Tag: Taco Charlton

ESPN 300 for 2013: Updated

The ESPN 300 has been updated for the class of 2013.  Here’s what it looked like back in June.

Movement for Michigan commits:
– Shane Morris jumped from #32 to #26
– Gareon Conley jumped from #64 to #63
– Dymonte Thomas jumped from #98 to #94
– Logan Tuley-Tillman dropped from #94 to #102
– Mike McCray dropped from #104 to #108
– Chris Fox dropped from #108 to #112
– Patrick Kugler dropped from #112 to #116
– Taco Charlton dropped from #114 to #120
– Kyle Bosch dropped from #120 to #126
– Jake Butt jumped from #232 to #171
– Jaron Dukes dropped from #216 to #222
– Henry Poggi dropped from #250 to #259
– Ben Gedeon dropped from #271 to #278

Here’s a list of Michigan’s offerees:

5-stars:

3. Laremy Tunsil – OT – Florida
4. Vernon Hargreaves III – CB – Florida

7. Eli Woodard – CB – New Jersey (Ohio State)

 4-stars:

11. Montravius Adams – DT – Georgia
12. Su’a Cravens – S – California (USC)
14. Jaylon Smith – LB – Indiana (Notre Dame)
19. Cameron Burrows – CB – Ohio (Ohio State)
23. Robert Foster – WR – Pennsylvania
26. Shane Morris – QB – Michigan (Michigan)

32. Keith Ford – RB – Texas (Oklahoma)
35. Eddie Vanderdoes – DT – California (USC)
36. Shaq Wiggins – CB – Georgia (Georgia)

38. LaQuon Treadwell – WR – Illinois
40. Leon McQuay III – S – Florida

41. Maquedius Bain – DT – Florida (Florida State)
45. Joey Bosa – DE – Florida (Ohio State)
46. Jordan Cunningham – WR – Florida

49. Adam Breneman – TE – Pennsylvania (Penn State)
54. Derrick Green – RB – Virginia
55. Michael Hutchings – LB – California (USC)
56. Jake Raulerson – OT – Texas (Texas)
58. James Quick – WR – Kentucky
59. Priest Willis – S – Arizona
63. Gareon Conley – CB – Ohio (Michigan) 
65. Alex Anzalone – LB – Pennsylvania (Notre Dame)
67. Kevin Olsen – QB – New Jersey (Miami)

70. Ty Isaac – RB – Illinois (USC)

71. Alvin Bailey – WR – Florida
72. Chris Hawkins – CB – California (USC)

73. Jonathan Allen – DE – Virginia (Alabama)

74. Demorea Stringfellow – WR – California (Washington)
75. Ethan Pocic – OT – Illinois (LSU)

76. Dorian O’Daniel – LB – Maryland (Clemson)

79. Matt Rolin – LB – Virginia (South Carolina)
84. Elijah Daniel – DE – Indiana (Clemson)
85. Maurice Smith – CB – Texas (Alabama)
88. Colin McGovern – OT – Illinois (Notre Dame)

89. David Dawson – OG – Michigan (Michigan)

91. Justin Manning – DT – Texas
92. Jourdan Lewis – CB – Michigan (Michigan)
94. Dymonte Thomas – S – Ohio (Michigan)
95. Hunter Bivin – OT – Kentucky (Notre Dame)
102. Logan Tuley-Tillman – OT – Illinois (Michigan)
108. Mike McCray – LB – Ohio (Michigan)

109. Ebenezer Ogundeko – DE – New York

112. Chris Fox – OT – Colorado (Michigan)

116. Patrick Kugler – C – Pennsylvania (Michigan)
120. Taco Charlton – DE – Ohio (Michigan)

122. Tray Matthews – S – Georgia (Georgia)

125. Tashawn Bower – DE – New Jersey (Auburn)
126. Kyle Bosch – OG – Illinois (Michigan)
128. Greg Webb – DT – New Jersey (Penn State)

132. Josh Augusta – DE – Illinois

133. Marquez North – WR – North Carolina
139. Standish Dobard – TE – Louisiana (Miami)

142. Isaac Rochell – DE – Georgia (Ohio State)
144. Darrell Daniels – WR – California (Washington)
145. Evan Lisle – OT – Ohio (Ohio State)
147. Alquadin Muhammad – DE – New Jersey
149. Antwuan Davis – CB – Texas(Texas)

