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recruiting roundup
Thursday Recruitin' Awaits First Domino
Spring Game Visitors: Commit Watch?
Michael Onwenu and Donnie Corley are among this weekend's top visitors. [Fuller]
Let's skip the preamble. You want this weekend's visitors list. Thanks to a primer from Allen Trieu in the Detroit News and a quick overview from 247's Steve Lorenz, here are the top targets who'll be on campus this weekend.
Since they've been discussed so much of late, let's start with the in-state prospects:
- Four-star Detroit King WR Donnie Corley. Michigan seems to have made up a ton of ground on Corley since Harbaugh took over, to the point that they may be out in front along with Tennessee. Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State are also heavily involved.
- Four-star Southfield RB Matt Falcon. The top back in the state, Falcon has Tennessee as his leader, and while Michigan is gaining they'll have to make a big impression this weekend—Falcon is slated to visit UT at the end of the month and could decide shortly thereafter, per Sam Webb ($).
- Three-star Farmington WR Desmond Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick has stuck with his Louisville commitment so far, even after getting a Michigan offer, but that could change soon, especially if teammate David Reese decides to flip his commitment after a recent offer.
- Four-star Plymouth OT Michael Jordan. The usual Midwest suspects—Michigan, MSU, ND, and OSU—comprise Jordan's top four. He's been a steady presence on campus lately, but there haven't been rumblings of an imminent decision.
- Four-star Farmington Hills Harrison DE Khalid Kareem. After a brief commitment to Michigan State, Kareem has also been in Ann Arbor several times for unofficial visits. Notre Dame is also a factor.
- Four-star Cass Tech OG/DT Michael Onwenu. Onwenu previously favored Ohio State, but backed off that stance after the Mike Weber kerfuffle. Michigan looks to be in very good position to land him.
- Three-star Farmington LB/FB David Reese. Like Fitzpatrick, Reese is a Louisville commit pondering a flip after getting a Michigan offer. He could make the change as early as this weekend, and that could set off a string of in-state commitments—at the very least, Fitzpatrick would be likely to join him.
- 2017 four-star Orchard Lake St. Mary's LB Josh Ross. James Ross's younger brother has made quite a few visits to Ann Arbor.
- 2017 four-star St. Joseph WDE Corey Malone-Hatcher. An offer from Alabama last week shows that Malone-Hatcher won't be an easy pull.
- 2017 four-star Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones. A potential five-star, Peoples-Jones has been on campus a lot lately but also is getting major attention from Ohio State.
If there's a commitment this weekend, Reese seems to be the most likely candidate. Now, for the out-of-state visitors:
- Three-star TX OT Austin Anderson and three-star TX OT Riley Anderson. The twin linemen both received offers from Michigan in early March.
- Three-star TX S Chris Brown. A teammate of four-star LB Dontavious Jackson, who'll also be on campus, Brown's best offers so far are from Michigan and Louisville, though local schools could jump into the fray.
- Three-star AL RB Kingston Davis. The big back hails from Prattville, the same Alabama high school that produced 2015 signee Keith Washington; Michigan will hold one of their satellite camps there this summer.
- Four-star MD OG Terrance Davis. Davis is a big-time national recruit, but he appears to have legitimate interest in Michigan.
- Four-star TX ILB Dontavious Jackson. Michigan won't have an easy time prying Jackson away from Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Texas, but offering Brown helps; for now, the Wolverines are very much in it.
- Four-star IN QB Brandon Peters. Outside of the in-state prospects, Peters is the recruit who's had the most commitment speculation. While Michigan looks like the favorite, however, it's reasonable to expect him to take planned visits to Nebraska and Vanderbilt the following two weekends before he comes to a decision.
- 2017 five-star IL SDE AJ Epenesa. An Iowa legacy, Epenesa was offered last month; he's projected as one of the very best 2017 prospects in the country.
- 2017 four-star GA S Isaiah Pryor. In a promising sign, Pryor will be on campus for the second time in two weeks, this time with his family in tow, per 247's Steve Wiltfong ($).
- 2017 OH RB Todd Sibley. Considered an Ohio State lean, Michigan leapt into contention when they offered Sibley a couple weeks ago, though overcoming the childhood favorite Buckeyes will be a difficult task.
