Tag: 2016 recruiting

Recruiting Update: November 18, 2014

Long Beach (CA) Poly cornerback Colin Samuel

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Long Beach (CA) Poly cornerback Colin Samuel was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 186 lb. prospect with offers from Boston College, Illinois, Purdue, and UCLA, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star but unranked in the position rankings. He has been hit with a flurry of offers the past few days, which indicates that he sent out some impressive senior film. Indeed, Samuel is big, fast, and aggressive with good hips; unfortunately, he is pretty raw and does not have great instincts. Samuel is a teammate of 2015 corner Iman Marshall, who has tentative plans to visit Michigan but seems likely to end up at USC. Michigan has had some success in the past at Poly, which sent Donovan Warren to Ann Arbor.

Hit the jump for a slew of 2016 offers, a 2017 offer, and some miscellaneous tidbits.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Charlotte (NC) Mallard Creek defensive end Josh Brown was offered by Michigan. He’s a a 6’3″, 220 lb. prospect who committed to Florida State in September, along with another Michigan offeree, Janarius Robinson; Brown also has offers from North Carolina and UCLA. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #12 weakside end, and #194 overall for his class. Brown plays some linebacker and could stay there in a 3-4 scheme, but he looks more like a weakside end. I really like his athleticism, change of direction skills, and aggression. He has said that he will visit Michigan, and his primary recruiter is ace sweet-talker Roy Manning. Michigan has recruited kids out of Mallard Creek before (Marquez North, D.J. Humphries, Marquise Williams) but unsuccessfully so far.

Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha offensive guard Terrance Davis was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 305 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #4 offensive guard, and #164 overall. Davis is a big body with a good frame, but he has numerous technical issues that need to be sorted out, including a need to play lower. DeMatha is a huge talent producer out of Maryland, but Michigan has largely avoided recruiting from the school for some reason.

Downey (CA) Downey linebacker Darrian Franklin was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 202 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona State, Miami, UCLA, and USC. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 outside linebacker, and #147 overall. Franklin is also a wide receiver and has some upside there, but he looks like a more natural defensive player. Some growth would be necessary, but he has the look of an exciting outside linebacker.

Baltimore (MD) Gilman offensive tackle Devery Hamilton was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’6″, 270 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, LSU, Maryland, Michigan State, and South Carolina, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #18 offensive tackle, and #215 overall. Hamilton also plays defensive end, but he looks as if he’ll outgrow that position, and he plays more like an offensive tackle, anyway. He plays for head coach Biff Poggi, whose son, Henry, is a redshirt freshman defensive end for Michigan. Even so, it appears that it would be an uphill battle for Michigan to secure his commitment.

Pittsburgh (PA) Central Catholic cornerback Damar Hamlin was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Pitt, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #11 cornerback, and #127 overall. Hamlin claims a 4.5 forty, and he shows some nice speed on film. I don’t know that he has the change-of-direction chops to play corner at the next level, but he is a decent tackler that could play safety.

Jacksonville (FL) Trinity Christian linebacker Dominique Ross was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 210 lb. prospect with offers from Miami, North Carolina, Pitt, and Wisconsin, among others. Ross looks like a speedy SAM linebacker in an Under defense, or perhaps a weakside end type of player if he gains some weight. Either way, he’s fast and aggressive with good athleticism. He’s a teammate of Jeffery Holland (undecided) and Kevin Toliver II (LSU), two 2015 Michigan offerees.

Baltimore (MD) Gilman offensive guard Stephen Spanellis was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 295 lb. prospect with offers from Georgia Tech, Maryland, Michigan State, South Carolina, and West Virginia, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #40 offensive tackle, and #494 overall. He claims a 385 lb. bench press and a 395 lb. squat. A little less athletic than teammate Hamilton, Spanellis plays tackle in high school but probably projects to guard in the long-term, with the possibility of playing the frontside tackle spot.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Jacksonville (FL) Trinity Christian cornerback Shaun Wade was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, and UCLA, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #2 cornerback, and #14 overall in his class. A teammate of Ross (and Holland and Toliver), I have yet to find any football film on him.

OFF THE BOARD
Clemmons (NC) West Forsyth defensive end Jalen Dalton committed to North Carolina. Things had been trending toward Virginia Tech for a while, so I can only assume that UNC’s insistence that their athletes do very little classwork led to a change of heart.

