george campbell

HANDPOCALYPSE YESTERDAY

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

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

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

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

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

Speight spins sfootballs

New highlights of Michigan's QB commit:

The linebacker picture

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nevermind all that

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

Won't be making any of my planned visits

— Jamarco Jones (@jjones_73) June 13, 2013

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

Difficulty level: nightmare

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

Twitter is important and meaningful

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

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

Moment of zen

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

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

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

This has been your moment of zen.

Etc.

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

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

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

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

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

Not A Good Look

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Officiating that even closely approximated what could plausibly described as normal, a breeze from a passing mosquito on a rim-balancing rock, a half-court prayer by the last guys you'd expect to get one of those answered…pick any two things that should or could have happened this year and that's the difference between the 1 seed in the Big Ten Tourney and the 5th.

As I lay in the middle of the B1G's final season standings, trying to will my defense out of entropy, I could see the faces of the weasels that did this to me and the hair cream aficionados responsible. When fortune smiles on something as violent and ugly as revenge, it seems proof like no other, that not only does God exist, you're doing His will.

Michigan shouldn't by all rights be taking the long way through the Big Ten Tournament. But fortune has seen fit to at least make that path go right through those whose ledgers with us are most in the red: Penn State yesterday, Wisconsin today, and pending survival there, almost certainly Indiana. That's our worst loss and then the only two teams who finished with winning records against us. In Indiana's case that won't change unless we meet in the NCAAs.

Can Wisconsin beat us again? I mean it's basketball: weird things happen even without the increased chaos of fewer possessions. Like for example sometimes the stripes inexplicably side with the harbingers of Rigelian swamp ball:

I felt paranoid watching all of this. It was a temporary window into the world of a 9/11 truther, seeing what looked like an insane conspiracy by Big Ten refs to keep Bo Ryan in their ears, screaming unprintable things about their mothers. A full half-dozen of the calls they made seemed literally impossible, from the two mentioned above to another breakaway layup that Burke missed because a dude hit him on the head and the charge Burke took on Berggren late that went the other way for a critical three-point play. Am I sane? I thought we got a fair whistle at Indiana. I did think that.

At this point a clunky start and a million defensive breakdowns by the freshmen and THJ wouldn't even be filed as weird things. Another weird thing would be an an outfit as attuned to profit margins as this Big Ten allowing a Rigelian sympathizer any kind of access to a whistle. If you need more than "it wouldn't fit the Kill Bill narrative" for reasons to be optimistic, Wisconsin in their own building needed probably the worst complete ref job in the conference's history and an impossible half-court buzzer shot to fall to beat us the first time. Those are thoughts. Here are diaries:

History lessons. Remember the funny Year in Review (with pics) things that saveferris used to write? Here he goes back to 1989, a time when the Simpsons was that new cartoon your mom didn't want you to watch, lest you turn into a spiky-haired scamp child who tells people to not have a cow, man. Most hilarious thing in the world in 1989 according to 1989 me: a nose tackle named Teeter. Teeter you all! Bad memories: the Tigers, kicking it to Rocket Ismail, and Phil Collins. Good memories: Berenson was just beginning to turn the hockey program around. Yzerman scored 155 points for the Wings, who won the Norris Division. The Pistons were at the peak of the Bad Boys period. Bo's last squad (and one of his best) with that backfield of Tony Boles, Leroy Hoard, Jarrod Bunch and Burnie Legette. And Glenn Rice, obvs.

Speaking of Bunch, he just popped up on the blog this week after someone noticed he was in the latest Tarantino film…

[After the jump]

Today's recruiting roundup covers the latest on Drake Harris and Da'Shawn Hand, the potential Tarpon Springs package deal of Cole-Scott-Campbell, an offer to the son of a Michigan legend, and more.

