Tag: Armani Reeves

Recruiting Update: January 23, 2012

Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s TE Sam Grant could be Michigan’s next commitment for the 2012 class

ADDED TO THE BOARDS (2012, 2013)
Dadeville (AL) Dadeville defensive tackle Rod Crayton was offered by Michigan.  He’s a 6’2″, 290 lb. nose tackle type with offers from Auburn, LSU, Penn State, and several others.  Kids from the deep south rarely escape the gravitational pull of SEC schools, so don’t get your hopes up.

Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s tight end Sam Grant decommitted from Boston College.  He was committed in only the loosest of terms, since virtually everyone knew that he was looking for better options.  But when you’re a program like BC, you have to let your higher level prospects have a little bit of freedom to explore other schools.  The 6’4″, 240 lb. tight end has shown interest in Arkansas and Oklahoma – and visited both – but most recruiting gurus expect him to choose Michigan in the very near future.

West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial cornerback Armani Reeves decommitted from Penn State.  The 5’9″, 185 lb. Reeves had been committed to the Nittany Lions for several months, along with teammate and best friend Camren Williams, a linebacker.  Williams committed to Ohio State a few days ago, and now Reeves will choose between the Buckeyes and Wolverines.  Head coach Brady Hoke made an in-home visit to Reeves on Sunday night, OSU head coach Urban Meyer will visit on Monday night, and Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison will visit Reeves on Tuesday evening.

OFF THE BOARD
Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison cornerback Cam Burrows, a 2013 prospect, committed to Ohio State on Thursday.  The 6’1″, 195 lb. defensive back had long been considered a lock for the Buckeyes.  Burrows is in the early running to be the top player in the state of Ohio.

Washington (D.C.) H.D. Woodson cornerback Kenneth Crawley committed to Colorado on Sunday.  Crawley had previously been committed to Tennessee, but decommitted a few weeks ago.  He briefly flirted with the idea of visiting Michigan.

Waco (TX) Waco cornerback Will Hines decommitted from Missouri.  And then he committed to Arkansas.

Columbus (IN) East quarterback Gunner Kiel switched his commitment from LSU to Notre Dame.  The 6’4″, 220 lb. Kiel probably made a smart move here, because his pledge to LSU was confusing from the beginning.  LSU is a run-oriented offense with a coach not known for developing quarterbacks.  Meanwhile, Notre Dame has produced several solid quarterbacks over the years, including Joe Montana and Joe Theismann.  Unfortunately for Kiel and Notre Dame, the more recent products have been solid college quarterbacks who have turned into NFL busts.

Monrovia (CA) Monrovia defensive tackle Ellis McCarthy switched his commitment from Cal to UCLA.  He had just committed to Cal at the beginning of January, but beloved recruiter Tosh Lupoi left Cal to coach at Washington, which obviously upset several Cal recruits.  UCLA has sucked for a long time, so this seems like a bad move on McCarthy’s part.

South Bend (IN) Washington running back David Perkins committed to Ohio State.  He had previously been committed to Notre Dame.  Perkins was considered to be an option for Michigan at running back when Bri’onte Dunn re-committed to Ohio State, and now both targets are in Columbus.  The 6’2″, 225. lb athlete will likely compete at linebacker for the Buckeyes.

Cincinnati (OH) Oak Hills offensive lineman Caleb Stacey changed his commitment from Michigan to Cincinnati.  Stacey is a 6’4″, 280 lb. guard/center and his stated reason for flipping to Cincinnati is a desire to play closer to home.

Recruiting Update: January 16, 2012

Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers linebacker Jaylon Smith

ADDED TO THE BOARD (2012, 2013, 2014)
Fort Wayne (IN) Bushop Luers outside linebacker Jaylon Smith, a 2013 prospect, received a Michigan offer on Friday.  The 6’3″, 202 lb. Smith is the brother of Rod Smith, a running back at Ohio State.  Jaylon also holds offers from Indiana, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, and Tennessee.

OFF THE BOARD
Vandalia (OH) Butler offensive tackle Taylor Decker changed his commitment from Notre Dame to Ohio State.  Decker is a 6’8″, 288 lb. lineman and a 4-star recruit across the board.

Hamilton (GA) Harris defensive end Jordan Jenkins committed to Georgia on Monday.  The 6’3″, 245-pounder also visited Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee.  He played defensive tackle in the Under Armour All-America Game despite being undersized, but he still finished the game with 8 tackles and 2 sacks.  However, Georgia plans to use him as an outside linebacker in their 3-4 system.

WEEKEND VISITORS
Madisonville (KY) North Hopkins safety Jeremy Clark was in town this past weekend.  He’s 6’4″, 205 lbs. and could potentially develop into an outside linebacker at the college level.  Clark was originally a “greyshirt” commit and wasn’t planning to join the program until 2013, but the departure of Carvin Johnson opened a slot for him.

Chicago (IL) Simeon offensive tackle Jordan Diamond visited Ann Arbor this past weekend.  The 6’6″, 289-pounder is exploring his options with Arkansas, Auburn, Ohio State, and Wisconsin, and the Buckeyes are reportedly feeling quite confident about their chances with him.

