Willie Gay (image via The Clarion-Ledger)
The 2017 recruiting class is in the rear view, but there were naturally a bunch of players who committed on or around National Signing Day. Here’s a wrap-up of all the various goings-on regarding those players who were offered by Michigan.
COMMITMENTS
Iowa City (IA) West wide receiver Oliver Martin committed to Michigan (LINK).
Westerville (OH) South punter Brad Robbins committed to Michigan (LINK).
Leesburg (GA) Lee County defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon committed to Michigan (LINK).
Hit the jump for 26 guys who signed elsewhere.
OFF THE BOARD
Gadsden City (AL) Gadsden City offensive tackle Toryque Bateman committed to Louisville. Bateman was very high on Michigan at one point and seemed likely to end up in Ann Arbor, but some rumored academic issues kept the Wolverines from really pushing for him.
Highland Springs (VA) Highland Springs offensive tackle Mekhi Becton committed to Louisville. Becton named Michigan his leader after a November 2015 visit, but then Virginia Tech and Louisville surged ahead late in the process.
Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas running back Kyshaun Bryan committed to Iowa. Bryan was a long-time South Carolina commit who was reeled in by the Hawkeyes after Eno Benjamin flipped to Arizona State.
Dallas (TX) Bishop Dunne cornerback Chevin Calloway committed to Arkansas. Calloway was committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes at one point, too, but the commitment to the Razorbacks was a long time coming.
Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice tight end Carter Dunaway committed to Princeton. Dunaway was a fairly lightly regarded tight end, even after Michigan offered him early and got him in the fold. Indiana and a couple other schools extended offers, but after the “mutual parting of ways” between Dunaway and Michigan, there was very little buzz. Princeton is a great school, but this probably speaks to a limited ceiling on the football field.
Sacramento (CA) Inderkum tight end Josh Falo committed to USC. Falo was rumored at various times to be leaning toward Colorado, Alabama, and Michigan – the latter after playing with a bunch of Michigan commits at The Opening – but he ended up staying somewhat close to home.
Starkville (MS) Starkville linebacker Willie Gay committed to Mississippi State. This was rather disappointing to me, since Gay was perhaps the recruit I wanted most in this class. However, he lives in Mississippi. The end.
Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Michael Harley committed to Miami. Harley brushed off an in-home visit from Michigan in December to narrow it down to the Hurricanes and the West Virginia Mountaineers, to whom he was committed for several months.
Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas offensive guard/defensive tackle Kedonis Haslem committed to Toledo. He earned a Michigan offer but obviously settled for a second- (or third-) tier program. He’s the son of NBA power forward Udonis Haslem.
Covington (GA) Newton linebacker Jaquan Henderson committed to Georgia Tech. You may remember him as the teammate of Jeremiah Holloman and Kurt Taylor who was pegged as a likely flip to the Wolverines at one juncture. Tennessee and UCLA pledges didn’t work out, so he ended up a Yellowjacket.
Los Angeles (CA) Hawkins running back Greg Johnson committed to USC. A potentially elite skill athlete, Johnson was pledged to Arizona early in the process.
Mobile (AL) St. Paul’s defensive end Ryan Johnson committed to Stanford. I guess he’s the one guy within the State of Alabama who could qualify for Stanford, according to David Shaw’s veiled insult of the deep south.
Jacksonville (FL) Trinity fullback/linebacker Chase Lasater committed to Florida Atlantic. He was committed to Michigan at one point (LINK).
Clearwater (FL) Clearwater running back Adarius Lemons committed to Florida. Lemons pulled an Aubrey Solomon and recommitted to the school that he had decommitted from previously.
Los Angeles (CA) Salesian cornerback Deommodore Lenoir committed to Oregon. This was totally unsurprising.
Los Angeles (CA) Hawkins wide receiver Joseph Lewis committed to USC. There was a time when he was thought to be leaning toward Nebraska, which would have been an odd move for one of the top few receivers in the country. He joins teammate Greg Johnson (see above), and it’s likely that their 2018 teammate, Jalen Hall, will also join them.
Philadelphia (PA) St. Joseph’s offensive guard Carter Lynch committed to Delaware. Lynch is rather limited athletically, but he turned down some FBS offers for FCS Delaware.
Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha running back Anthony McFarland, Jr. committed to Maryland. He kept people guessing with thoughts that he might end up at Miami or Penn State, but he ultimately stayed home to play for the Terrapins.
Phoenix (AZ) Mountain Pointe safety Isaiah Pola-Mao committed to USC. Michigan made a late run at getting him to visit, but he never showed much interest.
Orlando (FL) Dr. Phillips defensive end Robert Porcher IV committed to Virginia Tech. Porcher committed to Nebraska in the summer of 2016, and then he decommitted in December, saying he thought about it and wanted to stay closer to family. I’m not sure what that meant because he lived in Florida, his dad played and worked for the Detroit Lions (and still lives in Detroit), and his dad grew up in South Carolina. So maybe he has some extended family near Virginia Tech, but VT isn’t close to Florida or Michigan, and it’s two states away from South Carolina.
Memphis (TN) Trezevant running back Cordarrian Richardson committed to Maryland . . . and then signed with UCF. Richardson had one of the more interesting recruitments in the 2017 class. Originally a Clemson commit, he decommitted with rumors swirling that he might end up at a JUCO. Then on National Signing Day, he verbally committed to Maryland with a fancy video where he sent a camera up to space. Fast forward to 24 hours, and he signed a National Letter of Intent to Central Florida. Here’s the nonsensical Maryland commit video:
Montgomery (AL) Lee wide receiver Henry Ruggs III committed to Alabama. Ruggs torched some people in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, and now he’ll have a great chance to continue that in college.
Jacksonville (FL) Sandalwood cornerback Ameer Speed committed to Georgia. Along with having a good name for a cornerback, he’s a 6’3″ kid with cornerback skills.
New Orleans (LA) McDonogh 35 cornerback Brad Stewart, Jr. committed to Florida. This was a bit of an upset, since Stewart was considered an LSU lean at one point.
Miami (FL) Columbus defensive end Guy Thomas committed to Nebraska. At 6’3″, 191 lbs. he has some growing to do, but he’s a speedy rush end type.
Bellaire (TX) Episcopal defensive tackle Marvin Wilson committed to Florida State. Considered by some to be the top overall player in the country, Wilson is considered to be a surefire talent. He was strongly considering Ohio State, so this is a bit of a win for Michigan to get him to the ACC . . . unless the Wolverines face the dastardly Seminoles in another bowl game.
MISCELLANEOUS
I put up my grades for the 2017 offensive recruiting class (LINK). The defensive grades should be coming tomorrow.
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How does Louisville land two behemoth OTs over Michigan?
Between them, Bateman, Slaton, Wilson, Michigan had a rough go with the big southern kids. Obviously they got SEC-country prospects at other positions, but not OL. Will be interesting if that affects recruiting strategy going forward.
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BAGMEN!!!
No, I don’t really know how that happens. I think the culture in Louisville is probably significantly different than that of Ann Arbor, but I don’t know if that’s the entire difference. I think Michigan backed off of Bateman due to some concerns, so there’s that, but they did go pretty hard after Becton, as far as I know.
Note: You included Isaiah Wilson as a big southern kid, but he’s from Brooklyn, NY. It doesn’t really change your point, though.
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Ooops yeah, I forgot since he went to Georgia. Biggest miss in the class IMO.
It could be bagmen or offield issues and often is I suspect. It’s just a lot of volume to lose on so many for one position in one class.
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