jamyest williams

The Opening Updates: Michigan Commits

The Opening, Nike's questionably named elite camp, is now under way out in Beaverton, Oregon—the location is not helping matters, Nike. Brandon Peters has already been out there for a few days due to the Elite11 quarterback camp, which runs in conjunction with The Opening, and he's now joined by Michael Onwenu and a slew of Michigan targets.

Peters has consistently been mentioned by recruiting analysts as being among the top on-field performers at the Elite11. That didn't change on Tuesday, when he was one of just three quarterbacks to hit all six throws in the 7-on-7 drive-the-field drill, which earned him the #3 top performer spot from 247's Barton Simmons:

3. Brandon Peters (Michigan commit) 
Stats: 6 for 6, 2 TDs 
Quietly, Peters continues to be one of the most consistent performers in this Elite 11 group. There was never a doubt on any of his throws, he spun it well and put it on the money for every throw. Rarely do you see Peters throw a wobbler or skip a football.

After being left off the initial Elite11 list from the camp counselors, Peters snuck into a tie for 11th after Tuesday; when they updated the list today, Peters was omitted.

Onwenu, meanwhile, impressed both onlookers and those running the camp yesterday. 247's Brian Perroni ranked Onwenu fourth among offensive linemen after a strong performance in the OL/DL one-on-ones:

The 6-foot-3, 365-pound Michigan commit is stronger as a run blocker on tape but he was pretty much impossible for the defensive tackles to move on Wednesday. He had the entire offensive jumping up and down when he threw a defender to the ground like a rag doll.

The camp agreed with the recruiting analysts, selecting Onwenu as one of the "Final 5" offensive linemen who get to face off in a best of the best one-on-one session with the top five D-linemen, which included five-star M target Rashan Gary.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]

Sound Mind, Bad Posture

Harbaugh demonstrates my "big recruiting weekend" resting position. [Bill Rapai/MGoBlog]

There's no way I'm getting this post up today unless I go rapid-fire and skip any commentary. If you've got questions you'd like answered, I'm planning a recruiting mailbag this week, so either email me or tweet me (use the hashtag #mgomailbag, please) your questions.

First, the essentials: If you missed it, Michigan added commitments from FL CB Antwaine Richardson and FL DE/TE Rashad Weaver over the weekend. They could be close to more: safeties Devin Gil and Josh Metellus, who visited campus along with linebacker teammate Devin Bush Jr., decommitted from Miami (YTM) and Georgia Southern, respectively, while they were in Ann Arbor.

Michigan had a ton of weekend visitors due to the nearby Sound Mind Sound Body camp. Reactions ahoy.

Top-100 KS DE Xavier Kelly had "a great visit," per 247's Steve Wiltfong ($). He has a who's-who list of offers and claims no favorites at the moment.

Top-100 FL WR Binjimen Victor stopped by campus after SMSB, and he's now considering the Wolverines, per TMI's Brice Marich ($):

“I’m pretty interested now in Michigan," said Victor. "I’m wide open for everybody, so I’m just giving everybody a chance and see what they've got. I canceled my top four and basically I am wide open to everybody. I’m just opening up to everybody and giving everybody a chance. I want to see what schools bring to the table and basically show me what they got. (Michigan) brought it to the table, so I like them.”

Florida (the presumed leader), LSU, Ohio State, and Tennessee were Victor's top four heading into last week.

Top-50 FL CB Trayvon Mullen told Marich that Michigan is "in it with me and I'm interested," and mentioned a desire to come back to campus ($). He'll be a tough pull from the usual SEC/ACC suspects.

Three-star CN TE/WR Chase Claypool got a lot of attention from the coaches at SMSB after visiting campus earlier in the week. He told TMI's Josh Newkirk that Michigan is now in his top three with Oregon and Washington ($). Notably, that list only includes schools he's visited, so it's subject to change, but it sounds like M made a significant move for him this week.

Another tight end possibility, three-star Sean McKeon, put Michigan in his top group along with Syracuse, Pitt, Boston College, and Virginia after his visit, per Marich ($). McKeon plans to decide at the end of this month.

In the 2017 class, four-star Cass Tech S Jaylen Kelly-Powell named Michigan his leader following the weekend, per 247's Steve Lorenz. Lorenz also reports($) that Michigan and Michigan State are the two schools out in front for four-star 2017 OLSM WR KJ Hamler.

Four-star 2017 MD DE Josh Kaindoh added an offer shortly after visiting campus this weekend, per The Wolverine's Brandon Brown.

