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Today's recruiting roundup discusses the Dawson decommitment and potential replacements, the updated 2013 Top247, the return of Shane Morris, a potential early 2014 commit, and more.

Point Of No Return



Ethan Pocic: Potential Dawson replacement?

Despite an summer flirtation with Florida, David Dawson seemingly decommitted out of the blue yesterday. He was quick to name a new leader in the Gators, however, and InsideTheGators.com suggests that this may have actually been a long time coming ($) [emphasis mine]:

Word of the two-sides parting ways first started gaining momentum back in the summer, when during The Opening Dawson openly spoke of decommitting from Michigan, telling several of his fellow Wolverines commitments of his plan.

However, after speaking with the UM coaching staff, Dawson decided to stand pat.



Then a month ago, a person close to the situation told Inside the Gators that Dawson was on the verge of making a change, and it would happen in a matter of days, before then saying that it would happen during the week leading up to the Florida-LSU game.

Chatter on Florida message boards suggests that Dawson reached out to Florida multiple times attempting to set up a visit, including before the LSU game, and it may in fact have been a Gator coach who clued in the Michigan staff to what was going on. It that's indeed the case, this quote from Cass Tech coach Thomas Wilcher should not come as a surprise at all ($):

“They are done,” said Wilcher regarding whether the Wolverines will continue courting his star lineman.  “That ship has sailed… sunk.. whatever you want to call it.”

Regardless of how things went down, I'd encourage everyone to wish Dawson well and move on. Sour grapes are not a good look when we're talking about the decisions of high school kids.

Michigan is certainly moving on, as The M Block reports that the Wolverines have already reached out to LSU commit Ethan Pocic, who was very high on Michigan before the available spots on the line filled up. Pocic maintains that he's firmly committed to the Tigers and will take his only official visit there; that's to be expected at this juncture, of course, so we'll see how things develop. While Dawson was slated to play guard and Pocic is a pure tackle prospect, Michigan could easily shift Chris Fox down to guard and maintain a full five-man line class with every position covered—Logan Tuley-Tillman and Pocic at tackle, Fox and Kyle Bosch at guard, and Patrick Kugler at center.

Tremendous throws in their two cents about potential replacements for Dawson, including Pocic, Notre Dame commit Colin McGovern, MSU commit Dennis Finley (yet to be offered, but one could come), and UCLA commit Scott Quessenberry, a high school teammate of freshman Erik Magnuson. They also dispel the notion that Dawson's departure could affect the recruitment of VA RB Derrick Green; the pair had struck up a friendship over the summer, but Green told Tremendous that the decommitment will "not at all" affect his status with the Wolverines.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of today's recruiting nuggets.]

Today's recruiting roundup recaps Shane Morris's Elite11 regional camp appearance, talks Ty Isaac (what else is new?), and goes over past and future visits.

Shane's Bad Day > Your Bad Day

Shane Morris attended the Dallas Elite11 regional camp last weekend, getting tips from guys like Trent Dilfer and Tony Romo while hoping to lock up one of the coveted invitations to the Elite11 finals. Review of Morris were mixed but mostly positive, and this clearly wasn't good enough for Michigan's quarterback commit, who told ESPN he needs to work on "everything" (also, any idea why Morris is randomly wearing stunner shades for the second throw in this clip?):

While Morris was disappointed to not earn the finals invitation (more quotes in a free ESPN article here), he'll get another crack in Columbus on May 4th, and he still flashed the ability that has made him a potential five-star. Rivals.com's Brian Perroni listed Morris at #5 among his top performers, noting arm strength as his biggest positive ($):

The Michigan pledge made his presence known early by coming in decked out in Wolverine gear. There was a lot of anticipation as people wanted to see the nation's No. 16 overall prospect in person after he traveled a long way to compete. A lefty, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Morris had the best velocity on his ball of any quarterback in attendance and made some very good deep throws as well. His accuracy was a bit off at times but nothing too concerning.

Scout's Greg Powers had a similar take, saying Morris had some great throws and not-so-great throws but "definitely [had] his wow moments," in turning in a "very solid showing" ($). Morris was disappointed, yes, but he also has very high standards for himself. That's by no means a bad thing.

Morris didn't provide the only recruiting action of the weekend, as Michigan hosted several prospects for unofficial visits. The top 2013 target on campus was Washington (DC) Gonzaga CB Devin Butler, who's in the midst of a long string of Midwest visits but took the time to tell 247 that Michigan "seemed like a great place to be as a football player, as a student and a young man" ($). Several Cass Tech targets spanning three classes also made the trip. '13 DT Kenton Gibbs caught up with Will Campbell and also said that Michigan's coaches want to see him at their summer camp before extending an offer ($). '14 LB William White was impressed by what he saw from the linebackers in spring drills ($), while '14 RB/DB Johnny Miggins and '15 QB Jayru Campbell also enjoyed the visit ($). '14 WR Damon Webb was also on campus along with several other Cass Tech players.

