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Recruiting Update

The board holds all the info. There should be another recruiting update later this week.

Moved to Committed:

2010 WR Jeremy Jackson, on the invisible (for now) 2010 board. The board should go live within the next couple days.
New Information:
SC OL Quinton Washington. He seemed to really enjoy his Michigan visit, and felt wanted. Said similar stuff to Sam Webb.
GA TE Terrell Mitchell. Some stuff on official visit scheduling. Should he be teetering close to removal?
SC DE Chris Bonds. Michigan may be on the outside looking in for his 5th visit.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. Bill Kurelic words his article in a weird way:
Although Jenkins prefers not to name any particular schools of interest, some thought to be in the running include: Penn State, USC, Stanford, Miami, Notre Dame, Florida, LSU and Virginia. However when asked about the Big Ten, Jenkins also mentioned Michigan and Michigan State — and Illinois can’t be ruled out.

He is making it sound like Michigan, Michigan State, and Illinois are afterthoughts. Is he being intentionally misleading (he is a Buckeye, after all), or just stupid (he is a Buckeye, after all)? Fluff regarding his family support in the recruiting process. We have video from his ESPN2 game, but we’ll save it for the next recruiting update.
Removed:
OK RB David Oku. Apparently, he has committed to Tennessee. With our RB numbers filling up, we weren’t likely to land him anyway.
NJ DB Nyshier Oliver. Notre Dame commit.
FL TE Orson Charles. Enjoyed a Georgia visit so much, they are now his co-leader with Miami. Florida and Florida State are his second tier. It appears as though those are his final group, so he is removed.
Etc.:
Allen Trieu/Sam Webb bring a new set of instate 2009 rankings. Big Will #1, Teric #6. State QB commit Andrew Maxwell is somehow #4, though I’ve seen him play this year and he was terrible.
Other 2010 News:
FL S Marvin Robinson. Michigan is the favorite (perhaps prohibitive?) for the bigtime safety. Duh.
A question for all: once the 2010 board debuts, should 2010 recruiting updates be rolled in with the standard 2009 updates, or have their own dedicated posts?

Posted under Recruiting

Recruiting Update 9-11-08

All information (past and present) lives on the board.

New Information:
VA QB Kevin Newsome. Still nominally considering Michigan, though Forcier’s commitment pretty much shuts the door on the Wolverines re-landing him. More on Newsome: Michigan isn’t one of the 3 locks to make his top 5.
OK RB David Oku. Spoke less-than-effusively about his Louisville visit. This is recruiting-speak for “I couldn’t have hated it more.” However, he rescheduled his announcement for next Wednesday. Without having visited Michigan, the Wolverines’ chances seem pretty low.
GA TE Terrell Mitchell. Michigan is still on him.
MI DT William Campbell. Some more information on his decommitment, including that he plans to enroll early wherever he chooses. Re-recruitment article from the Freep. Sam Webb discusses Campbell in the Detroit News. Quoth the mother:

“He’s still basically committed to U-M, but I said there is nothing wrong with going to visit a few schools. There is nothing wrong with that.”

This doesn’t sound too bad. Also, the article says he won’t announce his decision until the Army game, which would contradict a recent assertion that he will enroll early.
NJ DE Anthony LaLota. Michigan and PSU are widely regarded to be his de facto top 2. Also, Scout indicates that he is likely deciding soon.
MI S Thomas Gordon. The Cass Tech player has said he’d be a near-lock to Michigan were he to get an offer, and now he has it (info in header). Is his commitment just a matter of time?
FL S Jonathan Scott. His brother transfers from OSU. I guess coming to Michigan would no longer let them engage in sibling rivalry.
MS S Dennis Thames. Fluff, including top schools (Michigan still up there). His injury will keep him out 4-6 weeks.

Removed:
MI RB Hersey Jackson. He is out for the season with an injury. He hadn’t earned a Michigan offer, and needed a big senior year to get one. So much for that idea.