In Our Base, Possibly Stealin Ur Dudes Anyway

Devin Gardner, Drake Harris, and Shane Morris, via Harris' Instagram

Grand Rapids Christian WR Drake Harris may be a Michigan State commit, but it's becoming clearer and clearer that he's a commit only by the loosest possible definition of the term. Harris admitted as much to 247's Steve Lorenz($) after taking in yesterday's game while sitting between Devin Gardner and Shane Morris:

"My commitment to Michigan State is a soft verbal right now and say that Michigan is up at the top as well," Harris said. "I really like being there a lot."

Reports flew around Twitter last night that Harris was spotted singing "The Victors" after the game, with some suggesting that Michigan has even opened up a big lead in his recruitment. While that may be going too far at this stage, it's clear that the Wolverines have made up a lot of ground, and they'll have the chance to continue that soon—Harris will be at the Indiana game on Sunday for his third visit in a matter of weeks. If Michigan isn't already in command, that trip could put them there.

A couple 2015 prospects were also on campus last week. Cass Tech quarterback Jayru Campbell was at yesterday's game; he told Scout's Josh Newkirk that the visit went well, and while Michigan isn't likely to offer him any time soon* it sounds like they'll be a contender if that does happen ($):

“They just told me they weren’t in a rush to offer me,” he said. “They told me to make sure I come to camp this summer and will sit down and talk again. But they’re really not in a rush to offer me. I guess they’re waiting to see my development…I like Michigan, so it would definitely be a school that I would want an offer from. I think it would be pretty interesting to get a Michigan offer.”

Campbell is a long way from making a decision—he mentioned a desire to play the hat game at the Under Armour All-American Game, which recently sent him an invite—so there's plenty of time for the Wolverines to evaluate him.

2015 Westerville (OH) OL Rob Dowdy made a mid-week visit, which gave him a chance to get some one-on-one time with Coaches Hoke, Borges, and Funk. After the visit, he told The M Block that Michigan is his top school despite growing up an Ohio State fan, though that's likely because the Buckeyes have yet to show much interest.

--------------
*I don't think this is a sign that they're not very interested in Campbell—keep in mind how long it took for the coaches to offer a 2014 quarterback.

[Hit THE JUMP for the latest on Artavis Scott and George Campbell, plus much more.]

Today's recruiting roundup covers a huge visit weekend, new offers, and more.

Big February Visit Weekend Is An Annual Thing, Apparently

Mason Cole

It's that time of the year again, when Michigan rounds up a large group of highly-touted recruits, shows off their program with the coaches and current commits in full-on recruiting mode, and renders me unable to leave my laptop for the weekend. Those hoping for a repeat of last year's eight-man commitapalooza should temper their expectations, but there's nothing wrong with getting excited about the talent that will be on campus ($). Here's a rundown of this weekend's visitors (all are 2014 prospects unless otherwise noted):

