Tag: 2014 recruiting

Recruiting Update: January 21, 2013

Cleveland (OH) St. Ignatius linebacker Kyle Berger

COMMITMENT
Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison cornerback Reon Dawson committed to Michigan.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2013
Cordova (TN) St. Benedict running back Jordan Wilkins decommitted from Auburn. He is now considering Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt.  While Michigan was on his list early in the process, he has expressed reservations about playing in the cold.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Cleveland (OH) St. Ignatius linebacker Kyle Berger was offered by Michigan. Berger is a 6’3″, 205 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and West Virginia, among others; Ohio State appears to be his current leader.  He current plays outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, and he looks like a SAM linebacker.  As a junior in 2012, he had 44 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. St. Ignatius is the alma mater of Michigan linebacker Jake Ryan.

Chatham (IL) Glenwood tight end Daniel Helm was offered by Michigan.  He’s a 6’5″, 220-pounder whose only other offer comes from Illinois.  As a junior in 2012, he had 44 catches for 821 yards and 17 touchdowns.  Based on his film, I’m surprised he doesn’t have more offers.  I doubt John Beilein is interested in getting him on the basketball team, though.


OFF THE BOARD
Peoria (IL) Peoria defensive tackle Josh Augusta committed to Missouri.  It’s unclear whether Augusta ever held an actual offer from the Wolverines, but one site (Rivals) listed him, so I include him.  He’s the cross-town rival of Michigan offensive tackle commit Logan Tuley-Tillman, but it looks like their personal rivalry will end now that Augusta is SEC-bound.

Philadelphia (PA) West Catholic offensive tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith committed to Pitt.  The 6’7″, 300-pounder is considered to be quite a project, but his size and athleticism make him a nice developmental prospect for the Panthers.

Crete (IL) Crete-Monee wide receiver LaQuon Treadwell committed to Ole Miss.  At one time Michigan was his leader, but he kept holding off on committing.  Anytime a player has a stated leader but won’t commit for a long time, that’s a bit of a red flag.  Treadwell joins former class of 2012 teammate Anthony Standifer, a cornerback who was committed to Michigan at one time; Standifer redshirted this season.

Scouting Report: Corey Holmes

Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Corey Holmes (image via 247 Sports)

Name: Corey Holmes
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 166 lbs.
High school: Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas
Position: Wide receiver
Class: 2014

Notes: Holds offers from Florida, Florida State, Houston, Michigan, Notre Dame, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, UCF, and Wisconsin . . . Scout 3-star WR, #48 WR . . . 247 Sports 4-star WR, 90 grade, #36 WR . . . Claims a 4.48 forty yard dash . . . Claims 35.5″ vertical . . . Teammate of 2013 DE target Joey Bosa (Ohio State)

Strengths: Already operates like college receiver . . . Slippery route runner . . . Sets up routes well . . . Shows good timing getting in and out of breaks . . . Uses hands well to catch ball away from body . . . Good but not great speed . . . Shows good field awareness to find open spots in zones and avoid big hits . . . Willing and able to go over the middle and catch balls above his head

Weaknesses: Willing blocker but needs to add strength . . . Generally needs to add some size to increase durability and help him run through tackles . . . Gets brought down a little too easily upon contact

Projection: Wide receiver.  It’s tough to find weaknesses in Holmes’s game.  He’s not the biggest, fastest, or most explosive receiver, but he’s very polished and looks like he’s already prepared for college.  He’ll need to add some size to deal with the pounding that comes with playing major college football, but Holmes should be able to contribute early wherever he plays.

Reminds me of: Roy Roundtree

Recruiting Update: January 14, 2013

Richmond (VA) Hermitage running back Derrick Green

COMMITMENT
Plymouth (IN) Plymouth offensive guard Dan Samuelson committed to Michigan.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Tyrone (GA) Sandy Creek wide receiver Demarre Kitt was offered by Michigan.  He’s a 6’1″, 195 lb. receiver who claims a 4.59 forty.  He also has offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State, and USC, among others.  As a junior in 2012, he had 74 receptions for 1,235 yards and 11 touchdowns.  He has pronounced Clemson and Ohio State to be his leaders.

OFF THE BOARD
Wyomissing (PA) Wyomissing Area linebacker Alex Anzalone changed his commitment from Notre Dame to Florida.  Anzalone used to be thought to be headed to Florida, but seemed satisfied with his Notre Dame commitment . . . until Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly started flirting with the Philadelphia Eagles.  As soon as that happened, Anzalone booked it for the sunshine.  In case you don’t remember, Anzalone was a guy who wanted to visit Michigan before the Wolverines filled up at the position and told him, “You can come to campus, but you don’t have a spot unless something changes.”

