Thursday Recruitin' Dines And Dashes Comment Count

Ace

Today's (brief) recruiting roundup covers an intruiging new 2013 offer, this weekend's visitors, and more.

Delano Hill Offered

The onslaught of offers to committed 2013 prospects continues unabated; this time, Michigan offered Cass Tech safety Delano Hill, a longtime Iowa commit, per Allen Trieu ($, info in header). CT defensive coordinator Jermain Crowell told Trieu that Hill is likely to visit Michigan and has been talking to David Dawson about playing together in college—Dawson will take his official visit this weekend, and it's possible Hill joins him. Crowell also speaks highly of Hill's athleticism and ability:

The Wolverines have two corners, Delonte Hollowell and Terry Richardson, from Cass Tech on their roster, and a third, Jourdan Lewis committed. Hill may get a look at corner from the Wolverines and Crowell believes his size and speed will give him a real chance to compete.

"Delano's faster than all of them. He's a difference maker, that's why I didn't understand why they didn't recruit him."

I've seen Hill play several times now and like the offer. He's got good size (6'1", 190), very good closing speed, and he isn't afraid to come up and hit—Hill is very active against the run from his safety spot. While Hill doesn't always make eye-popping plays, he's usually around the football and always seems to end up with more than a handful of tackles. If he visits this weekend, that would be a very good sign for Michigan.

[For this weekend's visitors and more, hit THE JUMP.]

Weekend Visitors

Tremendous has the list of this weekend's visitors, which is mostly comprised of current commits. The Wolverines could be in line to fill their last spot on the offensive line, however, as David Dawson will take his official, as will a new target: 6'10", 295-pound Tennessee commit Dan Skipper. Sam Webb reported Skipper's visit, revealing that Michigan contacted him and eventually offered in the aftermath of Derek Dooley's firing ($). Skipper, who hails from Arvada, Colorado, and has bumped into commit and fellow Colorado native Chris Fox a few times, is a three-star on all four recruiting sites.

Of the two, Dawson seems more likely to make a commitment over the weekend, though he's also got an Ohio State visit lined up for January 18th; Skipper is planning to visit Ole Miss later in the month and he's still largely unfamiliar with Michigan's program. Unfortunately, UCLA OL commit Kenny Lacy, who'd previously been slated to be in Ann Arbor this weekend, won't be able to make the trip; neither will Cal OL commit Cameron Hunt, whose team's playoff run forced him to reschedule for January.

One more potential visitor is OH CB Reon Dawson, an Illinois commit and recent Michigan offer, according to Sam Webb. There's conflicting info out there about whether or not Dawson will be on campus this weekend, so we'll see how that plays out. Sam Webb's also been hinting that there will be a weekend visitor who's currently committed to another school (not Hill), but since those situations tend to get complicated the name hasn't been revealed.

Etc.

Another name to keep an eye on is four-star VA S Tim Harris, who's committed to Virginia but apparently looking around. Tremendous reports that Michigan has been in touch with Harris and could be in line for a visit; Harris has held a Wolverine offer since before his initial commitment.

Mike Farrell's latest Mind of Mike post is headlined by Derrick Green, and Farrell believes Michigan is "squarely in the driver's seat," though they will have to hold off interest from a new suitor (FREE link):

However, keep an eye on new schools, especially USC. USC? Why USC with running back commitments from Ty Isaac and Justin Davis already? Green and fellow POY candidate Su'a Cravens bonded during the three-day tour and Cravens put a bug in the ear of USC running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu. Polamalu has since reached out to Green to gauge interest in a visit.

Green is certainly interested and is not concerned about competition, but we will see if this is just a fleeting notion or has some legs soon enough.

I'm skeptical that USC is a serious player given that they have only 18 scholarships to work with; taking three running backs, even with one as versatile as Ty Isaac in the fold, seems unlikley. Tennessee and Miami are bigger threats, in my opinion—the Hurricanes especially, as Green hasn't yet had the chance to visit there yet.

Michael Ferns released junior highlights on his Hudl page, with plenty of action on both sides of the ball. He looks like a man among boys, in no small part because of his small-school competition. He shows impressive instincts at linebacker and his blitzing ability makes him a very good fit for strongside linebacker.

Tommy Tuberville gives a whole new meaning to the term "dine and dash."

Comments

crazyjoedavola

December 13th, 2012 at 1:20 PM ^

I think that Dawson wants to take all of his visits, but there is a chance that he will pull the trigger because he knows the spot won't be open forever...  I think if Hunt was visiting this weekend, Dawson would feel more pressure to commit.

Michael Scarn

December 13th, 2012 at 2:25 PM ^

As far as Green and Miami, that will be an interesting situation.  Miami currently has 10 commits, although recent decommit Keith Bryant is believed by many close to Miami to just be "playing the game" and will still end up in Coral Gables.  They're also heavily after 4-star Alex Collins, an in-state kid, with the main competition being FSU.  They have one RB in the fold - Ray Lewis' kid - and took a couple last year.  They'd obviously love the number one back in the country, but with Golden saying he's planning on keeping this class small in anticipation of sanctions, I don't know how much room is left.  They certainly aren't going to be able to take 3 rb's this year, and are much more heavily invested in Collins.  Not saying they won't be a player here, just that Derrick Green isn't the only target on their board at the position, or even necessarrily their main one, and they got into the game real late.  

Mr. Yost

December 13th, 2012 at 2:30 PM ^

They could get hit like Ohio, USC or worse within the next couple of months. Not sure why anyone would let them into the picture in Green's situation. It's not like he's from Miami and has been considering the Canes all along.

I still think it's Michigan, but it's worrisome that he's finding almost every reason possible not to end up in A2 with the addition of more schools. With that said, I applaud him for taking his time and playing the game the way its meant to be played. Hopefully he makes the best decisions for him. Hopefully that's Michigan.

turtleboy

December 13th, 2012 at 3:33 PM ^

The cool thing about a 6'10" line prospect is he's freaking 6'10" tall, but the cool thing about the more regular 6'5" line prospects is when they don't develop into an ideal Left Tackle they can play Right Tackle if reach is their issue, or Left Guard if they aren't agile enough to match up well against an outside pass rush, or Right Guard if they're really good at drive blocking, or can occasionally back up at Center if there's an injury. A 6'10" tall kid is either a starting Tackle, or a backup Tackle. Still, 6'10"!!