TVH Weekly: Eric Olson, Adam Bisnowaty, Se'Von Pittman and Much More

Submitted by TomVH on

With sixteen commitments now on board it could start to get interesting for Michigan recruiting. They arguably have anywhere between 21-25 spots total for this class, which means they have at most 9 more scholarships available. Here's a look at what could happen next and some notes from a few prospects.

As always you can follow me for more updates on Twitter @TomVH, and email me with any tips or questions at [email protected].

Eric OlsonEric Olson

6'6", 265 lbs.

Offensive lineman

Cambridge, Massachusetts


Olson's name popped up later than the other linemen Michigan has been looking at. He has an offer and took in Ann Arbor this past week.

Our flight was delayed so we got in late Tuesday night. We pushed everything to Wednesday, but I have a buddy who's a freshman there so we went out to dinner with him on Tuesday. On Wednesday we met with Coach Mallory, went to the business center, the academic center and met with the academic advisor. They took us on a tour, went to the facilities, the Big House, and Al Glick field house. It was pretty unbelievable, they have the best facilities of any school that I've been to. It's a pretty special place. I got chills walking down the tunnel and seeing the Go Blue across it. The Big House was great.

As I reported last time academics will be a huge factor in Eric's decision. He's done his homework on each school and got to see what Michigan has to offer in person.

The Ross business school is a prestigious place. They talked about the rankings and the opportunities you have from there. I asked how difficult it is to be on the football team and in the business school. They said that Zoltan Mesko did it and he was near the top of his class. With summer classes you can get some of the core classes out of the way.

With the academic side layed out clearly he also got a chance to sit down and talk with his potential position coach.

We met with Coach Funk and talked about his experiences and where he's coached. My school runs basically the exact same offense they want to run, a two-back pound it play-action offense. Their depth chart is a strong point for their recruitment because it's pretty wide open. There's a chance to play early there. Coach Hoke told us that he wants to recruit high character kids and his main focus is to get them a degree. 

Since this was Olson's last visit he now has some thinking to do, but he's not sure of when a decision will come.

I've dabbled with the idea of going out to Stanford's camp, but I'm not sure. These past couple days we've been talking about it. We'll make a decision to either commit somewhere or I might go out to Stanford. I don't know when it could happen, could be a week, tomorrow, a couple weeks. I'm honestly not sure yet.

I believe him when he says he's not sure. I think he has it narrowed down in his head, but probably doesn't have his decision yet. That's at least as of when we spoke. If he decides not to go out to Stanford I think that bodes well for Michigan's chances. I'll have more on the offensive line situation further down.

Adam BisnowatyAdam Bisnowaty

6'6", 275 lbs.

Offensive Lineman

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


Bisnowaty was making his way through an unofficial visit tour and stopped in Ann Arbor to check out Michigan. The four star lineman's athletic director filled me in on how the visit went.

Adam told me that he really enjoyed the visit. He liked everything very much, and he said that he was impressed with the head coach. The facilities were out of sight, and I know we have nice facilities, but he said it was really great there. I think he's been interested in Michigan for awhile, how can you not be interested in Michigan. Academics are important for him, and our old head coach is friends with one of the new Michigan coaches. He's traveling out to Michigan, Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Purdue. 

These trips were for Adam to gain more comfortability with each program, and to potentially help him make his final decision.

He's hoping to get [a decision] taken care of before the season, but I think he's realizing that might not be possible. He's planning on taking some official visits, and I doubt he'd take all five. His options are pretty open I don't think he's sold on any one over the other.

His athletic director, Mike O'Brien, had nothing bad to say about Adam and thought that any program would be lucky to have a kid like him. He'll probably know more about where he stands with each school once he's done taking his visits.

Erik MagnusonErik Magnuson

6'6' 275 lbs.

Offensive Lineman

Carlsbad, California


As you know by now Erik has committed. He told me it would be happening around two weeks ago, he just wanted to take this visit to see everything in person. Now that he is committed he will be putting on his recruiting hat.

It wasn't anything that I expected at Michigan, it was crazy. It was such a cool place and everyone was so nice. I want to get the best players to commit there now so I've been talking to OL Isaac [Seumalo, 4 Star], DT Aziz Shittu, and OL Jordan Diamond. The coaches didn't know much about Isaac because he's from a small school, but they know of him now. If they offer him, we want to play together, so I think he'd be really interested. 

