drew dileo

*(Mmmm David Brandon euphemism.)

So I find myself in an extremely bizarre position: Michigan had a semi-public scrimmage on Saturday that I and a few hundred others attended after donating to Motts or buying the big baller seats. If you've been on the internet since Saturday you've noticed probably dozens of reports on message boards, the diaries here, other blogs, and one local radio host's (pretty inaccurate) tweets. Also there's a highlight video from the official site:

But they specifically told myself, MVictors, Scout, Rivals, and Craig Ross that "nothing was to be reported" from the scrimmage. This worked as well as you might imagine, leaving us on the sidelines as everyone with a username throws vague information around. So here's a bizarre roundup of things other people said on the internets and in my inbox that doesn't involve personal reporting. This lion is caged.

Quarterbacks

Popular sentiment holds that Denard is the man:

looks comfortable, made some nice throws, seems in charge of the O.  Wouldn't want to have to tackle him.

The man:

Unless something crazy happens between now and September 4, Denard Robinson is your clear starter at quarterback. The quarterbacks weren’t live today, but Robinson still managed to carve up the second-team defense (running the first-team offense, of course) with his legs and his arm. His made good decisions with the ball and his passes were on the money, and he took a QB draw 40+ yards to the house — only Denard makes that play, and he made it look easy.

The man:

He will absolutely start as he is clearly the leader on the team. He had the most energy during warm-ups, was the first one and the fastest one doing stretch drills, and was clearly the first-team QB of the day during the 'scrimmage'. He hit a nice 23-ish yard pass on a WICKED play fake to Grady. And then ran it in for another 25 or so on a QB draw, juking a DB as he went. Enough to even get the sidelines "ooh-ing".

The man:

Prior to seeing this scrimmage I was a fan of Tate and would tell anyone who asked, that Tate would be the starter. After watching the scrimmage, D-Rob will be the starter. He was much better in the pocket, made good decisions when faced with getting rid of the ball or being sacked with loss of yards, and his exchanges were very good. Think about some of the ball fakes that Juice Williams had. D-Rob isn't there yet, but he will be.

That longish pass was the a half-roll at about 2:00 in the highlights on which Robinson pulled up and nailed Terrance Robinson between the numbers and between levels in the zone. An emailer suggested that he wouldn't have believed it possible without the spring game. Also, at the end of practice they had the team run a lap around the field four times. It's "a little tough to tell" because each position group starts from a different place on the field, but 3 of the 4 times Denard was the first player on the team to finish. (Ray Vinopal seemed to win the last one.) That's "more a measure of endurance than speed."

Robinson actually got a lot less run than the other two quarterbacks, finding himself on the bench as Forcier and Gardner (and Jack Kennedy) alternated series late; when he did get on the offense would score quickly, further depressing his reps. To me that reads like the decision is already made and they are being somewhat cautious.

Conflicting reports on Gardner and Forcier. Ace's take:

Devin Gardner, running mostly with the twos, looked at times like a seasoned veteran, but he had a couple throws — including an ugly interception to Marvin Robinson — that reminded everyone he is just a freshman. His natural ability could lead to him seeing the field this year, but I think it’s safe to say he’s probably a year away from really pushing for the starting job. Really like his poise in the pocked and running ability, however, and it would have been interesting to see what he could have done if the quarterbacks were live. Tate Forcier started with the threes but saw snaps with the ones and twos as well — he looked solid throwing the ball, but made a couple poor reads on zone running plays.

Gardner came in for a lot of praise but a trusted observer in the inbox says "Gardner made a number of bad decisions under pressure." There that Marvin Robinson interception reminiscent of the slo-mo-nooooo plays last year; observer also cited a strong tendency for Gardner to panic and chuck off his back foot when blitzers got through. He suggested that in a scrimmage with more blitzing—it was exceedingly rare—Forcier would have probably looked clearly better than Gardner. While a few folk are saying there is "NO WAY" Gardner redshirts, TO thought he was at best even with Forcier and given that should watch from the sidelines. He made more big errors than anyone else.

