With information coming in so fast, I may go back to just posting updates as they get full instead of waiting for a particular day of the week. Expect at least one more this week, because there’s a lot of stuff I didn’t fit in here.

Don’t forget to visit the 2010 Michigan Recruiting Board.

PA QB Anthony Gonzalez is a little busy to take his visits right now, but once his basketball season ends, he’ll hit Illinois and Michigan in one trip sometime this spring.

PA QB Malik Stokes (younger brother of 2009 signee WR Je’Ron) says he’s expecting offers to start rolling in once he gets a qualifying score on the SAT. Michigan is one of the schools that he’s predicting might offer.

In other QB news (or non-QB news, as it were), TX QB Aaron Johnson, though he’s a dual-threat QB in high school, and is getting looks from some schools as a quarterback, says that Michigan is looking at him as an athlete, rather than a signal-caller.

FL Slot WR DeJoshua Johnson has accepted an invitation to play in the ESPNU Under Armour All American Game next January. By the time that game rolls around, fans will already know which school the Pahokeeite plans to attend.

CA CB Troy Hill isn’t particularly stoked on Michigan. The implication of that article is that he’s no longer considering Michigan at all after Taylor Hill didn’t end up here (he’s at Kent State), but I think it’s more accurate to say that they have moved from the top of his list into the “others” category, rather than off the list altogether.

“My brother played there but transferred out after they got a new coach,” said Hill.

Apparently, the brother in question is Taylor Hill, but this statement also doesn’t make sense because Taylor Hill never even considered Michigan until Rich Rodriguez became the coach.

This particular Scout headline has a fair amount of relevant information about TX LB Caleb Lavey. 1) He has been offered by Michigan. 2) His dad was an equipment manager for Michigan’s team in the 70s. These things both bode well for Michigan, obviously. Considering all the Michigan connections with LaVey, and the fact that he’s one of the very few linebackers who have been offered, I’d assume at this time that he’s the #1 LB target, and probably the most likely of any player at the position to end up in this class. Of course, things are constantly changing in recruiting, so that status may or may not last for long.

The Detroit Free Press notes that Michigan is interested in OH OL Andrew Donnal. He’s been added to the board as well.

Free Press fluff on CA RB (and noted former teammate of Tate Forcier) Brennan Clay:

“Clay has no plans to make a decision in the near future, but he has not ruled out the possibility either. He will attend Michigan’s spring game in April to see Forcier in his first game-like atmosphere as a Wolverine, but he also plans to spend a few extra days touring the campus and football facilities. Whether that weekend will be enough to seal up Clay’s commitment remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt Michigan will be a strong contender for his services.”

Emphasis mine, because this sounds significantly more positive than conventional wisdom on Clay, for what it’s worth. Most people predict he’ll remain on the west coast (with Oregon as the favorite?). Not only do I think he won’t commit that weekend, but Michigan is a longshot to gain a commitment from him at all. Of course, there’s plenty of time to make up ground.

Georgia and Georgia Tech have both told GA RB Mack Brown that he’ll be able to wear #33 should he choose either of their schools. At Michigan, that number is currently sported by Boubacar Cissoko, but he is rumored to be switching to #2 (then again, rumor has it Justin Turner will wear that number as well, so who knows?). Brown also placed the Wolverines in his top 10 after his offer came through.

FL LB Christian Jones has been offered. So has MD LB/S Josh Furman, and VA LB Aramide Olaniyan has also received his offer (info in header), along with FL DE Delvin Jones. Rounding out the recent offer train is CA S Sean Parker. (All info in headers). All have been added to the board.

Might GA RB Kendrun Malcome be coming up soon in that list of offerees? He certainly thinks that’s likely.

“I think UGA or Michigan will be the next to offer,” he said. “I haven’t heard from Georgia Tech.” Malcome, who also runs track at Southwest, hopes to make a decision during or shortly after the football season.

So take that for what it’s worth.

