Clairton (PA) Clairton running back Lamont Wade
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Mount Holly (NC) Mountain Island running back Robert Washington decommitted from Syracuse. You may remember that there was a bit of a kerfuffle when he committed to Syracuse in the first place, because he supposedly committed to Florida shortly before that. And, oh yeah, he was also committed to Mississippi State for a while. His most recent 247 Crystal Ball pick is in favor of North Carolina, but his choice will be his fourth school, so take any news with a grain of salt.
Hit the jump for several updates on new 2017 offers, guys who went off the board, and some miscellaneous bits.
ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Bridgeton (NJ) Bridgeton wide receiver/safety Markquese Bell was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 190 lb. prospect with offers from Rutgers and Temple. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #42 athlete, and #494 overall. Bell could go in a lot of different directions as a player, since he has been a quarterback, linebacker, and safety, but he says he wants to concentrate on playing wide receiver at the next level. He looks a little stiff to me and may be a better fit as an outside linebacker.
Hampton (GA) Lovejoy cornerback Meshael Custis was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Louisville, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #41 cornerback, and #451 overall. Shortly after the offer, he listed Michigan along with Clemson as his top two. He’s a good-sized corner with decent speed who would fit well with defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin’s defense.
Shelby (NC) Crest linebacker Justin Foster was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 225 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida, LSU, North Carolina, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #4 outside linebacker, and #59 overall. Tennessee looks like the early leader for Foster, who will probably be an outside linebacker at the next level.
Santee (SC) Lake Marion safety Davondre “Tank” Robinson was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 188 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Georgia, Louisville, Miami, and South Carolina, among others. He’s a thickly built, very hard-hitting safety prospect who had 97 tackles and 3 interceptions as a sophomore in 2014, not to mention 75 carries for 872 yards and 5 touchdowns on offense. If you like seeing de-cleaters, watch the first few clips of his highlight film.
Clairton (PA) Clairton cornerback Lamont Wade was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’10”, 188 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #7 cornerback, and #55 overall. As a sophomore in 2014, he rushed for 2,765 yards and 47 touchdowns. He claims a 4.43 forty. Michigan delayed getting into the Wade sweepstakes for a while, and Ohio State has reportedly taken a sizable lead. However, Wade also likes Michigan and should give them a fair shot to get into his recruitment.
OFF THE BOARD
Livonia (LA) Livonia defensive end Willie Baker committed to Louisiana Tech. I believe this is the first time I have come across a Michigan-offered player choosing Louisiana Tech.
Houston (TX) Stratford running back Rakeem Boyd committed to Texas A&M. Jim Harbaugh’s staff was a big factor in Boyd’s recruitment early, and Harbaugh had a good relationship with the Stratford staff after recruiting Andrew Luck to Harbaugh. But Michigan filled up at the running back position, and while Boyd still listed Michigan in his top group, the Wolverines weren’t really a factor late in the process.
Montgomery (AL) Carver defensive end Marlon Davidson committed to Auburn. Davidson said several times that he would visit Michigan this past summer, but June and July visits didn’t come to fruition. As an Auburn legacy, he was expected to become a Tiger all along.
Atlanta (GA) Woodwoard running back Elijah Holyfield committed to Georgia. Holyfield, the son of former boxing champ Evander Holyfield, was very high on Michigan when Brady Hoke was the coach, but the Jim Harbaugh staff seemed not to prioritize him in the same way, and Michigan fell out of the picture.
Brownsburg (IN) Brownsburg quarterback Hunter Johnson, a 2017 prospect, committed to Tennessee. Johnson is the #1 pro-style quarterback in the 2017 class, and while he visited Michigan, he was thought to be leaning toward Notre Dame or Tennessee before his announcement. He previously played with 2016 quarterback Brandon Peters (Michigan) at Avon and is now a teammate of 2016 running back Toks Akinribade (Iowa).
Hermitage (PA) Hickory safety Andrew Pryts committed to Penn State. The long-time Penn State lean finally pulled the trigger and should be a big hitter in the Nittany Lions’ secondary.
Philadelphia (PA) Imhotep tight end Naseir Upshur committed to Florida State. Upshur was thought to be a Michigan lean up until shortly before he committed, when the decommitment of Isaac Nauta from the Seminoles opened up a spot. Now the Wolverines may miss out on two of their top tight end targets in Upshur – who has since said that he will take official visits but did not mention Michigan – and Nauta, who wants to visit Michigan but appears to be leaning toward Georgia.
MISCELLANEOUS
Lakewood (OH) St. Edward cornerback Tony Butler will be committing on October 5. His “final three schools” are Arizona State, Clemson, and West Virginia, but the former Pitt commit has been flirting with the Wolverines for a long time.
Euless (TX) Trinity defensive tackle Chris Daniels named a top five that included Michigan. He visited Michigan in early August, and he is a native of the Great Lakes State.
Madison (MS) Germantown cornerback Nigel Knott will be committing on September 23. Michigan is not in the mix, but Knott may be a fun one to watch in college if a recent knee injury doesn’t slow him down too much.
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Hudl has Tank Robinson at 6’2″ 205. He’s a vicious hitter to be sure.
On his sophomore highlight, he doesn’t look all that fast, but he keeps running away from people. Santee SC. is barely a wide place in the road about half way between Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina, I’m guessing that the competition tends towards not outstanding.
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