Isaac Watch, Future Visits, Etc.

Ty Isaac has returned from his trip to USC, the school that poses perhaps the biggest threat to Michigan in his recruitment, so it's time to read far too much into some post-trip quotes. They are... meh ($):

"There were really no set expectations, it was just a good visit," Isaac said. "It was nothing that I wasn't expecting. I got to see things and talk to coaches."

"I got to see things," is my new favorite non-answer from a recruit. It certainly doesn't sound like Isaac, who was accompanied by his father, was blown away by the trip. He says he's now going to "chill for awhile" before making any kind of decision about his future, and he's not tipping his hand, though he said his top schools "know who they are."

Phoenix (AZ) Brophy Prep WR Devon Allen is one of the top receivers on the board for Michigan, and his recent athletic exploits reveal a major reason why that is the case: Allen just broke a 32-year-old Arizona state record in the 110-meter hurdles, running a 13.62 to edge out the old mark by .07 seconds. He was also just three-hundreths of a second from breaking the 300-meter hurdles state record, as well. Allen starts his spring break next week, and he plans on taking a trip to the Midwest, where Michigan is one of several schools in the running for a visit ($).

One player taking a visit this weekend is Solon (OH) CB Darian Hicks, who already holds 11 offers but is hoping to add Michigan to the list when he comes to campus on Friday ($). Brookfield (WI) Central DE Chikwe Obasih will swing by Ann Arbor between April 12th and 14th—he'll also visit MSU and Illinois during those days, and hasn't set the order yet ($).

Two players have stated their intention to take one of their official visits to Ann Arbor. Petaluma (CA) Casa Grande ATH Elijah Qualls—at 6'5", 265 lbs., likely a DT/SDE recruit for Michigan—is one, having built a strong relationship with coach Dan Ferrigno ($). The other is Dadeville (AL) DT Rod Crayton, whose coach says Michigan "might be recruiting Rod the hardest out of anyone" ($). Crayton plans to take a second unofficial visit for a game this fall, then use an official visit after his season.

Happy trails to two offensive linemen, Colin McGovern and Hunter Bivin, who both committed to Notre Dame over the weekend. Both held Michigan offers but were told, like all uncommitted OL, that the Wolverines are full along the O-line.

Quickly: Taco Charlton's Pickerington Central squad defeated Chris Wormley and Toledo Whitmer, 45-40, in the Ohio Division I basketball state title game. Chantel Jennings gives a progress report on the 2013 class, including quotes from current commits on what the coaches like about them ($).

Today's recruiting roundup takes a look at who is—and just as importantly, who isn'tgoing to be on campus this weekend. Also discusses: new offers in both the '13 and '14 classes, expected future visitors, and a couple of TEs coming off the board.

Seatbelt: Fastened

All week, there have been strong indications from wide-ranging sources that this weekend would bring in at least one commit for the Wolverines, and the picture is beginning to clear up a bit. First, let's go over the weekend visitors:

  • Joliet (IL) Catholic RB Ty Isaac—offered, top RB on the board.
  • Massillon (OH) Washington CB Gareon Conley—offered, Michigan leads, and though he denies being ready to commit, rumors are still flying ($, info in header).
  • Damascus (MD) WR Zach Bradshaw—offered.
  • New Lenox (IL) Lincoln-Way West OL Colin McGovern—offered, but aware Michigan is full at O-line. Is visiting anyway, because this is Michigan, fergodsakes.
  • Washington (DC) Gonzaga CB Devin Butler—offered, told GBW he "wouldn't be afraid to pull the trigger early," if he's comfortable with a particular school ($). [EDIT: Butler is visiting later this month, not this weekend. My bad, y'all.]
  • Cincinnati (OH) LaSalle CB Jaleel Hytchye—not offered, though that reportedly will be discussed when he's on campus; if he gets one, he says Michigan will shoot to the top of his list ($).
  • Novi (MI) Detroit Catholic Central DE Dylan Roney (2014)—sophomore teammate of Matt Godin and Wyatt Shallman. Will be interesting to see if he gets an offer this early in the process.

