Recruiting Update: January 6, 2015

Reisterstown (MD) Franklin offensive tackle Pat Allen

This is a huge recruiting update. I am a masochist.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Reisterstown (MD) Franklin offensive tackle Pat Allen decommitted from Georgia. He was supposedly leaning toward committing to Tennessee on Sunday night in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl, but he ended up not announcing a decision at all. That is supposedly because he is re-considering the Bulldogs. Allen visited Michigan in the fall for an official visit, so a concerted effort by Harbaugh could get the Wolverines back in the mix.

Winter Garden (FL) West Orange running back Dexter Williams decommitted from Miami. A long-time Miami commit, he had been wavering for a while. In early December he said he was on track to graduate early and enroll at Miami in January, but that has fallen off. A reported score of 17 on his ACT might hamper his chances of qualifying at some schools, but he took an official to Louisville, has one set to Notre Dame, and is being pursued hard by Florida. Williams is a 6'0", 192 lb. prospect who's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 running back, and #83 overall.

OFF THE BOARD
Miami (FL) Booker T. Washington tight end Devonaire Clarington committed to Texas at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Clarington played defensive end his senior, but he is expected to be an offensive player for the Longhorns.

New Orleans (LA) Warren Easton wide receiver Tyron Johnson committed to LSU at the Under Armour All-American Game, which was exactly what everyone expected.

McKinney (TX) North running back Ronald Jones II committed to USC at the Under Armour All-American Bowl. He had previously been committed to Oklahoma State.

Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco offensive guard Zach Robertson committed to Arizona State. Robertson was a high school teammate of quarterback Josh Rosen, who enrolled early at UCLA.

Manassas (VA) Stonewall Jackson defensive tackle Tim Settle committed to Virginia Tech during the Under Armour All-American Game. At one time Settle was presumed to be leaning toward Ohio State, and he was also friendly with 2014 defensive end Da'Shawn Hand (Alabama), who was thought to be a draw at one time (Settle also had an Alabama offer).

Missouri City (TX) Fort Bend Marshall cornerback Kendall Sheffield committed to Alabama at the Under Armour All-American Game.

Dallas (TX) Skyline linebacker Anthony Wheeler committed to Texas at the Under Armour All-American Game.

Hit the jump for a bunch of brief profiles on potential recruits to look at for 2015, plus some miscellaneous recruiting tidbits from the last week or two.

2015 U.S. Army All-American Bowl rosters

Keisean Lucier-South

The 2015 U.S. Army All-American Bowl will be played on Saturday, January 3, at 1:00 p.m. EST and broadcast on NBC. Michigan has zero commits playing in the game but a few who are interested in Michigan. There are still plenty of players from the midwest and headed to Big Ten schools to make it an interesting event for recruiting fanatics, so here's a list of players who have been offered by Michigan:

EAST
Johnny Frasier - RB - North Carolina (Florida State)
Jaason Lewis - RB - Virginia (Arizona State)
Juwan Johnson - WR - New Jersey (Penn State)
Devonaire Clarington - TE - Florida
Matt Burrell - OL - Virginia (Ohio State)
Jake Fruhmorgen - OL - Florida (Alabama)
Mitch Hyatt - OL - Georgia (Clemson)
Isaiah Prince - OL - Maryland
CeCe Jefferson - DE - Florida
Justin Hilliard - LB - Ohio (Ohio State)
John Reid - CB - Pennsylvania (Penn State)
Jerome Baker - S - Ohio (Ohio State)

WEST
Mike Weber - RB - Michigan (Ohio State)
Henry Roberts - OL - Washington (Washington)
Keaton Sutherland - OL - Texas (Texas A&M)
Dre'Mont Jones - DE - Ohio (Ohio State)
Keisean Lucier-South - DE - California (UCLA)
Rasheem Green - DT - California
Josh Barajas - LB - Indiana (Notre Dame)
Asmar Bilal - LB - Indiana (Notre Dame)
Darrin Kirkland, Jr. - LB - Indiana (Tennessee)
Osa Masina - LB - Utah