In drills, Tate looked best, FWIW.

Running Backs

Hopkins was the name on everyone's tongue after a day spent running through arm tackles and showing surprising shiftiness. He "hit the holes and was a load to take down." Trusted Observer said he had a hard time picking out Hopkins before the scrimmage, as he looked like PJ Hill in the spring but after losing ten pounds and reshaping maybe a dozen others into muscle "now looks like a tailback" instead of a moonlighting fullback.

One negative note:

I didn't think Hopkins looked as great as everyone else did.  Not a diss on his play - he ran very hard - but I didn't see the world beater others did.  Much like the other scrimmages, all the RBs looked good, but none really stood out.  We have options in Cox and Shaw.  Though V. Smith, as reported, looks great - no noticeable effects from the injury.

Ace and others also noted that Vincent Smith seems 100% healthy; you can see him dance his way down to the two in the highlights above on one of his better runs on the day. TO said it looked like he was tentatively first team with Mike Shaw second but "both those guys fumbled and I wouldn't put much stock in that."

Mike Cox continued to show that he might be the best athlete amongst the running backs, but on two separate instances he caused Rodriguez to "lose it" by cutting way back against the grain, turning a modest gain into nothing by dancing at the line of scrimmage. On one "there was a gap on the frontside but he cut all the way behind the backside tackle," losing yardage and causing RR to chew him out; on the second "RR just dropped his headset in disgust."

Toussaint did not play due to an injury.

Wide Receiver

If you're looking at playing time in this scrimmage as a signal as to which freshmen wideouts will play, your "leaders in order" are Jerald Robinson, Drew Dileo, Jeremy Jackson, Ricardo Miller, and finally DJ Williamson. Yeah, Dileo, who looked "natural fielding punts and catching the ball in drills" despite being "fricking tiny." Robinson got a lot of playing time but "dropped everything."

As for the veterans, the nominal first team was the same it was in spring with Martavious Odoms spending a lot of time outside with Darryl Stonum; Roy Roundtree was in the slot but "did not play much" probably because "they know he's the guy." In his stead Robinson and Grady got most of the playing time, with Gallon around but "not doing much." Hemingway was on the second team with Stokes.

At TE, Koger, Webb, and Moore "seemed even," with Koger suffering a frustrating drop. Robinson added one, but otherwise the starting WRs caught everything that came their way. It was mostly underneath stuff, probably because of the open nature of the scrimmage.

Offensive Line

Not much here. Molk was in a green shirt and played only sparingly (this was "precautionary"); Khoury was his backup and there were several poor snaps, two or three of which led to drive-killing fumbles. Huyge (left) and Dorrestein (right) were tackles on the first team OL. Lewan was on the second team and played beyond the whistle to the point where he got a personal foul. TO noticed Quinton Washington struggling badly in the post-practice runs, finishing last. Someone, possibly Elliot Mealer, spent practice on the bike with a red jersey. Barnum was a second-team guard and the third-team center.

Coaches kept yelling at Schofield to keep his pad level down.

Defensive Line

TO says he spent most of the scrimmage watching the offense and didn't have much on the D. He did note that Mike Martin finished first easily in the DL group on the runs with Will Campbell lagging behind. Ace highlighted Jibreel Black, who looks like a quick contributor. Another emailer said "Martin is a beast" and didn't get much playing time for precautionary reasons:

“Defensively, Mike Martin has had a tremendous camp. We limited him yesterday because we know what he can do, but he’s been really good and probably our most consistent defensive player since camp started.”

Campbell seemed to be on the third team. Sagesse sat out with an injury, though he was in green, not red.

It does not seem like Martin is moving, so everyone figure out who Greg Banks's backup is.

Linebackers

That stuff about Moundros possibly starting looks accurate:

Moundros starts in the middle, looks like he's been playing there for a while.  A run stuffer certainly.  Middle zone coverage?  Not enough data.  Ezeh also stuffed the run and took on blocks at Mouton's spot.  Roh will be a beast, but given almost all of the throws were short, his pass rush didn't have time to get home.

