Woooooooooooooo!

VA QB Kevin Newsome has given his word to become a Michigan Wolverine. Newsome is a 6-3, 212-pound player from Chesapeake, Virginia. He becomes the 6th commitment for Michigan’s 2009 class. He is currently a high 4-star (the second rated dual-threat quarterback), and could end up a five-star when all is said and done. He is planning an early enrollment for the winter semester.

Player Notes
Newsome, from Western Branch, is a Tebow-like Quarterback, a physical runner who is more like a linebacker than a safety (a la Pat White). However, he has more top-end speed than Tebow, running (and exceling) in various track events. His teammate, Javanti Sparrow (also a track athlete), is a cornerback who may be in the running for a Michigan offer down the road. Newsome is also a good student, participating in National Honors Society, and having considered other quality academic institutions like Northwestern and Duke.

At this year’s Army Junior Combine, he measured 6-3.5, 205lbs (slightly taller than his listed 6-3, and lighter than 215, but he could have added that weight). He benched 18 reps of 185 pounds, right around the median at the event, and certainly among the strongest for QBs.. As far as speed, he did the agility drill in 4.29, among the fastest times there, and ran a very respectable (especially for a QB) 4.68 40-yard dash, at a slow event where Teric Jone’s 4.47 tied for the fastest time there.

Recruiting Notes
When Russell Shepard committed to LSU, not only did it mean Michigan’s top prospect was off the board, but it also catapulted Newsome to #1 (or 1a, depending on your thoughts about Tate Forcier). Virginia Tech was considere the early favorite for Kevin Newsome, and even more so after another Virginia QB, Tajh Boyd, committed to West Virginia. Newsome received an early Michigan offer, and visited Ann Arbor for the spring game at Saline High school. While he enjoyed the game (in terrible weather), he still visited several other Midwest schools the following weekend – without stopping by Ann Arbor. However, a visit from Michigan coaches on the first day of the spring evaluation period to Western Branch High School solidified Michigan at the top of his list.

Video
Youtube-ness.

Game winning drives? Check.

Et Cetera
Newsome’s younger brother, Keevon, is a 2010 DE prospect, who won MVP honors among D-linemen at a recent underclassman combine. Newsome’s commitment has to put the Wolverines in good position with Newsome the younger as well, though he will probably start out a VT lean.

And of course, Newsome’s teammate Javanti Sparrow is a 2009 CB prospect. It will be interesting to see if Michigan pursues him with Newsome in the fold.

Posted under Recruiting

Not a lot of guys have updates, but some dudes got dropped. Board.

Added:
FL DT Antwan Lowery. He may be leaning towards Rutgers?
TN OG Alex Bullard. He is now reporting a Michigan offer.

New Information:
VA QB Kevin Newsome. A ton of people have e-mailed me with the MySpace thing, so I might as well post it. Apparently, he is blue? I wouldn’t read too much into it. Maybe he just likes 90s pop-techno. Also, interesting ESPN article that VT may redshirt Tyrod Taylor. That would have to make the depth chart here look even more appealing in comparison.
TX QB Shavodrick Beaver. Apparently TCU fans are up in arms over my post making fun of beloved member Zammers. I don’t harbor any resentment towards the guy, he just said a lot of dumb things championing TCU over Michigan. I don’t really care either way. Thanks to “mgoblu,” who apparently registered for the board just to defend my post. Also, TCU fans, all no huddle spread offenses are not the same. Sorry.

Removed:
FL QB Aaron Murray. He will commit on Thursday, picking either Georgia or Florida (probably Georgia over Florida). He never got a Michigan offer.
PA LB Dorian Bell. Lots of internets say he will commit to the Buckeyes today.
VA CB Damien Thigpen. Committed to Tennessee.

Posted under Recruiting

Homer Ferguson from the site I referenced earlier today about Jelani Jenkins sent me an e-mail explaining what I didn’t get the first time around:

Jelani Jenkins was a UVa lean, but his teammate Caleb Porzel decommitted about a week ago. Porzel’s parents got very nervous about the number of kids who Al Groh has brought in who get busted for weed. Also, Mike London was the lead recruiter for that high school, and London left last January to take the head job at Richmond. His first move was to bring in 3 kids from the Peninsula District, which is the hotbed of HS football in the area. UVA never had much luck there because Al Groh doesn’t get along well with the local coaches.

