Tag: Ambry Thomas

2017 Recruiting Grades: Defense

Aubrey Solomon (image via Scout)

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I posted the 2017 offensive recruiting grades last week (LINK), so here are my thoughts on the defensive side of the ball. Click on the player names below for their commitment posts.

DEFENSIVE END: B+
Commits (4): Deron Irving-Bey, Donovan Jeter, Corey Malone-Hatcher, Kwity Paye, Luiji Vilain
Decommits (0): N/A
Why? Michigan went after some elite rush ends (Jaelan Phillips, K’Lavon Chaisson, etc.) in this cycle, but none showed much interest. Instead, Michigan got home-stater Malone-Hatcher, Boston College decommit Paye, and Canada native Vilain as weakside end types. I thought Vilain improved significantly over the last couple years since moving from Ontario to Virginia. On the strong side, Michigan got Irving-Bey and Jeter, both of whom could end up as a 3-technique tackles. I don’t see dominant players here, but it is a solid group and they’ll get high-quality coaching.

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Final ESPN 300 for 2017 released

Kai-Leon Herbert

ESPN released its final top 300 for the class of 2017 (LINK). Here’s what it looked like in July of 2015 (LINK). Movement for Michigan commits since that first list:

• Donovan Peoples-Jones dropped from #12 to #22
• Kai-Leon Herbert jumped from #265 to #99
• Dylan McCaffrey jumped from #186 to #117
• Drew Singleton jumped from #201 to #153
• Ja’Raymond Hall jumped from #229 to #169
• Ambry Thomas dropped from #146 to #186
• Tarik Black dropped from #102 to #225
• Joshua Ross dropped from #153 to #236
• Jaylen Kelly-Powell dropped from #243 to #262
• Corey Malone-Hatcher dropped from #94 to #270

Hit the jump for the full list of targets.

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Final Rivals 250 for 2017 released

Dylan McCaffrey

Yesterday I put up a post about the final Rivals 100 (LINK). Today the final Rivals 250 was released (LINK). Here’s a link to the initial Rivals 100 (LINK) and 250 (LINK) for a reference point. Movement for Michigan commits:

• Dylan McCaffrey dropped from #100 to #131
• Ambry Thomas dropped from #133 to #146
• Chuck Filiaga appears at #175
• Joshua Ross dropped from #166 to #222
• Benjamin St-Juste appears at #229
• James Hudson appears at #240
• Kai-Leon Herbert appears at #250
• Corey Malone-Hatcher dropped from #223 to off the list

Hit the jump for the rest of Michigan’s targets.

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Thoughts on 2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl

Donovan Peoples-Jones (image via USA Today)

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl took place yesterday, and there were several Michigan-related players involved – including offensive tackle Chuck Filiaga, who committed to the Wolverines during the broadcast (LINK). Here are my thoughts on the game, which was won 27-17 by the East.

MICHIGAN COMMITS

Cheshire (CT) Cheshire Academy wide receiver Tarik Black was a backup wideout for the East team, but he was the first receiver in off the bench. He earned positive reviews throughout the week of practice for his route-running abilities, something that I noted in his commitment post. The East quarterbacks targeted him a few times, but he ended the game with just 1 catch for 9 yards. One of the incompletions was a back-shoulder fade on which Black failed to adjust (a tough play that almost never works with such little time to build chemistry), and the other was a post route that was thrown too high and broken up by the defensive back. He played about as expected.

Aledo (TX) Aledo offensive tackle Chuck Filiaga was the backup right tackle for the West. To be honest, I did not keep an eye out for Filiaga. He was the backup right tackle, and there were too many other players to watch.

Flint (MI) Southwestern defensive end Deron Irving-Bey was a backup defensive end for the East squad. He’s another player that I did not notice, except for 1 QB pressure. I did record the game, and I’ll go back and take a look before finalizing the TTB Ratings, but for now I have nothing significant to report. I can say that he did not stand out, because if he had, I would have noticed.

Hit the jump for more.

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2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl preview

Dylan McCaffrey (image via 247 Sports)

The 2017 U.S. Army All-American Bowl will be played January 7, at 1:00 p.m. The broadcast will be on NBC.

Here’s a look at the participating players who were offered by Michigan (and an all-time list of Michigan commits can be found HERE):

EAST

QB Hunter Johnson (Clemson)
QB Davis Mills (Stanford)
RB Cam Akers (Florida State)
RB Ty Chandler (Tennessee)
RB D’Andre Swift (Georgia)
WR Tarik Black (Michigan)
WR Mike Harley (West Virginia)
WR Jeremiah Holloman (Georgia)
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (Michigan)
TE Cole Kmet (Notre Dame)
OL D’Antne Demery (Georgia)
OL Netori Johnson (Georgia)
OL Josh Myers (Ohio State)
OL Kendall Randolph (Alabama)
OL Tedarrell Slaton
OL Andrew Thomas (Georgia)
DE A.J. Epenesa (Iowa)
DE Deron Irving-Bey (Michigan)
DE Jarez Parks
DE Chase Young (Ohio State)
DT Rutger Reitmaier (Oregon)
DT Aubrey Solomon
LB Justin Foster (Clemson)
LB Willie Gay
LB Nate McBride (Georgia)
LB Hamsah Nasirildeen (Clemson)
CB Richard LeCounte (Georgia)
CB Ambry Thomas (Michigan)
CB Shaun Wade (Ohio State)
S Devon Hunter

WEST

QB Tate Martell (Ohio State)
QB Dylan McCaffrey (Michigan)
QB Shawn Robinson (TCU)
RB Eno Benjamin
RB Stephen Carr (USC)
RB Najee Harris (Alabama)
RB Greg Johnson
WR Joseph Lewis
WR Tyjon Lindsey (Ohio State)
WR Omar Manning (TCU)
WR Oliver Martin
TE Colby Parkinson (Stanford)
OL Wyatt Davis (Ohio State)
OL Chuck Filiaga
OL Austin Jackson
OL Walker Little (Stanford)
OL Jake Moretti (Colorado)
OL Brett Neilon (USC)
OL Foster Sarell
DE Hunter Echols (UCLA)
DE Jaelan Phillips (UCLA)
DT Jay Tufele
DT Marlon Tuipulotu (Washington)
LB Baron Browning (Ohio State)
LB Bruce Jordan-Swilling (Georgia Tech)
LB Sampson Niu (Oregon)
CB Darnay Holmes
CB Jaylon Johnson (Utah)
CB Deommodore Lenoir
CB Jeffrey Okudah
S Bubba Bolden

If you want to check out U.S. Army All-Americans since the game’s inception, check out that list here (LINK).

Hit the jump for more on tomorrow’s game.

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