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Poll results: Who is the best in-state player in Michigan?

Detroit (MI) King wide receiver Donnie Corley (image via 247Sports.com)

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A few weeks ago, I posted a poll asking: Who is the best in-state player in the 2016 class? I posted my own opinion shortly after National Signing Day (LINK).

Here are the results of the poll:

Donnie Corley – WR – Detroit (MI) King: 34%

Daelin Hayes – LB – Ann Arbor (MI) Skyline: 31%

Matt Falcon – RB – Southfield (MI) Southfield: 10%

Khalid Kareem – DE – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison: 8%

Michael Jordan – OT – Plymouth (MI) Plymouth: 7%

Lavert Hill – CB – Detroit (MI) King: 5%

Other: 2%

Wayne Lyons, Wolverine

Wayne Lyons

I had been holding off on this until something official came from the university, but rising fifth-year cornerback Wayne Lyons is transferring from Stanford to Michigan and will play for the Wolverines this fall. He will be immediately eligible as a graduate transfer. This had been rumored for a while, and cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich confirmed Lyons’ pending arrival in an interview on Thursday.

Hit the jump for a rundown on Lyons:

Lyons is a 6’1″, 193 lb. corner. He was originally recruited by Jim Harbaugh to Stanford, and he was also recruited by Rich Rodriguez and Michigan in the 2011 class. Coming out of Fort Lauderdale (FL) Dillard, he was a 247 Composite 4-star, the #5 safety, and #98 overall. He chose Stanford over offers from Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, and UCLA, among others. He was also a U.S. Army All-American Bowl participant in 2011. Here are his senior highlights:

I also happened to write a scouting report on him back in December 2010 (LINK). It’s interesting to look back at a little over four years later. Stanford played Lyons at corner as a freshman before he broke his foot, garnering a medical redshirt for the 2011 season. He made 25 tackles and 1 interception as a redshirt freshman backup corner in 2012. As a redshirt sophomore in 2013, he made 69 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 pass breakups; his 2 interceptions came late in the fourth quarter of a win against Notre Dame (starting at 2:33 in video below). He started at corner in 2014 and made 30 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 3 pass breakups. He has not quite lived up to his billing as a top-100 player, but he has been solid.

Michigan is pretty solid with their starting group of defensive backs right now, so bringing in a ringer to start is not absolutely necessary. As mentioned above, Lyons could play virtually any position in the defensive backfield right now. With the starters looking like cornerback Jourdan Lewis, cornerback Blake Countess, free safety Jabrill Peppers, and strong safety Jarrod Wilson, Lyons is a bit of a luxury. He can play in the slot, which is where Peppers has been rotating in nickel situations this spring. With Lyons on the roster, that might allow the Wolverines to keep Peppers at safety and bring in Lyons off the sideline. From what I’ve seen out of him so far, I think Lyons is a bit behind Lewis and Countess (at least the 2013 version of the latter) but ahead of Channing Stribling in the cornerback pecking order.

Most of all, this gives Michigan options at defensive back. Lyons can play safety if the need arises, or he can play corner if that’s where he fits best. If it were up to me, he would be the nickel corner because he’s physical enough to stop the run and blitz, and he’s good enough in coverage to handle the duties in the slot.

Lyons’s arrival was foretold by the fact that Jim Harbaugh hired his mother, Gwendolyn Bush, to be an advisor to the players at Michigan. This alleviates some of the issues from Michigan’s lack of depth at the corner position after they had two talented corners (Shaun Crawford, Garrett Taylor) decommit during the 2015 recruiting cycle. Michigan was looking for an instant-impact guy, and they signed only Keith Washington, a project from Alabama who was mostly a quarterback in high school. Obviously, Lyons is only a one-year fix and Michigan has a strong need for corners in the 2016 class with Countess and Lyons both graduating this coming year.

