Recruiting Update: April 13, 2015

Oak Park (MI) Oak Park offensive
tackle JaRaymond Hall

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COMMITMENTS
Southfield (MI) Southfield running back Matt Falcon committed to Michigan (LINK).

Weber State punter Blake O'Neill is transferring to Michigan (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Houston (TX) Westside defensive tackle Jordan Elliott decommitted from Baylor. He's a 6'4", 305 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, and USC, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #12 defensive tackle, and #93 overall. As a junior in 2014, he made 78 tackles, 31 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks. The decommitment took place shortly after he took an unofficial visit to Texas, and the Longhorns are thought to be the favorite to land Elliott.

Jacksonville (FL) First Coast wide receiver Kevin Stepherson was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'0", 180 lb. prospect with offers from LSU, Notre Dame, and others. He's a Rivals 3-star wideout and seems relatively unknown at this time, but he shows some good long speed and an ability to run after the catch. The Tigers and Fighting Irish make up his top two, so Michigan has some catching up to do.


Hit the jump for several more new offers and some miscellaneous bits.

Rialto (CA) Carter linebacker Lokeni Toaioloa, a UCLA commit, was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'1, 212 lb. prospect who committed in late March; he also has offers from Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, and USC, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #1 inside linebacker, and #58 overall. Toaioloa is a solidly built, hard-hitting linebacker and probably won't give Michigan much of a look.

Green Bay (WI) Bay Port offensive tackle Cole Van Lanen was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 270 lb. prospect with offers from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #27 offensive tackle, and #279 overall. Wisconsin is the odds-on favorite.

Springhill (LA) North Webster linebacker Devin White was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'1", 260 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 athlete, and #148 overall. The reason he's labeled as an "athlete" is because in addition to making 90+ tackles in each of the past two seasons, he ran for 2,287 yards and 30 touchdowns as a junior running back in 2014. He could play linebacker, defensive end, or some sort of H-back at the next level, but his highlights are impressive, one of the best highlight packages I've seen in the 2016 recruiting cycle. As are most highly touted Louisianans, he's expected to go to LSU.


ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Waxhaw (NC) Cuthbertson wide receiver J.T. Cauthen was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'1", 200 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #13 wide receiver, and #68 overall. As a sophomore in 2014, he caught 104 passes for 1,464 yards and 15 touchdowns. He makes some very athletic catches and has a solid build for being just a sophomore.

Oak Park (MI) Oak Park offensive tackle JaRaymond Hall was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'5", 255 lb. prospect with two other offers coming from Bowling Green and Miami-OH. Hall might be too short to be a tackle right now, although he's just a sophomore and should grow a little bit. He does a great job of firing low off the ball, keeping a wide base, and driving his feet through the whistle. Linemen typically develop a little bit later, but Hall is the best in-state lineman I've seen in the 2017 cycle so far. He attends Oak Park, which sent running back John Kelly to Tennessee in the 2015 class; several of his teammates have gone to MAC schools in recent years, too.

Waco (TX) La Vega tight end Kedrick James was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'4", 245 lb. prospect with an offer from Baylor. James is a big body who moves pretty well in a straight line, but he lacks refinement as a blocker and pass catcher. He's a good developmental prospect.

Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha running back Anthony McFarland, Jr. was offered by Michigan. He's a 5'9", 181 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin, among others. He's a 247 Sports 5-star, the #2 running back, and #28 overall. McFarland has scorching speed and looks a little like Chris Johnson running the ball. The Seminoles lead the Crystal Ball predictions, but McFarland was openly campaigning for a Michigan offer, so maybe there's a shot.



Anaheim (CA) Servite wide receiver Osiris St. Brown was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'1", 178 lb. prospect with offers from Illinois, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Texas Tech, and Utah, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #15 wide receiver, and #74 overall. He is the brother of Equanimeous St. Brown, a Notre Dame incoming freshman wideout.

Philadelphia (PA) St. Joseph's running back D'Andre Swift was offered by Michigan. He's a 5'9", 195 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Iowa, Penn State, Pitt, and Rutgers, among others. He's a 247 Sports 4-star, the #1 all-purpose back, and #8 overall. Swift is a kid who can do a little bit of everything - run, catch, return kicks, play corner, etc. He doesn't have truly elite speed, but he accelerates quickly and is very tough to bring down in space. He attends the same school as 2015 signee Jon Runyan, Jr.

OFF THE BOARD
Kathleen (GA) Veterans quarterback Logan Byrd committed to North Carolina. Byrd did not have a Michigan offer, but he visited Ann Arbor several weeks ago and lots of people assumed he would leave town with a chance to play for Michigan. The offer never came, Brandon Peters committed to Michigan, and now Byrd is a Tarheel.

MISCELLANEOUS
Charlotte (NC) Ardrey Kell defensive end Julian Okwara named a top five that includes Michigan. The other schools on his list are Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Ole Miss. However, he has already set an announcement date of April 30th and has not visited Michigan, so that's a big hint not to get excited.

Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei linebacker Curtis Robinson named a top seven that does not include Michigan. It does include Duke, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, and Washington.

Over on Recruiting Season, I added a profile for:

• Greenville TE Keegan Cossou