Congratulations to the Michigan hockey team, which advanced to the national championship game with a 2-0 victory over the North Dakota Fighting Sioux last night. They will play Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday.
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| Detroit Cass Tech’sTerry Richardson is the #31 overall prospect and #3 cornerback in the country |
The website 247 Sports released its top 247 prospects. The top 21 prospects have been given 5-star rankings, while the rest on the list are 4-star prospects.
The top prospect from the state of Michigan is #31 Terry Richardson, a cornerback from Detroit Cass Tech. In my opinion, Richardson is the best cornerback to come out of Cass Tech in recent years, and that includes Boubacar Cissoko, Dior Mathis, and Delonte Hollowell. Overall, there are five Michigan players on the list.
Michigan has offered 92 of the 247 prospects:
1. Arik Armstead – DT – California (USC)
2. Dorial Green Beckham – WR – Missouri
3. Eddie Goldman – DT – Washington, DC
4. Andrus Peat – OT – Arizona
6. John Theus – OT – Florida
7. Keith Marshall – RB – North Carolina
8. Stefon Diggs – ATH – Maryland
9. Kyle Murphy – OT – California
10. Gunner Kiel – QB – Indiana
12. Yuri Wright – CB – New Jersey
13. D.J. Humphries – DT – North Carolina
14. Mario Edwards – DE – Texas (Florida State)
17. Devin Fuller – QB – New Jersey
18. Zeke Pike – QB – Kentucky
20. Darius Hamilton – DE – New Jersey
21. Jarron Jones – DT – New York
23. Dan Voltz – OT – Illinois (Wisconsin)
27. Jordan Jenkins – DE – Georgia
28. Ellis McCarthy – DT – California
31. Terry Richardson – CB – Michigan
32. Noah Spence – DE – Pennsylvania
33. Wayne Morgan – CB – New York
37. Ifeadi Odenigbo – DE – Ohio
40. Josh Garnett – OT – Washington
45. Jabari Ruffin – LB – California (USC)
46. Jonathan Taylor – DT – Georgia
49. Aziz Shittu – DT – California
51. Tommy Schutt – DT – Illinois
52. Kyle Kalis – OT – Ohio (Ohio State)
56. Connor Brewer – QB – Arizona (Texas)
57. Chris Wormley – DE – Ohio
59. Armani Reeves – CB – Massachusetts
60. Jordan Diamond – OT – Illinois
64. Ronald Darby – ATH – Maryland
68. Drew Harris – RB – Pennsylvania
69. Kwon Alexander – LB – Alabama
70. Jordan Simmons – OG – California
72. Brock Stadnik – OT – North Carolina
76. Elijah Shumate – S – Massachusetts
80. Sheldon Day – DT – Indiana
83. LaDarrell McNeil – S – Texas
84. James Ross – LB – Michigan
85. Erik Magnuson – OT – California
98. Adolphus Washington – DE – Ohio
102. Devonte Fields – DE – Texas
109. Derrick Woods – WR – California
114. Troy Hinds – DE – Utah
116. Camren Williams – LB – Maryland (Penn State)
117. Zach Banner – OT – Washington
119. Michael Starts – OT – Texas
122. Vincent Valentine – DT – Illinois
130. Jonah Pirsig – OT – Minnesota
139. Deonte McManus – LB – Maryland
140. Greg McMullen – DE – Ohio
142. Kendall Sanders – CB – Texas (Oklahoma State)
143. Brian Poole – CB – Florida
144. Taylor McNamara – TE – California
145. Tee Shepard – CB – California (Notre Dame)
146. Deaysean Rippy – LB – Pennsylvania
148. Amara Darboh – WR – Iowa
149. Ondre Pipkins – DT – Missouri
150. Cyrus Jones – ATH – Maryland
152. Jody Fuller – WR – North Carolina
154. Brionte Dunn – RB – Ohio (Ohio State)
155. Avery Johnson – WR – Florida (LSU)
157. Zach Kline – QB – California (Cal)
164. Sean Price – TE – Florida
166. Peter Jinkens – LB – Texas (Texas)
169. Tom Strobel – DE – Ohio
171. Wes Brown – RB – Maryland
173. Jaquay Williams – WR – Georgia
174. Royce Jenkins-Stone – LB – Michigan
175. Deon Bush – S – Florida
178. Matt Jones – RB – Florida (Florida)
181. J.J. Denman – OT – Pennsylvania
191. Brent Wilkerson – DE – Maryland (Penn State)
192. Kyle Dodson – OT – Ohio
196. Se’von Pittman – LB – Ohio
199. Jordan Payton – WR – California (USC)
203. Evan Boehm – OG – Missouri
210. John Michael McGee – OT – Texas
214. Vince Biegel – LB – Wisconsin
225. Evan Baylis – TE – Colorado
228. Dwayne Stanford – WR – Ohio
229. Aaron Burbridge – WR – Michigan
230. Bryce Treggs – WR – California
231. Paul Thurston – OT – Colorado
232. Greg Garmon – RB – Pennsylvania
239. Matt Godin – DE – Michigan
243. Martin Aiken – DE – South Carolina
245. Leonte Carroo – WR – New Jersey
247. Pharaoh Brown – DE – Ohio
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| Washington offensive tackle Zach Banner (#73 above) is the nation’s #12 recruit. |
Recruiting guru Tom Lemming released his top 100 players for the Class of 2012. Michigan has offered 51 of them.
