Josh Helmholdt was so kind as to post an initial list of Spring Game visitors in the Free Press from which we can make additions and changes to get a visitors list:
Michigan extended invitations to most, if not all of the prospects they have offered scholarships to in the 2010 class and several are planning to visit. A majority of their in-state targets, including Inkster’s Devin Gardner, Detroit Southeastern’s William Gholston, Detroit Renaissance’s Mylan Hicks and Detroit Cass Tech’s Dior Mathis, plan to be there Saturday.
The second largest contingent of recruiting visitors will be from Ohio. Avon Lake offensive lineman Christian Pace, Cincinnati Wyoming defensive lineman Jibreel Black [now with UM offer – ed.] and Columbus Brookhaven defensive end Derrick Bryant all hold offers from the Wolverines and plan to attend the spring game.
Other expected spring game visitors include Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward Latwan Anderson [Recently transferred to Ted Ginn Sr’s private school and will play football at Glenville – a bad thing for Michigan’s chances at him. – ed.]and Eagle Lake (Fla.) Lake Region Marvin Robinson, both top 100 safeties, according to Rivals.com. Another expected visitor, Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus running back Stephen Hopkins, said this trip is his most anticipated of the half dozen or more schools he’s already visited.
Yes: FL/MI WR Commit Ricardo Miller
MI WR Commit Jeremy Jackson
MI QB Robert Bolden
MI RB Austin White (recent LSU offeree)
MI RB Nick Hill
MI DE CJ Olaniyan (also at practice yesterday)
MI DT Jonathan Hankins
MI LB Ishmael Thomas from Renaissance.
No:
SC QB Cornelius Jones (rescheduled for summer camp)
OH OL Andrew Donnal
MD LB Josh Furman
OH DE Darryl Baldwin
FL CB Lorenza Wood
Maybe:
TX QB Jeremy Johnson might show up. However, West Virginia sources are expecting a commit from him when he visits Morgantown next weekend.
Beacon Sports reports that OH LB Jewone Snow (son of former Michigan RB Garland Rivers) will be in attendance. No word on whether he’ll bring 2011 DE Steve Miller, also mentioned in that update, along with him to Ann Arbor. Miller is expected to be one of the top players in Ohio in the class of 2011. Snow plans to make an early decision, but I don’t think it will be for the Wolverines this weekend.
So, be on the lookout for all these guys at the spring game if you happen to have any interest.
I guess this is my punishment for only giving 1 recruiting update last week: there’s a ton of information that I need to cram in. Expect at least 1 more recruiting update this week, and maybe 2, since the Spring Game should be a fairly serious recruiting event. This update will be a strict adds/removals/offers affair. You can find the 2010 Recruiting Board here.
Michigan has apparently offered (or are heavily recruiting) LA DE Jordan Allen. However, the homestate LSU Tigers are still considered the (perhaps prohibitive) favorite.
According to two particularly revealingScout headers, the Wolverine have offered both NY DE Dominique Easley and DE RB Jamaal Jackson. They’ve both been added to the board, and given the amount of football talent that comes out of that state, I’m surprised I didn’t have to look up the postal code for Delaware.
FL WR Quinton Dunbar has decommitted from the University of Miami, and the Wolverines are among the 5 he will consider (joined by the Big 3 in Florida, as well as UCF). He will announce his decision on Signing Day. He’s been added to the board.
A super-sketchy ESPN report that I’m not sure how much I should trust asserts that Michigan offered 5 teammates at DeMatha High School in Maryland. I don’t trust the offer status, but it’s certainly worth at least adding the guys to the board. They are Michael Cooley, S Lorenzo Waters, OL Ari Kouandjio, RB Marcus Coker and S Jeff Knox. The only two that I had even heard of before this report were Knox and Coker, and Cooley isn’t in Rivals’s or Scout’s databases, while Kouandjio is nowhere to be found on Rivals (and Scout throws an ‘e’ at the end of his first name). Keep this developing situation in mind.
Another article with a pretty good amount of Michigan-related information is offered up by The State. SC S Bashaud Breeland has received a Michigan offer, as has SC DT Brandon Willis. VA LB Chase Williams is hearing from Michigan, and may get an offer down the road. He’s been added to the board.
