The 2012 In-State Recruiting Battle

Tag: Matt Godin

11Feb 2012
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The 2012 In-State Recruiting Battle

Mario Ojemudia is Michigan’s top prospect, according to
the Detroit News

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio has claimed in recent years that he cares more about in-state recruiting than Michigan, and that might have been true in the years when Rich Rodriguez was the head man at Michigan.  But the arrival of Brady Hoke might have swayed the favor in-state toward Ann Arbor.  Let’s take a look at the top recruits in the state of Michigan, based on the Detroit News’ blue-chip list:

1. Mario Ojemudia – DE – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’3″, 225 lb. end – who also played a lot of defensive tackle – had 104 tackles and 14 sacks.  He considered Michigan State early, but committed to Michigan on May 7, 2011, and stuck with Michigan to the end.

2. Terry Richardson – CB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 5’9″, 160 lb. cornerback made 5 interceptions during his senior season.  He was a little later in committing than his in-state friends James Ross and Royce Jenkins-Stone, but he hopped on board on May 19, 2011.  He entertained taking visits to other schools, but mostly he was considering heading to SEC country rather than East Lansing.  However, Michigan’s coaches told him that if he visited elsewhere, they wouldn’t necessarily reserve a spot for him in the recruiting class.  He did not visit elsewhere and signed with Michigan.

3. James Ross – LB – Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’0″, 210 lb. linebacker made 173 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks as a senior.  He had committed to Michigan back on May 2, 2011, and remained committed throughout the process.

4. Royce Jenkins-Stone – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’2″, 215 lb. middle linebacker made 115 unassisted tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions as a senior.  He had committed to Michigan on April 16, 2011, and remained committed until National Signing Day.

5. Aaron Burbridge – WR – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’2″, 185 lb. wideout reportedly wanted to commit to Michigan along with teammates Ojemudia and Devin Funchess, but he didn’t have the grades to get into Michigan(that sentiment was confirmed by Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson).  He committed to Michigan State on July 28, 2011, and signed with the Spartans on National Signing Day.

6. Matt Godin – DE – Novi (MI) Catholic Central
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’6″, 270 lb. defensive end/tackle made 70 tackles and 9 sacks as a senior.  He committed to Michigan on May 12, 2011, and signed with Michigan.

7. Devin Funchess – TE – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’4″, 215 lb. tight end committed to Michigan on April 22, 2011, and signed with Michigan in February.

8. Danny O’Brien – DT – Flint (MI) Powers Catholic
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’2″, 293 lb. defensive tackle considered both in-state schools heavily, but committed to Tennessee on October 6, 2011, and signed with the Volunteers in February.

9. Ron Thompson – TE – Southfield (MI) Southfield
Offered by: Michigan only
The 6’4″, 230 lb. tight end made 57 receptions for 729 yards and 9 touchdowns as a senior.  He was offered by Michigan early in the process but the Wolverines reportedly backed off due to some classroom issues.  He committed to Syracuse on November 7, 2011, and signed with the Orangemen in February.

10. Ben Braden – OT – Rockford (MI) Rockford
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 6’7″, 320 lb. offensive tackle committed to Michigan on March 24, 2011.  He signed with the Wolverines in February.

11. Evan Winston – DE – Muskegon (MI) Muskegon
Offered by: Neither in-state school
The 6’4″, 255 lb. defensive end committed to Missouri on July 23, 2011, and signed with the Tigers in February.

12. Jamal Lyles – LB – Southfield (MI) Lathrup
Offered by: Michigan State only
The 6’3″, 215 lb. linebacker made 135 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, and 4 interceptions.  He committed to Michigan State on June 23, 2011, and signed with the Spartans in February.

13. Drake Johnson – RB – Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer
Offered by: Michigan only
The 6’1″, 215 lb. running back ran for 2,805 yards and 38 touchdowns as a senior.  He committed to Michigan on November 10, 2011, almost immediately after receiving an offer, and signed with Michigan in February.

14. Dennis Norfleet – RB – Detroit (MI) King
Offered by: Michigan and Michigan State
The 5’6″, 180 lb. had 2,033 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior.  He was committed to Cincinnati for several months, but he switched his commitment to Michigan on the eve of National Signing Day.

15. Ruben Lile – LB – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
Offered by: Neither in-state school
Lile committed to Iowa on August 27, 2011, and signed with the Hawkeyes in February.

