Pinson (AL) Clay-Chalkville WR Nico Collins
COMMITMENTS
Michigan’s wide receiver recruiting situation has been slow to develop, even though it’s been clear for two years now that the team would be losing two senior starters after the 2016 season in Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh. The first player worth mentioning committed last Thursday, and that’s Detroit (MI) Cass Tech’s Donovan Peoples-Jones, a 5-star, the #1 receiver, and the #11 overall player in the class, according to the 247 Composite. He’s 6’2″, 192 lbs. and checks all the boxes you would want in a wideout. The next highest rated guy is Cheshire (CT) Cheshire Academy’s Tarik Black, who committed just one day earlier. He’s 6’4″, 208 lbs. and a 4-star, the #17 wide receiver, and #124 overall. Last – and sneakiest – is Suffield (CT) Suffield Academy’s Brad Hawkins, Jr., who pledged to the Wolverines as a part of the 2016 class. He had to attend a year of prep school, and nobody really knew whether he would qualify or if Michigan would still want him.
Hit the jump for a deeper look at Michigan’s wide receiver recruiting in 2017.
UNCOMMITTED PLAYERS
- Nico Collins
- C.J. Cotman
- Jaylen Harris
- Leroy Henley
- Hezekiah Jones
- Joseph Lewis
- Oliver Martin
- Henry Ruggs III
- Jeff Thomas
- M.J. Walker*
PLAYERS COMMITTED ELSEWHERE
- Jhamon Ausbon (Texas A&M)
- Maurice Bell (Colorado)
- Juwan Burgess (USC)
- Terrell Bynum (Washington)
- J.T. Cauthen (North Carolina)
- Alex Cook (Washington)
- Daquon Green (Florida)
- Trevon Grimes (Ohio State)
- K.J. Hamler (Penn State)
- Michael Harley (West Virginia)
- Tee Higgins (Clemson)
- Isaiah Hodgins (Oregon State)
- Jeremiah Holloman (Georgia)
- Jerry Jeudy (Alabama)
- Taariq Johnson (Cal)
- Jacquez Jones (Tennessee)
- Matthew Landers (Georgia)
- Tyjon Lindsay (Ohio State)
- Omar Manning (TCU)
- Jaevon McQuitty (Nebraska)
- Jordan Merrell (Cincinnati)
- Joshua Palmer (Syracuse)
- Javonte Richardson (Kentucky)
- Amari Rodgers (Clemson)
- Tyrell Shavers (Alabama)
- Tyler Smith (North Carolina)
- Kenedy Snell (TCU)
- Osiris St. Brown (Stanford)
- Clevan Thomas, Jr. (Kentucky)
- Tylan Wallace (Oklahoma State)
RETURNING ROSTER PLAYERS
- Drake Harris (RS Jr.)
- Moe Ways (RS Jr.)
- Grant Perry (Jr.)
- Kekoa Crawford (So.)
- Nate Johnson (So.)
- Eddie McDoom (So.)
OUTLOOK FOR MICHIGAN
Michigan reportedly wants to take four receivers in this class, which means that the position is 75% filled with Black, Hawkins, and Peoples-Jones. For a while it seemed like Iowa City (IA) West’s Oliver Martin would be the fourth receiver after a bunch of Michigan commits played with him at The Opening over the summer, but he appears to have been squeezed out by the re-emergence of Hawkins. That’s because Pinson (AL) Clay-Chalkville’s Nico Collins is rumored to be a silent commit, and he has publicly declared Michigan his leader in the past. He has some visits down south scheduled for January, so anything can happen. Michigan also kicked the tires on Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas slot receiver Mike Harley with an in-home visit before the dead period began, but Harley is down to West Virginia – where he’s currently “committed” – and Miami. If Michigan is able to snag a 5-star (Peoples-Jones), two high 4-stars (Black and Collins), and whatever Hawkins is (a low 4-star in 2016, unrated in 2017), that would be the program’s best bunch of wideouts in the modern recruiting era.