GA QB/Ath Blake Sims, who was thought to be a pretty serious candidate for another signal-caller in this class, committed to Alabama. The first articles I saw about it had non-definitive titles like “Has Blake Sims committed to Alabama?” or “Blake Sims reportedly commits to Alabama,” but stuff in the last day or so has been more definitive.
CO QB/Ath Kain Colter has committed to Stanford, and will be removed from the board.
Surprising nobody, MI QB Devin Gardner publicly committed to Michigan at Inkster High School today. His coach had told the press that Gardner committed to Michigan’s coaches, but Devin wanted to wait until after his basketball season ended. He was Michigan’s 4th commitment in the class of 2010.
I swear, I’m really trying to avoid doing these posts with any regularity.
Ricky Barnum has sprained his ankle, and will miss a few spring practices to get wrist surgery. His wrist was (apparently) pretty damaged, and he was working through it before. While it sucks that he’s sustained another injury, at least it gave him the opportunity to get the wrist taken care of.
Denard Robinson has claimed the 2nd-fastest 100m dash time in the country so far this year for high-schoolers. The incoming QB ran a 10.44 time, and expects to run in the 10.3s when track season gets underway in earnest. (Photo by Tom Ervin for the Miami Herald).
Devin Gardner plans to publicly commit to Michigan either Thursday or Friday. He apparently did so silently at junior day, but wanted to finish out his basketball season before worrying about dealing with the press.
Darryl Stonum has debunked the rumors that he’s intending to transfer from Michigan at the end of spring practice.
VB (Paul and Tim, at least) plans to be at todays 3:05 PM baseball game at the Fish. Feel free to say hello to us.
And, in site news: If you take a look at the top of the right sidebar, the subscription options have changed slightly. You can still subscribe via RSS, but there are now other possibilities. There is now an official VB Twitter account to which you can subscribe @VarsityBlue. You can subscribe via e-mail, which will inform you whenever there is a new front page post on Varsity Blue. And, perhaps what we’re most excited about, we’re going to start rolling out a VB Newsletter, which we’ll send out once a week (you can help us determine which day when you sign up), and will include a recap of the week’s action on Varsity Blue, along with a bit of information that may not have made it to the front page, and even a preview of what is coming in the next week. It might start out a little spartan in design (no pun intended), but we’ll be beefing it up in short order.
In other site news, we plan to debut a couple new features on VB in the coming weeks, though they’re not quite ready for public consumption yet. I’ll keep you posted when everything is ready to go live.
TX RB/Slot Tony Drake, who received an offer and committed immediately. Tony Drake Commitment Post. Jim Stefani posted an information dump on Drake, from which these are the highlights, translated into coherent thoughts:
Overshadowed by several D-I prospects at Skyline, including receivers Mike Davis (LSU) and Joe Powell (Oklahoma), but a legit big-time talent with 4.4 speed. Projects as a slotback in college. Drake combined for 605 rushing and receiving yards as a sophomore, and averaged 10.5 yards per touch. As a sophomore starter at WR he was a second team All-district choice and had 260 yards receiving, combined for 605 rushing and receiving yards, and averaged 10.5 yards per touch.. As a junior back-up RB to senior James White ([3-star] Iowa State signee), he was second on the team in rushing with 55 carries for 429 yards (7.8ypc) and 3 TDs.He added 7 receptions for 73 yards.
JimStefaniLook for Devin Gardner to offically go public to Michigan in the next 10 days
That was Friday, so keep an eye out in the next few days. Gardner said he would be announcing as soon as basketball ended, and his team lost 63-56 to Patrick Lucas-Perry (yes, that Lucas-Perry)’s Flint Powers team over the weekend. Thus, the announcement should come any time now.
SoFlaFootball brings the recruiting fluff on FL QB Stephen Morris (he recently got his first offer, from FIU). Also, Morris’s junior highlights:
While we’re on the topic of QB recruits, FL QB Christian Green is favoring Florida State (this is not earth-shattering news, so much as common knowledge by this point. However, he does say that he wants to play in a spread offense. Conventional wisdom also has him wanting to play WR, not QB, at the next level.