Analysis:
Like I said immediately in the wake of the Campbell “decommitment,” nothing has really changed for Big Will. When he was “committed” he said he’d take 5 visits and probably pick Michigan, and following his “decommitment,” he’s saying… that he’ll take 5 visits and probably pick Michigan. On that basis alone, there’s nothing to freak out about (if we didn’t really have him before, did we really lose him).

Etc.:
NC S Devonte Holloman. He will take visits other than Clemson. Typical “not including elsewhere-committed prospects” rules apply, but keep in mind that one of them will be to Michigan. He is planning to enroll early, fwiw.
MI WR Commit Bryce McNeal. A bit of fluffy stuff.
TX QB Commit Shavodrick Beaver. Don’t forget, he plays on ESPN2 in a couple hours.

Michigan Targets Visiting South Bend This Weekend:
NC OL Xavier Nixon (though he’s not on the board anymore, could a strong game from the Wolverines rekindle his interest in Michigan?).
SC DE Chris Bonds (have seen a “maybe” next to this one).

Posted under Recruiting

Recruiting Update 8-28-08

The board can be found here. I’m still trying to decide which days/how often to post recruiting updates. Until I settle into something of a rhythm during the season, I’ll just post them as the post fills up.

New Information:
MI WR Cameron Gordon. He is in no hurry to make a decision. I wonder ig Michigan will pursue him a little stronger now that they want his 2010 teammate Devin Gardner.
TN WR/DB Marsalis Teague. He may take a Michigan visit.
MI TE Dion Sims. Still hasn’t made up his mind, but his current choice is basketball over football.
GA TE Terrell Mitchell. Michigan is outside his top 3 (SoCar, WVU, Kentucky). With the Wolverines not really planning on taking a pure TE, he may be close to removal from the board.
CA OL Michael Philipp. USC starts showing some interest.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. Michigan will make his next cut (Sam Webb Audio). Sounds like Michigan made quite an impression on his visit.
NJ DE Anthony LaLota. No longer planning an early decision, Michigan official tentatively scheduled for Wisconsin game (Sam Webb Audio, same as above).
AZ DE Craig Roh. Sam Webb fluff from the Detroit News. Remember, Roh is officially visiting this week.
SC S David Sims. Michigan out of his top 5. It’s unclear from the article whether that is “top” or “final,” so he remains on the board for now.
Also: Vincent Smith and Brandin Hawthorne have moved up their announcement(s) from their game Saturday to tomorrow.

Removed:
KY DE Trevor Foy. He is down to a final 2 of Purdue and Louisville.
MD OL Brennan Williams. Down to a final 3 that doesn’t include Michigan.

Etc.:
MI DT commit William Campbell:Uh… yeah.
IN LB Commit Jordan Barnes. Fluff from the hometown paper.
Plantation, FL guys all plan to graduate early, take the info just in case Michigan nabs one of them.

Etc.:
If anyone manages to catch the Miami (Oh) game against Vanderbilt tonight, e-mail me your thoughts. I’s on ESPNU and I won’t be able to make it somewhere to watch.

Posted under Recruiting

Recruiting Update 3-20-08

The full board. A bit of information was rearranged, but not enough to note it here.

New InformationVA QB Kevin Newsome – linked to State Track meet article.
CA QB Tate Forcier – linked to his Michigan offer. Also, current internet rumor du jour is that he is visiting Michigan this weekend.
PA RB Jordan Hall – Plans an early decision.
MN WR Fritz Rock – Life story article from the Gopher Hole. Football Story
MS DT Josh Boyd – has reportedly been offered.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins – has reportedly been offered.
FL WR Andre Debose – Track results.

Added
IL QB Darwin Rogers – run-pass QB from Chicago.
FL RB Vincent Smith – HS teammate of Martavious Odoms and Nu’Keese Richardson. May be close to a Michigan offer.
GA TE Terrell Mitchell – He claims a Michigan offer.
IL OL Chris Watt. He has a Michigan offer.
OH LB Dan Fox. Michigan Junior Day attendee.

Removed
OH WR Josh Jones. At this time, it doesn’t appear that he will be a top prospect.

Etc.
Sam Webb column in the Detroit News on Junior Day.

Posted under Recruiting