Recruiting Update: November 25, 2014

Keisean Lucier-South is heading to UCLA

DECOMMITMENT
Detroit (MI) Cass Tech running back Michael Weber decommitted from Michigan (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Nacogdoches (TX) Nacogdoches cornerback Jaylon Lane decommitted from Oklahoma State. Lane is a 6'1", 177 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, Georgia, Oklahoma, UCLA, and several others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #22 cornerback, and #203 overall. Oklahoma State has lost five games in a row, and head coach Mike Gundy has been rumored as a front-runner for the Florida job (although it's tough to get fans excited about a coach who will probably lose his final six games of the year). Additionally, Lane was arrested for a felony and a couple misdemeanors. I do not expect Michigan to get involved.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Plano (TX) East linebacker Anthony Hines III decommitted from Mississippi State. Hines is a 6'2", 218 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, Tecas A&M, and UCLA, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #6 outside linebacker, and #113 overall. Hines basically wants to check out other options without being tied down so early, and he also was turned off by head coach Dan Mullen yanking the scholarship of a committed 2015 quarterback last week. Again, Michigan is unlikely to have much of a shot here.

OFF THE BOARD
Orange (CA) Lutheran defensive end Keisean Lucier-South committed to UCLA. Lucier-South once called Michigan his dream offer, and there was some confidence among Michigan folk that they could land the 247 Composite 5-star, #2 weakside end, and #23 player overall. Unfortunately, Michigan's poor season combined with a solid one from UCLA was too much to overcome. He will probably play outside linebacker in the Bruins' 3-4 scheme, whereas he would be a defensive end in a 4-3 front.

MISCELLANEOUS
Here's a list of visitors who saw Michigan lose to Maryland (LINK).

Over on Recruiting Season, I updated the profiles of Farmington Hills Harrison DE Khalid Kareem, Brother Rice WR Grant Perry, and Auburn Hills Avondale RB Joshuwa Holloman, among others.

Visitors: Michigan vs. Penn State

Keisean Lucier-South (image via MaxPreps)

2015
Brian Cole - WR - Saginaw (MI) Heritage: Cole committed to Michigan in July (LINK).

Javarius Davis - CB - Jacksonville (FL) Ed White: Davis, the country's #40 running back according to 247's Composite rankings, was scheduled to officially visit Michigan this weekend but canceled.

Jack Dunaway - DE - Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice:

Tyree Kinnel - S - Huber Heights (OH) Wayne: Kinnel committed to Michigan in August 2013 (LINK).

Darrin Kirkland, Jr. - LB - Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence Central: Kirkland committed to Michigan in May (LINK).

Keisean Lucier-South - DE - Orange (CA) Lutheran: Lucier-South is a 6'5", 225 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, UCLA, and USC, among others. He's a 247 Composite 5-star, the #2 weakside end, and #23 overall. Lucier-South called Michigan a "dream offer" when he got it, but teams like Oklahoma and USC have been making a push since then. While both teams have been the victim of upsets this season, neither is going through a 2-4 season and/or potential coaching change. This is Lucier-South's official visit.


Alex Malzone - QB - Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Malzone committed to Michigan in May (LINK).

Grant Perry - WR - Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice:

Tyrone Miller - S - Saline (MI) Saline:

Mook Reynolds - CB - Greensboro (NC) Northern Guilford: Reynolds is a 6'0", 175 lb. prospect who is committed to Virginia Tech. He also has offers from Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Tennessee, among others. He took an official visit to Knoxville last weekend, and this is his official visit to Ann Arbor.

Zach Robertson - OG - Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco: Robertson was originally scheduled to take an official visit to Ann Arbor for the Penn State game, but he has since canceled. He's the #319 player in the class, according to the 247 Composite.

Auden Tate - WR - Tampa (FL) Wharton: Tate is a 6'4", 215 lb. Florida State commit; he also has offers from Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, and numerous others. Michigan was an early favorite and was in his top group before he committed to the Seminoles, so there's an outside shot that Michigan could flip him if things go in the right direction for Michigan. Unfortunately, he's an early enrollee, so an iffy coaching situation would likely spell doom for Michigan's chances.

Ahmad Wagner - WR - Huber Heights (OH) Wayne: Wagner is a 6'6", 190 lb. prospect with an offer from Kentucky. A teammate of Kinnel's, he's also a high level basketball prospect (Iowa and Minnesota have offered). He may fit the profile of the jumbo wide receiver Michigan likes if they find themselves scrounging for wideouts.

Mike Weber - RB - Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Weber committed to Michigan in August (LINK), but he is looking to take other official visits, considering Michigan's current situation.

