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| Lakewood (OH) St. Edward cornerback Tony Butler could be Michigan's next commit |
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ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Lakewood (OH) St. Edward cornerback Tony Butler decommitted from Pitt. This was a long time in the making, but it was tough for Butler, who said he considered new Pitt head coach (and former Michigan State defensive coordinator) Pat Narduzzi a bit of a father figure. Former St. Edward head coach Rick Finotti is now Michigan's director of football operations. Butler is 6'2", 195 lbs. and is a 247 Composite 3-star, the #57 cornerback, and #622 overall. He is now expected to commit to Michigan at some point (he will visit Michigan this weekend) unless Ohio State swoops in with an offer.
St. Petersburg (FL) Farragut safety Craig Watts decommitted from Wisconsin. Watts is a 6'0", 180 lb. prospect who also has offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami, and Ohio State, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #16 safety, and #287 overall. He is not expected to consider Michigan. He just committed to Wisconsin in late June, so this was quite a quick change of heart.
Hit the jump for a couple new 2018 offers, numerous players who committed elsewhere, some news from the Elite 11/The Opening, and some random tidbits.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018
Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter's Prep defensive end Jayson Ademilola was offered by Michigan. Ademilola is a 6'3", 260 lb. prospect with offers from Connecticut, Miami, and Rutgers, among others. He's a thick kid already who looks like he could very well be a defensive tackle by the time he matriculates through high school. Michigan has been recruiting New Jersey heavily, and he is supposed to visit Ann Arbor for the BBQ in the Big House in August, along with several other New Jersey-area prospects.
Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter's Prep linebacker Justin Ademilola was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'3", 225 lb. prospect with offers from Boston College, Connecticut, Rutgers, and Virginia. The twin brother of Jayson, Justin is a little lighter and looks like he could play tight end, linebacker, or defensive end at the next level. He will also visit Michigan in August.
OFF THE BOARD
Lakeland (FL) Lake Gibson defensive tackle Keyshon Camp committed to USC. One of Camp's coaches is former Michigan offensive guard Ricky Barnum, but Camp never visited Michigan and the Wolverines never seemed to be a threat.
Abbotsford (BC) Abbotsford tight end Chase Claypool committed to Notre Dame. Claypool's recruitment was a bit of a whirlwind. He picked up some steam going into the Sound Mind Sound Body camp, took a few visits, and went from an Oregon "lock" to a Notre Dame commit within the span of a few weeks. A jumbo wide receiver at this point, he will probably be a tight end in college.
Norfolk (VA) Lake Taylor cornerback Wayne Davis committed to Ohio State. He had recently put Michigan in his top three despite never visiting Ann Arbor, so it was pretty clear that the Wolverines would not be the choice unless he held off on committing.
Norco (CA) Norco safety Troy Dye committed to Oregon. Ranked as a safety, he's 6'3", 210 lbs. and I think he'll probably end up as a linebacker. He's a teammate of quarterback commit Vic Viramontes and was also offered during Michigan's Summer Swarm tour.
Oakland (CA) Bishop O'Dowd linebacker Camilo Eifler committed to Washington. Eifler was initially excited about the potential of playing for Jim Harbaugh, but that enthusiasm wore off and it was basically a foregone conclusion that he would be committing to the Huskies.
Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Michael Irvin, Jr. committed to Miami. It was another unsurprising commitment since his dad was former Miami Hurricane (and Dallas Cowboy) great Michael Irvin.
Sachse (TX) Sachse cornerback Jared Mayden committed to Oregon. He's the 247 Composite #134 overall player and Ohio State had been predicted by some, so this keeps him out of Big Ten country. Meanwhile, teammates Devin and Donovan Duvernay have Michigan offers but are not strongly considering the Wolverines.
Arvada (CO) Pomona offensive tackle Jake Moretti, a 2017 prospect, committed to Ohio State. He's the 247 Composite #63 overall player and had been considering the Wolverines, having visited Ann Arbor this spring.