Not much else here. Ezeh played WLB with Mouton in green. Davion Rogers is "a twig."

Secondary

Ack. Cam Gordon, from reports ranging from some guy…

Vlad will hit you, but we all knew that.  Cam Gordon is going to be very good, I think.  Big boy.  He was in position to make two great tackles, but unfortunately didn't wrapup and was pulled off the field.  Later returned with the 1's.  Going to take some time

…to the coach…

“Yesterday probably wasn’t his best day practice-wise, but other than that he’s had a really good camp,” Rodriguez noted.

…to Cam Gordon's royal we…

“We were in position to make plays - I was in position - but we didn’t wrap up,” Gordon said. “I think we were all a little excited, especially us young guys to show what we could do and we had a breakdown in fundamentals. But those are easily correctable mistakes.

“Something Coach [Tony] Gibson said to me after our scrimmage was, ‘Cam, every hit doesn’t have to be a big hit.’ That’s a key for me and for all the guys. Any tackle is a good tackle. I don’t have to level somebody because in the stat book they all count the same way. I’ll get better and we’ll get better.”

…did not have a good day. Corners… not much detail. There's this:

JT Floyd looks good, Rogers looks big.  Teric Jones and Christian are your 2's.  Talbott and Avery don't look undersized, and don't look overwhelmed.  Again, hard to judge corner play given the nature of the throws.  But Christian has a way of moving that reminds one of Woodson.

If only. Floyd was pulled early, again likely as a precaution. Robinson looks good, a "big hitter and good tackler."  Mike Williams spent a lot of time playing spur, not doing much of note. A push for a job or a sure starter (Thomas Gordon) getting held out of a high-contact scrimmage?

Special Teams

No worries at punter, where Hagerup's warmups were "just like Zoltan." The section of the practice dedicated to the punt team saw the punts "go straight" and were actually returnable. All were fielded cleanly except one fumble from Terrence Robinson. Here, too, Dileo "looked like a natural," executing a fair catch with aplomb and fielding an array of kickoffs and punts cleanly.

Field goal kicking was limited, with just two attempts. Meram missed from around 40, Gibbons hit from around 35. Kickoffs landed from the 2 to 10, which is about average these days. Kickoff coverage must be run at half speed because every one was returned to about midfield and then blown dead.

Previously: S Carvin Johnson, S Ray Vinopal, S Marvin Robinson, CB Courtney Avery, CB Terrence Talbott, CB Cullen Christian, CB Demar Dorsey, LB Jake Ryan, LB Davion Rogers, LB Josh Furman, DE Jordan Paskorz, DE Jibreel Black, DT Terry Talbott, DT Richard Ash, and C Christian Pace.

When Drew Dileo, a small, white slot receiver from Louisiana, committed to Michigan early in the last recruiting cycle, the internet was displeased. This site was openly skeptical of him in his "Hello" post; message boards lit up with negativity about Rodriguez's recruiting; rivals joked that he would move to tackle because he was fairly large for a Rodriguez recruit.

This is why from the horse's (pony's?) mouth:

“I was thinking I might end up at Louisiana Tech, a smaller school like that,” he said.

It didn't help that early reports had Stanford his only other BCS offer, with Tulane and Rice the other suitors. Nor did the composition of Michigan's class at the time. Dileo was the fifth receiver and second slot, a luxury recruit seemingly out of whack with Michigan's roster composition who wasn't even much of a luxury.

Complaints ensued, and from the complaints came the generic questions about doubters, and from the generic questions about doubters came the positive attitude and general likeability to make doubters feel like heels:

“I know my profile isn’t as great as a lot of other kids’ around the country,” he said. “I know (Michigan) reached out there a little bit to get me. It’s not about proving anybody wrong. I just don’t want people up there to feel like I wasted a scholarship.”

