Tag: 2015 recruiting

Recruiting Update: December 25, 2013

Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake wide receiver George Campbell, Jr. may not be donning those gloves again.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Chicago (IL) Simeon offensive tackle Denzel Ward decommitted from Purdue. Ward was committed to Michigan at one point, moved to Florida without telling the coaches, decommitted from the Wolverines, then committed to Purdue, and is now a free agent again considering Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Florida, and Syracuse. I would hate to wait on him at a restaurant.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake wide receiver George Campbell, Jr. decommitted from Michigan. Campbell had been committed to the Wolverines since this summer, but he supposedly has some family members asking him to reconsider and stay closer to home. Campbell has a wide receiver teammate headed to Clemson, a quarterback teammate headed to South Florida, and an offensive lineman (Mason Cole) headed to Michigan. Cole will enroll at Michigan in January and may become less of a presence for Campbell, which is probably not a good sign for the Wolverines. The vibe from recruiting experts is that while Michigan will continue to pursue him and remain an option, things are not looking good for him to come to Ann Arbor. Clemson and Florida seem to loom large, and with Florida’s terrible offense this year, I’m looking more at Clemson and their explosive offense as a likely destination.

OFF THE BOARD
La Mirada (CA) La Mirada tight end Tyler Luatua committed to Notre Dame. Luatua was vaguely interested in Michigan early in the process, but the decision reportedly came down to the Fighting Irish or the Alabama Crimson Tide. Luatua is the teammate of 2015 quarterback Kevin Dillman, who has been in contact with Michigan and may be an offer candidate down the road.

Monroeville (PA) Gateway safety Montae Nicholson committed to Michigan State. Nicholson was strongly considering Michigan at one point, but the Wolverines told him a couple months ago that they were no longer recruiting players at his position. Gateway seems to send a lot of players to Ohio State or Pitt, so the Spartans got their foot in the door of a pretty good talent pipeline. I was high on Nicholson as a strong safety type, so it will be interesting to see how he develops in East Lansing.

Bolingbrook (IL) Bolingbrook cornerback Parrker Westphal committed to Northwestern. Westphal was at one time considered a heavy Michigan lean, and various recruiting gurus thought he would be the next guy to commit to Michigan . . . but he never did. He seemed to cool on Michigan a little bit, and the reverse also seemed to be true. It was virtually the same situation as Grand Rapids (MI) Christian center Tommy Doles, although Westphal’s recruitment dragged out longer than Doles’s.

Recruiting Update: December 16, 2013

Glassboro (NJ) Glassboro wide receiver Juwan Johnson

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Glassboro (NJ) Glassboro wide receiver Juwan Johnson was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 196 lb. prospect with a reported 4.4 forty who also has offers from Arkansas, Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, and Rutgers, among others. In the South Jersey championship game, he returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown and a punt 75 yards for a score. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, #16 athlete, and #156 player overall.

Chesapeake (VA) Oscar Smith defensive end Josh Sweat was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 230 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and USC, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #5 weakside end, and the #56 overall prospect in 247’s Composite rankings. This is a somewhat interesting development because Michigan has supposedly been telling St. Paul (MN) Cretin-Derham defensive end Jashon Cornell that he was their only target in the class for weakside end, but while Sweat is listed as a weakside end, he looks to me more like an eventual strongside end due to his size and some stiffness in his movements. Of course, it’s also possible that Michigan is changing their strategy for 2015. I do not expect Michigan to be a major player in Sweat’s recruitment, though. Oscar Smith also produced defensive tackle Andrew Brown in the 2014 class, a Michigan target who is a 5-star prospect headed to Virginia.

OFF THE BOARD
Peyton (CO) Falcon running back Kalen Ballage committed to Arizona State. This is about as soft a commitment as they come, with him saying ASU is “the school I can most see myself at.” Ballage also went ahead with his scheduled visit to Nebraska this past weekend and plans to visit Washington, while Boise State and Michigan State were also thought to be in the running up until recently. Planned visits to Michigan never panned out, and while Michigan doesn’t appear to be in the running anymore, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Ballage signs somewhere other than Arizona State. I wrote up a scouting report on Ballage back in May.

Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic defensive end Garrett Dickerson committed to Northwestern. Dickerson eschewed offers from national powerhouses like Alabama, Florida State, and Ohio State for the Wildcats, who garnered his interest with their academics . . . and the presence of sophomore wide receiver Cameron Dickerson, Garrett’s older brother; the elder Dickerson has had 2 catches for 20 yards in each of the last two years’ games against the Wolverines, and the 2012 game included his first collegiate touchdown. Garrett is the 247 Composite’s #198 player overall.

Aliquippa (PA) Aliquippa safety Dravon Henry committed to West Virginia. Henry could play running back, receiver, cornerback, or safety at the next level, but the Mountaineers are expected to try him at safety. He’s the 247 Composite #8 athlete and #110 player overall.

Wayne (NJ) St. Joseph Regional safety Kiy Hester committed to Miami. Hester was previously committed to Rutgers. He took an official visit to Michigan State at the end of November, and it was thought to be a three-horse race between Miami, MSU, and Rutgers, so Michigan somewhat missed a bullet by him going to the Hurricanes; he’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #17 safety, and #217 player overall.

Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter’s Prep running back Jonathan Hilliman changed his commitment from Rutgers to Boston College. Rutgers has been leaking recruits during and after their 6-6 season. I wrote up a scouting report on Hilliman a little over a year ago, after his junior season highlights were posted online. He ended his senior year with a state title game loss to Paramus (NJ) Catholic and the duo of Juwann Bushell-Beatty and Jabrill Peppers, both of whom are committed to Michigan. On the plus side for Hilliman, he’ll be joining a program that just watched senior running back Andre Williams run for 2,102 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Belmont (NC) South Point linebacker Tanner Muse committed to Clemson. Muse is a 2015 prospect who earned a Michigan offer not long ago, but he was considered to be a tough pull out of the south. He’s a 4-star and the #337 player overall, according to 247’s Composite rankings.

MISCELLANEOUS
Here’s a list of players who visited Michigan this past weekend.

Rivals 250 released for 2015

Huber Heights (OH) Wayne defensive back Tyree Kinnel

Rivals released its top 250 players for the class of 2015. The lone Michigan commitment is defensive back Tyree Kinnel. A breakdown of the Rivals 100, released yesterday, can be found here.

107. John Reid – CB – Pennsylvania
108. Mike Weber – RB – Michigan
121. Devonaire Clarington – TE – Florida
134. Cameron Townsend – LB – Texas
137. Josh Sweat – DE – Virginia
157. Hjalte Froholdt – DT – Ohio (Arkansas)
174. Tyree Kinnel – CB – Ohio (Michigan)
195. Jaason Lewis – ATH – Virginia
200. Tyrone Wheatley – DE – New York
206. Jordan Whitehead – CB – Pennsylvania
220. Anthony Wheeler – LB – Texas
239. Kamonte Carter – ATH – Maryland

Rivals 100 released for 2015

Damien Harris

Rivals released its top 100 players for the class of 2015. Michigan currently has two of the top seven players committed for the class.

Here’s a list of all Michigan’s offerees:

2. Josh Rosen – QB – California
3. Kevin Toliver II – CB – Florida (LSU)
5. Damien Harris – RB – Kentucky (Michigan)
7. George Campbell – WR – Florida (Michigan)
13. Mitch Hyatt – OT – Georgia
16. Iman Marshall – CB – California

4-stars:
19. Shy Tuttle – DT – North Carolina
20. Malik Jefferson – LB – Texas
25. Jerome Baker – ATH – Ohio
31. Terry Beckner, Jr. – DE – Illinois
34. Soso Jamabo – RB – Texas
39. Jacques Patrick – RB – Florida
45. Justin Hilliard – LB – Ohio
49. Osa Masina – LB – Utah
52. Tim Settle – DT – Virginia
53. Jeffrey Holland – LB – Florida
74. Jashon Cornell – DE – Minnesota
89. Darian Roseboro – DE – North Carolina
90. Brian Cole – ATH – Michigan
96. Shaun Crawford – CB – Ohio (Michigan)

Recruiting Update: December 9, 2013

David Sills as a seventh grader (image via MaxPreps)

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Manassas (VA) Stonewall Jackson defensive tackle Tim Settle was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 305 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, and Virginia, among many others. Settle is good friends with 2014 defensive end target Da’Shawn Hand, who spurned Michigan in favor of the Crimson Tide in mid-November. Settle visited Ann Arbor for the Notre Dame game in early September and came away raving about the visit, but things seem to be trending toward Alabama or Ohio State. Stonewall Jackson produced Ryan Williams in the class of 2008, who went on to play for Virginia Tech and become a second round pick of the Arizona Cardinals.

Elkton (MD) Eastern Christian Academy quarterback David Sills was offered by Michigan. I hinted at this back in September when Lane Kiffin was fired from USC, but Sills – who committed to the Trojans in seventh grade – could be on the free agent market. His “stock” has fallen considerably since that early commitment, and he is now a 247 Composite 3-star, the #22 pro-style QB in the country, and the #485 prospect overall. There have been hints that new USC coach Steve Sarkisian may want to go in a different direction. Meanwhile, Michigan has verbal commitments from 2014 wide receiver Freddy Canteen and cornerback Brandon Watson, both of whom are high school teammates of Sills. I will be posting a scouting report on Michigan’s 2015 quarterback targets soon, but my own view of Sills is that he’s a very polished prospect who lacks great athleticism and arm strength.

OFF THE BOARD
Warren (OH) Harding defensive tackle Hjalte Froholdt committed to Arkansas. Froholdt played his sophomore year at Harding, moved back to his homeland of Denmark, and plans to return for his senior year of high school in 2014 (location to be determined). It will be interesting to see if he moves closer to Arkansas for his senior year or if he re-opens his recruitment.

Gallaton (TN) Station Camp wide receiver Josh Malone committed to Tennessee. Malone never showed much interest in the Wolverines, and while he was long considered a lean to the Volunteers, Clemson was also making a push near the end. He’s the #2 receiver in the country, according to Rivals.