recruiting roundup

Campapalooza

The annual Sound Mind, Sound Body camp was over the weekend, and the thing is getting too huge to contain. Since SMSB is a non-profit, coaches can attend by donating their time. That's a rare opportunity—a unique one, as far as I know—and thus both coaches and prospects descend on it in droves. This year there were 800-some kids, including delegations from California, Minnesota, etc. It's big.

State and Michigan sent their entire staffs, Glenville brought 50 kids and scrimmaged Cass Tech in 7-on-7 afterwards, Ohio State deigned to send Vrabel and that lunatic from Cincinnati who can't seem to recruit anyone from Cincinnati, etc. It has blown up.

I would like to see Drue Tranquill's bandana collection.

At this point Michigan is mostly on the lookout for 2015 kids, but there are a few wobbly spots in the class still, like safety, and one of the breakout players was IN S Drue Tranquill, a 6'2" LB/S who had MAC offers before the camp. He's now got a couple of low-level Big Ten offers (Indiana, Minnesota) and will be a guy to watch if he camps at Michigan, which he plans on doing. Sam Webb on Tranquill($):

No player’s stock rose more than Tranquill’s on day one.  The 6-2, 208-pounder came out of nowhere to emerge as a viable football prospect in recent months after initially fancying himself more of a baseball prospect.  Tranqill pairs 4.49 speed with impressive lateral quickness. There were only a few occasions where receivers got the best of him on the day (one just happened to be Maurice Ways on a crossing route)… but even when he was beaten he was only inches from making a play. 

He told Josh Helmholdt that both the Michigan and Ohio State coaches were hot after him. Helmholdt, meanwhile, named him the top guy there, period:

Many teams are trying to fit the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Tranquill in at linebacker, but he showed he can definitely play safety with outstanding footwork, fluidity, speed and instincts in coverage.

An offer will likely depend on if Michigan thinks he can play safety… or maybe nickel. A couple of schools from the Ohio State defensive tree (like, say, Ohio State) are recruiting him for "star" linebacker, which is their fancypants equivalent. Since Michigan's camp is going on right now, we won't have to wait long to see.

MI WR commit Mo Ways came out, which is an unusual thing:

Ways has not been real active on the camp scene this offseason, but the SMSB Camp gave us another chance to evaluate the relatively new-to-the-game wide receiver and his progression is coming along nicely. The top defensive backs at the camp wanted to take on the Michigan commit, and he handled them with relative ease, getting open and making easy catches.

Ways is up to around 200 pounds($) and says Michigan would like him to report at 215. Steve Wiltfong also noticed Ways($):

Michigan receiver commit Maurice Ways looks ready to suit up for the Wolverines in this year’s season opener. Standing in at 6-foot-4, 197-pounds, the Detroit (Mich.) Country Day standout was a late edition to the camp, and was physical nightmare for cornerbacks trying to check him.

Meanwhile, Ways is making projections about the third WR spot in the class:

“If I could say myself, it would be Artavis Scott,” Ways said. “… If everything goes well then Tay Scott will be the third receiver.”

Other interesting names:

• 2016 ON(!) CB Patrice Rene, who Webb says is already a graceful 6'2". Rene is a lifelong Michigan fan and will camp.
• 2015 CA CB Stanley Norman, who obviously came all the way from California and was mentioned as a talent by multiple services. He's got a UCLA offer already, and took an unofficial to M($) after he got done winning the CB MVP at SMSB. Norman is more in the Countess mold than that of Peppers, but he might have some growth in him yet as a rising junior.
• 2015 TE/DE Ty Wheatley Jr. appears to be establishing himself more on the offensive side of the ball($), but his dad thinks he's still better off at DE. At 6'6", 240, I'd take him either place.

SMSB also provided some kids the opportunity to take unofficials to Michigan, including touted 2015 MN DE Jashon Cornell:

A man with taste in numbers.

ND signee James Onwualu does not approve.

@Jay_Rock16 That makes me wanna throw up hahaha

— James Onwualu (@J_Walls) June 15, 2013

Afterward, Cornell sounded pumped up about Michigan($), calling Michigan's facilities "one of the best things I've ever seen." Notre Dame is an early favorite for anyone from Cretin-Derham Hall, so we'll see if Cornell wants to break the mold.

Jamarcoquest

IL OL Jamarco Jones made his planned visits over the weekend, and will decide in a little under two weeks. His OSU visit is going on right now.

