Somewhat-explanatory fluff on SC QB Commit Cornelius Jones. Sounds like he was running with the wrong crew within the past couple years, but has turned himself around:

“I realized I wasn’t going to do anything with my life if I was to keep going on the road I was going,” he said. “I got in touch with one of my positive friends, and he took me to coach Brown. He gave me a chance, and I’ve been running with it every since.”

“He came into my office one day and said he was told he couldn’t play football at Spartanburg anymore,” Brown said. “He wanted to know if that policy still stood after I took the job. He didn’t have any prior discipline reports and had a 3.7 GPA, so I knew that this was a kid that had been doing what he was supposed to do.”

With the scant amount of football he’s played, there’s a ton of upside with Cornelius, and Michigan fans should be excited to have him in the same class as Devin Gardner. Better still, it seems as though any potential character issues are firmly in his past, and Michigan will get an upstanding citizen as well. Also, there’s now a highlight video of Cornelius available. Alas, Youtube version has already been taken down, so click through and enjoy.

Removed OH QB Derek Roback. He’s down to a final 3 (info in header), and since Michigan never showed any interest in him, it’s pretty clear they aren’t among th finalists.

MI RB Austin White has set an announcement date (info in header). It’s coming up soon, and considering that Michigan had been deemed the leader for Austin within the past few days, it’s highly likely he’ll be pledging to the Wolverines. Keep an eye on Austin in the near future.

Michigan doesn’t seem to be heavily involved with Denard Robinson and Adrian Witty‘s teammate, RB Cassius McDowell. However, if their recruiting does shake out quite the way they’ve planned, he’s definitely a strong possibility for Michigan. In the past, he has spoken of being interested in the Wolverines. Video from McDowell’s junior season:

Cassius McDowell from SoFLAfootball.com on Vimeo.

Removed IN RB Roderick Smith. He committed to Ohio State last week, which I neglected to mention in the last recruiting update.

OH WR Tyrone Williams is likely to commit to Ohio State sometime soon (info in header).

Removed FL WR/DB Kadron Boone. He has a top 9 that he’s looking to trim into a final 5 sometime soon. Michigan is not on said list.

Removed IL TE CJ Fiedorowicz, who committed to Illinois. He hadn’t been prominently listing Michigan.

Fluff on SC OL Eric Mack, with no Michigan mention. It appears as though he wants to play his college ball in the South, looking at the teams he does talk about. He will not commit to any school until after his senior season.

Removed OH OL Travis Jackson, who committed to Michigan State.

Removed NJ OL Dante Weaver, who committed to Temple.

I left him on the recruiting board because I figured he may take visits, and that appears to indeed be the case for Cal commit TX DT Jay Guy (info in header). Michigan is among his offers, but it’s unclear whether that interest is reciprocated on his end. If so, an official visit may be in order.

Michigan is in the top 6 for PA DT Sharrif Floyd. If the Wolverines can get him on campus, he could be the answer to defensive line recruiting woes over the past two classes. As an added bonus, Penn State (regarded to be his favorite) already has two defensive tackles committed, making Michigan a much more attractive option.

Ohio DE Darryl Baldwin plans to make a college commitment by the end of the week. Though Michigan was strong for him early in the recruiting process, I think most analysts are expecting him to end up elsewhere, probably Ohio State.

Fluff on CT LB Khairi Fortt. He has a Michigan visit in his plans for the summer, and he’s hoping to narrow his list of scholarship offers to about 10 by the end of the month. He won’t announce a final decision until during his senior season, however.

Surprise, surprise. FL LB Christian Jones favors Florida State. He has a list of top schools (which doesn’t include Michigan) and plans to make a tour of unofficial visits to several colleges this summer. If that trip happens without a stop in Ann Arbor, or any other indication that the Wolverines are in the running, I’ll remove him from the board.

Removed GA LB Tyrone Cornileus, who has a final four of Gerogia Tech, Miami of Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Removed OH LB Cameron Ontko, who committed to Wisconsin. His brief stay on the board comes to an abrupt end.

CA S Sean Parker will visit Michigan for an official this fall, though he’s not sure exactly when that will be.

FL CB Keion Payne counts Michigan among his offers, but it doesn’t appear that Michigan is one of the schools that has a good chance to land him. It appears as though Miami of Florida and Ohio State (if they offer) are his leaders.

