demetrius hart

For live updates of the games I'm attending, follow me on Twitter @varsityblue. If you can help out finding articles on any of the commits, @reply me on Twitter or e-mail me, and I'll try to include your contribution.

FL RB Demetrius Hart

Last Week: Pregame Dee fluff. DP was at risk of forfeiting games in which WR Chris Gallon played, but he was proven to be eligible. Dr. Phillips crushed Oak Ridge 45-0. First, the video:

Now, the gory details:

Hart, a senior speedster who has orally committed to sign with Michigan, scored four times on runs from scrimmage, and also took a short pass 38 yards to the end zone and added a 68-yard punt return TD in another signature performance for an ever-humble star.

"Congratulations to my O-line, they've been working hard," Hart said of his performance. "That's the fruit of their efforts. It was a team effort, not just me."

Hart rushed for 129 yards on 18 carries and totaled 286 on runs, receptions and returns.

Hart is now the single-season scoring record-holder for Central Florida, as well as career. He will be invited to the US Army All-American Bowl on Thursday (at the start of 'A' lunch, of course). Official stats below come from the Dr. Phillips website.

This week: Dr. Phillips hosts Seminole Ridge in Round 3 of the State Playoffs next Friday.

FL OL Tony Posada

Last week: Plant blasted Newsome 52-23 in Round 2 of the State Playoffs. Article 2. No mentions of Posada.

This week: Plant hosts Countryside in Round 3 of the State Playoffs.

MI DE/LB Brennen Beyer

Last Week: Pregame Fluff 1. Pregame fluff 2. Game preview. Plymouth fell to Lake Orion 13-21 in the State Championship Game. Fluff on how Beyer got the team there:

"From not winning a playoff game to coming within one game of winning it all is quite an accomplishment," said Beyer, after his team lost to Lake Orion, 21-13, in the state final at Ford Field Saturday. "I love all my teammates, but there is no question this was a disappointing loss. I really felt we could have played better."

There's even mention of getting ready for Ann Arbor:

He plans to speak with the Michigan coaching staff in the coming weeks to get a better understanding of how he can best prepare himself for the rigors of Big Ten football. "I know I will be hitting the weight room, but I will want to get a (training) plan together," Beyer said. "I just want to be able to contribute as best as I can next season."

This week: Plymouth's season is over, they finished 11-3 and State runners-up.

FL CB Dallas Crawford

Last week: Pregame fluff (in which it is revealed that Crawford is the county's all-time leading passer). Pregame fluff 2. South Fort Myers beat Naples 28-21 on a last-minute TD pass from Crawford:

“He did what Sammy does,” Crawford said about his favorite target. “That’s what we live for. We practice the two-minute drill every day. That’s what we wanted. They gave us a shot, and we completed our task.”

He had an impressive day statistically, as well:

Crawford finished with a season-high 339 yards passing and four touchdowns.

That came on 14/21 passing, though he also threw two picks (just his second and third of the season). Dallas also rushed 12 times for 65 yards. There are four quarters worth of video in the above-linked article, so check it out. Here's the fourth:

Postmortem from the other side, and a couple more game columns. Dallas also gets a shoutout for his production.

This week: 11-0 South Fort Myers hosts Bradenton-Southeast at 7:30 on Friday in the Regional Championship game (Round 3 of the State Playoffs).

Seasons Complete

FL QB Kevin Sousa

Lake Nona's season has ended with a 1-9 record. Sousa finished with 125/226 passing for 1936 yards with 13 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Rushing, he had 120 attempts for 835 yards and 6 touchdowns. For a full game-by-game stat breakdown, check out last week's FNL post.

MI RB/Slot Justice Hayes

Hayes missed most of his senior season with a broken wrist. Grand Blanc finished 7-4 and lost in the second round of the State Playoffs to Lake Orion.

MI WR Shawn Conway

Seaholm's season is over, with a 4-5 record. Conway finished the year with about 22 catches for 375 yards, and11 kick/punt returns for 393 yards.

MI OL Jake Fisher

Traverse City West's season is over, with a 6-4 record and a loss in the first round of the State Playoffs. Fisher was 1st-Team All-District as a defensive end.

OH OL Jack Miller

St. John's finished the season 11-2 with both losses to Toledo Whitmer (in the second in Round 3 of the State Playoffs). Miller was also named 1st-Team All-District, and the District Lineman of the Year. Also 1st-Team All-State.

OH DE Chris Rock

DeSales's season ended at 5-6 with a loss in the first round of the State Playoffs.

TX LB Kellen Jones

St. Pius X's season finished with a 10-3 record and a loss in the second round of the TAPPS playoffs. Jones finished with 110 tackles, 25 for loss, and 7 sacks, to go along with 3 fumbles forced, 2 recovered, and a punt block.

OH CB/S Greg Brown

Fremont Ross's season is over, with a 9-2 record and a loss in the first round of the State Playoffs. Brown was named All-District, and All-State at WR. Coach comments:

"Greg Brown had an outstanding year," Kidwell said. "He could have easily been the offensive player of the year, too. We attacked people all over the field with him."