Rockford (MI) Rockford kicker Quinn Nordin committed to Penn State. He created quite a stir with his announcement, since he made a video of himself getting off of a private jet (LINK). Some people gave him a hard time because he made such a big deal and he's "only" a kicker. Personally, I have no problem with that. The only problem I have with it is that the video is kind of lame. Anyway, Michigan probably could have secured his commitment if they wanted him, but the coaches are reportedly so confident in several other non-specialists that they did not feel the need to take a kicker in a second consecutive class (Michigan got Andrew David in 2015), even if he is the #1 kicking prospect in the country.
Gardena (CA) Junipero Serra safety C.J. Pollard continued the long line of Serra players who commit to USC. Pollard was initially excited about his Michigan offer, but he never visited.
West Hartford (CT) Kingswood-Oxford linebacker Koby Quansah committed to Duke. The Blue Devils now have three players committed who held Michigan offers (Quansah, Virginia WR Scott Bracey, and North Carolina CB Mark Gilbert), which might be the first time in history that has happened.
La Puente (CA) Bishop Amat wide receiver Trevon Sidney committed to USC. The U.S. Army All-American was expected to become a Trojan, and USC had 100% of the Crystal Ball votes.
Fort Worth (TX) All Saints Episcopal defensive tackle Michael Williams committed to Stanford. He's the #228 overall player in the country.
Portland (OR) Central Catholic linebacker LaMar Winston surprised no one by picking Oregon. Michigan had been recruiting him as an "athlete" - either a linebacker or a tight end - but there's really no reason to leave the state of Oregon at this point unless you want the real-life Get Out of Jail Free cards passed out in Tallahassee.
ELITE 11 AND THE OPENING
Avon (IN) Avon quarterback Brandon Peters, a Michigan commit, was named to the Elite 11 group of quarterbacks. He was never the front-runner, but he performed well throughout the week. In alphabetical order, the other players were Shane Buechele (Texas), K.J. Costello (Stanford), Jacob Eason (Georgia), Feleipe Franks (LSU), Jarrett Guarantano (Tennessee), Dwayne Haskins (Maryland), Malik Henry (Florida State), Brandon McIlwain (South Carolina), Shea Patterson (MVP, Ole Miss), Peters, and Anthony Russo (Rutgers). Former Michigan commit Messiah DeWeaver (Michigan State) finished outside of the top eleven. Players holding Michigan offers are in bold. I'm not sure if this means anything, but the only quarterback Michigan offered in 2016 who wasn't at least participating in the Elite 11 is Michigan commit Victor Viramontes, a dual-threat/athlete type.
Peters measured in at 6'4 1/2" and 209 lbs. He ran a 4.81 forty, a 4.39 shuttle, and showed a 31.5" vertical.
Paramus (NJ) Catholic defensive tackle Rashan Gary won the MVP award for the defensive linemen. There were some feelings that he is the best defensive lineman to have come through The Opening since its inception in 2011.
Sachse (TX) Sachse cornerback Jared Mayden said he plans to take an official visit to Michigan. As pointed out above, he committed to Oregon at The Opening.
Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy tight end Isaac Nauta is "definitely" going to take an official visit to Michigan. He was Michigan's first offer in the 2016 class, and he is currently the #26 player overall in the 247 Composite rankings. Unfortunately, he's committed to Florida State. Nauta is transferring from Georgia to IMG Academy for his senior year.
Detroit (MI) Cass Tech wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones became the first underclassman to win the SPARQ championship. He measured in at 6'2", 185 lbs. and ran a 4.42 forty. He also had a 4.00 shuttle, a 43.5" vertical, a Powerball toss of 42.4', and an overall score of 149.49.
Montgomery (AL) Carver linebacker Lyndell Wilson said he plans to take an official visit to Michigan. Wilson is extremely fast and athletic for a linebacker and is a 5-star player.