2011 FL RB Demetrius Hart “has favorites” (info in header). We’ll use the mighty VB cryptography kit to decipher who that might be: 1) This article is posted on TheWolverine, therefore Michigan must be among the favorites 2) The article is written by a TheWolverine staff writer, confirming the conclusion of part 1, and implying that Michigan likely leads. Hart has said in the past that he’d probably commit to Michigan as soon as he can get an offer in writing (September 1st, for the record), so this information is not surprising.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

2010 Michigan Wolverines Recruiting Board.

Moved PA DE/LB Ken Wilkins to committed. Commitment post. Local paper article. I didn’t really want to, but I’ll have to fisk:

The word on Wilkins? Well, a good source at Trinity who knows the football program well said Wilkins is talented, but isn’t as athletic as  Andrew Sweat, a Trinity linebacker two seasons ago who is now at Ohio State. “He doesn’t have the agility that Sweat had,” the source said.

Wow, a defensive end doesn’t have the same agility as a linebacker. You deserve a medal for figuring that one out, guy.

More Nike Camp recap from Josh Helmholdt in the Free Press. Relevant players include MI QB commit Devin Gardner:

the 6-5, 210-pound Gardner is dual-threat quarterback and many of his best attributes are not showcased in a non-contact camp setting. Still, Gardner showed that he has spent a good portion of the offseason working on his passing. His footwork is vastly improved and even though he still has an atypical throwing motion, he was able to make all the throws and did so with adequate arm strength and accuracy.

Livonia Stevenson’s Austin White took home the MVP honors at the running back position with considerable ease. The 6-1, 185-pound White was nearly unstoppable in the one-on-one portion of the camp, using his speed to outrun would-be defenders. White’s footwork and agility in the drills portion of the camp also solidified his MVP honors.

Although they did not take home MVP honors, Southeastern defensive linemen Johnathon Hankins and William Gholston both had good performances, too. The 6-3, 320-pound Hankins has put a lot of work into his conditioning this offseason and it showed in his performance Saturday. The 6-7, 240-pound Gholston is the state of Michigan’s top ranked prospect and his combination of size, speed and athleticism is hard to find anywhere in the country.

Other standout performers for the state of Michigan included Saginaw class of 2011 wide receiver DeAnthony Arnett, Inkster running backs/safeties Daniel and Nathan Lindsey, Ypsilanti Willow Run defensive tackle Garret Davis, Warren Fitzgerald linebacker Austin Gray, Cass Tech athlete Daniel Easterly, Lansing Sexton quarterback Taurean Jackson and Hartland 2011 wide receiver Matt Poches.

Removed OK AB/WR DeMarco Cobbs. He’s down to a top 8, which Michigan is nowhere near. He also plans to go down to a top five soon, so there’s little room to sneak onto his top list.

Shortly after a visit to Michigan for the Big House BBQ, and slightly opening the door on his recruitment, OH TE Alex Smith (seen at left) has fully decommitted from Cincinnati. Michigan will probably among the favorites to land his signature, as he’s been on campus multiple times. If they’re able to land Smith, it would certainly help with his teammate, LB Jordan Hicks. Hicks is one of the top linebacker prospects in the nation, and plans to graduate early. He has a top 6 list that he plans to reveal in short order. Ohio State and Texas are locks to be on the list, and Cincinnati will probably make it as well. Your guess is as good as mine for the last three.

MD OL Arie Kouandjio has landed a coveted Ohio State offer, and considering how selective they can be with offensive line recruits (though the results may not be there over the past two years), it certainly means he’s kind of a big deal. He plans to narrow his scholarship offers to a top five by the time his senior season rolls around.

Speaking of OL prospects (and one Michigan has a much better shot with), FL OL Torrian Wilson has modified his top 5, removing Tennessee in favor of… FIU? Lol Kiffin and whatnot. Alabama, Stanford, and Miami of Florida are the others in his favorites list, along with the Wolverines.

OH DE Darryl Baldwin is likely staying close to home when he ultimately selects a school. Though that immediately makes one think he’s likely to be a Buckeye, that’s certainly not set in stone. The original quote from his coach was “Everybody across the country was interested in him, but he’s a Midwest guy and he’s leaning towards staying close to home.” That sounds a bit more positive for coaches across the midwest, no?

Video fluff on FL LB Christian Jones. He still sounds like he’s going to Florida State, so I wouldn’t give him tooooo much thought.

I just added him Monday, but don’t expect GA LB Tyrone Cornileus to stay on the board long. He has a top 3-ish substance without Michigan in it, and he plans to make a commitment within a month.

MI S/LB Daniel Easterly will camp at Michigan in hopes to land an offer from the Wolverines. He hails from the developing Michigan pipeline of Cass Tech.

Removed LA S Ronnie Vinson, who committed to LSU. He spoke early about really liking Michigan, partially due to a connection to Adam Kraus. However, he hadn’t mentioned the Wolverines in a while, and was probably no longer a realistic option.

Added OH twins DT Terry Talbott and CB Terrence Talbott. Michigan has offered both of the brothers (info in header).

