Florence (SC) Wilson DE Xavier Thomas (image via The State)
DECOMMITMENTS
Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice tight end Carter Dunaway, a 2017 prospect, decommitted from Michigan (LINK).
Dayton (OH) Dunbar linebacker Antwuan Johnson, a 2018 prospect, decommitted from Michigan (LINK).
Hit the jump for more recruiting news.
Cheshire (CT) Cheshire Academy linebacker Dillon Harris was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 218 lb. prospect with offers from Maryland, Rutgers, and Syracuse, among others. He’s a Rivals 2-star prospect and a teammate of 2017 wide receiver Tarik Black. Harris is a tackling machine (164 tackles as a junior) who would probably fit best at weakside linebacker in Michigan’s defense.
Florence (SC) Wilson defensive end Xavier Thomas was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2, 249 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, and South Carolina, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 5-star, the #1 strongside end, and #2 overall. He’s likely to stay down south, but he’s a stout, athletic defensive end with a good motor.
MISCELLANEOUS
Here’s a list of visitors from this past weekend’s game against Central Florida (LINK).
More and more updates are being posted on the message board, so feel free to visit and participate (LINK).
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I’m curious what you think of both Dillon Harris and Tarik Black.
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Both are solid prospects. Harris is a bit undersized, but he’s a tackling machine. I think he’s kind of a Devin Gil-like player but a little more polished as a linebacker. Black has some good tools as a route runner, and I think he can block. He’s not a 5-star athlete, more of a possession type of guy like an Amara Darboh, IMO.
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Thunder, what is your take on the decommitments that we are seeing lately? Guys committing too early? Guys being slow played as Harbaugh think he has better chances with bigger prospects? Other coaches negatively recruiting? Do you think that this hurts the reputation a little bit of the program or the coaches?
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I think some guys are committing too early (such as Leonard Taylor). I think Michigan is slow-playing most of them. They throw out these early offers, players jump on them, and Michigan wants more of a chance to evaluate the position or recruit over those guys. That seems to be at least part of the reason for the decommitments of Dunaway, Jalil Irvin, Antwuan Johnson, etc. I don’t think it hurts the program a ton, but it probably makes players a little more wary of committing early (which is a good thing, IMO). It’s some temporary bad press, but that type of thing doesn’t linger for long.
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