Recruiting Update: October 29, 2014

Oak Park (MI) Oak Park safety John Kelly (image via Scout.com)

DECOMMITMENT
Richmond (VA) St. Christopher's cornerback Garrett Taylor decommitted from Michigan. Taylor had committed to Michigan (LINK) this past spring, but in recent weeks, he had set official visits to Ohio State and Penn State. Taylor tore his ACL prior to the beginning of his senior season, so he hasn't played and won't play this year. However, he is still getting attention from heavy hitters, and he will not be considering Michigan going forward. He's currently a 247 Composite 4-star, the #12 cornerback, and #107 overall.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Oak Park (MI) Oak Park safety John Kelly was offered by Michigan. He's a 5'9", 191 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan State, Minnesota, and some MAC schools. He's a 247 Composite 3-star, the #63 athlete, #661 overall, and #9 in-state. Kelly was offered after cornerback Taylor's decommitment, but Michigan wants Kelly as a safety. He also plays running back in high school. Kelly claims a 4.6 forty and while he's not a burner, he is a good all-around player. Initial readings have him leaning toward Michigan State, and his comments upon receiving the Michigan offer were not particularly overwhelming in favor of the Wolverines. He may visit this coming weekend for the game against Indiana.

Lawrenceville (GA) Central Gwinnett outside linebacker Adonis Thomas decommitted from Florida. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 outside linebacker, and #171 overall. Thomas has never shown much interest in Michigan, seems to like Alabama, and has scheduled visits to Oregon and LSU.

Hit the jump for players who committed elsewhere and some other miscellaneous tidbits.

Recruiting Update: May 20, 2013

Missouri City (TX) Ridge Point linebacker Cameron Townsend

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Mesquite (TX) Poteet linebacker Malik Jefferson was offered by Michigan.  Jefferson is 6'3", 215 lbs., and has offers from Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M, among others.  As a sophomore in 2012, he had 105 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries.  He also claims a 4.43 forty, a 35" vertical, and a 305 lb. bench press.  While he plays linebacker and appears to be recruited as a linebacker, I would not be surprised if he grows into a weakside end prospect.  The Longhorns appear to be the leader in his recruitment.

Missouri City (TX) Ridge Point linebacker Cameron Townsend was offered by Michigan.  He's a 6'0", 195 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, Houston, and Texas.  He plays like a SAM linebacker, but his size indicates more of an inside linebacker prospect.  He's a very heavy hitter whose position might become clearer if he hits a growth spurt, but for now, I see him as a MIKE.


OFF THE BOARD
Nashville (TN) Montgomery Bell offensive tackle Alex Bars committed to Notre Dame.  I had written a scouting report on Bars a couple weeks ago and liked what I saw.  His older brother Blake plays offensive guard at Michigan, but he has another brother at Penn State and a father who played for the Fighting Irish.  Michigan seemed to be the other leading option for Alex, however, and the Wolverines don't have any other offensive linemen who seem heavily interested, although Chandler (AZ) Hamilton's Casey Tucker has voiced interest after decommitting from USC and Florissant (MO) Hazelwood Central's Roderick Johnson visited this spring.  Perhaps we will see the coaching staff send out some more offers.

East St. Louis (IL) East St. Louis linebacker Kyron Watson committed to Kansas.  Watson had been hinting for weeks that he would commit to Michigan as soon as he visited campus, but that visit was postponed a couple times and re-scheduled for this past weekend.  Just before the visit, however, Michigan's coaches reportedly told him that he no longer had an offer.  There are some rumors that Michigan thought he could play SAM but then backed off once they found out he measured in at a shade under 6'0", but I find that hard to believe; it's clear from his recruiting profiles and his highlights that he's not very tall.

MISCELLANEOUS
I wrote up a scouting report on Clairton (PA) Thomas Jefferson linebacker Chase Winovich.