recruiting roundup
devin gardner
josh ross
donovan peoples-jones
d'andre swift
fred hansard
nico collins
cj thorpe
aj harris
dorian thompson-robinson
antwuan johnson
leonard taylor
jaelen gill
aj dillon
josh palmer
grant calcaterra

Tuesday Recruitin' Leaps Tall Buildings In Single Bound Comment Count

Brian

Donovan Peoples-Jones is ridiculous

Love the guy in the background who loses it:

Yes, that is Devin Gardner in the background, and he has some box jumping skill himself:

No update on his recruitment but hanging out with Gardner can't hurt now that Al Borges is gone.

Hello Linebackers

Michigan picked up commits from MI LB Josh Ross and 2018 OH LB Antwaun Johnson over the past couple days; Johnson's hello post was updated earlier today; Ross gets his turn tomorrow. Both are four-star types. Ross cited Don Brown's defense as a major attraction:

  “Just based on what he showed me with that defense, it fits me perfectly.  I just can’t pass the opportunity up.  I just had to take it. He really blitzes his linebackers.  I know last year there was a couple of plays where I got right through on blitzes, and I’m getting better and better at blitzing.  That’s a lot of what he does and I can see myself in his system.”

Older brother James was born four years too early. Would have been a Don Brown dude for sure.

The potato door opens in 2018

Ross was always likely to follow his brother to Ann Arbor, but Johnson is an alpaca out of nowhere. His commit is a significant one for Michigan since Jim Harbaugh hadn't exactly emphasized a nearby state with a lot of talent (and Michigan's main rival) in it. Since Harbaugh's arrival only Nolan Ulizio, a late flier Michigan flipped from UConn, has fled the potato state for the friendly confines of Ann Arbor.

So. Johnson is not only a very good player in his own right but also a thorn in OSU's side. He is also the teammate of OH DE/DT Leonard Taylor, an early five-star in the 2018 class. Taylor visited along with Johnson and came back making positive noises:

"It was an A+ visit," he said. "Definitely an A+. It was really an eye-opening visit for me to see Michigan in person. It definitely had an at-home feeling to it. I didn't feel out of place there."

More significantly, he immediately scheduled a return trip for the Spring Game. Two visits in a month and a teammate committed should give Michigan a very real shot at landing Taylor. Lorenz has a "hunch" that Taylor pulls the trigger in the near future in Michigan's favor, which is… rather something, that.

4401699[1]

every recruit gets their Peppers photo, including Jaelen Gill.

In addition to the Springfield duo, Michigan also hosted 247's early #1 in the state, OH RB Jaelen Gill. He returned from that visit downright effusive:

"Academics, the atmosphere, the campus life, and great football," he said of the Wolverines. "The people at Michigan are wonderful."

That's a really short article but there are a couple more very encouraging quotes in it all the same. Lorenz followed up with an Inside Michigan Recruiting in which he states the visit "couldn't have gone much better"… but that he's still guessing OSU. Even so the vibe is great, man.

Per a guy on Bucknuts, Gill is not a native Ohioan and is in fact from New Jersey originally. So… all of a sudden it's not too far fetched that Michigan gets three of the top five in the 2018 Ohio class. Harbaugh? Harbaugh.

AJ Harris may or may not be on commit watch

AL S AJ Harris also came up for a visit and was momentarily expected to commit yesterday. That did not happen, obviously. Harris remains very high on Michigan, naming them his outright leader after the visit:

“They are my top school,” said Harris. “They are just from the academic standpoint. One of the best out of any school I have visited and by far the best coaching staff that you will get at the college level."

Lorenz fired off a crystal ball, and it sounds like Harris is just letting things marinate before pulling the trigger. If there is a complication it would be on Michigan's end, as they have guys like MI S Jaylen Kelly-Powell high on their board.

Hansard announces announcement

NJ DT Fred Hansard will announce his destination on May 14th, his birthday. Michigan is amongst his seven finalists and his destination is very much am mystery. His crystal ball has a couple Rutgers picks from Guys Who Hilariously Pick Rutgers For Every High Profile NJ Recruit, a couple Penn State picks from Guy Who Fires Off A Guess At Every Recruit In The Country, and then the Temple 247 guy goes with M.