Thousand Oaks (CA) Westlake quarterback Malik Henry committed to Florida State. Henry was one of the few quarterbacks Michigan offered in the 2016 class, but that pursuit ended when Messiah DeWeaver committed to the Wolverines. Interestingly, Henry joins a list of verbal commits that includes three (3!) quarterbacks for the 2015 class. With four quarterbacks spread across two class, it would not be surprising to see at least one of them decommit or transfer early on. Henry is the #1 pro-style quarterback and #4 overall player in his class, according to the 247 Composite rankings.

MISCELLANEOUS
Over on Recruiting Season, I updated the profile of Detroit Cass Tech wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, plus I added profiles of Walled Lake Northern WR Chris Cliff and West Bloomfield QB Trishton Jackson.

Recruiting Update: November 5, 2014

Elkton (MD) Eastern Christian Academy linebacker Dele’ Harding

It’s been a pretty slow week in recruiting for Michigan, except for a lone commitment. Otherwise, the coaches went out and did some evaluations during their bye week with the extra time. The coaches need to keep recruiting, but the writing seems to be on the wall that this staff is fighting and scraping for their jobs.

COMMITMENT
Elkton (MD) Eastern Christian Academy linebacker Dele’ Harding committed to Michigan last Friday (LINK).

MISCELLANEOUS
Here’s a list of players who visited Michigan last weekend for the game against Indiana (LINK).

On a disappointing note, I made some minor updates to the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia (LINK), which now includes 5 decommits in the class of 2015. Yikes.

Over on Recruiting Season, I updated the profiles of Farmington Hills Harrison’s Khalid Kareem, St. Joseph’s Wes French, and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s K.J. Hamler.

Dele’ Harding, Wolverine

Elkton (MD) Eastern Christian Academy linebacker Dele’ Harding

Elkton (MD) Eastern Christian Academy linebacker Dele’ Harding committed to Michigan on Friday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Tennessee and USC, among others.

RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star inside linebacker
Rivals: 4-star, #5 inside linebacker, #186 overall
Scout: 3-star, #29 outside linebacker, #286 overall
247 Sports: 3-star, 84 grade, #17 inside linebacker

Harding is a 6’1″, 232 lb. prospect. As a junior this season, he has 67 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 4 fumble recoveries.

Harding was a high school teammate of a couple current Michigan freshmen, wide receiver Freddy Canteen and safety Brandon Watson. He has been high on Michigan, visited over the summer for the past couple years, and was offered by the Wolverines this past June. A couple other big programs came calling, too, but he always seemed to have an affinity for the Wolverines.

I had not seen video on Harding until this evening, and it appears this was posted just after Harding committed. Without any visual evidence, it was hard to gauge whether such an early offer to a 2016 prospect was warranted or not. Now having seen the video, it leaves me scratching my head a little bit. I’m not quite sure what a team like USC – which practically has its pick of players on the west coast – sees in Harding in order to offer him so early.

From my perspective, Harding is a solid tackler once he gets his hands on ball carriers, and he seems to create a lot of turnovers. Otherwise, I don’t see a ton of positives. He plays upright, is a little slow to diagnose plays, takes poor angles, does not change direction well, and lacks great speed. There are some nice hits on his highlight reel, but not many remarkable plays. However, ECA does play a very good schedule – Cleveland (OH) St. Edward’s, Paramus (NJ) Catholic, Washington (DC) Friendship Collegiate – so perhaps his lack of big plays should be taken with a grain of salt. Still, the raw athleticism expected of someone with his caliber of offers seems to be missing.

Harding reminds me a little bit of former Michigan linebacker John Thompson. There is obviously time to improve, but that’s what I see right now. He is the third commit in the 2016 class, joining quarterback Messiah DeWeaver and offensive tackle Erik Swenson. I would expect that Michigan goes hard after several linebackers, because Joe Bolden, Royce Jenkins-Stone, Desmond Morgan, and James Ross III are all scheduled to graduate after the 2015 season.

