Final Top 247 for 2014 released

Tag: 2014 recruiting


15Jan 2014
Uncategorized 3 comments

Final Top 247 for 2014 released

Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake offensive guard Mason Cole jumped 25 spots in the latest Top 247

247 Sports finalized its top 247 players for 2014. Here’s what it looked like back in October. Movement for Michigan commits:

– Jabrill Peppers dropped from #3 to #4
– Bryan Mone dropped from #46 to #82
– Mason Cole jumped from #111 to #86
– Drake Harris dropped from #43 to #87
– Michael Ferns dropped from #191 to #197
– Lawrence Marshall jumped from #229 to #220
– Ian Bunting dropped from #224 to #229
– Juwann Bushell-Beatty dropped off the list

5-stars:
1. Myles Garrett – DE – Texas (Texas A&M)
2. Leonard Fournette – RB – Louisiana (LSU)
3. Cameron Robinson – OT – Louisiana (Alabama)
4. Jabrill Peppers – ATH – New Jersey (Michigan)
7. Da’Shawn Hand – DE – Virginia (Alabama)
8. Quin Blanding – S – Virginia (Virginia)
9. Andrew Brown – DT – Virginia (Virginia)
13. Dante Booker – LB – Ohio (Ohio State)
19. Jalen Tabor – CB – Washington, DC (Florida)
20. Lorenzo Carter – DE – Georgia
24. Adoree’ Jackson – CB – California
27. Joe Mixon – RB – California (Oklahoma)
30. Malachi Dupre – WR – Louisiana
32. Jalen Hurd – RB – Tennessee (Tennessee)

4-stars:
35. Bo Scarbrough – ATH – Alabama (Alabama)
38. Malik McDowell – DE – Michigan
40. Damian Prince – OT – Maryland
41. Solomon Thomas – DE – Texas
43. Damon Webb – CB – Michigan (Ohio State)
44. Marshon Lattimore – ATH – Ohio (Ohio State)
45. John Smith – ATH – California
49. Josh Malone – WR – Tennessee (Tennessee)
55. Jeff Jones – RB – Minnesota (Minnesota)
59. K.C. McDermott – OT – Florida (Miami)
61. Erick Smith – S – Ohio State (Ohio State)
63. Edward Paris – S – Texas (LSU)
64. Dexter Wideman – DT – South Carolina (South Carolina)
75. Jamarco Jones – OT – Illinois (Ohio State)
77. Elijah Hood – RB – North Carolina (North Carolina)
82. Bryan Mone – DT – Utah (Michigan)
86. Mason Cole – OG – Florida (Michigan)
87. Drake Harris – WR – Michigan (Michigan)
88. Artavis Scott – WR – Florida (Clemson)
95. Bryson Allen-Williams – LB – Georgia (South Carolina)
97. Nyles Morgan – LB – Illinois (Notre Dame)
103. Bentley Spain – OT – North Carolina (North Carolina)
111. Mark Andrews – WR – Arizona (Oklahoma)
121. Braden Smith – OG – Kansas
122. Roderick Johnson – OT – Missouri
123. Sam Hubbard – ATH – Ohio (Ohio State)
124. Lorenzo Featherston – DE – North Carolina (Florida State)
127. Garrett Dickerson – DE – New Jersey (Northwestern)
133. Kyle Berger – LB – Ohio (Ohio State)
142. Jalen Brown – WR – Arizona (Oregon)
150. Isaiah McKenzie – WR – Florida
154. Alex Bars – OT – Tennessee (Notre Dame)
155. Devon Thomas – RB – Oklahoma (Oklahoma State)
159. Demetriux Knox – OG – Texas (Ohio State)
163. Dravon Henry – ATH – Pennsylvania (West Virginia)
174. Adarius Pickett – CB – California (UCLA)
184. Wesley Green – CB – Georgia
190. Parrker Westphal – CB – Illinois (Northwestern)
192. Jay Hayes – DT – New York (Notre Dame)
196. Saeed Blacknall – WR – New Jersey (Rutgers)
197. Michael Ferns – LB – Ohio (Michigan)
199. Darrion Owens – LB – Florida (Miami)
212. Nic Weishar – TE – Illinois (Notre Dame)
220. Lawrence Marshall – DE – Michigan (Michigan)
221. Kenny Young – LB – Louisiana
222. Otaro Alaka – LB – Texas (Texas)
223. Juwann Winfree – WR – New Jersey (Maryland)
229. Ian Bunting – TE – Illinois (Michigan)
230. Khairi Clark – DT – Florida (Florida)
231. Steven Parker – S – Oklahoma
238. Shai McKenzie – RB – Pennsylvania (Virginia Tech)
243. Montae Nicholson – S – Pennsylvania (Michigan State)

14Jan 2014
Uncategorized 13 comments

Scouting Report: Jeff Jones

Minneapolis (MN) Washburn running back Jeff Jones

Name: Jeff Jones
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 198 lbs.
High school: Minneapolis (MN) Washburn
Position: Running back
Class: 2014

