Tag: 2014 recruiting

Weekend Visitors: March 16-18, 2012

Warren (OH) Howland running back Deveon Smith (image via 247 Sports)

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech OT David Dawson: Dawson committed to Michigan back in February.

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech LB Deon Drake: Drake, a 2014 prospect, is 6’1″ and 215 lbs.  He currently has no offers, partly because he was overshadowed by some of the other talent at Cass Tech last season. (Highlights here.)

Richmond (VA) Hermitage RB Derrick Green: Green is a 6’1″, 215 lb. running back with reported 4.37 speed, but you don’t really see that track speed translating to the football field.  He is a big power runner, though, and would fit in well with Michigan’s offense because he gets downhill and can punish tacklers.  He has offers from Ohio State, Oklahoma, and USC, along with lots of others. (Highlights here.)

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech S Delano Hill: Cass Tech is a pipeline to Michigan . . . at least for guys that Michigan offers.  However, Hill has not been offered by the Wolverines, and an offer does not seem to be on the horizon.  The Wolverines seem to be set at safety unless a big-time player (like Su’a Cravens) wants to commit. (Highlights here.)

Detroit (MI) Crockett TE Khalid Hill: Hill committed to Michigan back in February.

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech LB Gary Hosey: Hosey, a 2014 prospect, transferred to Cass Tech from Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison.  At 6’0″ and 230 lbs., he seems like a middle linebacker prospect for Michigan, if anything.

Pittsburgh (PA) Seton La Salle TE Scott Orndoff: Orndoff had been committed to Wisconsin since August, but he decommitted from the Badgers at the end of February, partly because offensive coordinator Paul Chryst left for the Pitt Panthers.  He also has offers from Michigan State and West Virginia, among others.  Despite having two tight ends already committed, it sounds like the coaches would be open to taking a commitment from Orndoff, a 245-pounder who stands 6’4″. (Highlights here.)

Baltimore (MD) Gilman DT Henry Poggi: Poggi is the son of Biff Poggi, the head coach at Gilman.  Henry has brothers playing football at Iowa and Duke.  The youngest of the bunch is a 6’3″, 255 lb. defensive tackle who is also being looked at by some schools as a tight end.  Alabama, Maryland, and Ohio State, among others, have also offered Henry.



Warren (OH) Howland RB Deveon Smith: Smith is a 5’11”, 200 lb. inside runner who lacks true breakaway speed.  He is a very tough runner, though, and would be a solid addition the class.  However, there is some information circulating that Michigan has backed off on his recruitment a little bit, hoping that they’ll be able to reel in Ty Isaac before Smith makes a commitment.  Opinions vary wildly on whether Michigan should try to grab Smith this weekend, whether they should back off and wait on Isaac, or whether they should try to get both.  The general feeling is that Michigan only wants one more running back to go along with Novi (MI) Catholic Central’s Wyatt Shallman, not two. (Highlights here.)

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech WR Damon Webb: There’s not a whole lot of information out there about Webb, but he’s a 2014 prospect who transferred to Cass Tech from U of D Jesuit.  Webb is now a 5’11”, 170 lb. wideout. (Freshman highlights here.)


Detroit (MI) Cass Tech LB William White: White is a 6’1″, 220 lb. inside linebacker.  His father played safety for the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, and Atlanta Falcons from 1988-1998, making 672 career tackles and 20 career picks.

Recruiting Update: March 12, 2012

Detroit (MI) Loyola defensive end Malik McDowell

COMMITMENTS
Massillon (OH) Washington cornerback Gareon Conley committed to Michigan.

Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison linebacker Mike McCray committed to Michigan.

ADDED TO THE BOARD
Duluth (GA) Peachtree Ridge offensive tackle Orlando Brown, a 2014 prospect, was offered by Michigan.  Brown is the son of Orlando “Zeus” Brown, the former Cleveland Brown and Baltimore Raven offensive tackle.  The younger Brown is even bigger than his father, currently standing 6’10” and weighing 360 lbs.  He also has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Notre Dame, and USC, along with several others.

Grand Rapids (MI) Christian wide receiver Drake Harris, a 2014 prospect, has a Michigan offer.  Harris is a 6’4″, 180 lb. kid who is also a highly touted shooting guard prospect.  As a sophomore in 2011, he had 57 receptions for 1,118 yards and 14 touchdowns.  He also has offers to play football at Indiana and Michigan State.

Mesquite (TX) West Mesquite wide receiver Eldridge Massington was offered by Michigan on Wednesday.  He’s a 6’3″, 205 lb. wideout with offers from Baylor, Houston, Notre Dame, TCU, and Tennessee, among others.  As a junior in 2011, he had 41 receptions for 666 yards and 6 touchdowns.  As you might imagine from an offer list like that, Massington immediately put Michigan and Notre Dame at the top of the heap.  He’s a tall, good-sized receiver with enough speed to stretch the field.

