Rising fifth year linebacker Devin Gil announced on Tuesday that he would be transferring elsewhere for his final year of eligibility.
Gil was a part of the 2016 class that brought teammates Gil, Josh Metellus, and Devin Bush, Jr. from Charles P. Flanagan High School to Michigan. He was a 3-star, the #67 safety, and #997 overall. I initially gave him a TTB Rating of 58 (LINK) and bumped it up to a 63 after his senior year (LINK).
San Antonio (TX) Christian tight end Nick Patterson committed to Princeton on Wednesday evening, National Signing Day. While he never publicly decommitted from Michigan, rumors had been swirling for months that he would not end up playing in Ann Arbor.
I had acknowledged this development for a while, but I just wanted to post the closure of his recruitment. When he committed back in September of 2018 (LINK), I wasn’t giving out TTB Ratings for 2020 class members yet. But when I got around to it in May of 2019, I gave him a 49 (LINK). Patterson just isn’t a Michigan-level athlete, and I’ll leave it at that.
Hit the jump for more on the impact of this decommitment.
Baltimore (MD) St. Frances offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua committed to Baylor and their new coach, Dave Aranda. According to a source, Baylor is not Michigan.
Mazzccua committed to Michigan in February 2019 (LINK) and I gave him a TTB Rating of 69. However, there were questions about whether he would ultimately end up in Michigan’s class. He tweeted after the early National Signing Day that he would be signing on February 5 . . . but he didn’t necessarily say that signature would be for Michigan.
Mazzccua played with running back Blake Corum and linebackers Osman Savage and Nikhai Hill-Green at St. Frances, all of whom signed with Michigan in December. He also joined Corum at the Under Armour All-American Game, but as I somewhat expected, Mazzccua did not start and looked just okay when he did play.
I expected Mazzccua to end up at guard at the next level, and I think the other linemen in Michigan’s 2020 class have more upside. The Wolverines are still pursuing the limited options still available to sign in February, and they are also looking at grad transfer options on the offensive line (LINK).
This departure from the 2020 recruiting class has been expected for a while. I have not included him in the 2020 Scholarship Count for several weeks (LINK), so this doesn’t change the outlook much; Michigan is currently sitting at 85 scholarship guys.
Mazzccua is the fifth player to rescind his commitment to Michigan in some way, shape, or form, joining RB Tim Baldwin (Indiana), WR Kalil Branham (Kentucky), QB J.D. Johnson (retired), and DT Denver Warren (undecided).
Rising fifth year senior Tru Wilson announced on Twitter that he plans to become a graduate transfer at another school in 2020. Wilson is listed at 5’11” and 200 lbs. He was tied for the third-most carries on Michigan’s team in 2019 (44 carries, 221 yards, 1 TD).
Wilson came to Michigan as a preferred walk-on in the 2016 class after being named a Semper Fi All-American. It’s rare that an All-American of that sort has to be a walk-on, but he spurned offers from the service academies to pay his own way to Ann Arbor. He found his way onto the field by being a solid pass blocker and a dependable runner (107 attempts, 586 yards, 2 TD), even though his speed was lacking. One of the best things he did was spell Michigan’s top backs during blowouts or against lesser teams, so the top guys could get a breather and stay healthy.
Heading into his fifth year, Wilson’s talents were somewhat redundant. Michigan has the pass blocker in Zach Charbonnet, who will be just a sophomore. Michigan has the reliable between-the-tackles guy in Hassan Haskins, who will be a redshirt sophomore. Add in potentially dynamic freshman Blake Corum, a Chris Evans returning from academic issues, and scatback Christian Turner, and the Wolverines have decent depth at the position.
Still, it was an odd career arc from Wilson:
High school All-American
Walk-on
1 carry for 1 yard in 2016
Redshirt in 2017
Key backup role in 2018
Declared starter going into 2019
Broken hand in 2019 pre-season
T-3rd most carries on team
Transfer
Here are some highlights of Wilson’s 2018 season for those of you yearning for some football video:
