Tag: 2017 recruiting

2017 Recruiting Update: June 2, 2016

St. Joseph (MI) St. Joseph DE Corey Malone-Hatcher

Thanks to whomever it was that bought the LG HDTV through the Amazon affiliate link (LINK). All purchases (a.k.a. donations) are appreciated, but a special thanks to that particular reader!

OFF THE BOARD
O’Fallon (IL) O’Fallon running back Kentrail Moran, a 2016 recruit, committed to New Mexico. He was a 247 Composite 3-star, the #47 RB, and #372 overall. At one time he was considered a strong Michigan lean. Michigan, in fact, still leads the Crystal Ball (55%) over Eastern Michigan (45%). So 100% of people missed on that one.

MISCELLANEY
I’m looking at the top prospects in the state of Michigan for 2017. Here’s #1-5 (LINK) and here’s #6-10 (LINK).

Here’s Michigan 2016 camp schedule, along with notes and participants (LINK).

Lamar (TX) Lamar safety Grant Delpit announced that he’ll be transferring to Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy. He joins a long list of players Michigan has offered at IMG Academy, including LB Jordan Anthony, WR Jhamon Ausbon, OG Robert Hainsey, LB Will Ignont, LB Dylan Moses, and C Cesar Ruiz. Speaking of Jordan Anthony, he named Michigan to his top four.

West Linn (OR) West Linn offensive tackle Alex Forsyth will announce his commitment on June 11. He visited Michigan recently, but the 247 Sports Crystal Ball is 100% in favor of Oregon.

Hit the jump on some other news on offerees.

read more

Preview of 2017 In-State Recruiting: #6-10

Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s WR K.J. Hamler (image via MLive)

Please consider contributing to the website by ordering from Amazon through this link (LINK).

Last week I started a series of posts on the top recruits in the state of Michigan for the class of 2017 (LINK). These posts are coming a little bit later than I usually like to do them, but that’s okay. After the top ten to fifteen prospects, you’ll probably come across some brand new names, maybe from your hometown or your rival school. I’m presenting these posts in groups of five. The top five were:

1. Donovan Peoples-Jones
2. Ambry Thomas
3. Antjuan Simmons
4. Ja’Raymond Hall
5. Joshua Ross

6. K.J. Hamler – WR – Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 155 lbs.
Notable offers: Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Commitment: Uncommitted
247 Composite: 3-star, #47 WR, #326 overall, #10 in-state
Analysis: I discussed Hamler at length here. He recently got invited to The Opening. I think Hamler has to end up in the right spot for him to reach his potential, a place where he can work in a wide-open offense. Oregon and West Virginia would be good landing places, but not the more pro-style offenses like Michigan, MSU, Pitt, etc.

Hit the jump for #7-10.

read more

School in the News: Baylor

TE Kedrick James

Some crazy stuff has gone down in Waco, TX, and now university president Ken Starr and head coach Art Briles are gone. So here’s a look at how the fallout from that might affect Michigan or other teams.

2016 roster members recruited by Michigan: QB Jarrett Stidham (RS So.)
2016 signees with Michigan offers: DE Brandon Bowen, WR Tren’Davian Dickson, WR Devin Duvernay, CB Donovan Duvernay, OT J.P. Urquidez
2017 commits with Michigan offers: None
2018 commits with Michigan offers: None

Scoop: Historically, Michigan and Baylor have not squared off for recruits very often. That’s because Baylor is usually not very good at football, at least not until recently. Stidham was a prized recruit in 2014, but I have doubts that he’ll go anywhere since he’s already established himself as a quality player at Baylor. Meanwhile, 2016 signees could potentially ask for a release from their National Letters of Intent to play somewhere else this fall. None of the five signees gave Michigan much of a look prior to committing to the Golden Bears, so they’re unlikely to end up in Ann Arbor, even if Michigan has room (and it’s not clear they do).

It may be a long shot, but the best chance Michigan has to benefit from Baylor’s turmoil is with TE Kedrick James and WR Hezekiah Jones. Both players have already decommitted from Baylor. James (and Donovan Duvernay) both attended Michigan’s Summer Swarm 2015 camp in Grand Prairie, TX, and the Wolverines are looking for tight ends in 2017. Four predictions have come in for James to Texas A&M in the last few days, and he was already looking at the Aggies before the decommitment. Jones was thought by many to end up in College Station before committing to Baylor. It seems counterintuitive for someone to escape Baylor only to enter the uncertainty of Texas A&M’s situation, but it’s possible. Michigan also needs wideouts, so I would expect Jim Harbaugh and the staff to inquire about both prospects.

Preview of 2017 In-State Recruiting: #1-5

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones

Back in February, I exchanged posts with MGoFish where I took a look at the top five uncommitted prospects within the state (LINK). The post eliminated from contention several prospects who had already committed to various schools, though the list doesn’t change much when you throw in the committed players.

In previous years, I have done posts where I included all of the most notable prospects within the state. Those posts grow to be very long and arduous to put together. Last year I ranked the 2016 prospects, a first in the series. This year I simply haven’t had the time to put together one single post with 35-50 players on it. I still want to complete the project, but I’ll be breaking it up into chunks where I look at five players at a time.

Below are the top five players in the state. For further analysis on some, feel free to visit the link to MGoFish above:

read more

Visitors: May 27-29, 2016

Greensboro (NC) Grimsley safety Brelin Faison-Walden (image via Scout)

2017

Brelin Faison-Walden – S – Greensboro (NC) Grimsley: Faison-Walden is a 6’1″, 200 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #32 safety, and #417 overall. He will be in the area for a 7-on-7 tournament and plans to stop by Michigan on Saturday or Sunday.  I think he would be a very good fit for Don Brown’s SAM linebacker position.

Deron Irving-Bey – DE – Flint (MI) Southwestern: Irving-Bey is a 6’5″, 271 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #12 strongside end, and #289 overall. He was supposed to visit Ann Arbor a couple weeks ago, but that trip got postponed, so this will be his first time visiting the staff. He will be in town on Thursday. UPDATE: Irving-Bey is no longer visiting this week.

Ambry Thomas – CB – Detroit (MI) King: Thomas is a 5’11”, 174 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #14 cornerback, and #135 overall. I originally heard he was supposed to visit this weekend but then he went to Michigan last weekend, so this visit may not be happening now.