"Rivals 250 to Watch" Released for 2012

Barry Sanders, Jr. probably won't come to Michigan,
but his dad is a former Lion and one of my two favorite
football players of all time, so deal with it.

The "Rivals 250 to Watch" list has been released.  This is a preseason list of some of the top players in the country.  Although star ratings haven't been meted out yet, there's a pretty good chance that the majority of these players will end up as 5-stars or 4-stars by the time the 2012 recruiting cycle winds down.

By my count there are 25 kids who have been offered by U of M, as well as 13 kids who attend an alma mater of current Michigan players.  It remains to be seen whether Brady Hoke will be as committed to creating pipelines from certain high schools to Michigan as Rich Rodriguez seems to be, but it's something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Players of interest to Michigan fans:

QB Connor Brewer (Scottsdale, AZ) - Attends same high school as Michigan defensive end Craig Roh and offensive tackle Taylor Lewan.  Committed to Texas.
QB Bennie Coney (Plant City, FL) - Offered.
QB Gunner Kiel (Columbus, IN) - Offered.
QB Cyler Miles (Denver, CO) - Attends same high school as Michigan defensive end Steve Watson.
QB Zeke Pike (Edgewood, KY) - Offered.
RB Warren Ball (Columbus, OH) - Attends same high school as Michigan offensive guard Patrick Omameh and 2011 signee Chris Rock.
RB Wes Brown (Olney, MD) - Attends same high school as 2011 signee Blake Countess.
RB Matt Jones (Seffner, FL) - Offered.
RB Barry Sanders, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK) - Son of former Lions running back Barry Sanders.
WR Stefon Diggs (Olney, MD) - Offered.  Attends same high school of 2011 signee Blake Countess.
WR Dorial Green-Beckham (Springfield, MO) - Offered.
WR Avery Johnson (Pompano Beach, FL) - Offered.  Committed to LSU.
WR Gabriel Marks (Los Angeles, CA) - Attends same high school as Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton.
WR Davonte Neal (Scottsdale, AZ) - Attends same high school as Michigan defensive end Craig Roh and offensive tackle Taylor Lewan.
WR Latroy Pittman (Citra, FL) - Offered.  Committed to Florida.
WR Efe Scott-Emuakpor (East Lansing, MI) - In-state prospect.  Notre Dame lean.
WR Richard Smith (Long Beach, CA) - Attends same high school as former Michigan cornerback Donovan Warren.
WR Dwayne Stanford (Cincinnati, OH) - Offered.
OL Zach Banner (Lakewood, WA) - Offered.
OL Ty Darlington (Apopka, FL) - Attends same high school as Michigan receiver Jeremy Gallon.
OL Jordan Diamond (Chicago, IL) - Offered.  Attends same high school as 2011 signee Chris Bryant.
OL D.J. Humphries (Charlotte, NC) - Offered.
OL Kelby Latta (Battle Creek, MI) - In-state prospect.
OL Mike Madaras (Olney, MD) - Attends same high school as 2011 signee Blake Countess.
OL John Michael McGee (Texarkana, TX) - Attends same high school as former Michigan quarterback Ryan Mallett.
OL Dan Voltz (Barrington, IL) - Offered.
DE Devonte Fields (Arlington, TX) - Attends same high school as 2011 signee Russell Bellomy.
DE Tom Strobel (Mentor, OH) - Offered.
DE Ryan Watson (Olney, MD) - Attends same high school as 2011 signee Blake Countess.
DE Chris Wormley (Toledo, OH) - Offered.  Michigan lean.
DT Eddie Goldman (Washington, DC) - Offered.
DT Danny O'Brien (Flint, MI) - Offered.  In-state prospect.
DT Tommy Schutt (Glen Ellyn, IL) - Offered.
DT Vincent Valentine (Edwardsville, IL) - Offered.
LB Vince Biegel (Wisconsin Rapids, WI) - Offered.
LB Royce Jenkins-Stone (Detroit, MI) - Offered.  In-state prospect.
LB Deaysean Rippy (McKees Rocks, PA) - Offered.
LB James Ross (Orchard Lake, MI) - Offered.  In-state prospect.
DB Bam Bradley (Trotwood, OH) - Attends same high school as Michigan running back Michael Shaw, wide receiver Roy Roundtree, and tight end Brandon Moore.
DB Terry Richardson (Detroit, MI) - Offered.  In-state prospect.
ATH Deontay McManus (Baltimore, MD) - Offered.