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Top 247 for 2017 released

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell (image via Twitter)

247 Sports released its top 247 prospects for 2017 (LINK).

Here are the players who have been offered by Michigan:

5-stars:
2. A.J. Epenesa – DE – Illinois
3. Josh Myers – OT – Ohio (Ohio State)
4. Calvin Ashley – OT – Florida

4-stars:
8. Marvin Wilson – DT – Texas
9. Hunter Johnson – QB – Indiana
10. Anthony McFarland, Jr. – RB – Maryland
13. Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR – Michigan
15. Shaun Wade – CB – Florida (Ohio State)
16. Najee Harris – RB – California
17. Osiris St. Brown – WR – California
18. Devon Hunter – ATH – Virginia
20. D’Andre Swift – RB – Pennsylvania
22. Jeffrey Okudah – S – Texas
23. Jeff Thomas – WR – Illinois
28. Isaiah Pryor – S – Georgia
33. Joseph Lewis – WR – California
39. Stanford Samuels – CB – Florida
42. Greg Johnson – ATH – California
44. Tyrell Ajian – ATH – Ohio
46. Dylan McCaffrey – QB – Colorado
47. Richard LeCounte – ATH – Georgia
48. Maleik Gray – ATH – Tennessee
55. Darnay Holmes – ATH – California
58. Brock Wright – TE – Texas
68. Jake Moretti – OT – Colorado
76. Anthony Hines – LB – Texas
77. Juwan Burgess – WR – Florida
81. JaRaymond Hall – OT – Michigan
87. Marcus Williamson – CB – Ohio
88. Hezekiah Jones – WR – Texas
99. M.J. Webb – DE – Texas
106. Jamyest Williams – CB – Georgia
111. Josh Ross – LB – Michigan
125. Kedrick James – TE – Texas
136. J.T. Cauthen – WR – North Carolina
139. Paris Ford – S – Pennsylvania
150. Todd Sibley – RB – Ohio
178. Corey Bolds – DE – New Jersey
180. Jaylen Kelly-Powell – S – Michigan
183. Corey Malone-Hatcher – DE – Michigan
229. Darnell Ewell – DT – Virginia
240. Juan Harris – DT – Iowa

Video: Jake Rudock vs. Michigan – Every Play

Here’s a look at Jake Rudock’s game against Michigan from 2013:

Joey Burzynski, #56

Joe Burzynski (center, image via MGoBlog)

HIGH SCHOOL
Burzynski attended Carlsbad (CA) Carlsbad and was not recruited out of high school.

COLLEGE
Burzynski walked on to Michigan’s football program for Rich Rodriguez’s final year in 2010. Too small and light to play, he redshirted. Still very light as a redshirt freshman, he played backup left guard in four games. He finally hit a reasonable playing weight (295 lbs.) in 2012 and saw action as a backup in eight games. During the 2013 season that saw an array of players moving about on the offensive line, Burzynski played in four games and finally earned a start against Indiana . . . and promptly tore his ACL, missing the rest of the season. As a fifth year senior in 2014, he played in just two games, one of those a start when Graham Glasgow was suspended for the season opener.

CAREER STATISTICS
2 starts, 18 games played

AWARDS
Academic All-Big Ten (2011-2014)

SUMMARY
Burzynski seemed like one of those players who was around forever, and then he practically disappeared as a senior. In 2012 and 2013, it seemed like he was a play or two away from getting in the game. This past season he was an afterthought. It used to seem quite rare that walk-ons were elevated to starter status, but we have seen that become a trend in the past several years, including Nick Sheridan, Kevin Leach, Jordan Kovacs, Graham Glasgow, Ryan Glasgow, and Burzynski occasionally. Not much can be said for Burzynski as a player, whom Brady Hoke seemed to love but was just so-so as a contributor at the Michigan level. He generally seemed to know his assignments, but he was not strong enough or big enough to get much movement. Kudos to him for making a five-year college career out of football.

PROJECTION
Burzynski’s football career is presumably finished.

Site News: What do you want on the new site?

UPDATE: This is bumped from its original post date of March 14. Thanks to the funds many of you have sent my way (Paypal is on the left sidebar if you’re interested in helping), I have gathered enough to start the website redesign. I have a meeting with the developer this coming week, and I will continue to look for additional feedback from you, the reader. What requests do you have for the new site?

Thank you!
—————

Good morning, trusted TTB readers! I know I’ve been promising a new site for a while, and I actually have had a domain name and a new platform for an embarrassingly long time without doing anything about it. Unfortunately, while trolling around WordPress, I realized that I have become pretty proficient at using Blogger . . . and not at all proficient at actually building a website from scratch. It’s like your first girlfriend – you like her because you don’t know any better.

But it’s time to be a grown-up and ask other people for help, so I am hiring a professional web developer to create my new site. We had a meeting the other day and should be getting rolling soon, even though it will surely take a bit of time to code and launch the new site.

Here are a few of the features planned:

• Drop-down menus to clear some of the clutter up top
• Individual logins for commenters
• A message board for readers to post threads/comments

Here’s what I would like from you:

• What other features would you like to see?
• What features do you like about the current site that might translate well to the new site?
• What advice do you have regarding the look of the site, the implementation of the message board, etc.?

