Recruiting Update: June 4, 2012

Maurice Hurst, Jr.

COMMITMENT
Westwood (MA) Xaverian Brothers defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, Jr. committed to Michigan.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2013
Geismar (LA) Dutchtown wide receiver Shelby Christy was offered by Michigan recently.  Christy is a 6'3", 175 lb. wideout with offers from Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi State, and Northwestern.  As a junior in 2011, he had 25 receptions for 400+ yards and 7 touchdowns.  LSU hasn't come forward with an offer yet, but if they do, expect him to be a Tiger.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Hendersonville (TN) Beech athlete Jalen Hurd was offered by Michigan on Wednesday.  He also has offers from Alabama, Nebraska, Ohio State, Tennessee, and several others.  As a freshman in 2010, he had 57 carries for 459 yards and 3 touchdowns.  As a sophomore in 2011, he had 1,606 rushing yards and 437 receiving yards to go with 27 total touchdowns.  The 6'2", 190-pounder could play running back or receiver, but I'm listing him as a running back because he's built a little bit like 2013 running back target Ty Isaac.  Alabama looks like the early leader for Hurd, however.


Midlothian (IL) Marist tight end Nic Weishar was offered by Michigan.  Weishar is a 6'5", 200 lb. wideout/tight end with offers from Illinois, Iowa, Notre Dame, Purdue, and Wisconsin, along with a few others.  As a junior in 2011, he had 77 receptions for 1,160 yards and 13 touchdowns.  (Highlights here.)

OFF THE BOARD
Lemont (IL) Lemont offensive tackle Ethan Pocic committed to LSU.  Back when Michigan filled up on offensive linemen, I was a little disappointed that they wouldn't have room for Pocic, who was strongly considering Michigan up to that point.  Pocic was also considering Illinois (where his brother Graham plays) and Ohio State, so having him play in the SEC means Michigan has just a small chance of facing him at any point.  I think Pocic is going to be a very good player.

Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers linebacker Jaylon Smith committed to Notre Dame.  Smith's brother Rod is a running back for Ohio State, and it seemed from the beginning that this would be a Notre Dame vs. Ohio State battle; Smith never showed interest in going to Michigan.  On the camp circuit this spring, Smith has been consistently mentioned as one of the top performers, working out as a linebacker, defensive end, and even cornerback.  I'll be curious to see how Notre Dame uses him, but hopefully he plays poorly against the Wolverines.

PENDING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Murrieta (CA) Vista Murrieta safety Su'a Cravens scheduled a college announcement for Wednesday, June 6th.  He stated several weeks ago that he would still take visits to a few Big Ten schools, including Michigan, but when a kid sets an early announcement date without having visited some of his "finalists," the writing is probably on the wall.  In Cravens's case, a lot of people are going to be eating crow if he doesn't commit to USC.  In any case, here's the scouting report I put together on Cravens.

Baltimore (MD) Gilman defensive tackle Henry Poggi has scheduled a college announcement for 10:00 this morning.  He will reportedly decide between Alabama and Michigan.  He has visited Michigan multiple times (for the Purdue game last year and in March), but his most recent visit was to Tuscaloosa.  Here's the scouting report I put together on Poggi back in March.

WEEKEND VISITORS
There were a couple weekend visitors, including Hurst.  Cedar Falls (IA) Cedar Falls offensive tackle Ross Pierschbacher, a 2014 prospect, is going to visit Michigan today.  He's a 6'5", 275 lb. kid with offers from Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, but he doesn't have a Michigan offer yet.  He was the offensive line MVP of the Illinois NFTC this past weekend.