Tag: schools in the news

School in the News: Baylor

TE Kedrick James

Some crazy stuff has gone down in Waco, TX, and now university president Ken Starr and head coach Art Briles are gone. So here’s a look at how the fallout from that might affect Michigan or other teams.

2016 roster members recruited by Michigan: QB Jarrett Stidham (RS So.)
2016 signees with Michigan offers: DE Brandon Bowen, WR Tren’Davian Dickson, WR Devin Duvernay, CB Donovan Duvernay, OT J.P. Urquidez
2017 commits with Michigan offers: None
2018 commits with Michigan offers: None

Scoop: Historically, Michigan and Baylor have not squared off for recruits very often. That’s because Baylor is usually not very good at football, at least not until recently. Stidham was a prized recruit in 2014, but I have doubts that he’ll go anywhere since he’s already established himself as a quality player at Baylor. Meanwhile, 2016 signees could potentially ask for a release from their National Letters of Intent to play somewhere else this fall. None of the five signees gave Michigan much of a look prior to committing to the Golden Bears, so they’re unlikely to end up in Ann Arbor, even if Michigan has room (and it’s not clear they do).

It may be a long shot, but the best chance Michigan has to benefit from Baylor’s turmoil is with TE Kedrick James and WR Hezekiah Jones. Both players have already decommitted from Baylor. James (and Donovan Duvernay) both attended Michigan’s Summer Swarm 2015 camp in Grand Prairie, TX, and the Wolverines are looking for tight ends in 2017. Four predictions have come in for James to Texas A&M in the last few days, and he was already looking at the Aggies before the decommitment. Jones was thought by many to end up in College Station before committing to Baylor. It seems counterintuitive for someone to escape Baylor only to enter the uncertainty of Texas A&M’s situation, but it’s possible. Michigan also needs wideouts, so I would expect Jim Harbaugh and the staff to inquire about both prospects.

Schools in the News: Georgia, Rutgers, and Virginia

Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy TE Isaac Nauta

There are three new noteworthy job openings in college football this morning. Virginia’s Mike London resigned (or was dismissed), Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood was unsurprisingly canned, and in the biggest news, Georgia’s Mark Richt was fired. Georgia is a perennial powerhouse in the south, but Michigan has stepped up their efforts in all three of these geographical areas in recent years. Here’s a look at how these job openings might affect Michigan.

Hit the jump for the scoop on several noteworthy prospects.

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School in the News: Virginia Tech

Frank Beamer

Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2015 season. The longest tenured head coach in FBS football, he spent the last 29 seasons in Blacksburg and won over 230 games there. I don’t expect there to be a great deal of fallout in Michigan’s favor, because Michigan is only crossing paths with VT occasionally in this recruiting class.

2016 commits with Michigan offers: DE Jimmie Taylor
Roster players who were offered by Michigan: CB Kendall Fuller (Jr.), RB Shai McKenzie (So.), CB Mook Reynolds (Fr.), DT Tim Settle (Fr.), OG Wyatt Teller (RS Jr.)

Taylor is a 6’3″, 220 lb. weakside end who was being looked at as a Buck linebacker, which Michigan is desperate for in this class (or even right now). He was scheduled to visit in mid-June, but I never heard word whether that visit materialized or not. Either way, he was reportedly down to picking Virginia Tech or North Carolina before picking the Hokies. Michigan has its eyes on some other potential Buck linebackers – including Colorado’s Carlo Kemp, who is supposed to choose this week – but they might want to throw their hat back in the ring for Taylor with the coaching uncertainty.

School in the News: Miami

2016 slot receiver Sam Bruce

Miami head coach Al Golden was fired on Sunday after the school’s worst-ever loss, a 58-0 setback to Clemson. Interim head coach Larry Scott is unlikely to be the long-term fix, so there may be a big opportunity for other teams to poach current players and commits. Michigan has made several offers in the Sunshine State over the past couple years, so they have crossed paths with several Miami commits and players. Here’s a look at who Michigan has pursued or could pursue.

2015 Miami underclassmen offered by Michigan: OT K.C. McDermott (So.), DT Kendrick Norton (Fr.), LB Darrion Owens (So.)
2016 Miami commits with Michigan offers: WR Sam Bruce, ATH Evan Hinson, WR Michael Irvin Jr., DE Joseph Jackson, LB Shaquille Quarterman
2017 Miami commits with Michigan offers: None
2018 Miami commits with Michigan offers: None

Hit the jump for more info.

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School in the News: Wisconsin

Antonio Williams (image via 247Sports.com)

Well, head coach Gary Andersen pulled a shocker this evening when it was announced that he was leaving Wisconsin for the ripe football program at . . . Oregon State? In the world of rodents, I guess Beavers are cooler than Badgers.

I didn’t care much when Oregon State lost Mike Riley to Nebraska, because Michigan doesn’t compete with the Beavers for recruits very often. But Wisconsin and Michigan do cross paths quite a bit on the recruiting trail. In fact, class of 2016 running back Antonio Williams – who had developed a good relationship with Michigan assistant coach Roy Manning – just committed to the Badgers last week. So depending on the hire in Madison goes, Michigan might be able to get back in the equation if they make a good hire in Ann Arbor.

2015 commits with Michigan offers: None
2016 commits with Michigan offers: RB Antonio Williams
Roster players recruited by Michigan (with 2015 eligibility): OL Ray Ball (5th), LB Vince Biegel (RS Jr.), RB Corey Clement (Jr.), RB Melvin Gordon (5th), QB Tanner McEvoy (5th), DE Conor Sheehy (So.), OL Dan Voltz (RS Jr.), Robert Wheelwright (Jr.)

I wouldn’t expect anything to come out of this for Michigan as far as transfers, but the coaching change may have a slight effect. There’s no doubt that Wisconsin would want a run-heavy coach to fit their personnel since they’ve been having quite a bit of success, so someone like former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst (now the head coach at Pitt) makes sense.