Recruiting Update: April 13, 2015

Oak Park (MI) Oak Park offensive tackle JaRaymond Hall

Thanks to Spencer for your recent donation! If anyone else would like to help with the effort to redesign the site, please use Paypal (on the left sidebar) or consider buying something from Amazon via the link (LINK) on the right sidebar.

COMMITMENTS
Southfield (MI) Southfield running back Matt Falcon committed to Michigan (LINK).

Weber State punter Blake O’Neill is transferring to Michigan (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Houston (TX) Westside defensive tackle Jordan Elliott decommitted from Baylor. He’s a 6’4″, 305 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #12 defensive tackle, and #93 overall. As a junior in 2014, he made 78 tackles, 31 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks. The decommitment took place shortly after he took an unofficial visit to Texas, and the Longhorns are thought to be the favorite to land Elliott.

Jacksonville (FL) First Coast wide receiver Kevin Stepherson was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from LSU, Notre Dame, and others. He’s a Rivals 3-star wideout and seems relatively unknown at this time, but he shows some good long speed and an ability to run after the catch. The Tigers and Fighting Irish make up his top two, so Michigan has some catching up to do.

Hit the jump for several more new offers and some miscellaneous bits.

Rialto (CA) Carter linebacker Lokeni Toaioloa, a UCLA commit, was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1, 212 lb. prospect who committed in late March; he also has offers from Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #1 inside linebacker, and #58 overall. Toaioloa is a solidly built, hard-hitting linebacker and probably won’t give Michigan much of a look.

Green Bay (WI) Bay Port offensive tackle Cole Van Lanen was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 270 lb. prospect with offers from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #27 offensive tackle, and #279 overall. Wisconsin is the odds-on favorite.

Springhill (LA) North Webster linebacker Devin White was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 260 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 athlete, and #148 overall. The reason he’s labeled as an “athlete” is because in addition to making 90+ tackles in each of the past two seasons, he ran for 2,287 yards and 30 touchdowns as a junior running back in 2014. He could play linebacker, defensive end, or some sort of H-back at the next level, but his highlights are impressive, one of the best highlight packages I’ve seen in the 2016 recruiting cycle. As are most highly touted Louisianans, he’s expected to go to LSU.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Waxhaw (NC) Cuthbertson wide receiver J.T. Cauthen was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 200 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #13 wide receiver, and #68 overall. As a sophomore in 2014, he caught 104 passes for 1,464 yards and 15 touchdowns. He makes some very athletic catches and has a solid build for being just a sophomore.

Oak Park (MI) Oak Park offensive tackle JaRaymond Hall was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 255 lb. prospect with two other offers coming from Bowling Green and Miami-OH. Hall might be too short to be a tackle right now, although he’s just a sophomore and should grow a little bit. He does a great job of firing low off the ball, keeping a wide base, and driving his feet through the whistle. Linemen typically develop a little bit later, but Hall is the best in-state lineman I’ve seen in the 2017 cycle so far. He attends Oak Park, which sent running back John Kelly to Tennessee in the 2015 class; several of his teammates have gone to MAC schools in recent years, too.

Waco (TX) La Vega tight end Kedrick James was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 245 lb. prospect with an offer from Baylor. James is a big body who moves pretty well in a straight line, but he lacks refinement as a blocker and pass catcher. He’s a good developmental prospect.

Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha running back Anthony McFarland, Jr. was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’9″, 181 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 5-star, the #2 running back, and #28 overall. McFarland has scorching speed and looks a little like Chris Johnson running the ball. The Seminoles lead the Crystal Ball predictions, but McFarland was openly campaigning for a Michigan offer, so maybe there’s a shot.

Anaheim (CA) Servite wide receiver Osiris St. Brown was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 178 lb. prospect with offers from Illinois, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Texas Tech, and Utah, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #15 wide receiver, and #74 overall. He is the brother of Equanimeous St. Brown, a Notre Dame incoming freshman wideout.

Philadelphia (PA) St. Joseph’s running back D’Andre Swift was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’9″, 195 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Iowa, Penn State, Pitt, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #1 all-purpose back, and #8 overall. Swift is a kid who can do a little bit of everything – run, catch, return kicks, play corner, etc. He doesn’t have truly elite speed, but he accelerates quickly and is very tough to bring down in space. He attends the same school as 2015 signee Jon Runyan, Jr.

OFF THE BOARD
Kathleen (GA) Veterans quarterback Logan Byrd committed to North Carolina. Byrd did not have a Michigan offer, but he visited Ann Arbor several weeks ago and lots of people assumed he would leave town with a chance to play for Michigan. The offer never came, Brandon Peters committed to Michigan, and now Byrd is a Tarheel.

MISCELLANEOUS
Charlotte (NC) Ardrey Kell defensive end Julian Okwara named a top five that includes Michigan. The other schools on his list are Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Ole Miss. However, he has already set an announcement date of April 30th and has not visited Michigan, so that’s a big hint not to get excited.

Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei linebacker Curtis Robinson named a top seven that does not include Michigan. It does include Duke, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, and Washington.

Over on Recruiting Season, I added a profile for:

• Greenville TE Keegan Cossou