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The 2012 In-State Recruiting Battle

Mario Ojemudia is Michigan’s top prospect, according to the Detroit News

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio has claimed in recent years that he cares more about in-state recruiting than Michigan, and that might have been true in the years when Rich Rodriguez was the head man at Michigan.  But the arrival of Brady Hoke might have swayed the favor in-state toward Ann Arbor.  Let’s take a look at the top recruits in the state of Michigan, based on the Detroit News’ blue-chip list:

1. Mario Ojemudia – DE – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’3″, 225 lb. end – who also played a lot of defensive tackle – had 104 tackles and 14 sacks.  He considered Michigan State early, but committed to Michigan on May 7, 2011, and stuck with Michigan to the end.

2. Terry Richardson – CB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 5’9″, 160 lb. cornerback made 5 interceptions during his senior season.  He was a little later in committing than his in-state friends James Ross and Royce Jenkins-Stone, but he hopped on board on May 19, 2011.  He entertained taking visits to other schools, but mostly he was considering heading to SEC country rather than East Lansing.  However, Michigan’s coaches told him that if he visited elsewhere, they wouldn’t necessarily reserve a spot for him in the recruiting class.  He did not visit elsewhere and signed with Michigan.

3. James Ross – LB – Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’0″, 210 lb. linebacker made 173 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks as a senior.  He had committed to Michigan back on May 2, 2011, and remained committed throughout the process.

4. Royce Jenkins-Stone – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’2″, 215 lb. middle linebacker made 115 unassisted tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions as a senior.  He had committed to Michigan on April 16, 2011, and remained committed until National Signing Day.

5. Aaron Burbridge – WR – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’2″, 185 lb. wideout reportedly wanted to commit to Michigan along with teammates Ojemudia and Devin Funchess, but he didn’t have the grades to get into Michigan(that sentiment was confirmed by Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson).  He committed to Michigan State on July 28, 2011, and signed with the Spartans on National Signing Day.

6. Matt Godin – DE – Novi (MI) Catholic Central
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’6″, 270 lb. defensive end/tackle made 70 tackles and 9 sacks as a senior.  He committed to Michigan on May 12, 2011, and signed with Michigan.

7. Devin Funchess – TE – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’4″, 215 lb. tight end committed to Michigan on April 22, 2011, and signed with Michigan in February.

8. Danny O’Brien – DT – Flint (MI) Powers Catholic
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’2″, 293 lb. defensive tackle considered both in-state schools heavily, but committed to Tennessee on October 6, 2011, and signed with the Volunteers in February.

9. Ron Thompson – TE – Southfield (MI) Southfield
Offered by: Michigan only
The 6’4″, 230 lb. tight end made 57 receptions for 729 yards and 9 touchdowns as a senior.  He was offered by Michigan early in the process but the Wolverines reportedly backed off due to some classroom issues.  He committed to Syracuse on November 7, 2011, and signed with the Orangemen in February.

10. Ben Braden – OT – Rockford (MI) Rockford
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’7″, 320 lb. offensive tackle committed to Michigan on March 24, 2011.  He signed with the Wolverines in February.

11. Evan Winston – DE – Muskegon (MI) Muskegon
Offered by: Neither in-state school
The 6’4″, 255 lb. defensive end committed to Missouri on July 23, 2011, and signed with the Tigers in February.

12. Jamal Lyles – LB – Southfield (MI) Lathrup
Offered by: Michigan State only
The 6’3″, 215 lb. linebacker made 135 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, and 4 interceptions.  He committed to Michigan State on June 23, 2011, and signed with the Spartans in February.

13. Drake Johnson – RB – Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer
Offered by: Michigan only
The 6’1″, 215 lb. running back ran for 2,805 yards and 38 touchdowns as a senior.  He committed to Michigan on November 10, 2011, almost immediately after receiving an offer, and signed with Michigan in February.

14. Dennis Norfleet – RB – Detroit (MI) King
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 5’6″, 180 lb. had 2,033 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior.  He was committed to Cincinnati for several months, but he switched his commitment to Michigan on the eve of National Signing Day.

15. Ruben Lile – LB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Offered by: Neither in-state school
Lile committed to Iowa on August 27, 2011, and signed with the Hawkeyes in February.

NOT RANKED:
Riley Bullough – LB – Traverse City (MI) St. Francis
Offered by: Michigan State only
Bullough committed to Michigan State on April 30, 2011.

Kodi Kieler – OT – Gibraltar (MI) Carlson
Offered by: Michigan State only
Kieler committed to Michigan State on August 8, 2011.

SUMMARY
Ten players were offered by both Michigan and Michigan State.  Eight of them picked Michigan, including six of the top seven.  One picked Michigan State (although, as mentioned above, it sounded like Michigan wouldn’t accept his commitment so he went with Plan B).  The other picked Tennessee.

Michigan went after two players who were not offered by MSU.  One picked Michigan.  The other picked Syracuse.

Michigan State went after three players who were not offered by Michigan.  All three picked MSU.

I think it’s fair to say that Michigan kicked Michigan State’s tail when it comes to recruiting in the state.  Brady Hoke 8, Mark Dantonio 1.  I look forward to seeing what 2013 brings.  It’s already 1-0 in Michigan’s favor with Warren (MI) De La Salle quarterback Shane Morris pledging to be a Wolverine.

Detroit News: Blue Chip List

Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison TE/WR Devin Funchess is the #7 player in the state

The Detroit News gives a rundown of their top 15 in-state players for the class of 2012, and the top four guys are headed to Michigan.  On the list:

1. Mario Ojemudia
2. Terry Richardson
3. James Ross
4. Royce Jenkins-Stone
6. Matt Godin
7. Devin Funchess
10 Ben Braden
13. Drake Johnson

Mailbag: Roster Questions for Next Year

Michael Schofield (#75) celebrates with Devin Gardner

I was going through the could be depth chart for next year and I have a ton of questions for you.

