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Recruiting Update: The Triple Ocho

New Information:
CS DE Chris Bonds. Top 6 (Michigan is oviously in it, considering they have secured a visit).
AL CB Dre Kirkpatrick. Takes in an Alabama practice.
GA LB Devekeyan Lattimore. Old, but super fluffy to a hilarious degree.
FL RB Vincent Smith. Video fluff.
MS DB Dennis Thames. He will be on display at some county fair or something.

Removed:
OK RB David Oku. The 2009 Noel Devine has dropped Michigan in an effort to get to a decision faster.
FL WR Rontavious Wooten. Will choose between two non-Michigan schools.

Etc.:
Sam Webb talks defensive end recruiting (audio). Cass Tech is going spread this year. It couldn’t be any worse than their offense was against OLSM when I saw them play last year. The ESPN 150 was released. Relevant persons:
Commits
65. Bryce McNeal (82)
91. Isaiah Bell (81)
147. Kevin Newsome (80)
Targets
5. Dre Kirkpatrick (90)
9. Jelani Jenkins (86)
10. Rueben Randle (86)
21. Shaquelle Evans (84)
22. Sam Montgomery (84)
25. Darius Winston (84)
38. Darren Myles (83)
43. Branden Smith (83)
48. Morgan Moses (83)
67. Craig Drummond (82)
77. Gabe Lynn (82)
78. Marcus Hall (82)
86. Craig Roh (82)
88. Donavan Tate (82)
123. David Oku (81)
132. Eugene Smith (81)
140. Chris Bonds (81)
141. Tate Forcier (81)

It’s utterly ridiculous that Will Campbell is not even in the 150, seeing as how he’s a no-brainer 5-star to both of the other sites, and ESPN spoke breathlessly about him following the Penn State Nike Combine. Just another hit to ESPN’s recruiting credibility (as though they needed one). Their reasoning:

Dominating the combine circuit without pads during one-on-one drills (geared toward the defense) does not give an accurate description of a DT’s ability to truly play the position. When comparing Campbell against the 10 DT’s that made the 150, we felt he wasn’t in the same class talent-wise. He didn’t display the ability to be as explosive as the DT’s above him.

If you’re looking for which idiot at ESPN to complain about, this was said by one Billy Tucker (side note: Campbell’s explosiveness is one of his greatest strengths, besides natural size, of course).

Analysis:
Oku’s removal is sad, but maybe warranted considering the thousands of RBs Michigan has recruited. Same goes for Wooten and slots. Other than those two guys, not a ton of action this week. In the next couple updates, I may start removing prospects that are highly unlikely to end up at Michigan (I’m lookin’ at you, Hersey Jackson).

Posted under Recruiting

Recruiting Update 7-14-08

Much stuff from late last week snuck its way in here because of the JAM PACKED WITH CONTENT nature of Friday’s update.

Added:
FL WR Rontavious Wooten. Michigan is in his top 4, though LSU leads.
WA DT Deandre Coleman. I’m still convinced Michigan needs to take another DT in this class.
FL OL Andrew Carter. Apparently offered.

New Information:
Pahokee, FL prospects. Will play on ESPN August 30, where many of them also plan to announce college decisions. Also, they got in a huge brawl this weekend.
MD RB Tavon Austin. Wants to have freedom in his college offense. Seems a spread attack would be a good fit for him.
GA WR Braxton Lane. Baseball fluff. At this point, I expect him to be a top pick in next spring’s MLB Draft, and would be surprised if he went to college. Hell, we’d definitely take him for both sports.
FL TE Orson Charles. Decision Timeline.
OK RB David Oku. Talks officials (Michigan’s is for the MSU game). Video? Video:

Ladies, if you’re going to go visit him at work, don’t forget to sport some of this stuff.

Removed:
FL DT Antwan Lowery. Down to two (info in header). I’m betting neither is Mich, since he has visited several other schools.

Posted under Recruiting