I hope all of you think about what you've done.

So let's get past all that. Yes, Dileo is an odd recruit to be in this class and his rankings are uninspiring. But that doesn't mean he's doomed. It would turn out that Virginia and Northwestern had also offered, so… there's that. Rivals ranked him #24 in Louisiana, which isn't world-crushing but is just behind LSU WR commit Armand Williams and in front of prospects headed to Texas A&M, Texas Tech, LSU, and Florida State. He is also way in front of a guy named "Deuce Coon." Go Louisiana naming industry.

In high school, Dileo was a multi-purpose threat capable of scoring in literally every way you can without playing defense:

In two years as a Parkview starter, Dileo has compiled 3,300 all-purpose yards — 1,210 rushing, 620 receiving and 1,470 on returns.

As a sophomore, Dileo, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, became the first Parkview player to score on a kickoff return and a punt return; pass for a score and rush for a score; and catch a touchdown pass in the same season.

Michigan was the "most aggressive" school after Dileo, declaring that they "just had to have him." Despite his commitment, "several" SEC schools pinged him during his senior season.

None of this elevates Dileo to the level of a prospect Michigan fans should be thrilled about, but they are indicators he can contribute. And if there's one specific place a redundant slot receiver can contribute immediately, it's catching—not dropping—punts and then running the other way. Dileo's strange addition becomes far less strange in this context:

"I think they are looking for me to return punts more than anything, but I'll play a little slot receiver,” Dileo said.

Dileo has also returned kickoffs for Parkview Baptist in the past. Opposing teams stopped kicking to him this season, though, after he averaged more than 42 yards per kickoff return as a junior. …

What makes Dileo a competent return specialist is his combination of sure hands, agility and quickness. Much like an outfielder in baseball, a return man must accurately judge when and where a kicked ball will land while factoring in kick trajectory, ball rotation and the wind’s effect. Unlike baseball, a return specialist also has 11 members of the opposing team ready to hit him as soon as he fields the ball.

Dileo was also a baseball star for PBS, FWIW, and ESPN's evaluation also brings up his return skills($):

As a punt returner he fields the ball and accelerates while reading blocks on the run. Maintains balance even after being hit. Fights for every inch of return yardage and can make defenders miss in the openfield. As a kick returner shows the same savvy and determination. Follows the wedge and breaks into the clear at just the right moment.

Elsewhere, a local observer claims Dileo's field vision on returns is "sick" and that he is "a threat to take it all the way" on any kick or punt he gets his hands on; Touch the Banner declares him an "excellent" returner who looks to "get upfield in a hurry." If Dileo spends the next few years doing nothing except making correct decisions on punts—if he holds on to the damn ball—he'll be well worth the scholarship.

Dileo also projects as a slot receiver in college, where he draws comparisons to someone totally unexpected:

“He [Fred Jackson]told us Drew reminds them of Wes Welker,” Simoneaux said.

I know you were thinking someone would bring up Grant Fuhr. No such luck. Even if Wes Welker is the most hackneyed, obvious comparison anyone could possibly make to a white slot receiver, it must be said that the scouting reports do kind of bear it out. More ESPN:

Catches the ball easily in traffic and hauls in the pass even knowing he will be hit immediately after the reception. Can turn back across his body to make the difficult catches. As a slot, runs the counter and reverse to perfection. Hits and spins for extra yardage and is tough to bring down. Often slips through arm tackles to keep making positive yardage.

They also break out the white guy descriptors, calling him "sound," "solid," and "sure" in the same freakin' sentence. That just begins the avalanche of grit:

“It just goes to show you there’s still room for kids who are great athletes that have a great heart and work ethic,” Parkview coach Kenny Guillot said. “There’s a lot more room than people want to think.”

More grit:

Dileo might not have as much bulk as some of the running backs in this class, but without question he has the heart.

