New ESPN 150 Released

Tag: Jordan Payton


21Oct 2011
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New ESPN 150 Released

Kyle Kalis (#67) has moved up to #135 on ESPN’s list since decommitting from Ohio State
(image via AnnArbor.com)

A new ESPN 150 has been released for the 2012 class.  (If you want to see what it looked like back in June, click here.)  The Wolverines have offered 65 of ESPN’s top 150 prospects in the country.

Notable changes for Michigan commits since June:

– Terry Richardson moves from #68 to #67
– Royce Jenkins-Stone moves from #117 to #115
– Kyle Kalis moves from #140 to #135

One other note:

– Wide receiver Jordan Payton, who’s announcing his college decision this coming Tuesday, was #146 a few months ago but dropped out of the list.  Since he was already near the bottom of the list, that doesn’t really signify a huge change of opinion from ESPN.

1. Mario Edwards – DE – Texas (Florida State)
2. Eddie Goldman – DT – Washington, D.C.
3. Dorial Green-Beckham – WR – Missouri
4. Noah Spence – DE – Pennsylvania
6. Keith Marshall – RB – North Carolina
8. D.J. Humphries – OT – North Carolina (Florida)
10. Stefon Diggs – ATH – Maryland
15. Arik Armstead – DE – California
16. Andrus Peat – OT – Arizona
20. Gunner Kiel – QB – Indiana (Indiana)
26. Kyle Murphy – OT – California
27. Kwon Alexander – LB – Alabama
28. John Theus – OT – Florida (Georgia)
32. Geno Smith – CB – Georgia
33. Cyrus Jones – ATH – Maryland
34. Connor Brewer – QB – Arizona (Texas)
37. Jabari Ruffin – LB – California (USC)
39. Devin Fuller – ATH – New Jersey
40. Yuri Wright – CB – New Jersey
41. Nelson Agholor – ATH – Florida
42. Joshua Garnett – OG – Washington
43. Ellis McCarthy – DT – California
44. Dominique Wheeler – WR – Texas (Texas Tech)
50. Ifeadi Odenigbo – DE – Ohio
51. Jonathan Taylor – DT – Georgia (Georgia)
52. Evan Boehm – OG – Missouri (Missouri)
53. Dillon Lee – LB – Georgia (Alabama)
54. Max Tuerk – OT – California (USC)
55. Peter Jinkens – LB – Texas (Texas)
57. Brock Stadnik – OT – North Carolina (South Carolina)
58. Zach Kline – QB – California (California)
59. Patrick Destefano – OG – South Carolina (Clemson)
60. Durron Neal – WR – Missouri (Oklahoma)
61. Jordan Jenkins – DE – Georgia (Georgia)
65. Deon Bush – CB – Florida
66. Darius Hamilton – DE – New Jersey
67. Terry Richardson – CB – Michigan (Michigan)
68. Devonte Fields – DE – Texas (TCU)
69. Ronald Darby – CB – Maryland (Notre Dame)
75. Adolphus Washington – DE – Ohio
82. Avery Johnson – WR – Florida (LSU)
84. Reginald Davis – WR – Texas (Texas Tech)
86. Darius Powe – WR – California
87. Jordan Simmons – OG – California
90. Tee Shepard – CB – California (Notre Dame)
93. Dalton Santos – LB – Texas (Tennessee)
96. Jarron Jones – DT – New York (Notre Dame)
97. Ty Darlington – C – Florida (Nebraska)
99. Tyriq McCord – DE – Florida
100. Se’von Pittman – DE – Ohio (Michigan State)
101. Drae Bowles – WR – Tennessee (Tennessee)
103. Jordan Diamond – OT – Illinois
106. LaTroy Pittman – WR – Florida (Florida)
115. Royce Jenkins-Stone – LB – Michigan (Michigan)
117. Avery Young – OT – Florida
123. Zach Banner – OT – Washington
125. Michael Starts – OT – Texas (Texas Tech)
126. Eli Harold – ATH – Virginia (Virginia)
128. Dominic Ramacher – TE – Texas (Oklahoma State)
130. Tommy Schutt – DT – Illinois (Penn State)
131. Brian Poole – S – Florida (Florida)
135. Kyle Kalis – OG – Ohio (Michigan)
140. Derrick Woods – WR – California
143. Sheldon Day – DT – Indiana (Notre Dame)
147. Kent Taylor – TE – Florida

