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| Hallandale (FL) Hallandale wide receiver Joshua Hammond (image via MiamiHerald.com) |
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COMMITMENT
Cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich confirmed that Wayne Lyons will be joining the team this season, so I wrote up a commitment post (LINK).
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015(?)
Concord (CA) De La Salle safety Je'Vari Anderson is still a possibility to join Michigan. He's a 6'1", 200 lb. prospect who's a 247 Composite 3-star, the #63 safety, and #902 overall. I talked about him a couple weeks ago as a guy who was talking about joining the Wolverines but needs a qualifying test score. He has listed offers from Cal, Oregon State, and Utah, but his Twitter account still says "THE MISSION IS GOO!! BLUE!!" with a giant picture of the Michigan banner (LINK). I mention him again this week because the deadline to sign a National Letter of Intent is Wednesday, April 1. He could still end up playing for Michigan without the NLI, but he would not be able to practice with the team until the first day of classes. For his sake - and for the team's, since I think he's a better prospect than his rankings/offers indicate - I hope he gets good results and can fax in his NLI before the deadline. It might also help with Michigan's recruitment of two of Anderson's 2016 teammates, tight end Devin Asiasi and center Boss Tagaloa.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Tyrone (GA) Sandy Creek wide receiver Korey Banks, Jr. was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'0", 170 lb. prospect with offers from Arkansas State, Colorado State, and Western Michigan, among others. He visited this past weekend with a couple Lawrenceville (GA) Archer prospects for 2017, Isaiah Pryor and Jamyest Williams, who already held Michigan offers. Banks claims a 4.26 forty and is a track guy. Some teams are looking at him as a corner, but Jedd Fisch was the one to offer him, which implies that Michigan wants him at receiver.
Hit the jump for several more 2016 prospects, some 2017 prospects, an offer for 2018, and some miscellaneous bits.
Rancho Cucamonga (CA) Los Osos offensive tackle Cohl Cabral was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 250 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona State, Cal, Utah, and Washington State, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #20 offensive tackle, and #203 overall. Cabral has good feet and could play either tackle or guard at the next level. He has also been recruited by some schools as a defensive end, although I think that's a stretch unless he would be in a 3-4 system.
Gordo (AL) Gordo linebacker Ben Davis was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'4", 230 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, and numerous others. He's a 247 Composite 5-star, the #4 outside linebacker, and #22 overall. He claims a 4.6 forty. He is widely expected to attend Alabama.
Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan safety Devin Gil, a Miami commit, was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'1", 205 lb. prospect who also has offers from Louisville and Marshall, among others. He's a 247 Composite 3-star, the #76 safety, and #1202 overall. As a junior in 2014, he made 64 tackles and 3 interceptions. Depending on how his body develops, he could end up as an outside linebacker at the next level. He is a teammate of fellow offeree Devin Bush, Jr., who visited Michigan this past weekend, although Gil was not on campus. Gil committed to Miami back in January, but he is still open to being courted by other schools, so there's a chance to pull him away.
Hallandale (FL) Hallandale wide receiver Joshua Hammond was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'1", 180 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, and Washington, among others. He's a 247 Composite 3-star, the #59 wide receiver, and #343 overall. As a junior in 2014, he caught 25 passes for 413 yards and 6 touchdowns. He received an offer early in the week and immediately scheduled an unofficial visit, since he was going to be in the midwest visiting Notre Dame and Ohio State, anyway.
Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary's offensive guard Cameron Kolwich was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 270 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan and Missouri, among others. He is currently unranked. Back in February I ranked him as the #13 prospect in the state (LINK), which was higher than several prospects with more offers. He plays tackle in high school, but he projects to offensive guard, where I think he has the potential to be a pretty solid lineman at the BCS level. He's a teammate of 2017 linebacker Joshua Ross, who also has a Michigan offer.
