2013 recruiting

Since commitments are coming in pairs, Wednesday Recruitin' will make the revolutionary change of also coming in pairs this week. Today: The most recent Wolverine commits, and a look at who might be next.

Mario Ojemudia and Pharaoh Brown Go Blue

The creepy tendency to pick up commitments in twos continues, as defensive ends from Michigan and Ohio committed back-to-back on Friday. First up was MI DE Mario Ojemudia. Local commitment article. GBMW on Mario:

Mario plays with great effort and intensity and is always moving and hustling. Mario has very good quickness and his feet are always moving. He shows good lateral movement with good burst and closing speed. What makes him special is a dynamite first step and an explosive get off.

The Wolverine Blog:

Some plays he bursts off the line, gets great leverage, and makes a huge play for the FHH defense. During other plays, he relies completely on his speed and athleticism to beat the O-linemen. That’s fine in high school, it won’t translate to the bigger leagues. That being said, just like Royce Jenkins-Stone, I love Mario’s fiery, competitive spirit. He gets really excited when he blows a play up, and that intensity is clearly infectious.

For more on Ojemudia, check out the Hello: Mario Ojemudia post. Within minutes, OH DE Pharaoh Brown's commitment was public as well. The Wolverine Blog on Brown:

While there’s a lot to love, there’s always room to grow, as well. There’s not a single play in his highlight video where he bullrushes the tackle, or uses his strength to get to the QB. Sometime he plays too high coming off the ball. When you’re 6’6, you can’t afford to give up leverage. His tackling technique needs a little work. All in all, I’m very excited to watch Brown’s future play out.

Magnus on Pharaoh:

Brown is long and lean with good change-of-direction skills and the ability to explode into passers. He runs very well (my guess is he would be in the 4.6-4.7 range, since I haven't found any 40 times for him) and should be able to pressure the width of the pocket based solely on his speed.

He's been getting some grief for his Michigan commitment. For more on Pharaoh, check out the Hello: Pharaoh Brown post.

The coaches of both commits complimented the recruiting done by Brady Hoke's staff. Tom Luginbill does the same, specifically pointing to the defensive commits.

Also a Sophomore

MI QB Shane Morris broke the seal on the class of 2013(!) last night, picking the Wolverines over - you guessed it - Michigan State. Check out Hello From the Future: Shane Morris for more details on his game.

The Detroit News also (briefly) covered his commitment. Magnus on Shane:

He looks like a very mature passer. He doesn't panic in the pocket, he goes through his read progressions, etc. Obviously, only highlights are available, but the thing that sticks out to me most is the touch and accuracy he puts on the ball. When a ball need to gets to a receiver in a hurry, he rifles it in there. When he knows he can put some air under a throw, he lays it out there for the receiver to go get it. That's somewhat rare in a young passer, many of whom want to throw the ball 100 mph every time. In that respect, Morris might be even more advanced than freshman Chad Henne or sophomore Denard Robinson.

That's some seriously high praise. Welcome to the fold, young man.

Up Next?

MI DE/DT Matt Godin is the only prospect with a definite commitment planned: He will announce tomorrow at his school from a final list of Michigan (the childhood favorite and current chalk), Michigan State, and Wisconsin. The Flint Journal recently profiled Godin:

“This is what I wanted,” he said of the attention and tedious decision-making processes that accompany his recruitment. “It was my goal to be a top prospect. That’s why I worked hard in the weight room. It’s tough (handling the situation), but it’s what I wanted.”

Conventional wisdom has Godin picking Michigan, but we'll wait and see with everyone else.

MI CB Terry Richardson might be next to commit, as he's moving closer to a decision ($, info in header), and asource told Tom that an announcement could be coming next week, although this tweet was apparently a joke. Either way, Michigan would be in strong position with commitments from his friends Royce Jenkins-Stone and James Ross, whether he draws out his recruitment or not.

Michigan's picking up commitments from TE Devin Funchess and DE Mario Ojemudia could really help Michigan land their teammate, WR Aaron Burbridge. Burbridge, one of the top wideouts in the midwest, has offers from the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, and Notre Dame, but also has reported academic issues that may make it difficult for him to go directly to a 4-year university out of high school.

