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Personnel Items

A couple things…

  • As rumored, Kelvin Grady is indeed expected to join the Michigan football team. He’ll have 3 years to play 3, meaning he’s essentially coming in as a redshirt sophomore. He’ll play slot receiver, and will likely be used in all the ways that Rodriguez has used such players (motioning into the backfield, end-around pitches, etc.) in the past. Grady, while he should be in pretty good shape from having continued his D-1 athletic career over the past two years, is going to have to work to change his physique from that of a football player to that of a basketball player. He’ll probably provide depth at slot this year, though we’ve all seen on the basketball court the quickness that he can bring.It’s still unclear whether he’ll rejoin the basketball team, since he’s still around and all. Most news items have not mentioned it as an option, but I don’t see why not. The kid clearly loves basketball (he picked it over football coming out of high school, after all), and with the football career perhaps becoming the main focus, he could play basketball and provide depth at the point guard position for another year or two, without fretting about his overall role on the team.
  • The other personnel issue is with a player who has yet to hit campus: Justin Turner, the defensive back out of Massillon Washington, has been the subject of rumors regarding his eligibility to enroll at Michigan. The apparent issue regards the Ohio Graduation Test, and Turner’s apparent failing of it. Before we get into that, I might as well bring up the source of this rumor, the English-teacher’s-nightmare of a blog GBMW (which I shall not link because I think they’re idiots). The rebuttal to their post at WLA, though clearly written in a heat of passion, is something I agree with: GBMW broke either 1) The law, by getting a student’s private records, or 2) Turner’s trust, by throwing this shit all over the internet. Additional shame to them (on top of the shame of illiteracy, of course). Anyway, since the rumor has become fairly ubiquitous, Sam Webb found it OK to mention on the WTKA morning show today, and I feel okay posting about it.As for the test, the state of Ohio requires its high schoolers to pass the Ohio Graduation Test as something of an exit exam. Don’t pass the test, you don’t get to graduate high school (and get automatic admission to Ohio State – no I’m not joking, this policy was around as recently as 6 years ago). Turner, then, did not pas the test, or so the rumor goes. Webb was not particularly pessimistic about Turner’s ability to still get into school, as he’s a pretty good student who’s already met the NCAA Clearinghouse’s requirements for eligibility, except the no high school diploma thing. There are alternative methods to diploma eligbility, and given Turner’s academic reputation, most don’t foresee him having difficulty there.

So, hurray. Enjoy this video of Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard on College Football Live yesterday as a reward for getting through all that:

Posted under Football, Personnel

Campin’

As has always been the case, Michigan will host a number of camps this summer. These camps help build relationships with high school and college coaches, serve as recruiting tools, and otherwise engender good will toward the program among the populace. Mark Snyder brings details in the Detroit Free Press:

The summer gets a bit more hectic for the coaches later in June. U-M will host three football camps, each with its own focus. The traditional camp (June 14-17) is key for recruiting, offering a chance to have elite high school prospects on campus while evaluating their skills. U-M has expanded to include a 7-on-7 passing camp and team offensive-defensive linemen camp (June 18-19), when prep players can show off their skills as a group. The June 21-23 youth camp is for middle school students.

The camps are becoming more specialized (see: the 7-on-7 and lineman camps), allowing for easier evaluation of prospects. Expect a number of Michigan targets to attend the camps. Some of those who are expected include:

  • Basically every in-state prospect, especially those hoping to earn offers (like Jonathan Hankins)
  • The contingent from DeMatha, MD
  • Torrian Wilson and perhaps teammate Corvin Lamb
  • Various other prospects from across the country

Sam Webb gave a bit more detail on what the summer camps would entail on the WTKA Recruiting Roundup a couple weeks ago, including the information that top WR Kyle Prater may make a visit for the 7-on-7 camp with his Hillside Proviso West team. Also from the WTKA Show, GBW’s Allen Trieu discusses the drawbacks and benefits of the new camp format with Sam and Andy.