Jones remains as inscrutable as ever, but I feel a little bit better after he told Scout's Beth Long that he wasn't sweating two-deeps despite being highly encouraged to do so:

Depth doesn't matter too much, 'cause wherever I go I'm going to compete for a spot regardless. Coaches talk about that a lot but I don't pay too much attention to that. Nothing is guaranteed.

I think we can agree that Michigan is not the school bringing up depth charts. On the other hand, Jones's MSU visit coincided with a one-day camp at Michigan State and this is quite a quote fight($). On M:

"What stood out was how genuine the coaches are and how much they care about you as a person."

On MSU:

"I really felt like I was part of their family and team already. It was fun just seeing all the players I could potentially be playing with next year and how we all are similar and have the same goals."

I dunno. It's hard to believe that Jones will pick Michigan State if only because the last out-of-state guy to pick State over Michigan was during the Time of Troubles, when there were a few.

McDowell retracts his leader admission

Last week, MI DT Malik McDowell fessed up that he liked Michigan, probably. This week, he says that ain't true($):

Another hot rumor coming out of McDowell’s appearance in Chicago last weekend revolves around his college recruitment. Holding offers from the likes of Alabama,LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, among others, it was reported that McDowell named the Wolverines his favorite.

When asked about it Thursday, McDowell smiled, quietly saying, “no (that’s not true)"

Mmm quote that is 3/4ths in brackets. Meanwhile that "rumor" was a direct quote, one that came after erratic but consistent declarations that Michigan was maybe sort of out front. Weird recruitment. McDowell seems to want to commit to Michigan but someone in his camp is trying to get him to string it out as long as possible without indicating so much as a leader.

McDowell kind of implies he'd like to go to Michigan

it's eastern

This week, MI DT Malik McDowell attended the SMSB camp and seemed mostly interested($) in the local Big Two:

“Michigan and Ohio State, those are the two that I talked to that I was going to talk to when I got here,” McDowell said.

And in particular one of the Big Two:

McDowell has visited the Wolverines campus several times in the past and looks forward to getting back to Ann Arbor this summer.

“They still haven’t slowed down any recruiting,” McDowell said. “They’re recruiting me just as hard as they did in the beginning.”

The 6-foot-7, 290-pound McDowell added that he’s noticed Michigan’s No. 3 ranked recruiting class led by Jabrill Peppers and Drake Harris.

“That’s real nice,” McDowell said. “Would be a nice little team there.”

McDowell has not been to OSU yet but tentatively has a July visit scheduled. After discussing the local big two, McDowell quickly added that he'd like "to explore all [his] options" by visiting Florida, FSU, and USC.

Linebacker top fives: in them

Two of the three linebackers listed in the last recruiting roundup have released top fives. MO LB Jimmie Swain's consists of Michigan, MSU, Oregon, Stanford, and TCU; FL LB Darrion Owens is down to($) Michigan, Ohio State, Auburn, Georgia, and Miami.

24/7's Gerry Hamilton says Georgia "is thought to be in a very good position" after Owens camped in Athens. Need to get Owens on campus to do anything about that.

Swain is a guy Michigan is in totally random spot for. His only visit so far was to TCU. He'll take officials, it seems. So State's out, but everyone else is in play.

Your moment of zen

Tranquill on his Minnesota offer($):

“I’ve done my research and they’re a good engineering school and one of the best public universities in the country,” Tranquill said. “The Mall Of America is there. The coaches were throwing that at my mom."

This has been your moment of zen.

Etc.

Happy trails to MD OL Damian Prince, who says it was tough to leave Michigan out of his top ten($) but dang-diddly-did it anyway.

Not quite a happy trails to AZ WR Jalen Brown, but yeah pretty much:

It was different at Michigan," Brown said. "They didn't show that they needed me too much. It was more about me being a valuable player. They seem pretty set at receiver. With Michigan State, they kind of showed that they needed me there. It was more being honest with how they see me and what they are trying to do. They have really good people there, and they were trying to show that to me."

Michigan is definitely taking a third wideout in this class, so for the coaches to tell a top prospect like Brown that they're "set at receiver" implies a great deal of confidence in someone.

UT DT commit Bryan Mone is trying to graduate early, which would make him early enrollee #5 along with Michael Ferns, Wilton Speight, Mason Cole, and Drake Harris.

2015 Cass Tech DT Joshua Alabi tells Josh Helmholdt($) that he is "definitely" most comfortable with Michigan State's coaches. He does have M and OSU offers; we'll see if that lasts.

FL RB Jacques Patrick is almost certainly not going to end up at M for reasons of Mikey Weber, Damien Harris, and strong interest in Patrick from the home state schools, but if you want details on his recruitment he talked to Eleven Warriors in two parts.

