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Recruiting Update: August 6, 2014

Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco offensive guard Zach Robertson (image via Maxpreps)

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco offensive guard Zach Robertson was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 308 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona State, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, UCLA, USC, and Washington, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #14 offensive guard, and #259 overall. He claims a 340 lb. bench, a 465 lb. squat, and a 5.4 forty. Robertson is a punishing blocker on the move who I believe fits best at offensive guard, though he’s a tackle in high school. He has said that he wants to take an official visit to Michigan, but the current line of thinking is that he’s bound for UCLA, where high school teammate (and fellow Michigan offeree) Josh Rosen is committed.


OFF THE BOARD
Reisterstown (MD) Franklin offensive guard Patrick Allen committed to Georgia. Georgia was considered the favorite, but Michigan was up there in his top few schools. Allen has said that he still wants to see Michigan on an official visit, so the door isn’t completely closed. His 2016 teammate, wide receiver Steven Smothers, also holds a Michigan offer.

Sicklerville (NJ) Timber Creek wide receiver Cameron Chambers, a 2016 prospect, committed to Michigan State. He visited Michigan and Michigan State the weekend prior to his decision, so it was a bit of a nail-biter to see whether he would choose the Wolverines, although they were thought to be playing from slightly behind. Ohio State was also in the mix. As Michigan has seen with its own early commits, it’s a long time between now and signing day for 2016 prospects.

Warren (OH) Harding center James Daniels committed to Iowa. Daniels has an older brother who’s a freshman running back at Iowa, so the Hawkeyes were thought to be the leaders. Michigan has had a lot of success at Harding over the years (Carl Diggs, Prescott Burgess, Mario Manningham, D.J. Williamson, Davion Rogers), but they have struck out recently.

Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy quarterback Deondre Francois committed to Florida State. This was – and will be – a highly interesting development, because the Seminoles already had two touted quarterbacks (De’Andre Johnson, Kai Locksley) committed in the 2015 class. Taking two quarterbacks in one class happens fairly frequently, but three in one year is almost unheard of. At least one of these guys will flip elsewhere by the time all is said and done.

Sherman (TX) Sherman offensive guard Aaron Garza committed to Kansas. He had previously been committed to Texas.

Tampa (FL) Wharton wide receiver Auden Tate committed to Florida State. At one point Tate called Michigan’s offer a “dream offer” and he has left the door open for an official visit to Ann Arbor. Tate was considered Michigan’s best chance to land a second wide receiver in the class, so the Wolverines may have to expand their offer list if they want another wideout.

Lawrenceville (GA) Central Gwinnett outside linebacker Adonis Thomas committed to Florida. His 2016 teammate, offensive lineman E.J. Price, holds an offer from Michigan.


MISCELLANEOUS
Over on Recruiting Season, I profiled Walled Lake Central’s Ade Ogundeji and Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills’ Derek Smith (Central Michigan). Meanwhile, Muskegon Mona Shores quarterback Tyree Jackson committed to Buffalo, Dearborn Fordson linebacker Abdallah Jaffal committed to Ball State, and West Bloomfield’s Eddie Wilson II committed to Central Michigan.

Video: Countdown to Kickoff 2014 – Day 26, 27

Here’s a LINK to the video for day 26.

2014 Season Countdown: #21 De’Veon Smith

De’Veon Smith

Name: De’Veon Smith
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 220 lbs.
High school: Warren (OH) Howland
Position: Running back
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #4
Last year: I ranked Smith #86 and said he would redshirt. He played in four games at running back and had 26 carries for 117 yards.

With an established starter (Fitzgerald Toussaint), some experienced backups (Thomas Rawls, Justice Hayes), and a guy who earned some coach praise (Drake Johnson) already on the roster, I assumed at least one of the freshman running backs would redshirt in 2013. Instead, every one of those guys played in the season opener. There was a long stretch where he went without touching the ball, but he looked somewhat improved by the time he saw daylight again. He broke a 16-yarder against Northwestern and a 38-yarder against Ohio State. Of course, everything is relative; Michigan was the worst in the country at allowing negative-yardage runs because of a porous offensive line, so even a 16-yard run was a jaw-dropping moment in 2013. It appeared that Smith’s bruising style fit the system and personnel best because he could actually run through tackle attempts occasionally, a skill with which the other running backs struggled.

Now the running back job is really up for grabs. Toussaint graduated, Rawls transferred to Central Michigan, Johnson is once against receiving praise from Coach Hoke after recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the 2013 season opener, Hayes started the bowl game, and sophomore Derrick Green has shed over 20 lbs. since his freshman year. Hoke has openly stated that Smith had an edge on Green coming out of the spring due to superior pass protection abilities, so that’s where I assume things stand right now. Smith seems like a high-effort player who carries out his fakes, blocks physically, and will throw his body around. What he lacks is breakaway speed, a category in which he’s behind the likes of Johnson, Green, and Hayes. With a young offensive line, Smith should probably be the choice to get the plurality of carries. Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier spread out the carries among multiple backs at Alabama, so I would still expect to see a couple other guys get large chunks of playing time.

Prediction: Starting running back; 150 carries, 700 yards, 8 touchdowns

2014 Season Countdown: #22 Desmond Morgan

Desmond Morgan (#48) returns an interception against UConn

Name: Desmond Morgan
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 232 lbs.
High school: Holland (MI) West Ottawa
Position: Linebacker
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #48
Last year: I ranked Morgan #13 and said he would be the starting middle linebacker with 85 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 interception. He started at middle linebacker and finished the year with 79 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 3 pass breakups.

I expected a little more consistent play out of Morgan in 2013, who has been starting since his true freshman year. While he essentially reached the statistical level that I predicted, he did not seem to take a big step forward in play diagnosis. I thought he would really settle in at MIKE linebacker after playing out of position as a WILL for the previous couple years; however, Michigan struggled to stop the run consistently, and some small and/or underperforming defensive tackles didn’t help the linebackers much. Regardless, Morgan did have a solid year, and his leaping, one-handed interception against UConn was a game-changer.

Even though he’s one of only a few seniors in 2014, I’m dropping Morgan nine spots to #22 on this list. The new 4-3 Over defense has bumped Morgan back to WILL, and he’s now receiving a challenge from junior up-and-comer Joe Bolden, who impressed people in the spring after a 54-tackle, 2-sack sophomore year. Coaches need to balance team chemistry, leadership, and talent, so it would be difficult to bench a senior, three-year starter with a Gerald Ford Legends jersey. At the same time, Brady Hoke and company need to win games. Aside from the battle for strong safety, the weakside linebacker position battle looks like the most interesting job competition going into the fall. Whichever player wins the gig should do fairly well, and the backup will get plenty of time in the linebacker rotation, anyway. My guess is that Morgan wins out by a nose for the starting job.

Prediction: Starting weakside linebacker; 80 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks

Video: Countdown to Kickoff 2014 – Day 28