Tag: 2011 Recruiting

Desmond Morgan, Wolverine

Linebacker Desmond Morgan, from West Ottawa High School in Holland, MI, committed to the Wolverines on Monday after visiting for the “Big Chill” outdoor hockey game at Michigan Stadium.  Morgan is a 6’1″, 225 lb. linebacker and ranked as a 3-star recruit to Rivals, Scout, and ESPN.  He chose Michigan over offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, and Northwestern.

As a high schooler, Morgan played inside linebacker on defense and . . . quarterback on offense.  That’s not a typical combination, but he pulled it off.  As I said in some previous comments about Morgan, I have some added respect for recruits who played quarterback in high school.  They typically tend to understand better how the entire team works together within a system, because they spend 50% of their practice time staring down a Cover 3, a Cover 2, seeing where the weaknesses are in zones, seeing how to attack different alignments and coverages, etc.  In addition, teams often put their best athletes at quarterback.  It doesn’t hurt that he has a 3.97 GPA.

As far as his defensive position goes, I fully expect Morgan to play middle linebacker at the next level.  He has the prototypical body type for the position.  He flows well to the ball and keeps his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage.  And when he hits, he puts some force behind it.  You can tell by the way he runs the ball and the way he tackles that he understands leverage and getting underneath his opponent.  He also times his blitzes well and stays under control when attacking.

I understand why he’s a 3-star kid.  He’s not a quick-twitch athlete.  He looks like the type of player who will fill out to be about 245 lbs., plug his gap, make a bunch of tackles, contribute as a blocker or wedge buster on special teams, and just be a solid overall player.  I would expect that he will redshirt in 2011 and spend another year or so on the bench before really pushing for playing time (Kenny Demens runs out of eligibility after 2012).  I’m not expecting Morgan to win the Butkus Award, but I’m looking forward to him putting on a winged helmet.  Between Morgan and fellow Class of 2011 defender Kellen Jones, the Wolverines are putting together a solid crew of linebackers.

TTB Rating: 76

If I Had My Druthers . . . Tight Ends

Tight end prospect Jack Tabb

The following list is a wish list of tight end prospects in the Class of 2011.  This list takes into account Michigan’s needs, its offensive system, and the depth chart.  For example, Jerell Adams is a very good overall athlete, but Michigan’s lack of depth at tight end means that any tight end in this class has to be ready to contribute by 2012 at the latest.

1. Jay Rome – Valdosta, GA
Big (6’5″, 255 lbs.), fast, and physical.  Reminds me of Alge Crumpler.

2. Ray Hamilton – Strongsville, OH (Iowa commit)
Catches the ball well in traffic.  Doesn’t have great speed, but very shifty after the catch.

3. Brian Miller – Andover, MA (Boston College commit)
Good frame for adding weight to 6’4″, 215 lbs.  Excellent feet and a very tough runner after the catch.

4. Jeff Heuerman – Naples, FL (Ohio State commit)
Very good size and body control.

5. Darien Bryant – Pickerington, OH
Small-ish tight end, but a very willing and fundamentally sound blocker.  Very good speed but needs to add weight.

6. Brandon Fulse – Fort Meade, FL
Large tight end (6’4″, 247 lbs.) who’s a powerful runner.  Not an extremely adept blocker despite size.

7. Jack Tabb – Red Bank, NJ
Solid but unspectacular all-around athlete.  Could also play outside linebacker.

7. Nick Vannett – Westerville, OH (Ohio State commit)
Good size and frame.  Average speed.  Seems a bit undisciplined and doesn’t finish routes.

8. Frank Clark – Cleveland, OH
Large wide receiver/small tight end prospect.  Needs to add weight to 210 lb. frame.  Could also play outside linebacker.

9. Jerell Adams – Summerton, SC
Tall, rangy athlete with decent speed.  Serious developmental prospect who played quarterback and safety in high school.  Generally looks like one of those kids who’s tall, long, and somewhat fast . . . but isn’t really a great football player.

No video on which to judge: Taques Franklin, Drew Owens

Shawn Conway, ex-Wolverine . . . sort of

Michigan fans won’t be seeing these hops on the football field anytime soon.

I received a message from a reputable source a couple weeks ago that this would happen, but it was being kept on the down-low.  Now it has become public.  Class of 2011 wide receiver recruit Shawn Conway will not qualify by NCAA Clearinghouse standards.  He still plans to play football at Michigan in the future, but he’ll have to attend junior college before doing so.

