Recruiting Update: March 12, 2012

Tag: 2012 Recruiting

12Mar 2012
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Recruiting Update: March 12, 2012

Detroit (MI) Loyola defensive end Malik McDowell

COMMITMENTS
Massillon (OH) Washington cornerback Gareon Conley committed to Michigan.

Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison linebacker Mike McCray committed to Michigan.

ADDED TO THE BOARD
Duluth (GA) Peachtree Ridge offensive tackle Orlando Brown, a 2014 prospect, was offered by Michigan.  Brown is the son of Orlando “Zeus” Brown, the former Cleveland Brown and Baltimore Raven offensive tackle.  The younger Brown is even bigger than his father, currently standing 6’10” and weighing 360 lbs.  He also has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Notre Dame, and USC, along with several others.

Grand Rapids (MI) Christian wide receiver Drake Harris, a 2014 prospect, has a Michigan offer.  Harris is a 6’4″, 180 lb. kid who is also a highly touted shooting guard prospect.  As a sophomore in 2011, he had 57 receptions for 1,118 yards and 14 touchdowns.  He also has offers to play football at Indiana and Michigan State.

Mesquite (TX) West Mesquite wide receiver Eldridge Massington was offered by Michigan on Wednesday.  He’s a 6’3″, 205 lb. wideout with offers from Baylor, Houston, Notre Dame, TCU, and Tennessee, among others.  As a junior in 2011, he had 41 receptions for 666 yards and 6 touchdowns.  As you might imagine from an offer list like that, Massington immediately put Michigan and Notre Dame at the top of the heap.  He’s a tall, good-sized receiver with enough speed to stretch the field.

Detroit (MI) Loyola defensive end Malik McDowell, a 2014 prospect, was offered by Michigan.  McDowell is a 6’6″, 260 lb. strongside end who has started to wow people this offseason.  Loyola isn’t a highly recruited school, so it’s rare that we hear of kids from that school.  There have been rumors that McDowell will be transferring to Cass Tech, but so far there hasn’t been any movement there.  He also has an offer from Syracuse.

OFF THE BOARD
Camp Hill (PA) Cedar Cliff tight end Adam Breneman committed to Penn State.  I did a scouting report and TTB Andrew interviewed Breneman in the past, but always seemed to be a long shot for Michigan.  You can’t fault the kid for choosing the Nittany Lions.  New head coach Bill O’Brien showed with the New England Patriots that he values the tight end position, and he’ll find myriad ways of getting the ball to Breneman in the next few seasons.

Columbus (OH) Bishop Hartley tight end Jacob Matuska committed to Notre Dame.  The 6’5″, 240-pounder was being recruited by Michigan as a tight end, but the Fighting Irish are planning to use him as a defensive end.

Belton (TX) Belton tight end Durham Smythe committed to Texas.  Along with jumbo wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones, who could also play tight end, the Longhorns are bringing in a couple quality

Crete (IL) Crete-Monee cornerback Anthony Standifer committed to Mississippi.  Standifer, a 2012 prospect, was committed to Michigan for several months, but a reported academic issue was going to prevent him from getting into Michigan.  Therefore, he decommitted a few months ago and started to look elsewhere.  He finally chose a school this past week.

VISITORS
In case you missed it, here’s a list of guys who visited Michigan this past weekend.  David Dawson is on that list, but he ended up not making it to Ann Arbor.

Meanwhile, St. Paul (MN) Cretin-Derham wide receiver James Onwualu will be visiting Michigan on Wednesday.  The 6’1″, 205 lb. athlete is being recruited by Michigan as a slot receiver, while other schools are recruiting him as a cornerback and safety, too.

5Mar 2012
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Recruiting Update: March 5, 2012

Josh Augusta looks angry
(image via Scout.com)

ADDED TO THE BOARD
Peoria (IL) Peoria defensive lineman Josh Augusta was offered by Michigan.  He’s a 6’5″, 275 lb. kid who looks like he’ll grow into a 3-tech defensive tackle.  He also has offers from Illinois and Iowa.  The highlights below (the only ones I could find of Augusta on Youtube) appear to show some clips of Michigan commit Logan Tuley-Tillman playing against Augusta:

New Orleans (LA) Edna Karr tight end Standish Dobard has an offer from Michigan.  He’s a 6’5″, 235 lb. end who lists a 4.6 forty.  He also has offers from Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, and Oklahoma, among others.  He attends the alma mater of former Michigan target (and current Cincinnati quarterback) Munchie Legaux.

College Station (TX) A&M Consolidated defensive end Christian Lacouture decommitted from Texas A&M.  The 6’5″, 255-pounder had been committed to the Aggies since January 2011 and plans to visit Michigan soon.



OFF THE BOARD
St. Peters (MO) Fort Zumwalt South running back/athlete Chase Abbington committed to Missouri.  There is some uncertainty about whether he was ever offered by the Wolverines, but regardless, he’s off the board.

Cypress (TX) Cypress Ranch running back Keith Ford committed to Oklahoma.  The powerful 5’11”, 195-pounder expressed interest in visiting Michigan at one point, but Oklahoma’s not a bad choice, either.

Castle Rock (CO) Valor Christian offensive lineman Alex Kozan committed to Auburn.  Kozan was a part of the 2012 class but decided not to sign with a team on (or even near) National Signing Day.  Iowa was apparently out of the picture at the end, and Kozan was deciding between the Tigers and the Wolverines.