Erik was on campus for the jersey reveal, but as I said on Twitter he was NOT allowed to attend the event.

They didn't want to take any chances with any NCAA stuff so I couldn't be in there. I did see some pictures of them and they look good. I'm going to try to come out there for the Notre Dame game with my family and then I'll probably take an official visit by myself for another game.

Magnuson was a huge pick up in himself, but it sounds like he could be a good recruiter for Michigan as well.

Se'von PittmanSe'Von Pittman

6'5", 245 lbs.

Defensive End

Canton, Ohio


I spoke with Pittman's head coach this past week, and since then there have been some rumors flying around. I'll discuss some of what I was told this week here and a little bit further down. First, here's what his coach had to say.

There's four schools that have never really wavered in his top group, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and MSU are the four and the southern schools are in there because they've won National Championships and all that. When it comes down to it though I think that distance might be an issue for him. Brady and Greg have done a great job with him in recruiting. He plans on getting up there sometime at the end of the summer.

The Ohio State mess is not the only factor playing into why Pittman feels strongly about the Wolverines.

I've known Greg [Mattison] and Brady [Hoke} for awhile and think the world of them. Brady at Ball State, we spent a lot of time together. I've worked several camps with Greg at Notre Dame and MIchigan. He's a first class guy.

As far as how his recruitment is going to play out, his coach had this to say.

[Se'Von] wants to take a couple official visits. They're going to be game day officials because his intentions are to be a mid-year graduate and enroll early. He's done a lot of homework, he's gone to camps, spring balls, evertyhing. He might be going up to Michigan's camp, we have a couple kids going up there, so he might come up too.

I was told by someone that I trust, and that is very close to the situation, that Michigan a few weeks ago thought they were very close to landing PIttman. Since then I was told that they have slowed things down with him. I don't want to get into too much or speculate but we'll see how it plays out as he gets closer to his graduation, and if he does indeed graduate early. It's not over with him by any means.

Offensive and Defensive Line:

That's a good segue to now talk about where Michigan is at with both offensive and defensive line recruiting.

First the offensive line. With Magnuson committing that gives them a true left tackle and Ben Braden and Caleb Stacey on the interior. Michigan is still in great shape with Illinois OL Jordan Diamond. If you missed it I spoke with his mother about where they're at this past week. He and his family will be visiting Ann Arbor this week for the Sound Mind Sound Body camp, and will also pop in to see the coaches.

Eric Olson and Adam Brisnowaty are fresh off visits as I just talked about. Colorado OL Paul Thurston should be deciding within the next few months and has Michigan in his final group. Someone that hasn't been talked about much is Tennessee OL Blake Bars (6'5", 275 lbs, 4 star), who is originally from Michigan and is still an option. The coaches could potentially offer Magnuson's friend Isaac Seumalo, who happens to be ranked 175th overall in the nation per Rivals. 

There is still some drama with the offensive line, however. Ohio State commit Kyle Kalis told me this past week that he is still committed to Ohio State but is listening to other schools. Michigan is one of those schools he's listening to and he could potentially visit. The possible kicker here is that Kalis and recent Michigan commit Tom Strobel are friends. I asked Kalis if Strobel's commitment would have any effect on him and he said, "I'm not sure, maybe." That might sound like nothing, but to me it sounds like Strobel has an opportunity to get in his friend's ear. This could be something to watch as Kalis has said the sanctions on OSU and their potential head coach would matter in his final decision.

You will likely see the final offensive line commits come from this group. What the combination is, I'm not sure yet. 

As for defensive line recruiting, this gets a little more confusing. With Strobel's commitment Michigan now has DE Pharaoh Brown, DE/DT Matt Godin, DE/LB Mario Ojemudia, and the aforementioned Tom Strobel. The good thing about these commitments is that a lot of them are versatile and can be moved to different spots if necessary.

Michigan will likely take three more defensive line commitments. That sounds like a lot, but the prospects they're in on are the kind that you have to take. DE Chris Wormley has said openly that Michigan is his leader and I wouldn't expect him to wait much longer before deciding. Outside of Wormley you have DE Se'Von Pittman, DE Adolphus Washington, DT Ondre Pipkins [who should be visiting soon], and DT Aziz Shittu. I'm only going to include these names for now, because these are the kids I think MIchigan has the best shot at landing in the current time. 