150. Sebastian Larue – WR – California (USC)
165. Eldridge Massington – WR – Texas (USC)

171. Jake Butt – TE – Ohio (Michigan)
178. Shane Jones – LB – Ohio (Michigan State)

181. Justin Davis – RB – California (USC)

183. Devin Butler – CB – Washington, D.C. (Notre Dame)

184. Richard Benjamin – WR – Florida (USC)
199. Brendan Mahon – OG – Massachusetts (Penn State)

204. Riley Ferguson – QB – North Carolina (Tennessee)
205. Elijah Qualls – DT – California (Washington)
207. Billy Price – DT – Ohio (Ohio State)

209. Jayme Thompson – S – Ohio (Ohio State)

222. Nadir Barnwell – ATH – New Jersey

224. Jaron Dukes – WR – Ohio (Michigan)

225. Jordan Wilkins – RB – Tennessee

227. Larenz Bryant – LB – North Carolina (South Carolina)
232. Kyle Hicks – RB – Texas (Texas)

237. Michael Hill – DT – South Carolina (Ohio State)
241. Marcell Ateman – WR – Texas (Oklahoma State)
242. Jake Oliver – WR – Texas (Texas)

244. Uriah LeMay – WR – North Carolina (Georgia)

245. Joe Mathis – DE – California

254. Chase Abbington – RB – Missouri (Missouri)
258. Scott Pagano – DT – Hawaii

259. Henry Poggi – DT – Maryland (Michigan)

277. Darius Latham – DT – Indiana (Wisconsin)
278. Ben Gedeon – LB – Ohio (Michigan)

287. Jason Hatcher – DE – Kentucky

289. E.J. Levenberry – LB – Virginia (Florida State)
291. John Montelus – OG – Massachusetts (Notre Dame)
300. Peter Kalambayi – LB – North Carolina (Stanford)

Recruiting Update: July 9, 2012

LaQuon Treadwell, Shane Morris, and Jourdan Lewis at The Opening

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Wayne (NJ) De Paul wide receiver Kiy Hester was offered by Michigan.  He’s a 6’2″, 200 lb. athlete with offers from Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Rutgers, and several others.  As a sophomore in 2011, he had 27 receptions for 501 yards and 8 touchdowns.  He also plays a little bit of safety and cornerback, but he looks somewhat disinterested in defense and more of a natural receiver.

OFF THE BOARD: 2013
Wyomissing (PA) Wyomissing Area linebacker Alex Anzalone committed to Notre Dame.  Anzalone was previously committed to Ohio State but decommitted after the blowup with the sexual predator fan.  He was also a guy who planned to visit Michigan until the coaches put all their eggs in the E.J. Levenberry basket.

Indianapolis (IN) North Central defensive tackle Darius Latham committed to Wisconsin.  Michigan never seemed to be recruiting Latham very hard, and they supposedly wanted him more for the offensive line than defense..

Houston (TX) Westfield defensive tackle Hardreck Walker committed to Texas A&M.  Walker expressed interest in Michigan, but he set an announcement date before ever visiting campus.  Michigan is also reported to be done recruiting the defensive line for 2013.

VISITORS
Duluth (GA) Peachtree Ridge offensive tackle Orlando Brown was reported by Wolverine Nation‘s TomVH a couple weeks ago to be visiting on July 14, which would be this coming Saturday.  We’ll see if that visit actually takes place, but Brown is a 6’9″, 376 lb. kid with offers from all over the place.  It’s been pointed out numerous times, but he’s the son of the late Orlando Brown, a former offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.

Salt Lake City (UT) Highland defensive tackle Bryan Mone was supposed to visit last week, but the visit didn’t materialize.  He does still plan to visit, but he’s not sure when.  He’s a 6’3″, 280-pounder who was a teammate of incoming freshman fullback Sione Houma.  Mone was the first player to be offered in the class of 2014.

REVIEW OF THE OPENING
The Opening took place in Beaverton, OR, this past week.  Some of it was televised on ESPNU over the past few nights, so here are some thoughts based on SPARQ results and what I saw on TV and videos posted online.

Wheaton (IL) St. Francis offensive guard Kyle Bosch measured in at 6’5″, 311 lbs.  He had a 5.52 forty, a 4.87 shuttle, a 23.2″ vertical, and a 35.5′ Powerball toss.  However, he left the competition early due to what he’s afraid is mononucleosis.