Brown had 20 catches as a receiver for 460 yards and four scores. His yardage was 10th all-time on the Ross single-season receiving list. He added 450 yards on the ground rushing on 58 attempts, adding seven more scores.

Yay Greg Brown.

MI CB Delonte Hollowell

Cass Tech finished the season 12-1 with a loss in the State Semifinals.

Remember, all-time updates can be found on the 2011 Michigan Football Recruiting Board. If you have any recruiting tips or questions, you can e-mail them to me at t.w.sullivan1@gmail.com or tweet @varsityblue. For game updates on Wolverine commits, check out the Friday Night Lights series.

Justice Hayes Goes Blue

In something of a shocker MI RB Justice Hayes, who recently decommitted from Notre Dame, picked the Wolverines Monday night. Check out the commitment post for more on him.

VolNation broke down his game back in May, and some of the slot-relevant portions follow:

For the spread offense, however, Hayes is the ideal fit. He is a young man who can attack with authority the lanes that are created in a spread offense, can attack creases, get to the perimeter, catch the football, and make big plays with the ball in his hands...

Often times, players with Hayes’ agility and quickness spend too much time juking and not enough time actually gaining yards. This is not a problem for Hayes who is very decisive in his movements...

Hayes has wide receiver skills in many regards. He has very smooth hands and catches the ball with authority. Hayes does a fine job catching the football away from his body and quickly plucking the ball out of the air smoothly... His speed and agility would create serious mismatches for linebackers and safeties even at the next level.

They have much more on him, so be sure to click through. The Flint Journal covers Hayes's commitment, and Hayes says he's a Wolverine as long as Fred Jackson is on Michigan's staff. [ed: so... forever.]

Now, since some Michigan State supporters seem to insist on trumpeting their in-state recruiting dominance over the Wolverines:

On top of that, a couple more in-state prospects (Anthony Zettel and Thomas Rawls) openly favor Michigan... consider the myth busted.

Wisconsin Reactions

NJ TE Jack Tabb called his Michigan visit "Top notch" ($, info in header). After talking to Tabb, Tom speculates that Michigan may now lead.

FL LB Ryan Petro has burst onto the Michigan recruitnik scene, and his Michigan visit for the Wisconsin game exceeded his expectations ($, info in header). He tells the Orlando Sentinel he'll be back in a couple weeks:

Petro might be even more impressed with his next trip to the "Big House," Dec. 10th weekend, when he'll be on hand during his first official visit for the highly publicized Michigan State-Michigan hockey game that is being touted as the "Big Chill at the Big House."

Don't be surprised if he's offered at that time.

NC WR/LB Kris Frost told Tom that he enjoyed the visit, and he'll take trips to LSU and Cal before coming to a decision, which he'll announce at the Army All-American Game. He plans to enroll early at the school he chooses.

Tom has smaller reactions from Frost and Petro.

Iffy Commits

The Orlando Sentinel discusses the wavering commitment of FL QB Kevin Sousa:

Lake Nona quarterback Kevin Sousa is still committed to Michigan. As his assistant coach Anthony Paradiso says, "Michigan will be hard for anyone to beat," in the recruiting game. But there are still some things Sousa wants to sort out.

At Michigan, he knows there are several quarterbacks ahead of him on the roster and he might labor in the wings for a few years before seeing the playing field. Somewhere else, however, Sousa might be able to step in and compete for the starting job right away.

Paradiso alternates between saying things like "we're committed to Michigan" and "once we finally choose a school..." so the commitment is soft. NC QB Marquise Williams is doing the same song-and-dance with North Carolina, and impending NCAA doom may be the only thing that shakes him from his commitment there.

OH CB Greg Brown took an official visit to Syracuse and was downgraded to a soft commit by the recruiting services, but he's still firm to Michigan ($, info in header). In fact, he plans to enroll early, along with Dee Hart.

Happy Trails

FL WR Sammy Watkins was officially invited to the US Army All American game last week, but uh, he also committed to Clemson. Will Michigan commit Dallas Crawford try to sway his teammate in the months before Signing Day? Only time will tell.

TX LB Anthony Wallace committed to Oregon. He hadn't been strongly considering Michigan, but was still on the Recruiting Board.

NC TE Drew Owens has narrowed his list to NC State and South Carolina.

Etc.

A couple Michigan prospects, including FL RB Commit Demetrius Hart, are semi-finalists for the Army All-American Player of the Year. FL S Ha-Sean Clinton-Dix, GA DE Ray Drew, KY LB Lamar Dawson, and VA LB Curtis Grant are longshots for the Wolverines to land.

OH QB Cardale Jones set up an official visit with Michigan (H/T MgoViper on the message board), and he's going to be in town for the Big Chill weekend, along with his teammate, OH WR Shane Wynn.

I'd hesitated to mention a hazing incident at Dr. Phillips High school earlier this year, since there were no mentions of Michigan targets, but unfortunately, that is no longer the case. FL WR Chris Gallon is among the accused, and criminal charges may be on the way.

Michigan has offered CA WR Devin Lucien, a new name on the radar for Wolverine recruiting fans. Highlights:

He plans to visit, so expect more on Lucien in future updates.