There is another: Delano Hill's younger brother LaVert Hill is a 2016 Cass DB who showed well($) at SMSB.

HANDPOCALYPSE YESTERDAY

Yeah all that stuff about VA DE Da'Shawn Hand changing his stuff all around with the exception of Michigan was posted yesterday because EXPLOSIONS. One follow-up from the M Block catching up with Hand's coach:

So really, all it came down to was that Virginia Tech didn't have the degree he was looking for? 

"Yeah.  This was the thing.  With Michigan, I'm telling you, one of those coaches owes that guy lunch man.  I mean, he blew us all away.  He had us raising our hands, asking questions and everything, it was crazy.  I think he was the dean or something? I don't want to misquote it, I'm not exactly sure, but this guy was amazing.  He just made it really interesting, Da'shawn was already kind of interested in that program, but after talking to him he was like, 'Wow, that's exactly what I want to do.' "

Hand's never been to Florida, FWIW, so they have to be regarded as the #3 team right now. They're mostly in it because they hired South Carolina's DL coach and Hand likes him. As much as Professor Needs A Raise? Probably not.

Usually the school that is the constant in an otherwise shifting picture is in good shape. If Hand was pulling the trigger today it would be M, with those officials the main barrier remaining.

Speight spins sfootballs

New highlights of Michigan's QB commit:

The linebacker picture

Michigan has two and is definitely looking for a third. Chase Winovich is a SAM, Ferns likely a MLB, so they're probably looking for a weakside guy, right? Well… Furbush complicates things since he is definitely a SAM, but in general it looks like it. Michigan is chasing CA LB Dwight Williams—who is planning to come in for the Notre Dame game—FL LB Darrion Owens, and has just offered MO LB Jimmie Swain. Swain is an inside type, as is Williams. Owens just moved down from safety so he could be a fit at WLB despite playing what looks like SAM in his team's spring game—at 6'4", 215 he could also grow into a college-level SAM.

Swain is a consensus three star with some decent offers (Nebraska, K-State, TCU, MSU, Tennessee and the terrifying recruiting machine that is Northwestern). He was on the verge of releasing a top five($) a couple days ago, but his plans may be changing with an  influx of offers from Michigan, Oregon, and a couple others.

Meanwhile, Owens just picked up a Georgia offer at their camp, causing some Crystal Ball predictions to roll in for the Dawgs. FWIW, Michigan may be the main challenger right now:

The Georgia offer was "a big one" according to the Oakleaf coaching staff. Owens, who camped at Auburn Sunday, is believed to be a Georgia lean over Michigan and others.

A report from Auburn's camp($) also suggested M and Georgia are having a rare recruiting battle over the kid. FWIW, I ended up watching his hudl video and he's the guy I want. He brings a load when he tackles and cuts through traffic well. Michigan wants Owens to take his time, as he hasn't been to campus yet.

Commissioner Peppers is getting in with Williams, who has his own iphone app. He's got a top 16 that seems like a top-two-and-friends consisting of Florida (official also scheduled) and Michigan. Three other schools who grab officials will likely comprise a top five going into fall. Onetime favorite USC never offered and Williams said he was no longer considering them, so if he stays local it will be with UCLA. Williams is a teammate of Adoree' Jackson, FWIW.

Nevermind all that

IL OL Jamarco Jones was scheduled to roll through M, MSU, and OSU this weekend; instead he will stay home and play MarioKart:

Won't be making any of my planned visits

— Jamarco Jones (@jjones_73) June 13, 2013

With Ohio State the presumed, if narrow leader that's not good. Visits shake up the status quo more than MarioKart. Mitigating that a bit: Jones apparently posted some madface emoticons—they just show up as boxes for me—afterwards, indicating he's not happy with that development.

Difficulty level: nightmare

Well, it's not like anyone's banking on M picking up OH CB Marshon Lattimore, a Glenville kid reputed enamored with Ohio State, but here's a Wolverine Nation profile anyway. Michigan is scheduled for an official visit along with Alabama, USC, Tennessee(?!), and OSU. That does not constitute a top five according to Lattimore despite obviously being a top five.

Twitter is important and meaningful

Another blaze of Michigan business on 2015 FL WR George Campbell's twitter account, with Campbell exhorting Michigan fans to show fellow 2015 Floridian Jacques Patrick the proverbial love (Patrick is a Derrick-Green-like RB, FWIW) and follow Wilton Speight. Along the way he retweeted TomVH's manual retweet of his original tweet. WE HAVE TO GO DEEPER.

Then Mason Cole's brother started blowing him up with exhortations to head to AA. Twitter, being the iron-clad arbiter of all things, means Campbell will end up in Ann Arbor. Yea, it is in stone.

Moment of zen

2015 OH/Denmark TE/DE Hjalte Froholdt is interviewed by ESPN and compares the schools that he's been to in his whirlwind summer:

“All of them stuck out,” Froholdt said. “It’s amazing how big they are. It’s all about family at each school. They’re all very nice people.

“They all have a great stadium, a great locker room and great facilities. There’s not a facility where you ask if they have something and they say, ‘No, I’m sorry we don’t.’ Everyone has four practice fields; it’s hard to compare. I’m happy for everything that has happened.”

This has been your moment of zen.

Etc.

Michigan is trying to get involved($) with TN WR Josh Malone, a consensus top 100 guy. He's going to narrow to five and take officials; bet this is the only time we hear about him before a Happy Trails is issued.

The M Block confirms that OSU is leading with NJ RB Jonathan Hilliman; Hilliman will be at the BBQ.

Here's 2015 MI WR Brian Cole running routes and such at the NFTC. Cole is probably the top kid in the state next year, but since he doesn't have giant Mickey Mouse hands like Ian Bunting I cannot recommend actually watching the video.

Terrifying recruiting machine Northwestern has interest in 2015 Michigan legacy Tyriq Thompson. Everyone who is going to be at camp. It's a long, long list. M is after 2015 UT LB Osa Masina, who will visit this summer($), possibly for camp. His brother just signed with Utah, FWIW.

Have we mentioned that Chase Winovich got a fourth star from Scout? Well, he did. Moe Ways remains Sleeper Of The Year By Default.

RECRUTING ROUND UP EXTRA EDITION

ALSO EXPLOSIONS!

AAAAH BOOOM BOOM BOOM AAAAAH

YESTERDAY VA DE DA'SHAWN HAND RELEASED A NEW TOP THREE CONSISTING OF MICHIGAN, NOT VIRGINIA TECH, AND ALSO NOT VIRGINIA TECH! TODAY THE WORLD IS A VERY DIFFERENT PLACE. PEOPLE NOW CALL SPOONS "FORKS" AND VICE VERSA.

Uh. Right.

Some Alabama guys heard some things that caused a small rumble on the 247 Crystal Ball towards the Tide. What they heard: Alabama, not Michigan, was the other team in Hand's top two.

This was kind of right, as Hand announced today that Virginia Tech didn't have the major he wanted—Sports Management—and that his top three was in fact Michigan, Alabama, and Florida with LSU and USC also on the docket for officials even though he "doesn't want to get anyone's hopes up($)" at those two schools. In retrospect, "Bud Foster is my favorite coach but I haven't talked to him in a while" was a death knell for the Hokies.

Is this good? Is this bad? In what direction should we be running? Clockwise, to wind the clock of joy? Or counter-clockwise, to deflate the balloon of hope?

Well, let's go back to two three facts:

1. Hand was planning on majoring in engineering until he visited Michigan, whereupon he told Rivals radio that he'd "recently decided" he wanted to do sports management instead.
2. He hasn't talked to the Alabama guy in that field yet—he talked to an engineering professor—but has called Professor Needs A Raise at Michigan "amazing" and oh yeah "amazing."
3. Alabama fans don't think Alabama actually offers undergrad sports management. Also their engineering school is not amazing.

Leaning clockwise. Helping in this regard is Mike Farrell—very plugged in with East Coast kids—declaring Michigan "clearly the team to beat" and TomVH getting a "you don't understand, dude had us wanting to sign up right now" quote from Hand in re: Professor Needs A Raise. Also, Hand called Sam Webb today during his dang radio show and Webb came back sounding pretty content about things you guys:

"[Hand] said the reason Virginia Tech is out is because of academics … at Michigan, when he came on the visit, he said he was blown away by his interaction with the sports marketing [ed: think that's actually supposed to be management] professor. He raved about it, went on and on about it… and he said it again in an interview I just did with him. He said it was the best academic presentation he's been around, said it made a profound impact on him. … Now, at Alabama he's looking at potentially engineering. … He said the thing that sticks out to him about Alabama is the engineering professor is a football guy. …

I think relationships will be key, amazingly key, and with the single biggest relationship obstacle out of the way for Michigan I think they'll be tough to beat. THAT'S JUST MY OPINION. … But Hand is a relationship guy."

Professor Needs A Raise turns out to be named Mark Rosentraub, FWIW.

Explosions!

While you're here, don't forget to check out MGoUser Canzior's post on Hand.

