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Visitors: Michigan at Michigan State

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

It’s a big visit weekend for the Spartans, since it’s against the Wolverines. The nature of the game means that a lot of prospects also have interest in/from Michigan, too. Here’s a list of some expected visitors to East Lansing for the game:

2015
Christopher Hart – DE – Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas
Tyler Higby – OG – Houston (TX) Kinkaid:
John Kelly – S – Oak Park (MI) Oak Park:
Brian Lewerke – QB – Phoenix (AZ) Pinnacle:
Noah Listermann – OT – Cincinnati (OH) Winton Woods:
Grayson Miller – S – Georgetown (KY) Scott County:
Larry Scott – RB – Hubbard (OH) Hubbard:
Kyonta Stallworth – OG – Detroit (MI) King:
Tyriq Thompson – LB – Detroit (MI) King: Michigan offer; Michigan State commit
Raequan Williams – DE – Chicago (IL) DePaul:


2016
Jonathon Cooper – DE – Gahanna (OH) Lincoln:
Donnie Corley – WR – Detroit (MI) King: Michigan offer
Carter Couglin – RB – Eden Prairie (MN) Eden Prairie:
Desmond Fitzpatrick – WR – Farmington (MI) Farmington:
Tobias Gilliam – CB – Huber Heights (OH) Wayne:
Daelin Hayes – LB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Michigan offer
Lavert Hill – CB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Michigan offer
Michael Jordan – OT – Plymouth (MI) Plymouth: Michigan offer
Khalid Kareem – DE – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison:
Jeremy Larkin – RB – Cincinnati (OH) La Salle:
Kordell Looney – DT – Springfield (OH) Springfield:
Jalen Martin – WR – Harper Woods (MI) Chandler Park Academy:
Michael Onwenu – DT – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Michigan offer
Jordan Overton – CB – Lyndhurst (OH) Brush:
Martell Pettaway – RB – St. Clair Shores (MI) South Lake:
Auston Robertson – DE – Fort Wayne (IN) Wayne: Michigan offer
Sam Schlueter – OT – Victoria (MN) Mayer Lutheran:
Ethan Tucky – LB – Delaware (OH) Hayes:

Recruiting Update: October 23, 2014

Saline (MI) Saline placekicker Ryan Tice (image via Saline Post)

COMMITMENT
Saline (MI) Saline kicker Ryan Tice committed to Michigan as a preferred walk-on. He’s going to enroll in January, when he will presumably start competing for the jobs that will be vacated by seniors Matt Wile and Will Hagerup.

OFF THE BOARD
Cleveland (OH) Benedictine linebacker Jerome Baker flipped from Florida to Ohio State. I was a bit surprised when he committed to the Gators over the Buckeyes, anyway, so this makes a little sense, especially in light of Florida’s struggles and Ohio State’s success. Meanwhile, Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier linebacker and Ohio State commit Justin Hilliard is taking another visit to Iowa, where his older brother is a running back. These two things may or may not be related, but Urban Meyer might gain Baker while losing out on Hilliard.

MISCELLANEOUS
Last week I posted a look back at Michigan’s 2007 defensive end recruiting (LINK).

Over on Recruiting Season, I posted a profile of Farmington Hills Harrison DE Khalid Kareem.

Former Michigan Athlete of the Week: Denard Robinson

Denard Robinson (image via blackandteal.com)

In Denard Robinson’s third start for the Jacksonville Jaguars this year, he carried the ball 22 times for 127 yards and 1 touchdown. Jacksonville won the game against the Cleveland Browns by a score of 24-6.

Honorable mention: Oakland Raider Charles Woodson made 7 tackles, 1 pass breakup, and 1 interception, which he returned for 30 yards; Oakland lost to the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 24-13; on the other side, linebacker Larry Foote made 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack. Linebacker David Harris notched 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, and 1 quarterback hurry in the New York Jets’ 27-25 loss to the New England Patriots; Patriot quarterback Tom Brady completed 20/37 passes for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns.. Stephen Schilling made his first career start for the Seattle Seahawks at center, but it was a 28-26 loss to the St. Louis Rams. New York Giants running back Michael Cox returned 3 kickoffs for 87 yards (29 yards/return) in a 31-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Pharaoh Brown (image via Daily Emerald)

Former DT Richard Ash: Ash made 1 tackle in Western Michigan’s 26-14 victory over Bowling Green.

Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown had 3 receptions for a career-high 99 yards in Oregon’s 45-20 victory over Washington. He has 18 catches for 314 yards (17.4 yards/catch) and 3 touchdowns on the season.

Former CB commit Gareon Conley: Conley made 2 tackles and 1 pass breakup in Ohio State’s 56-17 dismantling of Rutgers.

Former S Josh Furman: Oklahoma State suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of TCU, 42-9. Furman made 5 tackles and 1 tackle for loss in the defeat. He now has 39 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble.

Former RB commit Demetrius Hart: Hart’s Colorado State team beat Utah State by a score of 16-13. Hart ran the ball 12 times for 60 yards (5.0 yards/carry) and 1 touchdown, and he caught 1 pass for 9 yards.

Former linebackers coach Jay Hopson: Hopson, now the head coach at Alcorn State, went to 6-2 with a 40-25 win over Texas Southern. The two losses came against Southern Mississippi in week two and Grambling State on October 11th. Hopson is 19-12 as a head coach in two-plus seasons.

Former RB Thomas Rawls: Rawls nearly continued his streak of 200+ yard rushing games, but alas, he ended this week’s contest with 37 carries for 181 yards (4.9 yards/carry) and 1 touchdown. He also caught 1 pass for 6 yards, but Central Michigan lost to Ball State by a score of 32-29. Rawls passed the 1,000-yard barrier for the season and now has 1,007 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.

Former S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal had 3 tackles and 2 pass breakups in Pitt’s 21-16 victory over Virginia Tech.

What I’ve Been Reading

Die Trying  by Lee Child. I read Killing Floor  over the summer and enjoyed it enough to come back for some more Jack Reacher. In another edition of unbelievable coincidences, Reacher finds himself caught up in a kidnapping attempt that has nationwide implications. The multi-talented Reacher gets to use his sniper skills on several occasions, including a far-fetched competition with a criminal mastermind. If you can get past the premise of the whole story, it’s an intriguing confluence of events. These are the cheap page-turners that are a reprieve from reading the daily newspaper, websites, or books like . . .

Columbine  by Dave Cullen. Like much of the country, I didn’t learn a ton about the Columbine shootings after the national media moved on to other topics. What I took away from the story at the time was that a couple of bullied students took it upon themselves to avenge their unjust treatment, so they hunted down the jocks and preps that held them down in school. That’s a bit of an oversimplification, but that was the general story line passed down at the time. From reading Cullen’s account, that story is not only oversimplified, but totally inaccurate. The book talks about the erratic behavior of both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold; the climate of the school before and after the event; the attack itself; and the community’s response. Throughout the reading, I had an irrational hope that somebody would catch on to Harris and Klebold’s plan and turn them in ahead of time. It’s impossible to make sense of violence like this.

Outliers  by Malcolm Gladwell. This is the book that popularized the “10,000 Hour Rule,” which suggests that people become great at something if they spend roughly 10,000 hours honing their skill. The most interesting chapter, to me, was “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes,” which reveals that the language used in airline cockpits can severely hamper the abilities of a flight crew. Korean co-pilots deferred to their superiors so much that when they noticed things going poorly, they would merely hint at something going wrong, rather than directly saying, “We need to take action now!” People were dying because Korean co-pilots were too polite. This was a great read.

The Tipping Point  by Malcolm Gladwell. This was another fascinating read from which all kinds of people with leadership positions might benefit. It talks about how small changes can cause sweeping improvements, supported by the story of how a cleanup operation of New York City’s subway system helped deter crime citywide. I also enjoyed “The Stickiness Factor: Sesame Street, Blue’s Clues, and the Educational Virus,” which talks about how children can learn from educational television programs. Personally, I have never watched an episode of Blue’s Clues, but it’s interesting how much research goes into such a show.

What the Dog Saw  by Malcolm Gladwell. I really liked the other two Gladwell books, but I probably connected best with What the Dog Saw, a collection of articles. The book title stems from an article written about Cesar Millan, the “dog whisperer,” and talks about how small movements and postures can be interpreted by dogs. I think this applies to humans, too, and a good first impression goes a long way. That first impression idea is also addressed in “Most Likely to Succeed.” I am in the process of reading Blink  and I have yet to read David and Goliath, but Gladwell has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I held off on reading his stuff for a long time, but now I’m hooked.

You can check out some other reading suggestions in past installments of What I’ve Been Reading (LINK).