As for Burbridge's recruitment, he may be close to a decision, and the Wolverines are suddenly right in the thick of things, along with Michigan State, as Michigan "surges" up his list ($, info in header). Tom had the following to say (prior to Mario Pjemudia's commitment, no less):

I will also say that anyone that says Aaron Burbridge is an MSU lock doesn't know what they're talking about. I was told quite a bit this weekend about Mario and Aaron, and if Mario chooses Michigan [ed: Check!] then there's a chance Aaron would follow. He does have grade issues, but I don't think it's bad enough to where Michigan wouldn't take him and hope he makes it. I don't want to say too much, obviously, but there's a chance Michigan could steal those two from MSU.

That doesn't sound bad for Michigan in the least, considering Funchess and Ojemudia are now recruiting Burbridge. A further update:

I spoke with him today and he told me that his final two are Michigan and Michigan State. Those are the two schools he will be deciding between. He also said that he'll be scheduling a visit back up to Michigan in the next two weeks. He's more familiar with MSU because he's been there more, so he's trying to make up for that by visiting Michigan again.

Sounds like Michigan is right in the thick of things. Aaron also told Tom that he's working hard on his grades in order to qualify.

MI TE Ron Thompson seems forever teetering on the verge of a decision. Most expect that if the Wolverines still have room for another tight end, he'll be Blue.

IL CB Anthony Standifer picked up a Michigan offer last week ($, info in header), was planning to visit this Thursday:

I have very very strong interest in Michigan. Me and my mom and dad are going to sit down and figure everything out, but I'll be visiting on Thursday [May 12th]. I was just excited and at a loss for words when they offered. I feel very thankful and appreciative for the offer. Michigan is at the top of my list.

That sounded like he may have been close to a commitment, right? HOWEVA, he had to reschedule that visit, and Notre Dame, Illinois, and Cincy have suddenly offered (events unrelated). That's made him reconsider an early commitment, and he'll take his time.

Josh Helmholdt runs down some of this guys committing soon, including Godin and Thompson (and, uh, Ojemudia).

Rankin's

Rivals has finally released their initial set of rankings, and current Michigan commits ring in as follows:

• MI LB Royce Jenkins-Stone. #87 Overall.
• MI LB James Ross. #143 Overall.
• OH LB Joe Bolden. #167 Overall.

The other guys who may be making decisions soon:

• MI WR Aaron Burbridge. #134 Overall.
• MI CB Terry Richardson. #195 Overall.

For a list of which other Rivals250 prospects are still considering Michigan, check out Tom's Diary.

Come back tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion of this week's recruiting post!

Though there's still plenty of time to recruit for the 2012 class, Michigan's coaches are continuing their in-state recruiting dominance into the future. 2013 MI QB Shane Morris has become Michigan's first commit in the sophomore(!) class, he told Tom tonight.

GURU RATINGS

First, the size. The sites (except ESPN, which - big shocker - doesn't have any 2013 prospects in their database) agree he's 6-3, and though 24/7 Sports estimates his weight at 190, Rivals and ESPN are within a pound of each other at 183 and 182, respectively. So, 6-3, 183 it is.

The HALOLs you see above are not due to the presence - or lack - of any particular talent, but rather because the recruiting sites are about a year (almost exactly in Rivals' case) from ranking 2013 prospects. We'll start the evaluations in chronological order, starting with a Detroit National Underclassmen Combine following Morris's freshman year:

Morris, 6'1.5 174, won the 9th grade MVP. He had a 28 inch vertical, 8'7 broad jump, ran a 4.60 shuttle...

ESPN chimes in from the same event:

QB Shane Morris (Warren, Mich./De La Salle) was in a class of his own. The 6-1, 174-pounder has a sensational arm, great vision, moves his feet well and carries himself like a pro. Talent wise, he is far beyond his age group and already has top-notch abilities.

Prepseer took a 1-game sample size and made it big:

Morris wasn’t the stud quarterback that I expected. It was the first time I’ve seen him. He has a decent arm and he runs the offense well–particularly for a sophomore. I don’t think he’s the Div. 1 lock that many fans are proclaiming. He’s not even the best in the CHSL Central. But, he’s only a sophomore and he will get better.