I am not counting on Conway playing at Michigan anytime in the future.  I am certainly a fan of his abilities, but junior college players rarely are recruited or accepted to Michigan.  Conway would have to earn his associate’s degree at said junior college before even having a shot to transfer to the Ann Arbor campus.  Michigan is historically a difficult school into which to transfer, which is why not many JUCO recruits are pursued by the coaching staffs.  The last JUCO transfer to get into Michigan was linebacker Austin Panter in 2007, but he was the first since the early ’90s.  It is possible, however, that since Conway knows he wants to attend Michigan, he can find a JUCO academic program whose credits will transfer to U of M.  I’m not holding my breath, though.

This leaves Michigan with zero outside wide receivers in the 2011 recruiting class.  It has been apparent that the coaches wanted at least two receivers in the class, and the news about Conway was probably the reason that Michigan offered California wide receiver Devin Lucien in recent weeks.  It might also be why Justice Hayes was welcomed into the fold with such open arms when he decommitted from Notre Dame a couple weeks ago; Hayes is more of a slot receiver, but has the size and ability to play outside, too.

Conway is the second subtraction from the 2011 class within a week.  Over this past weekend, quarterback Kevin Sousa changed his verbal pledge from Michigan to Wake Forest.  This also continues a disturbing trend of Rich Rodriguez recruiting academic question marks.  Class of 2009 cornerback Adrian Witty failed to qualify, and four players disappeared from the Class of 2010 due to grade issues (Demar Dorsey, Antonio Kinard, Conelius Jones, and Davion Rogers).

I expect that Michigan will continue to recruit Lucien and North Carolinian Kris Frost, who doubles as a linebacker prospect.  Florida slot receiver Prince Holloway is also a potential option.

Kevin Sousa, ex-Wolverine

Lake Nona, FL quarterback Kevin Sousa

Quarterback Kevin Sousa, who had been committed to Michigan since June 2010, has decommitted in favor of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.  Sousa is 6’2″, 213 lbs., and the #22 dual-threat quarterback to Rivals.  Here’s the commitment post I wrote for him a few months ago.

Sousa started to hint that he might be re-opening his recruitment last month when he showed a bit of disappointment that the Michigan coaches were continuing to recruit other quarterbacks, namely Marquise Williams (who was committed to North Carolina and now is a Virginia Tech commit).  While Sousa didn’t seem to mind the highly touted quarterbacks already on Michigan’s roster, he was clearly agitated that Michigan didn’t seem to be fully devoted to him as their future quarterback. 

So while Michigan’s coaches didn’t seem convinced that Sousa was their guy, they also seem to have struck out on all or most of the quarterbacks ahead of him on their wish list (and mine).  The two remaining uncommitted quarterback prospects on Michigan’s board are Cardale Jones (Cleveland, OH) and Tanner McEvoy (Oradell, NJ).  Jones hails from Glennville High School, a program helmed by Ohio State-loving Ted Ginn, Sr.  He’s a bit of a poor fit for Michigan’s system, and I can’t see him succeeding in an offense predicated on the zone read option.  Meanwhile, McEvoy spent his high school career as a receiver before switching to quarterback prior to his senior season.  He did enjoy some success this past fall (26 passing touchdowns, 11 rushing touchdowns at last count), but one can only assume that he would be a bit of a project as a quarterback.

In my opinion, Michigan needs to bring in a quarterback prospect in the 2011 class.  Some fans think the Wolverines can get away with avoiding the quarterback position for 2011 and going after some players in 2012.  I think that would be a mistake.  It’s entirely possible that the coaching situation at Michigan could cause one or more transfers.  If Rich Rodriguez remains at Michigan, the chance exists that Tate Forcier might want to go elsewhere; he’s good enough to start at many places in the country.  If Jim Harbaugh is hired, I’m not sure how Denard Robinson fits.  Meanwhile, it’s unclear how Tate Forcier would feel about playing for Harbaugh.  Forcier would seem a better fit for Harbaugh’s system, but Tate’s older brother Jason (also a Michigan Wolverine back in 2005-2006) threw a total of 13 passes under Harbaugh after transferring to Stanford.  Even if each of the quarterbacks remains, that gives Michigan only three on the roster (the aforementioned Forcier and Robinson, plus freshman Devin Gardner).  One or more transfers would obviously leave Michigan perilously thin at the position.

The decommitment of Sousa leaves Michigan with 13 commitments in the Class of 2011, and Michigan should have 22 to give.  Approximately nine slots remain open.

2011 Offer Board Update

Wide receiver prospect Devin Lucien (#15)

The 2011 Offer Board has been updated:

Added Darien Bryant (TE).

Added Robert Trudo (DT).

Marquise Williams (QB) changed his commitment from North Carolina to Virginia Tech.

Melvin Gordon (SB) changed his commitment from Iowa to Wisconsin.

Sammy Watkins (WR) committed to Clemson.

Added Devin Lucien (WR).

Austin Traylor (OLB) committed to Wisconsin.

Added Shane Wynn (SR).

Dallas Crawford (CB) committed to Michigan.