Cox stays or goes?? I’m thinking he doesn’t come back

TE is going to be a mess next year. Your thoughts??

Does Schofield move back to OT?

What side will Magnuson, Braden and Williams play?

Is Justice Hayes a WR or RB?

Reading the Jerry Montgomery article scares me about Brink. Can he put on 20 lbs or so and be half effective??

Thanks, love the blog.

Thanks for the e-mail, Randy.  I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

My gut tells me that redshirt junior running back Michael Cox will not return in 2012.  He was limited to special teams this season and did not see a single snap on offense.  While I think he has the talent to play at Michigan, he obviously hasn’t done what it takes to get on the field more consistently, whether it’s in the classroom or on the practice field.  It’s somewhat rare that a guy who plays that little as a redshirt junior gets a scholarship for a fifth year.  If Cox gets his degree, though, I would not be surprised to see him transfer to a MAC-level school and play somewhere next season.  The kid has talent, whether people see it or not.

I’m not too worried about Michigan’s tight end situation.  An elite tight end can be a great weapon, but you can still have a decent team without a great tight end.  Kevin Koger is not as good as most Michigan fans think he is; he’s above average but that’s about it.  Michigan will almost surely take a step back at the position, but I don’t think it will affect the team greatly.  As a blocker he’ll be missed, but he’s only caught 21 passes for 235 yards and 4 touchdowns.  That production is roughly par for the course ever since Bennie Joppru suited up in 2002.  With players like Tyler Ecker, Tim Massaquoi, and Carson Butler in between, the performance of Michigan’s offense suffered little – and neither Massaquoi or Butler was a great blocker, either.  The combination of fifth year senior Brandon Moore, redshirt sophomore Ricardo Miller, freshman Devin Funchess, and freshman A.J. Williams should be fine.

I do think redshirt sophomore Michael Schofield will move back to offensive tackle in 2012.  Michigan has lots of options on the interior between Ricky Barnum, Rocko Khoury, Patrick Omameh, Jack Miller, Chris Bryant, and Elliott Mealer.  At the tackle positions, it’s just Taylor Lewan, Schofield, and freshmen, unless the coaches want to shake things up and move Omameh to tackle.

Incoming freshman Erik Magnuson looks like a future right tackle to me, but based on the available talent, he will probably play on the left side at Michigan.  Ben Braden looks like a prototypical right tackle.  A.J. Williams is being recruited as a tight end, so he’ll play on whichever side the formation requires.

Freshman Justice Hayes has been playing running back in practice.  Some insiders suggest that he will end up at slot receiver sometime in the future.  Personally, I have never been high on Hayes as a running back.  He’s a slightly bigger version of Vincent Smith, someone who can catch passes and do okay when put in open space.

Can Nathan Brink put on 20 lbs.?  Sure.  That’s not an unbelievable amount of weight to add in an off-season.  Craig Roh has put on about 20 pounds in each of the past two off-seasons.  Can Brink be effective once he puts on that weight?  I don’t know.  He has been manhandled this year, and it’s hard to predict good things when he’s been pushed backward with consistency.  I hope he can turn into all the good things that Jerry Montgomery and Greg Mattison have predicted for him, but that’s a prediction I’m not willing to make.

Ben Braden, Wolverine

Rockford offensive lineman Ben Braden

Ben Braden, an offensive tackle from Rockford High School in Rockford, MI, committed to Michigan on Thursday during a visit to campus with his head coach.  Braden is a 3-star prospect to Scout, but is so far unranked (along with most prospects) by Scout and ESPN.  He also had offers from Michigan State, Syracuse, and Wisconsin.

Braden is listed at 6’6″ and 285 lbs., which doesn’t seem like much of a stretch.  He’s solidly built in the lower and upper body.  He looks like the Michigan linemen of the ’90’s and early ’00’s.  He will certainly need to add weight before he plays at the next level, but physically he’s more ready than several of Michigan’s recruits over the past couple seasons (Christian Pace, Taylor Lewan, Michael Schofield, etc.).

Athletically, I’m not so sure that Braden will be ready early on.  No public film on Braden is currently posted on the internet, but I did see some of his junior highlights on Scout.  He plays with good body lean.  However, he’s not the most gifted athlete and doesn’t seem to move well laterally.  Rockford’s offense is run-heavy, and therefore, he puts a little too much weight on his hand to give himself forward moment; this is a habit that will likely need to be coached out of him at the next level, giving him a more balanced stance.  I would also like to see Braden finish his blocks a little better.  There are times where he stops blocking and looks back at the play, another habit that will need to be broken.  I don’t think it’s due to a lack of aggression, but more a lack of maturity as a football player.  Lots of high school linemen are guilty of the same thing.

Given the questions about his athleticism and pass blocking, I think Braden is best suited for right tackle or perhaps even the offensive guard position.  Getting too tall can be problematic at guard, but if he maintains his current height, his thick build should make him a solid run blocker.

I doubt whether Braden would have been recruited by Michigan if Rich Rodriguez were still the coach.  Rodriguez pursued a different sort of lineman, so this represents a change in philosophy.  Whereas Michigan’s former coach recruited quicker, more agile linemen, the current one has predictably started searching for road graders to pave the way for his running attack.

This is Michigan’s first commitment for the class of 2012.  The coaches have reportedly told recruits that they expect to take six linemen in this class, so expect many more of these monsters to jump on board between now and next February.

TTB Rating: 65