IL OL Chris Bryant is seeing his recruitment "wind down." He'll make a decision after visits to Arizona and Michigan (the 3rd and 10th), as well as Illinois and maybe Memphis. He tells the Chicago Tribune he'll probably only visit the first three.

GA DE Ray Drew is still considering a Michigan visit, though Notre Dame or UCLA might receive his final official instead.

TomVH talks about defensive recruits still in play for Michigan.

2012

OH DE Chris Wormley is the Defensive Player of the Year in his district.

PA LB Deaysean Rippy has received a Michigan offer.

Cass Tech CB Terry Richardson is the focus of this week's Sam Webb column in the Detroit News.:

"Nick Saban called me into his office and offered me. He gave me the rundown and everything — told me he's going to offer me and they like me. Afterwards, my coach called Les Miles and told him the deal with Alabama. (Miles) said, 'The next time you bring him, I want to offer him in my office.' He said everything was taken care of and I'd have an offer..."

Michigan and Michigan State have shown interest, but neither has extended a verbal offer. That has done nothing to lessen his interest in either program.

"Those are my in-state schools," he said. "You've always got to show that mad love for those two schools. Those are schools that you grew up watching. There is always some type of love there..."

Another factor, albeit a minor one, could be the decisions of two of his good friends. Cass Tech linebacker Royce Jenkins-Stone and Orchard Lake St. Mary's linebacker James "Biggs" Ross are highly regarded prospects in their own right.

There's much, much more in the article, so be sure to check it out.

Recruiting guru Duane Long runs down some of the top Ohio sleepers, including some potential Michigan targets.

For live updates of the games I'm attending, follow me on Twitter @varsityblue. If you can help out finding articles on any of the commits, @reply me on Twitter or e-mail me, and I'll try to include your contribution.

New Commit FL CB Dallas Crawford

A new commit means a rundown of his season to date.

Game 1. South Fort Myers pasted Estero 49-7. Crawford excelled on both sides of the ball for SFM:

Crawford led the Wolfpack by completing 6 of 7 passes for 156 yards with two TDs, and rushing three times for 30 yards with two more scores. He even picked off a pass for good measure.

Their stats credit Crawford with 3 rushing TDs, so I've given him the benefit of the doubt. Click through to the article for more photos.

Game 2. South Fort Myers rolled over Cypress Lake 39-0.

Crawford attempted just 10 passes and, as usual, his accuracy level was high with nine completions for 118 yards.

The article also includes video (relevant portion begins around 1:25):

Game 3. SFM beat Bishop Verot 35-3:

South’s explosive offense was present in the form of 23-, 67-, 60- and 25-yard passing touchdowns from quarterback Dallas Crawford. The senior also ran for a 3-yarder to break a scoreless tie early in the second quarter and finished with 311 total yards...

He had an impressive 5-yard touchdown to tight end Luke Smith negated by a rare rule when his helmet was knocked off (instant dead play) while escaping what seemed like a sure sack. Then another pass was dropped inside the 5-yard line...

Vikings starting quarterback Jake Kistel was knocked out of the game just three plays into the third quarter after back-to-back crushing blows from linebacker Anthony DeBonis and Crawford, who also plays free safety.

Crawford also had a 22-yard interception return for a touchdown that was negated by a roughing the passer penalty.

You never want a kid to get hurt, but I'm still glad to hear Crawford's a certified big hitter. Photo gallery can be found here.

Game 4. The Wolfpack rolled Gulf Coast 49-7 (video in link).

“We settled down,” South quarterback Dallas Crawford said. “We came in a little too amped, trying to make big plays instead of taking what the defense was giving us.”

South (4-0) did much of its damage – especially on the host Sharks' spirits on homecoming – in the final five minutes of the first half. The Wolfpack put together a five-minute drive capped by Crawford's 2-yard dive to take a 14-7 lead with 5:14 left to play...

Always willing to capitalize on his opponent's mistakes, Crawford dropped a 51-yard touchdown pass in Tyrell Blanks' arms on the final play of the first half...

GC snagged Crawford's only interception thrown this season. He made up for it by pulling in one of his own on the defensive side of the ball (pictured above). Photo Gallery. Thanks to @ryanhaase for helping me find this article.

Game 5. Crawford stole the show as South shut out North Fort Myers 34-0.

After being crowned at halftime, South Fort Myers senior Dallas Crawford promptly returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown as the host Wolfpack pulled away from stubborn North Fort Myers 34-0 in a Class 3A-District 11 game. Crawford finished with two interceptions on defense and threw two touchdown passes...

“Coach Redhead takes a lot of time breaking down film every week,” Crawford said. “He comes to practice on Monday and let’s us know what to expect. We execute what he tells us during the week.”

Photo Gallery.

Game 6. South doubles up Baker 40-20.

The ability of the elusive Crawford (13-of-24 passing, 260 yards) to fire strong, accurate throws on the run gave the Bulldogs a headache all night...

Crawford snagged one of four interceptions by Wolfpack defensive backs and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown in the Wolfpack’s 20-point second quarter.

In addition to the defensive touchdown, Dallas threw for 2.

Game 7. South Fort Myers pasted Fort Myers 43-10.

Representatives from Clemson and Michigan watched from the South sideline as Wolfpack stars Dallas Crawford and Sammy Watkins turned their games up another notch...

