Tag: 2017 recruiting

Recruiting Update: November 12, 2014

How could Darrin Kirkland, Jr. pass on this?

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence Central linebacker Darrin Kirkland, Jr. decommitted from Michigan. He committed to Michigan back in May (LINK), but the tenuous coaching situation obviously unnerved him. Michigan has a small chance to reel him back in if they hire the right guy, but players rarely re-commit. The loss of Kirkland in the class is somewhat mitigated by the combination of facts that a) Desmond Morgan is redshirting to return in 2015 and b) Michigan got a commitment from Dele’ Harding. If Notre Dame were to offer Kirkland, I would not be surprised to see him join his friend Asmar Bilal in South Bend.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
St. Joseph (MI) St. Joseph defensive end Corey Malone-Hatcher was offered by Michigan. Malone-Hatcher is a 6’3″, 227 lb. prospect with offers from Ohio State and Penn State; he has also visited Alabama, partly because his father is from the state. He claims a 5.08 forty, a 27″ vertical, a 315 lb. bench press, and a 535 lb. squat. He plays some linebacker for his high school team, but if his body continues to grow – and considering his current athletic skills – he should be a defensive end at the next level. Obviously, he’s at the end of his sophomore season, so lots of development should be expected – he’s a good athlete and a solid hitter who really needs to learn technique and how to use his hands. Right now he’s a totally raw prospect, but one of the top few players in the state for his class.


OFF THE BOARD
Evans (GA) Lakeside safety Rashad Roundtree committed to Georgia. Georgia was consistently the presumed leader, but he was also considering Ohio State, which would have been bad news for Michigan. He’s considered the #6 safety and the #95 player overall by 247’s Composite ratings.

MISCELLANEOUS
As always, check out Recruiting Season  for some updated profiles of players from within the state of Michigan.

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.

Visitors: Michigan vs. Penn State

Keisean Lucier-South (image via MaxPreps)

2015
Brian Cole – WR – Saginaw (MI) Heritage: Cole committed to Michigan in July (LINK).

Javarius Davis – CB – Jacksonville (FL) Ed White: Davis, the country’s #40 running back according to 247’s Composite rankings, was scheduled to officially visit Michigan this weekend but canceled.

Jack Dunaway – DE – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice:

Tyree Kinnel – S – Huber Heights (OH) Wayne: Kinnel committed to Michigan in August 2013 (LINK).

Darrin Kirkland, Jr. – LB – Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence Central: Kirkland committed to Michigan in May (LINK).

Keisean Lucier-South – DE – Orange (CA) Lutheran: Lucier-South is a 6’5″, 225 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, UCLA, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 5-star, the #2 weakside end, and #23 overall. Lucier-South called Michigan a “dream offer” when he got it, but teams like Oklahoma and USC have been making a push since then. While both teams have been the victim of upsets this season, neither is going through a 2-4 season and/or potential coaching change. This is Lucier-South’s official visit.

Alex Malzone – QB – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Malzone committed to Michigan in May (LINK).

Grant Perry – WR – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice:

Mook Reynolds – CB – Greensboro (NC) Northern Guilford: Reynolds is a 6’0″, 175 lb. prospect who is committed to Virginia Tech. He also has offers from Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Tennessee, among others. He took an official visit to Knoxville last weekend, and this is his official visit to Ann Arbor.

Zach Robertson – OG – Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco: Robertson was originally scheduled to take an official visit to Ann Arbor for the Penn State game, but he has since canceled. He’s the #319 player in the class, according to the 247 Composite.

Auden Tate – WR – Tampa (FL) Wharton: Tate is a 6’4″, 215 lb. Florida State commit; he also has offers from Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, and numerous others. Michigan was an early favorite and was in his top group before he committed to the Seminoles, so there’s an outside shot that Michigan could flip him if things go in the right direction for Michigan. Unfortunately, he’s an early enrollee, so an iffy coaching situation would likely spell doom for Michigan’s chances.

Ahmad Wagner – WR – Huber Heights (OH) Wayne: Wagner is a 6’6″, 190 lb. prospect with an offer from Kentucky. A teammate of Kinnel’s, he’s also a high level basketball prospect (Iowa and Minnesota have offered). He may fit the profile of the jumbo wide receiver Michigan likes if they find themselves scrounging for wideouts.


Mike Weber – RB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Weber committed to Michigan in August (LINK), but he is looking to take other official visits, considering Michigan’s current situation.

Hit the jump for 2016 and 2017 prospects.

2016
Ben Bredeson – OT – Hartland (WI) Arrowhead:

Messiah DeWeaver – QB – Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison: DeWeaver committed to Michigan in June (LINK).

Daelin Hayes – LB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech:

Lavert Hill – CB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Hill is a 5’11”, 170 lb. prospect with offers from Miami, Michigan, North Carolina, and several others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #22 cornerback, and #228 overall. His older brother, Delano, is a sophomore safety at Michigan.

