Posts by: Thunder

2016 Season Countdown: #85 Kingston Davis

Kingston Davis

Name: Kingston Davis
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Prattville (AL) Prattville
Position: Running back
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #23
Last year: Davis was a senior in high school (LINK). He rushed 242 times for 1,656 yards (6.8 yards/carry) and 19 touchdowns.
Final TTB Rating: 70

Following the signing of 2015 cornerback Keith Washington from Prattville, Davis committed to the Wolverines in April 2015. After all, Washington was the quarterback who handed Davis the ball for most of his carries in 2014. At one point during the camp season last year, Davis checked in at 242 lbs. Despite his bulk, he insists he wants to be a running back in college, and he has slimmed down some since then to his official weight of 225. Regardless, he set school rushing records and picked up offers from Florida, Nebraska, and Ole Miss before enrolling at Michigan in January.

Davis didn’t create much buzz in the spring and dealt with a minor injury for part of the practice session. I think he’s the type of guy who may need a year or two of strength and conditioning work to reach his potential. On top of reshaping his body a bit, he has plenty of running backs ahead of him on the depth chart. De’Veon Smith, Drake Johnson, and Ty Isaac have all established themselves somewhat, and Karan Higdon got some experience last season. It’s not out of the question for Davis to contribute this season, but a fifth year of eligibility down the road might be helpful if he turns into a 230- or 240-pound beast who can pound teams to death.

Prediction: Redshirt

2016 Sound Mind Sound Body Camp Participants

Here’s a list of notable players who are expected to participate in the Detroit Sound Mind Sound Body camp on Thursday and Friday. Players are coming from all over the country, from Michigan and California and Florida and Virginia and South Carolina, to participate.

Hit the jump for a pretty extensive list.

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2016 Season Countdown: #86 Andrew David

Andrew David (image via Maize and Blue News)

Name: Andrew David
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 178 lbs.
High school: Massillon (OH) Washington
Position: Kicker
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #16
Last year: I ranked David #69 and said he would be a backup kicker. He redshirted.

David came to Michigan last season as someone with an opportunity to play early. His competition for the kicking job came from walk-ons like Kenny Allen, Kyle Seychel, and others. As a highly rated kicker, he seemed to have a fighting chance. Seychel was thought to be the front-runner for the kicking job coming out of the spring, because Allen had mostly been a punter during his first three years on campus. However, Allen won the job, relegating David to backup status. And it’s not often that a backup kicker is necessary.

This season David finds himself in a similar situation: looking up at Kenny Allen. Allen could very well pull double duty as the punter and placekicker this season, but now there’s some added competition in #1 overall class of 2016 kicker Quinn Nordin. After watching David kick in the spring, I think the Wolverines are in some serious trouble if Allen and Nordin don’t get the job done or get injured. Nordin’s an unknown quantity coming out of high school, but with David on the roster, the coaching staff still went hard after Nordin. My guess is that David will be the third-string kicker this season.

Prediction: Backup kicker

Scout 300 for 2017 updated

St. Joseph (MI) St. Joseph DE Corey Malone-Hatcher

Scout updated its top 300 for 2017 yesterday (LINK). Here’s what it looked like back in February (LINK). Movement for Michigan commits:

• Dylan McCaffrey fell from #39 to #47
• Ja’Raymond Hall fell from #198 to #214
• Joshua Ross fell from #128 to #229
• Corey Malone-Hatcher fell from #266 to #295

Hit the jump for all of Michigan’s targets.

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2017 Recruiting Update: June 8, 2016

Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas WR Michael Harley (image via 247 Sports)

You can follow me on Twitter here (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Michael Harley was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’9″, 155 lb. prospect with offers from Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #68 wide receiver, and #488 overall. He’s a shifty guy with great acceleration who maybe doesn’t have the greatest top-end speed, but he could work in the slot, return punts, etc. Michigan offered him after his performance at the St. Thomas Aquinas satellite camp, and they’re also going after several of his teammates, not only in the 2017 class but in the upcoming years, as well.

Miami (FL) Columbus cornerback Christopher Henderson, a Miami commit, was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #14 athlete, and #247 overall. Henderson plays running back for his high school team, and he has some serious speed. He’s a bit thin at 175 lbs., so I have him listed as a cornerback, but he could play anywhere from running back to wide receiver to corner to safety. He attends the alma mater of incoming freshman Joshua Uche.

Orlando (FL) Bishop Moore defensive end Donovan Winter was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 235 lb. prospect with offers from Pitt, South Florida, Tennessee, and Western Michigan, among others. He’s currently unranked. Winter earned a Michigan offer after attending a satellite camp last week, and he earned the Tennessee offer after camping in Knoxville. He has some decent junior film, but it’s nothing exceptional. However, he doesn’t look 6’5″, 235 in his film, so maybe a recent growth spurt and/or some work in the weight room has contributed to an uptick in interest recently. Winter is the son of former Syracuse defensive end Blaise Winter, who was a 2nd round pick in 1984 and went on to play for the Colts, Chargers, and Packers.

Hit the jump for a bunch of miscellaneous bits and pieces.

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