Tag: 2017 recruiting

Visitors: March 18-20, 2016

Westerville (OH) South running back Jaelen Gill

For no good reason except he’s the top-rated prospect in modern Michigan recruiting history, I’ll note that 2016 defensive tackle signee Rashan Gary is spending this week – his spring break week – at the University of Michigan.

2017
A.J. Harris – S – Madison (AL) Bob Jones: Harris is a 6’0″, 170 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, Louisville, Michigan, Nebraska, and Ole Miss, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #21 safety, and #284 overall. It seems like he wants an Alabama offer, but the Crimson Tide have yet to extend one. Michigan will be holding a satellite camp at Bob Jones High School in June.

LaBryan Ray – DE – Madison (AL) James Clemens: Ray is a 6’5″, 283 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #5 strongside end, and #176 overall. So far he has four Crystal Ball picks for Alabama and zero for anyone else.

2018
Jaelen Gill – RB – Westerville (OH) South: Gill is a 6’0″, 165 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and UCLA, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #1 all-purpose back, and #18 overall. He is considered to be a strong Ohio State lean, but with National Signing Day almost two years away, there’s plenty of time to make a decision.

Taj Mustapha – WR – Southfield (MI) Lathrup: Mustapha is a 6’1″, 170 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.

Dwayne Thompson – WR – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Thompson is a 6’0″, 174 lb. prospect with no offers at this time. He claims a 4.73 forty, a 28″ vertical, and a 4.15 shuttle. He’s a teammate of 2017 Michigan TE commit Carter Dunaway.

Recruiting Update: March 14, 2016

Nashville (TN) Montgomery Bell RB Ty Chandler

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ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Baton Rouge (LA) Southern Lab defensive end Chris Allen was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 222 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, and LSU, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #7 outside linebacker, and #91 overall. Allen plays middle linebacker in high school, which isn’t a bad idea because he’s their best defender and he can roam around the field from there. But he will probably grow into a pass rushing outside linebacker or maybe a defensive end at the next level. LSU is the heavy favorite.

Nashville (TN) Montgomery Bell running back Tykevius “Ty” Chandler was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 190 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #4 running back, and #78 overall. As a junior in 2015, he ran 346 times for 2,558 yards (7.4 yards/carry) and 31 TDs. Ole Miss has 86% of the Crystal Ball votes so far. He attends the alma mater of former Michigan offensive lineman Blake Bars, so Michigan has a bit of history recruiting the school; the former coaching staff also went after younger brother Alex Bars in the 2014 class.

Lakeland (FL) Lakeland running back Anthony “A.J.” Davis was offered by Michigan. He’s another 5’11”, 190-pounder who has offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #8 running back, and #115 overall. He’s very quick and changes direction extremely well.

Hit the jump for a few more offers and some random bits.

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Visitors: March 11-13, 2016

Cincinnati (OH) Moeller TE Matt Dotson

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2017
Tyler Beach – OT – Port Washington (WI) Port Washington: Beach is a 6’8″, 270 lb. prospect with offers from Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #40 offensive tackle, and #351 overall. It’s typically difficult to steal Wisconsin offensive linemen out of Wisconsin. However, the Badgers already have three offensive linemen committed in the 2017 class (OG Logan Bruss, OT Alex Fenton, and OG Kayden Lyles), so room is dwindling. Beach is the #1 prospect in the state of Wisconsin for this class. He will be at Michigan on Friday and Saturday.

Eno Benjamin – RB – Wylie (TX) East: Benjamin is a 5’10”, 204 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona, Baylor, Houston, Iowa, Michigan, and Oklahoma State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #14 running back, and #172 overall. He put up ridiculous numbers as a junior in 2015 with 366 carries for 2,652 yards and 41 touchdowns on the ground. Benjamin trains with former Michigan running back David Underwood and was longing for a Michigan offer, so he’s a player who could very well end up committing to Michigan. He is visiting Ann Arbor on Tuesday, March 8.

Hit the jump for a few more visitors.

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Visitors: April 1-3, 2016

Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy offensive lineman Robert Hainsey

Here’s an early list of visitors for the 2016 spring game, which will take place on April 1. There will be lots of additions (and probably some subtractions), and I expect a good number of local recruits to visit Michigan Stadium for the event. However, local recruits are less vocal about these types of things, because they can hop in a car and drive an hour or two to the stadium, whereas players from far away have to make travel plans ahead of time. It’s shaping up to be a pretty good group so far.

2017
Ellis Brooks – LB – Richmond (VA) Benedictine: Brooks is a 6’2″, 240 lb. prospect with offers from Duke, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Virginia Tech, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #25 outside linebacker, and #292 overall. As a junior in 2015, he made 117 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and 6 sacks. He is expected to stay in ACC country to play ball, but shortly after being offered by the Wolverines, he said he would visit for the spring game. That indicates he does have some serious interest in Michigan.

D’Antne Demery – OT – Brunswick (GA) Brunswick: Demery is a 6’6″, 308 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, and Michigan, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #24 offensive tackle, and #158 overall. Georgia is the heavy favorite, but Michigan is trying to make headway in the Peach State.

Neil Farrell – DT – Mobile (AL) Murphy: Farrell is a 6’4″, 295 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, LSU, and Michigan, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #32 defensive tackle, and #499 overall. He has not named any favorites, and Michigan has made a pretty strong foray into Alabama since Jim Harbaugh arrived.

Hit the jump for several more visitors.

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Defensive Recruiting Update: March 8, 2016

Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy linebacker Dylan Moses

If you’re looking for updates on offensive players, check out yesterday’s post (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Pittsburgh (PA) Central Catholic linebacker David Adams was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 215 lb. prospect with offers from LSU, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, and Stanford, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #4 inside linebacker, and #105 overall. Adams is a true middle linebacker who’s a solid tackler with some pretty good straight-line speed. The offer from the Wolverines did not seem to move the needle much. He’s a teammate of 2017 offensive guard C.J. Thorpe.

Norcross (GA) Norcross defensive end Robert Beal decommitted from Notre Dame. He’s a 6’4″, 230 lb. prospect who now has a top group of Alabama, Florida State, North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Texas. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #3 weakside end, and #42 overall. Michigan does not really seem to be a factor.

Oxford (AL) Oxford linebacker Kenney “K.J.” Britt was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 217 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, and Ole Miss, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #23 inside linebacker, and #668 overall. As a junior in 2015, he made 126 tackles, 22 TFLs, 5 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries, 1 of which he returned for a TD.

Oklahoma City (OK) John Marshall cornerback Justin Broiles was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Texas, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #21 cornerback, and #194 overall. Broiles is very physical and a strong tackler from the cornerback position, but he does not have the best ball skills. He is expected to stay in Big 12 country.

Hit the jump for many more 2017 offers, a new 2019 offer, and some other bits.

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