August 24, 2012: Avon (OH) Avon lost to Avon (OH) Avon Lake by a score of 42-28. Douglas did not play in the game for an unspecified reason.
August 31, 2012: Avon beat Wellington (OH) Wellington by a score of 33-0. Douglas did not play in the game for an unspecified reason.
September 7, 2012: Avon beat Lorain (OH) Lorain by a score of 40-14. Douglas carried the ball 16 times for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. Avon is now 2-1 on the season.
September 14, 2012: Avon beat Lakewood (OH) Lakewood by a score of 35-3. Douglas had 12 carries for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns. Avon is now 3-1 on the year.
September 21, 2012: Avon beat Bay Village (OH) Bay by a score of 42-7. Douglas had 160 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns, along with 1 interception. He now has 376 yards and 8 touchdowns in three games. Avon is now 4-1 on the season.
September 28, 2012: Avon beat Elyria (OH) Catholic a by a score of 45-14. Ross had 51 yards rushing, including a 13-yard touchdown. He now has 427 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns in four games. Avon is now 5-1.
October 5, 2012: Avon beat Grafton (OH) Midview by a score of 28-0. Douglas had 18 carries for 137 yards and 3 touchdowns, along with 1 fumble recovery on defense. He now has 564 yards and 12 touchdowns in five games. Avon is now 6-1.
October 12, 2012: Avon beat Vermilion (OH) Vermilion by a score of 49-20. Douglas had 4 carries for 84 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown. Avon is now 7-1.
October 19, 2012: Avon beat Rocky River (OH) Rocky River by a score of 42-21. Douglas had 23 carries for 235 yards and 5 touchdowns, from 5, 4, 58, 64, and 1 yards. Avon is now 8-1.
October 26, 2012: Avon beat North Ridgeville (OH) North Ridgeville by a score of 41-7. Douglas had 155 rushing yards, touchdowns of 67 and 65 yards, and a 79-yard punt return. Avon is now 9-1.
November 2, 2012: Avon beat Perrysburg (OH) Perrysburg in the first round of the playoffs by a score of 28-11. Douglas had 245 rushing yards, including touchdowns of 70, 20, and 1 yards. Avon is now 10-1.
November 9, 2012: Avon beat Tiffin (OH) Columbian by a score of 24-14. Douglas had 13 carries for 42 yards and 1 touchdown. Avon is now 11-1.
November 16, 2012: Avon lost to Toledo (OH) Central Catholic by a score of 42-14. Douglas had 14 carries for 72 yards and a 20-yard touchdown, along with 2 receptions for 32 yards. He also had 2 tackles. Avon ends the season 11-2.
Final Stats: 1,597 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns
– Dymonte Thomas fell from #95 to #102
– Chris Fox fell from #57 to #112
– Jake Butt fell from #118 to #131
– Jourdan Lewis fell from #147 to #150
– David Dawson jumped from #171 to #165 – Wyatt Shallman fell from #182 to #206
– Ross Douglas fell from #222 to #232
– Taco Charlton fell from #175 to #233
– Logan Tuley-Tillman fell from #235 to #241
– Ben Gedeon fell out of the top 250 4-stars:
102. Dymonte Thomas – S – Ohio (Michigan)
103. Michael Hill – DT – South Carolina (Ohio State)
104. Evan Lisle – OT – Ohio (Ohio State)
105. Antwuan Davis – CB – Texas (Texas)
109. Elijah Daniel – DE – Indiana (Clemson)
111. Isaac Rochell – DE – Georgia (Notre Dame)
112. Chris Fox – OT – Colorado (Michigan)
115. Keith Ford – RB – Texas (Oklahoma)
121. Greg Webb – DT – New Jersey (North Carolina)
127. Jake Oliver – WR – Texas (Texas)
130. Brendan Mahon – OG – New Jersey (Penn State)
131. Jake Butt – TE – Ohio (Michigan)
136. Yannick Ngakoue – LB – Washington, D.C. (Maryland)
137. Jordan Wilkins – RB – Tennessee (Auburn)
145. Scott Pagano – DT – Hawaii (Clemson)
150. Jourdan Lewis – CB – Michigan (Michigan)
151. Joe Mathis – DE – California
156. Al-Quadin Muhammad – DE – New Jersey
158. Hunter Bivin – OT – Kentucky (Notre Dame)
160. Billy Price – DT – Ohio (Ohio State)
162. Darren Carrington – WR – California (Oregon)
165. David Dawson – OG – Michigan (Michigan)
