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David Reese, Ex-Wolverine

Farmington (MI) Farmington linebacker David Reese decommitted from Michigan on Wednesday night. He had committed to Michigan on the day of the spring game back in April (LINK

).

Anyone with a finger on the pulse of Reese’s recruitment saw this moment coming months ago. Reese originally committed with Michigan’s understanding that he would get his first shot to play fullback, but that he would also be looked at as a linebacker. As more offers for linebacker started to come through, Reese started to reconsider and wanted assurances from Michigan that he could be a linebacker through and through. Meanwhile, he was also looking to enroll early. Michigan informed Reese that he could play linebacker, but that they were keeping early enrollee spots open for other prospects. In other words, they said that if he wanted to play for Michigan, he would have to wait until next summer to enroll.

Hit the jump for more on Reese, as well as some analysis of the linebacker recruiting situation.

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Recruiting Snapshot: Northwestern

2016 Team Ranking: #48. Northwestern has verbals from eighteen 3-stars and one 2-star.

Cream of the 2016 Crop: The only top-600 player committed to Northwestern is St. Louis (MO) Chaminade cornerback Roderick Campbell, who checks in at #498 in the 247 Composite. Campbell is a 5’11”, 180 lb., tough corner who’s not overly athletic, but he fits in well with what Northwestern has been doing defensively. Fort Wayne (IN) Carroll quarterback Aidan Smith is the #25 pro-style QB, but he’s not a statue. He can run a little bit, but arm strength is a question (video below). The only Wildcats commit offered by Michigan is 6’5″, 270 lb. offensive guard Cameron Kolwich from Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s.

2017 Team Ranking: 

N/A

Cream of the 2017 Crop: Northwestern has zero commitments in the 2017 class.

Rivals 250 for 2016 updated

Brandon Peters made a big leap in the new rankings

Rivals updated its top 250 for 2016 (LINK) after doing just the top 100 yesterday (LINK). Movement for Michigan commits since the last update in August:

• Ahmir Mitchell fell from #102 to #111
• Brandon Peters jumped from #242 to #140
• Michael Onwenu dropped from #83 to #157
• Carlo Kemp fell from #203 to #215
• Erik Swenson dropped from #115 to #223
• Brad Hawkins dropped from #224 to #231
• Ron Johnson fell from #222 to off the list

Hit the jump for the full listing.

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Rivals 100 for 2016 updated

Ben Bredeson is the #65 player in the country

Rivals released its updated top 100 prospects (LINK). Here’s what the top 250 looked like back in August (LINK

). Movement for Michigan commits:

• Ben Bredeson dropped from #60 to #65
• Michael Onwenu dropped from #83 to outside the top 100 (we’ll find out how far when the top 250 is released tomorrow)

Hit the jump for the full list of Michigan offerees:

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What I’ve Been Reading

Endzone: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Michigan Football by John U. Bacon. Bacon’s publishers were kind enough to contact me and ask whether I would like an advance copy of Endzone

, an offer I gladly accepted. Unfortunately, the book was to come out in early September, and the advance copy did not come until mid-August, right at the height of my own football season. I was able to squeeze in enough reading time to finish the book a day after the book was publicly released, but as you can see by the lack of “What I’ve Been Reading” posts lately, I did not have a great deal of other chances to read or write about my reading. You have probably read other reviews of Endzone by now or read it yourself, so I’m sure nothing I have to say will be too awfully surprising. Former Michigan athletic director David Brandon did not come off in a good light. Bacon spent quite a lot of time pointing out how detached Brandon was from the fan base and how he gave off an air of hubris and stubbornness. At times it almost seemed like a smear piece, but Brandon did not take advantage of an opportunity presented to him by Bacon to respond to his questions and allegations. Either way, the book emphasized all the pieces that had to fall into place for Michigan to land Jim Harbaugh as the next coach at Michigan. Another great part of the book is that Bacon did an exhaustive amount of research and interviews, which resulted in many different perspectives on Brandon, Harbaugh, Coach Hoke, and other aspects of the program. Some books can come off as one man’s opinion, but this one did not. If you are a reader and a Michigan fan, then this is a must-have for understanding the current state and direction of Michigan athletics and the football program in particular.

Hit the jump for a few more books I’ve been reading.

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