2017 Recruiting Update: July 21, 2016

2017 Recruiting Update: July 21, 2016


July 21, 2016
Olver Martin 164x

Iowa City (IA) West wide receiver Oliver Martin (image via (Iowa City Press-Citizen)

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017

Miami (FL) Columbus cornerback Trajan Bandy decommitted from Oklahoma. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #27 cornerback, and #235 overall. Even though former high school teammate Joshua Uche is now in Ann Arbor, Bandy named a top group he would be considering going forward, and Michigan is not in that group.

Iowa City (IA) West wide receiver Oliver Martin was offered by Michigan. Martin is a 6’0″, 188 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, and Wisconsin, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #65 wide receiver, and #436 overall. He was a teammate of a handful of Michigan and targets on Team Hypercool at The Opening a couple weekends ago, and some of Michigan’s commits supposedly lobbied for the coaching staff to offer him. Michigan State and Wisconsin are the biggest competitors for his services right now. He’s visiting for the BBQ at the Big House in August (LINK).

OFF THE BOARD

Fayetteville (AR) Fayetteville defensive tackle Akial Byers committed to Alabama. You don’t often hear about Arkansas producing top-notch talent, but he’s a 4-star and #228 overall in the 2017 class. I like his quickness off the ball, and I think he should be a good player for Crimson Tide down the road.

After the jump are several more players who committed elsewhere, the BBQ at the Big House visitors list, and other tidbits.





Dallas (TX) Bishop Dunne cornerback Chevin Calloway committed to Iowa. He’s the second high-level Texas prospect to commit to the Hawkeyes in the 2017 cycle, joining running back Eno Benjamin. The state of football in Texas’s universities is not great right now, and I think Iowa is taking advantage of the troubles at Baylor, the coaching uncertainty at Texas, and the odd vibe at Texas A&M. The Lone Star State is ripe for the pickin’, even though Michigan has yet to capitalize.

Clearwater (FL) Central Catholic running back C.J. Cotman committed to Tennessee. He’s a 5’11”, 180 lb. prospect who might end up playing running back, wide receiver, or cornerback at the next level.

Norfolk (VA) Lake Taylor defensive tackle Darnell Ewell committed to Notre Dame. He visited Michigan not long ago, and Ohio State and Michigan seemed to be running 1-2 for him. However, he may not have been a take for either school, as both are pursuing Utah’s Jay Tufele. Ewell was an interesting case all along, as he received his Michigan offer a couple years ago (I wrote about him receiving on offer in October 2014) but the interest from both parties seemed to ebb and flow.

Greensboro (NC) Grimsley safety/linebacker Brelin Faison-Walden committed to Penn State. The 6’1″, 200-pounder looked like a good fit for the hybrid SAM role in Michigan’s defense, but his commitment to PSU was expected.

Virginia Beach (VA) Bishop Sullivan defensive tackle Breyon Gaddy committed to Tennessee. He did so along with his twin brother Brandon Gaddy (who didn’t have a Michigan offer), also a defensive tackle. Breyon is #274 overall and Brandon is #609. It would be pretty unique to see two twins line up at defensive tackle on one team in the FBS.

Waxahachie (TX) Waxahachie wide receiver Kenedy Snell committed to TCU. Snell named Michigan his leader at one point, and a few people jumped on the Crystal Ball to peg Michigan as his destination. That seemed rash to me, because Michigan has some high-level wide receivers heavily interested in the Wolverines, and the need isn’t strong for a 5’8″, 170 lb. slot receiver when a few slot guys signed up in 2016. Snell’s pretty electric with the ball in his hands, though. Check out his profile/highlights if you like to see speedy slot guys shredding defenses.

Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan wide receiver Clevan Thomas, Jr. committed to Kentucky. A former teammate of Devin Bush, Devin Gil, and Josh Metellus, he never seemed strongly interested in Michigan.

MISCELLANEY

In case you missed the link above, here’s the ever growing list of expected visitors for the BBQ at the Big House in August (LINK).

Scout updated its top 300 prospects for 2017 (LINK).

Pinson (AL) Clay-Chalkville wide receiver Nico Collins named a top five that includes Michigan, which is kind of a no-brainer since he recently named Michigan his outright leader. Other teams on the list include Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, and Georgia.

Sacramento (CA) Luther Burbank defensive end Deonte “D.J.” Johnson named Michigan to his top ten. The Wolverines are thought to be near the top of that top ten but trailing a couple schools, particularly Miami.

Madison (AL) Bob Jones offensive tackle Kendall Randolph will announce on August 2. Michigan is in his top five, but his leader is Alabama.

Alexandria (VA) Episcopal safety Jonathan Sutherland named Michigan to his top four. He announces on Sunday, July 24, and I have my Crystal Ball pick on Penn State. He’s a high school teammate of defensive end commit Luiji Vilain.

One comment

  1. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Jul 21, 2016 at 2:57 PM

    Remember when it was borderline impossible to pry an Arkansas kid away from the Razorbacks?

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