Pizza box grit:

“He’s just a humble, humble kid,” Guillot said. “When everyone’s leaving, he’s the one in the weight room putting up weights. We have guest speakers every Thursday and have pizza, he’s always there picking up the pizza boxes and stuff like that.

“We like our kids to stay humble and hungry. We preach that to them and preach to them about (being) team players. We talked to Coach Rodriguez about that, and he said one of the things he felt like he had to overcome when he first got to Michigan, there was a lot of I going on.”

More local observers call him a "pure football player" and "true gamer" while claiming he's 5'8" (though someone else disputes that, saying he's 5'9" to 5'10"): never has a Michigan recruit been described by so many as David Eckstein in a helmet.

Some random blogspot guy compared Dileo to Darius Reynaud, so there's that, and the positive descriptors don't stop at his outstanding character. His coach calls him "one of those one of those kids who could be in a phone booth and still make people miss"; the locals claim he's "very slippery"; Jim Stefani invokes "slippery" as well and says he "excels in space with his great quickness and elusiveness."

TTB, always clear-eyed about things, sounds a note of disagreement—"I question his ability to be fast enough or elusive enough to be a major contributor at the next level"—that the recruiting sites certainly imply, but we'll leave the last word to his coach:

“I’ve been coaching a long time and I remember an old pro scout told me many years ago, when a guy can make the first guy miss” that’s a dangerous weapon, Guillot said. “He does a great job of making the first guy miss.”

Do that after catching—not dropping—all the punts and "waste" won't be a word uttered within six sentences of Drew Dileo.

Etc.: GBMW profile. Brief UMGoBlog interview. Scout commit article. Interview. A ton of local articles mentioning Dileo. He's white so there's a creepy CasteFootball thread on him.

Why David Eckstein/Wes Welker/Darius Reynaud/Dorrell Jalloh? The former two are because he is very, very gritty. If you bought Drew Dileo brand lettuce you could smooth furniture with it.

The latter two are close analogues to what Rodriguez will hope to get out of Dileo. Jalloh was a nothing recruit—literally, he was not ranked at all by Rivals or Scout—who became a productive multi-purpose threat at West Virginia. Reynaud is 5'10" and was a middling three-star receiver out of Louisiana who also became a productive multi-purpose threat at WVU.

Guru Reliability: Just under high. No combines apparently but a high profile player on a smallish but high profile high school in a relentlessly scouted state.
General Excitement Level: Moderate. If RR & co really did bring him in just because he's an awesome returner and he lives up to that immediately it is a great, great offer given the disaster zone M has had the past couple years there. His receiving upside seems limited.
Projection: Will be very interested to hear how things are going in fall camp as far as returns go. If no one latches onto the job and Dileo's in the running he will play this year. If someone, Gallon most likely, beats him out he'll redshirt and develop on the bench until Roundtree graduates.

If you can help out finding articles on any of the commits, e-mail me, and I'll try to include your contribution. This should be one of the last couple updates, since every current commit's season has now finished.

LA Slot WR Drew Dileo

Last week: Pregame fluff. #2. Parkview loses to Notre Dame 14-7 in the State Championship game.

But on first-and-down from the Notre Dame 29, Dileo was hit on a short run, lost the football and Luke Bourgeois recovered. “We killed ourselves in the first half,” said Dileo, a Michigan commitment. “Just little things. We preach every week about the little things.”

But four plays later, on fourth-and-2, Dileo — the holder for what appeared to be a 33-yard field goal try — kept on a fake and was greeted by a wall of defenders for a 1-yard loss.

Oopppppppps. Article #2:

Michigan commitment Drew Dileo was limited to five carries for five yards and five receptions for 30 yards.

This week: Parkview Baptist (12-2) has finished its season as the state Runner-up. The chart below is a little messy, but the Total numbers in the last row are correct season totals.

LA S Carvin Johnson

Last week: Pregame fluff:

Johnson, who is bound for Michigan, said he welcomes the week-to-week burden of a defense that ofttimes has to produce points and a short field for a struggling offense. “I would do it all over again,” Johnson said. “I don’t mind. We have understood our role since the beginning of the season.”