• OH LB Michael Ferns and VA QB Wilton Speight — Two of Michigan's three commits—and the two that have been most active in recruiting other prospects—will be on campus doing their best Shane Morris impressions. Both have been mentioned by other prospects as doing an impressive job of selling Michigan.
• OH LB Kyle Berger — Berger hails from the same Cleveland St. Ignatius program that produced Jake Ryan, and it could come down to a Michigan/OSU battle for the four-star linebacker.
• FL OL Mason Cole — If a player is going to commit this weekend, it's probably Cole, a four-star guard who's already made multiple trips up from Florida. Getting Cole would be big in its own right, and it would also give Michigan the inside track at his high school teammates, four-star WR Artavis Scott and 2015 blue-chip ATH George Campbell—both have offers, and Campbell will accompany Cole on this weekend's visit.
• MI WR Drake Harris — This will be the first visit for Harris since his commitment to Michigan State; he's since opened up his recruitment after deciding he'll focus exclusively on football at the next level, though he still remains a soft Spartan verbal. Wilton Speight told Sam Webb he's been talking with Harris on a daily basis and convinced him to spend two days on campus this weekend. While Harris doesn't seem close to making a final decision, a productive visit could move him closer to making a change in his commitment.
• NC RB Elijah Hood — The four-star back had Michigan tied for fifth in his recruitment as of last week, but he's since updated that list and now has the Wolverines in fourth, per ESPN's Kipp Adams ($). This weekend will be key if Michigan hopes to make up ground on Notre Dame, Hood's leader, especially since he plans to make a decision before his senior season.
• MI DE Lawrence Marshall — Marshall briefly committed to Ohio State a couple weeks ago before opening up his recruitment after visits to Michigan State and Michigan forced him to reconsider. I'd expect the Southfield four-star end will take a little longer before making another pledge.
• MI DE Malik McDowell — While McDowell has been a familiar face around Ann Arbor, he's yet to spend a lot of time with the coaches—that should change this weekend, obviously. McDowell has been mum about his leaderboard, but it's believed that Michigan and Notre Dame hold an edge over Ohio State and Michigan State, and this will be a chance for the Wolverines to separate themselves from the pack.
• 2015 FL ATH George Campbell — As said above, Campbell is teammates at Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake with Mason Cole and Artavis Scott, and he appears ticketed for five-star status when the 2015 rankings eventually come out. This will be his first visit to Ann Arbor.
• 2015 MI ATH Brian Cole — Cole projects to be one of the top athletes in Michigan's rising junior class and could end up at receiver or defensive back at the next level. The 6'2" product of Saginaw Heritage already holds offers from both Michigan and MSU. This will be his first visit to Ann Arbor.
• 2015 OH CB Shaun Crawford — Crawford doesn't yet hold a Michigan offer, but that didn't stop him from pegging the Wolverines as his favorites in an interview with Scout's Bill Greene ($). He already holds offers from Illinois and Tennessee and ran an electronic 4.52 40-yard dash at a Nike SPARQ combine last week, so don't be surprised if Michigan comes through with an offer sooner or later.

The only player on this list that can be reasonably expected to commit this weekend is Mason Cole, and that's by no means a guarantee. As we've seen in the past, however, strange things can happen when this many prospects get on campus at the same time.

[Hit THE JUMP for the early leading candidate for dumbest rumor of the 2014 cycle, a couple of new offers, and more.]

Today's recruiting roundup covers #Project135, reactions from last weekend's unofficial visitors, and much more.

#Project135

2014 commit Michael Ferns unwittingly incited mass speculation last week when he teased a recruiting-related "big surprise" on Twitter that he dubbed "#Project135". Fans hoping for a new commit were disappointed, but what Ferns revealed on Friday was actually a pretty cool idea:

Kids pick the darndest fonts

Even before this, Ferns had been very active in recruiting his 2014 classmates—it's clear that Shane Morris and his tireless efforts to bring in commits for Team 134 have influenced the next wave.

One of Michigan's other 2014 commits, Wilton Speight, got the profile treatment from MLive's Kyle Meinke; in the piece, Speight talks about flying 2,000 miles to train, and also why he felt comfortable with Michigan's coaching staff:

"Michigan's staff was the first staff to be 100 percent honest with me throughout the whole process, and that meant a huge amount to me," Speight said. "There's lots of coaches from all over the country who will come in and say, 'You're our guy, you're our guy. Just wait, you're going to get an offer.' And then they go out and find someone who's better.

"Michigan, they didn't necessarily tell me I was their guy. They said, 'We're looking at two other guys too.' The thing is, I already knew that, because the quarterback recruits, we're a tight circle. We're all pretty close, and I knew who else they were looking at. And the fact they were up front with me about that meant a lot.

"It was just a perfect fit for me. It was a no-brainer."

It seems like every time Michigan pulls in a commit, one of the top two or three reasons they give for their choice is the level of honesty and openness they experience with the coaches. That's a very good thing, of course, especially in today's recruiting echo chamber—gone are the days when a coach could tell three players at the same position that they're all the school's number one priority and get away with it, not with the pervasiveness of recruiting news and recruits staying in close contact with each other.

[Hit THE JUMP for visit reactions from Parrker Westphal and Daniel Helm, the latest top schools for several recruits, and more.]