Tag: 2016 recruiting

Matt Falcon, Wolverine

Southfield (MI) Southfield running back Matt Falcon

Southfield (MI) Southfield running back Matt Falcon committed to Michigan on Wednesday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Arizona State, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Oregon, among others.

Falcon is a 6’1″, 215 lb. prospect. As a junior in 2015, he had 75 carries for 1,109 yards and 7 touchdowns. He claims a 4.41 forty.

Hit the jump for more on Falcon and his commitment to Michigan.

RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star RB
Rivals: 4-star, #13 RB
Scout: 4-star, #8 RB, #149 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, #10 RB, #263 overall, #7 in-state

Falcon has been on the big-time recruiting radar for a long time, but an ACL tear during his sophomore year sort of delayed his true arrival. While he had been in contact with the previous coaching staff, they never offered. Shortly after National Signing Day 2015, Jim Harbaugh’s staff extended an offer. He visited Michigan several times, but on Monday, Alabama running back Kingston Davis committed to the Wolverines. With just one running back spot left, Falcon went ahead and picked Michigan two days later.

Back in February I ranked Falcon the #3 player in the state (LINK). Despite the knee injury, he was extremely productive in 2014. He has good straight-line speed, makes some nifty moves in the hole, and runs with good body lean. He shows a strong array of skills that should allow him to be a three-down back who can gain short yardage, make people miss, outrun people, and break tackles in the open field.

The only real concern I have about him is that knee injury. It seems like anyone who tears an ACL tears it again at some point, so it might not be a question of “if” but “when.” Of course, the hope is that he can be permanently healed, but we’ll see.

Overall, I really like the pickup of Falcon. He has the skills I want to see in a Michigan running back. Michigan has lacked a big-time running back for a while, although there are a couple guys with potential currently on the roster. The Wolverines have had a history of great running backs, but the last time they had a successful, prototypical back was perhaps Chris Perry in 2003. (I might argue that Brandon Minor had the potential, but he never had the production, for various reasons.) Falcon and a couple other backs on the roster represent an opportunity to return Michigan to the level they were at before the Rich Rodriguez years. For many years, Michigan was a running back factory, but now schools like Ohio State, Alabama, and Georgia have jumped well ahead of the pack.

Michigan is scheduled to need 15 players in the 2016 class, although that number will increase over time. He is the second running back, and that should fill up the class at the position. Regarding Southfield High School, they have churned out a lot of talent in the past few years, including sending defensive end Lawrence Marshall to Michigan in 2014. The 2015 class at Southfield was perhaps the best ever, but it would be a good school at which to build a pipeline.

TTB Rating: 85 (ratings explanation)

Recruiting Update: April 7, 2015

Brownsburg (IN) Brownsburg quarterback Hunter Johnson (image via 247Sports.com)

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COMMITMENTS
Prattville (AL) Prattville running back Kingston Davis committed to Michigan (LINK).

Avon (IN) Avon quarterback Brandon Peters committed to Michigan (LINK).

Farmington (MI) Farmington fullback David Reese committed to Michigan (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Brownsburg (IN) Brownsburg running back Toks Akinribade was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 210 lb. prospect with offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and a bunch of MAC schools. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #62 running back, and #781 overall. As a junior in 2014, he had 220 carries for 1,579 yards and 15 touchdowns. Akinribade is a solidly built running back with pretty decent speed and some good power, a solid all-around back. His teammate is 2017 quarterback Hunter Johnson (see below).

Hit the jump for several new 2016 offers, some 2017 offers, some commitments elsewhere, and some random tidbits.

Vero Beach (FL) Vero Beach defensive end Patrick Bethel was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 243 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, and Miami, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #18 strongside end, and #300 overall. Despite being listed at a very average 6’3″, he is long-limbed and lanky. He’s pretty aggressive, though, and packs quite a punch.