Thunder of Touch the Banner, a relatively new Michigan blog, says that non-prospects should remain wary: if you’re not a top recruit, don’t expect to get a ton of 1-on-1 coaching from the Wolverine staff.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

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Christian Pace Goes Blue

The Michigan Wolverines have added their 12th commitment of the class of 2010, according to both premium sites. OH OL Christian Pace (6-3, 260, 5.7) has pledged his word to become a Michigan Wolverine in February. Pace is the first offensive lineman to commit in the class.

Recruiting Notes
Michigan fans have known about Pace for quite some time, as he was among the earlier offensive linemen offered post-signing day. He received an offer in early April, and almost immediately hit campus for the Wolverines’ spring game. Though he spoke effusively about his trip to Ann Arbor, a visit to Northwestern “wowed” him, so fans weren’t sure how sincere his interest in Michigan was. A return trip to the University of Michigan, however, sealed the deal. He went home without committing, but the premium sites mentioned that his timetable might accelerate considerably. Accelerate it did, and he phoned Rich Rodriguez today to share the good word.

Player Notes
Pace is currently a little undersized for an offensive lineman, at just 260 pounds. However, he has a big frame, and will be able to pack on enough muscle to compete well at the college level. He is likely to be an interior line prospect with his height limiting his ability to play on the outside. Pace is very aggressive and nasty with his blocks, and shows an ability to get to the second level of defenders. His strength and technique are pretty good for a high school player, especially one with the low weight that he currently carries. When he teams up with Barwis upon arriving in Ann Arbor, he could be converted into a beast. One big knock on Pace is his pass protection. His high school apparently has a predominantly running scheme, and he’ll have to improve in protection. Pace is a 3-star prospect to both recruiting services.

Video

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Recruiting Update 6-1-09

2010 Michigan Recruiting Board.

Big House Barbecue As mentioned in this morning’s post, there were no immediate results from the Big House Barbecue event. Though the Wolverines picked up a commitment from PA DE Jordan Paskorz (and how about a little Paskorz fluff? Or were you looking for a more local flavor?), it was prior to the barbecue, and not related to the actual even itself. So, was the whole thing a bust this time around? Not so much. There are lots of positive vibes coming from essentially every recruit who was there, with none moreso than a couple guys who might suddenly be ready to make decisions. “Wilkins moves closer to decision after visit” and “Is a Decision Imminent for Pace?” are pretty good indications-via-headline that PA LB Ken Wilkins and OH OL Christian Pace enjoyed themselves enough to at least seriously consider committing in the not-particularly-distant future. Keep your eyes peeled in the coming days.

Other than those two, nothing seems to be imminent, but the general feeling from the barbecue seems to be a good one, emanating from the mouths of seemingly every recruit who was there. Michigan certainly helped themselves with a number of guys, even if they only managed to accelerate a couple of decision timelines. Some of those who seemd to enjoy themselves: FL CB Tony Grimes, who had his “eyes opened by Michigan,” and seems to be a pretty good player, as well. Another top prospect who was there, perhaps surprisingly to Michigan fans who are staring at the commit list with a shocked expression, was IL WR Kyle Prater (info in header).

Fluff on IA QB AJ Derby. Tom Lemming criticizes several midwest schools for being impatient and not waiting for great prospects like Derby, while lauding Iowa’s foresight to not accept commitments from lesser-rated players. Like, I don’t know, 3-stars James Morris and Austin Gray and unranked Anthony Ferguson and Jim Poggi. I’m just sayin’. Back to Derby though, Lemming seems to think he might be a 5-star caliber player, but that his Hawkeye connections (aside from the obvious – living in Iowa City – his dad also played for Iowa in the 90s) will probably mean he ends up playing for his hometown school.

OK QB/WR Demarco Cobbs is trying to narrow his list, but is having a hard time telling schools that he’s just not that into them. Be forwarned that Michigan is nowhere near his rough top 10 list, which instead consists of Alabama, Arizona, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee and USC. He basically never mentions Michigan, though he says “a couple schools” are right outside the top list, and could sneak in there. He seems to have little interest in playing QB, and the only reason I’m leaving him on the list for now is that he has a Michigan offer, and there’s no formal cutdown that means Michigan is absolutely out of it.

