McDowell Lines Up Officials

Malik McDowell (#67) relaxes before playing Farmington (Bryan Fuller)

Southfield top-50 DL Malik McDowell has been quiet throughout the recruiting process to the point that I'm not entirely sure this is breaking news; regardless, Josh Helmholdt posted McDowell's official visit plans in his Around The Midwest column, and this is the time I've seen five schools lined up for visits ($):

While the Wolverines and fellow in-state Big Ten program Michigan State are strong contenders for McDowell's signature, the nation's No. 40-ranked prospect will take all of his official visits out of state. All will take place after his senior season. The five schools he has tabbed for those official visits are Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU and Ohio State.

Michigan and MSU won't get officials because McDowell has seen each school multiple times and can easily make his way to games if he wishes. The Wolverines are in the driver's seat of McDowell's recruitment and I don't think the official visit schedule changes that; while that's a who's-who list of top programs, depending on how far Southfield goes in the playoffs, McDowell's season could extend into November, limiting his options for visiting on actual game days—the visits that tend to have the biggest effect on a recruitment. McDowell is so familiar with the Michigan program at this point that it's hard to see him winding up elsewhere.

Cole: "They're All Even"

2015 Saginaw Heritage ATH Brian Cole's recruitment has already taken a couple twists and turns—first Michigan looked to be in command, then MSU, and now the Wolverines again as Saginaw natives haven't appreciated MSU's (lack of) usage of De'Anthony Arnett—and for now, Cole says there isn't a leader at all, per Sam Webb ($):

“(I like) Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Tennessee, Alabama, Wisconsin, Indiana, and a couple more schools,” Cole said.  “They’re all even. They’re all about the same. They all treat me nice. I’m not committing anywhere yet.”

I'd expect this still comes down to an in-state battle—one that'll be hotly contested—though some schools on there (OSU, Alabama) cause more concern than others (Indiana? Word?). Michigan is recruiting Cole as a receiver, though he could also play defensive back at the next level.

[Hit THE JUMP for evaluations of Da'Shawn Hand, Lawrence Marshall, Jared Wangler, Erik Swenson, and Kyle Kearns, plus updates on a couple underclassmen.]

Hand Stonewalls Jackson

Scout's Ultimate 300, in which they put three classes in the same rankings, raised a few eyebrows when they placed 2015 DT Tim Settle at #5, ten spots above his 2014 friend and fellow lineman Da'Shawn Hand. Hand's Woodbridge squad took on Settle's Stonewall Jackson team last weekend, and according to Rivals's Adam Friedman, the on-field comparison heavily favored the senior ($):

1. DE Da'Shawn Hand, Woodbridge (Va.) Woodbridge Senior
The nation's top prospect sure played like it on Friday night. Hand had 10 tackles, three for a loss, and topped it off with a blocked punt. His explosiveness at the snap was too much for the Stonewall Jackson offensive line to handle. Hand could do an inside rush, outside rush, split the double team and pretty much anything else he wanted. What's even more impressive is that Stonewall Jackson ran away from his side nearly every time.

Friedman put Settle down at #8 on his top performers list; while he also tallied three TFLs, he failed to show the consistency and high motor necessary to make an impact on every down.

TomVH has a free article detailing the mentorship/friendship between Hand and Settle, and now all I can think about is Prince Fielder:

[Settle] prides himself on his athleticism and how well he moves for a big man. To prove that point he talks about how he played basketball and tried to play baseball as well. He laughs as he describes himself playing in the outfield and striking out at nearly ever at bat.

“A 300-pound dude playing baseball isn’t really normal,” he says laughing. “My freshman year I didn’t know how to slide so I would just run through the bases.”

I'd hate to be the catcher having to make that play at the plate.

More Evals

Scout's Allen Trieu caught Southfield's game against Oak Park last Friday and came away very impressed with Lawrence Marshall ($):

Southfield senior defensive end Lawrence Marshall, a four-star Michigan commit, had a strong game. He is long, athletic, and plays with a good motor. He has great speed and ability in pursuit and tracked down a couple ball carriers when Oak Park tried to run away from him. He still has to continue to add weight and get stronger, which he has been doing, but he's putting together a great season.

I'm pretty sure The Wolverine has found a way to clone Tim Sullivan, who's been taking in games all around the country at a remarkable pace. He checked out Jared Wangler in De La Salle's last-second loss to Brother Rice last weekend ($):

Focusing on the negative, however, overshadows the positive game that he had. Although he's not expected to play safety at the next level, he plays a deep-half for De La Salle, displaying impressive athleticism that he should maintain when he adds weight to play linebacker at Michigan. His physical play coming up in run support (and in the secondary) is a better example of what will translate to the next level.

Notably, Wangler committed a critical pass interference penalty and misjudged Brother Rice's Hail Mary winner; he also was a standout on offense, according to Sullivan.

Tim also made it to Illinois to scout 2016 blue chip tackle—and strong Michigan lean—Erik Swenson, who lived up to lofty expectations ($):

Impressively, Swenson is equally adept at run blocking and pass blocking. He drives very well when the ball is run behind him (the game-winning touchdown run features him caving half the Morton defense, allowing some of his fellow blockers to clean up the remaining Morton players), and has a solid pass set without overextending himself.

Tim pegged Swenson at 6'6", 290 lbs., so he already has college-level size; the all-important pad level is noted as an area for improvement. This is pretty representative of the game film:

JPTTA.

247's Clint Brewster has a free breakdown of 2015 CA four-star QB Kyle Kearns, who could be next in line for an offer whenever Michigan decides to move on from Josh Rosen, who's expressed zero interest in the Wolverines.

Etc.

2015 top-50 consensus linebacker Malik Jefferson told Steve Lorenz that while he can't make it from Texas to Michigan for a visit this season, the Wolverines would "definitely" be one of his five official visits if he had to choose right now ($).

Scout's new 2014 team rankings has Michigan at #11, second in the Big Ten behind #5 Ohio State.

Yahoo's Pat Forde takes a look at how the current top ten put their teams together; yes, it's more positive stuff on the Buckeyes.

SBNation's Bud Elliott breaks down the major ramifications from the NCAA walking back the scholarship reductions at Penn State; Bill O'Brien already has surpassed any reasonable expectation for recruiting under the sanctions, and having a full 85 scholarships at his disposal for 2016 makes PSU a serious contender moving forward.