Though Prepseer is a hilariously biased Michigan State slappy, that report was long before Morris committed, so there's no bias present.

Fortunately, the kid's already been featured in a Sam Webb column. First, Scout's Allen Trieu:

"Shane, for a young kid, has a really great arm," said Scout.com Midwest regional manager Allen Trieu. "I saw him as a freshman and that ball came out of his hand with great spin and velocity then... There's still a ways to go, but he has a lot of talent. He'll be a kid that gets attention from all over, not just the schools within a close proximity."

And his high school coach:

[De La Salle Coach Paul] Verska added: "He makes great decisions with the football, he has a very strong arm, and he is learning and getting better every day. As long as he continues to do that I think great things will keep happening for him."

Sound Mind, Sound Body Foundation's program director weighs in, primarily on how experienced he is for such a young guy:

"He has really been exposed to a lot more than your average 10th grader has," said program director and founder Curtis Blackwell. "He plays in one of the toughest leagues in the state in the Catholic League and he has a great coaching staff at DeLaSalle. At the same time he comes from a very strong family background where his mom is very influential and his dad is a middle school coach that coached him in football. He has had a great foundation. Then since the ninth grade he has been working out and a part of all of our programming here in the inner-city."

So what has Shane gotten out of the SMSB camps?

"I felt like it helped me out tremendously," he said. "It helped me out with my confidence. I feel I am a leader and so I'm going to lead everyone. That's what you're supposed to do as a quarterback, supposed to be the main leader on the field, and that's what I feel like I'm doing with this team."

At the Badgersport 7-on-7 in Pittsburgh, he was named "Best Young Arm:"

Not only was Morris an effective passer over the weekend, but he exudes the confidence and leadership you look for out of the quarterback position.

He also impressed Scout's Scott Kennedy in New Jersey ($):

"[I]t was obvious he had a big arm to go with his frame. He has good mechanics as well, and I was doubly surprised to find out that the biggest kid on the field was only a member of the Class of 2013."

"He reminded me a little of how it was with Gunner Kiel and Zeke Pike at these events last year... Gunner and Zeke are going to be Top 5 quarterbacks this year, and while I’m not ready to say Morris is going to be there next year, he certainly has all of the tools to be."

Morris grew up a Michigan fan and modeled his game after Tom Brady (I'm sure most Michigan fans approve). It's so early that it's tough to know a whole lot about him, but "arm strength," "size," and "potential" are clearly going to be in his corner. Also, he's a lefty, so I'm fully in support (before all you evil righties wipe us out).

OFFERS

Michigan offered Shane on March 28th. He also held offers from Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Syracuse, and Toledo. If that sounds light on the offers, keep in mind this kid can't sign with a school for almost two years. Waiting to commit would have seen plenty of top schools with pro-style offenses jump into the fray. He had interest but no offers from Stanford and Tennessee.

If you're into Mark Dantonio schadenfreude (and you really should be), there's a story on Rivals's Michigan State affiliate about how Shane is at the top of MSU's list for 2013 ($, info in header).

STATS

Rivals provides sophomore numbers in convenient table form:

Passing
Year	PA	PC	Yds	TD	Int
2010 (So.)	180	102	1,150	14	5

Scout says 1139 yards. That's good-not-great, but... dude's a sophomore, and almost certainly a first-year starter. It would be a 130.44 passer efficiency by the NCAA calculation.

FAKE 40 TIME

Rivals is the premium site providing the time, and it's a good one for a pocket passer: 4.63. They also credit him with a 4.6 shuttle time. For a kid who's not expected to be much of a runner in college, that seems a little FAKE, to the tune of three out of five.

VIDEO

Sophomore(!) video:

There are also 7-on-7 highlights.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Shane Morris is going to be a really good football player. However, he's got plenty of time to develop into his potential.

When he's a freshman, Denard Robinson will be a senior, and Devin Gardner will be a junior (or redshirt sophomore). Russell Bellomy will be a sophomore (or redshirt junior). With three QBs with at least a year in the system before Morris, he's got a chance to take a redshirt year.