Crawford hurdled for one touchdown and dived for another, both from 5 yards. He also hit tight end Luke Smith on a 3-yard touchdown pass. Crawford missed his first two passes, but then completed nine straight and finished 10-of-13 for 144 yards.

Game 8. The Wolfpack beat Riverdale 39-3.

Less than a minute into the game, senior quarterback Dallas Crawford found Sammy Watkins on a slant that turned into a 75-yard dash to the end zone.

Crawford rushed for 88 yards and completed 8 of 10 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. The other scoring toss to Watkins came on a similar play to Crawford across the middle for a 20-yard TD in the second quarter.

Dallas also notched a rushing touchdown, which the recap fails to mention. Photo Gallery.

Game 9. In the regular-season finale, South Fort Myers crushed Mariner 50-7. Article 2:

Senior Dallas Crawford threw two long touchdown passes, ran for one score and added an interception in his final high school regular-season game.

The Wolfpack had a bye last weekend, and will kick off the state playoffs on Friday.

This week: As mentioned above, South Fort Myers kicks off their playoff campaign on Friday. They'll host Barron Collier at 7:30

FL QB Kevin Sousa

Last week: Lake Nona fell to East River 14-28.

Kevin's coach tells Tom that Sousa went 16/28 passing for 209 yards, a score and three picks. He also carried 25 times for 58 yards.

This week: Lake Nona's season has ended with a 1-9 record. Sousa finished with just under 2,000 yards passing, and more than 800 yards rushing.

FL RB Demetrius Hart

Last Week: Pregame fluff. Dr. Phillips pounded West Orange 49-6. Dee continued raining touchdowns on Central Florida:

Dee Hart, a Michigan recruit, ran for three first-half touchdowns, the last one from 34 yards that capped a seven-play 68-yard drive to give DP a 21-0 halftime lead. Hart added two more scores in the third quarter to finish with five TDs, 120 yards rushing and 212 all-purpose yards.

Hart was predictably named the Player of the Game. As always, the Sentinel provides highlights:

Official stats below come from the Dr. Phillips website.

This week: 10-0 Dr. Phillips hosts Olympia in round 1 of the State Playoffs on Friday at 7:30.

FL OL Tony Posada

Last week: Plant defeated Robinson 40-21. Article 2.

Next week: Plant hosts Plant City in Round 1 of the State Playoffs on Friday.

OH OL Jack Miller

Last Week: St. John's Jesuit beat Medina 24-6:

Normally the more physical team, the Bees ran into an offensive line with the likes of Troy Favorite, Nick Brunner, Nate Pearson, Miles Ashleman and Jack Miller, who average 6-3 and 263 pounds.

The Titans managed to ride that line for 198 rushing yards in the game. Miller talked to the Toledo Blade about the big win:

“When you get in the playoffs, you're going to give up big plays, but it's about the ability to keep fighting and not give up,” said Titan senior two-way lineman Jack Miller. “That's what we did tonight.”

This week: 11-1 St. John's will play crosstown rival Whitmer in Round 3 of the State Playoffs at Bowling Green's Doyt Perry Stadium on Saturday at 7.

MI DE/LB Brennen Beyer

Last week: Pregame fluff. Plymouth upset Detroit Catholic Central 9-7 in round 3 of the State Playoffs:

Penalties kept that march going, including one called on senior Brennen Beyer for horse-collaring Birney on a sack attempt at the CC 35. Had Beyer completed the sack without an infraction, the Shamrocks likely would have been forced to punt. Later on, that gave Beyer extra motivation to regain the lead. “We needed to bounce back from that,” Beyer said. “If our defense held us for the rest of the game we were pretty confident our offense would score. That’s what we planned and that’s what we did, it worked out well.”

It didn’t hurt knowing Brindza was waiting to do his thing. “It gives you so much reassurance,” Beyer added. “When I was lining up for the (winning) field goal I was really confident it was going to go in. He’s the best kicker in the state and one of the best in the nation, it helps a lot.”

Standard sad faces about Brindza's Notre Dame commitment go here: :( :( :(. The linked article has video, but there are no Beyer sightings, and it was edited by someone who's not very good at editing, so be careful. Article 2:

"This feels great; even better than last week," said defensive end/receiver Brennen Beyer. "We played tough, hit hard and stopped the run. We came ready to play today."

...

That's when a jolting sack by Fox knocked the ball loose from Birney. Beyer nearly scooped the ball up at the CC 35, but it rolled out of bounds before he could gain possession.

This week: The 10-2 Wildcats face Rockford on Saturday at Lansing Everett at 1pm.

TX LB Kellen Jones

Last week: Pregame fluff:

Senior Kellen Jones, the middle linebacker, has lived up to the hype as a member of Dave Campbell Texas Football's preseason Super Team. Jones has committed verbally to Michigan.

St. Pius X beat San Antonio Antonian 40-6. User gobluehtown took in the game, and provides a scouting report:

He had another monster game and played like a beast, had 6 tackles.  Not much got past the first level of defenders, so a lower quantity of tackles, but great quality. Two TFL. Also had two fumble recoveries, almost took one for six. Nearly blocked two punts, missed one by inches. Bottom line: dude makes plays. Also played on offense in short yardage situation.

