Recruiting Update: January 6, 2015

Reisterstown (MD) Franklin offensive tackle Pat Allen

This is a huge recruiting update. I am a masochist.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Reisterstown (MD) Franklin offensive tackle Pat Allen decommitted from Georgia. He was supposedly leaning toward committing to Tennessee on Sunday night in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl, but he ended up not announcing a decision at all. That is supposedly because he is re-considering the Bulldogs. Allen visited Michigan in the fall for an official visit, so a concerted effort by Harbaugh could get the Wolverines back in the mix.

Winter Garden (FL) West Orange running back Dexter Williams decommitted from Miami. A long-time Miami commit, he had been wavering for a while. In early December he said he was on track to graduate early and enroll at Miami in January, but that has fallen off. A reported score of 17 on his ACT might hamper his chances of qualifying at some schools, but he took an official to Louisville, has one set to Notre Dame, and is being pursued hard by Florida. Williams is a 6'0", 192 lb. prospect who's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 running back, and #83 overall.

OFF THE BOARD
Miami (FL) Booker T. Washington tight end Devonaire Clarington committed to Texas at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Clarington played defensive end his senior, but he is expected to be an offensive player for the Longhorns.

New Orleans (LA) Warren Easton wide receiver Tyron Johnson committed to LSU at the Under Armour All-American Game, which was exactly what everyone expected.

McKinney (TX) North running back Ronald Jones II committed to USC at the Under Armour All-American Bowl. He had previously been committed to Oklahoma State.

Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco offensive guard Zach Robertson committed to Arizona State. Robertson was a high school teammate of quarterback Josh Rosen, who enrolled early at UCLA.

Manassas (VA) Stonewall Jackson defensive tackle Tim Settle committed to Virginia Tech during the Under Armour All-American Game. At one time Settle was presumed to be leaning toward Ohio State, and he was also friendly with 2014 defensive end Da'Shawn Hand (Alabama), who was thought to be a draw at one time (Settle also had an Alabama offer).

Missouri City (TX) Fort Bend Marshall cornerback Kendall Sheffield committed to Alabama at the Under Armour All-American Game.

Dallas (TX) Skyline linebacker Anthony Wheeler committed to Texas at the Under Armour All-American Game.

Hit the jump for a bunch of brief profiles on potential recruits to look at for 2015, plus some miscellaneous recruiting tidbits from the last week or two.

Recruiting Update: February 24, 2014

Charlotte (NC) South Mecklenburg
safety Stephen Griffin

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Charlotte (NC) South Mecklenburg safety Stephen Griffin was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'3", 187 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Tennessee, and Wake Forest, among others. Only two recruiting services have rated him, but he's a 247 Composite 3-star, the #63 cornerback, and #789 overall. He claims a 37" vertical, a 275 lb. bench, and a 395 lb. squat. Griffin is a hard hitter who will probably be well over 200 lbs. by the time he fills out, so I think he'll be a safety in college. As a junior in 2013, he had 80 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions (1 touchdown), 1 fumble recovery, and 2 fumbles forced; he was also 43/82 passing for 565 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions and rushed 83 times for 583 yards and 3 touchdowns.

New Orleans (LA) Warren Easton wide receiver Tyron Johnson was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'3", 190 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #4 wide receiver, #42 overall, and #1 in his state. Johnson has a good frame, very good speed, and excellent change-of-direction skills for a guy his size. As often is the case, LSU appears to lead with Texas A&M also in hot pursuit.

Washington (DC) Gonzaga cornerback Marcus Lewis was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'1", 187 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Maryland, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #12 athlete, and #111 overall. Lewis claims a 4.38 forty, but I have reservations about that time. Lewis plays corner for his high school team, and while that's still a possibility in college, he looks a little too stiff to me to play corner at a big-time program on the next level. My guess is that he will develop into a safety, and I believe he has the size and physicality to do that well.

Brooksville (FL) Nature Coast Tech offensive tackle Christian Pellage was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'7", 271 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Central Florida, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, and Oklahoma, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #19 offensive tackle, and #185 overall.  He claims a 4.88 forty, a 32" vertical, a 285 lb. bench, and a 500 lb. squat. He appears to play in a very run-oriented offense, but he has nice bend and quick feet, and he looks like a future left tackle.

Richmond (VA) St. Christopher's cornerback Garrett Taylor was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'1", 188 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, among others. He's a 247 Composite 4-star, the #9 cornerback, and the #90 player overall, and he claims a 4.5 forty, a 255 lb. bench, and a 400 lb. squat. Taylor has inconsistent technique and is a little stiff for cornerback, so he's another kid who might be a safety down the road. He plays in the same league as freshman quarterback Wilton Speight did, and he's teammates with highly touted defensive end/outside linebacker Ricky DeBerry.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
New Orleans (LA) John Curtis offensive tackle Willie Allen was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'6", 265 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, LSU, and Tulane. Michigan went after three of his teammates in the 2014 class: wide receiver Malachi Dupre (LSU), linebacker Kenny Young (UCLA), and safety Mattrell McGraw (Oregon). Allen is an athletic kid who has yet to fill out and needs to learn technique, but the raw athleticism is there to develop.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary's linebacker Joshua Ross was offered by Michigan. He's a 6'0", 194 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan State and Oklahoma. He missed the second half of his freshman season due to a broken ankle, but obviously he showed enough during the first half of the year to garner some offers. Ross is the younger brother of Michigan junior linebacker James Ross and looks a lot like him in his stance.

East St. Louis (IL) East St. Louis wide receiver Jeff Thomas was offered by Michigan. He's a 5'10", 170 lb. prospect with offers from Illinois and Kansas. As a freshman in 2013, he had 54 catches for 944 yards (17.5 yards/catch) and 12 touchdowns. Thomas has blazing speed and looks like a Percy Harvin clone. He was teammates with 2014 linebacker Kyron Watson (Kansas).

MISCELLANEOUS
Here's a list of this past weekend's visitors. Thiyo Lukusa considered committing on the visit, but Coach Hoke convinced him that it would make sense to take other visits and be 100% positive before committing. He's a 2016 kid, so he has plenty of time to decide.

The Top 247, Rivals 100, and Rivals 250 were all updated last week.