elijah holyfield

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

WE CAN RECRUIT AGAIN

Jim Harbaugh hasn't even been formally introduced and I'm panic-checking Twitter every few minutes to make sure I'm not late to start a Hello post. This is because recruits read the papers watch the local news have the internet too, and they're excited. Really excited. There's a darn good chance top-100 tight end Chris Clark ends up back in the fold in the near future:

At this point, he says the three schools he's interested in are UCLA, Michigan State and Michigan.

But Harbaugh could be a game changer for him.

"He'd 100 percent (excite me)," Clark said. "I still love Michigan, I've always liked the school.

Harbaugh's track record of utilizing and producing quality TEs certainly won't hurt here.

Five-star 2015 CB Iman Marshall, who's readying to play in the Under Armour AA Game, told 247's Tom Loy that Michigan could vault back into contention for him ($):

The “big pick up” for Michigan, as Marshall calls it, is regarding the potential hiring of Jim Harbaugh as the new head coach of the Wolverines.

“That would be great,” said Marshall. “The fact that Michigan would have a dude that came from the league with the [San Francisco] 49ers and someone who has coached a national championship contending team is big. That would be real dope.”

Marshall said he's visit Ann Arbor if Harbaugh was hired, per TomVH. USC is the heavy favorite to land Marshall, but just getting him on campus would be a huge step forward after his interest in the Wolverines had cooled significantly.

Another elite defensive back, four-star DC CB Marcus Lewis, told Rivals' Mike Farrell in a video interview that he'd consider Michigan again if Harbaugh was hired, and mentioned the possibility of an official visit. Lewis, who'd previously held the Wolverines in very high regard, currently has a top three of Kentucky, Washington State, and Miami, in that order—that seems like a top group a Harbaugh-led Michigan program could crack pretty easily.

Michigan could also jump back into the mix for four-star OLB Joshua McMillon, who told Rivals' Adam Gorney he'd consider taking an official should Harbaugh take over ($). McMillon's coach, however, said he expects McMillon to stick with his Alabama commitment either way.

Harbaugh won't be the only big recruiting pull, in all likelihood. Florida defensive coordinator and current interim head coach DJ Durkin, the 2012 Rivals Recruiter of the Year, should also attract serious talent if he takes the DC job at Michigan, as expected. Top-50 2015 OLB Roquan Smith told TomVH he'd take an official to Michigan should Durkin join Harbaugh's staff.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup. Yes, you'll actually want to read it this time.]

Weekend Visitors: KLS "Really Excited" To See M

Before the season went south in a hurry, Michigan was supposed to host a handful of uncommitted official visitors this weekend for their marquee home game. That number has dwindled to one, but it's the one everyone's been waiting for: five-star CA WDE Keisean Lucier-South, who confirmed to 247's Steve Lorenz that he and his parents are "really excited" for the trip to Ann Arbor ($):

"Everyone keeps assuming that I'm losing interest in Michigan because they've started out badly, but it's not true at all," he said. "I still really like Michigan a lot. They haven't been as good as I thought they were going to be this season, but football is only part of the equation for me. I want to see the rest of what they have to offer me. You play football for about three months of the year, so it's things like the campus and school itself that will make a major difference for me. I just need to see if I feel comfortable there and see how much I like it."

I'm still quite skeptical KLS ultimately ends up at Michigan, but he's saying all the right things heading into his official, at least.

The rest of the offered, uncommitted visitors are from the 2016 class, headlined by a couple blue-chip offensive lineman in Ben Bredeson and Clark Yarborough. 247 and The Wolverine have both put together full visitor lists for your perusal. One of the other top targets slated to be on campus this weekend is four-star 2016 IN WR Austin Mack, who took a big picture approach when discussing the program with The Wolverine's Brandon Brown ($):

"Michigan is one of the powerhouses in the Big Ten and has been for many years," Mack said. "Every organization has to fall a little bit eventually. I mean Alabama has fallen before, they just lost somewhat unexpectedly. You can't be perfect continuously. Other teams start to catch up. There's so much talent out there that it will happen. Michigan is always going to have talent but sometimes it just doesn't work out. I feel like Michigan is going to be just fine. Even if it is a couple of years, it's just a matter of time, they'll be back on top."

