18Mar 2016
Attractive Michigan Girl of the Week
If you have any other pictures of good looking Michigan girls, drop me an e-mail. Go Blue!
If you have any other pictures of good looking Michigan girls, drop me an e-mail. Go Blue!
Hit the jump for the Chase Winovich interview.
Jake Rudock (image via Pro Football Focus)
All the cool people are following me on Twitter (LINK). Also, Facebook (LINK). Literally, one person follows me on Pinterest (LINK), partly because I’m not in the business of sharing recipes. If I were, though, you would be blown away by my chocolate chip cookies.
Previously: Desmond Morgan, Blake O’Neill
HIGH SCHOOL
Michigan did not recruit Rudock coming out of high school in 2011, so I was only vaguely aware of him as an Iowa commit. He was a 247 Composite 3-star, the #24 pro-style quarterback, #651 overall, and #91 in Florida out of Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas. Rudock committed to the Hawkeyes in July of 2010. He also fielded offers from Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, among others. (Coincidentally, the current front-runner for the Michigan QB job in 2016, John O’Korn, is also a St. Thomas Aquinas product. O’Korn graduated in 2013 and played his first two college seasons at Houston before transferring.)
COLLEGE
Rudock redshirted in 2011 and did not play at all in 2012, sitting behind starter James Vandenberg. He won the starting job as a redshirt sophomore in 2013, completing 59% of his passes for 2,383 yards, 18 TDs, and 13 INTs – plus 218 yards and 5 TDs on the ground – while going 8-5 as the starter. He stepped up his play in 2014 (62% completions, 2436 yards, 16 TDs, 5 INTs), but not enough to hold off calls for backup C.J. Beathard. After the season but before 2015 spring practices, Beathard was named the starter by head coach Kirk Ferentz. That signaled the end of the road for Rudock at Iowa, and he started exploring grad transfer options. He reportedly reached out to the staff at Michigan, but Jim Harbaugh had yet to see the current Michigan quarterbacks in action and wanted a look at them first. Once he saw what he was working with . . . he reciprocated Rudock’s interest. The two parties agreed to move forward together, and Rudock joined the team for August practices. It was a bit of a rocky beginning when Michigan lost to Utah. Rudock threw 3 interceptions in the contest, and some were wondering whether Michigan made the right decision. But that was his only multiple-interception game of the season, and the team went 10-3 on the year. Despite a rough first half to the season (6 TDs, 6 INTs in the first six games), he ended up with 20 TDs and 9 INTs on the year, along with the #2 passing yardage total in school history (3,017 yards).
Hit the jump for more on the career of Jake Rudock.
Westerville (OH) South running back Jaelen Gill
For no good reason except he’s the top-rated prospect in modern Michigan recruiting history, I’ll note that 2016 defensive tackle signee Rashan Gary is spending this week – his spring break week – at the University of Michigan.
2017
A.J. Harris – S – Madison (AL) Bob Jones: Harris is a 6’0″, 170 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, Louisville, Michigan, Nebraska, and Ole Miss, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #21 safety, and #284 overall. It seems like he wants an Alabama offer, but the Crimson Tide have yet to extend one. Michigan will be holding a satellite camp at Bob Jones High School in June.
LaBryan Ray – DE – Madison (AL) James Clemens: Ray is a 6’5″, 283 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #5 strongside end, and #176 overall. So far he has four Crystal Ball picks for Alabama and zero for anyone else.
2018
Jaelen Gill – RB – Westerville (OH) South: Gill is a 6’0″, 165 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and UCLA, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #1 all-purpose back, and #18 overall. He is considered to be a strong Ohio State lean, but with National Signing Day almost two years away, there’s plenty of time to make a decision.
Taj Mustapha – WR – Southfield (MI) Lathrup: Mustapha is a 6’1″, 170 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.
Dwayne Thompson – WR – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Thompson is a 6’0″, 174 lb. prospect with no offers at this time. He claims a 4.73 forty, a 28″ vertical, and a 4.15 shuttle. He’s a teammate of 2017 Michigan TE commit Carter Dunaway.
Nashville (TN) Montgomery Bell RB Ty Chandler
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ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Baton Rouge (LA) Southern Lab defensive end Chris Allen was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 222 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, and LSU, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #7 outside linebacker, and #91 overall. Allen plays middle linebacker in high school, which isn’t a bad idea because he’s their best defender and he can roam around the field from there. But he will probably grow into a pass rushing outside linebacker or maybe a defensive end at the next level. LSU is the heavy favorite.
Nashville (TN) Montgomery Bell running back Tykevius “Ty” Chandler was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 190 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #4 running back, and #78 overall. As a junior in 2015, he ran 346 times for 2,558 yards (7.4 yards/carry) and 31 TDs. Ole Miss has 86% of the Crystal Ball votes so far. He attends the alma mater of former Michigan offensive lineman Blake Bars, so Michigan has a bit of history recruiting the school; the former coaching staff also went after younger brother Alex Bars in the 2014 class.
Lakeland (FL) Lakeland running back Anthony “A.J.” Davis was offered by Michigan. He’s another 5’11”, 190-pounder who has offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #8 running back, and #115 overall. He’s very quick and changes direction extremely well.
Hit the jump for a few more offers and some random bits.