Farmington (MI) Farmington linebacker David Reese, a Louisville commit, was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'1", 235 lb. prospect whose other offers are from Indiana, Pitt, and some MAC schools. He's a 247 Composite 3-star, the #23 inside linebacker, and #685 overall. I was not expecting Reese to get an offer from Michigan, at least not this early. There has been some chatter about him moving to defensive end in college, since some think he might not have the quickness to remain at linebacker; however, it's not often that 6'1" defensive ends make an impact in college. There is a possibility that he is being recruited for the fullback position, since Michigan loses two fullbacks after this season (Joe Kerridge, Sione Houma) and does not have any other experienced players at the position. Reese is a teammate of fellow Michigan offeree (and Louisville commit) Desmond Fitzpatrick, a wide receiver. Both have visited Michigan numerous times, and it would be somewhat surprising if they did not choose to stay home.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Mansfield (OH) Madison safety Tyrell Ajian was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'0", 180 lb. prospect with offers from Miami-OH and Toledo. He claims a 4.4 forty and a 35" vertical. Also a standout receiver, Michigan wants him to play free safety. Ajian does have very good speed and will certainly pick up some other big-time offers before long.
Paramus (NJ) Catholic defensive end Corey Bolds was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'3", 260 lb. prospect whose only other offer so far came from Rutgers. He does not have particularly impressive film, so this offer surprises me a little bit so early in the process. Bolds is the teammate of 2016 defensive tackle Rashan Gary, and both of them visited this weekend (see below for visitors list). Their former high school coach, Chris Partridge, is now a recruiting coordinator for Michigan.
Stafford (TX) Stafford wide receiver Hezekiah Jones was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'0", 185 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, TCU, and Texas A&M, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #11 wide receiver, and #61 overall. As a sophomore in 2014, he caught 28 passes for 551 yards and 6 touchdowns, plus a kickoff return score. He claims a 4.4 forty and a 32" vertical. Jones is a crafty runner who does a good job of breaking tackles, catches passes while defensive backs interfere, and has good speed in the open field.
Akron (OH) Hoban running back Todd Sibley, Jr. was offered by Michigan. He's a 5'11", 205 lb. prospect with offers from Kentucky and Ohio State. He claims a 4.51 forty. As a sophomore in 2014, he averaged 8.2 yards/carry on his way to 1,576 yards and 17 touchdowns. He's not a true blazer, but he has the stout build of Michigan State's recent running back standouts, guys who are built low to the ground and are tough to take down. Hoban's quarterback, 2017 prospect Danny Clark, used to attend Massillon (OH) Washington with Michigan freshman kicker Andrew David; Clark is now committed to Ohio State. The Buckeyes and Wolverines are at the top of Sibley's list.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018
Indianapolis (IN) Cathedral offensive guard Emil Ekiyor was given his first offer by Michigan. Ekiyor is a 6'3", 285 lb. prospect who claims a 5.1 forty. He is the son of Emil Ekiyor, a Nigerian immigrant who played defensive end at Central Florida and then in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons.
OFF THE BOARD
Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Rancho Santa Margarita quarterback K.J. Costello committed to Stanford. The writing was on the wall that he would pick Stanford or perhaps USC over Michigan once his repeated promises to visit Michigan fell through. He had visited Michigan last summer and was reportedly close to committing at the time, but Brady Hoke convinced him to take his time, allowing Messiah DeWeaver to commit first.
Temecula (CA) Great Oak running back Demetric Felton committed to UCLA. Felton is a very speedy, surprisingly tough runner who could also play receiver at the next level. He expressed initial interest in visiting Michigan but never planned a visit.
Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy defensive end Rahshaun Smith committed to Clemson. Smith is originally from Maryland and initially had Michigan high on his list, but a mid-year transfer to Florida seemed to alter his recruitment a little bit. By the time he was ready to commit, Michigan was no longer on his list.
MISCELLANEOUS
I posted a huge list of visitors from this past week/weekend (LINK).
I also posted an early spring game visitors list (LINK). And speaking of the spring game, I also did a mock draft of the two teams (LINK).