Homer was also kind enough to give his take on Kevin Newsome:

You also referenced Kevin Newsome. Forget it. He’s going to Vah-tech. Michigan doesn’t have a shot in the world. If he commits to Michigan, that means they bought his mama a new house. To get a player out of the 757, you need to get someone with ties to the area or deep, deep pockets (a la Percy Harvin, Chris Bell, Jerod Mayo). WVU hired Chris Beattie who coached Tahj Boyd one year at Landsdown (alma mater of Percy Harvin) and knew Logan Heastie from trying to recruit him to move into Landsdown district. Coach Cav and Coach Newsome from Vah-tech are going to lock Newsome up ASAFP. They thought they could sleep on Boyd because they have his HS coach in their back pocket, but Boyd and Heastie were a combo deal. Heastie wanted to go out of state, and Boyd got mad because Vah-tech wasn’t pushing that hard. But, Coach Cav won’t let that happen with Newsome.

I’m not necessarily sure he is going to be right in the long haul, though I do see VT as one of Newsome’s favorites. However, it’s a bit too impersonal to say Player is from X area, therefore he will attend X State University. Newsome seems to be genuinely interested in Michigan, and they have a real void at his position. We’ll have to see how this one shakes out. Note – I have also heard (secondhand) that VT people think they are fighting an uphill battle for Newsome.

Anyway, thanks a ton to Homer, and make sure you check out his site.

Posted under Recruiting

Full Board.

Recruits at the Spring Game:
Obviously a lower turnout than usual because of a variety of circumstances, but Kevin Newsome, AJ Fenton, Zach Martin, and Henry Conway were all there, along with several 2008 commits and (I believe both of) the 2009 Cass Tech guys.

Added:
IN OL Zach Martin. He was at the spring game, and I believe he got offered.
OH OL Henry Conway. He was at the spring game, and I’ve heard he was an impressive physical specimen.

New Information:
PA DE Tahir Basil visits PSU and Rutgers.
MN WR Fritz Rock Florida visit.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins probably won’t go to UVa. I do not follow this post’s logic at all, so help me out if you get it.

Etc.: Freep C”>Spring Game Article. Ranking the BCS coaches. Much more Spring Game stuff up later today or tomorrow, including video.

Posted under Recruiting

Reader RJ asks an interesting question about Michigan’s quarterback situation into the future:

My uncle seems to think Michigan’s days of getting good qbs and sending them off to the nfl are done with the new Rich Rod Offense. Kevin Newsome said he wants a Pro Style offense. Do you think our offense will be at least balanced unlike the run heavy w virginia offense? Will there still be some pro sets in the offense to provide a legitimate shot at getting recruits that are looking to find a place that they can make a jump to the pros from like Newsome?

Since this contains a bunch of different questions, I’ll answer them all, in order of importance.

Will the offense be more balanced than it was at West Virginia?
Yes, almost definitely. The main reason that West Virginia ran the ball so often was the talent they had was not conducive to passing. Between Chris Henry and Darius Reynaud, there was never a really good wide receiver threat. Michigan will have more talent at the wideout position in year 1 than Rodriguez had in his entire tenure at West Virginia (though probably not at the slot position). Then, of course, there is the issue that Pat White is a far-from-elite thrower. However, he is a very good runner, and Rod used the strengths of his personnel, rather than trying to force them to do something they couldn’t.

Of course, people will always ask why, if Rod is going to conform to his players’ strength, a four-star Elite-11 QB is battling a walk-on for the starting position. First, recruiting rankings are imperfect. Threet may not have been the talent that evaluators thought he was coming out of high school, and maybe Sheridan was overlooked by recruiters in his time at Saline. Also, while Rodriguez will conform to his talent somewhat, the system is dependent on ability to run (this includes rollouts and bootlegs, which are still passes but require mobility). “Adapting to his talent” does not mean completely changing the system, but rather adjusting run/pass ratio from something like 70/30 to more like 50/50 (though Rod has stated his target is 60/40).

Will there still be some pro-sets in the offense?
Yes, there will still be some pro sets, but not that many. Rodriguez teams are typically under center as a change of pace, rather than a regular part of the offense. However, this doesn’t mean that they won’t use pro-sets at all. One famous example is Noel Devine’s touchdown run in the Fiesta Bowl, which was out of an I-formation. You will see the I-formation mainly in goal line sets, and the QB will be under center occasionally, but it will be more of a rare occurrence than the norm.

Will Michigan be able to send QBs to the pros anymore?
If a player has the talent to make it to the NFL, as long as he doesn’t lay a complete egg in college, and have next-to-zero production, he will be able to make the NFL. Even Pat White will probably make it to The League, albeit as a safety. Running a pro-style offense isn’t necessary to making it to the pros. The best example is, of course, Vince Young. He had all the measurables of an NFL quarterback, but didn’t run anything remotely resembling an NFL offense in his time with the Longhorns.