NOT RANKED:
Riley Bullough – LB – Traverse City (MI) St. Francis
Offered by: Michigan State only
Bullough committed to Michigan State on April 30, 2011.

Kodi Kieler – OT – Gibraltar (MI) Carlson
Offered by: Michigan State only
Kieler committed to Michigan State on August 8, 2011.

SUMMARY
Ten players were offered by both Michigan and Michigan State.  Eight of them picked Michigan, including six of the top seven.  One picked Michigan State (although, as mentioned above, it sounded like Michigan wouldn’t accept his commitment so he went with Plan B).  The other picked Tennessee.

Michigan went after two players who were not offered by MSU.  One picked Michigan.  The other picked Syracuse.

Michigan State went after three players who were not offered by Michigan.  All three picked MSU.

I think it’s fair to say that Michigan kicked Michigan State’s tail when it comes to recruiting in the state.  Brady Hoke 8, Mark Dantonio 1.  I look forward to seeing what 2013 brings.  It’s already 1-0 in Michigan’s favor with Warren (MI) De La Salle quarterback Shane Morris pledging to be a Wolverine.

17Jan 2012
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Matt Godin Answers Your Questions

Novi (MI) Catholic Central DE Matt Godin

Before interviewing incoming freshman Matt Godin, we invited readers ask him questions. Here are his responses.

On conditioning, weight, and preparation: “They [the coaches] just told me to go hard in the weight room like I always have. They know because Mike Martin came from my school, so they know about the strength program at our school and how good it is. I work out every day during the week, and [my schedule] switches between my upper and lower body [each day]…Right now I’m 6’6″ and 273 lbs. (EDIT: he’s not 6’8″, as was previously reported; that was a typo), and I’ll probably get to 285 by the season; I don’t know. But I’m going to be able to move; that’s the main thing. And, plus, I don’t look it – I mean, the coaches thought I was 260 lbs. My goal is to add good weight, maybe a little bit of fat in my stomach, but good weight all around.”

On recruitment, recent Hoke in-home: “We’re already close and Coach Jackson came up earlier, too, like two weeks ago. Coach Hoke just keeps telling me how I just need to be ready and stuff. Other than that, we just had fun, ate dinner and talked about things. We kind of put football to the side, which was nice. My parents were there and it was just nice.”

On anticipated role along the d-line: “I’m going to be a guy who’s going to mix it up inside and outside. I mean, that’s what the 5-technique is: you play outside and inside. My run stopping and pass rushing are both pretty much equal, so I’ll be able to mix it up and do both.”

On Michigan’s recruitment of teammate Wyatt Shallman: “I’ll be honest – I have no clue. I mean, I don’t really talk to him that much, though. We’ll see, it’s early….He could be a sophomore right now, too; he’s young. I mean, he is a junior, but he’s really young. It’s kind of unbelievable how big he is naturally for how young he is.”

On the 2012 recruiting class: “I’m excited to play with all of them. On the official visit we all had fun together. I’m excited to play by Mario and Strobel for sure…we’re all already pretty close for not really hanging out that much. Kalis and Strobel and Allen Gant and then the rest of the in-state guys are [who] I’m probably the closest with.”

On Tennessee, Derek Dooley and the Arnett situation: “…Any coach who does that to his players or treats them like that – that’s just obnoxious. I don’t know who he [Dooley] thinks he is with that losing record…I haven’t really talked about it with anyone else. I mean, everyone thinks it’s terrible how DeAnthony has a serious issue going on, and he should have let him go. That’s pretty much what everyone thinks.”

4Jan 2012
Uncategorized 7 comments

Ask a Question: Matt Godin

Chantel Jennings interviews Novi (MI) Catholic Central’s Matt Godin

Much has been written about incoming freshman defensive lineman, Matt Godin, including a Touch the Banner interview from June that you have probably read since it’s been linked on the sidebar for several months. We are again going to interview Godin to get his thoughts on his dominate senior season, preparations for heading to Ann Arbor etc., but first we’d like to open the floor to questions from you guys. So if you’d like to get any Matt Godin related information from Matt Godin himself, please leave a question in the comment section of this post, and we’ll try to address it in the interview.

[On a side note, I’ll be looking forward to the 2013 recruiting class tomorrow morning with a scouting report on Godin’s teammate Wyatt Shallman. -Thunder]