It'll be very interesting to see if Mack continues to exhibit high interest in Michigan after a potential (okay, exceedingly probable) coaching change. Four-star 2016 GA RB Elijah Holyfield, who's had Michigan in his top group for a while, is already contemplating that possibility, per Brown ($):

"I like the school itself a lot. That's one of the reasons I'd wait and see what happens. At some schools if the coaching staff was to leave, I'd probably not be into that school anymore. Michigan is one of those schools that I like for the school itself. I like it up in Ann Arbor, I like the field, I like the town and everything about Michigan. Regardless of what staff is there I'm sure Michigan would still be in my top group until I commit so we'll see."

Holyfield is also expected to be on campus this weekend, and the above quote is quite a good sign for Michigan's chances of eventually landing him.

A small group of current commits will also be in attendance, including both QB commits from the upcoming two classes (Alex Malzone and Messiah deWeaver) and, notably, Darrin Kirkland, who's visiting unofficially after checking out Notre Dame last weekend. The Irish appeared to make a big move for him, so a good visit is paramount if M wants to keep him in the fold.

Commit Updates: Taylor Plans Officials, Malzone Fielding Interest

Add CB Garrett Taylor to the list of players who's setting up officials to other schools:

"It's a little shaky (at Michigan), I know people are bouncing ideas of whether coach Hoke is going to get fired at the end of the season or not," Taylor said. "I know Michigan's program isn't where people thought it would be or where coach Hoke wants it to be. We'll see how things go.

"Hopefully they can turn it around."

Taylor says he's "pretty sure" Penn State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State and "maybe" Tennessee will get official visits from him between now and signing day.

Notably, Michigan is not on the list of planned officials, and Lorenz confirmed that if Taylor is taking an official to Ann Arbor at all, it'll be after the season ($):

"Maybe in the winter," [Taylor] said. "I still am committed at this point, but it could change depending on how the coaching situation ends up and how the rest of the season ends up."

It probably goes without saying that this isn't a good sign. I'd be surprised if Taylor ended up in the class come Signing Day.

TomVH reports that multiple schools have reached out to Alex Malzone, including Penn State, which is now looking for a 2015 QB after Brandon Wimbush flipped his commitment to Notre Dame. Malzone appeared to be as solid a commit as one could get, so if he starts looking around, all bets are off on keeping this class together; so far, though, he hasn't set up any visits elsewhere.

This was inevitable: Wisconsin is taking a look at 2016 commit Erik Swenson, and while Swenson remains firmly committed for now, he's keeping an eye on the situation in Ann Arbor, per 247's Evan Flood ($):

"I just want to see how it goes this season and see how next season goes," he said. "After this season, I'll probably take some unofficial visits. I think Michigan is going to get a new coach next year, if not this year. I want to see how the coaching staff is. I just want a backup plan in case it doesn't work out with Michigan."

This is going to be the MO until a coaching change occurs; there's far too much uncertainty surrounding the program for commits to ignore—it's impossible to blame them for this—and coaches looking to reel in big-time prospects see the opportunity to poach them while Michigan's in a state of flux.

Happy Trails, Definitely

ack (also, PROTIP: do NOT do a GIS for "happy trails")

After Michigan nabbed a top-100 receiver, Brian Cole, away from Michigan State the week before, the Spartans returned the favor on Friday when they landed 2016 four-star Cameron Chambers. Point, MSU. Several negative points, meanwhile, to these guys.

Unfortunately, the bad news doesn't end there. The Damien Harris saga appears to be over for Michigan, as the former Wolverine commit announced on Twitter that he'd narrowed his list to five finalists: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio State, and Texas A&M. Michigan's made a big push for Cass Tech four-star RB Mike Weber in the last couple months, and their efforts to land him should only intensify with this news.

Happy Trails, Probably

Two major U-M targets will announce their commitments to Schools Other Than Michigan soon, though both will remain on the board thanks to their future visit plans.

The first is four-star FL WR Auden Tate, who'll choose between Clemson, Michigan, USF, Maryland, Florida State, Florida, and Georgia tomorrow; the decision is expected to go FSU's way, and since Tate hasn't been to Ann Arbor it won't be U-M. Despite the impending decision, however, Tate told 247's Josh Newberg that he has two official visits planned ($):

“I’m taking one to FSU and I’m taking one to Michigan. I don’t know if I’ll take the other three.”