This may be weird coming from me, but how about some hoops-related recruiting news? 2009 commit Darius Morris will report to Ann Arbor on June 22 for enrollment in summer classes (info in header).

This update is getting FULL. The rest of the info will be saved for a Monday update.

Posted under Basketball, Football, Recruiting

2010 Michigan Recruiting Board. Yes, I’ve been slacking a bit in updating the actual board, but I hope to bring it up to date today.

Super fluff about incoming freshman Denard Robinson. Great leadership in football and track, etc. Teammate Cassius McDowell, a 2010 RB, mentions that Robinson will certainly be missed in Deerfield Beach.

As far as 2010 news goes, nothing is more pressing at the instant than the news that PA LB/DE Ken Wilkins is set to announce his college commitment tomorrow afternoon. He is expected to pick Michigan.

MI QB commit Devin Gardner and a host of other prospects from the Great Lakes State performed at the Chicago Nike Camp, where they were very impressive. IL WR Kyle Prater, who includes Michigan in his final 10, was named the overall MVP.

With Jake Heaps off the board to BYU, Tennessee is now on the hunt for a new quarterback in the class of 2010 (you may recall that Lane Kiffin idiotically didn’t take one last year, despite a pressing need). The Vols are expected to land TN QB Barry Brunetti, though Penn State had reportedly been leading for his services. Michigan’s chances at Brunetti decrease again, though they hadn’t offered him and it didn’t seem inevitable that they would.

Michigan is in the final four for FL RB Darion Hall (info in header).

CA RB Brennan Clay has committed to play for Oklahoma. I’ll leave him on the board for now, because there’s no word on whether he still plans to take his scheduled trip to Michigan early in the season. If he does indeed take that trip, Michigan will have Tate Forcier in his ear trying to change his mind.

CA Ath/RB Dietrich Riley did not give a silent commitment to Tennessee, which ok, I hadn’t even heard that as a rumor worth addressing. Still, he says Michigan is recruiting him the hardest, and he plans on visiting several schools this summer, including a trip to Ann Arbor. The recruiting criteria for him include a staff with NFL experience, so that may ding Michigan in his eyes. Also, distance doesn’t matter to him because he has family “throughout the south,” which doesn’t sound particularly promising for Michigan, either. However, a trip to campus is always an opportunity to win over a recruit, so don’t count Rich Rod and company out just yet.

OH WR/DB Commit DJ Williamson continues proving that he’s fast as hell. As long as he can translate that to the football field in the fall, he should see the recruiting services rate him higher by Signing Day 2010.

Re-added OH TE Alex Smith, who will still consider Michigan despite being a Cincinnati commit (info in header). He visited for the Big House BBQ, and apparently liked what he saw enough to officially soften his commitment to the Bearcats.

MN OL Seantrel Henderson is beginning to narrow his list, and though he’s just getting into that process, Michigan is in the top 10. Remember, he plans to visit Ann Arbor again this summer, so don’t be surprised if the Wolverines manage to make their way into his top 5 as well.

Added OH OL Travis Jackson. He’s interested in Michigan, despite no offer (info in header). Jackson is slightly undersized, but considering Michigan’s last player to come out of St. Francis DeSales was slightly undersized as well (Patrick Omameh), and they might view him as someone they can try to mold a bit. Deales has also had a run of D-1 players over the past couple of years, so keep an eye on the present AND future there.

Temper any possible enthusiasm about FL DT Richard Ash. He’s basically all but committed to be a Gator, but wants to take a couple official visits to experience the recruiting process. He’ll make his commitment official on September (or is it November?) 25th, and it will almost certainly be for the Florida Gators.

Inched closer to removing SC DT AJ Cann. After originally expressing interest in Michigan, he has narrowed his list to a group of schools in the Southeast. Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if his Michigan interest was just a ploy to get a free trip to see the Western Michigan game, as his older brother plays for the Broncos.

Removed KS DE Geneo Grissom, who committed to Kansas. He expressed Michigan interest very early in the process, but all had been quiet on that front pretty much ever since. With Michigan’s DE class so far, and taking into account the amount of pressure that the coaches clearly didn’t put on him, and Grissom is certainly no big loss.

Removed IL DE Louis Trinca-Pasat, who has committed to Iowa. Same story with Trinca-Pasat as with Grissom: Michigan didn’t seem to want him particularly badly, so he’s certainly not a big loss.

Added GA LB Tyrone Cornileus, who counts the Wolverines among his group of leaders. Miami and Georgia Tech are probably atop that list, however.

Removed TN LB Justin Maclin, who committed to LSU. Despite receiving a Michigan offer a little while back, he never seemed particularly interested in the Wolverines, so it comes as no surprise that he has committed to another school.

Posted under Football, Recruiting