Preview fluff #2:

The heart and soul of the Rummel team is senior safety Carvin Johnson, a commitment to Michigan. Johnson has seven interceptions and two punt returns for touchdowns. “Carvin Johnson has been terrific. He is hardly coming off the field, playing safety, wide receiver, returning punts and returning kickoffs. We have done it in the past with guys like Craig Steltz, Terrance Dunbar, Nick Child in the playoffs, using our best athletes on both sides of the football,” Roth said.

Rummel falls to West Monroe 30-0 in the State Championship game. Johnson had 1 carry for -6 yards. Postgame coach reaction.

This week: Rummel (14-1) Finishes as State Runners-up.

Seasons Complete

MI WR Jeremy Jackson

Jackson participated in the Hawaii-Mainland bowl, with the Mainland coming away the 26-6 victors. Jackson had 1 reception for 38 yards.

PA DE Kenny Wilkins

His high school's coach was fired after the poor season.

OH S Ray Vinopal

Cardinal Mooney went undefeated and won the state championship. Vinopal's season stats, via Mooneyfootball.com:

PA CB Cullen Christian

Cullen was 1st-team All-conference at defensive back, and an honorable mention at receiver.

WI P Will Hagerup

Whitefish Bay (5-5) has completed its season after a first-round playoff loss. Bob Parker hooked me up with season stats for Will, who was 1st-team All-State as a punter:

If you can help out finding articles on any of the commits, e-mail me, and I'll try to include your contribution. This week, I didn't make it to any games, but I might be able to make it to one game for next week. If you want up-to-the-minute updates of the games I attend, follow me on Twitter @varsityblue.

MI QB Devin Gardner

Last week: Opponent-focused pregame fluff. Inkster defeats Bay City Central 27-20.

The University of Michigan-bound signal caller was impressive, throwing for 132 yards on 7-of-13 passing and running for 95 yards on 15 carries.

But - except for one dazzling fourth-quarter dash that electrified the stadium - the Wolves defense kept Gardner from putting on a one-man highlight show.

This week: Inkster (3-2) @ Muskegon Catholic Central.

SC QB Conelius Jones

Last week: Spartanburg loses to Gaffney, 7-14. Jones was 18-30 passing for 184 yards and one interception. He ran 21 times for 60 yards and the Vikings' only touchdown.

This week: Spartanburg (2-4) @ Byrnes.

MI RB Austin White

Last week: Stevenson defeats Novi 14-7. White did fumble the ball once. Article 2.

The Spartans had 222 yards rushing led by White’s 133 on 28 carries.

White also had 3 catches for 34 yards in the game.

Article 3:

“As long as we keep winning I don’t care how many times I carry the ball,” White said. “The team is working hard. To be around these guys is a great feeling. We’ve come such a long way since the beginning of the season. It’s exciting right now. We didn’t change a lot in the second half. People just started making plays. We’ve been focusing on making plays. I think we’re going to be the kind of team to pound it down their throats. That’s the kind of team we’re developing into.”

This week: Stevenson (4-2) @ South Lyon East.

TX RB Tony Drake

Last week: Skyline rocks Molina 65-0. Drake had only 1 carry, but it went for 54 yards and a touchdown.

This week: Skyline (4-0) @ Richardson.

LA Slot WR Drew Dileo

Last week: Parkview Baptist loses to Dutchtown, 15-24.

Godberry’s touchdown was set up by a 32-yard punt return by Drew Dileo...

The Eagles, ranked No .3 in 3A, were led by Brandon Johnson who had 53 yards on 11 carries and Drew Dileo who had 24 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Dileo added 32 yards receiving on three catches.

The Dileo Statistical Notebook is almost getting robust enough for a...

Chart?

Chart. Look for one next week.

This week: Parkview Baptist (4-1) v. Northeast.

MI WR Ricardo Miller

Last week: Pioneer blasts Monroe 41-6. Ricardo had 3 touchdown catches.