Michigan is now up to 85 scholarships for 2015, which means that any additions to the roster will require some attrition, putting someone on a medical scholarship, or taking away a scholarship from one of several walk-ons (Graham Glasgow, Ryan Glasgow, or Joe Kerridge). Weber State punter Blake O’Neill is supposed to join Michigan’s roster by the fall, so someone is on the “chopping block.”

The University of Michigan football program does not often receive transfers. In the past decade or so, they have been limited to:

• Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s cornerback Grant Mason, who also attended Stanford right out of high school before playing for Michigan in 2004 and 2005
• Butler Community College linebacker Austin Panter, a rare JUCO transfer, who played for Michigan in 2007-2008
• Adrian (MI) Adrian quarterback Steven Threet, who attended Georgia Tech briefly before transferring to Michigan in 2007. He sat out the 2007 season under Lloyd Carr, started part-time in 2008 for Rich Rodriguez, and then transferred to Arizona State before retiring from the sport due to concussions.

Visitors: March 27-29, 2015

Paramus (NJ) Catholic defensive tackle Rashan Gary

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TRANSFER
Blake O’Neill – P – Weber State: Quarterback Jake Rudock from Iowa visited last weekend, and now it’s O’Neill’s turn. O’Neill is a graduate transfer prospect who’s a 6’2″, 215 lb. punter. He averaged 44.1 yards/attempt last season and does not allow many returns. Sam Webb pronounced a “gut feeling” that O’Neill would end up at Michigan, so this visit may be just a formality.

2016
Cary Angeline – TE – Exton (PA) Downington East: Angeline is a 6’7″, 230 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Penn State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #9 tight end, and #213 overall. As a junior in 2014, he had 67 catches for 1,051 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Korey Banks – CB – Tyrone (GA) Sandy Creek: Banks is a 6’0″, 170 lb. prospect with offers from Arkansas State, Colorado State, and Miami-OH, among others. He’s an unranked prospect at this point. He claims a 4.26 forty, and while that is almost surely a fib, he does have good speed.

Devin Bush, Jr. – LB – Hollywood (FL) Flanagan: Bush is a 6’0″, 220 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, and UCLA, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #8 inside linebacker, and #249 overall. Bush is a Florida State legacy whose dad played safety for the Seminoles and is now Flanagan’s head coach.

Hit the jump for several more 2016 prospects, as well as some 2017 and 2018 kids.


Donnie Corley – WR – Detroit (MI) King: Corley is a 6’2″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Ole Miss, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #20 wide receiver, and #110 overall. Corley has visited Michigan several times and has grown more interested in the Wolverines now that Jim Harbaugh is the coach.

Matt Falcon – RB – Southfield (MI) Southfield: Falcon is a 6’1″, 215 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Ohio State, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #13 running back, and #234 overall. He has visited Michigan several times, but Tennessee is also very high on his list.

Desmond Fitzpatrick – WR – Farmington (MI) Farmington: Fitzpatrick is a 6’2″, 194 lb. prospect who committed to Louisville last October; he has since picked up an offer from Michigan, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #57 wide receiver, and #344 overall. Fitzpatrick has been a frequent visitor to Ann Arbor and is seen as a player who very well might flip to the Wolverines at some point, even though high school teammate David Reese (also a Louisville commit) is not being heavily recruited by Michigan.

Rashan Gary – DT – Paramus (NJ) Catholic: Gary is a 6’4″, 290 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 5-star, the #1 defensive tackle, and #1 overall. As a junior in 2014, he made 55 tackles and 14 sacks. His former high school head coach is Chris Partridge, who is now employed by Michigan as a recruiting coordinator. He will also be visiting Ohio State on his swing through the midwest.

Joshua Hammond – WR – Hallandale (FL) Hallandale: Hammond is a 6’1″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #59 wide receiver, and #347 overall. As a junior in 2014, he caught 25 passes for 413 yards and 6 touchdowns. He will also be visiting Notre Dame on his swing through the midwest.

