Tag: 2013 recruiting

Scout: Class of 2013 Ohio Final State Rankings

Dymonte Thomas is the #2 player in the state of Ohio for the class of 2013

Scout finalized its state of Ohio rankings for the class of 2013.  Here are some notes for Michigan fans:

2. Dymonte Thomas – S – Alliance (OH) Marlington: Offered, committed to Michigan.
3. DeVeon Smith – RB – Warren (OH) Howland: Offered, committed to Michigan.
4. Evan Lisle – OT – Centerville (OH) Centerville: Offered, committed to Ohio State.
5. Cameron Burrows – CB – Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison: Offered, committed to Ohio State.
6. Gareon Conley – CB – Massillon (OH) Washington: Offered, committed to Ohio State.
7. Jake Butt – TE – Pickerington (OH) North: Offered, committed to Michigan.
9. Ben Gedeon – LB – Hudson (OH) Hudson: Offered, committed to Michigan.
11. Taco Charlton – DE – Pickerington (OH) Central: Offered, committed to Michigan.
12. Billy Price – DT – Youngstown (OH) Fitch: Offered, committed to Ohio State.
14. Shane Jones – LB – Cincinnati (OH) Moeller: Offered, committed to Michigan State.
16. Rob Wheelwright – WR – Columbus (OH) Walnut Ridge: Offered, committed to Wisconsin.
19. Jayme Thompson – S – Toledo (OH) Central Catholic: Offered, committed to Ohio State.
20. Godwin Igwebuike – RB – Pickerington (OH) North: Teammate of TE commit Jake Butt.
22. Jacob Matuska – DE – Columbus (OH) Bishop Hartley: Offered, committed to Notre Dame.
24. Michael McCray II – LB – Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison: Offered, committed to Michigan.
32. Jarrod Clements – DT – Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison: Teammate of LB commit Michael McCray II, committed to Illinois.
37. Reon Dawson – CB – Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison: Offered, committed to Michigan.
38. Ross Douglas – CB – Avon (OH) Avon: Offered, committed to Michigan.
39. Matt Miller – OG – Toledo (OH) St. John’s: Brother of Michigan center Jack Miller, committed to Wisconsin.
40. Marcus Ball – S – Westerville (OH) South: Offered.
47. Jaron Dukes – WR – Columbus (OH) Walnut Ridge: Offered, committed to Michigan.
52. Kevin Gladney – WR – Akron (OH) Firestone: Offered, committed to Nebraska.
58. Dan Monteroso – WR – St. Clairsville (OH) St. Clairsville: Teammate of 2014 LB commit Michael Ferns.

Scout: Class of 2013 Michigan Final State Rankings

Warren (MI) De La Salle quarterback Shane Morris is the top player in the state

Scout finalized its 2013 in-state rankings.  Here are some notes on a few players of Michigan interest:

1. Shane Morris – QB – Warren (MI) De La Salle: Offered, committed to Michigan.
2. Steven Elmer – OT – Midland (MI) Midland: Offered, committed to Notre Dame.
3. Jourdan Lewis – CB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Offered, committed to Michigan.
4. Jon Reschke – LB – Bloomfield (MI) Brother Rice: Offered, committed to Michigan State.
5. David Dawson – OG – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Offered, committed to Michigan.
6. Dennis Finley – OT – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Offered, committed to Michigan State.
7. Delano Hill – S – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Offered, committed to Michigan.
8. Wyatt Shallman – FB – Novi (MI) Catholic Central: Offered, committed to Michigan.
9. Khalid Hill – TE – Detroit (MI) East English Village: Offered, committed to Michigan.
13. Da’Mario Jones – WR – Westland (MI) John Glenn: Offered, committed to Michigan.
23. Berkley Edwards – RB – Chelsea (MI) Chelsea: Brother of former Michigan WR Braylon Edwards, committed to Minnesota.
26. Andre Turner – DE – Harper Woods (MI) Chandler Park: Teammate of WR commit Csont’e York, committed to Western Michigan.
28. DeJuan Rogers – CB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Teammate of commits Lewis, Dawson, and D. Hill; committed to Toledo.
37. Josh Cox – S – Warren (MI) De La Salle: Teammate of QB commit Shane Morris; committed to Central Michigan.
64. Matt Linehan – QB – Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s: Son of Detroit Lions OC Scott Linehan, committed to Idaho.

