Darrian Kirkland, Jr.
Former CB commit Gareon Conley: Conley made 1 tackle in Ohio State’s 38-12 win over Western Michigan.
Former RB commit Damien Harris: Harris had 4 carries for 23 yards, along with 1 tackle, in Alabama’s 34-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
Former RB Justice Hayes: Hayes did not play in Southern Miss’s 36-28 loss to Nebraska.
Hit the jump for updates on several other former Wolverines.
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Blake Countess (#24)
Former QB Russell Bellomy: In a 30-3 loss to Kansas State, Bellomy was 3/4 for 36 yards for the University of Texas-San Antonio. He also had 4 carries for 4 yards.
Former CB Blake Countess: The big story for Countess is that he was ejected for “targeting” on a tackle against Jacksonville State. It was a poor call, in my opinion, as he just happened to hit the runner’s head as he slid to the ground. Countess made 3 tackles before the ejection.
Former CB commit Gareon Conley: In victories against Virginia Tech (42-24)and Hawaii (38-0), Conley has notched 9 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, .5 sacks, 1 interception, and 2 pass breakups.
Hit the jump for updates on several more former Wolverines and commits.
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Adrian Witty
Former QB Russell Bellomy: Bellomy, who is now at the University of Texas-San Antonio, is the backup quarterback. He went 0/2 passing and had 1 rush for 15 yards in a 42-32 loss to Arizona.
Former OG Kyle Bosch: Bosch earned a start for West Virginia as they beat Georgia Southern by a score of 44-0.
Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown is still working his way back from last year’s knee injury and did not play in Oregon’s season-opening win against Eastern Washington.
Hit the jump for updates on numerous other former Michigan players and commits.
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Former Michigan running back commit Damien Harris is battling for playing time at Alabama
Well, the making of this post included my baptism into the annoying world of WordPress. There are some nice things about WordPress, but I really missed Blogger yesterday morning when I worked on this post from approximately 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. – with intermittent breaks for necessities – only to have 50% of it disappear into the ether.
Former QB Russell Bellomy: Bellomy’s coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio, Larry Coker, says that Bellomy is in the running . . . to win the #2 job (LINK). That says a lot about Bellomy’s talent level. If you disagree, consider that the entrenched starter, Blake Bogenschutz, went 22/39 (56.4%) for 282 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions last year.
Former OG Kyle Bosch: Bosch, who received a waiver to play this year after transferring to West Virginia in the off-season, is in a battle to start at offensive guard or potentially tackle this fall.
Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown, who suffered a nasty knee injury last season, will likely be the starter at tight end again this fall for Oregon. As a junior in 2014, he made 25 catches for 420 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Hit the jump for news and notes on 19 more former Michigan commits, signees, and players.
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| Montezuma (GA) Macon linebacker Roquan Smith |
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Damon Arnette, a South Carolina commit, was offered by Michigan and plans an official visit to Ann Arbor for this upcoming weekend. He’s a 6’2″, 185 lb. prospect who’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #60 cornerback, and #649 overall. He was being recruited by defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin at Florida. Other schools to offer include Florida State, Louisville, Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Wisconsin, among others. Michigan has attempted to dip into St. Thomas Aquinas several times in recent years, but players like Lamarcus Joyner (Florida State), Joey Bosa (Ohio State), and Corey Holmes (Notre Dame) have spurned the Wolverines’ efforts. Arnette is a big, physical corner.
Lithonia (GA) Hapeville Academy defensive end Arden Key decommitted from South Carolina. Key is a 6’5″, 230 lb. prospect who’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #5 weakside end, and #103 overall. Most analysts believe Auburn will be the recipient of his commitment sometime in the next few weeks.
Rowlett (TX) Rowlett defensive end Charles Omenihu, a Texas commit, was offered by Michigan. Like Arnette, he had been pursued by Durkin at Florida. Omenihu is a 6’5″, 232 lb. 3-star, #21 weakside end, and #469 player overall. Unfortunately, he has decided not to stir things up and stated that he would not take an official visit to Michigan despite some early excitement about the offer.
Montezuma (GA) Macon linebacker Roquan Smith was offered by Michigan. Smith is a 6’2″, 205 lb. prospect and another Durkin connection. Smith is also a 247 Composite 4-star, the #5 outside linebacker, and #49 overall. He also has offers from Alabama and USC, but he’s considered to be a Georgia lean with Ole Miss and UCLA visits scheduled for the final two weeks of January. He will be visiting Michigan this coming weekend, but the Wolverines are playing from behind. As a senior in 2014, he made 173 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions, plus he scored 12 touchdowns. Smith could probably play running back for a lot of teams in college football, but he’s a speedy guy who could play outside in a 3-4 or as a weakside guy in a 4-3. At this point he’s the best prospect considering Michigan, in my opinion, so a celebration would be in order if the Wolverines were able to pull him away from Georgia and his other suitors.
Monrovia (CA) Monrovia cornerback Octavius Spencer, a UCLA commit, picked up an offer from Michigan. Spencer is a 6’2″, 175 lb. prospect who’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #64 cornerback, and #684 overall. He could be poachable if UCLA head coach Jim Mora, Jr. takes an NFL job somewhere, but otherwise, he probably sticks with the Bruins.
Hit the jump for players who went off the board and some miscellaneous bits and pieces.
OFF THE BOARD
Berea (KY) Madison Southern running back Damien Harris committed to Alabama. Harris was, of course, committed to Michigan at one time. Michigan dodged a bullet when the 5-star Under Armour All-American did not choose the Ohio State Buckeyes, and he was also heavily weighing the option of staying in the state with the Kentucky Wildcats. Instead, he’s the second running back to flip from Michigan to Alabama in the last four years (Demetrius Hart, 2011).
Jacksonville (FL) Trinity cornerback Shaun Wade committed to Ohio State on the morning of Ohio State’s national championship game against Oregon. It’s too early to see how the 2017 recruiting class will shake out, but Wade had a litany of offers (Clemson, Georgia, UCLA, etc.) and a couple years remaining to allow Alabama, Florida State, Oregon, USC, and the like to get involved.
Wayne (NJ) De Paul running back Kareem Walker committed to Ohio State during the national championship game. He called Urban Meyer in the afternoon prior to the game, and then he made it public during their win over Oregon. Walker, a 2016 prospect, is considered to be the best or one of the top few running backs in his class.
MISCELLANEOUS
Gilmer (TX) Gilmer quarterback McLane Carter is being visited by Jim Harbaugh this week, presumably to add to the class as a preferred walk-on or late addition to the class. Carter is completely under the radar and unranked by the recruiting services. He’s a soft-tossing lefty who completed 74% of his passes for 3,969 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 1 interception on the way to a state title. Carter’s film is impressive in his ability to run a passing spread, but his ability to fit into a pro-style system and play from under center is not on display.
Atlanta (GA) Woodward Academy safety Arrington Farrar recently decommitted from Stanford, and Michigan may make a run at him. He’s a 6’2″, 195 lb. prospect who’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #20 safety, and #262 overall. He also has offers from Clemson, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, among others. Farrar is a teammate of 2016 running back Elijah Holyfield, who has an offer from the Wolverines.
Over on Recruiting Season, I posted profiles for Chippewa Valley WR Sean Bunting and Southfield DE Charles Harris. I also updated profiles for Cass Tech WR Demetric Vance, Muskegon Mona Shores WR Hunter Broersma, Southfield S Dior Johnson, and Traverse City West OG Jacob Cerny.