With what I mentioned about Pittman above I am wondering if that will alter anyone else's decision timeline. For example Adolphus Washington plans on announcing his decision at the Under Armour All American game, whereas Pittman plans on graduating early which means he needs to decide sooner than Washington. Wormley will likely announce before the season, and if he picks Michigan that's one less spot available between Washington and Pittman. If the coaches wait for Washington then it probably means they will not get Pittman.

Extra:

Pennsylvania RB Greg Garmon told me via text that he will be visiting Michigan on Monday. I'll have more from him soon, or after the visit.

Cali DT Aziz Shittu was mentioned above in the defensive line recruiting, because I think Michigan has a legitimate shot with him. Shittu has a top eleven right now that includes Michigan, Cal, Notre Dame, Auburn, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Florida, Washington, Arizona, and Nebraska. "I might make it out [to Michigan] for the Notre Dame game, those jerseys were dope," Shittu told me. Dope is good. He will probably wait to see how teams perform during the season before making any decisions. Ondre Pipkins has wavered on when he will make his decision, so Ondre's decision could potentially alter where Shittu ends up if he were to pick Michigan.

Pennsylvania DE Noah Spence is still interested in Michigan as well. His father told me this past week that they are just laying low for right now and letting Noah enjoy some time off. He just took the SAT on Saturday. Not a lot is going on right now, but the Michigan coaches did take a visit to his school during the evaluation period. 

2013 WR LaQuon Treadwell is teammates with current commit DB Anthony Standifer. Treadwell is hoping for a Michigan offer, and there's a chance he would commit right away if he received the offer. The Michigan coaches plan on watching his film and going from there. Just something to keep an eye on. I'll have more from him later on.

Ohio RB Bri'Onte Dunn has been talked about a lot lately. I've previously reported that he and his father are waiting to find out what happens with the OSU sanctions, and they will definitely have an effect on his commitment. His father told me this past week that they plan on making it out to Penn State as the next stop, and there's also a chance that they will be at the Michigan-Notre Dame night game during the season.

Utah FB Sione Houma did not commit during his visit to Michigan this weekend. He doesn't say much, but he told me that his parents went with him on the trip, and that he could potentially see himself going to Michigan. He will probably wait everything out, and I think distance might factor in here.

To stick with the fullback theme, I mentioned on the board this past week that Michigan currently leads for Texas FB EJ Fatu. He doesn't talk much either, but he sounds pretty excited about Michigan. We'll see if he makes it up soon for a visit.

I've gotten a lot of questions about quarterbacks lately. Maty Mauk took a visit to Ann Arbor this past week and Indiana QB Gunner Kiel postpponed his announcement that was supposed to take place on Sunday [the 12th]. From what I was told I wouldn't get too excited about Kiel, but I'm not sure that anyone really knows what's going on. His family keeps everything very close and doesn't leak too much. Both quarterbacks will likely decide soon and Michigan is still in the mix for both of them. If they miss on both then I would expect Austin Appleby to become a real option. He plans on camping and if the coaches like what they see, he could get an offer. I preface all of that with the fact that I don't know what is going to happen with Mauk or Kiel---both keep everything quiet.

2013 instate OL Steve Elmer was offered by Wisconsin. He now holds offers from Wisconsin and Mississippi State. I spoke to his dad a few weeks ago, I just haven't posted the interview yet. That will go up this week.

Comments

DGDestroys

June 13th, 2011 at 9:27 AM ^

The last time I heard of him, he was saying that Tennessee, PSU, and Michigan were recruiting him the hardest. We're still very much in it for him, he's just a quieter kid.

The story out of the Nike NFTC in Columbus was that, although Day had a pretty good day, Pipkins was blowing him out of the water both physically and athletically.

Oh yeah, and Pipkins is almost 50 pounds heavier.

NJblue2

June 12th, 2011 at 3:07 PM ^

Just wondering for anyone who can help between Pittman, Wormley and Washington, who is better and which of the three do we perfer? By the way, thanks for all the information Tom.