Louisville (KY) Trinity cornerback Ryan White committed to Louisville.  White is one of three Trinity teammates to have been offered by Michigan for 2013, along with defensive end Jason Hatcher and wide receiver James Quick.

TTB RATINGS
I released the TTB Ratings for 2013.  You can hit the link or they can be found on the 2013 Offer Board.

28Feb 2012
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Ben Braden Answers Your Questions

Ben Braden
In a matter of months, class of 2012 offensive lineman Ben Braden has grown over an inch and gained 40 pounds of mostly muscle. Now standing at 6’7” 325 pounds, Braden is ready to get on campus and make an immediate impact on the football field – which is good news because Michigan needs game-ready linemen now. Ben was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his Sunday afternoon to speak with me about those topics and address the many inquiries posed by TTB readers.
Physical development: Really it was because of strength and conditioning every day and pretty much just eating everything in sight. I try my best to avoid junk food and eat a lot of high protein and high carbs – burgers, chicken, steak, pasta, salad. I pretty much eat everything; I just try to stay away from really sweet stuff like chocolate and stuff like that. I’ll eat a lot during the day, but it’ll be in smaller portions. I don’t do any supplementary thing and don’t have a certain amount of calories I try to eat every day, either. I just eat.
Early playing time: Right now, the plan is that I will not be redshirting. I think I’ll be a second stringer, and then just go from there. But right now that’s the plan between me and the coaches. . . . [I’ll be playing] right tackle.

Representing Rockford: I live not necessarily out in the country, but I’m about 20 minutes from the town. So going to Ann Arbor will be a little bit of a change, but it won’t be like going to New York City or anything. Rockford isn’t one of those places where everyone knows everyone, but it’s a quiet place. . . . Coach Hoke and Coach Munger [Rockford’s HS coach] have a lot in common as far as coaching personality goes, so that will be nice that I won’t feel like I’m going from one thing to the complete opposite. . . . The last time I went to a University of Michigan camp, he [Coach Munger] was there, and I’m pretty sure he plans on going back.
Coming to Michigan: To prepare I just keep exercising every day, trying to stay in shape, and I’m just really looking forward to going. I’m really happy and truly blessed. I’m a little nervous, too, but who wouldn’t be? . . . I’m just focused on getting there and getting used to the system, and once you’re used to that everything will just fall in place. . . . When I came to Michigan [as a recruit], my host was Russell Bellomy, so I’m looking forward to seeing him again.
Managing critical scouting evaluations/recruiting rankings: The ratings are just ratings to me. They don’t determine how well I play, and they don’t determine how I am as a person. Basically my goal when I get there is just to do my best at everything and try to play as much as possible, and whatever I get is just going to be what I get. The ratings are going to be what they are. They’re not huge to me, I guess.
Breakin’ Furniture: When I was little – it was when the Hercules movie came out and I thought Hercules was the coolest – my great-grandmother gave me a rocking chair. So I took that and said, “Mom, look what I can do,” and I threw it against the wall and completely shattered it. . . . but no not recently; I’ve learned to be pretty gentle [with furniture].
Being the first recruit of the Brady Hoke era: No, I don’t feel any pressure from it, but it’s definitely an honor. I mean, Brady Hoke’s just an amazing person all around. Aside from being the coach, he’s just a great person. I think it’s a great honor to be the first to commit to him. I’m excited. It’ll be fun.
To learn more about Ben, you can check out a video interview with Tom VanHaaren and an Mlive article about his history playing hockey.
23Feb 2012
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Ask a Question: Ben Braden

Ben Braden is a large man.
It’s only been eleven months since Ben Braden became the first verbal commitment of the 2012 class, but a lot has happened since then. For one, Michigan gained an additional 35 commitments. For another, Ben grew an inch or two and added about 40 pounds of mostly muscle, putting him at 6’7” 325 pounds as of November 1. I’ll be talking with Ben this Sunday, so feel free to leave a question for him in the “comments” section if you have any Ben Braden related catching up to do.
23Feb 2012
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Where are the 2012 Big Ten recruits from?

WTF happened to Canada?
Beenplumb linked a map over on the MgoBoard the other day that details where teams’ 2012 commits are from. The map combines software technology with a good idea to produce an interesting visualization. Unfortunately, the map doesn’t include every Big Ten team and has several significant inaccuracies/omissions. So after spending some time at the website (which is still worth the click through), I decided it would be interesting to produce an up-to-date list of where each Big Ten team is getting their talent (top two states). Schools are listed in order of their 2012 Big Ten class rankings, according to Rivals.
Ohio State: Ohio (15), Massachusetts and Virginia (2), *Michigan (0)*
Michigan: Michigan (9) and Ohio (9)
Nebraska: California (3), Arizona, Texas, Ohio and Illinois (2)
Purdue: Florida (5), Texas and Indiana (4)
Michigan State: Ohio (7), Michigan (4)
Iowa: Illinois (6), Michigan and Iowa (3)
Penn State: Pennsylvania (4) and Maryland (4)
Wisconsin: Wisconsin (3), Florida and Pennsylvania (2)
Northwestern: Pennsylvania (5), Illinois and Ohio (4)
Illinois: Ohio (6), Florida (5)
Indiana: Indiana (8), Ohio and Illinois (3)
Minnesota: Minnesota (10), Texas (5) (No one defends their own backyard like Minnesota.)
For additional information on the 2012 Big Ten recruiting class, including the ever-valuable “average average” metric, take a look at Ace’s final charts.