Recruiting Update: April 19, 2016

Tag: Bo Melton


19Apr 2016
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Recruiting Update: April 19, 2016

Sampson Niu 870x

San Diego (CA) Madison LB Sampson Niu

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Salinas (CA) Palma center Drew Dalman was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 265 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona, Colorado, and Fresno State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #16 center, and #1373 overall. Dalman isn’t an overpowering lineman, but he is quick out of his stance with a low base. He’s the type who fits at center and not anywhere else.

San Antonio (TX) John Jay offensive tackle Matthew Huhn was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’7″, 270 lb. prospect with offers from Baylor, Houston, and Iowa State, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #81 offensive tackle, and #771 overall. He’s a little heavy-footed and not an ideally athletic prospect, so I would slot him in as a right tackle. Based on the way I expect Michigan to recruit, he’s not on par with what I expect at this juncture, but we’ll see how his recruitment plays out.

Sandy Hook (CT) Newtown linebacker Ben Mason was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 247 lb. prospect with offers from Boston College, Cal, Duke, and Wisconsin, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #35 inside linebacker, and #878 overall. Unfortunately, the only reason many of us – including me – have heard of Sandy Hook before is the elementary school shooting that took place there in December of 2012, in which 28 total people were killed. Anyway, he plays linebacker and fullback for his high school team, but Michigan is looking at him probably as a fullback or a defensive end. He is an underwhelming linebacker prospect, in my opinion.

San Diego (CA) Madison linebacker Sampson Niu was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 217 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona, Notre Dame, Oregon, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #18 inside linebacker, and #476 overall. As a junior in 2015, he made 90 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. He does a very good job of staying low and tackles like a wrestler, but he needs to add weight and strength, as he lacks the necessary bulk and strength to hold up against some of the linemen, fullbacks, and running backs he’ll meet at the next level. He is generally expected to end up at USC.

Jahan Dotson 871x

Highstown (NJ) Peddie WR Jahan Dotson

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018
Highstown (NJ) Peddie wide receiver Jahan Dotson was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 160 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Rutgers, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #6 wide receiver, and #84 overall. As a junior at Nazareth (PA) Nazareth in 2015, he caught 66 passes for 1,179 yards and 16 touchdowns, plus 1 kickoff return TD and 1 punt return TD. He claims a 4.46 forty. Michigan offers so many prospects that I won’t always suggest you watch every highlight film . . . but this is one you’ll want to watch:

Houston (TX) Dekaney tight end Malcolm Epps, who committed to Alabama in February, was offered by Michigan. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #4 tight end, and #82 overall. He’s listed at 6’6″, 214 lbs. and also has offers from Florida State, LSU, and Texas, among others. Right now Epps is a tall, lanky wide receiver, but his body will fill out and he’ll end up as a tight end. Right now there is no indication that he’ll waver from his Alabama commitment.

Seffner (FL) Armwood running back Brian Snead was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 190 lb. prospect with offers from Florida, Ohio State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #3 running back, and #54 overall. As a sophomore in 2015, he ran 174 times for 1,227 yards (7.1 yards/carry) and 17 TDs. He’s a strong runner with good speed. Armwood is traditionally a school that churns out talent, but it has not been kind to Michigan over the years.

Max Williams 872x

Gardena (CA) Junipero Serra CB Max Williams

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2019
Gardena (CA) Junipero Serra cornerback Max Williams was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’10”, 160 lb. prospect with offers from Boston College, Florida State, and LSU, among others. He visited with a bunch of other California prospects last weekend (see below for the link to the visitors list), but Serra is another program that has not been kind to Michigan over the last several years.

OFF THE BOARD
Anaham (CA) Servite wide receiver Terrell Bynum committed to Washington. Michigan was always on the periphery of his recruitment, so this was not much of a surprise.

Owings Mills (MD) McDonough offensive tackle Jordan McNair committed to Maryland. Even with the hometown discount, this was a bit of a surprise because McNair is a high-level prospect with a lot of suitors, and Maryland’s offensive line development has not been particularly good over the past several years. He might be one to watch down the road, though the Terrapins have a very easy schedule this year, so they might gain some momentum once the season gets underway.

Egg Harbor City (NJ) Cedar Creek running back Bo Melton committed to Rutgers. Melton was a teammate of Michigan early enrollee wide receiver Ahmir Mitchell, so I thought the Wolverines would have a good shot here. He was one of my most wanted prospects in the class because I think he has some big-play potential, though he might end up playing wide receiver or possibly in the defensive backfield, too.