Hey kids. Ace is off and I step into the recruiting roundup breach.

Guest columnist Adoree' Jackson

Verily, let us discourse on the fine gentlemen of the Michigan recruiting class. Nay, ask me not your questions. Rather I will ask you which of the gentlemen has the most beatific smile. The world is all topsy-turvy this day! Ha-HA!

–probably what Jackson is saying right here

CA CB Adoree' Jackson talks about his fresh top ten with College Level Athletes, and would we be reading too much into a random interview if we noted that Jackson seems to know almost as much about Michigan's recruiting class as the assembled lunatics here?

"It means something because you wanna build a class that you feel comfortable with. For me and the (Jabrill) Peppers situation, that's a corner that's similar to me and we could do a lot of the same things, and if you just look at that you've got confidence on the other side. Like I said, 'me and Jabrill on the field, that's a scary sight.' You don't really think of having two great corners on the same team… that's rare."

"(Wilton) Speight at the quarterback position, you want somebody who's good so when you're practicing they can go hard at you and you can compete. As for Drake (Harris) as a receiver, he's a great receiver, so you just want to compete with them everyday, day-in and day-out. That's going to be a decision for me, making sure we have a great quarterback and great receivers. I want to make sure the receivers are sound so we can all get better."

Jackson spends a lot more time talking Michigan than any of his other schools, and while I still suspect that track is going to pull him away from Ann Arbor I get the vibe that he really likes M. Dollars to donuts they at least get an official.

Sam Webb's News article this week covered a lot of ground, some of it about Jackson's recruitment:

“I don’t think he’s leaning anywhere. I think he's extremely open to leaving the West Coast because he's not a West Coast guy, and he'll openly say, ‘I’m not a West Coast guy.’ He kind of brags about it. It's almost like he wears that with a badge of courage, so I definitely think he's open. I think so much of Adoree’s recruitment is going to be determined by how they do on the field. The Serra connection he has kind of tells me that USC kind of has the inside track.

Uber-WR Marquise Lee is also from Serra. Biggins says he's "extremely open" to leaving the West Coast, but that the local schools are still in it. IE, ain't nobody know things.

Challenge leads to visits

Kalen Ballage uses myspace and has a dumbphone. Kalen Ballage is from 2005. He is also a SWAG ANIMAL, of course. Kalen Ballage is an important recruit to get even if he is from 2005.

The Rivals Five-Star Challenge was held in Chicago over the weekend, which provided a couple of distant prospects the opportunity to check out the Midwest. CO RB Kalen Ballage told Rivals he'd visit Michigan on Thursday (and Michigan State afterwards, but lol). Arizona State, Boise State, Nebraska, Washington, and Vandy are also involved.

AZ WR Jalen Brown is stopping by Tuesday as part of a Midwest swing that encompasses OSU, MSU, and Wisconsin. Brown wants to cut things down after that an a visit to some southern schools and pick pretty quickly after that.

CA WR/S JuJu "John" Smith was a guy who expressed interest in the Midwest early and has since dropped off the radar. Why? Dunno, as Smith told Rivals's West Coast guy that leaving the state remains a strong possibility:

The four-star safety said during registration day … that some of the major programs in the Big Ten appeal to him, among others.

"So far I have Michigan, Ohio State, and I'm going to take a visit to Alabama and maybe Ole Miss, and Notre Dame looks good too," Smith said. "Wisconsin is also looking good."

When you mention Wisconsin, you are seriously serious about exiting. Smith mentioned he was "especially serious"—author's words—about Michigan and OSU. So that's good, but it's an uphill battle if USC decides to get involved:

“He grew up an SC fan. I talked to (another recruit’s) dad after they were at the USC-UCLA game last year, which was at UCLA. He said JuJu was openly cheering like you would not believe for SC the entire game -- in the UCLA student section."

That would be a first: a USC fan that gives a crap about cheering for USC.

On the other hand, USC isn't after him that hard right now and amongst non-USC options it sounds like Michigan is a strong contender, possibly the strongest:

I think [USC's lack of pursuit] made it more open. I think he is open to leaving. He loves Michigan, he likes Notre Dame a little bit, and UCLA has done well with him.

The 247 Crystal Ball is split about evenly between ND, UCLA, and USC, FWIW. IE: ain't nobody know.

And in "really lol wut" news, LA RB Leonard Fournette wants to visit Michigan!

"What I'm looking for is academics first," he said. "People-wise, I love great personalities. That's it. That's what I like about Michigan."

Has Fournette planned a trip to Ann Arbor?

"No, not yet," he replied. "I would like to take a visit up there. It would be during the fall, for an official visit."