Vince Young, despite taking almost no snaps from under center in college, and despite running an offensive system based on the one that Rich Rodriguez developed and will run at Michigan, was the third pick in the NFL draft, rookie of the year, and is known as Tennessee’s franchise player. While not all Michigan quarterbacks will go to the league as QBs, there is still a very good chance that they will make it if they have the skills.

As a side note that may be relevant, how often did the New England Patriots’ record-shattering offense operate from under center? Probably more than 5-7 times a game, but certainly far less than what would have been considered a “pro-style offense” a few years ago. The Indianapolis Colts are another example of this.

Kevin Newsome wants to run a pro-style offense. Does this mean we won’t get him?
Newsome hasn’t seemed adamant about running a pro-style offense, which leads me to believe that Kevin Newsome could care less what system he runs, as long as he makes it to the league. If Rich Rodriguez and staff do a good job selling Michigan to the kid, they will pull up examples of Vince Young (same system, different school), Woody Dantzler (ran Rod’s offense, made it to the league at a different position), and Shaun King (Rod’s offense, played in the NFL), all of whom show that Michigan’s offense will not keep you out of the NFL.

Newsome has to realize that his skill set and physical abilities are perfect for this offense, and a quarterback who produces in college will at least get looks from NFL scouts, even if he doesn’t run the prototypical offensive style. Worrying about future recruits who just want to make it to the NFL is a little premature, until we see what Rodriguez can do with the advantages of coaching at Michigan instead of WVU.

So what does it all mean?
For now, RJ, tell your uncle not to worry about it. If the results are poor after a couple of years, it can become a concern. In the end, I think Michigan ends up with either Kevin Newsome or Tate Forcier (who is actually more suited to a pro-style offense) in this class.

Thanks also to commenter Justin for asking a similar question about Newsome, regarding a recent Rivals article.

Posted under Coaching, Mail Bag, Recruiting

I really really don’t plan on doing this every day, but the recruiting board must be updated as the commits roll in. Note: I’ve received some information on Justin Turner that leads me to believe he could start as a corner at Michigan. If anything solidifies from it, he’ll be moved accordingly.

Added:
OH S Isaiah Bell. Also, moved to committed. News article.

New Information:
VA QB Kevin Newsome is a National Honors Society member. Not necessarily that relevant to football, but he clearly has his head on his shoulders. Expect a visit to Michigan soon.
NC OL Xavier Nixon recently visited Pitt.
IL OL Chris Watt is probably a Notre Dame lean. He has been to both of their junior days this spring.

Removed:
PA S EJ Banks. Michigan may have burned their bridges with him in the Christian Wilson recruitment.

Analysis
Bell’s commitment probably puts Michigan in good position for his teammates Julius Ferrell and Fitzgerald Toussaint. Judging by his video, he’ll end up a low 4-star or high 3-star by the recruiting services. With a couple good DBs in the fold, the recruiting focus is increasingly shifted to QBs, DEs, and OLs.

Posted under Recruiting

With two commitments and a few prospects down, it was a big weekend of change for the recruiting board.

Removed:
KS LB Jaydan Bird. Committed to Oklahoma. Not a huge loss, as I don’t think there was ever great mutual interest. He seemed like one of those guys who mention Michigan early in the process to make them sound like big-time prospects.
TX OL Mason Walters. Committed to Texas. Not sure anyone but the Horns ever had a really legit shot at him.

New Information:
MI RB Teric Jones. Freep article on his commitment.
VA QB Kevin Newsome. Track video interview.

Etc.: Wisconsin looking to add some spread? Trotwood-Madison track (Michael Shaw and Chris Freeman). AP Indiana all-state basketball selections (Stuart Douglass special mention, Zach Novak 1st team). Mike Hart will be signing autographs at Briarwood MDen on Saturday. Free Press photo gallery from Saturday’s spring practice.

Posted under Basketball

The Board.

Thanks to a couple guys who e-mailed me about new prospects, and always to Brian, for unearthing a few I hadn’t heard about yet. I checked out these guys and added the ones I found to meet the arbitrary criteria I established for the board.

Added:
OH DE Devon Curtis. A high school teammate of Patrick Omameh.

New Information:
VA QB Kevin Newsome will not play QB if he goes to WVU. Track article on Newsome and HS teammate Javanti Sparrow.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins may want to stay closer to home, according to his coach.
MN WR Bryce McNeal on the GopherHole.
UT OL Xavier Sua’Filo is committed to the ESPNU Under Armour game.
MI DT William Campbell and PA LB Dorian Bell are committed to the Army game.
NC S Devonte Holloman fluff from Yahoo.
TX S Craig Loston is down to two schools. I don’t think either of them is Michigan.

Etc.: Toledo Blade article on the QB situation. Recruiting fluff from the Freep. Administration Op-Ed responding to the Carticle.

Posted under Recruiting

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