Tag: Jaylon Smith

Recruiting Update: June 4, 2012

Maurice Hurst, Jr.

COMMITMENT
Westwood (MA) Xaverian Brothers defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, Jr. committed to Michigan.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2013
Geismar (LA) Dutchtown wide receiver Shelby Christy was offered by Michigan recently.  Christy is a 6’3″, 175 lb. wideout with offers from Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi State, and Northwestern.  As a junior in 2011, he had 25 receptions for 400+ yards and 7 touchdowns.  LSU hasn’t come forward with an offer yet, but if they do, expect him to be a Tiger.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2014
Hendersonville (TN) Beech athlete Jalen Hurd was offered by Michigan on Wednesday.  He also has offers from Alabama, Nebraska, Ohio State, Tennessee, and several others.  As a freshman in 2010, he had 57 carries for 459 yards and 3 touchdowns.  As a sophomore in 2011, he had 1,606 rushing yards and 437 receiving yards to go with 27 total touchdowns.  The 6’2″, 190-pounder could play running back or receiver, but I’m listing him as a running back because he’s built a little bit like 2013 running back target Ty Isaac.  Alabama looks like the early leader for Hurd, however.

Midlothian (IL) Marist tight end Nic Weishar was offered by Michigan.  Weishar is a 6’5″, 200 lb. wideout/tight end with offers from Illinois, Iowa, Notre Dame, Purdue, and Wisconsin, along with a few others.  As a junior in 2011, he had 77 receptions for 1,160 yards and 13 touchdowns.  (Highlights here.)

OFF THE BOARD
Lemont (IL) Lemont offensive tackle Ethan Pocic committed to LSU.  Back when Michigan filled up on offensive linemen, I was a little disappointed that they wouldn’t have room for Pocic, who was strongly considering Michigan up to that point.  Pocic was also considering Illinois (where his brother Graham plays) and Ohio State, so having him play in the SEC means Michigan has just a small chance of facing him at any point.  I think Pocic is going to be a very good player.

Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers linebacker Jaylon Smith committed to Notre Dame.  Smith’s brother Rod is a running back for Ohio State, and it seemed from the beginning that this would be a Notre Dame vs. Ohio State battle; Smith never showed interest in going to Michigan.  On the camp circuit this spring, Smith has been consistently mentioned as one of the top performers, working out as a linebacker, defensive end, and even cornerback.  I’ll be curious to see how Notre Dame uses him, but hopefully he plays poorly against the Wolverines.

PENDING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Murrieta (CA) Vista Murrieta safety Su’a Cravens scheduled a college announcement for Wednesday, June 6th.  He stated several weeks ago that he would still take visits to a few Big Ten schools, including Michigan, but when a kid sets an early announcement date without having visited some of his “finalists,” the writing is probably on the wall.  In Cravens’s case, a lot of people are going to be eating crow if he doesn’t commit to USC.  In any case, here’s the scouting report I put together on Cravens.

Baltimore (MD) Gilman defensive tackle Henry Poggi has scheduled a college announcement for 10:00 this morning.  He will reportedly decide between Alabama and Michigan.  He has visited Michigan multiple times (for the Purdue game last year and in March), but his most recent visit was to Tuscaloosa.  Here’s the scouting report I put together on Poggi back in March.

WEEKEND VISITORS
There were a couple weekend visitors, including Hurst.  Cedar Falls (IA) Cedar Falls offensive tackle Ross Pierschbacher, a 2014 prospect, is going to visit Michigan today.  He’s a 6’5″, 275 lb. kid with offers from Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, but he doesn’t have a Michigan offer yet.  He was the offensive line MVP of the Illinois NFTC this past weekend.

Recruiting Update: January 16, 2012

Fort Wayne (IN) Bishop Luers linebacker Jaylon Smith

ADDED TO THE BOARD (2012, 2013, 2014)
Fort Wayne (IN) Bushop Luers outside linebacker Jaylon Smith, a 2013 prospect, received a Michigan offer on Friday.  The 6’3″, 202 lb. Smith is the brother of Rod Smith, a running back at Ohio State.  Jaylon also holds offers from Indiana, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, and Tennessee.