Joliet (IL) Joliet Catholic running back Ty Isaac, a 2013 prospect, visited this past weekend.  The 6’3″, 215 lb. runner had 2,114 yards rushing and 45 touchdowns as a junior last season, and Michigan appears to be tied with Notre Dame at the top of Isaac’s list.  I have heard unflattering things about Isaac and I’m not a huge fan of his running style, but he is big and fast . . . so there’s that.

Woodbridge (VA) C.D. Hylton linebacker E.J. Levenberry, Jr., a 2013 prospect, also visited.  The 6’3″, 226 lb. linebacker has already been offered by Michigan, along with several other schools.

Warren (MI) De La Salle quarterback Shane Morris, a 2013 commit, visited Ann Arbor.  Morris seems to be turning into Michigan’s biggest athlete/recruiter, in the same vein as Ricardo Miller and Erik Magnuson in recent classes.

West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial cornerback Armani Reeves visited Ann Arbor again this past weekend.  He’s committed to Penn State but unsure of new head coach Bill O’Brien.  The 5’9″, 185 lb. Reeves could play cornerback or receiver at the next level (Michigan wants him for defense), but both Penn State’s wide receivers coach and secondary coach have been let go.  Reeves’s best friend Camren Williams is committed to Penn State, which could weigh heavily into a decision here.

Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate cornerback Jalen Tabor, a 2014 prospect, visited Michigan this past weekend.  He’s a 6’1″, 168 lb. sophomore who hasn’t been offered by Michigan yet.  However, he does have offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Miami, Ohio State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and several others . . . so a Michigan offer will probably be on the way at some point.  He attends the same school as 2011 running back Malcolm Crockett, who was recruited by Rich Rodriguez, and 2012 defensive tackle Eddie Goldman.

Alliance (OH) Marlington safety Dymonte Thomas, a 2013 commit, visited Michigan along with Morris.  The 6’1″, 180-pounder could play either safety position for Michigan and is also a standout running back for Marlington.

RECRUITING NEWS
There wasn’t a whole lot of news this past week after last week’s monster recruiting update.  Most class of 2012 kids who haven’t committed yet are going to wait until National Signing Day or thereabouts.  So here’s a bit of a wrap-up of some developments in the recruiting world last week:

Scout released its final Scout 300 of the recruiting cycle.  Posting this recruiting update at the beginning of January prevents people from questioning their integrity if they waited until after National Signing Day.  After all, there’s virtually no more “scouting” info to come for the class of 2012 now that the all-American games have been played, and posting updates after NSD might make people question if they change their ratings depending on where kids commit.

Here’s a scouting report on Louisville (KY) Trinity WR James Quick.  Michigan will be battling with lots of teams across the country to get Quick’s commitment, but he looks like a very good prospect for the next level.

Anthony Standifer, ex-Wolverine

2013 prospect LaQuon Treadwell and 2012 prospect Anthony Standifer

Back at the beginning of June, Crete (IL) Crete-Monee cornerback Anthony Standifer committed to Michigan.  At the time the recruiting services hadn’t really picked up on him yet, despite the fact that he had offers from decent schools like Iowa, Michigan, and Notre Dame.  As of this morning, Standifer is a 3-star to all four major recruiting services, and anywhere from the #28 to #46 cornerback.

He remained committed for the past several months and seemed strongly interested in coming to Ann Arbor, but a few days ago, it all started to fall apart.  Michigan and Standifer have made a mutual decision to part ways, although rumors suggest that it was due to some academic shortcomings on Standifer’s part.

To fill the open spot at cornerback, Michigan has recently re-established contact with West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial’s Armani Reeves and continued to pursue Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco Prep’s Yuri Wright.  Reeves is currently committed to Penn State but is wary of the coaching situation.  Wright has often said that Michigan is his dream school, but he has yet to visit.

It’s unclear where Standifer will end up playing ball, but there is another player who factors into the situation: 2013 wide receiver LaQuon Treadwell.  Treadwell is Standifer’s teammate and seemed like he would commit to Michigan at some point.  Without Standifer in Ann Arbor, that might make Treadwell’s commitment less likely.  While he has stated that the news about Standifer won’t affect his recruitment, I have to wonder if that will hold true or not.  Treadwell has picked up offers from Indiana, Nebraska, and Notre Dame to go along with his Michigan offer.

For other news on former Wolverines and ex-commitments, check out the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

Maize ‘n’ Brew: Recruiting Visitors – March 18-20, 2011

The key to today’s game.

Nobody really cares about football right now, but I put up a post over at Maize ‘n’ Brew about this weekend’s recruiting visitors.

But in case you didn’t know, Michigan is playing Duke in the third round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament this afternoon.  It will be on CBS beginning at 2:30 p.m.

I think the key to the game (aside from Darius Morris, who’s the team’s most important player) will be Zack Novak.  He needs to have one of his great shooting days in order to pull off the upset.  If Novak has an off day, I don’t think Michigan will have a chance.

I think the game will be competitive, but Duke will end up with about a seven-point victory.  I’ll guess 65-58.

Here’s hoping for an upset, though . . .   Go blue!