The highest rated recruit from the state of Michigan is Terry Richardson, a cornerback from Detroit Cass Tech, at #33 overall.
1. Dorial Green-Beckham – WR – Missouri
2. Gunner Kiel – QB – Indiana
4. Noah Spence – TE – Pennsylvania
5. Mario Edwards – DE – Texas (Florida State)
6. John Theus – OT – Florida
7. Ellis McCarthy – DT – California
12. Zach Banner – OT – Washington
13. Jarron Jones – DT – New York
14. Stefon Diggs – ATH – Maryland
15. D.J. Humphries – OT – North Carolina
17. Andrus Peat – OT – Arizona
18. Eddie Goldman – DT – Washington, DC
23. Matt Jones – RB – Florida (Florida)
24. Keith Marshall – RB – North Carolina
26. Ron Darby – ATH – Maryland
27. Jordan Simmons – OG – California
28. Connor Brewer – QB – Arizona (Texas)
30. Zeke Pike – QB – Kentucky
31. Kwon Alexander – LB – Alabama
32. Arik Armstead – DT – California (USC)
33. Terry Richardson – CB – Michigan
35. Tee Shepard – CB – California (Notre Dame)
36. J.J. Denman – OT – Pennsylvania
37. Derek David – LB – Texas
41. Jordan Diamond – OT – Illinois
43. Josh Garnett – OT – Washington
46. Tommy Schutt – DT – Illinois
49. Ifeadi Odenigbo – DE – Ohio
50. Michael Moore – OG – Maryland
57. Chris Wormley – DE – Ohio
58. Avery Johnson – WR – Florida (LSU)
60. Darius Hamilton – DE – New Jersey
61. Kyle Kalis – OT – Ohio (Ohio State)
63. Se’von Pittman – DE – Ohio
64. Jonathan Taylor – DT – Georgia
65. Deon Bush – CB – Florida
67. Dan Voltz – OT – Illinois (Wisconsin)
71. Leonte Carroo – WR – New Jersey
72. Bennie Coney – QB – Florida
74. James Ross – LB – Michigan
75. Ty Darlington – C – Florida
76. Troy Hinds – DE – Utah
78. Brock Stadnik – OT – North Carolina
80. Devin Fuller – QB – New Jersey
81. Jordan Payton – WR – California (USC)
82. Greg Garmon – RB – Pennsylvania
88. Cyrus Jones – CB – Maryland
90. Yuri Wright – CB – New Jersey
95. Vince Biegel – LB – Wisconsin
96. Deaysean Rippy – LB – Pennsylvania
97. Jordan Jenkins – DE – Georgia
98. Sheldon Day – DT – Indiana
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| Dorial Green-Beckham is the #2 prospect in the country, according to Scout.com |
Scout.com released its top 300 players for the Class of 2012, and it shows an interesting recruiting trend, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Brady Hoke and his staff were receiving some flak for offering so many prospects early in the recruiting cycle. By my count the Wolverines have offered scholarships to 139 players at this juncture. You will find 108 of them on this list, which means 77.7% of Michigan’s offers are to players considered to be in the top 300 prospects nationwide.
Compare that to Rich Rodriguez. By the end of the 2011 recruiting cycle, he (and Brady Hoke, who tossed out a handful of offers between his hiring and National Signing Day) had offered 190 players. On the final Scout 300 list, there were only 94 Rodriguez/Hoke offerees. So only 49.5% of Rodriguez offers went to the top 300 players in the country [Thanks to commenter Anonymous for catching my math error.].
Of course, this isn’t the final Scout 300. Prospects could move up or down on this list, they could fall out of the top 300, etc. But if you were unsure about the quality of recruits Michigan is pursuing, it seems that our new staff has taken a different – and dare I say better – approach to the recruiting process.