After stating in no uncertain terms that Michigan would be getting an official visit from him, SC RB Marcus Lattimore has released a top 10 list, which does indeed include Michigan. It also includes Georgia, Florida State, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, Clemson, Maryland, North Carolina, and Duke. He has also stated that his Michigan official will be for The Game on November 21.
GA WR Tai-ler Jones, a teammate of QB target Blake Sims, has narrowed his list of potential choices to 7:
“I made a top seven. It’s Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Cal, UCLA, North Carolina and Stanford. I wanted to name a top five, but I just felt like I couldn’t decide which two to cut. So I decided on a top seven.”
No Michigan. With a decision coming by the end of April, the Wolverines don’t have much time to get back in on him, so he’s been removed from the board. Unclear whether this will have any effect on Michigan’s pursuit of Sims.
Added to the board because he’s been offered (info in header): NJ OL Jake Kaufman.
MN OL Seantrel Henderson still has to be considered a longshot for Michigan to land, but he “was especially impressed” with his unofficial visit last weekend.
Josh Helmholdt sees your fluff, and raises with more fluff, Mr. Webb. I’d still consider the Wolverines a heavy underdog to land MI DE William Gholston, but they’ve been able to make some progress in recruiting him. As Helmholdt says in the Free Press, he’s been on campus a lot lately, and has seemed to really like Greg Robinson, particularly the “spinner” position, which would fit his skill set perfectly. Gholston does not plan to make an early decision, which is probably good for Michigan. The longer he waits, the more opportunities he’ll have to visit Michigan’s campus, realize Mark Dantonio is a douchebag, see that 2008 was an aberration, not a trend, etc.
IL DE Chance Carter, long thought to be a Notre Dame lock anyway, has eliminated all but four schools from the running for his services: Notre Dame, Stanford, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. With an early commitment pending (he plans to decide by May), Michigan doesn’t have much of a shot to get into this one, and I’ve removed him from the board.
Sam Webb’s weekly recruiting column in the Detroit News focused on TX LB Caleb Lavey this time around (particularly, his dad’s having been an equipment manager in the 70s). Lavey, who recently visited Ann Arbor and enjoyed himself greatly, grew up a Michigan fan (pictured at left touring the Michigan locker room in 2002, at approximately 10 years old), and is carrying the Robert Tate Forcier Memorial Chilhood Michigan Fandom Picture torch for the class of 2010. With Michigan having offered few linebackers to this point, and Lavey one of them, I’d assume that he is one of their top LB prospects, and perhaps the one with whom they have the best chance this early in the process. He’s currently in the process of unofficially visiting just about every school in America, so don’t expect him to make a decision until the summer. For personal info on Caleb (including his schedule of visits), you can always check out his website.
Gholston photo by Matt Pargoff for the Detroit Free Press, Lavey photo from a family collection.
THE MOST IMPORTANT RECRUIT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD HAS SURFACED! A Louisiana QB named – I shit you not – Munchie Legaux has apparently been offered by Michigan. Landing him alone would likely make up for missing out on at least Pearlie Grave and DeQuinta Jones, though Barkevious Mingo will require more make-up work. LeGaux has been added to the recruiting board, in addition to our collective hearts.
Offered GA RB Mack Brown has released his first top 4, and the Wolverines are nowhere to be found on it: the list consists of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma.
“We’re just wondering what’s wrong with the in-state kids, because obviously they do a good job on the out of state kids,” [Dyer] said. “It’s the people who live in Arkansas who are actually having a hard time getting recruited by Arkansas.”
Michigan is interested in Dyer, and though he was considered a lock to Arkansas early in the process, Petrino may end up losing out be cause of a perceived disrespect toward top Arkansas prospects.
SC QB Cornelius Jones won’t announce his decision until Signing Day, and (from the same article) SC DE Brandon Willis, a HS teammate of RB Marcus Lattimore, received a Michigan offer, and he plans to enroll early at the school of his choosing. Speaking of Lattimore, this article has a bit of good information on him. The highlight:
“I grew up a [South] Carolina and Florida State fan, but I don’t really think it will make an impact on my decision,” he said. “But I mainly pulled for Florida State when they had Chris Weinke and Peter Warrick.”