Redlands (CA) East Valley defensive end Jaelan Phillips committed to UCLA. Similar to Bynum, Michigan was not heavily involved in his recruitment, and UCLA appeared to be the favorite for a while.

Indpendence (OR) Central defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu committed to Washington. This commitment was a bit of a surprise because he seemed to want to let things play out a bit more, so it will be interesting to see whether he follows through with taking visits elsewhere or not. Michigan has seemingly picked up their pursuit of players with Pacific Islander descent now that Tony Tuioti has been hired as a player personnel guy.

MISCELLANEY
Here’s a list of visitors from this past weekend (LINK).

Holmdel (NJ) Vianney offensive tackle Micah Clark named a top five that includes Michigan at #2, right behind Rutgers.

Brunswick (GA) Glynn Academy cornerback DeeJay Dallas named Michigan to a final ten list of schools. It’s an array of ACC, SEC, Pac-12, and Big Ten schools that also includes the school that he was previously pledged to in the form of the Georgia Bulldogs.

Philadelphia (PA) St. Joseph’s running back D’Andre Swift named Michigan to a top ten.

New Orleans (LA) Brother Martin linebacker Bruce Jordan-Swilling named a top ten that does not include Michigan. I did not expect him to pick a school outside of ACC/SEC country, but I held on to a sliver of hope since he’s the son of former New Orleans Saint and Detroit Lion outside linebacker Pat Swilling.

Over on Recruiting Season, I added/updated profiles for:

24Feb 2016
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MGoFish guest post: 2017 Best Guess Recruiting Class – Offense

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Detroit (MI) Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (image via Rivals)

The following is a guest post from Garrett Fishaw, the owner/managing editor of MGoFish.


With Harbaugh’s first full recruiting class in the books, all eyes turn to 2017 to see how Harbaugh will follow up his top five finish in 2016.

The staff has put in a ton of early work to set themselves up for a great return. And it’s clearly paid off. They’ve already landed the top quarterback on their board and look to be among the favorites for a handful of elite members of the class.

But how will it finish? That’s almost impossible to predict this early, especially after the craziness that took place the last two cycles. So, take this prediction with a grain of salt as there will likely be more decommitments and targets that emerge later in the process.

1. QB Dylan McCaffrey, 6’5” 200lbs. Littleton, CO (Valor) 

  • McCaffrey committed to Michigan in mid-February after having the Wolverines out front for almost a year. His addition to the class is huge as both a prospect and recruiting asset. Expect him to be a big reason why UM lands several top targets in 2017.
  • Michigan’s ChancesCOMMITTED

2. RB Kurt Taylor, 5’9” 200lbs. Covington, GA (Newton) 

  • Taylor committed to Michigan in October and, like the rest of rest of the current commits, looks to be as solid as can be in that pledge. UM lost the commitment of his teammate WR Jeremiah Holloman earlier this month but that shouldn’t change anything in Taylor’s status. The only thing to watch with Taylor is his development throughout the cycle, as he already looks to have just about hit the peak of his physical build.
  • Michigan’s Chances: COMMITTED

Hit the jump for the rest of Garrett’s offensive best guess list.

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11Jan 2016
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Recruiting Update: January 11, 2016

Egg Harbor City (NJ) Cedar Creek RB Bo Melton

COMMITMENT
Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Catholic wide receiver Dylan Crawford committed to Michigan at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Paintsville (KY) Paintsville linebacker Kash Daniel, a Kentucky commit, was offered by Michigan. Daniel is a 6’1″, 227 lb. prospect who’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #14 inside linebacker, and #400 overall. Daniel played in the Army All-American Bowl. He committed to Kentucky on this past Fourth of July, and as an early enrollee, he said he’s solid with the Wildcats.

Sachse (TX) Sachse cornerback Jared Mayden decommitted from Oregon. Mayden is a 6’1″, 190 lb. prospect who is heavily considering Florida State and LSU at this point. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 cornerback, and #128 overall. Mayden committed to Oregon in July and took an official visit to Michigan in September, but it does not appear the Wolverines are an option at this point. He played in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl last week.

Hit the jump for another 2016 player added to the board, some new 2017 offers, some guys who committed elsewhere, and some random bits.

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