Recruiting Update: January 28, 2013

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech running back Mikey Weber (image via Michigan Citizen)

COMMITMENT
Richmond (VA) Hermitage running back Derrick Green committed to Michigan.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2013
Louisville (KY) Trinity defensive end Jason Hatcher decommitted from USC.  Hatcher is not considering Michigan, but he is now open to Louisville (where his teammate James Quick is committed) or Kentucky, the new head coaching home of former Florida State defensive coordinator Mark Stoops.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Cleveland (OH) Glenville safety Erick Smith was offered by Michigan.  Smith is a 6’1″, 185 lb. prospect with offers from Georgia Tech, Louisville, Ohio State, and West Virginia, among others.  Michigan has also offered his teammate, wide receiver Marshon Lattimore.  Like a lot of Glenville products, Ohio State seems to be the leader.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Detroit (MI) Cass Tech defensive tackle Joshua Alabi was offered by Michigan.  The 6’5″, 245-pounder doesn’t hold any other offers.  He doesn’t get off the ball very well defensively, but the athleticism is apparent.  He moves like a future left tackle, but I’m not sure he’ll have the height and length to play that position; if he can get more aggressive, he’s the type of athlete you would want at strongside end or 3-tech defensive tackle.  Alabi has visited Michigan a couple times, including for last season’s Michigan State game.  He played defensive end, defensive tackle, and offensive tackle for Cass Tech, and is the teammate of 2013 commits David Dawson, Delano Hill, and Jourdan Lewis.

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech running back Mikey Weber was offered by Michigan.  The 5’10”, 195 lb. running back also has offers from Illinois and Syracuse.  As a sophomore in 2012, he had 1,700 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns.  Weber’s body type looks a lot like Fitzgerald Toussaint’s, but Weber’s more of a slasher and doesn’t show the same kind of lateral movement.


OFF THE BOARD
Phoenix (AZ) Brophy Prep wide receiver Devon Allen committed to Oregon.  Allen flirted with lots of teams out west, and even seriously considered Michigan and Notre Dame for a while.  But he always coveted an Oregon offer, which came recently, and the choice seemed to be pretty easy at that point.

Avon (IN) Avon defensive end Elijah Daniel committed to Ole Miss.  Daniel had previously been committed to Clemson along with the consensus #1 defensive end nationally, Robert Nkemdiche.  Now that Nkemdiche appears to be headed for Oxford sooner or later, Daniel seems destined to be a Rebel, too.

Hamilton (GA) Harris County defensive tackle Jay Ellison committed to Georgia Southern.  That’s an odd development for a player who listed offers from Auburn, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Santa Monica (CA) Santa Monica wide receiver Sebastian Larue committed to Texas A&M.  After decommitting from USC in recent weeks, Larue flirted with the idea of visiting Michigan.  He is now one of about eight wide receivers committed to the Aggies.

Belton (TX) Belton tight end Durham Smythe committed to Notre Dame.  Smythe had previously been committed to Texas, but since he decommitted, it has mostly been a race between the Fighting Irish and Stanford.  He was originally scheduled to take a visit to Michigan this past weekend, but he rescheduled in order to visit South Bend with a bunch of other visitors.  Now it looks like next weekend’s visit to Ann Arbor won’t happen after all.

Euless (TX) Trinity defensive end Gaius Vaenuku committed to Utah.  The 6’6″, 260-pounder pickes the Utes over offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and UCLA.

Tempe (AZ) Marcos De Niza cornerback Priest Willis committed to UCLA.  Michigan was never strongly in the running.  The Wolverines were recruiting him as a cornerback, but most teams project him to safety.

MISCELLANEOUS
There were some rumors that Saginaw (MI) Heritage wide receiver Brian Cole, a 2015 prospect, was offered by Michigan.  However, that is not a solid offer, and he was apparently told he’ll have to wait until his junior year for an offer.

Derrick Green, Wolverine

Richmond (VA) Hermitage running back Derrick Green at his announcement (image via 247 Sports)

Richmond (VA) Hermitage running back Derrick Green committed to Michigan on Saturday.  He chose the Wolverines over offers from just about everyone in the country, and the other two finalists were Auburn and Tennessee.

Green is 6’0″ and 220 lbs.  As a senior in 2012, he had 185 carries for 1,285 yards and 20 touchdowns.  As a junior, he had 1,493 yards and 20 touchdowns.  In his sophomore season, he had 800 yards and 10 touchdowns.  He claims a 4.58 forty.

RATINGS
ESPN: 4-star RB, 85 grade, #5 RB, #38 overall
Rivals: 5-star RB, #1 RB, #8 overall
Scout: 5-star RB, #1 RB, #6 overall
247 Sports: 4-star RB, 95 grade, #8 RB, #84 overall

Green was offered last February when Michigan went on a spree of offering running backs.  At the beginning of his recruitment, Michigan did not seem to be a serious option.  He was considering a long list of places, most of them down south; other than Ohio State in the north, he was looking at Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and a few other places.  The longer Green’s recruitment lasted, however, things started to fall into place for Michigan.  He always maintained a desire to play in a pro-style offense, and the hiring of Gus Malzahn at Auburn and Butch Jones at Tennessee didn’t really align with Green’s desires.  He also wanted a chance to play early, and with no established starter at Michigan (incumbent Fitzgerald Toussaint is coming off a nasty leg injury and has just one year left), the opportunity will be there immediately.

I have had my eye on Green for a long time.  Aside from watching his highlights, I had a chance to see him in person last May in a 7-on-7 tournament.  I put together a scouting report on him prior to his senior season, and that interpretation largely holds true still, but I will say that his senior highlights showed significant improvement.  One of the things that I may have underestimated was the fact that Green was 260-270 lbs. early in high school and decided to shed the weight in order to play running back.  I think losing that weight and increasing his agility may have been – or may be – a long process that wasn’t completed by his junior year.  He’s a lot shiftier in his senior highlights and seems to have a better understanding of how to make people miss.  Green is still a north-south runner and won’t ever be Barry Sanders, but there’s a little more lightning to his thunder now.