167. Jordan Cunningham – WR – Florida
178. Maurice Smith – CB – Texas (Alabama)
182. James Quick – WR – Kentucky
186. Nadir Barnwell – CB – New Jersey
189. Eldridge Massington – WR – Texas (USC)
195. Jayme Thompson – S – Ohio (Ohio State)
197. Ishmael Wilson – OG – Texas (Texas A&M)
206. Wyatt Shallman – FB – Michigan (Michigan)
213. Jason Hatcher – DE – Kentucky (USC)
217. Devon Allen – WR – Arizona
218. Sebastian LaRue – WR – California (USC)
219. Chase Abbington – ATH – Missouri (Missouri)
221. Cole Luke – CB – Arizona
229. Darius Latham – DT – Indiana (Wisconsin)
232. Ross Douglas – CB – Ohio (Michigan)
233. Taco Charlton – DE – Ohio (Michigan)
241. Logan Tuley-Tillman – OT – Illinois (Michigan)
Avon (OH) Avon cornerback Ross Douglas committed to Michigan on Tuesday. He also had offers from Cincinnati, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, among others.
Douglas is a 5’10”, 180 lb. corner. As a junior in 2011, he had 175 carries for 1,019 yards (5.8 yards per carry) and 15 touchdowns, 10 receptions for 150 yards, 40 tackles, 13 pass breakups, and 1 interception. Yes, he’s also Avon’s starting tailback. He had originally committed to Penn State at the end of February, but he didn’t like the idea of playing for a bunch of creepers and not playing in bowl games now that the NCAA has cracked down on the Nittany Lions. I can’t say that I blame him.
Douglas isn’t very tall, but he’s solidly built. He’s a willing tackler, although sometimes he doesn’t have as much mass behind him as he would like. While Douglas claims a 4.41 forty, he appears to have just average speed for a cornerback. He changes direction with some fluidity, but again, he’s not great in that area.
When I watch Douglas’s film, the word that comes to mind most often is “almost.” As in, “Hey, that was almost a really good play.” I’m not sure how well that translates to the Big Ten. He’s not an elite athlete in any particular way, so his ceiling is a little bit limited. The coaches likely want him to play slot cornerback, the position currently manned by Courtney Avery, and he might be able to help out on special teams, too. I don’t think Douglas’s skills translate well to boundary corner or field corner.
Douglas gives Michigan 23 commitments in a class that is expected to reach 24 or 25. He joins cornerbacks Gareon Conley, Jourdan Lewis, and Channing Stribling. Each of those guys seems headed for field or boundary. Avery will be a senior in 2013, but I think he could also play some field corner. That means the slot corner position could be a Delonte Hollowell vs. Ross Douglas battle next season, when Hollowell will be a junior.
ADDED TO THE BOARD (2013, 2014)
Avon (OH) Avon cornerback Ross Douglas was offered by Michigan, even though he committed to Penn State a couple weeks back. Douglas visited Ann Arbor in recent months and enjoyed his visit, but the coaches had their sights set on some bigger corners than the 5’10”, 180 lb. Douglas. But now that guys like Tre Bell and Devin Butler have committed elsewhere (see below), they might be expanding their search for a guy to complement Gareon Conley and Jourdan Lewis.
Honolulu (HI) Moanalua defensive tackle Scott Pagano was offered by Michigan on Saturday. The 6’3″, 280-pounder also holds offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Cal, Nebraska, and Oregon, among others. Pagano looks like a nose tackle but his highlights remind me of 2010 defensive tackle Terry Talbott, whose film was a series of play where nobody really bothered to block him. As a junior he had 72 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 5 sacks.
Charlotte (NC) Providence offensive tackle Bentley Spain, a 2014 prospect, was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’6″, 280 lb. lineman with offers from North Carolina, North Carolina State, and South Carolina. He’s just a sophomore, but he claims a 330 lb. bench and a 400 lb. squat.