SC RB Marcus Lattimore has trimmed his list of schools to a final 8, which doesn’t include Michigan. This is curious because of the “I am definitely going to an official visit in Ann Arbor” vibe he was giving out before, but the writing has sort of been on the wall for a while now. I’ll leave him on the board a little longer, until I can get a chance to resolve the official visit issue.

Selective reading by the Miami Herald, when discussing possible future commitments for Da U. They pick out a FL OL Torrian Wilson quote that all of his top 5 schools are “about equal,” while forgetting to mention that he has also said several times that Michigan definitely leads. This is yet another reason why newspapers are failing, guys. I’m not saying the Wolverines will definitely land Wilson, but lying to your readers by omission isn’t exactly a criterion for becoming a beacon of journalism.

GA OT/DE Henry Anderson says Michigan “is in the big picture” (info in header). While that certainly doesn’t mean very much, it’s enough to warrant adding him to the board.

GA DE TJ Stripling might be taking a visit to Ann Arbor soon (info in header). Memo to Pete Cunningham, the author of this article. You can’t have a tease in the excerpt that you’ve already answered in the headline. Stripling had not been previously on the board, so I’ve added him.

Some pretty fluffy stuff on FL LB Jeff Luc. Of actual note from the article: He’s a good student, and trying to get all of his classes in order so he can graduate in December and enroll early at his school of choice.

Michigan has offered GA LB Tyrone Cornelius. I’ve added him to the board.

MD LB Troy Gloster has been offered by Michigan. The former teammate of Florida’s Jelani Jenkins is one of many Division-1 prospects at Good Counsel High School, so keep an eye on the Wolverines’ future actions at that school.

Periodic Pahokee Update Time. It seems I say more about this school than any other, probably because the number of prospects available there, and also because of Michigan’s existing ties to the Blue Devils. Anyway, a weird-ish non-story from the muck over the weekend, as CB Merrill Noel and LB Zachery Allen planned to announce todaythen promptly changed their minds. The Wolverines wouldn’t have likely been the school of choice for either guy, so if they want a legit shot at them, a longer recruiting process can only help Michigan. It had been predicted that both would commit to Wake today.

A top 100 list of Florida prospects by the Miami Herald includes a number of Michigan prospects, including commits Ricardo Miller (#19) and Marvin Robinson (#31). The most humorous part of this list is the authors’ insistence on bragging about how much smarter they are than the national recruiting sites, and how they know so much more than those guys. Then they go on to spell about 30% of the names wrong. Great work, guys!

Posted under Football, Recruiting

College Football Live 50 State Tour

Visits Michigan for the “premiere” of the feature today. Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard are planned guests on the set. This entire deal seems to be little more than an attempt by ESPN to get their show shouted out on school-specific sites from every state, but there’s definitely some potential for it to be cool. To see when CFB Live airs near you, check out the ESPNTV website.

In other stories over the weekend…

Softball, Golf bow out. The Michigan softball team, after a stellar season, lost to Florida and Georgia in the double-elimination format of the Women’s College World Series, ending their season. The team returns a strong core next year, as Shortstop Teddi Ewing is the only gaduating senior. Pitchers Nikki Nemitz and Jordan Taylor will return for the 2010 season, with hitters like Dorian Shaw and Angela Findlay providing the offense. The team will probably never have a repeat of the 2005 campaign, when they ripped of 31 straight victories, but next year’s squad should be a fun one to watch.

The Men’s golf team made a dream run into the match-play finals in the NCAA, before falling to Texas A&M in the semifinals. Michigan hadn’t made the NCAA Championships themselves in 12 years, so to make it into the match play rounds, and even win their quarterfinal against Southern Cal, was special for this team. Like their softball counterparts, this team is returning some important pieces as well. Super sophomore Lion Kim headlines a group of returners that should be very strong in 2010. Exiting seniors Bill Rankin and Nick Pumford were the team’s leaders, but other will hopefully be able to step up, and Kim will lead the team to (hopefully) another great year in ’10.

