2016 Recruiting Update: January 28, 2015

Tag: Jake Hausmann


28Jan 2015
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2016 Recruiting Update: January 28, 2015

Manvel (TX) Manvel safety
Deontay Anderson
(image via 247sports.com)

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Harbor City (CA) Narbonne offensive tackle Alex Akingbulu was offered by Michigan. Akingbulu is a 6’6″, 275 lb. prospect who just finished playing his first year of organized football, and Michigan is his first (and only) offer. Offensive coordinator Tim Drevno is the point man on him, so his west coast connections must have paid off with the little known recruit. Akingbulu does not have much technique at this point, but he is an impressive athlete who moves his feet really well. With a good deal of coaching, he could be pretty special. You might remember his high school from when Michigan was recruiting safety Sean Parker (Washington) in the 2010 class.


Manvel (TX) Manvel safety Deontay Anderson was offered by Michigan. Anderson is a 6’1″, 192 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, and USC, among others. Basically, he can go to school wherever he wants. Michigan recently had a flirtation with his 2015 teammate, cornerback Will Lockett, who ultimately decided to stick to his UCLA pledge. Anderson is an early 247 Composite 5-star, the #2 returner (this is a category now?), and #25 overall in the class. As a junior in 2014, he made 59 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 interceptions (1 returned for touchdown), 8 pass breakups, and 1 punt return for a touchdown.



Concord (CA) De La Salle tight end Devin Asiasi was offered by Michigan. Asiasi is a 6’5″, 255 lb. prospect with offers from Nebraska, Oregon, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 weakside end, and #148 overall. He’s a big kid but someone who can be split out at times, and he even takes an occasional direct snap. Former Michigan (and Idaho and New England Patriots) quarterback Matt Gutierrez was from there, and I recently watched When the Game Stands Tall, a decent football movie about the school, which set the national record for consecutive victories.

Hit the jump for a couple more offers, commitments elsewhere, and some random tidbits.

Huber Heights (OH) Wayne quarterback Messiah DeWeaver decommitted from Michigan on Tuesday night. DeWeaver is a 6’3″, 202 lb. prospect who committed to Michigan in June of 2014. He has picked up offers from Kentucky, Michigan State, and Penn State in the meantime, and he’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #14 pro-style quarterback, and #306 overall. He held out through the coaching change and met the new staff, but ultimately, he has decided not to remain committed. DeWeaver transferred from Trotwood (OH) Trotwood-Madison – which has sent several players to Michigan over the years – to Huber Heights (OH) Wayne after the football season. Wayne has been somewhat kind to Michigan over the years, too, with 2015 safety commit Tyree Kinnel and then the Talbott brothers several years ago.

Oakland (CA) Bishop O’Dowd linebacker Camilo Eifler was offered by Michigan. Eifler is a 6’2″, 210 lb. prospect with offers from Colorado, Duke, and Washington. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #45 outside linebacker, and #594 overall. Eifler is a speedy, hard-hitting linebacker, and I’m surprised that he doesn’t have more offers at this point. His head coach is Napoleon Kaufman, whom you may remember as a tremendously speedy running back for the Washington Huskies and then the Oakland Radiers.

Los Angeles (CA) Loyola cornerback David Long, Jr. was offered by Michigan. Long is a 6’0″, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Miami, Oregon, UCLA, and Washington, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #34 cornerback, and #329 overall. He claims a 4.5 forty and a 34″ vertical. It’s unclear at this point whether Michigan wants him as a corner or receiver; he looks more engaged playing receiver, but he does have some skills on defense. Long is also friends with quarterback K.J. Costello and wide receiver Dylan Crawford, both Californians in the 2016 class whom Michigan has already offered.

Pompano Beach (CA) Coconut Creek cornerback Trayvon Mullen was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, and Miami, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 cornerback, and #63 overall. He also claims a 4.37 forty. The previous Michigan staff also offered two teammates of Mullen, wide receiver Binjimen Victor and cornerback Malek Young.

OFF THE BOARD
Cincinnati (OH) Moeller tight end Jake Hausmann committed to Ohio State. Hausmann is one of the top few tight end prospects in the country. On the plus side, Michigan has also been pursuing Perry (OH) Perry tight end Luke Farrell, who also had the Buckeyes at or near the top of his list. This may open the door a little bit for Farrell to come up north, although he too has plenty of suitors.

MISCELLANEOUS
Lawrenceville (GA) Archer offensive tackle E.J. Price included Michigan in his top ten, specifically at #2. Price grew up in Grand Rapids, and he has stated that Michigan was his childhood favorite team. Price is a 6’6″, 290 lb. prospect who’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #9 offensive tackle, and #65 overall. The 247 Crystal Ball currently has Georgia leading with some votes for Auburn, so there might be some ground to make up if the new staff wants to reel him in.

Egg Harbor (NJ) Cedar Creek safety Ahmir Mitchell included Michigan in his top eight.

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

19May 2014
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Recruiting Update: May 19, 2014

Evans (GA) Eastlake safety Rashad Roundtree (the one catching the ball) (image via Columbia County News-Times)


COMMITMENTS

Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence Central linebacker Darrin Kirkland, Jr. committed to Michigan (LINK).

Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice quarterback Alex Malzone committed to Michigan. Later last week, Rivals released an article that placed Malzone as the #6 quarterback they saw on the Rivals Camp Series.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2013
Huh? Why does this say 2013? Well, it’s because former Michigan target Ty Isaac, a running back who spent last year at USC, is transferring closer to his hometown in Illinois. I wrote a full piece on him on Friday (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2015
Jacksonville (FL) Ed White cornerback Javaris Davis was offered by Michigan. You may also see him listed as “Javarius” but his Hudl profile says “Javaris,” so I’m inclined to trust that, since it’s posted by his own school. He’s a 5’9″, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, Pitt, South Florida, and Wisconsin, along with several others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #46 running back, and #588 overall. Davis could play running back at the next level, but he does not appear to fit what Michigan wants from that position; Davis is more of a small, speed guy, whereas Michigan has preferred bigger backs in recent years. The coaches weren’t specific about position and said they wanted him as an “athlete.” Because the offer went out around the same time that news broke about Shaun Crawford visiting other schools, I’m inclined to believe they see him as a potential replacement for Crawford at corner in the class.

Lithonia (GA) Hapeville defensive end Arden Key was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 221 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon, South Carolina, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #10 weakside end, and #125 overall. He has a top five consisting of southern schools and Oregon, and I think it would be very difficult for Michigan to sway him.

Evans (GA) Eastlake safety Rashad Roundtree was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’1″, 195 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, and several others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #6 safety, and #63 overall for 2015. Roundtree (no relation to former Michigan receiver Roy Roundtree, as far as I know) claims a 4.65 forty and is a big hitter with good ball skills. Georgia is far and away the leader, so I expect to see him become a Bulldog sooner or later.

Coppell (TX) Coppell offensive lineman Connor Williams was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 275 lb. prospect with offers from Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, and UCLA, along with several others. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #8 center, and #609 overall. Williams is a very interesting prospect because, based on his junior film, I think he could play any position on the line, including tight end. I don’t know that I’ve been able to say that about any other prospects. He plays tight end in high school and has the quickness to play the position, albeit as a blocking sort. He also has the feet to play tackle, the quickness to play center, and the pad level to be effective at center or guard. Of course, that doesn’t mean he will be great at any or all of those positions, but the versatility is impressive. Williams immediately placed Michigan his top five but has not made plans to visit. If his high school sounds familiar, he was the teammate of 2014 defensive end Solomon Thomas (Stanford), whom Michigan also recruited.

This is a long update, so hit the jump for 2016 and 2017 prospects, along with miscellaneous tidbits.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2016
Cincinnati (OH) Moeller tight end Jake Hausmann was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’5″, 230 lb. prospect with offers from Cincinnati, Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, Penn State, and Tennessee, along with several others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #6 tight end, and #183 overall. Hausmann’s parents went to Ohio State, his sister is a sophomore Buckeye, and former teammate Sam Hubbard – who also held a Michigan offer – is headed to Columbus. Odds are that he ends up wearing scarlet and gray.

Suwanee (GA) North Gwinnett wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 202 lb. prospect with offers from Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and Vanderbilt, along with a couple others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #36 wide receiver, and #211 overall. Imatorbhebhe has a 4.1 grade point average and is attracted to the Wolverines in part because of the academic reputation, which is the same reason Vanderbilt is on his radar.

San Jose (CA) Valley Christian wide receiver Collin Johnson was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 180 lb. prospect who committed to Texas approximately a month ago; he also has offers from Oregon State, TCU, and USC, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #16 wide receiver, and #85 overall.  Johnson isn’t particularly fast, but he has good leaping ability, body control, and hands.

Killeen (TX) Shoemaker defensive tackle Kendell Jones was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’4″, 295 lb. prospect with offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M. He’s a 247 Sports 5-star, the #5 defensive tackle, and #21 overall. As a sophomore in 2013, he had 22 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks. I expected to see more quickness out of Jones, but he mainly looks like a space eating nose tackle.

Cleveland (OH) Benedictine wide receiver Justin Layne was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’3″, 173 lb. prospect with offers from Miami, Michigan State, Pitt, and West Virginia. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #18 wide receiver, and #88 overall. (Is it stupid to anyone else that there are 18 wide receivers among the top 88 players in the country? That’s roughly the same number of scholarships on a football team, so imagine having 17 or 18 wideouts on one team.) Layne is a teammate of 2015 linebacker Jerome Baker, whom Michigan is recruiting but will likely end up elsewhere, probably at Ohio State. While Baker has had several visits fall through, Layne is planning to visit Michigan for a basketball camp in early June.

Fort Worth (TX) All Saints Episcopal defensive tackle Michael Williams was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’2″, 290 lb. prospect with offers from Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and UCLA, among others. As a sophomore in 2013, he made 60 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble. Williams is a little quicker than Jones but not as powerful.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2017
Orlando (FL) Dr. Phillips offensive tackle Calvin Ashley was offered by Michigan. He was offered in April but it only came out recently. He’s a 6’7″, 260 lb. prospect with offers from Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, Ole Miss, and South Carolina, among others. In case you don’t remember, Michigan recruited Dr. Phillips heavily in the Rodriguez years when they pursued Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Alabama), Demetrius Hart (Alabama), LaQuentin Smith (Pitt), and Kenny Shaw (Florida State), plus Ricardo Miller, who transferred to Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer for his senior year, attended Michigan, and then transferred to UMass.

OFF THE BOARD
Augusta (GA) Christian offensive guard Zach Giella committed to Clemson. Giella is the third Michigan-offered offensive lineman to commit to Clemson, joining fellow Georgian Mitch Hyatt and then Floridian Jake Fruhmorgen.

MISCELLANEOUS
Last week on Recruiting Season, I profiled Traverse City St. Francis TE Matt Seybert, St. Clair Shores South Lake RB Martell Pettaway, Livonia Churchill QB Brian Alsobrooks, West Bloomfield WR Obbie Jackson, and Muskegon Mona Shores QB Tyree Jackson.

Here’s a list of players Michigan has been visiting this month (LINK).

Here’s a bit on Darrin Kirkland, Jr., who visited Michigan this weekend (LINK).