This week: Pioneer (5-1) v. Huron. Apparently this game is some sort of big deal.

OH WR Jerald Robinson

Last week: Canton South loses to Northwest 8-28.

Jerald Robinson had six catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.

This week: Canton South (1-5) v. West Branch.

MI WR Jeremy Jackson

Last week: Huron defeats Saline 32-20.

Gleichert directed the credit to his blockers, saying "our offensive line just played the best games of their lives. I'm going to give all credit to the O-line. They played an amazing game."

Senior wide receiver Jeremy Jackson, who caught eight passes for 132 yards and a touchdown, agreed.

"When the line blocks, everything goes well for us. They're firing off the ball real hard and on each and every play they're coming off with a purpose," he said.

"That makes the run and pass really easy."

Jackson photo by Lon Hordowell of AnnArbor.com.

This week: Huron (2-3) @ Pioneer. Apparently this game is some sort of big deal.

OH WR DJ Williamson

Last week: Harding defeats Bishop Tonnos 48-7.

This week: Harding (4-1-1) v. St. Ignatius.

OH OL Christian Pace

Last week: Avon Lake defeats Midpark 35-7.

This week: Avon Lake (3-3) v. Berea.

OH DT Terry Talbott

Last week: Star QB Braxton Miller was out with the flu. Wayne falls to Northmont 14-27.

This week: Wayne (3-3) @ Fairmont.

PA DE Ken Wilkins

Last week: Trinity falls to Chartiers Valley 12-30.

This week: Trinity (1-4) v. Belle Vernon

PA DE Jordan Paskorz

Last week: Hampton defeats Indiana 35-20.

This week: Hampton (3-2) @ Knoch.

OH LB Antonio Kinard

Last week: Liberty defeats Champion 21-7.

This week: Liberty (4-2) v. Lakeview.

OH CB Courtney Avery

Last week: Lexington wins 47-7. Avery missed the game with his ongoing ankle injury.

This week: Lexington (3-2) @ Salado.

OH CB Terrence Talbott

Last week: Star QB Braxton Miller was out with the flu. Wayne falls to Northmont 14-27.

This week: Wayne (3-3) @ Fairmont.

WI P Will Hagerup

Last week: Whitefish Bay defeats Grafton 32-0.

This week: Whitefish Bay (5-1) @ Homestead.

2011 OH CB Greg Brown

Last week: Pregame fluff. Ross loses to Findlay, 40-43 in 3 overtimes.

But the Little Giants big blow came when Foos threw a 66-yard TD strike to Greg Brown (8 catches, 121 yards) during a 74-second, second-period scoring frenzy as 3:37 remained in the first half.

This week: Ross (4-2) @ Marion Harding.

TX RB Stephen Hopkins

Last week: Marcus had a bye week.

This week: Marcus (3-1) v. Lewisville.

FL S Marvin Robinson

Last week: Lake Region had a bye week.

This week: Lake Region (0-4) v. Ridge Community.

If you can help out finding articles on any of the commits, e-mail me, and I'll try to include your contribution. This week, I made it to two games, and they're listed at the top. If you want up-to-the-minute updates of the games I attend, follow me on Twitter @varsityblue. Michigan received a commitment from Will Hagerup over the weekend, and I'll try to catch up with his season in the next edition of FNL.

MI QB Devin Gardner

Last week: Inkster defeats Highland Park 27-22. Gardner passed 9/16 for 129 yards with 2 TDs and 2 interceptions. He also ran 11 times for 74 yards and 2 more scores. MGoBlog was there, so check the photo gallery and video.

This week: Inkster (2-2) @ Bay City Central.

MI RB Austin White

Last week: Pregame fluff. Stevenson defeats Northville 31-0. White ran 22 times for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns. Again, we were there, so enjoy the video of (most of) his performance.

This week: Stevenson (3-2) @ Novi.

NEW COMMIT WI P Will Hagerup