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2017 Recruiting Update: June 8, 2016

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

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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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Rivals 250 for 2017 updated

Rivals updated its top 250 players for the class of 2017 (LINK). Yesterday I had a post on the top 100 (LINK). Here’s what it looked like back in February (LINK). Movement for Michigan commits:

• LB Joshua Ross fell from #189 to #206
• CB Benjamin St-Juste moved from outside the rankings to #209

Hit the jump for the rest of Michigan’s targets:

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Rivals 100 for 2017 updated

Dylan McCaffrey

Rivals updated its top 100 prospects for 2017 (LINK). Here’s what it looked like the last time I updated, which was July of 2015 (LINK). The lone Michigan commit on the list is quarterback Dylan McCaffrey, who jumped from #100 to #45.

Beyond the jump are the rest of Michigan’s targets on the list.

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Preview of 2017 In-State Recruiting: #11-15

Flint (MI) Southwestern DE Deron Irving-Bey (image via MLive)

My ranking of the top players in the state of Michigan for 2015 continues. I already posted #1-5 (LINK) and #6-10 (LINK), but here’s a recap:

1. Donovan Peoples-Jones
2. Ambry Thomas
3. Antjuan Simmons
4. Ja’Raymond Hall
5. Joshua Ross
6. K.J. Hamler
7. Phillip Paea
8. Hunter Rison
9. Jaylen Kelly-Powell
10. Corey Malone-Hatcher

Hit the jump for #11-15.

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2016 Season Countdown: #87 Devin Gil

Devin Gil

Name: Devin Gil
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Pembroke Pines (FL) Flanagan
Position: Linebacker
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Gil was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 60 tackles.
TTB Rating: 63

A one-time Miami commit, Gil was listed early in his recruitment as a safety. After pledging to the Hurricanes in January of 2015, Michigan offered him in March. The coaching staff had already starting pursuing teammate Devin Bush, Jr., and they would eventually offer Josh Metellus after a camp in South Florida. (Michigan has offered more teammates for the 2017 class, including Stanford Samuels III.) Even before Gil visited campus, it seemed he was likely to flip to the Wolverines. Then a visit in mid-June helped him pull the trigger. By the time his senior season rolled around, Gil was playing linebacker for Flanagan. He was thought by many – including me – to be too slow for safety in college, so he got in a year of linebacker experience before college.

Don Brown has pegged Gil as an “outside linebacker,” though that could mean either the SAM or WILL position. I think he will end up at WILL, which is also the position Bush plays. With Mike McCray II looking like the starter at WILL and Bush playing pretty well after enrolling early, Gil looks to be no higher than third string as a freshman. There are also a couple other players who could slide in at WILL if needed, so it would make sense for him to redshirt. He may find a role on special teams, but those roles can often be filled by other players.

Prediction: Redshirt