Antonio Gates, Jr. - WR - Dearborn (MI) Fordson: Gates is a 6'1", 185-pounder with offers from Kentucky, Michigan State, Penn State, and Tennessee, among others. He's a 4-star, the #43 wide receiver, and #287 overall. He's the son of former Kent State and San Diego Chargers player Antonio Gates. This is an unofficial visit on June 1.
Kevonte Henry - LB - Lawndale (CA) Leuzinger: Henry is a 6'4", 225 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Michigan, and USC, among others. He's a 3-star, the #78 linebacker, and #786 overall. This is an unofficial visit.
Kaleb Johnson - RB - Hamilton (OH) Hamilton: Johnson is a 6'2", 210 lb. back with offers from Cincinnati, Iowa, and Pitt, among others. He's a 3-star, the #48 running back, and #593 overall. He does not yet have a Michigan offer but is hoping to get one. This is an unofficial visit on June 1.
James Livingston - OT - Dexter (MI) Dexter: Livingston is a 6'7", 275 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona State, Indiana, Tulane, and most of the MAC. He's a 3-star, the #116 offensive tackle, and #1158 overall. He will be camping at Michigan.
Name: Mica Gelb Height: 6'4" Weight: 295 lbs. High school: Washington (DC) Woodrow Wilson Position: Offensive guard Class: Redshirt sophomore Jersey number: #55 Last year: I did not rank Gelb. He did not play. TTB Rating: N/A
Gelb is a walk-on offensive lineman with good size for an FBS player. So how does a guy who's 6'4" and 295 lbs. end up as a walk-on instead of a scholarship player elsewhere? Well, Gelb does not have great athleticism. At least based on his high school film, he would pretty much just stand in one place and try to push people around with his upper body. Of course it's helpful to have these types of guys on the scout team and to rep against scholarship guys in practice, but I think that's the ceiling for Gelb unless he has made some huge strides during his time at Michigan.
The 2009 recruiting class was Rich Rodriguez's first full recruiting class in Ann Arbor. Rodriguez envisioned a team of 280-pound offensive linemen and then a group of 5'8" speedsters manning all the skill positions, leaving very little recruiting effort to put into the tight end position.
THE ROSTER
Martell Webb (Jr.)
Kevin Koger (So.)
Brandon Moore (RS Fr.)
THE RECRUITS
None. Michigan didn't land a single tight end in the class of 2009.
Hit the jump for a look at the rest of Michigan's quarterback recruiting efforts in 2009.
Name: Keshaun Harris Height: 5'11" Weight: 183 lbs. High school: Lansing (MI) Waverly Position: Defensive back Class: Redshirt sophomore Jersey number: #18 Last year: I did not rank Harris. He did not play. TTB Rating: N/A
Defensive back - particularly cornerback - is a tough place to get on the field as a walk-on, largely because it's predicated on innate speed and athleticism. And if players have that athleticism, they get a scholarship somewhere instead of walking on at one of the biggest programs in the country. Safety Hunter Reynolds was the most recent Michigan walk-on defensive back to play significant minutes, but the past decade has only really seen three: Reynolds, safety Jordan Kovacs, and safety/linebacker Jordan Glasgow.
All that is to say that Harris probably won't see the field as a walk-on defensive back. There are a ton of safeties on the roster - though I suspect Harris is repping at corner - and the cornerbacks are all longer than Harris, faster than him, or both. I imagine Harris will spend another year on the scout team defense.
Oregon State graduate transfer defensive tackle Jordan Whittley has selected the Michigan Wolverines as his destination for 2021.
Whittley is a 6'1", 358 lb. nose tackle. He missed 2020 with a tumor near his heart, but the last time he played (when he was listed at 6'1", 324), he made 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 pass breakup, and 1 quarterback hurry. Before Oregon State he was at Laney College, a JUCO in Oakland, California, that was profiled in season four of Last Chance U. Out of high school in the class of 2014, he was a 247 Sports 2-star and the #287 athlete, signing with San Jose State but never attending.
Whittley was listed as a 6'2", 225 lb. running back coming out of high school. He tore his ACL and put on 100 lbs. or so while he was laid up recovering.