Hit the jump for 2016 and 2017 prospects.

Recruiting Update: January 27, 2014

Stephenville (TX) Stephenville quarterback Jarrett Stidham

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Fort Lauderdale (FL) University School defensive end Richard Yeargin III decommitted from Notre Dame. He probably would have been an outside linebacker for the Fighting Irish, but he's expected to end up at Clemson now, where I believe he will be a defensive end.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Corona (CA) Santiago quarterback Blake Barnett was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'3", 195 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona, Cal, and UCLA, among others, and he has been committed to Notre Dame since last November. According to 247's Composite rankings, he's a 4-star, the #6 pro-style QB, and the #135 player overall. As a junior in 2013, he passed for 2,332 yards and 22 touchdowns, and he ran for 695 yards and 13 touchdowns. He runs a spread offense in high school and has a good combination of throwing and running abilities. Following Michigan's offer, he stated that he was solid with Notre Dame but would check into what the policy is on taking other visits, so the offer appears to have stirred at least a little bit of interest.

Princeton (NJ) Princeton running back Johnny Frasier was offered by Michigan. He's a 5'11", 200 lb. prospect with offers from Georgia, North Carolina, and Penn State, among others. According to the 247 Composite, he's a 3-star, the #57 running back, and #651 overall in the class. As a sophomore in 2012, he had 229 carries for 1,792 yards and 21 touchdowns, plus 13 catches for 194 yards and 2 more scores. Frasier has decent speed and vision, but his biggest asset might be his balance; he doesn't run over tacklers, but he bounces off and keeps moving forward.

Berea (KY) Madison Southern running back Damien Harris decommitted from Michigan. Harris had been committed to the Wolverines since summer 2013, but the poor season combined with the departure of offensive coordinator Al Borges has made him rethink some things. His mother went on the record saying that the Wolverines are still #1 on Harris's priority list, but it's rare that kids decommit from a school and then end up signing with that school, the stories of David Dawson and Will Campbell be damned. One school that may benefit is Ohio State, which was high on Harris's list before he chose the Wolverines; however, Michigan was his childhood favorite, so hopefully the 247 Composite #2 running back stays true to his youth.

Cedar Hill (TX) Cedar Hill wide receiver DaMarkus Lodge was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'2", 190 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Baylor, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #3 WR, and the #52 player overall. As a junior in 2013, he had 72 receptions for 1,255 yards and 22 touchdowns. He has very good speed and runs nice routes, but he is also very likely to stay in the state of Texas.

Orange (CA) Lutheran defensive end Keisean Lucier-South was offered by Michigan. I wrote up a scouting report on him last Friday.

Stephenville (TX) Stephenville quarterback Jarrett Stidham was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'3", 190 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #2 dual-threat QB, and #46 overall. As a junior in 2013, he completed 160/268 (60%) of his passes for 2,687 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions; he also ran 143 times for 975 yards (6.8 yards/attempt) and 16 touchdowns. Baylor appears to be the leader for Stidham, which would make some sense because head coach Art Briles was Stephenville's coach before moving on to the college ranks.



Lawrenceville (GA) Central Gwinnett outside linebacker Adonis Thomas was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'4", 215 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Texas A&M, among others. He's a 247 Composite 3-star, the #40 athlete, and the #376 player overall. Thomas is listed as an athlete partly because he plays receiver, but he's too stiff to be an offensive player at the next level. He looks like a SAM linebacker who may be able to grow into a weakside end at some point. Florida and Ohio State are two teams out front right now, and Michigan struggles to pull kids out of Georgia.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Lawrenceville (GA) Central Gwinnett offensive tackle E.J. Price was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 273 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin, among others. Price moves very well for a kid his size and should be a left tackle prospect going forward. Price is just the third lineman to have been offered for the 2016 class, following Erik Swenson (who is committed to Michigan already) and Thiyo Lukusa.

Flower Mound (TX) Marcus tight end Kaden Smith was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 235 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. As a sophomore in 2013, he had 40 receptions for 640 yards (16 yards/catch) and 8 touchdowns. It's early, but Smith is expected to be one of the top couple prospects at his position in the 2016 class. He visited Ann Arbor last summer and appears to have more than passing interest, but the general expectation is that he will stay down south. His school is the alma mater of former Michigan running back Stephen Hopkins.