MISCELLANEOUS
Fresno (CA) Clovis West linebacker Caleb Kelly named Michigan to his top seven, and the Wolverines are thought to be neck-and-neck with Oklahoma for the lead right now.
Viera (FL) Viera wide receiver Tre Nixon named a top ten that does not include Michigan.
What is your assessment of Butler as a recruit and as a fit for UMich? Would you like to see him in the class?
ReplyDeleteHe's another physical kid, a big corner who doesn't have a great deal of speed. I would like to see a speedy, lock-down type of corner in the class. But if Michigan can't get that, then I guess getting a few big Richard Sherman types of physical corners isn't the end of the world. I think Butler fits what Michigan wants to do with the boundary corner, but we're short on field corner types who can cover a lot of ground.
DeleteSomewhere I read someone write that the secret to the Seahawk's secondary was not so much Sherman (good as he is) but rather it was their free safety Thomas. Thomas allows Sherman to do what he does.
DeleteSo when you say "then I guess getting a few big Richard Sherman types of physical corners isn't the end of the world," is part of that your thinking that Peppers might fill the role (sort of ) that the Seahawks Thomas does in their secondary?
You're right that the whole secondary is involved. I do think Peppers has a chance to be an eraser at safety, so yes, I think that would help these bigger, slower corners be successful. I think our secondary overall is lacking great speed, so it would be nice to add speed at corner or safety.
DeleteHave you heard anything on the recruitment of Peoples-Jones? Do you think we are in a good position with him? Or do you think it will be another Damon Webb type situation. Also, what do you think of him as a prospect?
ReplyDeleteWhat I've heard is that Michigan is in a very good spot with him. I have heard from some people that Michigan is #1, but I have also heard that he likes Florida, Ohio State, and others. He doesn't talk about recruiting a great deal, so it's tough to get a good handle on what he's thinking.
DeleteAs a prospect, he's a guy who looks like he can be both a workout warrior AND a very good football player. He can run, he can jump, he can catch, and he's tough enough to break some tackles. I like him a lot. He's the #1 player in Michigan's 2017 class, in my opinion (and everyone else's), and I think Michigan has a pretty strong 2017 class.
peoples-jones is easily the most significant prospect on michigans board in 2017 - its always nice to sign the top player in the state (and a sign of healthy programs will always be locking down the backyard),
Deleteas we all know, not all top prospects are created equal. obviously some years kids like woodley and graham are not only tops in the state but also highly ranked nationally. im sure the coaches aim to reel in top 5 michigan kids on their board each year and 2017 likely no different - except they can prob find comparable replacements for the other 4 kids in their top 5, but people-jones just looks that much better (he could easily be #1 WR in country).
hes dynamic athlete and a kid michigan would obviously regret missing out on (should be choose elsewhere - which unfortunately remains distinctly possible) and would struggle to replace (equally bc hes that talented and hed be shunning the hometown school).
basically just the long way of agreeing with thunder - the kid appears to be both a workout warrior and a football player (which is not as common as some may believe). hes quick / sudden and also fast and this team has less than 5 of those type athletes currently on the roster, hence the lack of playmakers.
plus the kid plays a pretty smooth game, making it look easy vs current competition in a way that leads me to believe hell have little trouble taking his game to next level
I've read two evaluations that deem St. Juste to be fast. Thunder says slow, or at least not fast. I look at what vid there is and don't see what i'd call speed.
ReplyDeleteI'm liking almost everything i see in terms of our recruiting and am completely in favor of getting a lot bigger and a lot meaner which I believe is what we're accomplishing here. I also think we are improving team speed, especially at LB, WR and Safety, depending on where guys end up lining up, but if St. Juste isn't fast, continue to dunno on that one.
If he's fast, then he must not be going 100% on film. Or maybe he had a pulled hammy. I just haven't seen it.
DeleteI see a lot of commits to some schools we are going head-to-head with for other players. Do you see any of these commits actually helping M with others?
ReplyDelete