No more Beaver for Michigan fans

The interestingly named Shavodrick Beaver is no longer a Michigan commitment. Instead, he will be enrolling as a Tulsa Golden Hurricane come January. If that doesn't make sense to you, that's because it doesn't make sense.

Apparently, he just wants his mom to be able to see him play in football games, which is admirable, I guess. He certainly won't be attending Tulsa to get to the NFL; if he gets to the next level, he would join such memorable standouts as Garrett Mills (Vikings, TE) and Nick Graham (Colts, DB). It's not exactly a factory for NFL players.

WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US?
The situation is not dire. Recruiting services have current commit Tate Forcier ranked above Beaver in almost every category, although Beaver is probably a more skilled runner. Forcier will enroll in January and begin his fight with Steven Threet to start on Opening Day 2009. In my opinion, Beaver would have sat on the bench behind Forcier and Threet for at least a couple years. Former walk-on (and former starter) Nick Sheridan will likely be third on the depth chart, at best, followed by redshirt junior David Cone.

This does not account for other potential commits such as:

Tajh Boyd - formerly committed to West Virginia, then committed to Tennessee until new coach Lane Kiffin reneged on the school's scholarship offer. He is Rivals' #3-ranked dual-threat quarterback. Ohio State is also in the mix, although Boyd might be leery of being only one year behind Terrell Pryor.

Eugene Smith - currently committed to West Virginia. Smith's interest in Michigan lasted for a long time, even throughout the commitments of Kevin Newsome (since decommitted), Shavodrick Beaver (ditto), and Tate Forcier. It would not surprise me to see Rivals' #5-ranked dual-threat quarterback jump at the chance to work with Rich Rodriguez and Calvin Magee instead of Bill Stewart.

Denard Robinson - currently reported to be a Florida lean. He's 6' and 179 pounds and listed as the #12 ATHLETE by Rivals. If the whole quarterback thing doesn't work out, he could be a solid wide receiver or cornerback. Scout.com's Tom Beaver is reporting that Robinson will be Michigan's number one contingency plan, although he may be a long shot to pull away from the Gators.

With the recruiting dead period upcoming, it may be a bit before Michigan gains another QB commitment. My prediction is that the Wolverines will pull in two quarterbacks in this class: Tate Forcier and Eugene Smith.