Thursday Recruitin' Rocks Jordans
King Me?
Two Detroit King prospects who once looked long gone are taking a hard look at Michigan. The turnaround with four-star WR Donnie Corley has been dramatic. Corley told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown this week that two recent unofficials—and a bit of apparel news—have really helped Michigan's cause ($):
"Michigan is doing great [with me]. They got that Jordan thing, that was really sweet," Corley said through a big grin. "That's definitely big. That would be sweet, with Jordan cleats, and the shoes and everything. It's a big deal. They are doing real good right now."
Corley added his mom "loved everything about the visit" when they were in town for the BBQ and they also came away with a lot of helpful answers when they took an academics-centric visit. While it's early yet to say if Michigan has caught up to their two chief rivals in Corley's recruitment, they've made a ton of recent progress.
That could help them reel in four-star King CB Lavert Hill. The Penn State commit told TMI's Josh Newkirk his relationship with Michigan is "developing" and mentioned a desire to play college ball with Corley ($):
“Me and Donnie would like to play with each other in college,” Hill said of Corley. “Me and him talk about it mostly everyday.”
Package deals are fickle beasts, of course, but it's worth noting Corley isn't taking a hard look at Penn State. Michigan State is also pushing hard for the pair, but Hill seems more likely to end up in Ann Arbor, especially with his brother Delano Hill in line for major playing time this year.
Another in-stater to keep an eye on: four-star Farmington Hills Harrison DE Khalid Kareem, who told Brown that "Michigan is still in a lot of contact" with him ($). While his only planned official at the moment is to Alabama, the school he committed to over M in a very tight race, he's considering using another to see Ann Arbor again.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Welp, Welp, Welpadelphia
Four-star Philly TE Naseir Upshur strongly considered committing to Michigan last month but the landscape shifted when Isaac Nauta decommitted from Florida State. The Seminoles made a hard push for Upshur, got him on campus, and now look on the verge of landing his commitment.
not doing anymore interviews ... making my decision very soon
— 8/23 (@NaseirUpshur) August 20, 2015
Got us 2 silent commits #NoleNation can't wait until they make it nationally known
— Levonta Taylor (@iamlevonta) August 20, 2015
A flood of Crystal Ball selections, including Steve Lorenz's, have gone to the 'Noles in recent days. Tim Sullivan posted on The Fort($) that Michigan is "trending down" with Upshur and he expects him to end up at FSU.
With Upshur presumably landing in Tallahassee, Michigan's top targets to join Sean McKeon in the class at TE would be Nauta (a longshot), four-star CA TE Devin Asiasi (ditto), and three-star FL TE Jacob Mathis (the best bet among those currently holding offers).
Three-star OH CB Tony Butler is also in the Happy Trails category after cutting his list down to a final three that doesn't include Michigan:
Tony Butler has trimmed his list to 3. Arizona State. Clemson. West Virginia. Will decide in late September.
— Bill Greene (@BillBankGreene) August 20, 2015
My sense of his recruitment, especially since Michigan turned up the heat on Hill, is this has as much to do with M's pursuit of Butler as anything else.
Commit Fluff
Four-star MD OL commit Devery Hamilton got the Scout spotlight treatment; the video above features Hamilton discussing his on- and off-field goals and a quick scouting report from Allen Trieu.
With football season just around the corner, three-star CA QB Victor Viramontes got a short feature in the LA Times:
"Victor is the ultimate leader. When it comes to competition, he leads by example," Coach Chuck Chastain said.
Four-star OL commit Ben Bredeson was the subject of a much longer article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
It's one of the lessons he takes from his father, Mike. Mike Bredeson played at Grafton in the early 1980s and went on to play center at Illinois State. He later served as an offensive line coach at Arrowhead under former coach Tom Taraska for a couple of years in the early 2000s and currently coaches his youngest son's seventh-grade team.
So while he wants to be sure people know his son really isn't a mean guy — "He's a good kid. He's the type of kid that will knock you down and lift you back up," Mike Bredeson said — he understands what coaches mean when they speak of his son's approach to the game.
"The killer instinct," Mike Bredeson said. "I've coached so many kids and either you're born with it or you're not. You have to have that as an offensive lineman, and Ben has always had that."
Like Ben Braden and James Ross before him, Bredeson cites a youth hockey career as something that helped his development.
Etc.
Four-star 2017 De La Salle RB Allen Stritzinger isn't hiding the fact that Michigan is in great shape to land him, per Brandon Brown ($):
Whatever position Stritzinger settles on he could end up playing it at Michigan pretty easily. Bloomfield Hills (Mich.) Brother Rice tight end Carter Dunaway, the lone 2017 Michigan commit, told TheWolverine.com in an earlier interview that he believes Stritzinger and his father both love Michigan and that could lead to an eventual commitment.
"He's very accurate when he says that," Stritzinger said with a laugh. "I love Michigan. Every time I go up there I get a great vibe. There's always something for me to take in and I like it a lot."
Stritzinger is being recruited as a running back; he could also potentially play corner.
Four-star 2017 AL S J'Marick Woods, who visited earlier this month for the BBQ, told TMI's Brice Marich he plans to be back in Ann Arbor for a game this fall ($).
Garrett Fishaw (aka MGoFish) covers a couple targets at DT who could rise to the top of the board if Rashan Gary goes elsewhere.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:17 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 4:21 PM ^
Call me old but I honestly don't get it... these kids are making decisions which will affect them for the rest of their lives, based upon the "Jordan thing". SMH.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:25 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 4:28 PM ^
So you are telling me as a teenager, you did nothing to make your parents shake their head and say the exact same thing???