That's not quite an exhaustive list—for one, expect a bunch of in-state underclassmen to check in—but it hits the highlights. This is a very impressive visitor list for a spring game.
Meanwhile, Michigan is hosting a visitor today: three-star Lakewood (OH) St. Edward CB Tony Butler, a Pitt commit, is on campus and Lorenz reports he's likely to earn an offer ($). Butler's former head coach at St. Eds, Rick Finotti, is now at Michigan after being hired by Harbaugh as director of football operations. That connection could help, and I'm always open to Narduzzi-approved defensive recruits.
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Thursday Recruitin' Hits The Road
- 2016 recruiting
- 2017 recruiting
- ahmir mitchell
- andrew pryts
- ben bredeson
- ben davis
- blake o'neill
- brad hawkins
- camilo eifler
- cary angeline
- cohl cabral
- daelin hayes
- darrian franklin
- demetric vance
- desmond fitzpatrick
- devin bush
- donnie corley
- isaiah pryor
- jamyest williams
- joshua hammond
- khalid kareem
- michael jordan
- michael onwenu
- rashan gary
- recruiting roundup
- ron johnson
- satellite camps
- todd sibley
- tyrell ajian
Now Touring: The Jim Harbaugh Experience
Show, meet road. [Left via MLive, right via The Wolverine]
Remember last summer, when Penn State coach James Franklin ruffled some feathers by hosting satellite camps in Florida and Georgia? Jim Harbaugh is taking the same tack. The Wolverine's Brandon Brown reports that Michigan's coaches will run a camp at Prattville High School in Alabama, which produced 2015 signee Keith Washington, one June 5th. Four days later, they'll do the same in Dallas, per MLive's Nick Baumgardner. It wouldn't surprise at all if additional camps were set up in, say, Florida and California before all is said and done.
This is a great situation for Michigan, of course. The coaches get to see a ton of prospects in states they can't get to during the season, make connections with local coaches, and hopefully make some progress with recruits they've offered. There's really no downside to this that I can imagine.
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Monday Recruitin' Expands Footprint
- 2016 recruiting
- 2017 recruiting
- alton robinson
- brandon peters
- cj pollard
- ej price
- eric cuffee
- hezekiah jones
- isaiah pryor
- jack wohlabaugh
- jamyest williams
- jarrett guarantano
- jordan woods
- kj costello
- lyndell wilson
- marlon davidson
- michael jordan
- naseir upshur
- recruiting roundup
- ron johnson
- xavier kelly
Price Names Michigan Leader
It's not common for a Big Ten school to make an early move on a top prospect from deep in SEC country, but top-75 GA OT EJ Price isn't a normal SEC prospect—he's a Michigan native, and that's clearly helping the Wolverines in their pursuit. After Price had previously put Michigan in a tie atop his list with Auburn, he's now got the Wolverines out in front of the Tigers and Georgia, and told 247's Kipp Adams why that's now the case ($):
"The new coaching staff with Jim Harbaugh coming in," Price said. "I like Tim Drevno, the new offensive coordinator as well. With him being the offensive coordinator and the offensive line coach, it's going to be a benefit for me because you know he's going to focus on the offensive line. Just being that I'm from Michigan originally, there's a lot to think about. They've been hitting me up lately."
While there's a long way to go, there's also a lot to be excited about here; namely, Price is coming off recent visits to his two other top contenders, Auburn and Georgia, and has seen both of those schools several times while he's yet to make the trip to Ann Arbor. Usually Michigan has to work from behind when hosting out-of-region prospects; that doesn't look like it'll be the case here.
Costello To Announce Soon
In less positive news, Michigan's top target at quarterback, top-50 CA QB KJ Costello, will announce his decision on Thursday in a 5:45 ET ceremony at his school, per Scout's Greg Biggins ($). Michigan, Stanford, and USC are his three finalists, but it's expected his decision will come down to the two California schools, especially since Costello wasn't able to set up a return trip to Ann Arbor before making his choice.
That means the leading candidate to take a spot in the class at quarterback is still four-star IN QB Brandon Peters, who'll visit for the spring game and recently named Michigan to his top five, per BigRedReport's Bryan Munson ($):
"My top five are Michigan, Nebraska, LSU, Indiana and Wisconsin," Peters said. "These are the schools recruiting me the hardest and also the schools that I have built the best relationships with as well."