Kellen's coach tells Tom that he officially came in for 5 tackles, 2 for loss with a sack. He also recovered 2 fumbles, as mentioned above.

* Blocked punt. The table has gone all to hell with Kellen racking up various types of stats at this point, so I'll expand fumbles forced and recovered, and punt blocks into their own columns for next week.

This week: St. Pius hosts Dallas Bishop Lynch on Saturday.

MI CB Delonte Hollowell

Last week: Cass Tech defeated Macomb Dakota 31-19 in the Regional Finals of the State Playoffs.

Next Week: The 12-0 Technicians play Lake Orion Saturday at 1pm at Troy Athens High School.

Seasons Complete

MI WR Shawn Conway

Seaholm's season is over, with a 4-5 record. Conway finished the year with about 22 catches for 375 yards, and 11 kick/punt returns for 393 yards. Seaholm's coach resigned following the final game.

MI OL Jake Fisher

Traverse City West's season is over, with a 6-4 record and a loss in the first round of the State Playoffs.

OH DE Chris Rock

DeSales's season ended at 5-6 with a loss in the first round of the State Playoffs.

OH CB/S Greg Brown

Fremont Ross's season is over, with a 9-2 record and a loss in the first round of the State Playoffs.

Remember, all-time updates can be found on the 2011 Michigan Football Recruiting Board. If you have any recruiting tips or questions, you can e-mail them to me at t.w.sullivan1@gmail.com or tweet @varsityblue. For game updates on Wolverine commits, check out the F riday Night Lights series.

(Five) Star Search!

The Gainesville Sun's Ed Aschoff gives the latest on a few prospects of mutual interest for the Wolverines and Gators. First, FL DT Tim Jernigan (at right):

Michigan, FSU, LSU and Alabama are all ahead of Florida... For now, the chances of him ending up at Florida seem to be slipping away more and more. This could all change if Florida turns around its season, so this one is not over.

...and also FL WR Sammy Watkins (recent Army All-American Bowl selection):

His favorites remain Clemson, Michigan and Miami. I think Clemson has the advantage in this one.

Both are mostly maintaining the status quo from the past couple weeks. Grant Redhead, high school coach of FL CB Dallas Crawford and Watkins, tells Tom that Michigan has a solid lead for Crawford, and that Michigan's finish to the season may have an impact on Watkins's feelings on the maize and blue. The two will set up their official to Ann Arbor soon (both of their previous visits have been unofficials). Jernigan was officially selected to the Army All-American Bowl. At his press conference, Jernigan talked a bit of recruiting:

"I grew up watching all of them," Jernigan said. "They kind of present some unique situations as far as depth-wise and great academic schools, especially Michigan, great academic school. Those are the things that really stood out to me... It is nice up there. I got time to hang out with Coach Rod and I got a chance to hang out with Denard and got to meet some of the guys around the program. Real good people, my type of people, small town guys."

That sounds downright glowing about Ann Arbor, but there are a few visits left before Timmy makes up his mind.

Rivals has rehashed their Top 100, and FL RB Commit Demetrius Hart has moved up to #17, the top 4-star on their list. Given his stats against some of the best competition in the country, there's nothing dude can do to get 5-star status except grow.

Visits

DC RB Malcolm Crockett visited Michigan for the Illinois game, as his coach tells Tom. He projects to either side of the ball at the next level, but Michigan is looking at him as a downhill-type runner and complement to Demetrius Hart. Crockett is a teammate of 2012 DC DT Eddie Goldman, whom Scout has already pegged as a 5-star for next year.

NJ TE Jack Tabb plans to visit Michigan for the Wisconsin game in a couple weeks as long as his high school playoff schedule doesn't interfere.

IL OL Chris Bryant has been out with a knee injury this season, but was expected to return to the lineup last weekend. He'll visit both Arizona and Michigan (Big Chill) early in December ($, info in header). A bit more on his junior teammate Robert Gregory below.

AZ OL Cyrus Hobbi is regularly hearing from Rich Rodriguez. Last week, Tom told us he's planning to set up an official to Ann Arbor.

LA DT Mickey Johnson is still considering a visit to Michigan ($, info in header).

PA DE Deion Barnes will take all 5 of his official visits, even if he falls in love with one of the schools he sees early. He looks at former teammate Je'Ron Stokes (now a Michigan sophomore) as one of his inspirations, a positive sign for the Wolverines.

With his senior season over, MI LB Desmond Morgan will now focus on recruiting ($, info in header). He tells Tom that he may officially visit Michigan for the Big Chill hockey game, and with no inside information, I wouldn't be surprised if he made a decision around that time.

Michigan has "turned up the heat" ($, info in header) on MD CB Blake Countess. According to Tom, that "heat" comes in the form of an official offer. Mike Farrell of Rivals said last week that the Wolverines may lead for Countess, a consensus 4-star prospect. Countess is setting up a visit with Michigan's coaches, possibly for The Big Chill.

Etc.

NC QB Marquise Williams is solidifying his pledge to North Carolina "as of right now", but he's still taking more visits.

