Upper Marlboro (MD) Frederick Douglass wide receiver Paul Harris
ADDED TO THE BOARD (2013, 2014)
Upper Marlboro (MD) Frederick Douglass wide receiver Paul Harris was offered by Michigan. The 6’3″, 187 lb. Harris had 38 catches for 875 yards (23.0 yards per catch) and 13 touchdowns as a junior in 2011. He also has offers from Maryland, Michigan State, Penn State, and USC, among others. He plans to visit Ann Arbor on June 21 for a one-day camp.
Paramus (NJ) Paramus Catholic cornerback Jabrill Peppers, a 2014 prospect, received a Michigan offer. He’s a 6’0″, 190 lb. athlete with offers from Florida, LSU, Rutgers, and South Carolina, among others. He transferred in the offseason from Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco Prep, a school that has produced many top-notch prospects in recent years.
Chandler (AZ) Hamilton offensive tackle Casey Tucker, a 2014 target, was offered by Michigan. The 6’6″, 275-pounder also has offers from Arizona State, Oregon State, and Washington. Hamilton is also the home of 2013 cornerback target Cole Luke, 2011 offensive tackle target Christian Westerman (Auburn), and 2008 running back target Covaughn DeBoskie (Cal).
ADDED TO THE BOARD (2013, 2014)
Bamberg (SC) Bamberg-Erhardt linebacker Kevin Crosby was offered by Michigan. The 6’1″, 226-pounder caught 32 passes for 784 yards as a tight end and also made 58 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions as a linebacker. The 2014 prospect also has offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, LSU, South Carolina, and USC, among several others. Here are his freshman highlights:
Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter’s Prep running back Jonathon Hilliman, a 2014 prospect, was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 200-pounder who also has offers from Boston College, Nebraska, Penn State, and Rutgers. If the name of the school sounds familiar, that’s because 2013 target Tre Bell (Florida), 2012 target D.J. Singleton (Wisconsin), and 2011 targets Savon Huggins (Rutgers), Josue Matias (Florida State), and Sheldon Royster (South Carolina) are from there, too. Michigan hasn’t recruited the school successfully in any recent year, but maybe persistence will pay off sometime in the near future. Hilliman looks like a kid who can run between the tackles but won’t make the highlight reels for his speed or elusiveness. (Highlights here.)
OFF THE BOARD
Wyomissing (PA) Wyomissing Area outside linebacker Alex Anzalone committed to Ohio State. Anzalone was planning to visit Michigan in recent months, but much like Shane Jones (below), he was told that the Wolverines were full at linebacker. The 6’3″, 220 lb. prospect chose Michigan’s archenemy instead. He has impressive film and should turn into a very good SAM linebacker for the Buckeyes.
Baltimore (MD) Gilman quarterback Shane Cockerille committed to Maryland. Cockerille is the teammate of defensive tackle Henry Poggi, who is strongly considering Michigan. However, Michigan fans shouldn’t worry that Poggi will follow Cockerille. Poggi’s top three at the moment are Alabama, Michigan, and Ohio State. Despite wanting to play quarterback in college, the Wolverines wanted him to play safety.
Cincinnati (OH) Moeller linebacker Shane Jones committed to Michigan State. Jones was planning to visit Michigan in recent months, but he was told that the Wolverines were full at his position. It seemed odd at the time because he looks like a weakside linebacker and Michigan didn’t have any weakside linebackers committed. He’ll join former teammate Monty Madaris, a wide receiver from the 2012 class.
Bloomfield (NJ) Bloomfield offensive tackle Marcell Lazard committed to West Virginia. The 6’6″, 293-pounder never expressed serious interest in Michigan.
Everett (MA) Everett offensive guard John Montelus committed to Notre Dame. Michigan was an early possibility for Montelus, but now that the Wolverines are full up on offensive linemen, I guess the next best thing is a coach with an exploding head.
QUICK HITS Murrieta (CA) Vista Murrieta safety Su’a Cravens will be announcing his college destination on June 6th, which is his mother’s birthday. Whenever guys set soon-ish announcement dates without visiting your school, you should be concerned. Cravens has not visited Michigan.
Woodbridge (VA) C.D. Hylton linebacker E.J. Levenberry will be announcing his college destination tomorrow. His choice is down to Florida State and Michigan.
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.
OFF THE BOARD
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.
Cornerback Devin Butler visited Michigan this past weekend
OFF THE BOARD Owensboro (KY) Apollo offensive tackle Hunter Bivin committed to Notre Dame over the weekend. The 6’7″, 288 lb. lineman forged a friendship with Michigan’s incoming safety Jeremy Clark, who played high school football nearby in Kentucky. But with a full offensive line class, Michigan was no longer an option for Bivin.
Philadelphia (PA) William Penn Charter offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey committed to Notre Dame over the weekend. The 6’9″, 280-pounder also held offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami, Penn State, Pitt, and Wisconsin, among others. Much like Bivin, Michigan has no more room for offensive linemen at this point.
New Lenox (IL) Lincoln-Way West offensive tackle Colin McGovern committed to Notre Dame over the weekend, too. It’s the chic thing to do. McGovern also had offers from Alabama, Nebraska, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and several others. See Bivin and McGlinchey above.
WEEKEND VISITORS I was out of town this weekend, so I didn’t get a chance to put together a list of weekend visitors on Friday. However, there were a handful of kids in town:
Washington (DC) Gonzaga cornerback Devin Butler
Pickerington (OH) North tight end Jake Butt (already committed)
Detroit (MI) Cass Tech quarterback Jayru Campbell (2015)
Columbus (OH) Marion Franklin wide receiver Jaron Dukes (already committed)
Detroit (MI) Cass Tech defensive back Johnny Miggins (2014)
Detroit (MI) Cass Tech wide receiver Damon Webb (2014)
Butler is the most significant of those recruits, since he’s a 6’1″, 185 lb. cornerback and Michigan needs a player like him in this class. The coaching staff struck out on some big corners in the 2012 class and are pursuing guys who are 6’0″ or taller to pair with 2013 commit Jourdan Lewis.