That's quite an interesting group, especially at cornerback, and the intrigue deepens with Isaac when paired with the knowledge that (1) Shane Morris will be on campus, undoubtedly putting on the full-court press, and (2) Warren (OH) Howland RB DeVeon Smith is visiting on March 17th, and there have been multiple indications that he's strongly considering a commitment. We'll see if that latter bit of news affects Isaac's timetable—there is no timetable—and if Smith commits, whether the coaches would be comfortable potentially taking both players. With Wyatt Shallman's ability to play DE, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

Perhaps bigger news than the list of who's on the visitor list is who's not on the visitor list. The coaches seem very confident that Ben Gedeon will be blue in the near future, as they turned away four-star linebackers Alex Anzalone and Shane Jones, both of whom were planning weekend visits before being told the position group is full. Gedeon visited last weekend and is mulling over his decision. He may not be mulling for much longer. (Note, to head off the inevitable question: I don't believe this changes the situation with E.J. Levenberry at all. The coaches have maintained they'll take two linebackers and reserve an extra spot for him as one of the top overall prospects on the board.)

One player deciding this weekend who probably won't be choosing Michigan is Rancho Cucamonga (CA) CB Chris Hawkins, who hasn't visited Ann Arbor and will decide on Saturday between the Wolverines, Stanford (the prohibitive favorite), Cal, UCLA, Oklahoma and Notre Dame ($).

Offers, Future Visits, Etc.

Michigan put out a few offers recently, including one to the massive son of a former NFL offensive lineman:

  • Mesquite (TX) West Mesquite four-star WR Eldridge Massington received offers from Michigan and Notre Dame this past week ($, info in header). He had planned on making a spring decision, but he now wants to visit Ann Arbor and is pushing back his timetable to accomodate that. Interest is high.
  • 2014 Detroit Loyola DE Malik McDowell added the Wolverines to his offer list—now at two, along with Syracuse. McDowell is already 6'5", 260 pounds as a sophomore and came away with top honors from the recent Elite Big Man Camp.
  • 2014 Suwanee (GA) Peachtree Ridge OL Orlando "Zeus" Brown, son of the late NFL offensive lineman Orlando Brown, picked up a Michigan offer on Tuesday. He is, in a word, titanic: Rivals's Keith Neibuhr said he's 6'10", 360 lbs., while Scout weighed in with the utterly conservative figures of 6'7", 340. Brown already holds nine offers, including Alabama, Auburn, Notre Dame, and USC.

Sam Webb's latest at the Detroit News is on Murrieta (CA) Vista Murrieta five-star LB/S/RB Su'a Cravens, who reiterated that he will take one of his official visits to Michigan. He also gave an idea about his current timetable:

"I'm going to take my time," he continued. "I don't know if I'm going to do the hat thing like most guys do in those February games, but I know I'm going to commit my senior year. I'm not going to commit too early so I don't have second thoughts about where I want to go. I'm a man of my word, so once I commit somewhere I'm going to stick to it. Before I do, I'm going to be sure of it, so it'll probably be my senior year."

Distance, he says, will not be a factor, which is obviously good news for Michigan fans. Cravens's cousin, Upland (CA) four-star DE Joe Mathis, told Tremendous that he'll also take an official to Ann Arbor, and he'll take it at the same time as Cravens. Talented family, that.

Other players interested in visiting: Vienna (GA) Dooly County five-star DT Montravius Adams, one of the top overall prospects in the country ($, info in header). Akron (OH) Firestone WR Kevin Gladney, who's looking to visit in April and told ESPN that Michigan holds a slight edge in his recruitment ($, info in header). Richmond (VA) Hermitage RB Derrick Green wants to visit Ann Arbor on the 18th of this month ($); we'll see if those plans change depending on what happens with Isaac and Smith, since Green is planning a signing day decision. Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas DE Joey Bosa, one of the top DEs in the country, told 11W's Alex Gleitman that he's looking to visit Michigan this spring.

Happy trails to a pair of tight ends in Jacob Matuska, who committed to Notre Dame as a DE, and Durham Smythe, who pledged to his home-state Texas Longhorns. Top-ranked TE Adam Brenemen makes his decision tonight and seems almost certain to head to Penn State, so you can mentally remove him from the board, as well. Assuming (safely) that Breneman goes elsewhere, Michigan has just two offers out to uncommitted TEs in New Orleans (LA) Edna Carr's Standish Dobard and Pittsburgh (PA) Seton La Salle's Scott Orndoff. Dobard seems like a long-shot to pull out of SEC country, but Orndoff has expressed strong interest.

Quickly: TTB runs down the new Scout 300 for 2013. Chantel Jennings goes over Michigan's D-line options ($). The DetNews tracks down an "NCAA expert" to tell us what we already knew: the Roundtree/Demens/McCray Twitter thing is a non-issue—I honestly only linked because of the picture.