Tag: 2009 Recruiting

Review of 2009 Recruiting: Quarterback

The 2009 recruiting class was Rich Rodriguez’s first full recruiting class in Ann Arbor, and he did his best to bring in the type of running quarterback that had been successful for him at previous stops like West Virginia (Pat White) and Clemson (Woody Dantzler). Rodriguez did about as well as expected, landing two starting-caliber quarterbacks.

THE ROSTER
David Cone, RS Jr.
Nick Sheridan, RS Jr. (walk-on)

THE RECRUITS
Tate Forcier
Ratings: 247 Composite 4-star, #4 dual-threat QB, #120 overall
High school: San Diego (CA) Scripps Ranch
College: Michigan San Jose State
Other notable offers: Florida, Oregon, Penn State, Stanford
Scoop: Forcier was an early enrollee in January 2009, the first true quarterback prospect to arrive on campus since Rich Rodriguez’s arrival.  He seized the starting job as a freshman and started all 12 games.  His most memorable game in a 5-7 season was against Notre Dame, in which he had a couple clutch touchdowns to finish off the Irish.  He finished the season 165-for-281 for 2,050 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions; he also gained 240 yards and had 3 touchdowns on the ground. However, Forcier fell out of favor with the coaches in the off-season and was demoted for his sophomore year in 2010 in favor of Denard Robinson. He played in 8 games and replaced an injured Robinson in the Illinois game, leading the team to a 67-65 victory in triple-overtime. Forcier finished his sophomore season 54-for-84 for 597 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions; he also rushed 22 times for 51 yards and 1 touchdown. He transferred to San Jose State University and sat out the 2011 season due to NCAA transfer rules, but left the school in January 2012 for academic reasons. He signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL in spring 2012 but was cut from the team a month later.

Denard Robinson
Ratings: 247 Composite 4-star, #9 ATH, #121 overall
High school: Deerfield Beach (FL) Deerfield Beach
College: Michigan
Other notable offers: Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State
Scoop: Robinson was recruited by many schools as an “athlete” or defensive back, and Michigan was one of only a couple schools offering him a chance to play quarterback. He was a late addition to the 2009 class, committing on National Signing Day in February. After being a backup/gadget player as a freshman, he went on to start for most of the next three seasons, a run ended by an elbow injury halfway through his senior year. Overall, he completed 57.2% of his passes for 6,250 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 39 interceptions. His biggest impact came in the running game, where the lightning-fast Robinson ran for 4,495 yards on 6.2 yards/carry and scored 42 touchdowns. He was an All-American in 2010, a two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection, and finished #6 in the Heisman voting in 2010. He was picked in the 5th round (#135 overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars as a running back and played for the Jags from 2013-2016, totaling 1,058 rushing yards and 5 total touchdowns.

Hit the jump for a look at the rest of Michigan’s quarterback recruiting efforts in 2009.

2009 Offer Board

In order to alleviate some of the clutter at the top of the page, I’m moving the 2009 Offer Board to a blog post. Below you will find the 120 offers Michigan sent out in the 2009 class.

120 total offers

QUARTERBACK (10)
Tate Forcier – San Diego, CA (Michigan)
Denard Robinson – Deerfield Park, FL (Michigan)
Brandon Mitchell – Amite, LA (Arkansas)
Christian Matthews – Arlington, TX (Kansas)
Russell Shepard – Houston, TX (LSU)
Kevin Newsome – Chatham, VA (Penn State)
Tom Savage – Springfield, PA (Rutgers)
Casey Pachall – Brownwood, TX (TCU)
Shavodrick Beaver – Wichita Falls, TX (Tulsa)
Eugene Smith – Miramar, FL (West Virginia)

RUNNING BACK (14)
Teric Jones – Detroit, MI (Michigan)
Vincent Smith – Pahokee, FL (Michigan)
Fitzgerald Toussaint – Youngstown, OH (Michigan)
Mike Gillislee – Deland, FL (Florida)
David Sims – St. Matthews, SC (Georgia Tech)
Edwin Baker – Oak Park, MI (Michigan State)
Larry Caper – Battle Creek, MI (Michigan State)
Rex Burkhead – Plano, TX (Nebraska)
Jaamal Berry – Miami, FL (Ohio State)
Jordan Hall – Jeannette, PA (Ohio State)
Jeremy Smith – Tulsa, OK (Oklahoma State)
Lindsey Lamar – Tampa, FL (South Florida)
David Wilson – Danville, VA (Virginia Tech)
Tavon Austin – Baltimore, MD (West Virginia)