Kelvin Grady, Come on down? Mark Snyder reports in the Detroit Free Press that Kelvin Grady, ex-Michigan point guard, may become Kelvin Grady, Michigan scat/slotback. Grady had discussed playing two sports with the coaching staff of Lloyd Carr, but nothing ever came of the football option. Now, with his departure from the Michigan basketball team, that optino may be back on the table. If such a thing does end up coming to fruition, it shall be interesting to see whether he decides to stick it out on the basketball court for at least one more year, since he’ll still be enrolled in the school.

Barbecuin’. Grills. Meat. Likin’ it. The Big House Barbecue recruiting event seems to have gone off without a hitch. There were no commitments at the time, which is probably slightly disheartening for some Michigan fans. However, the recruiting for a couple Michigan prospects may have hit overdrive, and there could be a decision or two in the coming days. More on that in this afternoon’s recruiting post. Stay tuned for it.

Posted under Basketball, Football, Other Sports, Personnel, Recruiting, Spring Coverage

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Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings 5-31-09

Compare to the previous edition of the recruiting class rankings. After no commits last week (I think one of the first ever since I’ve been doing the rankings), there’s been plenty of action this time around:

5-25-09 Notre Dame gains commitment from Alex Welch.
5-27-09 Michigan gains commitment from Jordan Paskorz.

Mild disclaimer: I’m not going to be super-diligent about checking all 3 rating services, except in the case of new commits or if the “OMG SCOUT 400” is released.

#1 Michigan – 11 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Ricardo Miller WR **** **** 150*
Devin Gardner QB **** **** 150*
Marvin Robinson S **** **** 150*
Jerald Robinson WR **** **** 77
Jeremy Jackson WR *** *** 150*
Stephen Hopkins RB *** *** 77
Antonio Kinard LB *** *** 77
Jordan Paskorz DE *** *** NR
Tony Drake RB *** NR 77
Drew Dileo WR *** NR 75
DJ Williamson WR NR NR NR

Jordan Paskorz (hopefully) gets the defense train rolling for Michigan. Michigan’s got lots of commitments from slightly lesser-ranked guys, limiting their upside for the rest of the class. I’d be shocked if they finish the year at the top of this list.

#2 Ohio State – 5 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Andrew Norwell OL **** ***** 150*
Jamel Turner DE **** ***** 150*
JT Moore DE **** *** 78
Scott McVey LB *** *** 77
David Durham LB *** NR 150*

No change for the Buckeyes.

#3 Penn State – 5 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Paul Jones QB **** ***** 150*
Adrian Coxson WR **** **** 150*
Silas Redd RB **** **** 79
Mike Hull LB **** **** 77
Luke Graham OL NR *** NR

Penn State passes Notre Dame, as their commit list is far more impressive overall at this time.

#4 Notre Dame – 3 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Chris Martin DE ***** ***** 150*
Alex Welch TE **** *** 79
Christian Lombard OL *** **** 150*
Daniel Smith WR *** **** 78

Notre Dame picks up a pretty good tight end in Alex Welch.

#5 Minnesota – 4 commits
Name Pos Rivals Scout ESPN
Jimmy Gjere OL **** **** 79
Lamonte Edwards Ath **** *** 76
Antoine Lewis WR *** *** 76
Tom Parish QB *** NR 73

Antoine Lewis gets 3-star ranking from Rivals.

#6 Illinois – 3 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Corey Cooper CB **** **** 150*
Chandler Whitmer QB *** *** 150*
Shawn Afryl OL *** *** 69

Nothing new for the Illini.

#7 Michigan State – 2 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Max Bullough LB **** **** 150*
Tony Lippett WR NR NR 78

Lippett still unrated. ESPN ranks him higher than most of Michigan’s commits, which like, wow, you’re dumb.

#8 Iowa – 3 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Austin Gray LB *** *** 77
James Morris LB *** *** 74
Jim Poggi LB NR NR NR

Gray and Morris each get 3-star ratings from Rivals.