DGDestroys

June 12th, 2011 at 3:41 PM ^

I'll rank the three and explain

1) Washington- To be honest, I'm not blown away by a lot I see on his film, besides his potential. He plays high and shows numerous technical flaws. However, there's no denying his potential if you get him proper coaching. Size (6'5, 250ish) is also appealing.

2) Wormley- If it were right after his sophomore campaign, I'd have him way higher than Washington. However, he looks slower, less explosive, and almost timid at times during his junior season. The potential's there as well, but he's got some work to do.

3) Pittman- I'm a huge Pittman fan, I've said that many times on twitter and on this blog. He's freakishly athletic, explodes off the ball, and seems to always find a way to the quarterback. However, two things concern me. 1)We've got two pass-rushers in this class already in Pharoah Brown and Mario Ojemudia. We're looking for strongside/potentially 3-tech kids right now, and I'm not sure, despite his reported 245 size, Pittman is strong enough in run support to fit the bill and 2) Grades. That's all I have to say about that.

Again, just my opinion. People might disagree.

Blueto

June 12th, 2011 at 3:12 PM ^

Magnuson is quoted "It wasn't anything that I expected at Michigan, it was crazy. It was such a cook place " Was that a typo or was he possibly refering to Brian?

FreddieMercuryHayes

June 12th, 2011 at 3:12 PM ^

In regards to the DL's, it kind of sounds like we will most likely get Wormley, and the staff wants to get Washington. But the question is can we pass on Pittman now in case we possibly get Washington in Jan? And we took Strobel, bul not Pittman? It's all very confusing, and I would hate to see a guy like Pittman go to one of our rivals, which it looks like he would.

Bluer than yue

June 12th, 2011 at 3:13 PM ^

I know everyone would love to get Shittu and Pipkins, but who is more skilled. I know the sites have Shittu getting more love but from what I've heard Pipkins has had great camps. I'm more of a pads type of guy and Shittu seems to have passed that test.  ( not saying Pipkins hasn't)Just wondering  who has more upside and who would be the bigger get. And as always, thanks Tom for the great work, and all the info this week.

wlubd

June 12th, 2011 at 3:32 PM ^

Bit of a tough comparison to make, they'll play different positions if they came here. Shittu's more of a 3-tech guy it seems whereas Pipkins is strictly a nose tackle. Shittu is very impressive but I'd argue Pipkins would be more valuable in the long-term. 320 lb. guys that move as well as he does and take as much space as him don't come around very often.

wlubd

June 12th, 2011 at 4:04 PM ^

In a regular year, absolutely. But I have no idea this year. We have so many good players interested in us and rapidly declining room in the class so I`m just waiting and watching at this point. But if both want in then I imagine we take them, even if it means we end up with 7-8 DL in the class.

Maize and Blue…

June 12th, 2011 at 6:49 PM ^

didn't have a very good camp at the underclassman national combine.  He was a little out of shape and that may have led to his initially lower ranking.  Since then he has worked on the conditioning aspect and just tore it up at OSU.  If he continues to stay in that type of shape or improves he has the chance to be really special.  Very seldom do you get a guy 320 with that type of speed/power combination. DTs like him are one thing that sets the SEC just a bit ahead of the rest.

Brimley

June 12th, 2011 at 3:14 PM ^

"Coach Hoke told us that he wants to recruit high character kids and his main focus is to get them a degree."  That is great to hear.  Yes, it's going to help recruiting by getting parents on board with Mich, but more importantly, it's great that Hoke isn't looking at the kids as gladiators.  When you're old enough (ahem), you've see a lot of great college players who make very little income in the NFL, so it's good to see a man like Hoke looking out for kids' long-term interests.

SKIP TO MY BLUE

June 12th, 2011 at 11:38 PM ^

It is great to see education being just as important to the coaches as athletic ability. This will create two things for the players: 1) players will be able to prosper after football and 2) some NFL teams will give a kid a chance because they are smart and have been well coached. Teams seem to take a few guys just because they know they will not have to remake the player once they get to the league. Seems to me that some of our QB's under Carr fit this bill as well as some of our TE's.

MichiganWolf

June 12th, 2011 at 3:22 PM ^

@NjBlue2

Chris Wormley was named the best player in Ohio his sophmore year, although in his junior campaign he supposedly wasn't playing with a high motor and not enough intensity the year before. 