While his childhood preferences may not be a factor in his decision, Lattimore says there are three things that he will be very interested in looking at when evaluating each of his potential schools.
“First will be if the school has my major, which is sports administration or sports management, but probably the second one would be how comfortable I feel there with the players, coaches, and in that environment. Third would probably be the facilities,” said Lattimore.
Michigan’s Division of Kinesiology is among the best nationally for those majors. Lattimore also intends to trim his list of choices to 8 by summer. Considering he’s said Michigan is a lock to receive an official visit, I’d be surprised if they weren’t in the final 8.
“I just got home from Michigan’s Junior Day,” Branch stated. “I was really impressed. I had been there before because my older brother played football there, but it seemed like it was at another level. I know they changed the offense since then, but they didn’t change the tradition. It is a great program for anyone…
“But that’s why I’d rather play football in the South,” Branch continued. “Even though the northern schools have a lot of competition with big guys, I just think by playing in the South I’d have to work harder which would make me a better player and it would bring my game to a whole different level…
“Right now I‘m still wide-open to anyone because I do not have any offers yet,” Branch concluded. “I just want to play college football somewhere.”
I haven’t been able to figure out who his brother is. Captain Obvious would say “Alan Branch, obviously,” but I don’t think that’s the case, because Alan is from New Mexico. Does anybody know who Tremondae’s older brother is? Also: Durr idiotic SEC crowing.
Michigan offered MI DE CJ Olaniyan, and that (predictably) made them move up on his mental list of schools. He was at Junior Day last weekend. Following that, a pretty good fluff piece from Sam Webb in the Detroit News.
OH DE Marcus Rush wasn’t able to make it to Junior Day last weekend, but that didn’t stop the Wolverines from offering him (info in header) when he came later in the weekend to take in a spring practice.
AL DE Martaze Jacksonwas the MVP (“winner”) of the National Underclassmen Combine.
This is either the worst tease for an article ever, or Michigan HASN’T offered IL DE Louis Trinca-Pasat. I’m thinking it is indeed the worst tease ever, and he’s been offered. I won’t note it on the board yet, because I’m relying a little heavily on context clues here.
Luc says no school is ahead of any other at this point. Academics and graduation rate are important factors to him, and he said he likely will wait until the fall to make his decision. He plans to major in accounting or engineering.
Michigan is obviously very strong in both of those fields (if they’ll let him major in what he wants, of course).
And your “WTF?” news of the day: Toledo fans seem to think Devin Gardner was going to commit to their school before the coaching staff there was changed following 2008. Like, no. Dude, no. I would be surprised if the Rockets have ever landed a 4-star or 5-star prospect at all.
Don’t forget to check out all the information over time on the 2010 Recruiting Board.
Moved to Committed:
MI QB Devin Gardner. WOOOOO! The somewhat complicated story seems to be that he’s committed to Michigan, but won’t officially tell the media until his basketball season ends. So, he is committed, but the reason Rivals doesn’t list him on the commit list is his reluctance to give them an interview prior to the end of his hoops season.
OH Ath/WR DJ Williamson. More WOOOO!
OH LB Antonio Kinard. WOOOO round 3!
TX DE Reggie Wilson has set a decision timeline for himself: He’ll commit to a school before the end of the month. His “Final 3” consists of Texas, Oklahoma, and TCU, but I’ll leave him on the board a little longer, until there’s confirmation from another source (not that I’m doubting the credibility of BON, but best to hear it from the horse’s mouth).
FL QB Stephen Morris, one of the stars of Michigan’s 2008 summer camp, is making a name for himself. At least, there’s definitely a PR firm pumping out releases about him. Morris has also started to draw the attention of a familiar face to Michigan fans:
“I just received a couple of letters from Coach Loeffler, who is the new QB coach at Florida, and he really wants me to come up and visit. It’s funny how things turn out, he was the coach who first convinced me to come up to the University of Michigan for their football camp a couple of years ago – and we had a great time there.”