Detroit (MI) Loyola defensive end Malik McDowell, a 2014 prospect, was offered by Michigan.  McDowell is a 6’6″, 260 lb. strongside end who has started to wow people this offseason.  Loyola isn’t a highly recruited school, so it’s rare that we hear of kids from that school.  There have been rumors that McDowell will be transferring to Cass Tech, but so far there hasn’t been any movement there.  He also has an offer from Syracuse.

OFF THE BOARD
Camp Hill (PA) Cedar Cliff tight end Adam Breneman committed to Penn State.  I did a scouting report and TTB Andrew interviewed Breneman in the past, but always seemed to be a long shot for Michigan.  You can’t fault the kid for choosing the Nittany Lions.  New head coach Bill O’Brien showed with the New England Patriots that he values the tight end position, and he’ll find myriad ways of getting the ball to Breneman in the next few seasons.

Columbus (OH) Bishop Hartley tight end Jacob Matuska committed to Notre Dame.  The 6’5″, 240-pounder was being recruited by Michigan as a tight end, but the Fighting Irish are planning to use him as a defensive end.

Belton (TX) Belton tight end Durham Smythe committed to Texas.  Along with jumbo wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones, who could also play tight end, the Longhorns are bringing in a couple quality

Crete (IL) Crete-Monee cornerback Anthony Standifer committed to Mississippi.  Standifer, a 2012 prospect, was committed to Michigan for several months, but a reported academic issue was going to prevent him from getting into Michigan.  Therefore, he decommitted a few months ago and started to look elsewhere.  He finally chose a school this past week.

VISITORS
In case you missed it, here’s a list of guys who visited Michigan this past weekend.  David Dawson is on that list, but he ended up not making it to Ann Arbor.

Meanwhile, St. Paul (MN) Cretin-Derham wide receiver James Onwualu will be visiting Michigan on Wednesday.  The 6’1″, 205 lb. athlete is being recruited by Michigan as a slot receiver, while other schools are recruiting him as a cornerback and safety, too.

Weekend Visitors: March 9-11, 2012

Rumors have been swirling that Massillon (OH) Washington cornerback Gareon Conley (#21) might be the next recruit to drop for Michigan (image via Friday Night Ohio)

Zach Bradshaw – WR – Damascus (MD) Damascus: Bradshaw is a 6’3″, 205 lb. wideout with 4.56 speed.  He has an offer from Michigan, along with Maryland, South Carolina, West Virginia, and several others.  He had 28 receptions for 395 yards and 6 touchdowns last season, plus 250 rushing yards for 2 touchdowns, and 2 punt return touchdowns.  (Highlights here.)

Gareon Conley – CB – Massillon (OH) Washington: Conley is a 6’1″, 170 lb. cornerback with an offer from Michigan, plus from the likes of Northwestern, Toledo, and West Virginia.  He had 26 tackles and 4 picks as a junior in 2011.  There is a good chance that Conley will be committing to Michigan on this weekend’s visit.



David Dawson – OT – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Dawson is a 6’4″, 305 lb. offensive lineman who committed to Michigan in mid-February.  Despite being projected by most as an offensive guard, he says that Michigan’s coaches want to start him out at right tackle and see how things go.  (Commitment post here.)

Jaleel Hytchye – CB – Cincinnati (OH) LaSalle: Hytchye is a 5’11”, 170 lb. cornerback who does not yet hold an offer from Michigan.  He does, however, have offers from Kentucky, Kent State, and Western Kentucky.  Last season Hytchye made 30 tackles, 14 pass breakups, and 4 interceptions.  Because Michigan is generally looking for corners who are 6’0″ or taller, chances are slim that he will get an offer at this point.  (Highlights here.)

Ty Isaac – RB – Joliet (IL) Catholic: Isaac is a 6’3″, 215 lb. runner with offers from all over the country, including Michigan.  He is generally thought to be #1 on Michigan’s running back board and early leaders seem to be Michigan and Notre Dame.  He carried the ball 178 times for 2,114 yards and 45 touchdowns as a junior in 2011.  (Highlights here.)

Shane Jones – LB – Cincinnati (OH) Moeller: Jones is a 6’1″, 220 lb. ‘backer from the same high school as 2012 wide receiver target Monty Madaris (Michigan State).  He made 89 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks as a junior in 2011.  He looks like a weakside linebacker or possibly a MIKE.  He holds an offer from Michigan, along with Michigan State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Penn State, among others.  (EDIT: Jones, like Anzalone below, also canceled his trip to Michigan due to the linebacker position being full.) (Highlights here.)


Colin McGovern – OT – New Lenox (IL) Lincoln-Way West: McGovern is a 6’7″, 280 lb. tackle with offers from Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Wisconsin, among others.  He also had an offer Michigan, although the Wolverines are currently full at the offensive line positions unless something changes.  (Highlights here.)

Shane Morris – QB – Warren (MI) De La Salle: Morris committed to Michigan in the summer of 2011.  (Commitment post here.)

