The Wolverine released its top 20 in-state prospects for the class of 2014, and the Wolverines are well represented on the list. Here’s the list with commitments listed in parentheses and offerees bolded:
1. Malik McDowell – DE – Southfield 2. Damon Webb – CB – Detroit Cass Tech (Ohio State) 3. Drake Harris – WR – Grand Rapids Christian (Michigan)
4. Tyler Wiegers – QB – Detroit Country Day (Rutgers)
5. Jalen Embry – CB – Detroit King 6. Maurice Ways – WR – Detroit Country Day (Michigan)
7. Tim Cason – CB – Clarkston (Western Michigan)
8. Avonte Maddox – ATH – Detroit King (Pitt) 9. Lawrence Marshall – DE – Southfield (Michigan)
10. Byron Bullough – LB – Traverse City St. Francis (Michigan State)
11. Deon Drake – LB – Detroit Cass Tech (Michigan State) 12. Tommy Doles – OT – Grand Rapids Christian (Northwestern)
13. Chance Stewart – QB – Sturgis (Western Michigan)
14. Connor Hayes – OG – Traverse City West (Pitt) 15. Jared Wangler – LB – Warren De La Salle (Michigan)
16. Travis Smith – QB – Ithaca (Toledo)
17. Jalen Watts-Jackson – CB – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (Michigan State)
18. Matt Sokol – TE – Rochester Adams (Michigan State)
19. David Beedle – DT – Clarkston (Michigan State)
20. William White – LB – Detroit Cass Tech
Cleveland (OH) St. Benedictine
athlete Jerome Baker
Jerome Baker – ATH – Cleveland (OH) Benedictine: Baker is a 6’1″, 205 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Ohio State, Penn State, and Tennessee, among others. He also claims a 4.52 forty, which is impressive for a rising junior of his size. The class of 2015 prospect does not yet have a Michigan offer, but he will probably get one on the visit. Baker plays running back and linebacker for Benediction, but he looks most like an inside linebacker (MIKE or WILL) from Michigan’s eyes. UPDATE: Baker is no longer visiting this weekend.
Lawrence Marshall – DE – Southfield (MI) Southfield: Marshall is a 6’4″, 225 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, among others. He committed to Ohio State for a couple days, but he’s no longer considering the Buckeyes. He recently announced a top five of Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and USC, but most analysts think MSU leads with Michigan a step behind.
Wilton Speight – QB – Richmond (VA) Collegiate: Speight committed to Michigan in February. He, too, will play in the Under Armour game.
Chase Winovich – LB – Clairton (PA) Thomas Jefferson: Winovich is a 6’4″, 215 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, and Pitt, among others. He claims a 4.65 forty and checks in on 247’s Composite ranking as a 3-star, the #41 OLB, and the #551 player overall. Winovich was offered by the Wolverines in early April, immediately after a couple other SAM prospects (Kyle Berger, Sam Hubbard) committed to Ohio State. He visited Michigan last fall and shortly after being offered last month, so this will be his third visit in the last seven months. Ohio State and Pitt appear to be the two biggest contenders, along with Michigan.
Detroit (MI) Country Day wide receiver Maurice Ways
Detroit (MI) Country Day wide receiver Maurice Ways committed to Michigan on Thursday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Iowa, Kansas, Pitt, Rutgers, and a bunch of MAC teams.
Ways is a 6’3″, 195-pounder. As a junior in 2012, he had 51 receptions for 957 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Ways was picking up a steady stream of MAC offers along with a few mid-level BCS teams until the Wolverines offered a couple weekends ago. The writing seemed to be on the wall that he would commit to Michigan fairly soon, but Pitt went ahead and offered, anyway. He visited Michigan again and committed to the coaches.
There’s a lot to like about Ways. He’s a tall, lanky kid with the ability to get the ball at its highest point. He has good straight line speed and the ability to take the top off the defense, due to both his speed and size. He shows a natural ability to adjust to the ball in the air, whether he’s boxing out defensive backs, accelerating through the ball, or getting his hands in the right position for the catch. He can go high or low to get the ball and makes a lot of great catches. With some added weight, he will be very difficult for cornerbacks to check at the line of scrimmage and tackle head on; that will also only help him as a blocker, and he’s already a pretty willing and able in that area, where he keeps a wide base, moves his feet, and uses his hands well.
What Ways lacks most is lateral quickness and the ability to make people miss; he’s not the type of player you want to see returning punts or the guy who will catch short passes and turn them into long gains. There have also been reports that Ways is inconsistent catching the ball; the highlights obviously show a kid who can make some very difficult catches, so the ability is there, but perhaps not the concentration.
I think Ways can have a good future at Michigan if he achieves the consistency required to get on the field. I’m not worried about his athleticism, despite his lack of short-area quickness. The talk about the pass drops is slightly concerning, but that’s not something that can be discerned through highlight videos. At the very least, he can be used as a blocker who can stretch the field; in the best case scenario, I think he has All-Big Ten potential. I’m not the first one to say this, but his build, gait, speed, and athleticism remind me of former Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards.