*Walker is choosing to pursue a basketball career instead of football. He’s a 6’5″, 205 lb. shooting guard who’s a a 5-star, the #4 player at his position, and #23 overall in the 2017 class. Right now 100% of the Crystal Ball picks have him going to Maryland, so you may see him playing in the Big Ten soon.
You need to login in order to vote
The last class had speed and route-runners (Crawford, McDoom, Johnson) while this class seems more about size and down-field targets. Overall an excellent haul of diverse talent.
There sure are a lot of WR commits between these 2 classes. Meanwhile over at safety…
You need to login in order to vote
Hawkins is a really interesting case to me. I think if they can make it work with him they can sell the prep school route with other recruits in the future. Can be a mutually beneficial situation for some recruits, especially those that might struggle with the academic transition.
Michigan gets a free year of physical development, maturity, and classroom readiness that can obviate the need for a red-shirt (and therefore open up a scholarship for another recruit).
You need to login in order to vote
i disagree with the prep school thing. It depends on the kid and the prep school, i guess, but it’s just not the same as having the kid over at Michigan. The kid probably wouldn’t be training as hard/regularly as he would and I am not sure if prep school can make a kid prepared academically if he was not to begin with. Anycase it’s an interesting experiment with Hawkins. I really thought the boat sailed on him.
You need to login in order to vote
A red-shirt at Michigan would be more beneficial, but some kids aren’t even ready for that yet.
A prep year can be better for Michigan from the perspective of not using up a scholarship and a kid who isn’t ready to play yet.
A prep year can be better for the kid who needs more… prep.
You need to login in order to vote
That’s true, although Dytarious Johnson also went to prep school and is getting left out of the class. Of course, that’s probably not a case they’ll use to sell future recruits on…
You need to login in order to vote
Sure, in the same way that they point to guys who get drafted rather than those that don’t.
Having a successful example can be meaningful.
You need to login in order to vote
Hey Thunder, what do you think of Hawkins game? I’ve read in various places that his prep school high lights look really good. What do you think he brings to the table and do you think he stays at WR vs Safety? I recall you just being so-so on him last year. Has that changed?
Also, would you rather have Martin in the class instead of 1 of the 4 WR’s that we are currently suspecting will end up in the class (mostly Black or Hawkins)?
You need to login in order to vote
I’m still pretty so-so on Hawkins based on his film. I don’t think he’s playing against great competition at Suffield Academy, but he does have a better QB than he did when he was at Camden. However, I do think he will stay at wide receiver, and that’s supposedly one of the reasons he played WR – Michigan wants him there. On top of that, Michigan wants four wide receivers in this class and they’ll likely end up with 4 with Black, Peoples-Jones, Hawkins, and likely Collins. If Hawkins were headed for safety, they would probably still be recruiting Martin.
I’m not in love with Oliver Martin. He’s a solid receiver prospect, but he’s about on par with Hawkins, in my opinion. If I had to pick, I’d probably swap Martin for Hawkins just because there aren’t questions about whether Martin can hack it academically, while Hawkins obviously had to go the prep school route to get things sorted out. Martin’s also supposed to have excellent hands, and he’s maybe a notch above Hawkins in that department. It’s close, though.
You need to login in order to vote
Thanks for the reply and the in depth response. I’ve been reading your blog for a few years now and finally decided to sign up for an account to post.
I was hoping that the 4th receiver in the class would be a Dileo / Grant Perry type that gets open on 3rd downs. Seemed like Martin would have fit that role pretty well, but maybe Hawkins can too. Although, Tarik Black also seems to be a precise route runner with good size so maybe he can help fill that role. I am happy we are keeping Hawkins in as it shows a sense of loyalty from the staff and may have helped a little with Ruiz.