Elijah Holyfield – RB – Atlanta (GA) Woodward Academy: The son of boxer Evander Holyfield canceled his planned trip.

Joshua Jackson – QB – Saline (MI) Saline:

Khalid Kareem – DE – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison:

Austin Mack – WR – Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers: Mack is a 6’2″, 205 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #20 wide receiver, and #96 overall. He claims a 4.55 forty but looks more like a possession receiver. He originally had Michigan out front, but now it seems Notre Dame has pulled ahead.

Kalebb Perry – WR – Mt. Pleasant (MI) Mt. Pleasant:

Sean Rattay – C – Toledo (OH) St. John’s:
David Reese – LB – Farmington (MI) Farmington:

Max Richardson – LB – Atlanta (GA) Woodward Academy: Richardson was supposed to attend with teammate Holyfield.

Auston Robertson – DE – Fort Wayne (IN) Wayne:

Eric Rogers – LB – Warren (MI) De La Salle:

Erik Swenson – OT – Downers Grove (IL) South: Swenson committed to Michigan in November 2013 (LINK).

Demetric Vance – WR – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech:

Clark Yarbrough – OT – Woodberry Forest (VA) Woodberry Forest: Yarbrough is a 6’5″, 255 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #17 offensive tackle, and #205 overall. Yarbrough had Michigan in his top couple schools, so Michigan’s coaching situation could have a big impact.

Abdullah Yaseen – CB – Oak Park (MI) Oak Park:


2017
Carter Dunaway – TE – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice:

Corey Malone-Hatcher – DE – St. Joseph (MI) St. Joseph: Malone-Hatcher is a 6’3″, 235 lb. prospect with a lone offer from Ohio State. He’s considered one of the top few players in the state for his class.

Bruce Mann – QB – Bay City (MI) Western:

Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Peoples-Jones is a 6’1″, 170 lb. prospect with offers from Miami, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others.

Willie Rodgers – DE – Saginaw (MI) Arthur Hill:

2018
Jimmy Bell – OT – Saginaw (MI) Arthur Hill:

Visitors: Michigan vs. Minnesota

Reisterstown (MD) Franklin offensive tackle Patrick Allen is a Georgia commit (image via 247Sports.com)

2015
Patrick Allen – OT – Reisterstown (MD) Franklin: Allen is a 6’5″, 286 lb. prospect who committed to Georgia in early August. He also holds offers from Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Ohio State, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #27 offensive tackle, and #277 overall. This is his official visit to Michigan, the school that supposedly finished #2 to the Bulldogs, despite the fact that he has never been to Ann Arbor before.

Jack Dunaway – DE – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Dunaway is a 6’3″, 212 lb. prospect who committed to Michigan as a preferred walk-on. His father, Craig, is a former Michigan tight end.

Alex Malzone – QB – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Malzone committed to Michigan back in May (LINK).

Tyrone Miller – S – Saline (MI) Saline: Miller is a 6’0″, 178 lb. prospect with offers from Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan, among others. He camped at Michigan back in June.


Grant Perry – WR – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Perry is a 6’0″, 185 lb. prospect with offers from several MAC schools. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #130 wide receiver, and #1054 overall. He would almost certainly commit to Michigan if an offer comes, but the Wolverines have a small projected class and a pretty good stable of receivers at this point. Statistically, he’s currently the state’s top receiver.


Mike Weber – RB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Weber committed to Michigan in August (LINK).

Hit the jump for 2016 and 2017 prospects.

2016
Stefan Claiborne – WR – Clinton Township (MI) Chippewa Valley: Claiborne is a 6’1″, 168 lb. prospect with no offers at this time. Even so, he’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #4 safety, #54 overall, and #1 in the state, mainly due to his ESPN ranking. I have watched his sophomore film and came away impressed, so I think it’s only a matter of times before big schools throw their hats in the ring.

Bailey Edwards – WR – Chelsea (MI) Chelsea: Edwards is a 6’0″, 145 lb. prospect with no offers at this time. He’s the younger brother of Braylon Edwards and Berkley Edwards (Minnesota), and he’s the son of former Michigan RB Stan Edwards.

Daelin Hayes – LB – ???????: Hayes is a 6’3″, 225 lb. prospect who committed to USC in July. He originally went to school at Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s and was primed to commit to Michigan in April, but a fleeting move to California and a nice visit to USC earned his commitment. Now Hayes is returning to an as-yet-undecided school Michigan, though he will probably have to sit out his junior season due to transfer rules. That’s not a good thing for a kid who missed most of his sophomore year due to injury, but big schools will continue to pursue him because of his size and athleticism.

Josh Jackson – QB – Saline (MI) Saline: Jackson is a 6’2″, 180 lb. prospect with no offers right now. He’s the son of running backs coach Fred Jackson and the brother of former Michigan wideout Jeremy Jackson. Jackson sat out a portion of last season after transferring from Ann Arbor (MI) Huron.