Notes:
 Holds offers from Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Syracuse, and Wisconsin . . . Committed to Minnesota on February 2, 2013 . . . Claims a 4.69 forty, 275 lb. bench, 350 lb. squat, and a 32″ vertical . . . As a sophomore in 2011, had 142 carries for 1,415 yards and 26 touchdowns . . . As a junior in 2012, had 111 carries for 1,002 yards and 9 touchdowns . . . As a senior in 2013, had 167 carries for 1,525 yards and 34 touchdowns, plus 17 catches for 493 yards . . . ESPN 4-star, 83 grade, #14 RB, #181 overall . . . Rivals 4-star, #9 RB, #92 overall . . . Scout 4-star, #14 RB . . . 247 Sports 4-star, 93 grade, #13 RB, #188 overall

Strengths: Low center of gravity . . . Changes direction quickly . . . Jitterbug moves despite lacking great speed . . . Excellent patience and vision . . . Sets up blockers and defenders nicely . . . Uses variety of moves to shake free in open space . . . Deceptive power to go with agility . . . Can run around or through defenders . . . Good pass catcher . . . Adjusts well to ball in the air . . . Very physical runner who enjoys blocking unsuspecting defenders

Weaknesses: Lacks great speed . . . Not much of a home run threat . . . Does a lot of things well, but nothing outstanding in itself . . . Poor route runner, though that can easily be taught at the running back position . . . Appears to be a trash talker and occasionally slows up before end of play

Projection: Running back. At a shade under 200 lbs., Jones will likely want to add some weight to his frame in college, but I don’t think he should get above 210-215 lbs. Adding too much weight might slow him down when he’s not particularly fast in the first place. He’s a good all-purpose back who can run the ball inside or stay on the field for third downs to block or be a pass catcher out of the backfield. He probably won’t be able to get the edge on many teams, so he’s a between-the-tackles type of runner. With a good offensive line, he has a chance to be a productive college runner, but I think he lacks the burst to be a superstar.

Reminds me of: Marshawn Lynch . . . but slower. Jones has the vision and physicality to warrant the Lynch comparison, but Lynch was a home run threat in college. Jones plays mediocre competition in Minneapolis and won’t be able to run away from college athletes.

Likelihood of committing to Michigan: Jones is a soft commitment to the Minnesota Gophers and has been committed for nearly a year. He has visited Iowa State and entertained offers from Florida and Michigan. An official visit to Ann Arbor is set for January 24th. Most analysts believe the Wolverines have the best chance of flipping Jones. I believe the recent hire of offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, who has had productive running backs at every stop, might be the thing to get Michigan over the hump.

Highlights: Jones’s senior highlights can be found on Hudl.

13Jan 2014
Uncategorized 9 comments

Recruiting Update: January 13, 2014

Wayne (NJ) DePaul running back Kareem Walker

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Clemmons (NC) West Forsyth defensive end Jalen Dalton was offered by Michigan. Dalton is a 6’5″, 220 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #8 weakside end, and #96 overall. Dalton is a long, athletic kid who makes a lot of plays with his speed, knocking down passes, etc. and I like the enthusiasm and energy I see in his highlights. He could afford to be more physical, and that could happen as his frame fills out, but he looks like a weakside end all the way.

Randleman (NC) Randleman wide receiver Juval Mollette was offered by Michigan. Mollette is a 6’4″, 187 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Ohio State, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #25 wide receiver, and the #209 player overall. Mollette is a tall, long-striding receiver who’s in the mold of a physical, jump ball type of guy rather than a burner. He appears to be leaning toward North Carolina at this point in his recruitment, despite a pretty good offer list.


ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Traverse City (MI) West offensive tackle Thiyo Lukusa was offered by Michigan. Lukusa is a 6’5″, 300 lb. prospect with offers from Akron, Michigan State, and Wisconsin; all but the Michigan State offer came on Thursday of last week. While he plays left tackle in high school, he looks to me like a future offensive guard. Lukusa camped at Michigan in June 2013 and was considered to be a Michigan lean if they offered, but the Spartans’ early offer had him considering committing to the bad guys. The Wolverines might be playing from behind, but a spate of new offers could slow down the process.

Wayne (NJ) De Paul running back Kareem Walker was offered by Michigan. Walker is a 6’1″, 195 lb. prospect with offers from Penn State, Rutgers, and Temple. As a sophomore in 2013, he had 115 carries for 1,164 yards and 12 touchdowns. Not just because of his dreadlocks, but if you watch his highlight film, his acceleration and stride are reminiscent of Denard Robinson. Walker is a different style of runner overall, but watching him burst upfield brings back good memories.

OFF THE BOARD
Washington (DC) Friendship Collegiate cornerback Jalen Tabor stiffed Arizona and former Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez when he flipped from the Wildcats to the Florida Gators. Tabor had just committed to Arizona less than a week before flipping, so they didn’t have much time to celebrate the recruiting victory. An early enrollee, Tabor is planning to start classes today, so Rodriguez won’t have a chance to sway him back before National Signing Day.

MISCELLANEOUS
This isn’t worth putting in its own post, but some of the early enrollees posted on Twitter the jersey numbers they’ll wear to start their careers. Quarterback Wilton Speight will wear #19, wide receiver Drake Harris #14, defensive tackle Bryan Mone #90, and linebacker Michael Ferns #46.