MI WR DeAnthony Arnett was the infamous "mystery visitor" to Ann Arbor last weekend, and he seemed to enjoy the wide-open passing game ($, info in header). Coming off the heels of his trip to Michigan, he'll be making a decision tonight... but had some fun throwing fans for a loop last night.

Arnett has consistently stated that he's a Michigan fan, but that he had worries about not getting the ball in the Wolverines' offense. With that fear out of the way, Michigan may be a factor in his decision, but conventional wisdom has him picking Tennessee.

Happy Trails, MD Ath Darius Jennings, who has narrowed his list to 6 non-Michigan schools.

...In Walkon News

MI FB/LB Joey Kerridge "has future plans set" ($, info in header). His Scout profile now lists high interest in Michigan and no offers, so we can safely assume he plans to be a preferred walkon at Michigan.

2012

FL QB Bennie Coney (at right), who holds a Michigan offer but was dismissed from his high school team, talks to a couple publications about his future. He say's he'll return to Plant City for his senior season, and has nothing but good things to say about his high school coach, and vice versa:

“Me and my coach, we’re good,” Coney said. “My coach is cool. We talk every day. We’ve still got our relationship...”

His coach has been in contact with college coaches to explain what happened and it’s doubtful that even a school like Notre Dame would view the incident as an infraction that would cause them to drop Coney from its radar. Coney is still interested in the Irish and, although they haven’t offered, they lead along with Florida State.

Since his coach is willing to vouch for him to college coaches, there's a chance Michigan may still be interested.

I brought up IL QB Robert Gregory last week, but in case you needed confirmation he's a good fit for Michigan... yeah, he is. ESPNChicago has him #3 in their Player of the Year rankings.

Mike Dyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Michigan is recruiting OH WR Dewayne Stanford.

OH OL Ryan Anderson visited Michigan a few weeks back ($, info in header).

In visit mini-news, I saw MI DT Dan O'Brien in the house with his dad at Friday's basketball exhibition against Saginaw Valley. His older brother, Patrick, hoops it up for the Cardinals.

OH LB Mason Monheim has visited Michigan already this fall, and is getting interest from a number of other Big Ten schools, including future member Nebraska. Orrville's defensive coordinator, Jason Haley, talks a bit about his game:

"Mason's right there with any we've had," Haley said. "He just has a knack for reading keys, and then getting from Point A to Point B. A lot of it is instincts, and watching film. He gets his read, then gets to the ball and makes plays... Across the board in college, you're not seeing that 6-3, 245-pound linebacker as often -- they're all looking for that hybrid guy who can run. Mason fits that mold."

At 6-1 210, Monheim could be a future bandit/spur type, or a guy who grows into a full-size linebacker.

Michigan is showing interest in NJ LB Jazzmar Clax, a lock for the all-name first team whether he ends up in Ann Arbor or not.

For live updates of the games I'm attending, follow me on Twitter @varsityblue. If you can help out finding articles on any of the commits, @reply me on Twitter or e-mail me, and I'll try to include your contribution.

Game Of The Week:

OH OL Jack Miller and OH CB/S Greg Brown

Last Week: Miller's St. John's Jesuit defeated Brown's Fremont Ross 45-35. I was there, so enjoy some MGoBlog original video. You're watching #55 in blue (mostly early in the video) and #3 in white (mostly later in the video):

My apologies for less-than stellar filming at times, as I wasn't sure how to deal with filming guys on opposite teams. I managed to get most of the key plays, aside from a 35-yard reception from Brown.

I've seen Miller in person before, and my scouting report hasn't changed. On defense, he's a strong rusher off the edge. Ross used double- and even triple-teams in an attempt to slow him down, and usually ran their plays away from him. On offense, he's a vicious blocker who never seems satisfied unless his man is pancaked. His quickness in pass-blocking isn't the greatest, but Ross didn't have anyone who could make him pay for that (and he won't have to deal with it as much playing on the interior of the line in college). He could have an impact on either side of the ball in college, but he looks like a future David Molk(!), nasty streak and all.

Brown, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as impressive. He's a bit stocky, and played exclusively outside linebacker on defense for Fremont Ross. Even at a position closer to the ball, he rarely seemed to be in on any plays, despite having a chance on some of them. As a linebacker, he only covered tight ends from the slot in pass coverage, and did an adequate job staying with a guy half a foot taller than him. On offense, Brown was only in on every second or third play, partially because he was bringing in the plays from the coaching staff, but it seemed to me that it was also because he was expendable on a lot of offensive plays. His speed wasn't that impressive, and he was thoroughly outplayed on both sides of the ball by Cheatham Norrils of St. John's (#3 in blue), who scored three defensive touchdowns, including one on a pick-6 that went through Brown's hands. Brown did manage to get deep once or twice, but only came down with one of them, because Norrils was all over him. Brown also ran one play out of the Wildcat, and got decent yardage, but didn't blow anyone away with his athleticism.

There are also a few local media recaps of the game. I unofficially have Miller down for 2 tackles, 3 assists, 1 tackle for loss, 2 QB hurries, and one holding penalty drawn. Brown had a 43-yard kickoff return, 4 receptions for 61 yards, 1 rush for 9 yards, a tackle, and a pass breakup.

