Richmond (VA) Collegiate OL Jess Speight
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COMMITMENT
Darien (CT) Darien offensive tackle Andrew Stueber committed to Michigan (LINK).
Ellenwood (GA) Cedar Grove linebacker Dennis Bell was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 217 lb. prospect with offers from Georgia State, Maryland, Miami-OH, and Wake Forest. Information is limited on Bell, who’s a 2-star recruit on Rivals, but I believe he transferred from Decatur (GA) Decatur to Cedar Grove after his junior season. So that would mean he wasn’t technically a teammate of incoming Michigan freshman Elysee Mbem-Bosse. Regardless, Bell is now teammates with several Michigan targets in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 classes, and he camped at Michigan early last week, earning the offer in front of the coaching staff. He’s a big WR/DB who will probably outgrow the defensive back position and turn into a linebacker at the next level. He said that he thought about committing to Michigan immediately, but now he’s going to hold off on committing until later in the summer.
Charlotte (NC) Hough quarterback Jackson Gibbs was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 185 lb. prospect with no other offers at this time. Gibbs also camped at Michigan and earned the offer, although there has been much speculation and discussion about whether he has anything close to a committable offer. Recruiting guys have dug into it and say that he wasn’t technically offered, but as long as Rivals lists him with one, then I will, too. I’m not in the business of verifying offers. Anyway, Gibbs is a decent looking prospect, but probably not on Michigan’s level. He’s the grandson of former Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs.
Richmond (VA) Collegiate offensive guard Jess Speight was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 275 lb. prospect with no other offers at this time. Speight is the brother of Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight. While I’m typically not a fan of under-the-radar offers quite this early in the process, I actually like Speight a little bit. His size is a question mark for me because I don’t know if he matches his listed measurements, but he shows some good athleticism and technique. I wonder if he might be more of a target for the center position.
Hit the jump for several guys who committed elsewhere, some top lists, and some random bits.
OFF THE BOARD
Killen (AL) Brooks linebacker Colin Anderson committed to Vanderbilt. According to Steve Lorenz at 247 Sports, Anderson tried to commit to Michigan but was rebuffed because the coaching staff feels good about some of their other targets at the position. Shortly afterward, he picked the Commodores.
McCalla (AL) McAdory cornerback Malcolm Askew committed to Auburn. This happened toward the beginning of the month, but I failed to mentioned it in my updates since then. He was never really involved with the Wolverines.
Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon committed to LSU. He had put Michigan in his top four, but he was still expected to stay down south.
Tampa (FL) Hillsborough defensive end Zachary Carter committed to Florida. He’s a top-100 player who never gave Michigan a very serious look, either.
Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco offensive guard Wyatt Davis committed to Ohio State. This one stings a little bit because he said a long time ago that Michigan was his top school. That seemed to fade away a little bit, and by the time he committed, the Wolverines weren’t expected to be the choice. But he’s a 5-star prospect who could very well have ended up at Michigan.
Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Michael Harley committed to West Virginia. After a visit to Michigan a little over a week ago, he announced he would probably commit either last weekend or the next weekend. Then he took a visit to WVU, and he pulled the trigger.
San Antonio (TX) John Jay offensive tackle Matthew Huhn committed to Houston. Huhn is a 3-star and the #79 offensive tackle in the country.
Los Angeles (CA) Salesian cornerback Deommodore Lenoir committed to Oregon. He gave an interview just a couple days before his commitment that he was strongly looking at both Michigan and Oregon, and he said those two schools were the ones recruiting him as a two-way player. Almost before the ink was dry on that article, he picked the Ducks.
Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Joshua Palmer committed to Syracuse. Palmer, a Canadian transplant, named Michigan his leader at one point, but it’s not clear if the Wolverines were still strongly pursuing him when it came to decision time. My guess is that picking the Orange was a bit of a fallback option.
Ligonier (PA) Valley safety Collin Smith committed to West Virginia. Smith is a bit of a safety/linebacker hybrid, so he should fit well in West Virginia’s defensive scheme. He had visited Michigan at one point, but the courtship never really heated up, for whatever reason.
Warren (MI) De La Salle running back/cornerback/safety Allen Stritzinger committed to Syracuse. Stritzinger was a part of the “Pipeline Nine” for Michigan at one point and appeared to be leaning heavily toward the Wolverines, but Michigan’s pursuit of him cooled off. In recent months, it seemed likely that he would end up elsewhere. Syracuse running backs coach (and Michigan’s all-time leading rusher) Mike Hart was the lead recruiter for him.
Baylor 2016 signee J.P. Urquidez, an offensive tackle, committed to Texas. Urquidez was released from his National Letter of Intent after the shenanigans at Baylor. He will be eligible this fall.
Orlando (FL) Bishop Moore defensive end Donovan Winter committed to Michigan State. In a bit of a whirlwind recruitment, Winter was sitting on some small-time offers when he participated in one of Michigan’s satellite camps in Florida. The Wolverines offered him just before he visited Western Michigan, where he was expected to commit. He slowed things down a bit, earned an offer from Michigan State, and became a Spartan.
MISCELLANEY
Los Angeles (CA) Los Angeles defensive tackle Martin Andrus said Michigan is in his top ten.
Gadsden (AL) Gadsden City offensive tackle Toryque Bateman named Michigan and Tennessee his co-leaders.
Houston (TX) North Shore defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson did not put Michigan in his top group, despite taking in the satellite camp in Houston recently.
Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy offensive tackle Robert Hainsey named a top three of Michigan, Michigan State, and Notre Dame. The Pennsylvania native had been considered a Michigan State lean for a while, but now it seems that confidence in Notre Dame is growing.
Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Mike Harley, a teammate of Palmer, said Michigan is his leader and he wanted to announce a commitment either this past weekend or next weekend . . . or in August.
Chesapeake (VA) Indian River safety Devon Hunter named Michigan to his top eleven. I don’t expect much to come of it because Michigan has only been on the fringe of his recruitment so far, but anything can happen.
Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha running back Anthony McFarland, Jr. named Michigan to his top ten. He’s the #54 overall player in the 2017 class.
Madison (AL) Bob Jones offensive guard Kendall Randolph named Michigan to his top five.
Over on Recruiting Season, I added/updated profiles for:
- Livonia Churchill CB Jamal Allen, who committed to Toledo
- Orchard Lake St. Mary’s DT Ralph Holley, Jr., who committed to Western Michigan
- Walled Lake Western OT Robert Hudson, who was offered by Purdue
- Dearborn OG Mustafa Khaleefah, who committed to Michigan State
- Belleville WR Jordan Ulmer, who committed to Iowa State
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Speight certainly has that go till the whistle blows idea well assimilated.
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Yep. He and Stueber have that in common, I think.
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