August 20th, 2015 at 9:21 PM ^
I did A LOT of foolish crap when I was in high school. I was pretty much the class procrastinator. Well known for it actually. But selecting a college or university isn't anything like some random bull crap. I took my SATs and when they came in I applied relentlessly to the best schools available. I also applied to a couple of colleges that relations had attended. I looked at where I was accepted and, based on the school's academics, I went to the best one that I could somehow afford. That turned out to be Michigan.
The whole "they're just a kid thing" really falls apart when you talk about selecting the single greatest multiplier in their further prospects. For the record my procrastination really annoyed my parents, but had I behaved that way with regard to college they wouldn't have shaken their heads, they'd have kicked my ass until I got the message.
August 21st, 2015 at 1:07 AM ^
the whole "they're just a kid thing" really falls apart when you talk about selecting the single greatest multiplier in their further prospectsEXACTLY! Thank goodness 1 other person here gets it.
August 21st, 2015 at 5:58 AM ^
But what many fail to realize is, when talking about the tiny subset of people offered full-ride athletic scholarships, it isn't nearly as preposterous to factor that into a life decision as it would be for those who choose a college based on all the rational reasons posted above.
For that subset it's just as important which company provides the equipment they'll use, and forging future business relationships, as who teaches molecular biology is to a person pursuing that field.
August 21st, 2015 at 2:25 AM ^
Good to know all of your peers also apparently only made good long-term life choices. Not like kids these days.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:31 PM ^
Kids choose their college based on "ridiculous" factors all the time. What is important to one person could mean nothing to another.
- Girls
- Location/Weather
- Friends
- Simply the school name
- Where their parents went
While everything on this list would probably be less important than academics and cost to the average person, they all play a role in the overall package of a school. For kids that grow up in a world where "status symbols" are important, wearing the new Jordan's before they are released to the public could play a very big role. I mean, for athletes, the Nike/Jordan deal essentially dictates what clothes they will be wearing for the next 4 years.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:33 PM ^
he wouln't come
August 20th, 2015 at 7:11 PM ^
August 21st, 2015 at 7:51 AM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 8:07 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 9:08 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 11:20 PM ^
I used to wear a chain necklace with a 69 pendant. Youth is pretty crazy man.
August 21st, 2015 at 12:41 AM ^
August 21st, 2015 at 9:57 AM ^
August 21st, 2015 at 11:15 AM ^
they do not make decisions based on it. People need to stop overstating it like shoes are the most important factor.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:31 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 4:36 PM ^
but in my day Brother Rice was Birmingham Brother Rice. When did they switch?
Granted, I haven't lived in the metro Detroit area for about 20 years, and I am not a big recruit-hound... So, just old?
August 20th, 2015 at 5:23 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 5:52 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 9:14 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 4:36 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 4:38 PM ^
If it takes Jordans to reel them in, so be it.
August 20th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 5:09 PM ^
The biggest surprised with Harbaugh's recruiting so far has been the inability to get top TEs considering how featured they were at Stanford. Hopefully Butt has the type of season many here expect and it gets the attention of the 2017 TEs.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:48 PM ^
A riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Boggle-worthy.
August 20th, 2015 at 10:37 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 5:12 PM ^
a win against Sparty would go a long way in getting these in state guys to commit to the good guys.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:20 PM ^
Turns out when Kareem "flipped" to Alabama last minute, that actually WAS a sign that things were not over with him.
That's why I couldn't understand why he even committed to anyone that day... If you change your mind the last day before your "announcement day," and you still have another 8 months to decide where you actually want to go to school before you reach the final deadline (and the only one that really matters)... Well, that probably means that you might as well think on it a LITTLE bit longer.
Oh well.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:26 PM ^
Plus, you don't know for sure how you're going to feel about a decision until after you've made it.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:23 PM ^
I know a lot of top recruits try to take a step back during the recruiting process when it gets to be too much, but has the recent chatter been that Gary will be going somewhere else? I know it's good to have backup plans just in case, but I have been reading a lot of "in case Gary goes elsewhere". Are we being careful, is it pessimism, or is there writing on the wall and I am missing something?
August 20th, 2015 at 5:47 PM ^
Id say mostly careful. Gary has a lot of options, has been thorough in his approach and gives out little info.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:47 PM ^
Id say mostly careful. Gary has a lot of options, has been thorough in his approach and gives out little info.
August 20th, 2015 at 5:37 PM ^
Speaking of Isaac Nauta, his HUDL tape is the best I've seen since Jabrill Peppers'. My god the kid can play, and his HS offense looks exactly like the one I'm envisioning Harbaugh running. I don't get too high or low anymore when it comes to recruiting stuff before NSD, but damn it's hard not to wish upon a dream this kid goes Blue.
August 20th, 2015 at 7:52 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 9:18 PM ^
Yeah, we had plenty of that with the last coach.
August 20th, 2015 at 10:38 PM ^
Watch his tape. You'll know what I mean. Or not. Or you're just being sarcastic. Whatever.
August 21st, 2015 at 3:29 AM ^
I actually think Upshur has a higher ceiling. Was hoping to get him.
August 20th, 2015 at 6:06 PM ^
Come on Corley and Hill! Add in Mitchell and the WR class is great!
August 20th, 2015 at 6:15 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 6:44 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 9:45 PM ^
I hope this was an awful attempt at sarcasm.
August 20th, 2015 at 10:17 PM ^
Hold on pal, what about your parents? Does ALL IN skip a generation or something?
August 21st, 2015 at 9:49 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
August 20th, 2015 at 6:15 PM ^
August 20th, 2015 at 6:38 PM ^
does devery hamilton have potholes in his lawn?
August 20th, 2015 at 9:22 PM ^
Nice De La Soul reset....
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