Sachse (TX) Sachse cornerback Donovan Duvernay was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’10”, 170 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, Boise State, and TCU, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #69 athlete, and #974 overall. As a junior in 2014, he caught 20 passes for 452 yards and 5 touchdowns, plus he had 2 kickoff return touchdowns. His brother, Devin, is a slightly bigger receiver who’s the #38 overall prospect in the country. The twins plan to play together in college, so while Devin was offered a few weeks ago, the Wolverines basically have to take a shot with Donovan to get Devin.

Rockford (MI) Rockford kicker Quinn Nordin was offered by Michigan. Nordin is a 6’1″, 200 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa, Penn State, and several others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #1 kicker, and #1045 overall. Nordin, who also punts, could potentially be Michigan’s second scholarship kicking specialist since 2015 recruit Andrew David is coming in, but David is likely limited to placekicking in college. Nordin could do either job or both. Since the time he was offered, several 247 Sports Crystal Ball predictions have come in for Michigan, and it now stands 75% in favor of the Wolverines.

Byesville (OH) Meadowbrook offensive guard Josh Sills was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 319 lb. prospect with offers from a few MAC schools. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #71 offensive guard, and #1280 overall. Sills plays tackle for his high school team, but he plays way too high and does not have the feet to remain on the perimeter in college. In fact, he seems rather slow-footed and appears to be a bit of a reach at this juncture in the recruiting cycle.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice tight end Carter Dunaway was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’6″, 225 lb. prospect whose lone offer comes from the Wolverines. He is not ranked in the 2017 class. Dunaway is the brother of defensive end Jack Dunaway, who will be a preferred walk-on in the fall; both are the sons of Craig Dunaway, who played tight end for Michigan in the mid-1980s. They are also the former teammates of quarterback Alex Malzone and wide receiver Grant Perry, both of whom will be freshmen in the fall. I have been unable to find football highlights of Carter, but here’s a short video of him dunking (after missing his first attempt) as a scrawny eighth grader (LINK).

Brownburg (IN) Brownsburg quarterback Hunter Johnson was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 197 lb. prospect with offers from Miami, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 5-star, the #1 pro-style quarterback, and #9 overall. As a sophomore in 2014, he completed 122/226 passes for 1,434 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. He claims a 4.6 forty. Johnson has good arm strength and a compact, high delivery, and he also makes quick decisions. He would be an excellent pickup. Johnson was offered on campus this past weekend when he visited with 2016 running back teammate Toks Akinribade (see above). Michigan’s only other quarterback offer for 2017 so far is Coloradoan Dylan McCaffrey.

Hinesville (GA) Liberty cornerback Richard LeCounte was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 174 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #4 athlete, and #22 overall. LeCounte could also play wide receiver or safety at the next level.

Lithia Springs (GA) Jonesboro wide receiver James “M.J.” Walker, Jr. was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 210 lb. prospect who might be better known for his basketball exploits, where he’s a 247 Composite 5-star, the #2 shooting guard, and #16 overall in the 2017 class. Walker is a jumbo wide receiver with good speed, but not great. His biggest advantage is obviously his size and ability to go up and catch the ball. It’s unclear whether he will pursue basketball or football (or both) in college.

OFF THE BOARD
North Ridgeville (OH) North Ridgeville running back Demario McCall committed to Ohio State last week. He did not hold an offer from Michigan, but he was the top guy on my list of guys that I wanted the Wolverines to offer. McCall has an element of speed that is lacking in most of the guys on Michigan’s roster. With the Buckeyes already having two 2016 running backs committed, I had hoped he might get squeezed out and end up in Ann Arbor.

Lawrenceville (GA) Archer offensive tackle E.J. Price committed to Georgia. Price grew up in Michigan, recently named the Wolverines his #1 choice, and then committed to the Bulldogs a couple weeks later. He may yet visit Michigan, which would give Jim Harbaugh a chance to flip him, but this is a disappointing development since Price is #10 offensive tackle and #77 overall player in the 2016 class.

