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2016 Season Countdown: #74 Lavert Hill

Lavert Hill

Name: Lavert Hill
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 175 lbs.
High school: Detroit (MI) King
Position: Cornerback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Hill was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 12 interceptions, 3 of which he returned for touchdowns.
Final TTB Rating: 84

Hill has had a long relationship with Michigan. The younger brother of senior safety Delano Hill, Lavert originally attended Detroit (MI) Cass Tech – a Michigan pipeline for several years – before transferring to King for his last couple years of high school. Then he surprised many people by committing to Penn State. He seemed solid for a while, started waffling a bit, and eventually decommitted before picking the Wolverines. In the meantime, he was not known for making a bunch of big plays early in high school, but he capped his prep career by making 12 picks and scoring 3 TDs on defense. He was rewarded by earning a trip to San Antonio for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

This year Michigan’s top three cornerbacks return. There wasn’t much of a need for fourth corners to play last season, outside of Jabrill Peppers occasionally moving to the outside from his slot corner position. With Jourdan Lewis, Channing Stribling, and Jeremy Clark set to return – all of whom are seniors – Michigan needs to groom some people for a starting gig in 2017. I’m guessing that Hill’s classmate, David Long, will earn more playing time this season. Hill is in that swing spot where he could probably redshirt and use that time to get stronger, but then he would be inexperienced going into a redshirt freshman season that might see him starting. Regardless, Hill is probably no higher than the fifth corner on the roster, so the value he brings is relatively minimal.

Prediction: Backup cornerback

Andrew Stueber, Wolverine

Darien (CT) Darien OT Andrew Stueber

Darien (CT) Darien offensive tackle Andrew Stueber committed to Michigan on Saturday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Maryland, North Carolina, Penn State, Pitt, Tennessee, and Virginia, among others.

He stands 6’6″, 290 lbs.

RATINGS
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 3-star, #64 OT
Scout: 3-star, #43 OT
247 Sports: 3-star, 86 grade, #79 OT, #740 overall

Hit the jump for more on Stueber’s commitment.

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Visitors: June 24-26, 2016

Lexington (KY) Lafayette OT Jedrick Wills (image via Scout)

It’s getting difficult to keep all of Michigan’s on-campus camps in order, so I’m going to include any leftover visitors not mentioned elsewhere here. Some of these players are camping/have camped, while others are simply stopping by campus to see what all the fuss is about. The main purpose of these lists is to identify the players who are actively showing interest in Michigan, so it probably doesn’t matter a whole lot whether these guys are wearing cleats or flip-flops.

2017

Jhamon Ausbon – WR – Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy: Ausbon is a 6’2″, 217 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #11 wide receiver, and #67 overall. He camped with Michigan when they made their way to Florida, and he also got a chance to see the team practice during the spring session at IMG Academy.

Dennis Bell – LB – Ellenwood (GA) Cedar Grove: Bell is a 6’2″, 217 lb. prospect with offers from Georgia State and Miami-OH. He earned a Michigan offer when he camped in Ann Arbor on June 21.

Ellis Brooks – LB – Richmond (VA) Benedictine: Brooks is a 6’2″, 233 lb. prospect who was previously committed to Duke. He also has offers from Michigan, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #21 outside linebacker, and #309 overall.

Hunter Echols – DE – Los Angeles (CA) Cathedral: Echols is a 6’3″, 231 lb. prospect who committed to UCLA in February; he also has offers from Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, and USC, just to name a few. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 weakside end, and #90 overall. He insists that he’s solid to UCLA, but solid commits don’t generally pay their own way to travel from California to Michigan. He camped at the Shine Time Camp on Monday.

Darnell Ewell – DT – Norfolk (VA) Lake Taylor: Ewell is a 6’4″, 295 lb. prospect with offers from virtually every elite program across the country. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #9 defensive tackle, and #145 overall. He recently named an ordered top ten that included Michigan at #2, just behind Ohio State. He’ll be visiting on June 26.

Hit the jump for several more visitors and campers.

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2016 Season Countdown: #75 Brandon Peters

Brandon Peters (image via MLive)

Name: Brandon Peters
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 205 lbs.
High school: Avon (IN) Avon
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #18
Last year: Peters was a senior in high school (LINK). He threw for 3,103 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions.
Final TTB Rating: 90

Peters pledged to Michigan in April of 2015 and stayed strongly committed to the Wolverines throughout the process. He’s a quiet kid and didn’t make much noise on the recruiting trail, but he was a strong enough player to be invited to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and the Elite 11 Finals, and he was named Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Indiana. During his senior season, he threw 37 TDs and just 5 picks while leading his team to a 10-3 record.

Peters struggled in the Army Bowl, going 4/16 altogether. He enrolled early at Michigan and continued to have some struggles there during spring practices, but you could see the physical skills. Rivals intimated that Peters was homesick during the spring and considering transferring, but nothing has come of that, at least not yet. I mentioned in the Final TTB Rating post that I think Peters is going to be a guy who relies on timing and chemistry with his receivers to be successful. In my opinion, he’s not a player who can step into a situation immediately and be a star from day one. Michigan’s top two quarterbacks, Wilton Speight and John O’Korn, are battling it out for the starting job, and redshirt junior Shane Morris seems like the #3 guy. Peters seemed to be the clear #4 behind those three and ahead of Alex Malzone in the spring. The staff will probably redshirt Peters if they can and then see how well he matches up with the other QBs in 2017.

Prediction: Redshirt

2016 Season Countdown: #76 Wyatt Shallman

Wyatt Shallman

Name: Wyatt Shallman
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Novi (MI) Catholic Central
Position: Fullback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #33
Last year: I ranked Shallman #63 and said he would be a backup tailback (LINK). He played in one game and ran 3 times for 9 yards.

Shallman was the leading rusher in the 2015 spring game, which led some to believe that he would be used more heavily at tailback. He was dealing with an injury for part of last season, but the only time he saw the field was in a blowout win over Rutgers when he ran 3 times for 9 yards late in the game. Michigan used several other tailbacks more than Shallman, including converted cornerback Ross Taylor-Douglas, who has since transferred to Rutgers, and the now departed Derrick Green (destination: unknown).

This spring Shallman was being used at fullback. In my opinion, he did not look very enthused to be a blocking back. Additionally, I did not think he looked very effective as a blocker. There is a big opportunity at fullback since the top two guys from last year (Joe Kerridge, Sione Houma) are now toiling away in the NFL, but Michigan seems intent to use converted defensive end Henry Poggi and converted tight end Khalid Hill at the position, along with fifth-year walk-on senior Bobby Henderson. Shallman may be the most talented runner of that bunch, so maybe he gets an occasional opportunity to run the ball. However, he does not appear to be in the top three at his position group, so I’m not counting on him to be heavily involved this season.

Prediction: Backup fullback