While I don’t think Derrick Green is the best running back in the country like Rivals and Scout do, I think he’s one of the top three to five backs in the nation.  With the offensive line Michigan is building in the 2012 and 2013 classes, he should have plenty of room to run.  A 6’0″, 220 lb. running back with his acceleration should be able to wear down second- and third-level defenders, making it quite a grind for opposing defenses.  Depending on how quickly Toussaint heals from his leg injury, Green could very well be the starting running back for the Wolverines on opening day 2013.  In my opinion, he is already better than the other running backs on the roster, save perhaps a healthy Toussaint; and I also think Green is superior to fellow 2013 commits Deveon Smith and Wyatt Shallman.

Green is Michigan’s 27th commitment in the 2013 class and the third running back.  The Wolverines may be done recruiting in this class, but I expect that we’ll see another scholarship offer or two here in the last couple weeks to try to sway a player already committed elsewhere, somewhat like what happened with Dennis Norfleet last year.

TTB Rating: 92

Mini Recruiting Update: January 25, 2013

Future teammates? Jourdan Lewis, Dymonte Thomas, Derrick Green, Jake Butt, and Chris Fox pose together

There aren’t many visitors coming to Michigan this weekend, so here’s a mini update on the week’s news:

VISITORS
Grand Rapids (MI) Christian offensive lineman Tommy Doles will be visiting Michigan tomorrow.  The 6’5″, 255 lb. lineman holds two offers, one from Michigan and one from Iowa State.  Doles would likely play center or perhaps guard at the next level.  His teammate is wide receiver Drake Harris, a highly touted recruit who has pulled in offers from Alabama and Ohio State recently; however, there’s been no indication that Harris will join Doles on this trip.

Southfield (MI) Southfield defensive end Lawrence Marshall visited Ann Arbor for the basketball game against Purdue last night.  Along with a Michigan offer, the 6’4″, 205-pounder has offers from Michigan State, Ohio State, Pitt, San Diego State, and Syracuse.  He hasn’t talked about his recruitment a ton, but Michigan is presumed to be his leader.

ANNOUNCEMENT
Richmond (VA) Hermitage running back Derrick Green will be announcing his college decision at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow.  Michigan has been his stated leader, and it sounds like Tennessee is running second with Auburn third.  Green appears to be looking for a stable coaching staff; with Brady Hoke appearing to be in it for the long haul and running backs coach Fred Jackson entering his 22nd year with the program, Michigan looks pretty stable.  Both Auburn and Tennessee replaced their coaches this offseason.  Green has also stated that he wants to play in a pro-style offense, which neither of those schools offer.  However, the major hangup for Green seems to be that he thinks the SEC will prepare him better for the NFL.  The Big Ten has not produced elite running backs in recent years, and Green has always maintained that he wants to play at the next level.  If he chooses Michigan, he’ll be choosing a school that hasn’t churned out a productive NFL back since Anthony Thomas, whose last college season was 2000.  In approximately that same span, Tennessee has produced Travis Henry, Jamal Lewis, and Arian Foster; Auburn has the success stories of Ronnie Brown, Cadillac Williams, and even Ben Tate, who rushed for 942 yards as Foster’s backup in 2011.  I have no reason to think that Michigan won’t be the choice, since that’s his recently stated leader, but there are factors working against the Wolverines.

COACHES ON THE ROAD
Here are the names I’ve gathered of whom the Michigan staff has visited this week (all prospects are 2014 guys unless otherwise noted):

Joshua Alabi – DT – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech**
Dominique Booth – WR – Indianapolis (IN) Pike
Shane Evans – OG – Crystal Lake (IL) Prairie Ridge
Derrick Green – RB – Richmond (VA) Hermitage*
Damien Harris – RB – Berea (KY) Madison Southern**
Johnathan Hilliman – RB – Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter’s Prep
Elijah Hood – RB – Charlotte (NC) Catholic
Jamarco Jones – OG – Chicago (IL) De La Salle
Derek Kief – WR – Cincinnati (OH) La Salle
Brandon Lee – LB – Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence Central
Lawrence Marshall – DE – Southfield (MI) Southfield
Mike McCray II – LB – Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison*
Malik McDowell – DE – Detroit (MI) Loyola
Peyton Newell – DE – Hiawatha (KS) Hiawatha
Austin Roberts – TE – Carmel (IN) Carmel
Enoch Smith, Jr. – DE – Chicago (IL) Mt. Carmel
Durham Smythe – TE – Belton (TX) Belton*
Mikey Weber – RB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech**
Parrker Westphal – CB – Bolingbrook (IL) Bolingbrook
Mikale Wilbon – RB – Chicago (IL) De La Salle

*2013 prospect
**2015 prospect