Virginia Beach (VA) Ocean Lakes cornerback Levonta Taylor committed to Florida State. The 247 Composite 5-star and #2 cornerback expressed passing interest in the Wolverines’ offer, but he never visited, seemingly destined for the Seminoles for a while.

Folsom (CA) Folsom offensive tackle Jonah Williams committed to Alabama. Williams was offered by the Wolverines back in February and seemed excited about the offer at the time, but he had not mentioned Michigan in recent weeks.

Pompano Beach (FL) Coconut Creek cornerback Malek Young committed to Georgia. Young was offered by Michigan’s previous staff but was not pursued by the new regime.

MISCELLANEOUS
Here’s a list of visitors from this past week/weekend (LINK). One late addition to that list is Fayetteville (NC) Sanford cornerback Mark Gilbert, who visited campus yesterday. Gilbert is a 247 Composite 3-star, the #45 cornerback, and #498 overall. He also has offers from Duke, North Carolina State, Pitt, and West Virginia, among others.

Southfield (MI) Southfield running back Matt Falcon, who holds a Michigan offer, announced a top five that includes Arizona State, Arkansas, Michigan, Oregon, and Tennessee. With the Wolverines taking a commitment from Kingston Davis, it appears they are still interested in another runner. Falcon is a little faster than Davis, although the Southfield product is still good-sized at 6’1″, 215 lbs.

Over on Recruiting Season, I added/updated profiles for:

• Muskegon Mona Shores WR Kobe Burse
• Southfield RB Matt Falcon
• Oak Park OT JaRaymond Hall
• Battle Creek Central LB Brandon Randle

Kingston Davis, Wolverine

Prattville (AL) Prattville running back Kingston Davis (center, image via 247 Sports)

Prattville (AL) Prattville running back Kingston Davis committed to Michigan. He chose Michigan over offers from Louisville, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss, among others.

Davis is a 6’1″, 225 lb. prospect. As a junior in 2014, he rushed for 1,407 yards and 17 touchdowns on his way to a state championship. He claims a 4.5 forty. The quarterback on the team was Keith Washington, an incoming freshman for the Wolverines who will play corner in college.

Hit the jump for more on Davis and his commitment to Michigan.

RATINGS
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 3-star RB, #24 in Alabama
Scout: 3-star, #100 RB
247 Sports: 3-star, #3 FB, #1101 overall, #42 in Alabama

Davis was not really on Michigan’s radar until they went into Prattville for Washington, who was committed to Cal at the time. In the process of flipping Washington, they also offered Davis in early February. It was – and is – his biggest offer. In March he set up the visit for the spring game, and he apparently really enjoyed the visit. After a day or two of swirling rumors that he would commit, he tweeted it out on Monday morning.

Davis is a well developed kid (see the picture above) whose body is already prepared for college. Along with a strong upper body, he has thick thighs and a good base. As a runner, the best part of his game is that he runs with his shoulders square to the line at all times and has good body lean. He runs behind his pads and will lower his shoulder to power through tackles from linebackers and defensive backs. He also has a good feel for seeing the hole, sliding laterally to get there, and pressing upfield. Davis also shows a couple nifty spin moves in the hole, rolls out of the grasp of defenders, and even displays an occasional stiff-arm. He falls forward after contact and should gain an extra yard or two while being tackled. Meanwhile, he catches a couple passes in his highlights, including a jumping one-hander on a screen pass.

On the negative side, Davis is not a speed demon. He is a bruiser. He rarely leaves high schoolers in the dust, which means it will be even tougher for him to break away in college. Obviously, Michigan is not recruiting him for his speed. This is potentially problematic for Michigan, because the Wolverines currently lack a speed back or a home run threat out of the backfield, unless redshirt sophomore Ty Isaac can be that guy for a couple years. Some analysts have projected Davis at fullback, but he has made it clear that he wants to be a tailback in college.