In what is probably the last item of 2009 recruiting news, NC Ath Larry Raper signed with NC A&T after Michigan decided not to offer him. He has been removed from the 2009 board.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

A series exploring the commitments (and subsequent decommitments) of Michigan’s lost members of the class of 2009.

The Commitment
DeWayne Peace first burst onto the scene for Michigan fans when he attended the Rich Rodriguez Skills Camp in Ann Arbor over the summer of 2008. At the time, he had performed well at Kansas’s summer camp as well, and the Jayhawks were thought to be his heavy favorite. However, within a few weeks of visiting Michigan, Peace offered his verbal commitment to the Wolverines on June 25th. Peace was told that he would have an opportunity to prove himself as a wide receiver at Michigan, but that there was also a chance he would end up at defensive back. It was in the secondary that he had distinguished himself at camp, and where the coaching staff eventually saw him ending up.

The Decommitment
After more than 6 months of being committed to Michigan, and weeks of rumors, Peace withdrew his verbal commitment to Michigan on January 8th. Though Peace’s father reportedly insisted that DeWayne remain true to his word, in the end, he did not see himself playing for Michigan. The main reason behind this change of heart was a matter of position: the coaching staff wanted Peace to play corner, while he wanted be a wideout. It would follow logically (though it is unconfirmed, of course), that Peace was told he would play corner for Michigan or he would not play for Michigan at all.

The Impact
Obviously, the coaching staff realized that they weren’t as high on Peace as they had thought all along. If he was a highly-valued recruit, they wouldn’t have given him such an ultimatum, and he may have still ended up in Ann Arbor down the road. However, the coaching staff didn’t see much harm in shedding him from the class, and gave him the ultimatum. As Rodriguez himself said at his Signing Day Press Conference: “Sometimes a kid does you a favor when he decommits,” and Peace was likely one of these players. He ended up committing to the Wildcats of Arizona as a wide receiver.

Senior Year Stats

Video

Posted under Football, Recruiting

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.

Posted under Coaching, Football, Recruiting

Semi-light update today because I got impatient last week, and gave 2 recruiting updates when I really didn’t need to. The Board.

I have no idea how he wasn’t added already (probably because I forgot to), but LaTwan Anderson, a friend of Jerald Robinson and a speedy, hard-hitting safety, has been offered by Michigan. I’ve belatedly added him to the board.

PA RB Corey Brown (not to be confused with 2009 PA CB Corey Brown, an Ohio State commit) has been selected to the Army All-American game for next year.

GA QB/DB Barry Bostic almost committed to Georgia Tech on his visit, and it seems like he might do just that before long.

TX QB Connor/Conner Wood is going to make his decision within the next week or so. He’s only visited schools in Texas and Oklahoma, so one must assume the Wolverines won’t be considered. Look for him to be removed from the board very soon, when he picks Oklahoma (most likely) or Texas/a dark horse.

With two DTs already in their class of 2010, the Longhorns probably won’t offer TX DT Jay Guy. The ‘Horns were considered to be one of his favorites, despite the lack of offer. Michigan has offered, and he’ll probably be their top DT target in the 2010 class. Per BON:

recruiting at the position is probably finished unless the coaches want to go after an OOS stud or decide to offer Jay Guy, a kid who really likes Texas, but doesn’t seem likely to get an offer right now.

(emphasis mine). Keep it in mind, because I think the Wolverines are near the top of his list.

Snippet from SI on FL CB Lamarcus Joyner:

he recently said five teams have jumped out early on his list — Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame and Ohio State. He reports offers from all those teams.

Michigan is notably absent, but theres no mention of a timeframe.

FL OL Torrian Wilson likes Michigan (info in header).

FL OL Chaz Green has been offered by Michigan.

Added SC QB Kersean Wilson, who is apparently hearing from Michigan. Also from that article: keep an eye on as-yet-unsigned 2009 RB prospect Larry Raper. The Clemson decommit is giving Michigan a hard look.