OFF THE BOARD
Houston (TX) Cypress Falls outside linebacker Otaro Alaka flipped from Texas to Texas A&M.

Manalapan (NJ) Manalapan wide receiver Saeed Blacknall flipped from Rutgers to Penn State. Blacknall was the prize recruit remaining in the Rutgers class that has seen a great deal of attrition in the last couple months, including Michigan running back offeree Jonathan Hilliman (Boston College) and Detroit Country Day quarterback Tyler Wiegers (Iowa).

Goodyear (AZ) Desert Edge outside linebacker Ismael Murphy-Richardson committed to Arizona State. He never exhibited interest in his Michigan offer.

Ventura (CA) St. Bonaventure quarterback Ricky Town decommitted from Alabama and then committed to USC shortly afterward. Town is considered to be one of the top few quarterbacks in the 2015 class, and while he does not hold a Michigan offer, he was recruited to the Crimson Tide by offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, who now holds the same position for the Wolverines. Michigan has thrown out a few offers for 2015 quarterbacks but is yet to really ignite a ton of interest, so it's worth watching Town and others. I would not expect Town to have serious interest in the Wolverines even if offered, but this is interesting because Elkton (MD) Eastern Christian Academy quarterback David Sills - who holds a Michigan offer - has been committed to USC for several years.

Chandler (AZ) Hamilton offensive tackle Casey Tucker committed to Stanford. Tucker was committed to USC at one time and briefly flirted with interest in playing at Michigan, but he never visited Ann Arbor.

Scouting Report: Keisean Lucier-South

Orange (CA) Lutheran defensive end Keisean Lucier-South

Name: Keisean Lucier-South
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 218 lbs.
High school: Orange (CA) Lutheran
Position: Defensive end
Class: 2015

Notes: Holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, California, Colorado, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, and Washington . . . Claims a 4.7 forty time . . . Had 10 sacks as a junior in 2013 . . . ESPN 4-star, 82 grade, #9 DE, #65 overall . . . Rivals 4-star, #7 WDE, #80 overall . . . Scout 5-star, #2 DE . . . 247 Sports 4-star, 96 grade, #6 WDE, #57 overall

Strengths: Long-armed with good frame to add weight . . . Quick first step that gets offensive tackles to open up sooner than they like . . . Comes around corner with inside shoulder dipped . . . Plays with good knee bend . . . Spikes inside well due to leverage . . . Good change of direction . . . Lowers hips at point of contact, allowing him to stay with shorter players . . . Uses hands and long arms well to disengage from blockers and wrap up ball carriers . . . Very good speed . . . Takes proper angles and does not often need to readjust pursuit

Weaknesses: Needs to add weight and get stronger . . . Overpowers some high school linemen due to quickness and ability to play low, but needs to play more violently to beat players at next level . . . Does not display a variety of pass rush moves

Projection: Weakside end. The key for Lucier-South will be whether he maintains his athleticism while he adds weight, because he's very thin now. If he can maintain his speed and change of direction, he should be able to remain at weakside end and give offensive tackles fits with his length and quickness. If that speed starts to dwindle once he adds another 40-50 lbs. of muscle, then he may need to move to strongside end. He plays with enough leverage to take on tight ends and tackles on the strong side, so that wouldn't spell disaster for him. Perhaps the most encouraging thing is his pursuit angles, which combine with his understanding of leverage to suggest that he comprehends the game on a higher level than "see ball, get ball." Also, Maxpreps named his school's league (the Trinity League) as the #2 most difficult conference in the nation, so he's having success against quality competition. That league includes St. John Bosco (Josh Rosen, Jaleel Wadood, Damien Mama) and Mater Dei (Matt Barkley, Matt Leinart, Max Wittek), among others.

Reminds me of: Taco Charlton. Michigan hasn't successfully recruited many guys like Lucier-South in recent years, so while I think Lucier-South is more refined as a player than Charlton was, they are comparable when it comes to size and natural athleticism.

Likelihood of committing to Michigan: Lucier-South has been pining for a Michigan offer for a long time and called Michigan his "dream school." Still, he lives on the west coast and is being pursued by the likes of Notre Dame, Texas, and USC, so there's no shortage of suitors to try to convince him otherwise. No other strong leaders appear to have emerged, so I think Michigan has as good of a shot as anyone.