Overall, Davis seems to fit what Jim Harbaugh wants in a running back – a sturdy, between-the-tackles guy who can move the pile and maybe break off a long run if blockers get a hat on a hat. Davis won’t create those plays on his own, though. I think Davis is a little quicker than De’Veon Smith and tougher to take down that Derrick Green. The first guy I thought of when watching his highlights was former Wisconsin running back P.J. Hill, who was a little bit shorter but had the same kind of game.

Michigan now has five commits in the 2016 class, including an entire backfield committed in one weekend – Davis, Reese, and quarterback Brandon Peters. Washington was the first recruit from the state of Alabama in over a decade, and now Davis gives Michigan two consecutive years with an Alabama native. Several more Alabama players have been offered, but all seem to be long shots. Michigan’s staff is scheduled to do a satellite camp in Prattville this summer, so this could be the beginning of a fruitful relationship with the deep south, a notoriously difficult area to reach for northern schools.

The 2016 class is currently scheduled to be 15 players strong, so with five guys in the fold, the class is one-third full. The total class size will surely continue to grow with attrition, early NFL departures, injuries, etc. It’s unclear right now whether Michigan will continue to recruit other running backs, although I would certainly like to see the Wolverines get the home run hitter they have been lacking in recent years.

TTB Rating: 80 (ratings explanation)

David Reese, Wolverine

Farmington (MI) Farmington fullback David Reese (image via 247Sports.com)

Farmington (MI) Farmington fullback David Reese committed to Michigan on Saturday morning. He was committed to Louisville since early March, and he also holds offers from Cincinnati, Indiana, Pitt, and a bunch of MAC programs.

Reese is a 6’1″, 235 lb. prospect. As a junior in 2014, he made 107 tackles and is already the school’s all-time leading tackler. He also ran for almost 300 yards, including 7 touchdowns.

Hit the jump for more on Reese and his commitment to Michigan.

RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star ILB
Rivals: 3-star, #17 ILB, #11 in-state
Scout: 3-star, #9 MLB
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #14 ILB, #525 overall, #14 in-state

Reese has visited Michigan numerous times over the past couple years, with an obvious eye toward earning an offer from the Wolverines. For a while, it did not seem as if an offer would come, at least not early in the recruiting cycle. With high school teammate Desmond Fitzpatrick committed to the Louisville Cardinals since last October, Reese followed suit. He committed on March 7, only to be offered by Michigan three weeks later. It took him about a week to pull the trigger on the flip. When he came to Michigan’s spring game on Saturday morning, he committed.

A linebacker to all the recruiting services – and seemingly in his heart – the Wolverines offered Reese as a fullback. That apparently caused some hesitation on his part, but head coach Jim Harbaugh has a history of playing guys both ways or moving them back and forth until they find a home. I am not a huge fan of Reese’s as a linebacker, because he looks like a two-down, 3-4 inside linebacker to me. However, he does a nice job at the fullback position. There aren’t many highlights of him blocking from his fullback spot, but he packs a nice punch as a defender, which should translate to offense. He’s built solidly and low to the ground, which should help him with leverage in his blocking. He also shows some pretty nifty feet with the ball in his hands and does a very good job of keeping his feet moving through contact in order to churn out some extra yardage. Reese looks pretty smooth catching a couple passes out of the backfield.

Reese does not have great speed, but that’s to be expected from a fullback. As a defender, there was a time when recruiting analysts thought he would end up as a defensive end because he was not particularly quick. While he has improved that aspect of his game from his sophomore to junior year, he still isn’t the most athletic linebacker around. His highlights should also be taken with a bit of a grain of salt, because Farmington plays against mediocre competition.

Overall, Reese is a good pickup as a fullback because Michigan loses two senior fullbacks (Joe Kerridge, Sione Houma) after the 2015 season. No other fullback on the roster has any game experience. He should be in the mix to play as a freshman, with competition coming from converted defensive tackle Brady Pallante and some walk-ons.