Removed:
TX LB Aaron Benson to Texas.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

With the 2010 recruiting year already underway (several teams already have commits), the 2009 class isn’t quite wrapped up for a few teams. Minnesota has been reportedly communicating with 4* RB Trabis Ward, and Michigan is still talking (just starting?) with 3* ATH Larry Raper.

That said, within the next week (who knows? maybe even today), I’ll start publishing 2010 recruiting class rankings, and hopefully the final 2009 rankings will take place soon enough.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Jim Stefani has a few QBs of interest to add to the recruiting board:

Barry Brunetti QB 6′1 206 4.65 Memphis University School Tennessee
Anthony Gonzalez QB/DB 6′2 193 Bethlehem Liberty Pennsylvania
Ricardo Young QB/ATH 6′0 155 4.78 Washington Woodson D.C.
Kain Colter QB/WR/DB 6′1 185 4.60 Greenwood Village Cherry Creek Colorado
Gavin Webster QB/DB 6′0 200 4.45 Lutcher Louisiana
Santez Emory QB 6′3 200 4.57 Franklin Heard County Georgia

…and also some good information on a few guys who are already there, so check out the article.

GA QB Barry Bostic has been offered by Georgia Tech, and they are his new leader (info in header).

Fluff on 2009 WR Commit Cameron Gordon, which also mentions his class of 2010 teammate, QB Devin Gardner:

Next year it will be Devin Gardner’s turn to celebrate his college choice with the Inkster faithful. The Vikings’ star quarterback could be throwing passes to Gordon at U-M or be the opposition if Gardner chooses to attend Ohio State, a school so high on him that head coach Jim Tressel visited recently and watched Gardner play in Inkster’s basketball game against Wyandotte Roosevelt…

“I was pretty excited at first,” said the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Gardner of the Tressel visit. “My heart was beating really fast, but as the game went on I just settled down and played within the team. I like basketball, but football is my first love.

Despite Tressel’s visit, Gardner is still not sporting an Ohio State offer.

The “other” instate QB, OLSM’s Robert Bolden, was recently the feature of an article by Sam Webb in the Detroit News. It’s pretty clear that Gardner is probably a higher priority for the staff (and with good reason), but Bolden might be a good fallback guy in the class.

The Free Press has an early in-state top-10 for next recruiting year, and The Sporting News had a national top-10 like substance. Gardner is on both lists, and Bolden is on the former while FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller is on the latter. From the former, I’ve added MI RB Chris Robinson from Ovid-Elsie to the Recruiting Board.

While we’re on the topic of early top-X lists, how about top-30 offerings from two of the biggest football counties in south Florida. Broward top-30, and Miami-Dade top-30.

Some Rivals fluff on VA QB Phillip Sims, who is still not mentioning Michigan (though he does talk about West Virginia). With his insistence on playing in a pro-style scheme, and no mention of the Wolverines yet, his tenure on the board may be close to coming to an end.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Post-Signing Day BTB Roundtable hosted by Zombie Nation.

1. Were you pleased with this year’s recruiting class? Where did your team excel? Where did they fall short?

I was pleased to the tune of about a B+. Michigan picked up 2 QBs, which were desperately needed, a few good athletes, and some big bodies up front. They could have done better recruiting a couple more DTs (obviously, they lost two on Signing Day), and some linebackers. Other than that, it was a very good class, especially coming off a 3-9 season.

2. Name one or two players you want to see get on the field ASAP, and where you think they will fit in.

Tate Forcier is the obvious choice for most Michigan fans, as the QB play for Michigan last year was a choice between a healthy Nick Sheridan or a hurt Steven Threet for most of the year. I’m also pumped to see Will Campbell (along with Forcier, one of Michigan’s 7 early enrollees) at defensive tackle, Justin Turner in the secondary, and any number of the speedy little bastards Rich picked up in ’09.

3. This one’s purely for the sake of argument. Much has been made about the SEC’s recruiting ‘dominance’ over the Big Ten, particularly this year. Either validate that claim, or try to prove it wrong. At least vent a little bit. You know you want to.