#9 Wisconsin – 2 commits
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Konrad Zagzebski LB *** *** 76
Marquis Mason WR *** NR NR

Zagzebski and Mason still the only Badgers holding it down.

#10 Indiana – 1 commit
Name Pos. Rivals Scout ESPN
Andre Kates CB NR NR NR

Indiana grabs JuCo Andre Kates to get on board.

Northwestern, Purdue – 0 commits.

Posted under Basketball, Coaching, Football, Recruiting

Big House Barbecue

2010 OH OL Christian PaceFor the second year in a row, the Michigan Wolverines will be hosting a “Barbecue at the Big House” recruiting event, of which the title is self-explanatory. For those of you who haven’t quite gotten the picture, Josh Helmholdt explains in the Free Press, and includes a couple expected visitors who aren’t on other free lists: FL CB Tony Grimes and OH OL Christian Pace (pictured at left). The guest list is rarely definite for recruiting events, but let’s take a look at some of the other expected visitors, courtesy of Rivals’s Mike Farrell:

Among those expected to attend include committed linebacker Antonio Kinard, defensive backs Latwan Anderson and Cullen Christian, linebacker Ken Wilkins, offensive linemen Skyler Schofner and Andrew Donnal, running backs Tony Jones and Andre Givens, defensive ends Jibreel Black and Marcus Rush and wide receivers Brandon Ifill and Andrew Carswell. This is, of course, in addition to the majority of the top prospects in the state of Michigan.

Others have mentioned possibly making it in to Ann Arbor for the event:

  • NJ RB Tony Jones will be making it in (not to be confused with the MI WR by the same name).
  • William Gholston will attend.
  • OH LB Jewone Snow will be there, and may bring along a couple teammates – including star 2011 DE Steve Miller.
  • Bill Kurelic shares that a couple more Ohio guys, including Pace’s teammate, TE Dan Schneider (who Michigan might even be looking at as an offensive tackle) and TE Brad Harrah, should be in attendance.

As Farrell mentioned, expect many of the top in-state players from Michigan and some from Ohio, especially those who are already committed to Michigan, or live in close proximity. Jeremy Jackson is a mortal lock to be there, Devin Gardner will likely show, etc.

The Wolverines also may be receiving a verbal commitment or two over the weekend. Cullen Christian, Marcus Rush, and Ken Wilkins have maintained Michigan as their favorites for some time. Some are surprised that none have dropped for Michigan yet, and Ken Wilkins told mgoblog’s Tom Van Haaren that he might commit to the Wolverines at the first opportunity.

Stay tuned.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

UMass and Bowling Green on 2010 Schedule

Yeah, I’m in Ohio (yes, this is unfortunate, and no, I don’t think they have such things as “driver education programs” here), so I might be a little behind on breaking news, what with internet uncertainty and such.

I encourage you to check out any of the plethora of other great Michigan blogs until I return on Sunday-ish. I’ll still be posting in the meantime, perhaps not so much with timeliness.

By the way, softball prevailed over Alabama 6-1 in the first round of the WCWS. They’ll take on the winner of Arizona and Florida at 9PM Eastern tomorrow on ESPN.

Posted under Football, Other Sports

Baseball Recruiting: Ballantine Offical

Via MgoBlue:

University of Michigan head baseball coach Rich Maloney announced today (Thursday, May 28) the addition of RHP Ben Ballantine (Napa, Calif./Napa) to the team’s 2009 recruiting class. Ballantine becomes the seventh prep to commit to the program and the first hailing from outside the state of Michigan.

He’s a tall pitcher with the goal of becoming the next Chris Fetter. Solid pickup.

Related Post: Baseball Recruiting: Ben Ballantine

Posted under Baseball, Recruiting

Recruiting Update 5-28-09

2010 Michigan Wolverines Recruiting Board.

Moved to committed: PA DE/LB Jordan Paskorz. Commitment Post.