Michigan now has four commitments in the 2016 class, including two from the spring game weekend (quarterback Brandon Peters is the other). Reese is the first scholarship fullback for the Wolverines since Houma was recruited in the 2012 class. He is also the first Farmington High School recruit since kicker K.C. Lopata, who started his career as a walk-on in 2004. But it would not be surprising if Reese’s offered teammate, wide receiver Fitzpatrick, ends up a part of the class, too. As of right now, the 2016 class is scheduled to be 15 players strong.

TTB Rating: 70 (ratings explanation)

Brandon Peters, Wolverine

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Avon (IN) Avon quarterback Brandon Peters committed to Michigan on Friday evening. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, LSU, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin, among others.

Peters is a 6’5″, 205 lb. prospect. As a junior in 2014, he completed 148/263 passes for 1,876 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. He also ran 73 times for 244 yards and 5 scores.

Hit the jump for more on Peters and his commitment to Michigan.

RATINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 81 grade, #12 pocket passer, #181 overall, #2 in Indiana
Rivals: 4-star, #5 pro-style QB, #211 overall, #3 in Indiana
Scout: 4-star, #20 QB
247 Sports: 4-star, #7 pro-style QB, #157 overall, #3 in Indiana

Peters was offered by Michigan a few weeks after Jim Harbaugh was hired. Immediately, many recruiting followers pegged him to commit to Michigan. When he scheduled his first visit to campus for the spring game (complete visitor list), many thought that would be the weekend. However, in the days leading up to his visit, he told Rivals that he would not be committing to Michigan at the spring game and would wait until after some upcoming visits to the likes of LSU and Nebraska. He arrived in Ann Arbor on Friday and was committed to the Wolverines by Friday night.

I wrote a scouting report on Michigan’s offered quarterbacks back in February (LINK). While you can see that I did not have Peters high on my list, it’s also a list of elite quarterbacks – several 5-stars and other high 4-stars. Even before he committed to Michigan, I started to warm up to him a little bit. Not only have I come to appreciate his pocket presence, but I also think he’s a good physical match for what Jim Harbaugh wants in a quarterback. Based on his physical skills, I would move him up to #6 on that list, ahead of Messiah DeWeaver.

When Peters arrives in 2016, he will have to fight his way up the depth chart. If there are no departures, he will be behind senior Shane Morris, redshirt junior John O’Korn, redshirt sophomore Wilton Speight, sophomore Zach Gentry, and sophomore Alex Malzone. It’s unclear right now what that depth chart might look like going into the season, but there will at least be several more experienced guys in Peters’s way. Physically, he is a better athlete than O’Korn, Speight, or Malzone, but they could still have an edge. Peters is probably looking at a redshirt and a season or two on the bench before getting a real shot at the starting gig.

The good thing for Peters – and the rest of the quarterbacks – is that Jim Harbaugh is the coach. Harbaugh took some mediocre recruits at Stanford and made them pretty good, took Andrew Luck and made him great, and took a couple mediocre NFL guys (Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick) to great heights in the NFL. In fact, Luck and Peters share similar body types, physical skills, etc. If you look back at Luck’s high school highlights, you’ll see a lot of the same traits as you see in Peters, although Luck did it at against better competition in Texas than Peters plays against in Indiana. Luck had a stronger arm, but Peters shows better pocket awareness. This is not to say that Peters will be the next Andrew Luck, because Luck is an elite NFL quarterback with a great football mind, but there is a great deal of potential with the coaching he will get.

Peters is the third commit in the 2016 class, joining offensive tackle Erik Swenson and linebacker Dele’ Harding. He will probably be the only quarterback unless there are other departures at the position or if the class size swells dramatically. Michigan does not often push hard for a lot of players in Indiana, and the last commit from the state was from offensive guard Dan Samuelson in the 2013 class. The last time Michigan recruited Avon High School was when they went after defensive end Elijah Daniel (Auburn) in 2013. Despite it being a pretty strong program, Peters will be Michigan’s first player from the school.

TTB Rating: 86 (ratings explanation)