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| Elkton (MD) Eastern Christian Academy LB Dele' Harding (image via Twitter) |
Lawrenceville (NJ) Lawrenceville School offensive tackle Grant Newsome committed to Michigan (LINK).
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Nacogdoches (TX) Nacogdoches cornerback Jaylon Lane was offered by Michigan. The 6'1", 177-pounder committed to Oklahoma State in early May and has offers from Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oklahoma, among numerous others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #22 cornerback, and #195 overall. He claims a 4.44 forty and a 36" vertical. As a junior in 2013, he made 46 tackles, 5 interceptions (2 returned for touchdowns), and 1 kickoff return touchdown.
Greensboro (NC) Northern Guilford cornerback Mook Reynolds was offered by Michigan. The 5'11", 170-pounder committed to Virginia Tech in early February and has offers from North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Tennessee, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #25 cornerback, and #272 overall. Reynolds would like to visit Ann Arbor this summer and wants to make a "final decision" in August, so the Wolverines (and other schools) have a chance to move in. Both of these new cornerback offers seem to be related to the recent decommitment of Lakewood (OH) St. Edward cornerback Shaun Crawford.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Elkton (MD) Eastern Christian Academy linebacker Dele' Harding was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'1", 230 lb. prospect with offers from Massachusetts, Tennessee, and USC. He's a Scout 3-star, the #26 outside linebacker, and #280 overall. Harding was a teammate of Freddy Canteen and Brandon Watson and has visited Michigan a couple times before, including last summer's camp. Steve Lorenz from 247 Sports immediately put in a Crystal Ball pick for Michigan.
Philadelphia (PA) Imhotep tight end Naseir Upshur was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'3", 232 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Maryland, Pitt, Rutgers, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #5 tight end, and #166 overall. Upshur is a capable receiver, but his most impressive skill is his run blocking. Despite not being the largest tight end around, he's tenacious and uses excellent technique. Michigan also pursued 2013 running back David Williams (South Carolina) from Imhotep.
OFF THE BOARD
Lakewood (OH) St. Edward cornerback Shaun Crawford committed to Notre Dame. Crawford was previously committed to Michigan, just like I was previously committed to that one girl before that other, prettier girl came along. It turned out she was crazy, though.
MISCELLANEOUS
The list of lists:
- Michigan's weekend visitors (LINK)
- Michigan's summer camp visitors (LINK)
- Sound Mind Sound Body participants (LINK)
Upshur would be a nice pickup. I think Kevin Koger was rather underrated in his blocking ability, and it would be nice to have a tight end like that again.
ReplyDeleteDe'le Harding is only a 3*? I thought when he first showed up on the recruiting radar people thought he was a probable 5*
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind that when it's super early in the recruiting process, nobody knows what the f*** is going on. If a kid has only just finished his 8th or 9th grade year, a lot of people want to tout him as a future 5-star. But then they stop growing or other kids pop up on the radar, and suddenly, the automatic 5-star isn't valued quite as highly.
DeleteAt the same time, I haven't seen any video of Harding, so I can't speak to what his strengths and weaknesses are. He has some early offers from Michigan and USC, so that seems to indicate that he's a 4-star talent at the least.
Should Michigan land Dele' Harding, do you see a pipeline from Eastern Christian Academy to Michigan forming?
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't. Pipelines are difficult to establish and can be broken fairly easily. If one kid gets a raw deal or comes to Michigan and sits on the bench or transfers, then that might sour the taste in other ECA kids' mouths. Furthermore, that's a long ways away to establish a pipeline.
DeleteThere have also been several of these "online high schools" that were discredited by the NCAA this past year (around 50, I think), and I would not be surprised if ECA follows suit soon. The way it's set up is kind of shady and probably overly sports-oriented.