Peters also plans to visit Nebraska for their spring game the week after Michigan's; while there's a lot of optimism about M's chances, it doesn't quite look like a slam dunk, though of course a visit can change that outlook in a hurry.
Michigan's chances don't look so good for four-star NJ QB Jarrett Guarantano, who told Rivals' Mike Farrell in a video interview that his top three consists of Rutgers, Tennessee, and Ohio State ($). He's long been considered a longshot.
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Thursday Recruitin' Gets Comfortable
The Best Players In Michigan Visit Michigan
While much of the early recruiting focus from the new staff has been on elite prospects in California, Texas, and SEC country, Jim Harbaugh has also made a concerted effort to lock down his home territory. This week, that continues with some of the top in-state prospects making their way through Ann Arbor.
Four-star Plymouth OT Michael Jordan stopped by for Tuesday's practice, and his father told 247's Steve Wiltfong that he's developing a rapport with the new staff ($):
The Wolverines are strongly in the mix for the No. 3 prospect in the state according to the 247Sports Composite, as are schools like Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State.
“It’s getting more and more comfortable with them,” the elder Jordan said. “He’s still trying to get to know everyone at this point. They’re definitely one of his top choices of schools to go to.”
Four-star Detroit King WR Donnie Corley also visited practice Tuesday and connected with recent staff addition Soup Campbell, per Wiltfong ($):
"Great visit today," Corley's father told 247Sports. "Learned a lot from the staff and the legend (Erik) Campbell."
Asked if the visit helped Michigan in his son's eyes, Corley's father responded, "Yes."
Steve Lorenz reports that four-star Cass Tech OG/DT Michael Onwenu will visit on Saturday ($). Onwenu's been a consistent presence on campus of late to the extent that Michigan has passed Ohio State as the favorite on his Crystal Ball; Onwenu has also mentioned that the Mike Weber situation affected his view of OSU. Three-star Canton OLB Jalen Cochran, who holds an Iowa offer, is also expected to be on campus Saturday.
Three-star Saline dual-threat QB Josh Jackson, son of Fred, was among last weekend's visitors. He told Scout's Allen Trieu that the coaches informed him he's "in the mix" for a potential offer, and they're planning to watch him throw this spring ($). With Harbaugh's preference for taking two quarterbacks per class, Jackson could be one to watch.
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Monday Recruitin' Steals Your Prom Date
Proposition Jim
I usually don't tweet things like this, so forgive me but this is just really too funny not to! haha #ImDone pic.twitter.com/Muk5ZcVYzd
— Boss Tagaloa (@_BT75) March 14, 2015
Top-100 CA DT Boss Tagaloa, who added a Michigan offer a couple weeks ago, added... uh... that over the weekend. Thus began a heated recruiting battle:
@_BT75 @CoachJim4UM don't go stealing my prom date coach
— Sof (@sofmorales13) March 14, 2015
Tagaloa is rumored to be sticking with his initial commitment.
Last Week's Visitors: New QB Target?
Michigan hosted a handful of visitors over the last week, including a five-star Californian and a potential target at quarterback.
Five-star CA LB Caleb Kelly has yet to go on the record about his weekend visit, though it sounds like it went well—247's Steve Lorenz believes Michigan has a great shot at getting him to return on an official visit ($). That seems likely given what Kelly told his coach, per 247's Steve Wiltfong ($):
“He loved it man,” Tony Perry, the coach who brought Kelly in from the West Coast said. “He really liked it a lot.
“He felt comfortable. He liked the coaches there, everybody around there, he felt comfortable. He told me it was one of his better trips. He had a nice time out there.
“He said he felt like he was at home.”
Perry hinted that Michigan is standing out even among Kelly's top ten; UCLA and Oklahoma are serious competition, while Kelly has trips planned to Alabama and Notre Dame.
Four-star IN WR Austin Mack came in on Saturday to meet Harbaugh for the first time. He recapped the visit with GBW's Josh Newkirk, and it's safe to say he approves of Michigan's new head man ($):
"I can't be more impressed with Harbaugh," Mack said. "His career background is crazy. He's straight from the pros. You're not going to learn anything better. You're playing in the pro-style offense. They would probably put me on the outside. ...