WIDE RECEIVER (15)
Jeremy Gallon – Apopka, FL (Michigan)
Cameron Gordon – Inkster, MI (Michigan)
Je’Ron Stokes – Philadelphia, PA (Michigan)
Kenny Bell – Rayville, LA (Alabama)
Dewayne Peace – Grand Prairie, TX (Arizona)
Travante Stallworth – Leesburg, LA (Auburn)
Willie Haulstead – Titusville, FL (Florida State)
Rantavious Wooten – Belle Glade, FL (Georgia)
Bryan Underwood – Cleveland Heights, OH (North Carolina State)
Shaquelle Evans – Inglewood, CA (Notre Dame)
Braxton Lane – Tyrone, GA (Oregon)
Todd Thomas – Beaver Falls, PA (Pittsburgh)
Lamar Scruggs – Jacksonville, FL (South Carolina)
Jamal-Rashad Patterson – McDonough, GA (Stanford)
Nu’keese Richardson – Pahokee, FL (Tennessee)

TIGHT END (2)
Terrell Mitchell – Powder Springs, GA
Dion Sims – Orchard Lake, MI (Michigan State)

OFFENSIVE TACKLE (10)
Taylor Lewan – Scottsdale, AZ (Michigan)
Michael Schofield – Orland Park, IL (Michigan)
Austin Long – Memphis, TN (Georgia)
Chris Faulk – Slidell, LA (LSU)
Chris Freeman – Trotwood, OH (Missouri)
Travis Bond – Windsor, NC (North Carolina)
Brennan Williams – West Roxbury, MA (North Carolina)
Zack Martin – Indianapolis, IN (Notre Dame)
Marcus Hall – Cleveland, OH (Ohio State)
Adam Gress – West Mifflin, PA (Penn State)

OFFENSIVE GUARD (3)
Quinton Washington – St. Stephen, SC (Michigan)
Andrew Carter – Tallahassee, FL (Illinois)
Stanley Hasiak – Kapolei, HI (UCLA)

DEFENSIVE END (11)
Anthony Lalota – Princeton, NJ (Michigan)
Craig Roh – Scottsdale, AZ (Michigan)
William Ming – Athens, AL (Alabama)
Kedric Johnson – Palmetto, FL (Florida)
Cornelius “Tank” Carradine – Cincinnati, OH (Junior college)
Bennie Logan – Coushatta, LA (LSU)
Sam Montgomery – Greenwood, SC (LSU)
Pernell McPhee – Fulton, MS (Mississippi State)
Jason Ankrah – Gaithersburg, MD (Nebraska)
Melvin Fellows – Garfield Heights, OH (Ohio State)
Will Hill – Williamsburg, VA (Virginia)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE (12)
William Campbell – Detroit, MI (Michigan)
Chris Bonds – Columbia, SC (Alabama)
Darrington Sentimore – Destrehan, LA (Alabama)
Corey Adams – Scottsdale, AZ (Arizona State)
DeQuinta Jones – Bastrop, LA (Arkansas)
Chris Davenport – Mansfield, LA (LSU)
Curtis Porter – Charlotte, NC (Miami)
Adam Bellamy – Aurora, OH (Ohio State)
Tyrone Ezell – Homestead, PA (Pittsburgh)
Antwan Lowery – Miami, FL (Rutgers)
Pearlie Graves – Tulsa, OK (Texas Tech)
DeAntre Rhodes – Richmond, VA (Virginia Tech)

LINEBACKER (14)
Isaiah Bell – Youngstown, OH (Michigan)
Brandin Hawthorne – Pahokee, FL (Michigan)
Mike Jones – Orlando, FL (Michigan)
Petey Smith – Seffner, FL (Alabama)
Jelani Jenkins – Olney, MD (Florida)
Barkevious Mingo – West Monroe, LA (LSU)
Chris Norman – Detroit, MI (Michigan State)
Willie Ferrell – Tallahassee, FL (Mississippi)
Mike Marry – Largo, FL (Mississippi)
Hawatha Bell – Matthews, NC (North Carolina)
Dorian Bell – Monroeville, PA (Ohio State)
Jordan Barnes – Fort Wayne, IN (Oklahoma State)
DeDe Lattimore – Athens, GA (South Florida)
Jonathan Stewart – Shreveport, LA (Texas A&M)