OFF THE BOARD
Vandalia (OH) Butler offensive tackle Taylor Decker changed his commitment from Notre Dame to Ohio State.  Decker is a 6’8″, 288 lb. lineman and a 4-star recruit across the board.

Hamilton (GA) Harris defensive end Jordan Jenkins committed to Georgia on Monday.  The 6’3″, 245-pounder also visited Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee.  He played defensive tackle in the Under Armour All-America Game despite being undersized, but he still finished the game with 8 tackles and 2 sacks.  However, Georgia plans to use him as an outside linebacker in their 3-4 system.

WEEKEND VISITORS
Madisonville (KY) North Hopkins safety Jeremy Clark was in town this past weekend.  He’s 6’4″, 205 lbs. and could potentially develop into an outside linebacker at the college level.  Clark was originally a “greyshirt” commit and wasn’t planning to join the program until 2013, but the departure of Carvin Johnson opened a slot for him.

Chicago (IL) Simeon offensive tackle Jordan Diamond visited Ann Arbor this past weekend.  The 6’6″, 289-pounder is exploring his options with Arkansas, Auburn, Ohio State, and Wisconsin, and the Buckeyes are reportedly feeling quite confident about their chances with him.

Joliet (IL) Joliet Catholic running back Ty Isaac, a 2013 prospect, visited this past weekend.  The 6’3″, 215 lb. runner had 2,114 yards rushing and 45 touchdowns as a junior last season, and Michigan appears to be tied with Notre Dame at the top of Isaac’s list.  I have heard unflattering things about Isaac and I’m not a huge fan of his running style, but he is big and fast . . . so there’s that.

Woodbridge (VA) C.D. Hylton linebacker E.J. Levenberry, Jr., a 2013 prospect, also visited.  The 6’3″, 226 lb. linebacker has already been offered by Michigan, along with several other schools.

Warren (MI) De La Salle quarterback Shane Morris, a 2013 commit, visited Ann Arbor.  Morris seems to be turning into Michigan’s biggest athlete/recruiter, in the same vein as Ricardo Miller and Erik Magnuson in recent classes.

West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial cornerback Armani Reeves visited Ann Arbor again this past weekend.  He’s committed to Penn State but unsure of new head coach Bill O’Brien.  The 5’9″, 185 lb. Reeves could play cornerback or receiver at the next level (Michigan wants him for defense), but both Penn State’s wide receivers coach and secondary coach have been let go.  Reeves’s best friend Camren Williams is committed to Penn State, which could weigh heavily into a decision here.

Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate cornerback Jalen Tabor, a 2014 prospect, visited Michigan this past weekend.  He’s a 6’1″, 168 lb. sophomore who hasn’t been offered by Michigan yet.  However, he does have offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Miami, Ohio State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and several others . . . so a Michigan offer will probably be on the way at some point.  He attends the same school as 2011 running back Malcolm Crockett, who was recruited by Rich Rodriguez, and 2012 defensive tackle Eddie Goldman.

Alliance (OH) Marlington safety Dymonte Thomas, a 2013 commit, visited Michigan along with Morris.  The 6’1″, 180-pounder could play either safety position for Michigan and is also a standout running back for Marlington.

RECRUITING NEWS
There wasn’t a whole lot of news this past week after last week’s monster recruiting update.  Most class of 2012 kids who haven’t committed yet are going to wait until National Signing Day or thereabouts.  So here’s a bit of a wrap-up of some developments in the recruiting world last week:

Scout released its final Scout 300 of the recruiting cycle.  Posting this recruiting update at the beginning of January prevents people from questioning their integrity if they waited until after National Signing Day.  After all, there’s virtually no more “scouting” info to come for the class of 2012 now that the all-American games have been played, and posting updates after NSD might make people question if they change their ratings depending on where kids commit.

Here’s a scouting report on Louisville (KY) Trinity WR James Quick.  Michigan will be battling with lots of teams across the country to get Quick’s commitment, but he looks like a very good prospect for the next level.