I'm just… naw. Naw man, naw. We'll see if that gets scheduled before we move Fournette from total pipe dream to "so you're saying there's a chance." I'm leaving him in the pipe dream category at the moment.

In non-Challenge-related visit news, according to TomVH($) IL OL Jamarco Jones has planned his final visits: M Saturday, MSU Sunday, OSU Monday. Notre Dame appears to be out. The M Block reports that NJ RB Jonathan Hilliman is trying to decide between Michigan and Vandy for a visit this weekend

McDowell admits a leader sorta kinda probably

That's a really good disguise, Adoree', but I see right through it. Five stars have x-ray vision, which you know because you, too, are a five-star. See into my heart. Yes. It is a regulation block M the right color and everything. I can give you the hex codes.

-probably what Malik is saying right there

Five-star MI DT Malik McDowell weighed in at 6'6", 306 at the Challenge, which like whoah. Tim Sullivan described him as a "grown-ass man," so he'll pump in a hat trick against a Caribbean team sometime soon. Woo deep-cut Eddie Johnson references!

McDowell's been keeping things close to the vest after some early indications he wanted to commit to Michigan, but he finally came out and said he probably might have a kinda sorta leader($):

He confirmed all four were still high on his list, though one was the current team to beat.

"It's Michigan, probably … that's home," McDowell said. "They are kind of normal … they hang out at regular places. You think they would be all uppity, but they are down-to-earth."

Thanks, I think?

McDowell has tentative plans to visit FSU, UF, and USC. Probably. A decision doesn't seem to be coming in the near future.

Furbush return

OH LB Noah Furbush made a return trip to Michigan's campus last week, a sign of serious-serious interest that combines with Furbush's offer list—MSU, Mizzou, Northwestern, Tennessee, etc.—to suggest Michigan is in the driver's seat with him. Unless Northwestern gets all up in there, I guess.

Allen Trieu caught up with Furbush, who also recently hit up Purdue, and he had some weird things to say about his recruitment, specifically where colleges are projecting him($):

[At] Purdue, it's more of an outside linebacker. At Michigan, it's more of an inside linebacker. In our defense, we do a package where I line up to the inside a little bit, so I've experienced it a little bit."

I would be shocked to see Michigan sporting a 6'4" MLB. Either Furbush is a bit shorter than that and won't end up in that 250-260 range or he shouldn't be a generic three star. Or he's a SAM/WDE. Those are our options.

Trieu asked flat out whether Chase Winovich's commitment affected Michigan's pursuit of him and Furbush said he still had a spot. While Michigan's in on a couple more remote kids who are higher-rated*, I'd peg Furbush as the third LB in this class all. He would provide some drama in the MGoBlog Sleeper Of The Year competition, which is currently between Moe Ways and… Moe Ways because no one else meets the criteria. Hoke uber alles.

*[Namely Dwight Williams, a WLB type out of CA, and Darrion Owens, who could play any of the LB spots depending on how much weight he adds.]

The distant future the year 2000 (and fifteen)

FUTURE'S SO BRIGHHHHHHT I GIVE IT SIX SWAG MATTISONS

Yeah, we're talking about it. Michigan's camp is coming up soon, and these days that's an opportunity for juniors and sophomores to draw notice. A number of guys will come in looking for offers, and there's a nonzero chance Michigan picks up its first 2015 commit at the camp. I mean, KY RB Damien Harris is just itching to drop.

June 16th can't come soon enough. I'm ready to be in Ann Arbor!! #Hail

— Damien Harris (@Damien_D1Harris) June 5, 2013

247's Clint Brewster has five more 2015 campers to keep an eye on for possible offers:

• VA CB/WR Garrett Taylor—Big time prospect with Stanford offer amongst others that aren't like whoah academics.
• GA OL Chuma Edoga—half dozen good Southern offers already.
• OH LB Justin Hilliard—brother of recent Hawkeye RB commit CJ, which might give the Hawkeyes a leg up except CJ is an Iowa running back and will be having a hand grafted onto his knee so he can keep playing at UW-Whitewater in two weeks. Looking like a big time prospect.
• OH S Tyree Kinnel—a strong lean if offered; would be a guy Ace and I would add to our Crystal Ball if he picks up an M offer. Just Ark/UK offer at the moment.
• MI LB/S Tyriq Thompson—son of Clarence.

Cleveland-area running back Andrew Dowell is also planning on attending($) after an impressive NFTC performance. He missed most of his sophomore year and is thus a little under the radar. Dowell has a twin brother David, a wideout.