Bill Kurelic notes that in his tweet he "appears to be wearing an Ohio State helmet" and let's see if there might be a reason for that…

Hansard-Hero-copy

…oh.

Sullivan thinks it's Penn State, FWIW.

Spring practice visitors

AJ Dillon, a LB/RB out of Massachusetts, is on campus right now. Early yet; Michigan is in a top five with Wisconsin, ND, FSU, and Virginia. Meanwhile Sam Webb reports a bunch of guys came in for practice on Monday. One, Ross, already committed, and AJ Harris may be next.

Another interesting name is PA OL CJ Thorpe, who told Brice March that he is "extremely interested" and will pare his list down after a couple more unofficials. Thorpe told Lorenz he had a "sense of comfort" in Ann Arbor and that he would like to return for a fuller experience. This one would be a brutal blow to Penn State if Michigan can pull it off… he's a legacy.

Top X lists, tentative visits, you know the drill

  • PA RB D'Andre Swift has Michigan amongst a long list of schools that he intends to visit. That list includes anyone who's anyone. Also Penn State. He does not tip his hand in any particular direction in the above article.
  • AL WR Nico Collins doesn't have a top four but his top four is Michigan, Georgia, Bama, and Clemson. Bud Elliott also lists his height at a Funchess-esque 6'5". Collins just impressed at a regional Opening camp ("precise in his routes, caught everything with his hands and did it all on a 200-plus pound frame") and will visit for the Spring Game.
  • CN by way of FL WR Josh Palmer got his first offer from Michigan and has been on campus; he tells Tim Sullivan that he wants to see a few other Big Ten schools like Illinois and Maryland and sure let's just put Syracuse in the Big Ten because they're a mediocre program that might have some television subscribers attached. Uh. Then he will fire off a commit after spring. Michigan could be the choice but I'd be surprised if they took a three-star early when they aren't going to have big numbers at the spot and they are after Collins and Peoples-Jones.
  • Three star NJ OL Joshua Fedd-Jackson has a top three of UNC, Rutgers, and Michigan. He plans an early April visit to M… but probably not for the spring game since he'll be at UNC that weekend.
  • Three star CA WR/TE Grant Calcaterra will drop by Michigan on a seven-school Midwest tour. Calcaterra is a former teammate of 2016 signee Dylan Crawford and his list is academically-oriented, so if Michigan decides they've got room for him they'll likely be in it to the end.
  • Michigan offered TX CB Kary Vincent Jr, wants to visit, no definite plan, no top list. "Loves" Harbaugh, FWIW.
  • NV CB Alex Perry didn't want to leave the West before a Michigan offer came in; now he wants to get out for Unspecified Visit. He's got an odd list for a four star guy: he decommitted from Arizona State, visited TCU, and talks up Colorado some. As always, wait to see if he actually sets foot on campus.
  • FL CB Randall Haynie has a top five of M, Duke, Vandy, Wisconsin, and WVU. Grew up watching Denard, knows O'Korn, academic-oriented top five… if Michigan pursues they'll be in it.

Grudging 2018 mentions of the week

NV QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson visited and put Michigan high on his list, as you can see above. He seems, uh, enthused:

Thompson-Robinson has that Harbaugh Let's Capitalize Every Word thing going on, and his twitter handle was carefully curated by Jon Bois.

Significantly, that tweet follows visits to Florida State, Michigan State and Ohio State. He hasn't gotten a flood of offers yet; if Michigan does send one out he's likely to be in the 2018 class.

Happy Trails

IN LB Pete Werner fired off a commitment to ND shortly after visiting both ND and Michigan. Indiana Catholic school kid was always an uphill battle. Lorenz notes that KS TE Trevor Kent is trending to Oklahoma on the crystal ball and could commit this weekend on a trip to Norman.

Comments

UPMichigan

March 22nd, 2016 at 6:09 PM ^

Is it wrong that I read these recruiting updates as a bedtime story for my kids? They don't understand what I'm reading and I kill two birds with one stone. I do have another book open with pictures so they do get something to look at.



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jimmyshi03

March 22nd, 2016 at 6:32 PM ^

Which might explain the lack of offers. Tate Martell,  who commited last year to A&M, is still the starter.