Michigan in particular, and the Big Ten as a whole, just need to win. The Wolverines recruited ridiculously well, all things considered. The Big Ten needs to shake its national perception (fair or not) that it’s a weak conference. Of course, I think the Big Ten, top to bottom, is unlikely to ever recruit as well as the SEC, because an overwhelming majority of the nation’s top players come from the Southeast.

4. Going into next year (already), where does your team need to focus its efforts? How about the Big Ten as a whole? What can the conference/your team do better to attract more highly-regarded recruits, or is it even an issue?

Defense should be Michigan’s #1 priority, as they got a couple top guys (Campbell and Turner), but missed out on players like Jelani Jenkins (who would have considered the Wolverines much longer than he did, save for the 3-9 season), Darius Winston, and the two defensive tackles, Pearlie Graves and DeQuinta Jones. With a more successful 2009 (fingers crossed), the Wolverines should have an outstanding 2010 class, especially with all the top prospects they’re in on early.

One word/number answers…

How many freshmen (in your class) redshirt in 2009?

13 (of 22)

Did you watch live TV coverage on signing day? If not, how many times did you hit ‘refresh’ on your browser on signing day?

I had it on in the background as I was moderating the world’s most stressful LiveBlog. I didn’t refresh at all, and most of the information I got was actually from readers pitching in during the blog.

Are you going to your spring game?

Yes.

For the record – it was impossible to answer those questions with enough detail to make them interesting, while only using one word.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Part 1 can be found on MGoBlog

Brendan Gibbons

Coach said that Brendan has a great leg and will immediately compete for playing time at place kicker and on kick offs, especially with the departures of Gingell (whew) and K.C. Lopata (actually fairly solid).

Cameron Gordon

Staff seems high on him at receiver. Rodriguez said that Cameron will compete for time at receiver exclusively. Currently no plans for him to play linebacker.  That could chance in the future, but so far it seems he’ll stay put at wide receiver.

Thomas ‘Prison Abs’ Gordon

Rodriguez said the Gordon was one of the better all around athletes in the class.  He gave the impression that Gordon’s position is kind of in flux, but he’ll start working at safety and nickel.

Brandin Hawthorne

I didn’t tweet any notes about him and can’t remember if coach Rodriguez said anything of note about him.  He’s listed at 6’0″ and 197, so there could be a redshirt in his future to allow him bulk up and learn linebacker reads.

Mike Jones

Who? Anyway, Jones was pretty funny when I talked to him at the press conference. He’s taking five classes and says they’re not bad, but the papers are kind of tough.  Rodriguez says he’ll start out at safety, but has a good chance of putting on weight and becoming an outside linebacker.

Teric Jones

Rodriguez said Teric was one of the fastest guys he’s seen, which is saying something.  He’s going to start out primarily at running back and maybe work into the slot at some point.  I almost get the feeling that he’ll red shirt, but that’s my own opinion without any real corroboration.

Anthony LaLota

He mentioned how LaLota hasn’t been playing football that long, but is a really athletic defensive lineman that played basketball for most of high school. Rodriguez said that all 3 incoming defensive linemen will have a chance to get in and play, but I think it will be  tough for him to see the field with how raw he’s reported to be.  I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he redshirts, but he’s in the program right now trying to improve, so who knows?

Part III will be a bit later today or early tomorrow. I’m actually having to do work at work. Weird, right?

Posted under Football, Personnel

On National Signing Day, dual-threat quarterback Denard Robinson signed on the line to become a Michigan Wolverine. Robinson stands 6-0, 190, and has been clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.38 seconds. Robinson became the 21st commit in the class of 2009.

Recruiting Notes
Following the decommitments of Kevin Newsome and Shavodrick Beaver, recruiting a second quarterback for the class of 2009 became a priority for the Wolverines. Several prospects became options, including Raymond Cotton, Tajh Boyd, and one Denard Robinson. Robinson immediately got the full-court press from Michigan, who knew they had a tough compeition for Robinson’s signature, going mostly against the home-state Florida Gators. Florida and Michigan were the only two of Robinson’s offers that offered him the opportunity to be a signal-caller at the next level. Robinson took his official visit to Michigan the January 9th recruiting weekend, along with his teammate, corner Adrian Witty. Within a couple weeks, he knew that he wanted to play in the Rich Rodriguez spread offense, but held off on announcing a decision until Signing Day. At his 11AM press conference at his high school, Robinson gave a fake-out by showing up in a Florida Gators hat. However, when he announced his actual intentions, he picked the Michigan Wolverines.