We've already got five guys ticketed to M in what should be a small class, so as early as next week we could have a rough outline for what half of the Team 136 class looks like.

Elsewhere in 2015 guys, six-foot-eight PA OL Sterling Jenkins has emerged into a primo left tackle prospect in the 2015 class. He picked up a Michigan offer recently, competed in Chicago—an indicator he will be a top 100 prospect at the very least next year—and it sounds like he'll be a Midwest fight($):

"I plan to go to Ohio State and Penn State, then Michigan," he said. "Ohio State for the 19th [of June], Penn State the 26th, and Michigan around the end of July for their barbecue."

Jenkins isn't quite sure what the difference is between an unofficial visit and an official one… he's a ways from a decision. I wish his last name was Archer.

CA DE Keisean Lucier-South, a Crable-sized defensive end at 6'6", 215, has some nice early offers (Texas, Miami, Tennessee) and grew up a Michigan fan($):

“The school that I really want an offer from is the University of Michigan. That’s one of my favorite schools since I was a little kid and I’d watch them all the time. They have some of the top talent out there and the way they treat football is insane, like the Big House, or the rivalry with Ohio State. That might be the best rivalry in sports. It’s amazing there and that’s what I like about Michigan.”

Lucier-South is just outside the top 100 in 247's extremely preliminary rankings.

Oh and there's Minkah Fitzpatrick, a NJ CB who seems to be on the verge of a Michigan offer.

Clarkson Camp Scouting

That Webb article also touches on Wilton Speight and Drake Harris, who went out to Steve Clarkson's "quarterback retreat" in San Diego. Biggins gives both guys good reviews. Speight:

When I watched him this year and saw the physical way he carried himself, the confidence that he carried was crazy. He was literally like a different person. Now he’s a very confident guy. He kind of carries himself with a certain swagger. Not arrogance, but definitely very confident in everything he does. He’s more decisive in his throws. …  I definitely like the progression. He has made huge strides.

And Harris:

He exploded out of his cut, the ball was overthrown, he jumps up, grabs it, and you’re like, ‘Who the heck is that?!’ Everything about the guy, just the way he moves -- you’re either born like that, or you’re not. He’s so fluid in his movement, and it’s so natural, where he doesn’t fight anything. I love the size, and he’s going to put weight on. He’s just a super athletic kid. A lot of times with those athletic kids, they’re not going to be super polished or catch the ball well, but he’s already pretty advanced. He’s an instant impact guy.

Harris is one slot away from five stars, and while Scout has evidently changed their policy of giving everyone in the top 50 the fifth star they went up to 42 last year (Adam Breneman), which is considerably less stingy than some other sites. Harris should get there eventually. Speight sounds like he'll stick as a well-regarded three-star.

Miscellaneous

Happy trails to VA DT Andrew Brown, who named a top eight in Chicago that did not include M.

Here's a DaShawn Hand vs Damian Prince vine. FL WR Artavis Scott says he'll "definitely" visit Clemson, Michigan and OSU this summer($), plans an Army game decision. We'll see if it gets that far. NJ CB commit Jabrill Peppers wins the 100 and 200 in NJ.

Not A Good Look

At this point, anyone reading this post is pretty familiar with Da'Shawn Hand, the nation's top overall prospect. Michigan and Virginia Tech are presumed to lead the other three schools in his top five—Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina—while LSU and USC are on the outside looking in. Even further on the outside is Ohio State, where Hand reportedly had a poor visit experience the first time around, and despite a decent trip there last weekend—he swung by while in town for the Columbus NFTC—the Buckeyes won't be a factor in his recruitment going forward.

If you believe Eleven Warriors [ed-S: ...''s recruiting guy Jeremy Birmingham, not Ramzy] , this is because the Ohio State coaches suddenly decided they weren't very interested in the top player in the country—for reasons, you see—and here begins the fisking:

For some reason, my contention that Ohio State would not be aggressively attempting to get back into the Hand sweepstakes set off an internet wildfire with people.

This contention is reasonable; it's become clear that Ohio State is a longshot at best to get Hand, and the coaching staff could better spend their time targeting prospects with more interest in the Buckeyes. This would be a good place to stop, but...

As I have said a few times, it's a simple matter of personality. Ohio State wants people who are going to go 1000 miles per hour, every day, on and off the field. They want people who fight for each other, for their university and for their own improvement. They want people who are challenging themselves to improve every day and do so without the need to proclaim their own greatness for people to see, read, or hear. They want competitors and they want fighters.