"He really just said everything they got my interest. it was just real good and educational."
Mack said he plans to return to Ann Arbor, this time with his parents in tow. He's got Michigan in his top group alongside Michigan State, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. After the Wolverines had seemingly faded from the forefront of Mack's recruitment, they've got momentum.
Four-star NJ ATH Jordan Fuller, who's fielded offers from all over the country, told GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz that his visit put Michigan up among his leaders ($):
As far as a decision timeline is concerned, that is also up in the air with the four-star talent stating he’s just, “going with the flow.”
Either way, Michigan made quite an impression.
“They’re up there,” Fuller said. “I’d definitely say toward the top.”
Fuller sat it on a defensive backs meeting; he could play corner or safety in college, and could even project to wide receiver.
Three-star GA QB Logan Byrd decommitted from Virginia Tech last week. Jim Harbaugh and Jedd Fisch immediately got in touch with Byrd and set up a visit for last weekend, per Rivals' Woody Wommack ($). Given how quickly Byrd jumped at the opportunity to visit, there's clearly mutual interest, though as of yet no scholarship offer.
A visit to Ann Arbor may have spurred another decommitment. 2017 four-star IA DT Juan Harris entered the weekend an Iowa commit, then was blown away by his experience at Michigan, per Wiltfong:
"My visit was great," Harris said.
"Everything in that place was amazing. The coaching staff was great."
Last night, Harris decommitted from Iowa for the second time; he initially committed to Iowa in December, then decommitted and recommitted in January. That's impressive speed for a 356-pound(!!!) junior. Given the timing, Michigan looks to be a serious contender.
Michigan also hosted two top in-state prospects. 2016 Farmington Hills Harrison DE Khalid Kareem swung by practice Thursday for his second unofficial visit since Harbaugh was hired, and told Wiltfong "it was a real good visit." 2017 Orchard Lake St. Mary's ATH KJ Hamler visited over the weekend; it appears he was impressed.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Monday Recruitin' Doesn't Watch Sportscenter
- 2016 recruiting
- ahmir mitchell
- alton robinson
- austin anderson
- brandon bowen
- chris brown
- cj pollard
- darrian franklin
- demetric vance
- devin bush
- dontavious jackson
- dwayne haskins
- isaac nauta
- jordan elliott
- jordan woods
- mark gilbert
- mique juarez
- naseir upshur
- nick eubanks
- recruiting roundup
- riley anderson
- troy pride
Spring Visits Taking Shape
The Spring Game won't just be the first opportunity to see Michigan playing under Jim Harbaugh; it'll also be a major recruiting weekend for the program. The stakes got a little higher last night when Top-150 ILB Dontavious Jackson and three-star S Chris Brown, both M offer recipients from Houston (TX) Alief Elsik, booked their flights for a three-day visit that weekend, per Steve Lorenz.
While Jackson is one of the top targets for the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma, Michigan is the highest-profile school to offer both him and Brown, which may give the Wolverines an edge. Securing an unofficial visit is a good sign they'll at least be a major factor going forward.
Four-star FL ILB Devin Bush Jr., who recently said Michigan was one of a handful of schools sticking out to him, told Sam Webb that he's looking to visit for a spring practice at the end of the month ($). An FSU legacy, Bush said he's been learning about the school from DJ Durkin, who's spearheading his recruitment.
Another four-star linebacker, California offeree Darrian Franklin, told Scout's Greg Biggins that he's also looking to visit this spring, and with a summer decision looming Michigan is among his top schools ($):
"Right now, the main schools I'm really feeling are USC, Michigan, UCLA, Arizona, Oregon and LSU. I haven't decided if I'll still take some official visits after I commit or not. I kind of want to for the experience and see some places but I haven't really thought about it too much yet. I still need to make a decision first and then I'll go from there."
USC is his stated leader; we should find out soon if a visit can change that.
GBW's Josh Newkirk reports that Michigan is "comfortably within" four-star Cass Tech S Demetric Vance's top five, and Vance plans to visit for a spring practice ($). M's made positive strides with Vance since offering him last month.
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