Funny how things turn out, indeed. From the sounds of it, he was more interested in Michigan than in Loeffler after his visit to Ann Arbor, but a coach with whom he’s established a relationship should certainly be considered a threat. There’s also relevant recruiting information in the article:
His list of top schools includes: (in alphabetical order) Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
The Florida attention is likely to shake that list up a bit.
TX LB Caleb Lavey is the #5 linebacker in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for the class of 2010. His measurables aren’t what’s keeping him that low, however: It’s the fact that he plays in a lower division against lesser competition.
Scouting report on MI RB Austin White. The “unsubstantiated rumor” that he committed to Michigan on Junior Day doesn’t exist, even in unsubstantiated form, anywhere other than this site to my knowledge. Let me know if I’m mistaken.
It might be in the best interest of FL LB Jeff Luc to get out of Miami, according to his brother. For the record, said brother went to Florida State, so this isn’t exactly an advocate for going to a school like Michigan.
FL RB Corvin Lamb has said it in no uncertain terms: he wants to go to Florida. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gave the Gators a commitment before the spring is over.
Ohio State and Michigan State, in that order, lead for OH DE Darryl Baldwin. Michigan was on him early in the process, so expect them to turn up the heat if they really want him.
For those who fear that FL S Marvin Robinson is no longer likely to end up in Ann Arbor, take heart: he recently named the Wolverines his #1 school. An early commitment still doesn’t look likely, but at least the Wolverines aren’t playing catch-up.
According to Rivals and Scout, Devin Gardner, a dual-threat quarterback from the class of 2010, has pledged his word to become a Michigan Wolverine. Gardner hails from Inkster High School, and measures 6-4, 200, with a 4.50 second 40-yard dash.
Recruiting Notes Gardner appeared on Michigan fans’ radar in the summer of 2008, when he transferred from UD Jesuit to Inkster. He performed at Michigan’s 2008 summer camp as both a quarterback and a wide receiver. The staff liked him at both positions, and offered him as a QB shortly after the Rich Rodriguez 7-on-7 competition. Though Gardner had grown up a Buckeyes fan, he remained open to any school that gave him interest. Give them interest he did, as schools from LSU to Michigan to West Virginia mailed the dual-threat QB official offers. When the Buckeyes told him he wasn’t their top choice in January, he abruptly removed Ohio State from his list, and many speculated that Michigan would take over the top spot. Gardner made his meta-announcement early last week shortly before he took an unofficial to Michigan’s Day. his actual announcement came today, when he picked out the maize-and-blue hat.
Player Notes
Gardner is a big mobile QB in the Vince Young/Terrelle Pryor mold. In fact, he is often described as “The (Vince Young OR Terrelle Pryor) of the Class of 2010.” He runs like a deer, and has exceptionally quick feet, which he uses to escape pursuers. His throwing mechanics need a lot of work, as he has a low/sidearm release, much like that of Vince Young. Through all his current shortcomings as a player, it is important to remember that he is only a high school Junior, and it will be at least a year and a half before he hits FieldTurf: he has plenty of time to work on them (and poor mechanics didn’t seem to hurt Vince Young that much, either). On top of the tangible skills that can be quantified or easily observed, many talent evaluators have branded him with having that indescribable “it factor.” In his junior season, Devin threw for 1,886 yards, 28 touchdowns (several of them to class of ’09 Michigan commit Cameron Gordon), and 7 interceptions. He ran for 1,401 yards and 22 touchdowns. As previously mentioned, he is a bit raw, but will receive plenty of coaching when he gets to Ann Arbor. Gardner will likely be the more highly-rated quarterback in Michigan’s class of 2010, so he will likely hit the field as a freshman.
I was going to try and hold off a bit longer between recruiting posts, but with the latter half of this week likely stuffed full of baseball and (hopefully) basketball, this will run now. I’ve been forgetting to link it of late, so be sure to visit the 2010 Recruiting Board for all the updates.
