ADDED TO THE BOARD (2013, 2014)
Avon (OH) Avon cornerback Ross Douglas was offered by Michigan, even though he committed to Penn State a couple weeks back. Douglas visited Ann Arbor in recent months and enjoyed his visit, but the coaches had their sights set on some bigger corners than the 5’10”, 180 lb. Douglas. But now that guys like Tre Bell and Devin Butler have committed elsewhere (see below), they might be expanding their search for a guy to complement Gareon Conley and Jourdan Lewis.
Honolulu (HI) Moanalua defensive tackle Scott Pagano was offered by Michigan on Saturday. The 6’3″, 280-pounder also holds offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Cal, Nebraska, and Oregon, among others. Pagano looks like a nose tackle but his highlights remind me of 2010 defensive tackle Terry Talbott, whose film was a series of play where nobody really bothered to block him. As a junior he had 72 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 5 sacks.
Charlotte (NC) Providence offensive tackle Bentley Spain, a 2014 prospect, was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’6″, 280 lb. lineman with offers from North Carolina, North Carolina State, and South Carolina. He’s just a sophomore, but he claims a 330 lb. bench and a 400 lb. squat.
St. Louis (MO) DeSmet offensive tackle Andy Bauer, a 2014 prospect, committed to Missouri. This is kind of a disappointment for Michigan fans, since Bauer visited Michigan a couple months ago and thoroughly enjoyed his visit. The 6’5″, 291 lb. lineman looks like a future star and gives the Tigers a couple victories over Michigan in grabbing upper echelon linemen in recent years, to go along with Evan Boehm in 2012.
Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter’s Prep cornerback Tre Bell committed to Florida. The 5’11”, 170 lb. Bell gave some lip service to considering Michigan, but at no point did the Wolverines seem like a serious contender.
Washington (DC) Gonzaga cornerback Devin Butler committed to Notre Dame. This was somewhat expected, as his two leaders all along seemed to be Penn State and the Fighting Irish. Hopefully he will go to South Bend and do what most cornerbacks do there, which is stand by idly while Mario ManninghamSam McGuffieGreg MathewsJunior HemingwayRoy Roundtree Jehu Chesson catches awesome touchdown passes.
Rancho Cucamonga (CA) Rancho Cucamonga cornerback Chris Hawkins committed to USC. Hawkins was all set to announce a commitment a couple weeks ago to Stanford, but then USC swooped in with an offer. He put his recruitment temporarily on hold, visited USC, and then became a Trojan.
Sicklerville (NJ) Timber Creek defensive tackle Greg Webb committed to Penn State. A lot of Michigan fans seemed to be pinning their hopes on Webb for the 2013 class because Michigan needs a couple interior guys, but I said all along that I did not expect the Wolverines to pull Webb. Michigan still has a shot with Baltimore (MD) Gilman’s Henry Poggi, but I think any commitments at the nose tackle position will have to come from new offers, such as the one to Pagano.
WEEKEND VISITORS
Peoria (IL) Peoria defensive end Josh Augusta visited Michigan last week. The 6’5″, 275 lb. end/tackle prospect lists an offer on Rivals so I’m keeping him on the offer board, but Wolverine Nation‘s Tom VanHaaren recently stated that he does NOT have an offer yet.
St. Paul (MN) Cretin-Derham quarterback Ricardo Johnson III, a 2014 prospect, visited Ann Arbor last week. Johnson is only 5’11”, 170 lbs., but he’s a sophomore so there’s still room to grow. It’s unclear how serious of a prospect he is. Some people have hyped him as one of the top prospects in Minnesota, which isn’t a talent-rich state, but Cretin-Derham is a productive school. He also has yet to play for the varsity team. Regardless of his talent, he seems to have interest in the Wolverines and could be someone to watch in the future.
Upland (CA) Upland defensive end Joe Mathis visited Michigan over the weekend. He has offers from all over the country and he reportedly really liked his visit to Ann Arbor, so much that he has promised an official visit for the fall. Sometimes those promises don’t pan out, so take that with a grain of salt, but it’s still a good sign from the Californian. Mathis has recently shown up at camps and done very well. He could play the strongside end or the 3-tech defensive tackle position for the Wolverines.
Bealeton (VA) Liberty defensive end Wyatt Teller did NOT visit this past weekend. He was scheduled to come to Ann Arbor, but was unable to make it. He hopes to plan a trip for later this month.
Detroit (MI) Country Day defensive tackle Poet Thomas visited the Michigan campus. The 6’6″, 280-pounder does not yet hold an offer from the Wolverines, but he has been offered by Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Florida, and Toledo. He’s a big, thick-legged kid who looks like he’ll be well over 300 lbs. by the time his career is finished. His size is intriguing, but I think he’s a big project at this point. The coaches have been in contact with him for a while and previously were looking at him for the offensive line, but with OL positions filled up at this point, they recently informed him that they’re evaluating him as a defensive tackle. He runs like an offensive lineman, plays really high, and frankly doesn’t look like he’s physically strong yet.
Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s safety Solomon Warfield will be visiting Michigan on Tuesday. He’s a 6’1″, 170 lb. defensive back who does not have a Michigan offer but attends the same school as 2012 commit Kyle Kalis. Warfield does hold offers from Arizona, Iowa, and West Virginia, along with a few others. He’s a big hitter for being kind of a slight kid and has good speed, but Michigan seems set at safety at this point unless there’s attrition.
Notes: Holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Boston College, California, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, South Florida, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin . . . Claims a 4.7 forty yard dash . . . As a junior in 2011, had 49 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and 1 forced fumble . . . As a sophomore in 2010, had 6 sacks . . . ESPN 4-star DT . . . Rivals 4-star DT, #2 DT, #43 overall . . . Scout 4-star DT, #16 DT . . . 247 Sports 4-star DT, 95 grade, #6 DT, #66 overall . . . Brother Sam played at Duke . . . Brother Jim plays for Iowa . . . Father Biff is head coach at Gilman and one of the subjects in Season of Life, a book by Jeffrey Marx
Strengths: Really improved from sophomore to junior year . . . Uses hands well on defense . . . Not extremely explosive, but gets off blocks by using technique and effort . . . Good speed for a defensive tackle . . . Plays low and changes direction well for a big kid . . . Takes good angles of pursuit . . . Aggressive, hard-nosed tackler who wraps up ball carriers . . . Appears to be well coached . . . Strong blocker who could be used in short yardage situations as a tight end . . . Understands leverage and moves feet well when blocking
Projection: Defensive tackle. I can see why some teams and analysts have talked about Poggi as an “athlete” because he could contribute at multiple positions at the next level. He’s a very technically sound player on both sides of the ball. As he adds weight to his frame, I don’t think he’s going to wow anyone with his physical skills. He’s not enough of a fast-twitch athlete to contribute as an edge rusher or be a real threat to catch the ball. He might not end up being big or stout enough to play nose tackle. But it looks to me that he would fit in well at the 3-technique defensive tackle position, where he can take on (and beat) single blocks with strength and technique. Heck, with the way he blocks, someone might even want to put some weight on him for a few years and plug him in at offensive guard. Ultimately, he doesn’t look like a guy who will develop into a first round draft pick, but he could easily be one of those guys who has a very solid college career and gets picked in the 4th through 7th round.