Player Notes
Robinson is a definite dual-threat quarterback, and has speed and moves that Wolverine fans haven’t seen from the quarterback position in ages. He is not only accomplished as a runner, but he can really throw the ball, as well. Robinson has a strong arm, and with some coaching at the next level, could become a very good passer. He has been compared to Rich’s former WVU quarterback, Pat White. The one major knock on Denard Robinson (at least as far the the QB position goes) is size. He is (generously?) listed at just 6 feet tall. One advantage Robinson has over other QB prospects is the ability to switch positions. If playing quarterback doesn’t pan out (i.e. if he gets beaten out by Tate Forcier and/or other QBs down the road), he will be able to switch positions.

Video

Posted under Football, Recruiting

At the top of his press conference Rich Rodriguez basically went through the list and talked briefly about each commit. A lot of it was coach-speak and praising the high school coaches, but there was quite a bit of useful information (as opposed to Lloyd Carr press conferences, which were awesome in their own way) on most of the players. One interesting thing in general is that Rodriguez let us know who the lead recruiter was for each player, and for just about everyone from Florida it was Rod Smith. I guess that’s why need a de facto third QB coach. On to the players:

Isaiah Bell

Coach mentioned that the staff is really tight with Youngstown Liberty coach Jeff Whittaker. It’s not that stacked of a school, but seems to produce a bit of talent ona regular.  He said that Bell would start competing as a safety, but if he can but on enough weight, may move up to outside linebacker.

William Campbell

Looking at depth chart would probably tell you this too, but Rodriguez said that Campbell will play defense only and will compete for playing time right at the outset.  Campbell got the instant impact tag from the coach.  Will said himself that his goal is to start his freshman year.  Even though he is a really funny, kind of goofy guy, I get the feeling that he’s super competative; I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be a RB/QB playing against Michigan in two years. Campbell is now doing the full Barwis workout and says the toughest part was the running becuase since the all star game he’s been relaxing and “got fat.”

Vlad Emilien

Coach said he could play either Safety position and will probably be moved around to positions of need.

Tate Forcier

Apparently in the Spring, Jason Forcier was in town and talked with Rodriguez. He basically said he’d recruit Tate for Michigan.  I just can’t help but wonder how different this last year would have been if Forcier hadn’t transferred… Oh well.  Obviously will come and compete right away for time at QB. When a reporter asked Rodriguez if he was confident that he’ll end up with a really good quarterback he responded that “we’ll have a really good competition.”  Tate says he works much more on accuracy and a quick release than arm strength. In some passing drills he claims he hit Mike Cox and Kevin Koger in the back of the head because they weren’t expecting the ball to get there as quickly as it did.  After his interview with the TV crews at the press conference, most reporters were surprised at how well he handled himself.  He really seemed like a pro.

Jeremy Gallon

For some reason, I gor the feeling that Rodriguez is especially excited about Gallon, but I’m probably just projecting my own excitement.  Coach said he’ll compete immediately at slot.  Tim has made this argument that Odoms is a pretty good slot receiver, but the concept of the slot receiver may be more appealing than Odoms himself.  Rodriguez also mentioned that he’ll immediately be in the mix for returning kicks.  Obviously, Coach didn’t talk about grade issues in specifics, but he mentioned that there are about 2-3 recruits who haven’t been approved by the Clearinghouse and that all of those recruits of realistic plans to follow that will allow them to qualify.  Rodriguez didn’t really seem to worried about grade issues.

Check out Varsity Blue throughout the day for the tidbits on the rest of recruits.

Posted under Football, Personnel, Recruiting