^
With all the stuff OSU is doing like this I have to imagine not only will there be the BBQ but other things. The competition has stepped up.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:35 PM ^
Lots of recent offers to FL recruits obviously because of the Durkin factor and background. I am skeptical but hopeful that we can become consistently effective down there.
February 13th, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^
are you skeptical or hopeful?
February 13th, 2015 at 3:11 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
February 14th, 2015 at 8:13 PM ^
Skeptical and hopeful aren't contradictory. You can think something's not likely to happen, but still hope that it does.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:37 PM ^
http://247sports.com/Player/Jonathan-Jones-61734
247sports bumped him up to a 4 star couple days ago.
February 13th, 2015 at 2:47 PM ^
It's interesting that Michigan gets a boost from so many top athletes for its academic prestige. There's debate about how high Michigan's admissions standards are relative to other football programs and how much that hurts us in recruiting (my view: a little but not much). On balance, though, I think it helps our football program to have top-notch academics, since it seems to attract more top recruits than it pushes away.
February 14th, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
Color me skeptical. There is a lot of lip service to academics, but not nearly as many recruits are serious about it as they claim to be.
They say academics is a top priority, then they go and do things like commit to Alabama for Engineering.
February 14th, 2015 at 1:07 PM ^
Some people like to construct toothpick houses using wood glue for four years.
February 14th, 2015 at 1:33 PM ^
Engineering at Alabama is much more challenging and monetarily rewarding than Sports Management at Michigan.
February 14th, 2015 at 8:16 PM ^
Outside of Alabama, I would think there would be not so much demand for Engineers from that hot bed of Engineering called Alabama, and the State of Alabama is not exactly Dubai when it comes to architechture.
Sports Management, on the other hand, can encompass; running a sports team, being the financial agent representing a millionare player(s), running a sports facility, putting on special events, bowl games, for instance, and all of these are far more challenging and lucrative than being an Engineer.
Not to put down being an Engineer in any way, for it is a challenging, and honorable profession in it's own right, but I'm just saying that your statement is full of crap.
February 13th, 2015 at 3:10 PM ^
Eventually Rutgers didn't hire Chris Partridge on the back of the hypothesis that it would rankle other NJ coaches (who dislike Partridge...perhaps out of envy, perhaps out of something substantive) and hurt their recruiting.
This article ends with the conjecture that having Partridge on staff "can't hurt" in pursuit of Fuller. Is that strictly incontrovertible? Or merely a guess?
Basically: I'm wondering whether NJ coaches might ever irrationally direct players away from Michigan because of his presence on the staff. That may seem ridiculous, and I'll consider that possibility strongly, but the fact that Partridge appears an excellent hire, and yet Rutgers dumped him for this recruiting reason leaves me wishing to fairly consider the other possibility as well.
February 13th, 2015 at 3:37 PM ^
February 13th, 2015 at 4:05 PM ^
February 14th, 2015 at 12:21 AM ^
I think its a wildly overblown thing by the Mgo community that a HS coach in NJ is going to draw a bunch of NJ kids here. He is not a position coach, he is a recruiting guy. Who ever committed to UM due to Chris Singletary or mostly due to Chris Singletary. No one on Earth. Outside of this 1 class or the next one at that specific HS in NJ I dont see any real effect other than helping to build intelligence on the NJ local scene. But this whole meme of a whole bunch of NJ kids committing to UM due to 1 HS coach is silly. It would be like if Wilcher was hired at USC and suddenly a bunch of Detroit kids from NOT Cass Tech go to USC mostly because of Wilcher? Its nonsensical.
February 14th, 2015 at 7:00 AM ^
the reverse, That no one from NJ outside of Partridge's old school will ever come to Michigan because of their coach's hatred of Partridge. It's even more off base, imo.
February 14th, 2015 at 6:19 AM ^
His high school, Northern Valley Regional in Old Tappan, New Jersey, is a good program, but they're a public school and they don't play in the highest division for teams in New Jersey. They also don't play against the same level of competition that Chris Partridge's teams at Paramus Catholic competed against.