Let’s get started with the bad news. For those who were harboring some hope that the Wolverines would be able to steal MI LB William Gholston from the Spartans, it might be time to think again. Take a look at the outfit that the young Mr. Gholston wore to prom (HT: The Only Colors):

2010 DE William Gholston Michigan Wolverines State Spartans

So, yeah. Spartans lead. Gholston, despite his frequent trips to ann Arbor, has made even more frequent trips to East Lansing. His high school coach at Detroit Southeastern is allegedly in the pocket of Mark Dantonio, and Gholston grew up a Michigan State fan. All of these factors certainly add up as circumstantial evidence that the Spartans are likely to be the favorite to land Gholston. It’s certainly too early to give up all hope, but it’s probably time to temper some expectations, methinks. It’s unfortunate that he’ll end up moving to defensive end when he gets to East Lansing, when Michigan is offering him the opportunity to remain at linebacker, but there are certainly several factors at play in his recruitment. You can’t get ’em all, so unless he indicates that Michigan still has a definite chance, we’ll kindly move along from Big Will II.

Some offensive soul-searching for the Florida offense in the wake of the Tebow Child’s eventual departure. Michigan isn’t particularly strong with any of the QBs mentioned in the article (TN Barry Brunetti, CA Jesse Scroggins, GA Marcus Smith, and IA AJ Derby – the most realistic prospect in the bunch), but Florida’s schemes will certainly affect their recruiting in this and future classes, which will likely have a domino effect on Michigan, as well.

Speaking of QBs, time to remove one of Michigan’s potential second options from the board: TX QB Jeremy Johnson has finally committed to West Virginia.

In other QB news, FL QB Christian Green has released a top 6, with Michigan nowhere to be found. He’s expressed interest in moving to wideout in college (which would actually be good for Michigan, assuming he’d be willing to play quarterback for at least one year), and seems to be very into Florida State. If I used MGoIcons, he’d get a Nefarious Eduardo up in this joint.

Sam Webb Detroit News fluff on CA RB Brennan Clay:

“I’m open to all the schools right now,” he said. “I’ve told them all that I don’t have a favorite yet and I’m showing them all interest. I’m gonna announce my top 10 before the season starts. I want to take a few official visits and hopefully I’ll be able to commit during mid-season or before our playoffs start.”

Clay, obviously, is the former teammate of presumptive starting QB Tate Forcier, and Michigan has really become more of a factor in his recruitment of late.

Rivals (free) video fluff on MN OL Seantrel Henderson:

Relevant recruiting notes include the fact that he plans to narrow to a top 5 before the season, and take official visits to all of the finalists before eventually making his decision on National Signing Day. He also had some nice things to say about Michigan (probably the most positive-sounding comments about any of the schools he mentioned, for what it’s worth). He said it’s a really big university, and he really likes the campus, plus the coaching staff is pretty cool, and there are nice new facilities and lots of new stuff going on. He didn’t mention this in his Michigan-related snippet, but Seantrel did say he plans to major in business or communications, and wants to go to a school that is strong in either of those. Michigan is excellent in both, so that’s another plus.

Though he went from somebody that the likes of Sam Webb was routinely mentioning as a “hot prospect” for Michigan on the WTKA morning show to a recruit that doesn’t seem to be all that interested in the Wolverines anymore, SC DT AJ Cann is still one of the few interior defensive line prospects on the board at this time. Fluff from his coach:

“A.J. is a humble kid,” he said. “He doesn’t talk about it. A lot of times when you get a kid who’s been offered by 32-35 Division I schools, a lot of kids believe he’s going to get this treatment, he’s going to act this way. A.J.’s the same kid he was before he got those 35 Division I offers.

“He busts his butt in practice. He’s a leader out there. When you tell him to do something, he asks no questions. He’s front of the line, showing young guys what drills we do offensively and defensively the same thing. He’s responded to it well and hopefully, within the next couple of weeks, that will take a little bit off of him.”

So, mostly boilerplate “the teams played hard and somebody won”-type coachspeak about one of his top players, no? However, I’m not quite sure how to interpret the very end of that quote. It sounds like he may be deciding soon.