19Oct 2011
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Recruiting Update: October 19, 2011

California WR Jordan Payton

OFF THE BOARD

This guy was already off the board, but Fairless Hills (PA) Pennsbury OT J.J. Denman flipped his commitment from Penn State to Wisconsin.  The 6’6″, 305 lb. lineman would appear to fit in well at Wisconsin.  Frankly, I can’t think of a single reason for an offensive lineman not to choose to attend Wisconsin right now.  The Badgers have churned out solid offensive linemen over the last several years, including first round picks Joe Thomas (Cleveland Browns) and Gabe Carimi (Chicago Bears); they win all the time and put up all kinds of points; and they get to eat whatever they want.  What’s not to like?

POTENTIAL COMMITMENT

Westlake Village (CA) Oaks Christian WR Jordan Payton has set his announcement date for next Tuesday, October 25th.  Payton was formerly committed to USC, and has since been rumored to be a Cal or Michigan lean.  Most recent reports have him leaning toward Michigan.  The 6’2″, 199 lb. wideout will be visiting Notre Dame this coming weekend, but the fact that he set his announcement date for immediately following his visit to South Bend suggests that he has already made his decision.  Payton has decent speed, but perhaps more importantly, he knows how to catch the ball and get upfield.  He understands body positioning and body lean and will get every inch that’s available to him.  He probably won’t be a superstar at the next level, but he could be a very good #2 receiver.

ARMY ALL-AMERICAN BOWL ROSTERS

Since the first waves of offers from the new coaching staff were sent out earlier this year, I noticed that Coach Hoke and Co. seemed to be offering elite players in higher quantities.  That observation has been borne out in numerous ways so far, including the Rivals 250, the Scout 300, the 24/7 Top 247, etc.  To add to the mounting list of evidence, I submit more data for the argument that Michigan is targeting higher quality players than they were under Rich Rodriguez:

Last year 25 of the Army All-American Bowl players sported Michigan offers.  While the 2012 game’s rosters have yet to be completed, 50 of the planned participants have offers to play football in Ann Arbor.  Only five of those 50 have committed to Michigan at this point (OG Kyle Kalis, OT Erik Magnuson, LB Royce Jenkins-Stone, LB James Ross, and DT Ondre Pipkins), but if AAB rosters are any indication of elite talent, then Michigan’s going after it in spades.

Aside from the four aforementioned players, Michigan still has a good shot at landing the following participants:

  • OT Zach Banner
  • WR Jordan Payton
  • CB Yuri Wright
. . . and an outside shot at grabbing these players:
  • ATH Stefon Diggs
  • S Elijah Shumate (check out his highlights below)
This is not necessarily meant to be an indictment of Rich Rodriguez, whose recruits are in the midst of having a pretty good season at Michigan right now.  But there are some gaping holes, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines, where the Wolverines are lacking both numbers and talent.  If the Wolverines snatch an additional two of those players listed above, that will make for an incredibly talented first recruiting class for Brady Hoke.

2Jul 2011
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2012 Offer Board Update

California WR Jordan Payton

The 2012 Offer Board has been updated:

California WR Jordan Payton decommitted from USC.

Texas CB Will Hines committed to Missouri.

Maryland WR Deontay McManus committed to West Virginia.

Tennessee OT Blake Bars committed to Michigan.

Added Louisiana OT Derek Edinburgh.

Added Minnesota OT Nick Davidson.

Ohio FS De’van Bogard committed to Ohio State.