I am an attention whore, apparently. Yesterday Brice’s Recruiting posted a Q & A where I gave him some opinions on recruiting.
Then yesterday evening Tremendous posted a Recruiting Roundtable piece in which I also gave some opinions on recruiting. The Roundtable also includes DGDestroys, Ace Anbender, Keith Thompson, Simply Complex, MGoShoe, and Jeff from Maizepages.
Tomorrow morning I will be on The View.
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| Novi (MI) Catholic Central DE Matt Godin |
Before interviewing incoming freshman Matt Godin, we invited readers ask him questions. Here are his responses.
On conditioning, weight, and preparation: “They [the coaches] just told me to go hard in the weight room like I always have. They know because Mike Martin came from my school, so they know about the strength program at our school and how good it is. I work out every day during the week, and [my schedule] switches between my upper and lower body [each day]…Right now I’m 6’6″ and 273 lbs. (EDIT: he’s not 6’8″, as was previously reported; that was a typo), and I’ll probably get to 285 by the season; I don’t know. But I’m going to be able to move; that’s the main thing. And, plus, I don’t look it – I mean, the coaches thought I was 260 lbs. My goal is to add good weight, maybe a little bit of fat in my stomach, but good weight all around.”
On recruitment, recent Hoke in-home: “We’re already close and Coach Jackson came up earlier, too, like two weeks ago. Coach Hoke just keeps telling me how I just need to be ready and stuff. Other than that, we just had fun, ate dinner and talked about things. We kind of put football to the side, which was nice. My parents were there and it was just nice.”
On anticipated role along the d-line: “I’m going to be a guy who’s going to mix it up inside and outside. I mean, that’s what the 5-technique is: you play outside and inside. My run stopping and pass rushing are both pretty much equal, so I’ll be able to mix it up and do both.”
On Michigan’s recruitment of teammate Wyatt Shallman: “I’ll be honest – I have no clue. I mean, I don’t really talk to him that much, though. We’ll see, it’s early….He could be a sophomore right now, too; he’s young. I mean, he is a junior, but he’s really young. It’s kind of unbelievable how big he is naturally for how young he is.”
On the 2012 recruiting class: “I’m excited to play with all of them. On the official visit we all had fun together. I’m excited to play by Mario and Strobel for sure…we’re all already pretty close for not really hanging out that much. Kalis and Strobel and Allen Gant and then the rest of the in-state guys are [who] I’m probably the closest with.”
On Tennessee, Derek Dooley and the Arnett situation: “…Any coach who does that to his players or treats them like that – that’s just obnoxious. I don’t know who he [Dooley] thinks he is with that losing record…I haven’t really talked about it with anyone else. I mean, everyone thinks it’s terrible how DeAnthony has a serious issue going on, and he should have let him go. That’s pretty much what everyone thinks.”
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| You can see why they call me Thunder. |
Yours truly did a Q & A session with Brice’s Recruiting about the 2012 recruiting class. Head over there for all the answers to your recruiting questions . . . unless you have other questions.
In which case, you can pay me in GNC gift cards like Brice did and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.
While you’re at it, you can also follow the site on Twitter.
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| Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison TE/WR Devin Funchess is the #7 player in the state |
The Detroit News gives a rundown of their top 15 in-state players for the class of 2012, and the top four guys are headed to Michigan. On the list:
1. Mario Ojemudia
2. Terry Richardson
3. James Ross
4. Royce Jenkins-Stone
6. Matt Godin
7. Devin Funchess
10 Ben Braden
13. Drake Johnson
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| Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers linebacker Jaylon Smith |
ADDED TO THE BOARD (2012, 2013, 2014)
Fort Wayne (IN) Bushop Luers outside linebacker Jaylon Smith, a 2013 prospect, received a Michigan offer on Friday. The 6’3″, 202 lb. Smith is the brother of Rod Smith, a running back at Ohio State. Jaylon also holds offers from Indiana, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, and Tennessee.