While Tate will commit elsewhere tomorrow, Michigan isn't totally out of it, even if their ultimate chances of landing him probably aren't great.

The second is four-star MD OG Patrick Allen, who informed Wolverine247 yesterday that he'll officially visit Michigan for the Minnesota game on September 27th. Just hours ago, he told 247's Ryan Bartow that he'll make a decision "in a week or two," which bodes unwell since Allen, like Tate, hasn't yet made it to campus; he has, however, taken trips to the other two schools in his top three, Georgia and Oklahoma. Again, Michigan should get the chance to change his mind, as Allen said he'll still take his official visits.

New 2015 Offer

Michigan offered 2015 four-star CA OG Zach Robertson on Saturday, per 247's Clint Brewster. While Robertson holds a laundry list of offers from powerhouse programs, he plans to check out Ann Arbor on an official visit:

Robertson told Wolverine247 shortly after the Michigan offer went out, "It's a great school for sure. An official visit will be set up."

Pulling Robertson out of California will be difficult—UCLA has been a consistent presence among his top schools, and he also holds a USC offer—but getting him on campus would be a good start.

U-M Makes Top Five For HOLY HAIR

Michigan offered 2016 four-star MD WR Steven Smothers in May, and while he hasn't been able to visit yet, he still has Michigan is his top five, per GBW's Josh Newkirk ($):

“I would say my top-five schools are West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Florida and Ohio State,” said the four-star wide out.

“The Michigan offer is big,” Smothers said. “That’s a big time school. It’s a long time traditional powerhouse. That’s really big. Them and Ohio State, they are really a big deal to me, a powerhouse that’s been on top a long time. So I’m just ecstatic about the [Michigan] offer.” Smothers, who was offered by U-M back in May, says would like to possibly take a visit when Michigan plays host to Penn State on Oct. 11.

Importantly, Michigan is very much in the mix for one of the top receivers in the 2016 class. More importantly, this is Steven Smothers' hair (photo via above link):

Must-get recruit, obviously.

Etc.

Four-star 2016 OH TE Luke Farrell holds a Michigan offer and was on campus for last month's BBQ, but right now his home-state school tops his list, per Scout's Derek Young ($):

"I'd say Ohio State is out front right now," he admitted. "Overall, they're number one on my list so far. I'm not sure when I will make my decision, yet. I'll take care of it once I feel like I am ready."

While Ohio State is winning that battle, it's a more even race for four-star 2016 GA RB Elijah Holyfield, who holds both schools in very high regard after visiting Columbus for OSU's Friday Night Lights camp and Ann Arbor for the BBQ, per 247's Alex Gleitman ($):

After multiple trips to both programs, it is clear that both Ohio State and Michigan are high on Holyfield’s list. He spoke about where the two schools stand, as well as how they compare to each other with 247Sports.

“I don’t have any leaders right now, but those two are definitely in my top group,” he said. “There are others in there too, but I know when I make a top 10 or top 5, whatever, that both Ohio State and Michigan are going to be in there. I’ll definitely be back to each school this fall to see a game at both.

“The schools are definitely a little different though. Michigan is more laid back and chill. Ohio State is up-tempo and intense. They’re different, but I enjoy both coaches and both styles.

Finally, there's reason to keep an eye on Brother Rice this season beyond QB commit Alex Malzone and '15 WR Grant Perry, who's getting a close look from U-M as a potential late offer candidate. Senior DE Jack Dunaway came to the BBQ with his teammates and left holding a preferred walk-on offer, per GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz ($):

Holding offers from Davidson, Saginaw Valley State, Notre Dame College, Cornell, and Harvard, Dunaway is also receiving walk-on interest from Stanford and Notre Dame.

Michigan’s defensive coordinator is telling Dunaway to simply enjoy the process and see what happens.

“[Greg Mattison] said, for your senior year just have fun, you have us, don’t worry about us,” Dunaway said. “He said just get whatever else you can so what’s best for you but just know you have a preferred walk-on for Michigan.”

Dunaway, who's also getting some MAC interest, said his parents are willing to pay his way to Michigan if he wants to walk on there over taking a scholarship at a smaller school. With a very small number of available scholarships, adding a walk-on of Dunaway's caliber at a position of need would be a great way to add depth to the 2015 class.