Ways is the seventh commitment in the 2014 class and the second receiver, joining Drake Harris; he is also the first scholarship player from Country Day since linebacker Kenny Demens in 2008. That school has also produced players like 2014 QB Tyler Wiegers (committed to Rutgers), 2013 DT Poet Thomas (Texas Tech), 2011 WR Kenny Knight (Illinois), current Miami Heat small forward Shane Battier, and former Michigan basketball player Chris Webber.
Washington (DC) Friendship Collegiate cornerback Jalen Tabor (#1)
Daejuan Funderburk – S – Washington (DC) Friendship Collegiate: Funderburke is a 6’1″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, Miami, Rutgers, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, among others. He claims a 4.5 forty and according to the 247 Composite ranking, he’s a 3-star, the #43 safety, and the #546 player overall. He shows decent speed and change of direction, and he could play corner or free safety in college.
Dimitri Lee – CB – Washington (DC) Friendship Collegiate: Lee is a 5’9″, 185 lb. prospect with no offers at this time. Lee is a little stiff in the hips and is a thick kid, so he might be more of a strong safety or slot corner at the next level.
Jimmy Martin – LB – Maitland (FL) Orangewood Christian: Martin is a 5’11”, 203 lb. prospect for the class of 2015 with no offers at this time. He also visited Michigan for a game back in September 2012. He claims a 4.62 forty and as a sophomore in 2012, he had 113 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries. He also had 604 rushing yards, 121 receiving yards, and 8 total touchdowns. Martin plays small school competition, so his numbers should be taken with a grain of salt; he would likely project to middle linebacker or perhaps fullback at the next level.
Chigozie Onyekwere – WR – Washington (DC) Friendship Collegiate: Onyekwere is a 5’11”, 190 lb. prospect with a lone offer from North Carolina State. He’s a 3-star prospect with a 4.5 forty whom 247’s Composite ranking places as a 3-star and the #154 wideout.
Jalen Tabor – CB – Washington (DC) Friendship Collegiate: Tabor is a 6’1″, 182 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, and numerous others. As a junior in 2012, he had 27 tackles, 8 interceptions, and 1 interception returned for a touchdown. The 247 Composite ranking places him as a 5-star, the #4 cornerback, and the #16 player overall. This will be Tabor’s first visit to Michigan’s campus, and the Wolverines appear to be playing from well behind on this one. Teammate D’Andre Payne, who has a Michigan offer, committed to Tennessee; other Friendship products have been offered by Michigan in recent years, including linebacker Yannick Ngakoue (Maryland) and defensive tackle Eddie Goldman (Florida State). Tabor is expect to follow Goldman to Tallahassee.
Maurice Ways – WR – Detroit (MI) Country Day: Ways is a 6’3″, 195 lb. prospect who earned a Michigan offer late last week. He just earned an offer from Pitt, which joined Iowa, Kansas, and several others. As a junior in 2012, Ways had 51 receptions for 957 yards and 9 touchdowns. Many people are expecting Ways to commit to Michigan soon, if not on his visit.
Detroit (MI) Country Day wide receiver Maurice Ways
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Fort Worth (TX) All Saint’s Episcopal offensive guard Demetrius Knox decommitted from Texas. Knox is a 6’4″, 290 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and numerous others. According to 247’s Composite ranking, he’s a 4-star, the #4 offensive guard, and the #77 player overall. I do not expect Michigan to garner much attention from Knox this time around, either.
New Orleans (LA) John Curtis safety Mattrell McGraw was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 186 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, and many others. According to the 247 Composite rankings, he’s a 3-star, the #51 safety, and the #593 player overall. As a junior in 2012, he had 65 tackles, 1 sack, 4 interceptions (2 returned for touchdowns), 13 pass breakups, and 2 forced fumbles. He also claims a 4.46 forty, and I think he has the speed and change of direction to play cornerback in some schemes. John Curtis is the same school as a couple other Michigan offerees, wide receiver Malachi Dupre and linebacker Kenny Young.
Chandler (AZ) Hamilton offensive tackle Casey Tucker decommitted from USC. He’s a 6’6″, 270 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona State, Arkansas, Nebraska, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma, among others. According to the 247 Composite rankings, he’s a 4-star, the #6 offensive tackle, and the #55 player overall; he’s committed play in the Under Armour All-America Game. He has expressed an interest in revisiting Michigan’s offer, so the Wolverines might be able to make a move. Hamilton is the same school that former Michigan targets Cole Luke (Notre Dame) and Christian Westerman (Auburn) attended.
Detroit (MI) Country Day wide receiver Maurice Ways was offered by Michigan. Ways is a 6’3″, 195 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa, Kansas, Rutgers, and most of the MAC. As a junior in 2012, he had 51 receptions for 952 yards and 9 touchdowns. According to the 247 Composite rankings, he’s a 3-star, the #76 wideout, and the #583 player overall. Ways isn’t the most agile or quickest receiver, but he’s a good sized kid with a nice frame, good speed, and the ability to go up and get the ball. Country Day is the alma mater of Michigan linebacker Kenny Demens.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
East St. Louis (IL) East St. Louis defensive end Terry Beckner, Jr.was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 260 lb. prospect with offers from Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Purdue. Beckner is the teammate of 2014 linebacker offeree Kyron Watson, who has named Michigan his leader.