You need to login in order to vote
I’m glad you’ve been reading and now signed up. I do think Martin would fit that role. There are a couple options from the 2016 class who can fit that Dileo/Perry role, though, like Nate Johnson or Kekoa Crawford.
You need to login in order to vote
Why in the world do they need 4 WRs right after they ended up with 3 (Crawford, McDoom, Johnson) last year, with 3 more in the class before that?
That’s 10 WR. For a team that runs out FBs and TEs extensively, that’s too many. They need 4 or 5, max, to play. You do want a few developing in the background but 8 suffices, 9 is a buffer for a red-shirt, but 10 means you have to go short at other positions. Especially with the overlap with TE (e.g., Gentry) and RB (e.g., Evans) this is too much.
I think the staff knows this. What’s happening here is that they are setting up a RB-like situation where there is attrition expected. There will be competition and after it settles out guys will move to different schools or positions.
You need to login in order to vote
perry was the lone WR in the 2015 transition class right? they ended up with 3 last year and looks like they want 4 this year – but i thought harris and ways arrived in 2014 and then perry enrolled in 2015.
the staff still trying to recover from hokes WR recruiting (he whiffed on entire class in 2013 – and hoke didnt add many playmakers other than darboh and chesson) – similar to 2013 OL recruiting, its tough to overcome a class that completely misses on a position (hoke signed 6 OL, none really played, only kugler and dawson remain and doesnt look great for those 2), it takes time to overhaul and add necessary depth and talent.
youre right though, im sure the coaches are looking to load up with expectation that the cream rises to the top and others transfer or filter through program (woudnt surprise at all if ways and harris look elsewhere and arent asked back for 5th year if they dont take giant leaps forward in near future)
You need to login in order to vote
They red-shirted Ways and Harris, so they are in the same class as Perry eligibility wise (Jrs in 2017).
It is possible that they don’t expect all of them back, which is the expected outcome of the competition I was referring too anyway. I do think Harris and Perry stand to have significant roles on the 2017 team.
You can recover from the Hoke hole by taking 3 a year. 4 is extreme in this offense. It would be the equivalent to Rodriguez taking 8 in one class.
They took 5 last year, which made sense, but then 2 didn’t make it. The other 3 look like keepers though. Adding 3 more makes sense. By taking 4 they create an imbalance and it seems like Michigan is putting themselves in a position where they will only take 1-2 WR in the 2018 class. I’d rather they took 2-3 WRs every year.
I would guess they feel the same way and anticipate some roster moves. Again I would point to the seeming lack of roster depth at DB.
If the current roster projection holds (assuming Collins commits) you’ll have 10 WR and 11 DBs. Michigan plays 5 DBs more often than 3 WR.
This is a situation where I think you can guess at what the coaches are thinking.
You need to login in order to vote
I think Black took Martin’s spot. He seems like the possession guy in the class.
There is a lot of focus on size wrt the slot/outside WR distinction but it’s really about guys you can count on to make a catch in a 3rd down situation. That can be darty guys or it can be “catching radius” guys, as long as they have hands and run good routes. Speed is a bigger issue on the outside.
The distinction I see is downfield (speed, body control, ball instincts, high-pointing) vs. short-range (quickness, hands, toughness).
Drake Harris is a pure downfield guy in my opinion because he has great speed and good size but isn’t the most skilled at WR otherwise. Perry is a short-range guy. The really good players can do both (as I think Perry could next year). Edwards was a downfield guy who you could also throw to over the middle of the field or who could do work on a screen. Avant was a short-range guy who had the talent and speed to go deep as well. Funchess started off as short-range guy (as a nominal TE) and eventually Michigan started using his catching radius on longer throws.
Size has very little to do with it though – as perhaps the ultimate example In a Michigan uniform was Jeremy Gallon. Gallon was brilliant at jump balls because of excellent timing, strength, and body control. But, perhaps in part due to height, he didn’t have the straightline speed to be a consistent downfield threat.
You need to login in order to vote