Also, keep in mind that Jordan Fuller's older brother, Devin, a one-time Michigan recruiting prospect, is a wide receiver for UCLA.
As for Chris Partridge, if he is going to be "locked out" of recruiting at the other northern New Jersey prep football powers (Don Bosco Prep, Bergen Catholic, St. Joseph Regional of Montvale, Delbarton Prep, DePaul Catholic, St. Peter's Prep) because coaches at those schools resent how he was able to develop the program at Paramus Catholic, that will be a disadvantage for Michigan. But it could be a greater disadvantage for the students at those schools who might have an interest in attending one of the best universities in the world. At some point, those coaches would have to realize that by spiting Chris Partridge, they'd also be hurting their own players,
February 13th, 2015 at 3:13 PM ^
Uh, they need to offer that Vaughns kid and right away.
February 13th, 2015 at 4:45 PM ^
Yeah i would say they need to do that ASAP because he is a California kid who plays in one of the best leagues out there and he is dominating. I would say if he wants to have a michigan offer and would be willing to take a trip to see the big house than i say that Harbaugh needs to make it happen
February 13th, 2015 at 3:20 PM ^
that a guy like Eli Stove can really get things cookin for the offense.
I'm here all week. Try the veal.
February 13th, 2015 at 3:32 PM ^
February 13th, 2015 at 4:51 PM ^
February 13th, 2015 at 5:03 PM ^
February 13th, 2015 at 4:12 PM ^
Lets just get some Harbaugh wins under our belt then see what happens with recruiting.
February 13th, 2015 at 4:55 PM ^
February 13th, 2015 at 5:50 PM ^
Does anyone know why we havent offered shavar manuel, saivion smith and keion joyner yet these kids look great on tape and yet manuel and smith I believe are from florida, so why arent we pursuing them
February 15th, 2015 at 11:24 PM ^
February 13th, 2015 at 6:01 PM ^
florida LB jones looks really promising.
i rarely watch tape of prospects unless its easily accessed on this site but after seeing jones and that cali WR felton, those 2 cats should excel at next level - glad to see the offers.
jones has to be one of the best natural MLB's in the class at this point (though i havent seen others so not sure who else theres targeting). he does not look like OLB, hes not one of the longer type athletes or quicker 200 lb dudes who usually project to OLB. jones plays like a MLB.
he diagnoses quickly and gets downhill even quicker. the kid takes good angles, relishes contact and smacking lead blockers in the chin, he tackles well and while hes def not derrick brooks, he moves ok enough laterally and dropping. may not have longterm upside of some other LB prospects but hell be a good college player. hopefully um found their next mike
February 13th, 2015 at 7:59 PM ^
Calling Costello to Michigan, right now.
February 14th, 2015 at 11:59 AM ^
I agree. Clearly you are not a Michigan homer, so when you read the tea leaves the same way many of us do on here do, it gives a good perspective.
February 13th, 2015 at 8:50 PM ^
Forgive me if I missed it in the many recruiting posts but it seems that there isn't any real pluses for the kids to sign a LOI - it helps the schools and coaches but I don't see the upside for the kids.
Once the kids realize that they do NOT have to sign a LOI, won't we see this fade out?
February 13th, 2015 at 9:50 PM ^
If they are not a 5* then it is highly unlikely that they'll get a scholarship if they don't sign an LOI. Simply put if you won't sign the LOI then why should I believe you'll actually show up in the fall? Now it's perfectly reasonable for the student to arrange that the scholarship and LOI are signed at the same time, but if he's not willing to bind himself then why should the school give him a scholarship.
An out of state scholarship at the University of MIchigan is worth something around $200K and at Michigan athletes who perform beneath expectations do not get cut. The school makes a bet on the outcome and pays either way. I find it hard to view them as being exploited.
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