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech cornerback Damon Webb committed to Ohio State.  Michigan was one of his first offers, but Webb’s eye wandered to the Buckeyes and LSU early in his recruitment.  There seemed to be some trepidation about him continuing the Cass Tech pipeline to Michigan, and that doubt appears to have been warranted.

MISCELLANEOUS
Richmond (VA) Hermitage running back Derrick Green set his announcement for January 26th at 4:00 p.m.

A handful of recruits made official visits to Michigan this past weekend.

ESPN finalized its 2013 recruiting rankings.

Scout finalized its 2013 recruiting rankings.

U.S. Army All-Combine Team: Defense

Hollywood (FL) Chaminade defensive tackle Khairi Clark

Rivals put together a U.S. Army All-Combine Team, and here are some defenders of note:

FIRST TEAM
Khairi Clark – DT – Hollywood (FL) Chaminade: Offered, class of 2014.
Dillon Bates – LB – Ponte Vedra (FL) Ponte Vedra: Son of former Dallas Cowboys safety Bill Bates.
Ralston Compton – CB – Rancho Cucamonga (CA) Rancho Cucamonga: Attends alma mater of former Michigan TE target Randall Telfer (USC).
Minkah Fitzpatrick – CB – Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter’s Prep: Class of 2015, teammate of 2014 RB target Jonathan Hilliman.
Jalen Tabor – CB – Washington (DC) Friendship: Offered, class of 2014.

SECOND TEAM
Gelen Robinson – DE – St. John (IN) Lake Central: Class of 2014, brother of Michigan basketball player Glenn Robinson III.
Dwight Lomax – LB – Burke (VA) Lake Braddock: Class of 2014, teammate of QB Caleb Henderson.
Isaac Stewart – LB – Matthews (NC) Butler: Class of 2014, teammate of 2013 Michigan CB commit Channing Stribling.

HONORABLE MENTION
Daniel Cage – DT – Cincinnati (OH) Winton Woods: Class of 2014, camped at Michigan, attends alma mater of Michigan LB Antonio Poole.
Kenny Finley – DT – Muskegon (MI) Muskegon: Class of 2014, attends alma mater of former Michigan DT Terrance Taylor.
Sean Scullen – S – Rochester Hills (MI) Stoney Creek: Class of 2014, in-state product.

U.S. Army All-Combine Team: Offense

Berea (KY) Madison Southern running back Damien Harris

The U.S. Army All-Combine Team was selected by Rivals, and numerous Michigan targets are on the list.  These are underclassmen who visit San Antonio and work out without pads, but it gives us a look at recruiting for 2014, 2015, and beyond.  Players of note:

FIRST TEAM
David Cornwell – QB – Jones (OK) Jones: No offer yet, but will perhaps be Michigan’s first QB offer for 2014.
Damien Harris – RB – Berea (KY) Madison Southern: Offered, class of 2015, Michigan currently leads.
Joe Mixon – RB – Oakley (CA) Freedom: Offered, class of 2014.
L.J. Scott – RB – Marion (OH) Harding: Offered, class of 2014.
Josh Malone – WR – Gallatin (TN) Station Camp: Offered, class of 2014.
Jackson Barton – OT – Salt Lake City (UT) Brighton: Offered, class of 2014, committed to Utah.

SECOND TEAM
Kaden Smith – TE – Flower Mound (TX) Marcus: Class of 2016, alma mater of Stephen Hopkins.
Austin Hall – OG – Phoenix (AZ) Brophy Prep: Class of 2014, teammate of 2013 WR target Devon Allen.

HONORABLE MENTION
Trace McSorley – QB – Ashburn (VA) Briar Woods: Teammate of 2013 target Matt Rolin (Florida).
Matthew Domer – RB – Chicago (IL) Mt. Carmel: Attends alma mater of 2012 DT target Vontrell Williams (Illinois).
Cordell Broadus – WR – Diamond Bar (CA) Diamond Bar: Class of 2015, son of Snoop Dogg/Lion.
Kaelin Deboskie – WR – Colleyville (TX) Heritage: Class of 2014, brother of former Michigan RB target Covaughn Deboskie (Arizona/Cal).
Jalen Embry – WR – Detroit (MI) King: Class of 2014, attends alma mater of RB/CB Dennis Norfleet.
Chigozie Onyekwere – WR – Washington (DC) Friendship: Attends alma mater of former Michigan targets Yannick Ngakoue, Eddie Goldman (Florida State), and Malcolm Crockett (Pitt).
Keon Paye – WR – Olney (MD) Good Counsel: Class of 2015, attends alma mater of Blake Countess and former Michigan targets Kendall Fuller (Virginia Tech), Dorian O’Daniel (Clemson), and Stefon Diggs (Maryland).
Ryan Crozier – OC – Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas: Class 0f 2014, teammate of 2014 WR offeree Corey Holmes, as well as 2013 DE target Joey Bosa (Ohio State).