Notre Dame center Matt Hegarty has been granted a full release from the program to transfer as a fifth-year graduate. There have not been strong indications that Michigan is in the mix, but it's a possibility for a team that lost its starting center (Jack Miller) and whose backup (Graham Glasgow) is going through some legal issues. Hegarty visited Florida State last weekend, and the Seminoles are in a better scholarship situation (80 right now, whereas Michigan is at the limit of 85). The Wolverines recruited Hegarty as part of the 2011 class out of Aztec (NM) Aztec, where he was a Rivals 4-star, the #6 offensive tackle, and #70 overall.
Over on Recruiting Season, I added/updated profiles for:
- Macomb Dakota RB Kaiser Carleton
- West Bloomfield CB Justin Clark
- Orchard Lake St. Mary's OG Cameron Kolwich
- St. Joseph DE Corey Malone-Hatcher
- Farmington LB David Reese
I really like Kory Banks even though I'm calling "horsepucky" on 4.26. He is a blazer, really sees the seams, can highpoint a ball, catch it while being interfered with and has some shake.
ReplyDeleteI also like his coaching staff as I don't think i've ever seen more guys come back, play after play after play, to make just crushing blocks legally in an effort to spring somebody. Way impressive.
I also liked #6 in the Blue helmet who got beat, but then ran with and caught Banks from behind at around 4 mins. He's probably a 4.22.
Banks supposedly ran a 4.51 at a recent camp, so that's probably a more accurate number.
DeleteAgreed on the coaching/football instincts of Sandy Creek's players. I noticed that, too.
Cabral is a pretty decent long snapper to boot ..... a twofer.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the shotgunning of offers going out, how do you feel about the much lower ranked prospects getting offers? Seems pretty early to offer guys like Reese, Kolwich, and Gil, especially with the upcoming summer camps.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, I'm in a "trust the coaches" mode when it comes to the current staff. I do think most of them have a good enough track record of bringing in guys they can work with to get the job done. When it comes to athleticism, I think there are hundreds of guys who can get the job done year in and year out. It's a matter of who's going to accept the coaching, work hard, etc.
DeleteI don't see the guys you mentioned as being outstanding athletes. So maybe when the coaches have done their digging, they found a little nugget they like more than some other guys or just as well as some of the superior athletes.
All that being said, I'm not a huge fan of the Reese offer because I think he's limited. Gil is another guy who I don't think is a great athlete, but I think he's a solid, aggressive player. I think Kolwich might be one of those in-state sleepers that not many people have talked about much. As I mentioned above, I am surprised that he did not have more offers at an earlier juncture. The recent offers from Michigan and Missouri do not surprise me a ton. It seems like interior linemen are often lower-rated guys who don't get a ton of attention, but the Kolwich kid can play low, he's strong, and he's aggressive. Michigan needs linemen in the 2016 class, and I really have no problem with them going after a homegrown kid while also pursuing some elite-level talents outside the state.
damn was holding out a little hope michigan could somehow sign that kid felton. but ucla is pretty attractive option, particularly for local cali kids. felton will be a player at the next level - WR, RB, DB, doesnt matter, hes a baller
ReplyDeleteI agree on Felton. He could be a difference maker.
Deletenot sure about the level of competition or which division hes playing in but tyrell ajian looks like a player. pretty impressive film for a soph. i agree 100% hes about to get much bigger offers. actually kind of surprised osu has not offered him yet bc hes obviously a great athlete. hopefully offering early pays off for michigan, he should be a great S prospect in several years
ReplyDeleteThe competition level is not great. Madison only has an enrollment of 817, and they don't play many powerhouses in Ohio. However, he does have pretty impressive film.
DeleteI'm not worried about the Reese offer. Perhaps a little limited physically as he is not the quickest out there. But dude hits like a bag of bricks. My head got rung just watching that film. Has good instincts, something a LB needs. And he looks like he'd be an outstanding FB if he'd be willing to play on offense.
ReplyDelete-Phoenix