Cornerback Lavert Hill is being “a real leader” through his yearly spring injury problems (LINK).
Jim Harbaugh talked about Daxton Hill a bit (LINK).
Oak Park (MI) Oak Park wide receiver Maliq Carr:
I will be committing on October 11th
— Mäłįq “Thę Frêåk”5️⃣ Čãrr (@CarrMaliq) April 16, 2019
Mazi Smith, Nolan Rumler, Anthony Solomon, Quinten Johnson, and Trente Jones (L-R, image via Twitter)
Rivals put together a series of exit interviews from the All-American Bowl, including getting some responses from Michigan signees Daxton Hill and Chris Hinton, Jr.:
Here are a couple analyses of Chris Hinton . . .
. . . and Cornelius Johnson:
Here’s a link to the visitor list for this weekend (LINK).
Daxton Hill (image via 247 Sports)
The 2019 All-American Bowl will be taking place in San Antonio, TX, today, and it will be broadcast on NBC at 1:00 p.m. EST. Other than the Polynesian Bowl (January 19), this will be the last chance to see Michigan’s 2019 commits until they’re suiting up for Michigan. This game used to be known as the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, but the Army no longer sponsors the bowl.
Michigan commits include:
EAST
DL Chris Hinton, Jr., #5
WR Cornelius Johnson, #81
WEST
DB Daxton Hill, #30
This game is full of guys Michigan pursued or is pursuing, including:
EAST
RB Quavaris Crouch, #27 (Tennessee)
RB Eric Gray, #2 (Tennessee)
WR Wandale Robinson, #13 (Nebraska)
DE Zach Harrison, #93 (Ohio State)
DE George Karlaftis, #42 (Purdue)
LB Lance Dixon, #31 (Penn State)
WEST
WR Jaylen Ellis, #4 (Baylor)
WR Kyle Ford, #82
OL Bryce Benhart, #68 (Nebraska)
OL Logan Brown, #50 (Wisconsin)
DL Isaiah Foskey, #18
The following players will be announcing their commitments:
CB Marcus Banks
WR David Bell
DE Khris Bogle
ATH McKel Broussard
WR Kyle Ford
WR Jadon Haselwood
WR Bru McCoy
CB Chris Steele
CB Tyrique Stevenson
Here’s a link to the full rosters (LINK), and here’s a list of all the Michigan players to have played in this bowl game in the past (LINK).
Tulsa (OK) Booker T. Washington safety Daxton Hill committed to Michigan (LINK), flipped to Alabama (LINK), and then re-committed to Michigan on Wednesday.
Of course, you know this already, because you’re a diehard Michigan fan. I’m not breaking any news here.
Hill supposedly flipped to Alabama because of the “news” that Jim Harbaugh was leaving for the NFL’s Browns/Packers and Don Brown was leaving for the Temple head coaching job. Brown did interview for the Temple gig, so that might be a viable concern, but rumors of Harbaugh leaving for the NFL pop up literally every year. Harbaugh will have to deal with that type of negative recruiting for his entire career at Michigan. Once the rumors were dispelled, Hill regretted his decision.
Hill joins a short list of players who have committed to Michigan, de-committed, and then re-committed. A lot of recruits burn bridges or cut off ties to the program to which they originally committed. It has happened a few times in the last several years with the Wolverines, though, in the former of offensive guard David Dawson and defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon. (It may be noteworthy, though, that both Dawson and Solomon transferred before their Michigan careers ended, at least if Solomon follows through with his current intentions.)
RANKINGS
ESPN: 5-star, 90 grade, #1 S, #13 overall
Rivals: 5-star, 6.1 grade, #1 S, #24 overall
247 Sports: 5-star, 98 grade, #1 S, #7 overall
This is just a reminder that I gave Hill my highest possible…
TTB Rating: 100 (ratings explanation)
Tulsa (OK) Booker T. Washington safety Daxton Hill
Tulsa (OK) Booker T. Washington safety Daxton Hill ripped Michigan fans’ hearts out on Saturday when he tweeted out that he was flipping to Alabama. Hill is the #1 safety in the country, according to the 247 Composite rankings, and is the #8 player in the country.
I gave Hill a TTB Rating of 100 (LINK), which means I think he’s the best safety in the country, too. This continues the trend of Alabama treating Michigan like Michigan used to treat Purdue, as the Crimson Tide have stolen Michigan’s top recruit – or close to it – in three of the last five years. In the 2018 class, offensive guard Emil Ekiyor (#113 overall, one spot behind Aidan Hutchinson) flipped to ‘Bama, and in 2015, it was running back Damien Harris (#31).
The Wolverines currently have zero safeties committed in the 2019 class. With 23 commits, this drops their overall 247 Composite ranking to #11 in the nation. Hill joins running back Eric Gray (uncommitted), defensive end Stephen Herron (Stanford), and defensive lineman Tyrece Woods (uncommitted) as decommitments from Michigan in 2019.