Recruiting Update: March 4, 2013

Grand Rapids (MI) Christian wide receiver Drake Harris visited Michigan this past weekend.

COMMITMENT
Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake offensive guard Mason Cole committed to Michigan.

OFF THE BOARD
Virginia Beach (VA) Bayside safety Quin Blanding committed to Virginia.  Blanding is one of the top few prospects in the class of 2014 and got invited to Nike's The Opening in the summer of 2012, an invitation that only gets extended to a couple underclassmen.

Mansfield (TX) Timberview safety Edward Paris committed to LSU.  His defensive backfield teammate Brandon Simmons also has an offer from Michigan, but he's a longshot, too, because he wants to play closer to home.

MISCELLANEOUS
Here's a list of unofficial visitors from this past week.

Here's my scouting report on Cleveland (OH) St. Ignatius outside linebacker Kyle Berger.

Wolverine Nation: Roundtree reflects on career

Jessica Burciaga

Michael Rothstein does an exit interview with wide receiver Roy Roundtree.

Ricky Barnum, #52

Ricky Barnum

HIGH SCHOOL
Barnum attended Lakeland (FL) Lake Gibson and graduated in 2008.  He committed to Florida in early January 2008, but Rich Rodriguez - who was hired from West Virginia in December 2007 - continued to recruit Barnum, who held offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, South Florida, and West Virginia.  He eventually made the flip from the Gators to the Wolverines on National Signing Day in February.  He was a 4-star and the #5 center to Rivals, and he was a 3-star and the #17 offensive guard to Scout.

COLLEGE
Barnum redshirted as a freshman in 2008.  Michigan's coaching staff at the time really liked his mobility, and they started to work him in at various positions on the offensive line, including offensive tackle - despite the fact that Barnum stands just 6'3".  As a redshirt freshman in 2009, he played left guard against Eastern Michigan and left tackle against Delaware State.  In his redshirt sophomore season, he played left guard against Bowling Green, left tackle against Ohio State, and right guard in the bowl game against Mississippi State.  Barnum finally earned a starting job as a redshirt junior in 2011, earning three starts before injury his ankle pretty badly and giving way to Michael Schofield.  As part of his versatile training, Barnum had been snapping in practice throughout his career, and he was expected to be the starting center going into 2012; however, the surprise of opening day 2012 was that Barnum was back at left guard (Schofield had moved to right tackle) and fellow fifth year senior Elliott Mealer was inserted at center.  Barnum struggled with ankle, knee, and forearm injuries throughout the first four years of his career, but he started all 13 games as a senior.

CAREER STATISTICS
22 games played, 16 starts

AWARDS
None.

SUMMARY
I was never sold on Barnum as a viable offensive lineman at Michigan, even when Rich Rodriguez seemed to be trying to get him on the field early in his career.  There was a time when "insiders" were suggesting that he could be Michigan's next starting offensive tackle, and that always bugged me because he clearly lacks the size to do so.  His best position was always going to be guard or center.  When Schofield took over for him in 2011, it was an improvement; the backup was better at pulling and drive blocking.  Going into his senior season, I thought - as most people did - that Barnum would be the starting center.  I even went so far as to place Barnum at #2 in the 2012 Season Countdown because it was so vital that he have a good season at center.  Aside from him getting bumped over to left guard, the entire interior offensive line struggled, ncluding Barnum. Supposedly, Mealer was the superior snapper despite struggling as a blocker, too.  It was a subpar season for Michigan's offensive line.

I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR . . . 
. . . being quite average.

PROJECTION
Barnum runs well in a straight line, but Michigan's coaching staff didn't take particular advantage of his pulling skills.  Perhaps they didn't trust him as a pulling guard.  Despite his mobility, he doesn't stand out as an open-field blocker and he really struggles with drive blocking.  At just 6'3" and 296 lbs. or so, he lacks the bulk to be effective at guard on the next level.  Just like in college, I think his best position would be center, but his reported issues with snapping the ball consistently might be a problem there, too.  I just don't see a future for Barnum in the NFL.

Wolverine Nation: Omameh earned his success

Michael Rothstein does an exit interview with offensive guard Patrick Omameh.

MLive: Brady Hoke on recruit flipping

Daphne Joy

Brady Hoke talks about the practice of flipping recruits, a.k.a. convincing kids who are already committed to  choose a different school.

Attractive Michigan Girl of the Week

If you have any other pictures of girls wearing Michigan gear, drop me an e-mail.  Go Blue!

Visitors: March 1-3, 2013

Grand Rapids (MI) Christian wide receiver Drake Harris

Joshua Alabi - DT - Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Alabi is a 6'5", 245 lb. prospect for the class of 2015 with offers from Michigan and Michigan State.  He and classmate Mikey Weber received Michigan offers in recent weeks.

Jayru Campbell - QB - Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Campbell is a 6'3", 190 lb. prospect who recently added a Michigan State offer to his offers from Alabama, Eastern Michigan, and Notre Dame.  He has led Cass Tech to two straight state championships and still has two years left to go in high school.  I have heard that Michigan wants to see him improve some of his skills before offering, and at this time, it's unclear whether he'll receive one from the Wolverines.  Brady Hoke offered just three quarterbacks in the class of 2013 and just one (so far) in the class of 2014, so the coaching staff is very careful about whom they offer.

Rob Dowdy - OT - Westerville (OH) South: Dowdy is a 6'6", 260 lb. offensive tackle from the class of 2015.  He actually visited on Wednesday, but I'm tossing him in this group anyway.  He has not been offered by Michigan yet, but he does hold an offer from Indiana.  You may remember that Michigan made a run at his teammate Marcus Ball, a safety/linebacker from the class of 2013 who was committed to Wisconsin before flipping to Arizona State.

Drake Harris - WR - Grand Rapids (MI) Christian: Harris is a 6'4", 180 lb. wideout who recently added Georgia and Penn State to his offers from Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, etc.  As a junior in 2012, he had 91 receptions for 2,015 yards and 25 touchdowns.  He will likely be one of the top ten wide receivers in the 2014 class, and that's probably a conservative statement.  This is the second time in three weeks that Harris will visit Michigan, despite the fact that he's a soft commit to Michigan State.

Mikey Weber - RB - Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Weber is a 5'10", 190 lb. prospect with offers from Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, and Syracuse.  He had 1,700 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2012.  He attends the pipeline of Cass Tech, which has also sent guys like William Campbell, Thomas Gordon, Terry Richardson, Jourdan Lewis, and Delano Hill.

Chase Winovich - LB - Clairton (PA) Thomas Jefferson: Winovich is a 6'4", 215 lb. outside linebacker with offers from Florida State, Northwestern, Pitt, and West Virginia, among others.  Michigan has not offered him, but they're talking to him about the SAM linebacker position.