Monday, July 21, 2014

Recruiting Update: July 21, 2014

This is Ben Cleveland, perhaps the largest high school baseball player in the country (image via Maxpreps)
OFF THE BOARD
Cleveland (OH) Benedictine linebacker Jerome Baker committed to Florida. Baker made noise about visiting Michigan several times, but then his visit got canceled every time. I don't believe he ever made it to Ann Arbor. On the plus side, he was considered an Ohio State lean for a long time, so it's probably a good thing that he ended up choosing the Gators.

Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Sam Bruce, a 2016 prospect, committed to Miami. A diminutive slot type of receiver, Bruce never visited Michigan, but he was always expected to stay down south, anyway.

Toccoa (GA) Stephens County offensive tackle Ben Cleveland, a 2016 prospect, committed to Georgia. Cleveland is listed at 6'6" and 327 lbs. and is just a rising junior. He is consistently mentioned as one of the most impressive looking prospects that recruiting gurus have seen in a long time . . . and the kid (pictured above) won't turn 16 until August.

Lake Stevens (WA) Lake Stevens quarterback Jacob Eason, another 2016 prospect, also committed to Georgia. He's the son of Tony Eason, a former wide receiver for Notre Dame. Jacob is the 247 Composite #2 pro-style quarterback and the #14 overall player in the country.

Randleman (NC) Randleman wide receiver Juval Mollette committed to North Carolina. Mollette claimed a high level of interest in Michigan despite never visiting, and he reportedly connected well with area recruiter Roy Manning. However, he was expected to stay in the general geographical area, so this wasn't a surprise.

Pittsburgh (PA) Woodland Hills running back Miles Sanders committed to Penn State. Sanders was offered by Michigan recently and reportedly had the Nittany Lions and Wolverines as his top two, so this was a near miss. This leaves two running backs on the board for 2016: New Jersey's Kareem Walker and Georgia's Elijah Holyfield.

Many (LA) Many offensive guard Garrett Thomas committed to Texas. Michigan had relatively recently re-ignited some interest on Thomas's part, but he was still going to be a tough pull from so far away.

MISCELLANEOUS
Here's a list of visitors for the BBQ at the Big House (LINK).

Tennessee linebacker Joshua McMillon (August 22nd) and North Carolina defensive end Darian Roseboro (August 29th) have both set announcement dates, and Michigan is a top choice for both. It would be somewhat disappointing if the Wolverines didn't pull in at least one of the two.

Over on Recruiting Season, I profiled Lapeer West's Hunter Andrews, Farmington Hills Harrison's Devon Cook, U of D Jesuit's Bryce Brand, and Lansing Catholic Central TE Tony Poljan; updated the profiles of Joshua Alabi, David MoormanBrian Cole, John Kelly, and Alex Malzone; and added commitments for Southfield's Ray Buford (Minnesota) and Avondale's Joshuwa Holloman (Cincinnati).

5 comments:

  1. Given how high we supposedly are for McMillon and Roseboro and given their announcement dates, I would be disappointed if we don't land both.

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  2. Thunder, are we still recruiting some of our 2016 QB targets? Or have we stopped after accepting DeWeavers commitment?

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    1. I would imagine that coaches are still keeping tabs on other targets just in case something happens (injury, transfer, decommitment, etc.), but they are not pursuing other commitments at the QB position at this time. DeWeaver is our quarterback in the 2016 barring unforeseen developments.

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    2. Thanks Thunder. Too bad cause I wouldn't mind seeing two QB's in the 2016 class. But DeWeaver has been impressing as of late, so maybe the coaches feel comfortable with one.

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  3. How big do you expect the 2016 class to be?

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