TTB Rating: To be determined

Visitors: Michigan at Michigan State

Detroit (MI) King wide receiver Donnie Corley (image via mgofish.com)

It’s a big visit weekend for the Spartans, since it’s against the Wolverines. The nature of the game means that a lot of prospects also have interest in/from Michigan, too. Here’s a list of some expected visitors to East Lansing for the game:

2015
Christopher Hart – DE – Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas
Tyler Higby – OG – Houston (TX) Kinkaid:
John Kelly – S – Oak Park (MI) Oak Park:
Brian Lewerke – QB – Phoenix (AZ) Pinnacle:
Noah Listermann – OT – Cincinnati (OH) Winton Woods:
Grayson Miller – S – Georgetown (KY) Scott County:
Larry Scott – RB – Hubbard (OH) Hubbard:
Kyonta Stallworth – OG – Detroit (MI) King:
Tyriq Thompson – LB – Detroit (MI) King: Michigan offer; Michigan State commit
Raequan Williams – DE – Chicago (IL) DePaul:


2016
Jonathon Cooper – DE – Gahanna (OH) Lincoln:
Donnie Corley – WR – Detroit (MI) King: Michigan offer
Carter Couglin – RB – Eden Prairie (MN) Eden Prairie:
Desmond Fitzpatrick – WR – Farmington (MI) Farmington:
Tobias Gilliam – CB – Huber Heights (OH) Wayne:
Daelin Hayes – LB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Michigan offer
Lavert Hill – CB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Michigan offer
Michael Jordan – OT – Plymouth (MI) Plymouth: Michigan offer
Khalid Kareem – DE – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison:
Jeremy Larkin – RB – Cincinnati (OH) La Salle:
Kordell Looney – DT – Springfield (OH) Springfield:
Jalen Martin – WR – Harper Woods (MI) Chandler Park Academy:
Michael Onwenu – DT – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Michigan offer
Jordan Overton – CB – Lyndhurst (OH) Brush:
Martell Pettaway – RB – St. Clair Shores (MI) South Lake:
Auston Robertson – DE – Fort Wayne (IN) Wayne: Michigan offer
Sam Schlueter – OT – Victoria (MN) Mayer Lutheran:
Ethan Tucky – LB – Delaware (OH) Hayes:

Recruiting Update: October 16, 2014

Detroit (MI) King wide receiver Donnie Corley (image via 247Sports.com)

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Detroit (MI) King wide receiver Donnie Corley was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 172 lb. player with offers from Arizona State, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Pitt, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #43 wide receiver, #238 overall, and #5 in-state. Corley transferred from Wyandotte (MI) Roosevelt after his sophomore year, so he has increased his exposure while also playing with better talent. Michigan has not forayed into Detroit King often over the last several years, as they have offered (and received a commitment from) just two players since 2008, current slot receiver/kick returner Dennis Norfleet and 2015 Michigan State commit Tyriq Thompson. Corley is a physical wideout who I think can be a solid player at the next level, but I believe Michigan is probably playing slightly from behind in his recruitment.

Hit the jump for an addition to the 2017 recruiting board, some recent commitments elsewhere, and some miscellaneous bits.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Norfolk (VA) Lake Taylor defensive tackle Darnell Ewell was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 280 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Miami, Ohio State, Pitt, Tennessee, and Virginia, among others.

OFF THE BOARD
Kaplan (LA) Kaplan defensive end Jalen Bates committed to Arizona State. Bates is the cousin of former Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton, and while Bates had developed a relationship with the staff, he was unlikely to be a Wolverine all along.

Lincolnton (NC) Lincolnton defensive end Darian Roseboro committed to North Carolina State. He originally committed to Michigan, despite the fact that some of his family members wanted him to stay closer to home. With Michigan’s struggles, a 4-0 start for the Wolfpack, and a near upset against Florida State, you can see why he might flip. Roseboro plans to enroll in January, so any attempts to flip him back will have to be hurried. Regardless of any efforts, I imagine he’ll stick with his commitment this time.

Hopewell (VA) Hopewell defensive end Darrell Taylor committed to Tennessee. Michigan was never in the running.

Monaca (PA) Central Valley cornerback Jordan Whitehead committed to Pitt over the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others.

MISCELLANEOUS
Here’s a list of visitors from last weekend’s game against Penn State (LINK).

Over on Recruiting Season, I updated the profiles of Donnie Corley and 2016 linebacker Daelin Hayes.