Flip Watch: Kareem Walker

The marquee visitor for Saturday's beatdown was five-star NJ RB Kareem Walker, an Ohio State commit who kept his official visit under wraps until word leaked out on Friday that he'd be in attendance. Walker doesn't talk to the media much; in the aftermath of the visit he released a statement in favor of doing interviews:

Statement from Ohio State RB commit Kareem Walker @_KareemWalker after his Michigan visit, sent from his coaches pic.twitter.com/ldXtNRUiLF

— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) October 12, 2015

While Walker isn't saying much to indicate where Michigan stands, the rumblings from his camp are promising. Sam Webb put up a free post that indicated the visit went very well; he posted some jucier tidbits on The Victors Board, including word that Walker may be back in Ann Arbor this weekend for the State game ($).

247's Steve Lorenz caught up with a source close to Walker who said he liked how Michigan handled their running backs ($):

"He's absolutely heavily interested," they said. "He not only sees carries to be had in Michigan's backfield, but knows he doesn't have to necessarily be the only guy either. That's important. It's a lot like when Alabama pulled in a stable of running backs in one class. Get better and be effective, but do it while staying fresh and healthy."

Perhaps the best sign of all comes from the Ohio State side: 247's Ryan Bartow reports that the Buckeyes reached out to four-star Wisconsin RB commit Antonio Williams in the last week. It's hard to imagine that timing is coincidental.

[Hit THE JUMP for FLIP WATCH, CONTINUED.]

Flip Watch: Lavert Hill & Quinn Nordin

A couple Penn State commits may not be Penn State commits for much longer.

Four-star Detroit King CB Lavert Hill made a surprise visit to Ann Arbor instead of joining teammate Donnie Corley in Tennessee, as initially planned. He'll be back soon: Lorenz repots he'll be on campus again this weekend ($). It would be an upset if he stuck with his PSU commitment at this point.

The situation looks very similar for top-ranked Rockford K Quinn Nordin, also a Penn State commit. Nordin didn't mince words when recapping the visit for Scout's Allen Trieu ($):

"It was great," he said. "It was good to get up there again and see the coaches and my friends and other recruits. The atmosphere was amazing. It was the best recruiting visit I've taken."

He'll be back for the State game, too, and his mother will be joining him. Tim Sullivan also caught up with Nordin, who's got his rooting priorities in order ($):

"I'm going to Michigan next week," he said. "Personally, I'm not a big fan of Michigan State, so I'd love to see Michigan whomp 'em. It'll be good to go down there and see Ron [Johnson], Ahmir [Mitchell], some of the guys are planning to be down there again. It was good to hang out with them, and see how they go."

Hopefully a whomping and a commitment are both on the docket.

More Visit Reactions: Mathis Gives M A '10'

There hasn't yet been word on how the visit went for four-star FL LB Devin Bush Jr., though it was a great sign that he paid his way to campus and his visit reportedly extended until late Sunday.

Meanwhile, three-star FL TE Jacob Mathis took in the game on an official visit. While he told Scout's Corey Bender he doesn't have any leaders, this quote stands out ($):

"I'd give (the visit) a 10 out of 10," Mathis said. "It was a great visit and I don't think there's anything I would have changed to make it better."

Mathis is the most likely option to join Sean McKeon at tight end in the class, though we'll see if anything changes when five-star Isaac Nauta takes his official to Ann Arbor this weekend.

Another in-state prospect committed to another school checked out the Northwestern game. Three-star Ypsilanti ATH Marquis Smith, currently committed to Kansas, was spotted at the game by the TMI crew. Smith doesn't hold an offer; one would imagine Michigan would take a commanding lead if they put one forth.

Commit Updates: Vicious Vic Midseason Highlights

I'll admit I haven't had time to watch Victor Viramontes' midseason highlights yet but I'm confident nonetheless you'll be entertained.

For updates on how Michigan commits performed last weekend, Maize n Brew has you covered.

Kemp Visits ND; Hayes Decommits From USC

The recruitment of four-star CO WDE Carlo Kemp just got more interesting. He named Michigan his leader following his official visit for the BYU game and implied he only held off on a commitment so he could see Notre Dame; he told Scout's Anna Hickey that the visit to South Bend made the decision much tougher ($):

Kemp could end the recruiting process in the near future, but he faces a difficult decision along the way. 

“It’s just hard,” Kemp said. “Notre Dame has moved neck-and-neck to the schools at the top. It’s super difficult. All you do is fall in love with places when you visit. Everything is great wherever you go and everyone treats you so nicely, why wouldn’t you want to commit?  I want to evaluate everything when I’m not on campus. I think I need to remove myself from Notre Dame for a week or two and see if Notre Dame still feels the same way in my heart.”

This one seems like it could go either way.

Meanwhile, four-star Ann Arbor Skyline OLB Daelin Hayes decommitted from USC yesterday. While Michigan could get involved, the timing suggests Notre Dame might land Hayes soon—he's set to take an official visit there this weekend when they play... USC.