Gorman basically competes on an entirely different level than the rest of the city/state. They've won back-to-back national titles, and they spend most of the last two months of their year pounding local teams to dust after playing what is essentially a national schedule iN September. Last year they played, teams from Arizona, Utah and Washington, as well as Servite from the OC's Trinity League and Don Bosco Prep from NJ. This year they'll play Cedar Hill (TX), Cocoa (Fla.), St. John Bosco (CA) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), as well the Hawaiian state champs/ 

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jimmyshi03

March 23rd, 2016 at 11:56 AM ^

I was just noting why there may have been a lack of offers. I covered a few games last year for the Review-Journal, though not Gorman, so I got to see football at some of the other schools in Clark County. It's OK. It's not Southern California good but it's better than Indiana, where I also did games for a while.

Joined: 08/22/2013

MGoPoints: 6198

adammilliman

March 22nd, 2016 at 6:48 PM ^

Maybe it is just me, but this People-Jones recruitment seems like it is going to take on a very Gary esque theme.  Where Michigan comes out and seems like the odds on favorite to the point where everyone knows where he is going, but is too afraid to saying as to not jink it and have him pull a DeShawn Hand.

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ak47

March 23rd, 2016 at 9:23 AM ^

Except unlike Gary who everyone thought we led for the entire time a lot of Michigan insiders think DPJ wants to go south and he also retweets and is all over osu commits and players.  I'd honestly say we are playing from behind right now.

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MGoPoints: 33614

getsome

March 23rd, 2016 at 8:25 AM ^

those clips are just silly.  dude hits both jumps effortlessly and with perfect form.  and even compared to gardner, whos a smooth, explosive athlete in his own right, the kid just makes it look too easy.

im sure that cat is crazy in a dunk contest

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MGoPoints: 7386

Mr. Yost

March 23rd, 2016 at 10:06 AM ^

Warrick's agility was just stupid (as shown)....but he wasn't a complete WR in terms of also going up and getting the big possession catches.

DPJ is literally what you come up with when you envision the "perfect WR"...I'm not saying he'll be the greatest ever, I'm just saying he's got some of everything. IMO, he's a slightly bigger, better version of Manningham. Which, IMO, is Amari Cooper.

He's got speed, he's got the wiggle (just not Warrick), he can catch. He's 6'2, 195...so he's got plenty of size. He can go up and high point balls like a 6'4 guy, but he's faster in and out of breaks than them. Clearly his leaping ability is unreal.

Watch Amari Cooper and watch DPJ and it's the same person. 

 

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JohnnyV123

March 23rd, 2016 at 1:01 AM ^

I have some surprisingly great hops (probably two platforms less than Devin) but I'm jealous of DPJ making that height look so easy. Hope that's a good sign those two are hanging out!

After last year, I still am not understanding why we are not having our pick of the litter on TEs unless it's geographical reasons. How could you not want to play in the Harbaughfense from that position (or fullback too)?

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MGoPoints: 1007

bacon

March 23rd, 2016 at 6:07 AM ^

Devin Gardner is a class act and defines a Michigan man. I can't think of a better person (not actively affiliated with the football team) for a recruit like DPJ to be interacting with regularly.

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MGoPoints: 18646

getsome

March 23rd, 2016 at 8:37 AM ^

good call.  in an alternate universe gardner wouldve terrorized the big ten under harbaugh or even rich rod.  that dude had serious potential, he just ended up in some tough situations.

he still made the most of it though - he balled out, he repped m well both on and off the field, got his degrees, etc and seems to be loving life.   and hes almost always smiling - i know id like to take a page from his book every now and then

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M-Dog

March 23rd, 2016 at 9:13 AM ^

it's not too far fetched that Michigan gets three of the top five in the 2018 Ohio class.

11W would then have to go on record as saying Ohio State did not really want three of the top five Ohio recruits.

So this must happen, if only for that.

 

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CraigB

March 23rd, 2016 at 10:10 AM ^

Thompson-Robinson actually visited Michigan first. Per Lorenz, MSU wasn't a part of the original plan, but they convinced him to come up for a practice. He's now back at Michigan until Thursday when he will travel to OSU.

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Mr. Yost

March 23rd, 2016 at 10:11 AM ^

What is up with SOOO many hyphenated last names this year? I can think of at least 10 top prospects rocking the hyphenated last name. Let's get them all.

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