This week: Ross's season is over with a 9-2 record. Miller and his 10-1 St. John's Titans will face Medina (upset winners over Canton McKinley) next week in Round 2 of the State Playoffs.

FL QB Kevin Sousa

Last week: Lake Nona was crushed by Winter Haven 0-42. Sousa's coach tells Tom that Kevin finished 9/14 passing for 128 yards, in addition to 5 rushes for 29 yards.

This week: Lake Nona visits East River on Friday at 7:30 in their season finale.

FL RB Demetrius Hart

Last Week: Hart entered the game 2 touchdowns shy of the all-time conference record. Game preview. Dr Phillips pasted Freedom 56-13. The Panthers clinched their district with the win, and set the Division's scoring record for a single season in the process:

The Panthers have scored 476 points, surpassing the Class 6A record of 473 held by Miami Northwestern. The Panthers (9-0, 5-0 in 6A-6) are within reach of the state regular-season record, of 526 points set by Jacksonville Trinity Christian in 1999.

DP needs "just" 50 points (3 below their season average) against West Orange to set the record. Dee rushed 23 times for 229 yards and three touchdowns, and notched a pair of receptions for 26 yards. Stats and image come from the Dr. Phillips Athletics website. Video:

This week: Dr. Phillips hosts West Orange on Friday at 7:30.

FL OL Tony Posada

Last week: Plant pasted Chamberlain 42-7, clinching the 5A-5 District championship.

Next week: Plant closes the regular season at Robinson on Friday.

OH DE Chris Rock

Last week: Preview for the area Game of the Week. DeSales falls to Bishop Watterson 7-14 in Round 1 of the State Playoffs.

This week: DeSales's season ends at 5-6 with a loss in the first round of the State Playoffs.

MI DE/LB Brennen Beyer

Last week: Fluff on Plymouth's receiving corps. Plymouth upset Canton 17-7 in Round 2 of the State playoffs.

“We were ready,” Plymouth senior linebacker/tight end Brennen Beyer said. “We came out and we played physical, we played our butts off, it was great. And the fans are great ... we have a crazy student section. Our fans are great, they helped us pull this out.”

Beyer (five solo tackles on defense; three receptions for 34 yards on offense) said Plymouth’s second-ever playoff win (the Wildcats defeated Saline on Oct. 30) was “so much sweeter” than the first one.

PlymouthCantonSports.com has more detail on Beyer's day, a forced fumble (pictured at right).

This week: The 9-2 Wildcats will travel to Detroit Catholic Central on Saturday at 1.

TX LB Kellen Jones

Last week: St. Pius X defeated St. Thomas 33-28. MGoMember gobluehtown took in the game live, and shared his thoughts on mgoboard:

Kellen was a beast. Had about 14 tackles by my count. 4 or 5 where he absolutely stuffed the A gap and stood up the tailback for no gain. He has great instincts and dropped into coverage and covered the flats really well. Almost blocked 2 field goals straight up. Took great angles and read the guards really well.

Jones tells Tom he notched 13 tackles (10 solo!), to go along with 3 QB hurries and 2 tackles for loss.

* Blocked punt.

This week: 9-1 St. Pius hosts San Antonio Antonian on Saturday.

MI CB Delonte Hollowell

Last week: Cass Tech beat Dearborn Fordson 32-13. No mention of Hollowel.

Next Week: The 11-0 Technicians host Macomb Dakota in the Regional Finals of the State Playoffs on Saturday at 1.

Seasons Complete

MI WR Shawn Conway

Seaholm's season is over, with a 4-5 record. Conway finished the year with about 22 catches for 375 yards, and 11 kick/punt returns for 393 yards. Seaholm's coach resigned following the final game.

MI OL Jake Fisher

Traverse City West's season is over, with a 6-4 record and a loss in the first round of the State Playoffs.

Newsbits of importance from Tom. Dark I'm-not-saying-I'm-just-saying rumors about Craig Roh and Demetrius Hart have been flying around the internets this week. Tom clarifies. On Craig Roh:

My source told me that Craig has been concerned with his position switch to linebacker, and believes he is much more effective as a defensive end.

Craig actually vocalized his concern about his position to the coaches after the Penn State game, and my source says that he has been playing much more on the defensive line during practice this week.

Roh's apparently been handed to Bruce Tall and will no longer be mostly a linebacker. This is both good and another instance of players coaching themselves. Meanwhile, Demetrius Hart decommit rumors are false:

There was a slight mix up with Demetrius' enrollment with Michigan, but it has been cleared up. That was the issue, it wasn't that anyone was recruiting him harder, or anything along those lines. Everything has been straightened out, and his mom says Demetrius will be at Michigan in January.

Insert the usual CYA boilerplate about how anything can happen, but you can focus your panic elsewhere.

Crowded. JT Floyd is officially out for the year with "freak" ligament damage in his ankle. Hooray.