...then there's this load of crap, as if the above doesn't fit what every football coach in America is trying to find in a recruit. Which leads us to the really stupid thing:

As far as Da'Shawn Hand? I've never said he was not a competitor, just that things with Ohio State and Hand did not see eye-to-eye from the start of his visit in November because he was not being treated any differently than any of the other recruits on hand, 90-minutes before kick-off of the biggest game of the year. The Buckeyes could not give Hand the attention they would have liked to, and the day was a bit too hectic for him to get "comfortable" at Ohio State.

This is a remarkably shitty thing to write about a high school kid without anything approaching first-hand evidence. The "I've never said..." hedging is just that, hedging, because discussing OSU's supposed lack of interest in reconnecting with Hand after everything in the previous paragraph is either a case of really unfortunate juxtaposition or the type of insinuation that unfairly impugns the character of a 17-year-old — one who, by all other accounts, is a kid of extremely high character.

The timing—when it's become blindingly obvious that Hand doesn't want to go to Ohio State—makes this come off as some seriously sour grapes. I'm sorry, Buckeye faithful, that Hand's reaction to being asked about Ohio State in the above video was this:

But, no, I'm not actually sorry. A high-profile player isn't interested in your school and may very well end up at a rival school. These things happen. Responding to this by suggesting that a player doesn't work hard enough, or is afraid to compete against the best, or isn't motivated enough to improve ... even if the implication is merely by context, that's a bad look. Nearly as bad as the one Hand gave when asked about Ohio State.

I think Eleven Warriors does a fantastic job, and that includes their recruiting coverage, but seeing this—and the wild speculation that it inevitably led to in such a forum—was disappointing. Perhaps, next time, just say that the kid isn't interested and move on.

[Hit THE JUMP for camp highlights of Ian Bunting, the latest on the Malik McDowell transfer rumors, and more.]

Michael Ferns, Da'Shawn Hand, and Ian Bunting at last weekend's Columbus NFTC (via)

[Reads Between Lines] [Tries To Hold It Together] [Fails]

So... this quote [emphasis mine]:

"Bud Foster is my favorite coach, but I haven't talked with him in a while," [Da'Shawn] Hand said.

"But my favorite coaching staff is Michigan," Hand said. "With Michigan, what you see if what you get. It's professional. With some, you feel like when you get to college it might, change, but with Michigan, everyone says they're straight.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

According to the author of the article, SBNation's Bud Elliott, Michigan and Virginia Tech are "running neck and neck" for the lead in Hand's recruitment. Hand refuses to acknowledge even that much—he's says he enjoys the suspense—and he does have an unofficial visit set up to Alabama in July and is looking at trips to Florida, LSU, and USC, per 247's Steve Wiltfong ($). That said, his only planned official visit thus far is to Michigan, for the Notre Dame Game (a trip he recently locked in), and of the previously listed schools only Alabama appears to be a serious threat to his presumed top two.

One school we know for sure won't be pushing for his commitment is Ohio State, despite a campus visit last weekend that went better than his first trip to Columbus:

With the NFTC on the Ohio State campus, Hand took the opportunity and made an unofficial visit to the Buckeyes, along with friend Tim Settle, one of the top players in the class of 2015.

'It was straight, we talked," Hand said. "But I was with Tim, and he's a beast, and it was kind of his visit. Everyone knows that my first visit wasn't all that, but this visit was better. Still, I don't want to get anyone's hopes up."

Meanwhile, Hand revealed in an interview with Bruce Feldman that he's being recruited by at least one insane person:

Q: What is the craziest thing that has happened to you since you've been named the nation's No. 1 recruit?

Hand: Well, I ain't gonna say any names, but one coach told me that since I'm the No. 1 player, I'm gonna get to meet Michael Jackson. I said, "Isn't he already dead?" The coach goes, "Well, all right, you can meet Tito." I was like, all right. OK, I'm done.

It was crazy, but it is what it is.

[Bets all hypothetical internet dollars entire real-life savings account on Les Miles]

In the SBNation article, Hand said he's unsure of his timeline for a commitment. Regardless of when that comes, he told Feldman the announcement will be low-key:

I don't want to be like everybody else and be all flashy and do this and play around with people. For my commitment day, I just want to have it at my school. I'm not going to have three hats. I'm going to have one hat. I'm gonna call the coaches the night before. Tell them what school I'm going to and that's it.

At this point, it's looking more and more likely that hat will have a block 'M' on it. Which, uh, would be pretty nice.

[Hit THE JUMP for more on newest commit Chase Winovich, the latest on Artavis Scott and Adoree' Jackson, a Michigan commit earning an invite to The Opening, and more.]