Dylan Roney – DE – Novi (MI) Catholic Central: Roney is a 6’2″, 215 lb. defensive end from the class of 2014.  He has no scholarship offers at this point.  Roney made 75 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery as a sophomore in 2011.  He is the teammate of incoming freshman defensive end Matt Godin and 2013 running back commit Wyatt Shallman. (Highlights here.)

NOTE: Wyomissing (PA) Wyomissing Area linebacker Alex Anzalone was originally scheduled to visit Michigan this weekend, too.  However, he stated that Michigan told him they were full at his position, which could mean several things.  Since Anzalone looks like a SAM to me, it might mean that recent commit Mike McCray took that spot.  It could also mean that Michigan has received a silent commitment from another player.  And another possibility is that the coaches are saving a spot for E.J. Levenberry.

Weekend Visitors: February 24-26, 2012

Beaver Falls (PA) Blackhawk quarterback Chandler Kincade (image via Scout)

Remember last week when a bunch of players gave me carpal tunnel?  Me, too.  But it’s not happening again this weekend.

Jack Keeler – OT – Barrington (IL) Barrington:  Keeler is a 6’7″, 285 lb. tackle with offers from Northern Illinois, Toledo, West Virginia, and Western Michigan.  He is a good player, but Michigan only plans to take one more offensive lineman.  With some elite kids still on the board, I think it’s unlikely that they’ll pursue someone with a relatively low profile like Keeler. (Highlights here.)

Chandler Kincade – QB – Beaver Falls (PA) Blackhawk: Chandler is a 6’4″, 215-pounder who’s currently committed to Pitt for the class of 2014.  He made his pledge back in November before Todd Graham left for Arizona State and a bunch of others headed for Arizona, so he may be thinking of a change of scenery.  His only current offer came from Pitt, which is probably partly because he was injured for much of the 2011 season.  He had just 547 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception in five games.  His highlights are pretty awesome . . . especially since he’s a 9th grader in them:



Patrick Kugler – OG – Wexford (PA) North Allegheny: Kugler is a 6’5″, 280 lb. guard prospect with offers from Arizona, Cal, Florida, Florida State, Iowa, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, Stanford, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and several others.  He’s the #54 overall player to Rivals, although I have yet to see any highlights of him.

Logan Tuley-Tillman – OT – Peoria (IL) Manual: Tuley-Tillman committed to Michigan last weekend.  He’s also angry at me for saying “he’s not that good right now,” despite the fact that I went on to say that he has a chance to be very good once he gets some quality coaching.

I guess TTB Andrew won’t be interviewing Mr. Tuley-Tillman anytime soon.

Weekend Visitors: February 10-12, 2012

Laquon Treadwell will be in Ann Arbor this weekend (image via 247 Sports)

Four juniors and one sophomore prospect are expected to visit Michigan this weekend:

St. Louis (MO) DeSmet OT Andy Bauer (2014)
Bauer is only a sophomore in high school, but he was named a sophomore All-American and First Team All-Missouri.  He’s 6’5″ and 290 lbs., benches 315 lbs., and reports a 500 lb. squat.  Those are amazing numbers for a high school sophomore.  Bauer has not yet been offered by the Wolverines, but a verbal offer might be forthcoming.  Class of 2012 wide receiver Durron Neal, who was offered by Michigan but chose Oklahoma, also goes to DeSmet.


Columbus (OH) Marion Franklin WR Jaron Dukes
Despite growing up in the heart of Buckeye country, Dukes grew up as a Michigan fan.  The 6’4″, 195 lb. Dukes received a Michigan offer last week and has been rumored to be a candidate to make an early commitment to the Wolverines.

Parker (CO) Ponderosa OT Chris Fox
Much like Dukes (except without living in such a horrible state), Fox grew up as a Michigan fan.  He’s 6’6″, 297 lbs. and really impressed at several camps last summer.  Colorado, Iowa, Ohio State, and Purdue have also offered Fox.  He looks like a guard or perhaps a right tackle to me, but either way, 247 Sports rates him the #44 player nationally and Rivals rates him at #46.

Novi (MI) Catholic Central RB Wyatt Shallman
Shallman’s recruitment has been well documented here (a scouting report, for example).  Most experts believe he’ll be a Wolverine sooner or later.  Meanwhile, Shallman was recently named the 160th-best prospect in the country, according to Rivals.

Crete (IL) Crete-Monee WR Laquon Treadwell
Treadwell is a 6’3″, 183 lb. wideout whose teammate is former Michigan commit Anthony Standifer.  Treadwell had 75 catches for 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior, and Michigan was the first school to offer him.  He has since earned offers from Ohio State and USC, along with several others.

Peoria (IL) Manual OT Logan Tuley-Tillman
Tuley-Tillman is a 6’7″, 280 lb. offensive tackle who mentioned several times that Michigan was a childhood favorite.  He has since been offered by Alabama (and many others) and recently stated that the Wolverines and Crimson Tide are neck-and-neck on top of his offer list.  He’s the #84 player overall to 247 Sports and #109 overall to Rivals.