The Never Forget banner guy has updated it, and if any further members of the secondary wish to make themselves unavailable they'd advised to do it quickly because we're running out of room:

New additions are Michael Williams (concussions), JT Floyd (ligament damage), Jared Van Slyke (leg injury), and Vlad Emilien (transfer). Available locations are limited to that patch of maize underneath the crying wolverine. Given the state of the secondary this is getting considerably more RR-fault-ridden as the year goes along. Justin Turner and Vlad Emilien's transfers are big deals with the free safety depth chart reading "Ray Vinopal" and the corner depth chart reading "Random Three Star Freshman Projects and James Rogers."

At least the Floyd injury has been a productive one for the legions of Michigan photoshoppers:

So we've got that going for us. Courtney Avery will draw into the lineup for Floyd.

Okay, a final final final word or two. It's unfortunate that Anchorman references are vastly overused because sometimes there's nothing you can say except…

…I'm not even mad, I'm impressed. That is amazing. I'm sitting on this pile of ninja corpses, covered in blood. As the sun rises over a scene of indescribable gore I laugh, because what else is there to do?

Probably not in the special section about how naughty Michigan's been:

the committee wrote that "though serious," the overage was "far less extensive than originally reported and that no student-athletes were substantially harmed."

Though this was obvious as soon as the smoke cleared last August because the piece was so shoddily written, it is now official. Hurrah for pyrrhic victories.

Watch this. The House Rock Built's "Stuffing The Passer" series is the best thing going in the CFB blogosphere right now:

If "Shit My Dad Says" is being made into a sitcom, Stuffing The Passer can't be far behind.

Elsewhere in coach grumbling. You've probably seen this but Brandon Graham has some depressing quotes that point towards the Those Meddling Kids theory:

I’m surprised they didn’t stick with what Coach Robinson was running,” Graham said of the 3-4 the team deployed in 2009, its first year under Robinson. … “Let Coach Robinson play his defense,” Graham said. “Let him do what he knows. He was thrown off, I would say. I know the 3-3-5 is what he (Rodriguez) has been doing for so long. He’s just got to adjust to the Big Ten.”

Michigan ran a 4-3 under last year but that's beside the point. Those quotes from a guy who was in the program last year indicate that no one who doesn't know a 3-3-5 like the back of his hand is ever going to be comfortable as a defensive coordinator at Michigan as long as the WVU guys are around saying things like "hey it's a bye week, I've got this great idea."

While everyone says "scheme is overrated," Michigan's offense puts the lie to that. It's not necessarily the 3-3-5 itself—this is not a BLANK can't work in the Big Ten argument—but attempting to run an exotic niche defense with a guy who doesn't know it (and evidence suggests is a terrible coach anyway).

I'm pretty sure this is as close as we'll get to an opinion from Angelique Chengelis, if that's actually what it is:

Hope for next year?

Much has been made about Michigan's defense, which is near the bottom of several national categories, including total defense. Illinois was in a similar spot last year, but has made strides under new defensive coordinator Vic Koenning:

Scoring defense: 30.2 (96th) in 2009, 16.8 (12th) in 2010

Total defense: 403.3 (91st) in 2009, 301.4 (15th) in 2010

Pass defense: 248.8 (100th) in 2009, 183.9 (19th) in 2010

Rush defense: 154.4 (76th) in 2009, 117.5 (26th) in 2010

That certainly reads like a "hint, hint."

Defensive antidote. Via Wolverine Historian:

Penn State jerkos. As an internet fanbase, Penn State has a remarkable knack for accusing others of pathologies they're displaying literally within the accusation itself. The latest example is a piece at Black Shoe Diaries the author probably thinks is Swiftian satire that takes a sentence from the game recap, some random comment I don't recognize and didn't make about the Terrence Talbott whiffed PBU that turned into 40 yards, a somewhat maudlin paragraph from Maize and Brew supporting Rodriguez, and a random quote from pissed off David Molk. It combines these to show how self-centered Michigan fans are… in a post whining that Michigan fans didn't give Penn State its proper respect.

BSD can talk about self-centered behavior when they do this:

Indiana has a legitimately very good pass offense. They had 41 opportunities to make catches and made 40. Chappell almost never went to the wrong guy and missed on maybe five of his 65 attempts. Their receivers are tall and fast and shifty. One dollar they're the most productive pass offense in the conference at the end of the year.

And this:

Michigan State has somehow acquired the without-question best stable of tailbacks in the league; Iowa's Adam Robinson isn't bad but he's not the equivalent of Baker/Bell/Caper, and there's only one of him.

Indiana imploded and Michigan State's run game is pretty mediocre. We tried the credit-the-opponent bit and then all of the opponents turned out to be much worse on offense than Michigan made them look. Doing it now against your gritty moxie ginger neckbeard quarterback would be delusional. Penn State sucks and Michigan is worse. But I said Ogbu is a beast, so your pathetic insecurities can be a tiny bit less pathetic. Let's hold hands.

Now go talk about how arrogant we are as you caress each other's soft places while whispering "what if Michigan never comes back" and we discuss whether we should keep Rich Rodriguez and worry about falling into a Notre Dame-like fallow period. Tim was right to describe BSD as a place utterly incapable of recognizing irony.

Etc.: Craig Roh's eyebrows, and the rest of Craig Roh, are attractive to some guy who ranks him the #13 "hottie" of the year in CFB. Yost Built has ten things to know about Alaska. Amani Toomer is running marathons now.