OFF THE BOARD
St. Louis (MO) DeSmet offensive tackle Andy Bauer, a 2014 prospect, committed to Missouri. This is kind of a disappointment for Michigan fans, since Bauer visited Michigan a couple months ago and thoroughly enjoyed his visit. The 6’5″, 291 lb. lineman looks like a future star and gives the Tigers a couple victories over Michigan in grabbing upper echelon linemen in recent years, to go along with Evan Boehm in 2012.
Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter’s Prep cornerback Tre Bell committed to Florida. The 5’11”, 170 lb. Bell gave some lip service to considering Michigan, but at no point did the Wolverines seem like a serious contender.
Washington (DC) Gonzaga cornerback Devin Butler committed to Notre Dame. This was somewhat expected, as his two leaders all along seemed to be Penn State and the Fighting Irish. Hopefully he will go to South Bend and do what most cornerbacks do there, which is stand by idly while Mario ManninghamSam McGuffieGreg MathewsJunior HemingwayRoy Roundtree Jehu Chesson catches awesome touchdown passes.
Rancho Cucamonga (CA) Rancho Cucamonga cornerback Chris Hawkins committed to USC. Hawkins was all set to announce a commitment a couple weeks ago to Stanford, but then USC swooped in with an offer. He put his recruitment temporarily on hold, visited USC, and then became a Trojan.
Sicklerville (NJ) Timber Creek defensive tackle Greg Webb committed to Penn State. A lot of Michigan fans seemed to be pinning their hopes on Webb for the 2013 class because Michigan needs a couple interior guys, but I said all along that I did not expect the Wolverines to pull Webb. Michigan still has a shot with Baltimore (MD) Gilman’s Henry Poggi, but I think any commitments at the nose tackle position will have to come from new offers, such as the one to Pagano.
WEEKEND VISITORS
Peoria (IL) Peoria defensive end Josh Augusta visited Michigan last week. The 6’5″, 275 lb. end/tackle prospect lists an offer on Rivals so I’m keeping him on the offer board, but Wolverine Nation‘s Tom VanHaaren recently stated that he does NOT have an offer yet.
St. Paul (MN) Cretin-Derham quarterback Ricardo Johnson III, a 2014 prospect, visited Ann Arbor last week. Johnson is only 5’11”, 170 lbs., but he’s a sophomore so there’s still room to grow. It’s unclear how serious of a prospect he is. Some people have hyped him as one of the top prospects in Minnesota, which isn’t a talent-rich state, but Cretin-Derham is a productive school. He also has yet to play for the varsity team. Regardless of his talent, he seems to have interest in the Wolverines and could be someone to watch in the future.
Upland (CA) Upland defensive end Joe Mathis visited Michigan over the weekend. He has offers from all over the country and he reportedly really liked his visit to Ann Arbor, so much that he has promised an official visit for the fall. Sometimes those promises don’t pan out, so take that with a grain of salt, but it’s still a good sign from the Californian. Mathis has recently shown up at camps and done very well. He could play the strongside end or the 3-tech defensive tackle position for the Wolverines.
Bealeton (VA) Liberty defensive end Wyatt Teller did NOT visit this past weekend. He was scheduled to come to Ann Arbor, but was unable to make it. He hopes to plan a trip for later this month.
Detroit (MI) Country Day defensive tackle Poet Thomas visited the Michigan campus. The 6’6″, 280-pounder does not yet hold an offer from the Wolverines, but he has been offered by Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Florida, and Toledo. He’s a big, thick-legged kid who looks like he’ll be well over 300 lbs. by the time his career is finished. His size is intriguing, but I think he’s a big project at this point. The coaches have been in contact with him for a while and previously were looking at him for the offensive line, but with OL positions filled up at this point, they recently informed him that they’re evaluating him as a defensive tackle. He runs like an offensive lineman, plays really high, and frankly doesn’t look like he’s physically strong yet.
Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s safety Solomon Warfield will be visiting Michigan on Tuesday. He’s a 6’1″, 170 lb. defensive back who does not have a Michigan offer but attends the same school as 2012 commit Kyle Kalis. Warfield does hold offers from Arizona, Iowa, and West Virginia, along with a few others. He’s a big hitter for being kind of a slight kid and has good speed, but Michigan seems set at safety at this point unless there’s attrition.