Here are the players Michigan has offered, with any current pledges noted in parentheses:
1. Arik Armstead – DT – California (USC)
2. Dorial Green-Beckham – WR – Missouri
3. Andrus Peat – OT – Arizona
4. John Theus – OT – Florida
5. Keith Marshall – RB – North Carolina
6. Noah Spence – DE – Pennsylvania
8. Mario Edwards – DE – Texas (Florida State)
12. Jarron Jones – DT – New York
13. Avery Young – OT – Florida
14. Eddie Goldman – DT – Washington, DC
15. Kwon Alexander – LB – Alabama
16. Stefon Diggs – S – Maryland
17. Gunner Kiel – QB – Indiana
20. Malcolm Brown – RB – Texas (Texas)
21. Adolphus Washington – DE – Ohio
22. Kyle Kalis – OT – Ohio (Ohio State)
24. Josh Garnett – OG – Washington
25. Zeke Pike – QB – Kentucky
26. Darius Hamilton – DE – New Jersey
27. D.J. Humphries – OT – North Carolina
28. Brionte Dunn – RB – Ohio (Ohio State)
30. Jordan Simmons – OG – California
31. Leonte Carroo – WR – New Jersey
34. Kyle Murphy – OT – California
38. Ellis McCarthy – DT – California
40. Jordan Diamond – OT – Illinois
41. Brian Poole – CB – Florida
43. Jordan Jenkins – DE – Georgia
44. Wes Brown – RB – Maryland
45. Zach Banner – OT – Washington
46. Tommy Schutt – DT – Illinois
47. Ronald Darby – CB – Maryland
49. Tee Shepard – CB – California (Notre Dame)
50. Aziz Shittu – DT – California
52. LaDarrell McNeil – S – Texas
56. Matt Jones – RB – Florida (Florida)
58. Ifeadi Odenigbo – DE – Ohio
60. Jordan Payton – WR – California (USC)
63. Brock Stadnik – OT – North Carolina
64. Sheldon Day – DT – Indiana
65. Greg Garmon – RB – Pennsylvania
69. Michael Starts – OG – Texas
71. Troy Hinds – DE – Utah
72. James Ross – LB – Michigan
73. Jonathan Taylor – DT – Georgia
76. Avery Johnson – WR – Florida (LSU)
78. Se’von Pittman – DE – Ohio
84. Aaron Burbridge – WR – Michigan
86. Bryce Treggs – WR – California
90. Taylor Decker – OT – Ohio (Notre Dame)
91. Elijah Shumate – S – New Jersey
95. Peter Jinkens – LB – Texas (Texas)
96. Erik Magnuson – OT – California
98. Vincent Valentine – DT – Illinois
99. Dan Voltz – OT – Illinois (Wisconsin)
100. Evan Boehm – C – Missouri
101. Deaysean Rippy – LB – Pennsylvania
102. Jabari Ruffin – LB – California (USC)
104. Martin Aiken – DE – South Carolina
105. Royce Jenkins-Stone – LB – Michigan
106. Dwayne Stanford – WR – Ohio
107. Kendall Sanders – CB – Texas (Oklahoma State)
110. J.J. Denman – OT – Pennsylvania
111. Paul Thurston – OT – Colorado
112. Chris Wormley – DE – Ohio
116. Maty Mauk – QB – Ohio
119. Reginald Davis – WR – Texas (Texas Tech)
125. Jaquay Williams – WR – Georgia
127. Connor Brewer – QB – Arizona (Texas)
131. Danny O’Brien – DT – Michigan
137. Ron Thompson – TE – Michigan
139. Terry Richardson – CB – Michigan
143. Camren Williams – LB – Maryland (Penn State)
146. Devin Funchess – TE – Michigan
150. Devonte Fields – DE – Texas
151. Jarrod Wilson – S – Ohio
153. Ryan Watson – OG – Maryland
159. Greg McMullen – DE – Ohio
163. Devin Fuller – QB – New Jersey
164. Amara Darboh – WR – Iowa
165. Taylor McNamara – TE – California
166. Dalton Santos – LB – Texas (Oklahoma State)
170. Mike Madaras – OT – Maryland (Maryland)
171. John Michael McGee- C – Texas
174. Shane Callahan – OT – Colorado
176. Derrick Woods – WR – California
177. Armani Reeves – CB – Maryland
180. Mario Ojemudia – DE – Michigan
185. Zach Kline – QB – California (Cal)
188. Ondre Pipkins – DT – Missouri
191. Kyle Dodson – OG – Ohio
200. Tom Strobel – DE – Ohio
202. Ty Darlington – C – Florida
206. Kaleb Ringer – LB – Ohio
218. Vince Biegel – LB – Wisconsin
222. Deon Bush – CB – Florida
224. Evan Baylis – TE – Colorado
226. Jeremiah Tshimanga – LB – Texas (Oklahoma State)
237. Drew Harris – RB – Pennsylvania
238. Joe Bolden – LB – Ohio
246. D.J. Singleton – S – New Jersey
255. Sean Price – TE – Florida
259. Malik Gilmore – WR – California
260. Raphael Kirby – LB – Georgia
263. Wayne Morgan – CB – New York
264. Vonte Jackson – RB – Wisconsin (Wisconsin)
271. Brent Wilkerson – DE – Maryland (Penn State)
281. Latroy Pittman – WR – Florida (Florida)
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| Middle linebacker Obi Ezeh |
HIGH SCHOOL
Ezeh was offered scholarships by Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Michigan, and Western Michigan, but chose the Wolverines in December 2005. He signed with Michigan in February 2006. Contrary to the popular belief held by Michigan fans, he was projected as a linebacker in college, not a fullback. He did play running back at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (Grand Rapids, MI) and was the school’s leading rusher, but not many schools are interested in 6’2″, 219 lb. running backs who don’t have blazing speed.
