Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 8

Tag: Garrett Taylor


25Oct 2016
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Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 8

Oregon TE Pharaoh Brown (image via UWire)

Oregon TE Pharaoh Brown (image via UWire)

Former DE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown had 3 catches for 53 yards and 1 touchdown in Oregon’s 52-49 loss to Cal.

Former CB commit Gareon Conley: Conley had 2 tackles and 1 pass breakup in Ohio State’s 24-21 loss to Penn State.

Former RB commit Damien Harris: Harris had 18 carries for 125 yards in Alabama’s 33-14 win over Texas A&M.

Hit the jump for several more updates on former Michigan players, coaches, and commits.

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24Aug 2015
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Ex-Wolverine Updates: Pre-season 2015

Former Michigan running back commit Damien Harris is battling for playing time at Alabama

Well, the making of this post included my baptism into the annoying world of WordPress. There are some nice things about WordPress, but I really missed Blogger yesterday morning when I worked on this post from approximately 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. – with intermittent breaks for necessities – only to have 50% of it disappear into the ether.

Former QB Russell Bellomy: Bellomy’s coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio, Larry Coker, says that Bellomy is in the running . . . to win the #2 job (LINK). That says a lot about Bellomy’s talent level. If you disagree, consider that the entrenched starter, Blake Bogenschutz, went 22/39 (56.4%) for 282 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions last year.

Former OG Kyle Bosch: Bosch, who received a waiver to play this year after transferring to West Virginia in the off-season, is in a battle to start at offensive guard or potentially tackle this fall.

Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown, who suffered a nasty knee injury last season, will likely be the starter at tight end again this fall for Oregon. As a junior in 2014, he made 25 catches for 420 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Hit the jump for news and notes on 19 more former Michigan commits, signees, and players.
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4Dec 2014
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Recruiting Update: December 4, 2014

Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic quarterback
Jarrett Guarantano (image via 247Sports.com)

Even though head coach Brady Hoke was let go on Tuesday, the recruiting must go on. Michigan has about two months before National Signing Day, and they have just six commits in the class of 2015. It will be a small class, so it is still salvageable with a good hire. Former Michigan offensive coordinator (and Central Michigan head coach) Mike DeBord is handling day-to-day activities of the head football coach, and the rest of the staff has been told to stop contacting recruits. Mattison is nearing retirement age and repeatedly said that he only came back to Michigan to work with Hoke, so it’s not a surprise that he would be headed out the door. It’s unclear whether the other staff members will be asked to interview for the new regime or not.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Avon (CT) Old Farms tight end Chris Clark decommitted from Michigan (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic quarterback Jarrett Guarantano was offered by Michigan, according to Rivals. He’s a 6’4″, 200 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 pro-style quarterback, and #108 overall. As a junior in 2014, he was 97/153 for 1,163 yards and 14 touchdowns, plus he had 547 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground. Despite being rated as a pro-style guy, he’s a decent – but not dynamic – runner, and Ohio State appears to be the frontrunner right now.

Hit the jump for some commitments elsewhere and some miscellaneous tidbits.

OFF THE BOARD
Richmond (VA) St. Christopher’s cornerback Garrett Taylor committed to Penn State. Taylor originally committed to Michigan, but he decommitted in the midst of Michigan’s disappointing season and the swirling rumors about Brady Hoke’s job insecurity. Taylor tore his ACL prior to the season and did not play at all during his senior year, but he’s still the #114 overall player according to the 247 Composite rankings.

MISCELLANEOUS
Here’s the updated Rivals 100 (LINK) and Rivals 250 (LINK).

Although Brady Hoke was fired on Tuesday, Michigan had several underclassman prospects visit campus on Wednesday:

Detroit King is quickly becoming a bastion of talent in the Detroit area. For a few years, they had some decent prospects, but now they’re stockpiling. They brought in reinforcements with former Detroit (MI) Cass Tech CB Lavert Hill and might be getting a transfer from St. Clair Shores (MI) South Lake RB Martell Pettaway.
29Oct 2014
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Recruiting Update: October 29, 2014

Oak Park (MI) Oak Park safety John Kelly (image via Scout.com)