CORNERBACK (13)
Justin Turner – Massillon, OH (Michigan)
Adrian Witty – Deerfield Park, FL (Michigan)
Dre Kirkpatrick – Gadsden, AL (Alabama)
David Gordon – Tulsa, OK (Arkansas)
Darius Winston – West Helena, AR (Arkansas)
Josh Robinson – Lauderhill, FL (Central Florida)
Branden Smith – Atlanta, GA (Georgia)
Travis Hawkins – Gaithersburg, MD (Maryland)
Mywan Jackson – Seffner, FL (North Carolina)
Corey Brown – Monroeville, PA (Ohio State)
Demontre Hurst – Lancaster, TX (Oklahoma)
Mike Edwards – Cleveland, OH (Tennessee)
Jayron Hosley – Delray Beach, FL (Virginia Tech)

SAFETY (14)
Vladimir Emilien – Lauderhill, FL (Michigan)
Thomas Gordon – Detroit, MI (Michigan)
Angelo Hadley – Seffner, FL
Rod Woodson – Olive Branch, MS (Alabama)
Dennis Thames – Louisville, MS (Mississippi State)
Donavan Tate – Cartersville, GA (North Carolina)
Stephon Gilmore – Rock Hill, SC (South Carolina)
Devonte Holloman – Rock Hill, SC (South Carolina)
D.J. Swearinger – Greenwood, SC (South Carolina)
Darren Myles – Atlanta, GA (Tennessee)
Marsalis Teague – Paris, TN (Tennessee)
Patrick Hall – Ventura, CA (USC)
T.J. McDonald – Fresno, CA (USC)
Jonathan Scott – Daytona Beach, FL (West Virginia)

KICKER (2)
Brendan Gibbons – West Palm Beach, FL (Michigan)
Anthony Fera – Houston, TX (Penn State)

Ex-Wolverine Updates: The Class of 2009

Shavodrick Beaver (pictured here in his days at Tulsa) is now at Midwestern State, which is a real place.

Former Michigan quarterback commit Shavodrick Beaver sat out the 2011 season after transferring from Tulsa to Midwestern State, which is in Beaver’s hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas.  Midwestern State’s starting quarterback, Brandon Kelsey, had 1,951 yards passing and 967 yards rushing.  Beaver will be a redshirt junior at MSU in fall 2012.

Mailbag: Does Hoke deserve blame for lack of OL depth?

Do you think Hoke deserves any blame for not going after OL/DL last year? I realize time was short, but he managed to snag a QB, TE, DE and LB – guys that hadn’t been targeted before.
Shouldn’t he have seen the potential train-wreck coming at OL and tried to address the situation? I’d imagine there were some marginal 3-star types available that could have at least contributed to depth. DT is probably a different story – since competition is so stiff and freshman can contribute right away. But OL…the needs been there for a long time. Besides Rodriguez’s class of 6 guys in ’08 Michigan has under-recruited the OL position since 2005 (no more than 3 OL in a class). Rodriguez recognized the need and immediately worked to rectify it. Yeah, he had more time, but we didn’t even hear of any new names pop up at OL in the 2011 class.

I think that Rodriguez deserves a little less blame for the OL situation. 1st, he was forced by Carr into recruiting a giant OL class in ’08. with all the other needs around he couldn’t keep taking 5 guys a year. So, the small OL classes in 09 and 10 were somewhat justifiable. 2011 was looking strong but the transition cost UM Fisher and probably some other OL recruit. I don’t think it’s all on him that the ’09 and ’10 OL classes now look to be so damaging.

The question above comes from a commenter in Tuesday’s recruiting update post.

No, I don’t think Brady Hoke deserves blame for not going after offensive linemen and defensive linemen last year.  First of all, he was hired less than a month before National Signing Day.  With that short of a start, I don’t think he can really accept any blame whatsoever.  But secondly, he did  go after linemen.  Hoke offered:

• Ohio DE/DT Keith Heitzman (Michigan)
• New Jersey DE Max Issaka (Rutgers)
• Arizona OT Ryan Nowicki (Penn State)
• Florida DT Trevarris Saulsberry (Tennessee)
• Florida DE Jordan Williams (Tennessee)

Furthermore, he continued to recruit former Michigan commit Jake Fisher, who ended up signing with Oregon.  I got the feeling that the new coaches were really pushing for Fisher and wanting to make him believe that he was their priority at the position.  The fact that Fisher chose Oregon was very disappointing to me, because I think Fisher is going to be an excellent lineman and he has already earned solid reviews in Eugene.

Rodriguez offered just 17 linemen in the class of 2010; one committed (center Christian Pace, who has since left the program).  Rodriguez offered just 13 linemen in the class of 2009; three committed (Taylor Lewan, Michael Schofield, and Quinton Washington, who has switched to defensive tackle).  Furthermore, by the time Rodriguez was fired in January 2011, he only had three offensive linemen committed (Fisher, Jack Miller, and Tony Posada).

The offensive line recruiting at this point has nothing to do with Lloyd Carr.  Carr left behind a mediocre group (Justin Boren, David Molk, and Steve Schilling along with a bunch of journeyman types), but Rodriguez had a few years to fix it.  And while Rodriguez did a decent job of bringing in talent, he clearly didn’t bring in enough of it.  This roster is full of Rodriguez recruits, Mark Huyge, David Molk, Rocko Khoury, and Elliott Mealer; Lloyd Carr hasn’t coached a game since January 1, 2008, yet two starters and two key backups remain from his regime.  Here’s a breakdown of who’s responsible for the expected 2012 offensive line:

• Carr: Rocko Khoury, Elliott Mealer
• Rodriguez: Ricky Barnum, Chris Bryant, Taylor Lewan, Jack Miller, Patrick Omameh, Michael Schofield
• Hoke: Blake Bars, Ben Braden, Kyle Kalis, Erik Magnuson, Caleb Stacey (plus a presumed sixth commit)

Lastly, you state that Rodriguez had so many other needs that he couldn’t commit more scholarships to linemen.  I think that’s a farce.  Every team has 85 scholarships to use.  Every team needs roughly the same number of cornerbacks, receivers, quarterbacks, etc.  Rodriguez had five slot receivers on the roster by the time he started recruiting for 2011 (Martavious Odoms, Jeremy Gallon, Terrence Robinson, Drew Dileo, and D.J. Williamson), yet he still offered five more slot receivers for the 2011 class.  Virtually every coach – except perhaps Rodriguez – would tell you that offensive linemen are more important than slot receivers, but Rodriguez whiffed on too many offensive linemen in the class of 2011.  After taking only one in 2010, he was on his way to taking only three in 2011.  The position group was going to continue to be thin under Rodriguez.  We’re talking about a difference of one guy (Fisher) between the current team and the team Rodriguez would have had.

With all that out of the way, take a look at what Hoke is doing now.  He threw out a late offer to Nowicki and didn’t get him.  Rather than poaching 3-star linemen from places like Vanderbilt and Purdue, he decided to throw himself into grabbing 4- and 5-star linemen for the class of 2012.  The Wolverines have enough depth for the 2011 season, so we’re talking about 2012 (and beyond).  Is a 3-star redshirt freshman loads better than a true freshman Kyle Kalis or Erik Magnuson?  Yes, it’s ideal that every lineman redshirts, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily take age over talent.

The 2012 offensive line looks to be:

LT: Taylor Lewan
LG: Ricky Barnum
C: Rocko Khoury
RG: Patrick Omameh
RT: Michael Schofield

The backups will be Elliott Mealer, Jack Miller, and Chris Bryant, plus a bunch of freshmen.  It looks like a pretty good starting offensive line, but whether the next guy in is a 3-star redshirt freshman or a 4-star true freshman, there’s bound to be a significant drop-off.

I don’t blame Hoke for any of the 2011 recruiting class, but I give him credit for Russell Bellomy, Tamani Carter, Keith Heitzman, Antonio Poole, and Matt Wile.  I also don’t blame Rodriguez for not getting a viable quarterback in 2008, but I do give him credit for pulling in Ricky Barnum, Justin Feagin, J.T. Floyd, Taylor Hill, Martavious Odoms, Patrick Omameh, Terrence Robinson, Roy Roundtree, and Brandon Smith.  But I will hold Hoke responsible if any of those five players wash out, just like I blame Rodriguez for wasting scholarships on Feagin, Hill, and Smith.

2009 Offer Board Update

Stephon Gilmore

Yep, this is a 2009 Offer Board update.

2009?

2009.

I went back and gathered the information I could about 2009 offerees to go along with the offer boards for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

The 2009 kids who went elsewhere include Stephon Gilmore (pictured above), who was an All-SEC performer at cornerback in 2010 with South Carolina.  He had 79 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery while starting all 14 games.

Compare that to Michigan’s 2009 defensive back haul:

• Vladimir Emilien: 1 tackle in two seasons; transferred to Toledo
• Thomas Gordon: 23 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks in 2010 after redshirting
• Justin Turner: never played a down for Michigan; transferred in 2010
• Adrian Witty: did not qualify academically for Michigan and posted 1 tackle for Cincinnati in 2010