Pickerington (OH) North tight end Jake Butt was featured in some clips online and in a televised Friday night seven-on-seven game with Tyrone Swoopes as his quarterback.  Swoopes was one of the worst passing quarterbacks at the event, which was somewhat expected for a dual-threat guy like him, who is an excellent runner.  Butt played very well in the seven-on-seven game.  He’s not an elite athlete at tight end like Miami-committed Travis Johnson or Alabama-bound O.J. Howard, but he’s tall and stout, and he showed nice hands in traffic.

Pickerington (OH) Central defensive end Taco Charlton measured in at 6’6″, 249 lbs.  He had a 4.89 forty, a 4.50 shuttle, a 31.6″ vertical, and a 40′ Powerball toss.  Michigan and Ohio high school rules prevent players from wearing pads during events like this, but Charlton performed well in the events in which he was allowed to participate.  His speed off the ball was noted as a positive, but those events generally favor the defender, so I take those reports with a grain of salt.

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech offensive guard David Dawson measured in at 6’3.5″, 282 lbs.  He had a 5.54 forty, a 5.16 shuttle, a 22″ vertical, and a 41′ Powerball toss.  Dawson is frequently listed in the neighborhood of 6’5″ and 305 lbs., so these measurements are more indication that he’s headed for offensive guard.  Dawson didn’t make waves with his play, but he did receive positive reviews.  He did makes waves, however, with his stated plans to visit Friday Night Lights at the University of Florida, which is a “camp” in the technical sense, but is more of a recruiting tool.  He stated that he had already bought his plane ticket and that he would talk to Michigan’s coaches about it, but miraculously, over the span of 24 hours, the visit was off and he remains committed to Michigan.  This situation will be one to watch over the coming months, though.

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech cornerback Jourdan Lewis measured in at 5’10”, 159 lbs.  He had a 4.68 forty, a 4.34 shuttle, a 32″ vertical, and a 36′ Powerball toss.  Some people expressed disappointment in his 4.68 forty time, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: most forty times you see for high schoolers are exaggeratedly fast.  After three years at Michigan and training for the draft, Donovan Warren ran a 4.68 at the NFL Combine.  Of course, Warren went undrafted, but he was a pretty good college cornerback (All-Big Ten in 2009) and might have raised his stock if he had stayed for his senior year.  In one-on-one drills on Day 1, Lewis went 5-for-5, had a very nice interception that was televised in Saturday night’s seven-on-seven game, and had a diving crunch-time pick in the championship game to keep his team alive (although they lost 14-6).  He has earned positive reviews for his makeup speed and it shows on film, so I’m not worried about that forty time in the slightest.

Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison linebacker Mike McCray II participated in The Opening, but didn’t really leave much of an impression.  I watched his seven-on-seven game on Saturday night and he was hardly noticeable, although linebackers are rarely stars in those types of events, especially inside linebackers.  McCray is seen by many analysts as more of a run-stuffing linebacker (even though I have some questions about his instincts), so I’ll repeat that it’s tough to judge much at these camps.  They’re fun to watch, but not particularly useful for most positions.

Warren (MI) De La Salle quarterback Shane Morris impressed most observers.  He has perhaps the strongest arm of any quarterback in the country, but his accuracy has come into question at times.  The best chance to show his stuff came in the seven-on-seven tournament, in which he played well most of the time.  However, his team (the Land Sharks) had what looked like the worst receiving corps of the six squads.  Devonte Whitfield is a decent receiver and made some plays, but Morris’s best targets were probably tight end O.J. Howard and running back Taquan Mizzell.  I value game film over camp performances, but this is how I would rank the six quarterbacks’ performances over the weekend:

1. Max Brown – Sammamish (WA) Skyline – committed to USC
2. Shane Morris – Warren (MI) De La Salle – committed to Michigan
3. Cooper Bateman – Salt Lake City (UT) Cottonwood – committed to Alabama
4. Christian Hackenberg – Fork Union (VA) Fork Union Military Academy – committed to Penn State
5. Brice Ramsey – Kingsland (GA) Camden – committed to Georgia
6. Tyrone Swoopes – Whitewright (TX) Whitewright – committed to Texas

The all-tournament team for seven-on-seven consisted of:

QB: Max Browne (committed to USC)
RB: Ryan Green (committed to Florida State)
WR: Torii Hunter, Jr.
WR: Ryan Switzer (committed to North Carolina)
TE: Jake Butt (committed to Michigan)
TE: O.J. Howard (committed to Alabama)
LB: Larenz Bryant (committed to South Carolina)
LB: Jaylon Smith (committed to Notre Dame)
LB: Matthew Thomas
CB: Cameron Burrows (committed to Ohio State)
CB: Jourdan Lewis (committed to Michigan)

Video: The Opening – Day 2 OL/DL one-on-ones

Toward the end of the video below, you’ll see a few clips of David Dawson and Taco Charlton:

The Opening: 2012 roster

Starting today and for the next couple days, The Opening will be taking place in Eugene, OR.  It’s essentially a combine for the elite players in the 2013 class and a few more from 2014.  Events will be broadcast from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on ESPNU tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday.

Here’s a look at the Michigan offerees who are attending the event (Logan Tuley-Tillman was invited but did not accept), listed in order of their rankings on ESPN:

Vernon Hargreaves – CB – Florida
Eli Woodard – CB – New Jersey (Ohio State)
Cam Burrows – CB – Ohio (Ohio State)
Jaylon Smith – LB – Indiana (Notre Dame)
Kendall Fuller – CB – Maryland
Shane Morris – QB – Michigan (Michigan)
Shaq Wiggins – CB – Georgia (Georgia)
LaQuon Treadwell – WR – Illinois
Leon McQuay III – S – Florida
Alvin Bailey – WR – Florida
Darrell Daniels – WR – California (Washington)
Eddie Vanderdoes – DT – California
Derrick Green – RB – Virginia
Michael Hutchings – LB – California (USC)
Priest Willis – S – Arizona
Alex Anzalone – LB – Pennsylvania*
Ty Isaac – RB – Illinois (USC)
Chris Hawkins – CB – California (USC)
Demore’a Stringfellow – WR – California (Washington)
Dorian O’Daniel – LB – Maryland (Clemson)
Matt Rolin – LB – Virginia (South Carolina)
Jake Raulerson – OT – Texas (Texas)
Elijah Daniel – DE – Indiana (Clemson)
Maurice Smith – CB – Texas (Alabama)
Colin McGovern – OT – Illinois (Notre Dame)
David Dawson – OG – Michigan (Michigan)
Jourdan Lewis – CB – Michigan (Michigan)
Mike McCray II – LB – Ohio (Michigan)
Ebenezer Ogundeko – DE – New York
Taco Charlton – DE – Ohio (Michigan)
Tray Matthews – S – Georgia (Georgia)
Tashawn Bower – DE – New Jersey (Auburn)
Kyle Bosch – OG – Illinois (Michigan)
Sebastian Larue – WR – California (USC)
Eldridge Massington – WR – Texas (USC)
Justin Davis – RB – California (USC)
Devin Butler – CB – Washington, D.C. (Notre Dame)
Jayme Thompson – S – Ohio (Ohio State)
Jake Butt – TE – Ohio (Michigan)
Jake Oliver – WR – Texas (Texas)
Joe Mathis – DE – California
Darius Latham – DT – Indiana (Wisconsin)
Jason Hatcher – DE – Kentucky
Larenz Bryant – LB – North Carolina (South Carolina)
Peter Kalambayi – LB – North Carolina (Stanford)
James Onwualu – WR – Minnesota (Notre Dame)
Steve Elmer – OT – Michigan (Notre Dame)
Darren Carrington – WR – California (Oregon)
Tre Bell – CB – Florida (Florida)
Ross Douglas – CB – Ohio (Penn State)
Elijah Qualls – DT – California (Washington)
Christian Lacouture – DE – Texas (Nebraska)
Da’shawn Hand – DE – Virginia**

* Planning to announce during The Opening
** 2014 prospect

The Opening 2012 Participants: Michigan

The following Michigan commitments have been invited to the second annual The Opening, a Nike-sponsored program that takes place in Oregon from July 5-8.  Michigan has the most invitees committed.  They are:

Kyle Bosch – OT – Wheaton (IL) St. Francis
Jake Butt – TE – Pickerington (OH) North
Taco Charlton – DE – Pickerington (OH) Central
David Dawson – OG – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Jourdan Lewis – CB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Mike McCray – LB – Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison
Shane Morris – QB – Warren (MI) De La Salle
Logan Tuley-Tillman – OT – Peoria (IL) Manual

Other state of Michigan invitees are Midland offensive tackle Steve Elmer (Notre Dame) and Cass Tech safety Delano Hill (Iowa).