Brad Hawkins – WR – Camden (MI) Camden: Hawkins is a 6’2″, 205 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Pitt, Rutgers, and South Carolina, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #33 wide receiver, and #161 overall. Currently he appears to be favoring the Gamecocks, but he does not look to be in a hurry to make a decision, so Michigan still has a chance to work their way to the top.

Daelin Hayes – LB – Ann Arbor (MI) Skyline: Hayes is a 6’4″, 250 lb. prospect who committed to USC last summer; he also has offers from Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, and numerous others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 outside linebacker, and #82 overall. Hayes will be in town for a Tom Lemming photo shoot and despite living in Ann Arbor now, he is not expected to strongly consider Michigan.

Ron Johnson, Jr. – DE – Camden (NJ) Camden: Johnson is a 6’4″, 240 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #17 weakside end, and #270 overall. As a junior in 2014, he had 84 tackles and 10 sacks. Johnson is a teammate of Hawkins. He appears to have a strong motor and some good football intuition, along with some pretty good athleticism.

Michael Jordan – OT – Plymouth (MI) Plymouth: Jordan is a 6’6″, 280 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #18 offensive tackle, and #181 overall. He has visited Michigan numerous times and the Wolverines are thought to be his leader.

Khalid Kareem – DE – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison: Kareem is a 6’4″, 240 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #14 strongside end, and #225 overall. He was briefly committed to Michigan State in January 2015. As a junior in 2014, he made 85 tackles and 18 sacks.


Josh King – DE – Hinsdale (IL) South: King is a 6’6″, 250 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #4 strongside end, and #51 overall. As a junior in 2014, he made 70 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks. Michigan is believed to be one of King’s top three destinations.

Cedrick Lattimore – DE – Detroit (MI) East English Village: Lattimore is a 6’5″, 241 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa and a handful of MAC schools. He’s currently an unranked prospect.

Ostell Martin – OG – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Martin is a 6’5″, 330 lb. prospect with no offers at this time. With his size some offers should come eventually, but he is somewhat stiff and could afford to work his body into better shape.

Ahmir Mitchell – WR – Egg Harbor City (NJ) Timber Creek: Mitchell is a 6’3″, 205 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 athlete, and #88 overall. Mitchell, who was being recruited as a safety by Michigan’s previous staff, is now being looked at as a receiver. He recently placed Michigan in his top six schools. Despite attending a different school, he will be headed to Ann Arbor with Hawkins and Johnson, all of whom have rescheduled this visit from last weekend’s canceled itinerary.

Michael Onwenu – OG – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Onwenu is a 6’2″, 310 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Michigan, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 offensive guard, and #211 overall. Onwenu doubles as a defensive tackle and is being recruited by some teams on that side of the ball, but Michigan wants him as an interior offensive lineman.


Andrew Pryts – S – Hermitage (PA) Hickory: Pryts is a 6’2″, 195 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #48 safety, and #701 overall. Pryts is a physical, hard-hitting safety who is thought to be a heavy Penn State lean.

David Reese – LB – Farmington (MI) Farmington: Reese is a 6’1″, 235 lb. prospect who committed to Louisville earlier this month; he also has offers from Indiana, Pitt, and several MAC schools. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #23 inside linebacker, and #686 overall. Reese is a teammate of wide receiver Desmond Fitzpatrick, who is also committed to Louisville . . . for now.

Demetric Vance – S – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Vance is a 6’1″, 193 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #21 safety, and #406 overall.

Devin Waldon – LB – Detroit (MI) East English Village: Waldon is a 6’0″, 229 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.

2017
David Adams – LB – Pittsburgh (PA) Central Catholic: Adams is a 6’1″, 225 lb. prospect with offers from Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia, and others. He is currently unranked.

Corey Bolds – DE – Paramus (NJ) Catholic: Bolds is a 6’3″, 268 lb. prospect with an offer from Rutgers (EDIT: he was offered by Michigan this weekend). He is the teammate of Rashan Gary (see above).

