Defensive Recruiting Update: March 8, 2016

Defensive Recruiting Update: March 8, 2016


March 8, 2016
Dylan Moses 800x

Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy linebacker Dylan Moses

If you’re looking for updates on offensive players, check out yesterday’s post (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Pittsburgh (PA) Central Catholic linebacker David Adams was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 215 lb. prospect with offers from LSU, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, and Stanford, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #4 inside linebacker, and #105 overall. Adams is a true middle linebacker who’s a solid tackler with some pretty good straight-line speed. The offer from the Wolverines did not seem to move the needle much. He’s a teammate of 2017 offensive guard C.J. Thorpe.

Norcross (GA) Norcross defensive end Robert Beal decommitted from Notre Dame. He’s a 6’4″, 230 lb. prospect who now has a top group of Alabama, Florida State, North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Texas. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #3 weakside end, and #42 overall. Michigan does not really seem to be a factor.

Oxford (AL) Oxford linebacker Kenney “K.J.” Britt was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 217 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, and Ole Miss, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #23 inside linebacker, and #668 overall. As a junior in 2015, he made 126 tackles, 22 TFLs, 5 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries, 1 of which he returned for a TD.

Oklahoma City (OK) John Marshall cornerback Justin Broiles was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Texas, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #21 cornerback, and #194 overall. Broiles is very physical and a strong tackler from the cornerback position, but he does not have the best ball skills. He is expected to stay in Big 12 country.

Hit the jump for many more 2017 offers, a new 2019 offer, and some other bits.

Denton (TX) Ryan defensive end Earnest Brown IV was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 235 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #33 strongside end, and #678 overall. He claims a 4.85 forty. Brown plays a lot of defensive tackle for his high school team, and he does a good job of maintaining leverage. However, he does have the length and quickness to play on the outside in college, and I figure he’ll be a strongside end after high school.

Tampa (FL) Hillsborough defensive end Zachary Carter was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 240 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #3 strongside end, and #110 overall. As a junior in 2015, he made 76 tackles, 10 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, and 3 pass breakups. Carter has a strong pass rush game where he can come off the edge or bull rush inside. He is likely to commit to Florida.

Dallas (TX) Bishop Dunne defensive tackle Damion Daniels was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 315 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, LSU, Oklahoma State, Texas, UCLA, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #47 defensive tackle, and #800 overall. Damion is a pure nose tackle prospect who can eat up some space inside, but is not a stellar athlete. His older brother, Darrion, is a defensive tackle at Oklahoma State, and it would not be surprising if Damion followed him there. Also, Damion and Darrion are two names that look an awful lot alike.

Mobile (AL) Murphy defensive tackle Neil Farrell was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 295 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, LSU, and South Carolina, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #32 defensive tackle, and #486 overall. Perhaps one thing holding Farrell back from garnering a higher ranking is his effort level, which is not stellar. He doesn’t come off the ball very consistently, but when he decides to go hard, he has impressive quickness and athleticism. He plans to visit for the spring game on April 1.

Starkville (MS) Starkville linebacker Willie Gay was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 216 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and South Carolina, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #17 outside linebacker, and #214 overall. As a junior in 2015, he made 84 tackles, 17 TFLs, 6 sacks, 4 INTs (1 TD), and 9 pass breakups. Starkville is the home of Mississippi State and it’s notoriously difficult to pull players out of Mississippi, so I don’t expect this offer to amount to much.

Covington (GA) Newton linebacker Jaquan Henderson decommitted from UCLA, where he had been committed since September of 2015. He’s a 6’1″, 195 lb. prospect with other offers from LSU, North Carolina, Tennessee, and more. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #33 safety, and #390 overall. On the one hand, Henderson is a teammate of Michigan 2017 running back commit Kurt Taylor. On the other hand, he’s also a teammate of 2017 wide receiver decommit Jeremiah Holloman. A couple 247 Crystal Ball picks came in shortly after Henderson was offered back in December, but his decommitment came a week after LSU stepped forward. Despite being ranked as a safety, Michigan is looking at him as a linebacker.

Plantation (FL) American Heritage linebacker James Houston IV was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 220 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, and Wisconsin, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #63 outside linebacker, and #875 overall. Houston is a speedy outside linebacker type who was a high school teammate of 2016 Michigan signee Nick Eubanks.

Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy linebacker Dylan Moses was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 220 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and USC, among many others; he was committed to LSU at one time. He’s a 247 Composite 5-star, the #1 outside linebacker, and #2 overall. He was a running back prospect at one time, but his body has continued to thicken up and it looks like he’ll stick on defense at this point. A speedy guy who could play inside or outside, Moses is also a big hitter. Michigan held off on offering him until after he took in Michigan’s open practice last Friday at IMG Academy, and there were some thoughts floating around that the Wolverines hadn’t offered because he only wanted that offer as a notch on his belt. We will see whether or not he takes a more in-depth look at Michigan going forward or not.