Michigan needs help on the interior of the defensive line. Former defensive coordinator Don Brown did not stockpile nose tackle types, leaving the Wolverines thin on pluggers and heavy on tackle/end tweeners. Michigan addressed the dearth of defensive tackles in the 2021 recruiting class, but nobody is ready to play as a true nose tackle right away. Whittley - if healthy - should be able to hold up to double teams. He won't be Maurice Hurst, Jr. and living in the offensive backfield, but he should be able to let the linebackers flow to do their job.
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As you may have heard, Michigan has done some restructuring of its recruiting plan. About a year ago, I wrote about how I thought Michigan could "fix" its recruiting (LINK). Some of those steps have been taken, and others not mentioned have also occurred.
A few things have changed in the past year, largely for the better.
1. Ronald Bellamy replaces Bob Shoop as safeties coach. There are rumors about Shoop's time at Michigan, but he was never known as a good recruiter - though recruits did say a few positive things once in a while - and basically served as an analyst in 2020. Shoop is more of an X's and O's guy. Meanwhile, Bellamy spent the last chunk of his life coaching West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield to a point where it was a perennial threat to win a state championship. Bellamy got good talent to come to West Bloomfield - who would normally have attended other schools - and coached them up. He developed positive relationships with athletes who didn't even attend West Bloomfield, and recruits seem to gravitate toward him. The former Wolverines wide receiver seems to be more of a father figure than a bombastic personality, but it appears to be working on the recruiting trail.
The 2009 recruiting class was Rich Rodriguez's first full recruiting class in Ann Arbor. Ultimately, not one of Michigan's targets turned into a standout receiver on a national level, and the most productive player was Michigan's own diminutive Jeremy Gallon.
THE ROSTER
LaTerryal Savoy (RS Sr.)
Greg Mathews (Sr.)
James Rogers (Jr.)
Junior Hemingway (RS So.)
Darryl Stonum (So.)
THE RECRUITS
Jeremy Gallon Ratings: 4-star, #12 ATH, #244 overall High school: Apopka (FL) Apopka College: Michigan Other notable offers: Auburn, Iowa Scoop: Gallon's usage steadily increased throughout his career, starting with a redshirt in 2009, 4 catches in 2010, then 31, 41, and 89. Though he made some great players in 2012 with the combination of Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner behind center, his career really took off in 2013, when he and Gardner developed a special chemistry that resulted in 1,379 yards and 9 touchdowns. Gallon also averaged 7.1 yards/return on 47 punt returns and 20.6 yards/return on 32 kickoff returns. He was taken by the Patriots in the 7th round (#244 overall) in 2014 but never played in the NFL.
Cameron Gordon Ratings: 4-star, #43 WR, #317 overall High school: Inkster (MI) Inkster College: Michigan Other notable offers: Iowa, Minnesota Scoop: Gordon was brought in with the promise to get a chance at wide receiver, so he redshirted in 2009 while figuring out that he wasn't a receiver. The crack defensive staff at Michigan thought he should then be a safety, so they put him there in 2010, where he made 77 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown. When Brady Hoke was hired in 2011, Gordon moved to a better spot at outside linebacker. By 2013 he made 40 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks. Altogether, his college career saw him make 138 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 fumble return TD. Gordon went undrafted in 2014 but spent parts of two seasons with the Patriots and Chiefs, including winning a Super Bowl with New England while on injured reserve.
Je'Ron Stokes Ratings: 4-star, #11 WR, #94 overall High school: Philadelphia (PA) Northeast College:MichiganBowling Green Norfolk State Other notable offers: Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State Scoop: Stokes made just 3 catches for 27 yards over two seasons at Michigan before transferring to Bowling Green. After sitting out a season due to transfer rules, he made 15 catches for 114 yards and 1 touchdown for the Falcons. For his final year of eligibility in 2013, he transferred to Norfolk State to play with his brother, quarterback Malik Stokes, and ended up making 15 catches for 158 yards and 1 touchdown.
Hit the jump for a look at the rest of Michigan's quarterback recruiting efforts in 2009.