DECOMMITMENT
Richmond (VA) St. Christopher’s cornerback Garrett Taylor decommitted from Michigan. Taylor had committed to Michigan (LINK) this past spring, but in recent weeks, he had set official visits to Ohio State and Penn State. Taylor tore his ACL prior to the beginning of his senior season, so he hasn’t played and won’t play this year. However, he is still getting attention from heavy hitters, and he will not be considering Michigan going forward. He’s currently a 247 Composite 4-star, the #12 cornerback, and #107 overall.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Oak Park (MI) Oak Park safety John Kelly was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’9″, 191 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan State, Minnesota, and some MAC schools. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #63 athlete, #661 overall, and #9 in-state. Kelly was offered after cornerback Taylor’s decommitment, but Michigan wants Kelly as a safety. He also plays running back in high school. Kelly claims a 4.6 forty and while he’s not a burner, he is a good all-around player. Initial readings have him leaning toward Michigan State, and his comments upon receiving the Michigan offer were not particularly overwhelming in favor of the Wolverines. He may visit this coming weekend for the game against Indiana.

Lawrenceville (GA) Central Gwinnett outside linebacker Adonis Thomas decommitted from Florida. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 outside linebacker, and #171 overall. Thomas has never shown much interest in Michigan, seems to like Alabama, and has scheduled visits to Oregon and LSU.

Hit the jump for players who committed elsewhere and some other miscellaneous tidbits.

OFF THE BOARD
Indianapolis (IN) Ben Davis linebacker Asmar Bilal committed to Notre Dame. At one point he was down to Michigan and the Fighting Irish, but he always seemed to be leaning toward playing in South Bend. The two programs’ diverging trajectories seemed to make the decision pretty clear. Bilal is friends with 2015 Michigan commit Darrin Kirkland, Jr., a fellow Indianan.

Raleigh (NC) Millbrook defensive end Kengera Daniel committed to Kentucky. The Wildcats currently have the #22 recruiting class nationally, based on their relative success (5-3 this year) and second-year head coach Mark Stoops.

Orlando (FL) Timber Creek running back Jacques Patrick committed to Florida State. He was generally considered to be an FSU lean, and the one thing seemingly drawing him to consider Michigan was his uncle, who is a coach in Detroit. However, nobody really seemed to believe he had any chance of being a Wolverine.

Missouri City (TX) Ridge Point outside linebacker Cameron Townsend committed to Texas. The Longhorns are traditionally a recruiting powerhouse, but they’re currently Rivals’ #15 class with 18 commitments, 13 of which are just 3-stars. First-year head coach Charlie Strong has been cleaning house in Austin and trying to get his types of guys in there, which might have something to do with the slightly depressed state of their recruiting.

MISCELLANEOUS
Michigan lost one scholarship for the class of 2015 when it was announced that true senior linebacker Desmond Morgan would redshirt and return next season as a fifth year senior. Of course, it’s probably better to have a fifth-year potential captain returning than a freshman who might wash out, so this is a positive for the Wolverines. This means that the 2015 class is scheduled to include 11 players (LINK) instead of 12, although that number will probably grow with some other early departures.

Here’s a list of players who visited East Lansing for the Michigan vs. MSU game (LINK).

Over on Recruiting Season, I updated the profile of Oak Park’s John Kelly and Plymouth’s Michael Jordan.

2Sep 2014
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Recruiting Update: September 2, 2014

Darian Roseboro

COMMITMENT
Lincolnton (NC) Lincolnton defensive end Darian Roseboro committed to Michigan (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Towson (MD) St. Frances Academy defensive end Rahshaun Smith was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 225 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Maryland, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #3 weakside end, and #50 overall. Smith has excellent get-off, long arms, and good change of direction, but he’s raw and needs to learn to play with leverage and using his hands. He appears to be wide open, has visited several schools, and could end up anywhere.


OFF THE BOARD

Memphis (TN) Whitehaven linebacker Joshua McMillon committed to Alabama. He was down to Michigan and the Crimson Tide, but when he decided not to visit for the late July BBQ at the Big House, the writing was on the wall.

MISCELLANEOUS
Richmond (VA) St. Christopher’s cornerback Garrett Taylor tore his ACL in pre-season practice, so he will miss the 2014 season. Taylor, in case you didn’t know, is a 2015 Michigan commit. With the way ACL recoveries go, he should be ready to play by his freshman year in college.

Here’s a list of visitors for the Appalachian State game (LINK).

The recruit tracker tag (LINK) has updates on Michigan commits’ high school seasons, including Alex Malzone and Darrin Kirkland, Jr.