Thiyo Lukusa – OT – Traverse City (MI) West: Lukusa is a 6’5″, 300 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #24 offensive tackle, #272 overall, and #8 in-state. Lukusa plans to commit on December 1, and Michigan has reportedly been his leader for most of the process.

Blake Roe – DT – Haslett (MI) Haslett: Roe is a 6’2″, 290 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.


2017
Corey Malone-Hatcher – DE – St. Joseph (MI) St. Joseph: Malone-Hatcher is a 6’3″, 225 lb. prospect with an offer from Ohio State.

Josh Ross – LB – Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s: Ross is a 6’1″, 210 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #2 inside linebacker, #53 overall, and #2 in-state. He’s the younger brother of Michigan junior linebacker James Ross III.

Visitors: Michigan vs. Utah

Donnie Corley

2015
Deshawn Baker-Williams – DT – Westland (MI) John Glenn: Baker-Williams is a 6’4″, 300 lb. prospect who committed to Central Michigan in June. That was and is his only offer so far.

Brian Cole – WR – Saginaw (MI) Heritage: Cole recently was awarded his Under Armour All-American jersey (LINK), although he was suspended for Heritage’s most recent game after receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties last game. He is committed to Michigan.

Jack Dunaway – DE – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Dunaway, a teammate of Alex Malzone’s, is a 6’3″, 212 lb. prospect who recently committed to be a walk-on at Michigan. His father was a tight end at Michigan in the mid-1980’s.

Alex Malzone – QB – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: On Friday night, Malzone went 14/20 for 208 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 28-21 win over Shane Morris’s old team, the Warren (MI) De La Salle Pilots. He is committed to Michigan.

Jalen Martin – WR – Harper Woods (MI) Chandler Park Academy: Martin is a 6’1″, 192 lb. prospect with offers from Akron, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #65 wide receiver, and #390 overall. He attends the alma mater of former Michigan wide receiver Csont’e York.

Jon Runyan, Jr. – OG – Philadelphia (PA) St. Joseph’s: Runyan, Jr. committed to Michigan in June 2013 (LINK).

Mike Weber – RB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Weber sat out last night’s 50-0 win over Detroit (MI) Douglass. He is committed to Michigan.

Hit the jump for 2016, 2017, and 2018(!) visitors.

2016
Donnie Corley – WR – Detroit (MI) King: Corley is a 247 Composite 4-star who has recently picked up offers from Michigan State and Pitt. He transferred from Wyandotte to King in the off-season, and things have paid off nicely in the first few games.

Matt Falcon – RB – Southfield (MI) Southfield: Falcon is a 6’1″, 215 lb. prospect with offers from Akron, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Toledo, and Wake Forest. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #25 running back, and #274 overall. He missed last season with a torn ACL but was a teammate of Michigan freshman defensive end Lawrence Marshall.

Brendan Ferns – LB – St. Clairsville (OH) St. Clairsville: Ferns is a 6’3″, 223 lb. prospect with offers from Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Penn State, among others. He’s the younger brother of Michigan freshman linebacker Michael Ferns, but the Wolverines have not shown a ton of interest in Brendan yet. The feeling is that if the Wolverines offered now, they would still have a serious uphill battle for Brendan’s services.

Michael Jordan – OT – Plymouth (MI) Plymouth: Jordan is a 6’5″, 278 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan and Ohio State. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #36 offensive tackle, and #478 overall.

Kalebb Perry – WR – Mt. Pleasant (MI) Mt. Pleasant: Perry is a 6’2″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from Central Michigan and Western Michigan. He appears to be a notch below Corley, but he’s still a 247 Composite 3-star and the #87 wide receiver in his class.

Nik Urban – OG – Willoughby (OH) South: Urban is a 6’4″, 280 lb. prospect with offers from Duke and a few MAC schools. He camped at Michigan last summer. He might be a fine player, but his name is “Urban.” Ick.

2017
Johnathan Berghorst – DE – Zeeland (MI) East: Berghorst is a 6’2″, 215 lb. prospect with no offers at this point. He has visited Michigan several times and camped in Ann Arbor this past June.

Andre Jackson – CB – Bridgeport (MI) Bridgeport: Jackson is a 5’10”, 170 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.

Corey Malone-Hatcher – DE – St. Joseph (MI) St. Joseph: Hatcher is a 6’3″, 235 lb. prospect with an offer from Ohio State. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #3 weakside end, and #104 overall.

Bruce Mann – QB – Bay City (MI) Western: Mann is a 6’2″, 180 lb. prospect with no offers at this time. His father recently moved to the outskirts of Chicago to take on a new job, so it may be just a matter of time before the younger Mann becomes an out-of-state prospect.

Willie Rodgers – DE – Saginaw (MI) Arthur Hill: Rodgers is a 6’4″, 205 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.

2018
Jimmy Bell – OT – Saginaw (MI) Arthur Hill: Bell is a 6’7″, 310 lb. ninth grader. He has no offers at this time, but he is very large.