The top-ranked 2017 quarterback in the country, Hunter Johnson, was on campus this weekend, per 247's Steve Wiltfong ($). Other campus visitors included four-star 2016 IL DE Daniel Joseph, four-star 2017 GA CB Jamyest Williams, four-star 2017 Detroit King CB Ambry Thomas, and five-star 2017 Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Michigan even extended another 2018 offer, this one to Oak Park OG Marquan McCall, per Wiltfong. McCall is teammates with 2017 four-star OT JaRaymond Hall. Michigan looks to be in very good shape with both of them.

[Take a deep breath, then hit THE JUMP.]

More On Weekend Commitments

The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan caught up with Antwaine Richardson to talk about his commitment and what he'll bring to the table ($):

"I'm a 6-0, 170-pound cornerback," he said. "I love pressing, I'm aggressive, love to tackle. I can jump up for the ball and catch it. I don't like nobody to catch the ball on me. Basically you're going to get a lockdown corner. Now, since Michigan plays a shuffle technique [in the defensive backfield], I would love to improve that. I'm good at it right now, but I want to be great at it. I would love to improve that.

"The camp was good. I came in their competing. During the drills, when we did the shuttle drill, we were going against the DB group, and nobody could [beat] me out there in the shuttle drill. Working hard throughout every drill, I was asking questions, and once it came to position drills, I did good too."

Over on Scout, Corey Bender posted an article on Rashad Weaver with an evaluation tacked on the end:

Weaver is a big-bodied athlete with the makings of an impressive strong-side defensive end. He shows good change of direction for a player of his stature, and does a good job of disengaging off blocks and making a play on the football as well. The defensive lineman simply reads and attacks.

Weaver has a frame that should be able to pack on an additional 20-30 pounds without hindering much of his athleticism in the trenches. He's a kid who's still fairly under the radar after surfacing earlier this offseason, but you can expect that to change.

He's a high-character and coachable kid that the Wolverines loved a few weeks back at their satellite camp in Davie, Florida. Weaver is just scratching the surface of his potential with his best football yet to come.

Weaver really looks like a 3-4 end, and that should prove valuable in DJ Durkin's defense.

Meanwhile, Michael Onwenu once again was a standout at a camp featuring lots of talent. This time, he came in fifth on Rivals' list of the top SMSB offensive performers ($):

The 6-foot-4, 368-pound Onwenu had an outstanding performance at the Five-Star Challenge last week, and he carried that momentum into the Sound Mind Sound Body Camp. After having competed against the best defensive linemen in the country out in Baltimore, Onwenu was easily able to dispatch all comers on Friday, displaying outstanding power and very good feet. 

With all these solid camp performances, Onwenu is a good bet to move up the rankings.

More Offers, Visits, Etc.

Michigan appears to be open to taking a second 2016 quarterback after offering three-star CA ATH Victor Viramontes, who earned a lofty comparison from Harbaugh:

Newest #Michigan offerree Victor Viramontes said Harbaugh saw him throw and reminded him of Colin Kap http://t.co/Cajhc8e0x4 @TremendousUM

— Justin Hopkins (@JHopkins247) June 12, 2015

The Wolverines also offered 2017 top-100 ATH Bruce Jordan-Swilling, per 247's Sonny Shipp.

After working with M's coaches at the Dallas satellite camp, four-star OLB Jeffrey McCullough told Sam Webb that the Wolverines "will be there to the end" of his recruitment ($).

Three-star NC WDE Jimmie Taylor told Scout's Michael Clark that Michigan is one of four schools standing out to him, and he'll visit campus on Thursday ($).

Top-100 2017 WR Tarik Black will be on campus Friday, per Tarik Black.

Four-star 2017 FL WR Daquon Green, who added a Michigan offer after the South Florida satellite camp, also attended SMSB and told Rivals that Michigan, Ohio State, and Florida comprise his early top three ($). Green plans to visit Ann Arbor in either June or July.

Now Touring: The Jim Harbaugh Experience

Show, meet road. [Left via MLive, right via The Wolverine]

Remember last summer, when Penn State coach James Franklin ruffled some feathers by hosting satellite camps in Florida and Georgia? Jim Harbaugh is taking the same tack. The Wolverine's Brandon Brown reports that Michigan's coaches will run a camp at Prattville High School in Alabama, which produced 2015 signee Keith Washington, one June 5th. Four days later, they'll do the same in Dallas, per MLive's Nick Baumgardner. It wouldn't surprise at all if additional camps were set up in, say, Florida and California before all is said and done.

This is a great situation for Michigan, of course. The coaches get to see a ton of prospects in states they can't get to during the season, make connections with local coaches, and hopefully make some progress with recruits they've offered. There's really no downside to this that I can imagine.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]