COLLEGE
Ezeh redshirted as a true freshman in 2006, but leaped onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2007. He started ten games at middle linebacker, was a Freshman All-America, and made the Freshman All-Big Ten squad due to his 10 starts, 68 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble. He followed that season with perhaps his most productive year – 98 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery. After that his career seemed to progressively deteriorate. He held onto the starting middle linebacker job for most of his redshirt junior year in 2009, making 69 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery; however, he played sparingly late in the season while losing time to Kevin Leach, a 210 lb. former walk-on. Those struggles continued into 2010, when Ezeh was displaced by redshirt sophomore Kenny Demens halfway through the season. Statistically, his fifth-year senior campaign was his worst, as he finished with 58 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 1 fumble recovery.
CAREER STATS
293 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, 8 pass breakups, 3 fumble recoveries. He is #10 on Michigan’s all-time career tackles list.
AWARDS
Freshman All-American in 2007 . . . Freshman All-Big Ten in 2007 . . . Roger Zatkoff Award (U of M’s best linebacker) in 2008 . . . Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2007
SUMMARY
Ezeh had one of the more curious careers of any Michigan player in the last decade. Prior to the Rich Rodriguez years, it took a rare talent – or injury problems – for a freshman to start. It seemed that Ezeh’s career was off to a fast start in 2007, and many Michigan fans were looking forward to the years to come. Lots of people thought he would follow in the footsteps of David Harris, another lightly regarded recruit who developed into a very good middle linebacker at Michigan, a player good enough to be starting at inside linebacker for the New York Jets. I can’t help but feel that Ezeh was one of the casualties of Rich Rodriguez and his staff. The linebacker play was so atrocious in Rodriguez’s first two seasons on the job that his linebackers coach, Jay Hopson, was the only staffer to get axed after 2009 was completed. By all accounts Ezeh was a very high quality individual. He never got into trouble off the field, was well spoken in interviews, and was just a good representative of the university. I wasn’t in practice every day, but it seems like a kid with his qualities would have nowhere to go but up. Instead, his play got so bad that he was an afterthought by the end of his career. He was slow to read plays, let blockers get into his chest, and just seemed to lack aggression. Those were things that didn’t seem to be issues earlier in his career. One of the lasting images of his career was in 2010, when after a long run, a shot of Rich Rodriguez seemingly had him tearing into defensive coordinator Greg Robinson for not having inserted Kenny Demens. And despite the fact that Demens started less than half the games, he finished with 24 more tackles on the year (82 to 58) than Ezeh.
PROJECTION
While I have no reason to believe he lacks intelligence, the general downward spiral of Ezeh’s career makes me think he struggled to adjust to new concepts and defensive schemes. His solid redshirt freshman season was his second year in defensive coordinator Ron English’s system; there were inklings of trouble under Scott Shafer in 2008; things got worse in Greg Robinson’s 4-3 in 2009; and the switch to the 3-3-5 in 2010 really seemed to befuddle him. NFL players need to adapt quickly to new schemes, and Ezeh hasn’t shown the ability to do so. He also doesn’t have great athleticism, which can sometimes make up for a lack of mental adjustments. Ezeh was not invited to the NFL Combine, and I do not expect to see him playing at the next level.