OFF THE BOARD
Vandalia (OH) Butler offensive tackle Taylor Decker changed his commitment from Notre Dame to Ohio State. Decker is a 6’8″, 288 lb. lineman and a 4-star recruit across the board.
Hamilton (GA) Harris defensive end Jordan Jenkins committed to Georgia on Monday. The 6’3″, 245-pounder also visited Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee. He played defensive tackle in the Under Armour All-America Game despite being undersized, but he still finished the game with 8 tackles and 2 sacks. However, Georgia plans to use him as an outside linebacker in their 3-4 system.
WEEKEND VISITORS
Madisonville (KY) North Hopkins safety Jeremy Clark was in town this past weekend. He’s 6’4″, 205 lbs. and could potentially develop into an outside linebacker at the college level. Clark was originally a “greyshirt” commit and wasn’t planning to join the program until 2013, but the departure of Carvin Johnson opened a slot for him.
Chicago (IL) Simeon offensive tackle Jordan Diamond visited Ann Arbor this past weekend. The 6’6″, 289-pounder is exploring his options with Arkansas, Auburn, Ohio State, and Wisconsin, and the Buckeyes are reportedly feeling quite confident about their chances with him.
Joliet (IL) Joliet Catholic running back Ty Isaac, a 2013 prospect, visited this past weekend. The 6’3″, 215 lb. runner had 2,114 yards rushing and 45 touchdowns as a junior last season, and Michigan appears to be tied with Notre Dame at the top of Isaac’s list. I have heard unflattering things about Isaac and I’m not a huge fan of his running style, but he is big and fast . . . so there’s that.
Woodbridge (VA) C.D. Hylton linebacker E.J. Levenberry, Jr., a 2013 prospect, also visited. The 6’3″, 226 lb. linebacker has already been offered by Michigan, along with several other schools.
Warren (MI) De La Salle quarterback Shane Morris, a 2013 commit, visited Ann Arbor. Morris seems to be turning into Michigan’s biggest athlete/recruiter, in the same vein as Ricardo Miller and Erik Magnuson in recent classes.
West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial cornerback Armani Reeves visited Ann Arbor again this past weekend. He’s committed to Penn State but unsure of new head coach Bill O’Brien. The 5’9″, 185 lb. Reeves could play cornerback or receiver at the next level (Michigan wants him for defense), but both Penn State’s wide receivers coach and secondary coach have been let go. Reeves’s best friend Camren Williams is committed to Penn State, which could weigh heavily into a decision here.
Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate cornerback Jalen Tabor, a 2014 prospect, visited Michigan this past weekend. He’s a 6’1″, 168 lb. sophomore who hasn’t been offered by Michigan yet. However, he does have offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Miami, Ohio State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and several others . . . so a Michigan offer will probably be on the way at some point. He attends the same school as 2011 running back Malcolm Crockett, who was recruited by Rich Rodriguez, and 2012 defensive tackle Eddie Goldman.
Alliance (OH) Marlington safety Dymonte Thomas, a 2013 commit, visited Michigan along with Morris. The 6’1″, 180-pounder could play either safety position for Michigan and is also a standout running back for Marlington.
RECRUITING NEWS
There wasn’t a whole lot of news this past week after last week’s monster recruiting update. Most class of 2012 kids who haven’t committed yet are going to wait until National Signing Day or thereabouts. So here’s a bit of a wrap-up of some developments in the recruiting world last week:
Scout released its final Scout 300 of the recruiting cycle. Posting this recruiting update at the beginning of January prevents people from questioning their integrity if they waited until after National Signing Day. After all, there’s virtually no more “scouting” info to come for the class of 2012 now that the all-American games have been played, and posting updates after NSD might make people question if they change their ratings depending on where kids commit.
Here’s a scouting report on Louisville (KY) Trinity WR James Quick. Michigan will be battling with lots of teams across the country to get Quick’s commitment, but he looks like a very good prospect for the next level.