Standard Information:
OK QB DeMarco Cobbs has been offered by basically every school as a wideout, but Michigan is giving the likely 5-star a look at QB. He’s been added to the board, but not yet with an offer.
FL LB Jeff Luc is sporting a Michigan offer, and he can’t decide which National All-Star game in which he’d most like to participate. Florida is his favorite, but he plans to wait until at least fall before he makes a decision. Frequent commenter “i know nothing” also brings his video to my attention, which I present for your review:
The dude looks like a heck of a player, and a very violent presence at linebacker. His offer sheet and invitations to both HS All-Star games would speak to this, and Michigan would certainly love to have him.
Michigan has offered FL CB Spencer Boyd. The 5-10, 160-lber also plays running back in high school. Boyd plans to wait until after his senior season to make a final decision. He’s been added to the board. Speaking of Boyd, Jim Stefani gave his information on some of Michigan’s new offerees:
Spencer BoydDB/RB/WR5′101654.31Cape CoralFlorida
One of the top junior DBs and RBs in Florida. I have him ranked as among the top 58 DBs in the nation. As a junior, despite being injured part of the year and playing in just 8 games, he had 104 carries for 620 yards, 30 tackles and a 104-yard INT return for a score. Projects as a college CB. Has very quick feet and exceptional change-of-direction. 225 bench, 385 squat as a sophomore. Honorable Mention All-U.S. Army Combine at DB. Impressive on the 2008 combine circuit (4.31 forty, 4.25 shuttle). Named a team captain as a junior. “He’s kind of like our Marshall Faulk – he does a little bit of everything,” [Head Coach] Goebbel said. “He has the speed to take the ball up the sideline and the power to run between the tackles. We can put him out at receiver and he can catch the ball and make things happen that way. “He’s really one of the best overall players around this area.”
Caleb LaveyLB6′32254.56CelinaTexas
I have him rated as among the top 25 LBs in the nation. As a junior LB he recorded almost 200 tackles, 5 sacks, 4 FFs and 2 FRs. Nice-sized linebacker who has a great frame and runs well. Good nose for the ball and instincts. 275 bench, 27 vertical. 3.9 GPA. His father attended Michigan and was an equipment manager for the football team. 6-3, 225. One of the top junior prospects at the 1A-3A Texas 7 on 7 Tournament…………..2007 1A-3A State Passing Tournament Top 33 Recruits.
D.J. WilliamsonWR/DB6′11804.45Warren HardingOhio
I have him ranked as among the top 75 WRs in the nation. Sophomore track times:10.82 100 meters and he qualified for the state meet, 21.7 200 meters. Great speed and nice size for a receiver, Excels as a return man. 270 bench, 315 squat, 32 vertical
Jim has a ton more information on all three of these guys on his site (I’ve trimmed it down significantly), so go check it out if you’re interested. I’ve also added D.J. Williamson to the board. Per the Junior Day updates listed below, he plans to visit Ann Arbor for the Junior Day this weekend. Webb’s update gave the not-so-subtle implication that a commitment is highly likely while Williamson is in town, so be on the lookout. The internet scuttlebutt is that Williamson grew up a huge Michigan fan, and agrees with the “likely commitment” sentiment.
Now, a slight transition into Junior Day talk:
As was the case last year, Michigan’s first Junior Day of the year will coincide with the Night of Champions, a team-wide competition serving as the official end of winter conditioning, and therefore the beginning of spring practice. Of course, the junior day isn’t the first time Michigan has invited 2010 prospects to campus this year, and several players, such as Jerald Robinson (who offered his commitment), William Gholston, and Devin Gardner have already taken in basketball games in Crisler Arena.
Among the in-state prospects who’ve stated they plan to attend are Detroit Southeastern defensive end William Gholston, Detroit Cass Tech cornerback Dior Mathis, Inkster quarterback Devin Gardner, Warren Fitzgerald linebacker Austin Gray, Charlevoix offensive lineman Bill Ivan and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s quarterback Robert Bolden.
Spartanburg, S.C., quarterback Cornelius Jones (6-2, 197 pounds) is one of those who is trying to work out a trip to Ann Arbor for the event. He was offered by U-M in January. Flower Mound (Tex.) Marcus running back Stephen Hopkins (6-0, 220) has also said he wants to visit Michigan that weekend.