Following that redshirt year, Devin Gardner will likely take over for Denard as the starter. Following Devin's graduation (he could even leave school after his redshirt junior year and still graduate), there will be a hot competition between Bellomy and Morris for the job, and I predict Morris will win it.

Let's try this again. When he's a freshman, Devin Gardner will be a senior or redshirt junior. Russell Bellomy will be a junior or redshirt sophomore. With two capable QBs on the roster (and likely another a year ahead in the class of 2012 - see below), Morris will redshirt, then either compete with Bellomy and 2012 Prospect X to take over for a Gardner that leaves early for the NFL, or gets another year of seasoning to do the same with Gardner's swan song in maize-and-blue.

He has NFL size, he has an NFL arm, and he'll be playing in an NFL offense. I think there's no question that Morris is the next in a long line (briefly interrupted) of successful pocket slingers at Michigan. All-American honors are not out of the question, and an NFL future is likely.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

More than what it means for the 2013 class (about which we currently know very little), is what Morris's commitment means for the 2012 class. He probably committed to Michigan with the knowledge that the coaching staff will not pursue a highly-rated passer for next February.

The coaching staff could take a lesser-rated guy, but it almost makes sense - with a numbers crunch already looming in May the year before Signing Day - to not take one at all, opening a slot for other positions. Shane told Tom that the coaches are thinking otherwise, but his commitment certainly opens that door down the road.

Keep track of Michigan's offers on the 2012 Offer Board.

In the World of Poorly-Kept Secrets...

OH LB Kaleb Ringer has made it pretty darn obvious for a couple weeks now that he plans to commit to Michigan on Friday. HOWEVA, reporter from the Dayton Daily News, that does not mean it's OK to publicly out the kid against his wishes. Epic douche move, bro.

Hello: Kaleb Ringer post will be ready to go at 6 PM Friday, when Kaleb announces his decision at a local restaurant.

In other potential commitment news, it seems like MI TE/Ath Ron Thompson's on-again, off-again announcement this week is off again as he hunts for more offers. Things change almost daily, so keep an eye on this one.

SPRING FOOTBALL

Visits galore, as is expected with the spring game:

• MI TE Ron Thompson
• MI TE Devin Funchess
• IN TE Pierre Aka
• OH OL Commit Caleb Stacey
• IL OL Jordan Diamond
• IL DT Vontrell Williams
• MI LB Royce Jenkins-Stone
• MI LB James Ross

There are also several "maybe"s out there, including OH DE Chris Wormley and OH OL Benny McGowan. Tom will update that post as he gets more confirmations are removals, so keep checking it out.

PA OL JJ Denman is visiting soon ($, info in header). He's a "maybe" for the spring game.

Tom's Interviews

MGoHero TomVH was busy over the past week or so, interviewing a number of top prospects or their coaches.

A brief interview with IA WR Amara Darboh, who has been a little under-the-radar despite offers from Florida and Notre Dame.

Tom spoke with CO TE Evan Baylis, who recently visited Ann Arbor.

I was there for two days and got some good time with the coaches. We missed practice, but we got to see everything else. We met with all the coaches, saw campus, and talked to the academic advisors. The next day we went on some more tours and more personal meetings with the coaches.

Evan talked about his game:

I'm kind of intense, and I really like to get after it. I play hard for pretty much the entire game. I think I have good footwork and good speed. I like getting passed to a lot, but I also like blocking a lot too.

He says he'd like to make a decision by the end of the summer.

Here's what the head coach of WA OL Zach Banner had to say:

"He's a very good student, I see him as a business man or sports reporter. He's very charismatic, he's the student body president and he could be the President of the United States someday, he's that type of kid."

We'll hold off on discussion of how awesome it would be to have a president nearing 7 feet tall to get into the substance:

"I think he's really interested in Michigan, they'll definitely factor in. I think he's interested in them because his style of play as an offensive tackle is similar to some of the tackles that Michigan has had before. He's familiar with their history and tradition... I've encouraged him to look around, and I'd be surprised, I'd be real surprised, if he didn't take one of his official visits out to Michigan."