Redlands (CA) East Valley defensive end Jaelan Phillips was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 240 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Stanford, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #8 weakside end, and #139 overall. As a junior in 2015, he made 87 tackles, 13.5 sacks, and 3 INTs (1 TD). He is long, lean, and very athletic, reminiscent of Chris Wormley as an underclassman. Stanford looks like the leader right now, but he named Michigan to a loose top five-ish group.

Madison (AL) Clemens linebacker Monty Rice was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 227 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, and South Caorlina, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 3-star, the #23 inside linebacker, and #631 overall. Rice is a pure inside linebacker. He is a solid athlete, hitter, and technician, but he is not a standout in any one area. Whatever school he chooses, he plans to enroll early. He is a teammate of 2017 DE Labryan Ray.

Cincinnati (OH) Colerain cornerback Amir Riep was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 188 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #18 cornerback, and #180 overall. Michigan does have a bit of history with Colerain players – most recently linebacker Joe Bolden – but Ohio State is the heavy favorite for Riep. The Wolverines have not recruited Ohio very frequently since Jim Harbaugh was hired, so this offer was a bit of a rarity.

Alexandria (VA) Episcopal safety Jonathan Sutherland was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 193 lb. prospect with offers from Miami, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Pitt, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #19 safety, and #256 overall. Originally from Canada, Sutherland transferred to Episcopal prior to his junior year, along with Luiji Vilain (see below) and 2016 cornerback Patrice Rene (North Carolina signee).

Independence (OR) Central defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 275 lb. prospect with offers from Notre Dame, Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Utah, and Washington, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #15 defensive tackle, and #246 overall. Tuipulotu plays some end for his high school, but he has the frame to turn into a 3-tech defensive tackle at the next level. He is expected to stay out west, likely at Oregon.

Alexandria (VA) Episcopal defensive end Luiji Vilain was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 240 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Nebraska, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #7 weakside end, and #125 overall. As mentioned above in Sutherland’s writeup, Vilain is a recent transplant to ‘Merica from the Great White North.

New Orleans (LA) John Curtis safety Garret Wallow was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 200 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona, Arkansas, and TCU, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 3-star, the #45 safety, and #636 overall. Wallow is probably a strong safety type prospect who’s best playing near the line of scrimmage and supporting the run. John Curtis spits out a ton of talent, so it would be good to get a foot in the door, but Michigan has tried and failed several times to do so.

Indianapolis (IN) Cathedral linebacker Pete Werner was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 215 lb. prospect with offers from Duke, Indiana, Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #24 outside linebacker, and #276 overall. Werner lines up at cornerback, safety, and linebacker for his high school team. Werner will probably end up at Notre Dame.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2019
Massillon (OH) Washington linebacker Jamir Thomas was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 212 lb. prospect whose only offer comes from the Wolverines. He has three years until he has to sign a National Letter of Intent, so prognostications about where he will sign are kind of pointless. Michigan got kicker Andrew David from his school in the 2015 class.

OFF THE BOARD
Miami (FL) Columbus cornerback Trajan Bandy committed to Oklahoma. Just before he committed to the Sooners, named a top 11 that included Michigan at #3. So the commitment came a little bit out of the blue. He was a teammate of 2016 Michigan signee Joshua Uche.

MISCELLANEOUS
Brunswick (GA) Glynn Academy cornerback DeeJay Dallas named Michigan to his top 15. That’s not much if a trimmed-down list, but it’s something.

Detroit (MI) King cornerback Ambry Thomas named Michigan to his top 12. This is significant because Thomas publicly expressed annoyance at Michigan and the Erik Swenson situation in January, so at least the Wolverines are still in the running.

3 comments

  1. Comments: 32
    Joined: 1/16/2016
    High Sierra Howard
    Mar 08, 2016 at 12:44 PM

    Thanks for the recruiting updates. I find it difficult to get excited about offers until the recruits actually make a visit. That said, I’m sure that there will be a lot of recruits visiting for the Spring Game on April 1st. I’ve seen that Robert Hainsey and Cesar Ruiz of IMG are supposed to be at the game. J’Marick Woods from Alabama is also supposed to attend. I’m anxious to see your list of visitors. Will you be compiling it soon?

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Mar 08, 2016 at 5:37 PM

      You’re welcome. The spring game visitors list will probably be posted tomorrow, although I’m sure it will continue to fluctuate between now and April 1.

  2. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Mar 08, 2016 at 3:45 PM

    DeeJay Dallas is pretty much fun. And not because he’s from Brunswick.

You must belogged in to post a comment.