(Ivan added to the recruiting board). There are also a few more recent updates:
Sam Webb said last Friday on WTKA that he also expects MI CB Mylan Hicks and MI DE CJ Olaniyan to make it in, but that Cornelius Jones probably won’t have a chance to visit until the spring game.
Monday, Sam’s WTKA recruiting update included information that DJ Williamson will attend (see above), and SC OL AJ Cann is also going to try to make it up for Junior Day, along with “a few guys from out in Western PA.” I assume that refers to CBs Cullen Christian and Brandon Ifill.
This Rivals header states that instate RB Austin White will be in attendance as well.
***UPDATE*** Gardner also plans to announce a commitment decision Monday, after (presumably) coming on the Ann Arbor visit. This can certainly be seen as a positive sign, though it’s not guaranteed that Devin Gardner will commit to Michigan.
Last week TheWolverine’s Josh Helmholdt had a recruiting chat on the Freep website, and I was aware of it but without anywhere to put it. So, I’ll dedicate a post to it, parsing out all the details I think are relevant.
Michigan definitely has a good shot at Inkster QB Devin Gardner. He dropped Ohio State this past week and that was the team he grew up following, so that increases Michigan’s chances that much more. Right now they have a better shot of landing Gardner than [Robert] Bolden. I personally like Gardner’s upside best. He truly does have some of the characteristics that made Terrelle Pryor the No. 1 recruit coming out of HS in the 2008 class. Gardner is also one of the QB prospects who Michigan has the best chance of landing.
I spoke with Austin [Gray] last night and Michigan is definitely high on his radar. Michigan State and Illinois look to be on the verge of offering and Indiana, Toledo, CMU and others already have. He is not listing an outright favorite right now
I was down in Florida with Marvin [Robinson] last week, and I still feel good Michigan is the team to beat. Several others in Florida agree with me on that.
William [Gholston] did favor MSU and really still does, but he has been adamant in the last couple weeks that he does not want to make an early commitment because he has not visited very many schools.
Gholston, Derrick Bryant and Darryl Baldwin from Solon, Ohio, [are the main targets] at defensive end. At DT, there is a kid in Georgia they are taking a look at, but all in all the talent nationally at that position is weak this year. Most of those offers will come later in the process.
[Regarding adding players to the 2009 class] They took a look at Carolina ATH Larry Raper, but have not offered. There are a few three and four-star guys still left uncommitted and if they can get in with one of them, then maybe they add one more. I keep in close contact with Raper, and he has not been offered yet by Michigan. As the days go on, there is less of a chance he does get that offer. The lack of available talent at the DT left in the 2009 class makes it unlikely they will add another one in the 2009 class.
I really believe [Nick Hill] will [end up in Michigan’s class] Joe, and likely even before Michigan’s summer camp. Hill is short (5-6), but he has such unique abilities and brings more to the table than most HS backs. I am really high on Hill and rank him as one of the top 5 players in the state for 2010.
Most of that falls in the range of “not at all surprising if you pay attention,” but it’s still worth noting when there’s good recruiting content for free.Michigan State has since offered Gray, and I’ll try to sleuth out who the Georgia DT is.
And while I’m catching up on old recruiting information that wasn’t likely to end up having a home, DocSat talked most successful recruiting schools over the past two classes, and it’s pretty encouraging for Michigan fans:
Bama has reeled in 40 players rated four or five-stars by Rivals over the last two Signing Days. By comparison, the only other schools with more than 30 are USC and Michigan, with 31.
The big difference for Michigan, of course, is the lack of 5-star guys. USC and Bama have 6 and 7, respectively, while the Wolverines have only 1. Hopefully, more success on the field will allow the coaching staff to continue and accelerate the super-positive recruiting momentum they’ve managed to gain despite a 3-9 year.
Denard Robinson has claimed the 
FL QB Stephen Morris, one of the stars of Michigan’s 2008 summer camp, is making a name for himself. At least, there’s definitely a PR firm