Tag: 2018 recruiting

Visitors: May 20-22, 2016

Montvale (NJ) St. Joseph DE Dorian Hardy (image via NJ.com)

2017

Darrion Green – CB – Dallas (TX) Woodrow Wilson: Green is a 5’11”, 170 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan and SMU. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #150 cornerback, and #1528 overall. He claims a 4.4 forty. Green is partially deaf, so earning FBS football offers is a big deal. There has been some talk that his Michigan offer is “not committable,” and he will be making his college announcement in the coming weeks, so his pick will probably be SMU unless something changes.

James Hudson – DE – Toledo (OH) Central Catholic: Hudson is a 6’5″, 280 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Iowa, Penn State, and Pitt, among others; he just recently decommitted from Kentucky. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #11 strongside end, and #330 overall. Michigan has not yet offered, but there’s a good chance that they will on the visit (UPDATE: Michigan did indeed offer).

Jaylen Kelly-Powell – S – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Kelly-Powell is a 6’0″, 183 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Oregon, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #22 safety, and #243 overall. I put in a Crystal Ball for him to Michigan a couple weeks ago.

Hit the jump for several more 2017 and 2018 visitors.

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2018 Recruiting Update: May 19, 2016

Jacksonville (FL) Trinity safety Tyreke Johnson (image via Youtube)

The new-ish regime at Michigan is running me ragged with new offers. I used to do a pretty concise roundup each week of all the new offers to have gone out, but that appears to no longer be possible. Brandon Brown from The Wolverine tweeted out that Michigan has offered 42 prospects in the month of May, and while I don’t keep track by month, that sounds . . . low. The Wolverines have offered a record 276 prospects in the 2017 class, and they’re already up to 99 in the class of 2018 before those players even wrap up their sophomore year of high school. Because of that fast pace, I may continue to break up these recruiting roundups into classes, rather than doing 2017-2019 prospects all in one update.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018
Pensacola (FL) Pine Forest wide receiver Jacob Copeland was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 188 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, and Georgia, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #2 wide receiver, and #38 overall. He claims a 4.44 forty. He has good speed, excellent body control, and can go up and make tough, acrobatic catches. Florida State has 80% of the Crystal Ball picks.

Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha defensive tackle Austin Fontaine was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 318 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Georgia, Maryland, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #6 defensive tackle, and #28 overall. I don’t really understand the high ranking, because he doesn’t show a lot of athleticism, explosiveness, etc. But there are still a couple years for those things to improve or for the rankings to change. He’s a teammate of 2017 RB Anthony McFarland, Jr. and DE Chase Young.

Jacksonville (FL) Trinity linebacker Eriq Gilyard was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 225 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Duke, LSU, and Virginia Tech, among others. He’s a compact, hard-hitting linebacker with a quick first step. Gilyard is a teammate of 2017 FB Chase Lasater (Michigan) and 2018 safety Tyreke Johnson (see below).

Hit the jump for a lot of new offers in the 2018 class.

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Visitors: May 13-15, 2016

2017

Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Peoples-Jones is a 6’2″, 192 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 5-star, the #1 wide receiver, and #6 overall. He was the SPARQ national champion last year as a rising junior, and he earned a return invitation to The Opening when he worked out in Columbus last weekend. He’s a teammate of 2017 safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell and OG Jordan Reid.

2018

Markese Stepp – RB – Indianapolis (IN) Cathedral: Stepp is a 6’0″, 205 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #12 running back, and #209 overall. As a sophomore in 2015, he ran 155 times for 1,300 yards and 17 TDs. A teammate of 2017 LB Pete Werner (Notre Dame) and 2018 OG Emil Ekiyor, his visit to Ann Arbor this weekend resulted in the offer from the Wolverines. There are six Crystal Ball predictions in place, all for the Fighting Irish.

Recruiting Update: May 10, 2016

Atlanta (GA) Pace OG Jamaree Salyer

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018
Marietta (GA) Lassiter cornerback Derrik Allen was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 206 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, and Notre Dame, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #2 cornerback, and #17 overall. He’s already committed to the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. For such a big corner – though he could end up at safety – Allen is surprisingly tentative coming up to tackle. He makes some acrobatic catches, though, and is physical in press man coverage.

Cypress (TX) Ranch offensive tackle Colten Blanton was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’7″, 271 lb. prospect with offers from Oklahoma, Ole Miss, TCU, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #17 offensive tackle, and #112 overall. Blanton is very lanky at this point and almost looks like a tight end or defensive end, but he should fill out by the time he finishes high school and needs to get considerably stronger to hold up in college.

Missouri City (TX) Fort Bend Marshall offensive guard Barton Clement was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 304 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and TCU, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #4 offensive guard, and #70 overall. Physically, he’s very well developed at this point in his career, but he’s going to have to be an interior guy with his lack of height and length, unless he hits a growth spurt.

Hit the jump for several more 2018 offers.

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Recruiting Update: May 2, 2016

Philadelphia (PA) Imhotep safety Isheem Young (with ball, image via Philadelphia Tribune)

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ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018
Baltimore (MD) Gilman tight end Thomas Booker was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 245 lb. prospect whose first offer came from the Wolverines, and then Maryland followed. He’s a bulky tight end who might end up on the defensive line instead. He plays for the same program that sent Stephen Spanellis and Henry Poggi to Michigan in 2016 and 2013, respectively.

Pago Pago (American Samoa) Leone linebacker Juliano Falaniko was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 200 lb. prospect who committed to USC just over a week ago. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #11 inside linebacker, and #347 overall.

Old Bridge (NJ) Old Bridge quarterback Artur Sitkowski was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 205 lb. prospect with offers from Indiana, Maryland, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #8 pro-style quarterback, and #223 overall. As a sophomore in 2015, he went 95/185 for 1,436 yards, 16 TDs, and 4 INTs. He’s a pocket quarterback who’s not much of a threat to run the ball.

Philadelphia (PA) Imhotep safety Isheem Young was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’10”, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina, Penn State, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #4 safety, and #62 overall. Young is a hard-hitting safety who’s very good in run support and has some good speed, as well. He attends the same school as 2016 prospects Naseir Upshur (Florida State) and Johncarlo Valentin (Oklahoma).

Hit the jump for some players who went off the board and some random bits.

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