Rodney Hall – QB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Hall is a 6’3″, 204 lb. left quarterback with no offers at this time. Wearing his #7 and throwing from the left side, he looks a little like Michael Vick, although not the same level of athlete.

Jaylen Kelly-Powell – S – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Kelly-Powell is a 6’0″, 183 lb. prospect who has picked up recent offers from Miami-OH and Northwestern. He’s a currently unranked. He claims a 4.49 forty.

Donovan Parker – WR – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Parker is a 6’0″, 165 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.

Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Peoples-Jones is a 6’2″, 183 lb. prospect with offers from LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #2 wide receiver, and #12 overall. He claims a 4.43 forty. His father is former Michigan player Shonte Peoples.

Isaiah Pryor – S – Lawrenceville (GA) Archer: Pryor is a 6’2″, 190 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #5 safety, and #70 overall. Pryor is a teammate of 2016 offensive tackle offeree E.J. Price, who named Michigan his leader recently.

Willie Reid – S – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Reid is a 6’1″, 177 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.

Jamyest Williams – CB – Lawrenceville (GA) Archer: Williams is a 5’9″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, and Michigan, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #9 athlete, and #84 overall. Another teammate of Price’s, Williams was offered by Michigan’s previous staff and that offer was reaffirmed by Harbaugh and Co. He recently ran a 4.52 laser-timed forty and claims a 41″ vertical. As a sophomore in 2014, he carried the ball 85 times for 700 yards and 8 touchdowns; he also caught 35 passes for 452 yards and 5 touchdowns; and on defense he made 60 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 25 pass breakups.

2018

Emil Ekiyor – OG – Indianapolis (IN) Cathedral: Ekiyor is a 6’3″, 280 lb. prospect with no offers at this time. He is the son of Emil Ekiyor, a Nigerian immigrant who played at Central Florida before playing six years in the NFL. The younger Ekiyor will be on campus Thursday, March 26.

Kalon Gervin – CB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Gervin is a 5’11”, 170 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.

Video: Bryan Mone talks spring practice

Will Hagerup, #40

Maybe Will Hagerup’s crowning achievement was getting this picture taken with Erin Andrews

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HIGH SCHOOL

– 19 kickoffs for 1,166 yards (61.4 yards/kick) and 1 touchback

AWARDS
2012: Eddleman-Fields Big Ten Punter of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten

SUMMARY
After several years of watching Zoltan Mesko boom punts, Michigan was looking for their next stud at the position when Hagerup was recruited. It was a big deal when he chose Michigan over several other big-time programs, including his home-state Badgers. For various reasons, Hagerup never became the fan favorite and weapon that Mesko had been. One big reason was his inexplicably (or perhaps explicably) subpar 2011 season. Another reason is that Hagerup fell just short of Sebastian Janikowski for his off-the-field exploits, getting in trouble numerous times with both coaching staffs for whom he played. He was suspended for a game in 2010 under Rodriguez, four games under Hoke in 2011, another game in 2012, and the entire 2013 season. The only season in which he could control his behavior was his fifth-year campaign after taking the Darryl Stonum Memorial Mutually Agreed Upon Get Your Life in Order Redshirt. Another reason is that, despite the solid-to-great punting averages, he was never really a “coffin corner” punter nor a guy who could consistently deaden the football at the 2-yard line. Too many of his punts either bounced into the endzone or were returned capably.

I WILL REMEMBER HIM FOR . . .

In a game against OSU, no less.

PROJECTION
Hagerup had the 29th-best punting average in FBS this past season, and CBS Sports currently has him ranked as the #16 punter in the NFL Draft. Over the past three seasons, there have been 2, 2, and 1 punters selected. I do not believe he will get drafted, and I don’t think that his talent warrants a potential character risk for a guy who was suspended for a total of 19 games throughout his college career. Since there are so few punting jobs available (and punters can play for such a long time), there’s not a huge need for practice-squad guys or replacements. If one punter or kicker gets injured/released, teams usually just find a retread lingering around. So this is probably the end of the road for his football career.