He plans to narrow to a top 8 by August, and announce a decision at the Army Game or on Signing Day.

PA DE Noah Spence told Tom he'll visit this summer.

I've always liked Michigan since I was younger, it definitely interests me. I like them a lot, the coaching staff seems real down to earth. We talk about everything, grades, football, and how everything's going. Not everything is football with them.

He wants to major in Kinesiology, so Michigan's excellent programs in that Division will be a plus.

Michigan is tied at the top with Rutgers for NY CB Wayne Morgan.

Etc.

OH LB Joe Bolden is a Michigan lean, according to what he told ESPN:

"I'm probably a Michigan lean right now, I really like everything Michigan has to offer," Bolden said. "I like the coaches, and the academics are tremendous there. Coach Mattison is installing a new defense; it's a lot of the stuff that he did with Florida and the Baltimore Ravens. It's a good fit for me as a [middle] linebacker. Coach looked at me and said I had a pretty good chance of playing my freshman year if I worked my butt off."

He visited for practice yesterday (photo by yours truly on the practice field). He told Tom that Michigan commit Caleb Stacey is in his ear about the Wolverines.

IN TE Pierre Aka visited over the weekend, and still hasn't been offered. He may camp this summer to try to earn that offer.

CA DT Aziz Shittu has interest in Michigan ($, info in header), and performed well enough at a Nike Camp at USC to get an offer from the Trojans. Stanford leads for his services at this time.

Speaking of that camp, CA OL Jordan Simmons (who you may remember is mentored by a former Wolverine) came out of it on a wave of fluff:

"The first thing that stood out to me about Simmons was his skinny ankles,'' said Tom Luginbill, ESPN.com's national director of scouting. "He is nimble-footed and very athletic, given his size. But he is not a tackle, strictly a guard. For a 300-pounder, he moves around nicely and showed a bit of a competitive streak as well.''

"Jordan is physically gifted. He's the total package," Crespi coach Jon Mack said. "I'm just glad he's on our side and we don't have to play against him on a weekly basis. He's a tremendous drive blocker, gets off the ball great in pass protection, he can do it all.

He'll cut to a top 10 in September.

IL DT Vontrell Williams will visit this weekend for the spring game ($, info in header). Don't be surprised if the Wolverines are that "second Big Ten offer" he's nearing.

NC RB Keith Marshall has cut his list to a top 12, and Michigan has made the cut.

Michigan – Great Tradition and good school

(He's not kidding about "great school" - he apparently holds a 4.25 GPA). Also on the list are Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, North Carolina, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Stanford, and USC. Having a good season would be a big help in landing this kid, though Georgia sounds like a heavy favorite.

The offer train has slowed to a reasonable pace, but that didn't stop GA CB Geno Smith from receiving one on Monday. Alabama leads now (with Tennessee hot on their heels), but he won't even cut to a top 10 for a couple months.

The recruiting world jumped all over KY QB Zeke Pike after he was ejected from a 7-on-7 Tournament over the weekend, but Tom talked to him for some clarification. It doesn't sounds like as big a deal as it was made out to be.

NJ QB Brandon Napoleon will visit Michigan soon ($, info in header). OH RB Alden Hill will visit Michigan ($, info in header). Michigan is recruiting MI DE Mario Ojemudia the hardest ($, info in header). FL S Deon Bush will decide at the Army game ($, info in header). MI CB Terry Richardson will have a top 7 in July ($, info in header).

2013

I'll keep 2013 updates brief until the 2012 class is a little more filled-out, but MI QB Shane Morris was the subject of Sam Webb's recruiting column in last week's Detroit News:

"Shane, for a young kid, has a really great arm," said Scout.com Midwest regional manager Allen Trieu. "I saw him as a freshman and that ball came out of his hand with great spin and velocity then. He's started since that first season, so now he has the experience too... He'll be a kid that gets attention from all over, not just the schools within a close proximity."

With national interest bound to come in, it's good for Michigan to get on him early. He plans to commit before his senior season (which, I should note, is like 16 months away).

Elsewhere in 2013 news, keep an eye on Craig Roh's little brother, a standout WR/TE Jake Roh.