Adolphus Washington was the named the best player in Ohio this year(I think) and all the recruiting sites have him 4*. 

Se'Von Pittman is a good prospect he also is in the top 10 of best playerws in ohio.

As far as who's better i would say its hard to tell without them playing their senior years yet. As of now it seems to be Washington and Pittman are overall better than Wromley but that could change overtime. Washington is the best out of the three but not by much.

OverTheTop

June 12th, 2011 at 3:23 PM ^

would be  a huge get. He looks like another highly physical, mean O-lineman, I think we're understating the necessity for a true FB a tad though. I do believe that The Rock's cousin is more of a priority from a needs standpoint than another DE. At this point it seems like the Washington/Stanford combo is the "SHOOT THE MOON" wait as long as we have to item. Coaches must really like them.

MichiganWolf

June 12th, 2011 at 3:54 PM ^

that its still adolphus washington, if you watch his highlight tape then you'll know why  but he would be a huge get ranking wise and on the field results. While i think the other two can both contribute washington is the better prospect.

Maize and Blue…

June 12th, 2011 at 6:56 PM ^

Jones also has grade issues.  I think the coaches are treading lightly on the academic side and rightfully so.  I can also understand why they may be giving a little more slack to the in state kid especially with two of his teammates there to get on him about making sure they are where they need to be.

MichiganWolf

June 12th, 2011 at 4:06 PM ^

Sure anytime. I don't know for sure but i read somewhere that he narrowed his list down and were still at his top. Many believe his high school coach is trying to persuade him to look at places other than michigan( i have no idea why) but thats all i've heard. I think he could be announcing before the season starts.Michigan and Michigan State are both in the running though.

psychomatt

June 12th, 2011 at 4:15 PM ^

With OSU's problems and USC's scholarship limits, UM has the ability to pick up an unusual amount of elite talent in the 2012 and 2013 classes. I know that everyone wants a QB in this class, but unless we get Kiel I would much rather have another lineman from the above lists or one of the remaining elite DB's on our board (Reeves, Morgan, Wright) than a QB who likely never will become a starter. We already have Robinson, Gardner and Bellomy and a strong commitment from Morris for the 2013 class. We have so many needs as we convert back to a pro style offense and a 4-3 defense, this is the one class we should not take a QB unless we get exactly who we want.

MichiganWolf

June 12th, 2011 at 5:15 PM ^

I think the coaching staff would still take him if he wanted to commit and i personally dont blame him for not commiting because he wants to play cornerback in college and michigan was already filled so Idk what will happen.Plus it would have taken some time for him to learn to play the FS position.

Maize and Blue…

June 12th, 2011 at 7:03 PM ^

Don't fool yourself into believing that.  Reeves like Morgan wasn't ready to make a commitment and the staff was pressing because the class is filling up.  For some kids the pressure to commit now is to much and they decide to go another way.  If a kid is not sure that he wants to spend his next four years in AA before even starting his senior year he shouldn't commit.  I would much rather he walk away now then commit and decommit later.

psychomatt

June 12th, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^

I know that seems to be the situation right now, but it's a long time until signing day. And that was not my point anyway. If we miss on the elite DB's we want and that leaves room for a QB like Maty Mauk, fine. I just wouldn't want to pass up a guy like Wayne Morgan for Mauk. Also, I mistakenly left Wilson office my list of DB's, so that's another one I would rather have than a likely career backup QB in this class.

MichiganWolf

June 12th, 2011 at 4:28 PM ^

Yea i know, i  really wouldn't want a QB anyway (like you said unless may because  kiel) especially not mauk because after wacthing his film it seems he can't really throw and all he does is scramble( kinda like denard lol jk). I would like Shumate and Wilson and maybe Yuri Wright as possible DB's i would take besides a QB.

Maize and Blue…

June 12th, 2011 at 7:08 PM ^

unless he gets injured this year.  He threw for over 5,000 yards and 69 TDs last year alone.  The reason you think he scrambles so much is because his HS runs 5 wide with no RB.  There are many issues with Mauk- never being under center, hand off exchanges, and footwork to name a few, but the staff did offer him so they must see something they like.