PA DE Dakota Royer has been a steady prospect over the course of the year, collecting offers in small batches, but never really blowing up. Now, however, he at least has the opportunity to become something of an internet sensation (HT: Black Shoe Diaries):

That’s Mr. Royer jumping out of a 4-foot pool from shoulders-deep. He’s apparently quite explosive, though many sports media outlets would probably rather have you believe that he’s a “gritty” or “lunch pail” defensive end. Michigan has offered Royer, and stands a good chance to be in his top list for the foreseeable future.

OH LB Commit Antonio Kinard often seems to be the forgotten commit in Michigan’s 2010 class so far, but he’s having a successful track season of his own. He is a long jumper, and recently took first place at a meet, thanks to 2 of the best 3 jumps.

VA LB Chase Williams has mentioned Michigan in the past, but it doesn’t sound like he’s particularly interested in the Wolverines:

“This month has been packed with 19 schools including Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Tennessee, South Carolina and Ohio State,” he said. “All of them are saying they want me to come to camp this summer so they can see me in person to see all the things they see on film.”

“I haven’t made a true list of top schools yet,” he said. “I am starting to focus more on the schools that have offered and maybe one or two others. That is because I think I’m making a decision kind of early. I think the time when I cut things down is getting closer, but I know I haven’t approached that barrier yet.

The early decision and lack of strong Michigan interest seem to imply that the Wolverines probably don’t have much of a chance to land him, at least at this time.

AL S Jarrick Williams has not reported Michigan interest, despite being one of the top secondary prospects in the nation. Now, it appears as though he’s narrowed his list of choices to Auburn and Alabama, and I think that’s as good an excuse as any to remove him from the recruiting board.

2010 FL CB Tony GrimesFluff in the Broward Sun-Sentinel includes very little information. It’s about how spring high school football – which we don’t have in Michigan, much to my chagrin at times – is no longer just about schemes and whatnot, but also an opportunity for college prospects to show their stuff for scouts, and get noticed, hoping for recruiting results down the road. The only reason I’m even bothering to link it is a pretty cool picture of FL CB Tony Grimes, shown at left making an over-the-shoulder catch, though I have no idea whether he was intercepting or receiving the pass.

2010 FL CB Spencer BoydFL CB Spencer Boyd is still favoring Notre Dame, and plans to make a summer decision. Like many defensive backs of late (including FL CB Lorenza Wood, who had previously been favoring Michigan and now likes the Irish), he cited the TEH AWESOMEZ recruiting abilities of Irish Defensive Coordinator Corwin Brown, who played for Michigan. Take that as you will, and I’m glad to see a former Wolverine having success in the coaching world, but I’d certainly prefer to see him do so in a place other than South Bend. The biggest threats to the Domers for Boyd seem to be SEC schools.

Like I said in this week’s previous recruiting update, defensive back doesn’t seem to be a huge concern at this point. The Wolverines are holding steady with several prospects, and a commitment this weekend at the Big House BBQ (about which I’ll have more info tomorrow morning) would go a long way to easing the fears of Michigan fans.

Of course, the Michigan coaching staff may not be all that confident in their ability to land some defensive backs, as they’re still handing out offers like candy. The latest is GA CB Darius Robinson (info in header). I’ve added him to the recruiting board.

Non-2010 stuff below.

2009 QB signee Denard Robinson is considered one of the frontrunners (along with 2010 FL CB Cody Riggs) to be the Class 6A-4A High School Athlete of the Year. If he wins the award, it will be due to both his football and track exploits, so congratulations to Denard (HT: The Michigan Football Blog).

A quick note on 2011 FL RB Demetrius Hart. In a weather-shortened spring game, he managed to rip off a 65-yard TD run. He’s considered a top 2011 prospect, and has stated that he’d probably commit to Michigan as soon as he could receive an official offer on September 1st. With Ricardo Miller now at Ann Arbor Huron rather than Hart’s Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, that Michigan love may have declined a bit, but they’ll probably still pursue the diminutive speedster.

Posted under Football, Recruiting