Ten-year veteran NFL safety, or high school senior Kareem Walker?
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Ann Arbor (MI) Skyline linebacker Daelin Hayes decommitted from USC. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #9 outside linebacker, and #105 overall.He recently took a visit to Notre Dame, has set one up for Ohio State, and is also looking at Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Texas. Michigan does not appear to be on the list, and I’m not sure they should be. Hayes – the cousin of former Michigan running back Justice Hayes – went to Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s as a youngster, transferred to California for his junior year, and then returned to the state of Michigan for his senior season. In the meantime, he has suffered multiple season-ending injuries and played only a handful of total games. At 6’3″, 254 lbs., recruiting analysts rave about his athleticism when he’s healthy, but he might just be one of those guys who can never stay healthy. He also has some people trying to steer him away from staying within the state.
Torrance (CA) North linebacker Mique Juarez also decommitted from USC. He’s a 6’2″, 222 lb. prospect who has seen a number of Crystal Ball predictions go in favor of UCLA over the past couple months. He’s a 247 Composite 5-star, the #2 outside linebacker, and #17 overall. The U.S. Army All-American said before he decommitted from the Trojans that he wanted to take an official visit to Michigan, so the Wolverines may be able to get in the race. However, the Bruins are having a pretty solid season (4-1 so far), and Juarez seems like a guy who wants to stay pretty close to home.
Hit the jump for some 2017 and 2018 offers, some guys who went off the board, and some random bits.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Pinson (AL) Clay wide receiver Nico Collins was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 185 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, and LSU, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #11 wide receiver, and #71 overall. He’s a jumbo wideout who could grow into a tight end at the next level. The in-state schools seem to have the edge in his recruitment.
North Arlington (NJ) St. Joseph offensive guard Josh Fedd-Jackson was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 300 lb. prospect with offers from Boston College and Rutgers. Fedd-Jackson, who should not be confused with Joshua Jackson (the 2016 Saline quarterback) or Fred Jackson (the former Michigan running backs coach), is a thickly built guard who has a very good frame for only being a high school junior. I imagine that his offer list will get a lot more impressive before all is said and done.
Rock Hill (SC) Northwestern tight end Logan Rudolph was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 225 lb. prospect with offers from Duke, Kentucky, and Oklahoma State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #26 tight end, and #620 overall. His older brother, Mason, is the starting quarterback at Oklahoma State. Logan is pretty rough around the edges, but he plays recklessly and has pretty good athleticism. He does not appear to have great size and 6’4″ might be a stretch, so he may be more of an outside linebacker or an H-back type of player.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018
Fairfield (OH) Fairfield offensive tackle Jack Carman was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’6″, 270 lb. prospect with offers from Cincinnati, Iowa, and Wisconsin, among others. Not much is known about Carman and his recruitment just yet since he’s a sophomore, but his offer list suggests he could be the top lineman in Ohio for 2018.
OFF THE BOARD
Houston (TX) McArthur defensive end Isaiah Chambers committed to TCU. Michigan and defensive line coach Greg Mattison made a hard run at Chambers at one point, but he had not looked hard at Michigan in a long while.
Sachse (TX) Sachse cornerback Donovan Duvernay committed to Texas. Duvernay is the smaller of twin fish, with highly touted twin brother, Devin, still uncommitted. Michigan has offered both players, but neither has reciprocated the interest.
Arlington Heights (IL) St. Viator tight end Cole Kmet committed to Notre Dame almost immediately after being offered by Michigan. The Wolverines were trying to stave off what seemed like an imminent commitment to the Fighting Irish, but Michigan was too late.
Scottsdale (AZ) Saguaro offensive guard Kayden Lyles committed to Wisconsin. Michigan was not heavily involved in recruiting Lyles, and he did not seem particularly interested.
MISCELLANEOUS
Wayne (NJ) DePaul running back Kareem Walker visited Michigan last weekend. This is a big deal, because Walker is a 247 Composite 4-star, the #1 running back in the country, and #32 overall. It’s also a big deal because Walker committed to Ohio State in January of this year. (Also, Michigan has a running back commit, Matt Falcon, who keeps tearing his darn ACL.) As a junior in 2014, Walker had 1,607 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. Walker is listed at 6’1″, 210 lbs. and has a good combination of speed and power. In the past, I have mentioned that he looks like Denard Robinson running the ball with the gait and the dreadlocks flowing behind, but Kareem is a little more developed physically than Robinson was coming out of high school. Robinson also has an edge on Walker in the speed department. Walker can run between the tackles or outside, gets upfield quickly, can lower his shoulder, has good balance, and shows really good feet. Michigan could pull a real coup if they can reel in Walker, who made a non-statement statement about just wanting to visit Michigan’s campus and spend time with friends (such as Jabrill Peppers and Ahmir Mitchell). He’s a truly elite running back prospect, which Michigan has not reeled in for several years. (Derrick Green has/had some limitations as a runner despite being Rivals’ #1 back.)
Here’s a list of visitors from last weekend against Northwestern (LINK).
I will soon be posting a huge list of visitors for this weekend’s Michigan State game. I’m not sure how much detail I’ll be able to include since there are so many names to cover, but it will be a star-studded event. Michigan has a huge chance to impress some of the top players in the country.
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Happen to scroll across the internet this morning and chatsports.com (which I don’t think is a credible site for information) is reporting a that Walker is decommitting and going to commit this weekend to Michigan. Any other sources confirming this?
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I have not heard that he is decommitting for sure. I think Chat Sports is just trying to report a rumor early on the off chance that they get something right. That’s kind of how they work over there.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens. There have been rumors for a long time that Walker might not end up signing with Ohio State, and things seem to be coming to a head right now.
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Is Michigan still pursuing Kareem Walker? If so, do you think Michigan is recruiting too many Running Backs for this class?
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Yes, they are. No, I do not think Michigan is recruiting too many running backs. I think Chris Evans could play wide receiver, Kiante Enis could play safety, and Matt Falcon has lots of injury issues. There’s a chance that Falcon does not end up in this class, so I think Michigan needs a true running back.
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Also, think Michigan will try to get Khalid Kareem to come to Michigan now that he decommitted from Bama? He should have committed when he had the chance…heard he is taking a visit to ND.
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I think the coaches are hoping for good news from Carlo Kemp. Unless/until Kemp commits elsewhere (which would probably be Notre Dame if it’s not Michigan), I don’t think Michigan will push hard for Kareem.
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Any reason as to why we never got back on the daelin hayes talk. ..seem like we have up the second he committed n same for khalil who just decommit from bama
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There are some off-the-field issues for Hayes, and his family does not really want him ending up somewhere local. That’s a big reason why he committed to USC and is now strongly looking at Notre Dame. Personally, I am not big on Hayes, because he has had too many injuries and other issues. I have similar concerns about Matt Falcon. Both are talented, but neither one can stay on the field for long. The main difference is that Falcon already pledged to the Wolverines.
As for Kareem, Michigan never really stopped recruiting him. They’ve been working on him for a while. I think they thought they might be able to reel Kemp in by now, but as I mentioned above, Kareem might be a Plan B option if Kemp commits to Notre Dame.
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