joshua mcmillon

Recruiting +3



I don't think #60 is gonna catch him. [Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal]

Michigan landed three new commitments over the weekend; if you missed the action, click the names for the full Hello posts on DE Reuben Jones, QB Zach Gentry, and OL Nolan Ulizio.

Gentry's commitment post focused a lot on his athleticism and mechanics, so this quote Scout's Greg Biggins gave to MLive's Nick Baumgardner about his arm strength proves useful:

"He's got an NFL arm, I've seen him flick the wrist and it's effortless, he doesn't have to wind up, the release is tight and he can throw it," Scout.com national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins said Sunday. "A lot of times you see young quarterbacks try to get more velocity by winding up, and they lose accuracy. With him, it's effortless. He just flicks the wrist and the accuracy and mechanics stay the same.

"Mechanically he's strong, and I love his arm strength."

Three of the four recruiting services rated Gentry as a four-star—Rivals and ESPN have him just outside the top 100—with the only holdout being 247. That doesn't mean 247 doesn't see his potential; when running down the best of the 2015 class, Barton Simmons pegged Gentry as a boom-or-bust candidate with serious upside:

3-star that could play like a 5 – Zach Gentry

A recent Texas decommit and Michigan commit, Gentry is the single most unique talent in this class. He’s huge at 6-7, he has a big arm, he doesn’t have good footwork but he is also extremely athletic, he’s extremely raw, plays shoddy competition in New Mexico but he’s got a world of potential. Still following? Bottom line: Don’t be surprised if Jim Harbaugh turns Gentry into a first-round draft pick as a quarterback, but also don’t be surprised if Gentry goes the Blake Bell route and ends up at tight end either.

Nolan Ulizio's commitment post was a little light on scouting reports; since that published, ESPN gave Ulizio a three-star rating and posted an evaluation ($):

Ulizio is an OL prospect with good size and a physical, lunch pail type style. Little better football player then he is overall athlete and ceiling may not be real high, but with some continued development good prospect that has flown under the radar some and can be a productive contributor to an FBS OL potentially as a RT or could very well see a move inside to OG.

Ulizio's high school coach also discussed his game with The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan ($):

"The great part about Nolan is he's a very physical, aggressive player," said Cox. "He plays with a nasty attitude and enjoys being an offensive lineman. He takes his job of protecting the quarterback and running backs really seriously. He's 6-5, 285. For a high school senior, that's pretty special. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, he plays to the whistle, and he finishes really really well. Secondly, I think Nolan does a great job of conceptualizing what you're trying to do offensively. He can think on his feet, with the defense a moving object that he reacts to quickly. 

That last bit is important—a big part of a lineman's job in Harbaugh's offense is identifying the right man to hit when pulling, which isn't always easy to do on the fly.

The Wolverine's Brandon Brown caught up a position coach at Reuben Jones' school—former M OL Ricky Barnum ($):

"He's one of the players that I love to coach against and coach with," Barnum said. "He's an extremely hard worker and he's very strong. I'm not just saying that either. In games, he gets double and tripled-teamed and he manages to fight through it. You can watch his highlight where he runs plays down from the backside. I'm talking 40 or 50 yards down the field. On the field he really has a motor. That's the one thing I'd say about him, he has a motor."

With the three additions, Michigan's 2015 class jumped 22 spots in the 247 Composite team rankings to #69 overall. That's still well off the pace M would like to be at, obviously, but they're poised to push into the top 30 if they round out the class as expected, which would be quite acceptable given the small group of commits compared to other schools.

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

If you missed it, Brian handled the recruiting primer for which needs Michigan should fill to finish out the 2015 class. Today's recruiting roundup will attempt to figure out which prospects are most likely to fill the ten or so remaining spots.

THE MOST LIKELY CANDIDATES

CT TE Chris Clark (4*, #2 TE, #80 Ovr. on 247 Composite): Clark, a former Michigan commit, consistently stated over the last few weeks that his interest in the Wolverines would rise significantly if Harbaugh took the job. He spoke with Harbaugh—whom he called the "LeBron James of coaching"—this week and told MLive's Nick Baumgardner it went very well:

"We kind of just talked about how he hopes Michigan turns into 'Tight End U,' and all the top tight ends he produced while he was at Stanford," said Clark, who will play in the Under Armour All-American Game on Friday. "I think six of them went on to the NFL. He said he thinks I could be a great leader for the class, and he's just hoping I'll be a part of it.

"He was a really cool guy, I liked him a lot."

Clark is now down to Michigan and UCLA, and I'd guess he ends up back in the fold.

MI ATH John Kelly (3*, #57 ATH): Kelly could play either running back or defensive back at the next level, though given Michigan's needs I'd guess he'll be recruited for defense. He spoke with Harbaugh within the last couple days and told 247's Steve Lorenz he was "really pumped" about the conversation ($). Even prior to that, he indicated Michigan was moving up his list ($):

"I would love to play for Coach Harbaugh," Kelly said. "I hear he's a tough coach. I'm looking to play for a coach that will try to squeeze out all of the talent and potential in me. His hiring is a great thing for Michigan as well. As long as he contacts me and my family, the chances of me playing at Michigan will definitely increase."

Michigan State is Michigan's chief competition, with Minnesota and Iowa also factoring in. Getting Kelly could help M's efforts in pulling in another major target: former RB commit and current OSU pledge Mike Weber, who's close friends with Kelly; they'd stated in the past they'd like to play together in college, and the Buckeyes aren't pursuing Kelly.

[Hit THE JUMP for probable visitors, other candidates, and the names you can scratch off the wish list.]

Hi. I'm back, and ingeniously timed my return for the last roundup before the BBQ, which means... oh, jeez, there's a lot to catch up on. Time to get rid of, oh, 50 or so open tabs. I totally thought this one through, everyone.

BBQ Preview: Bad News First

Michigan's biggest summer recruiting event, the BBQ at the Big House, is on Sunday, and one of the program's top 2015 targets won't be able to make the trip as originally planned.

While four-star TN LB Josh McMillon maintains this is due to a logistical issue, and Michigan is still in the running for his commitment, this isn't the headline you want to see with a decision less than a month away, via Tim Sullivan:

McMillon will miss Barbecue, but nears decision

That decision is set for August 22nd, and the signs point to Alabama being the choice at this juncture. In a free Scout article, McMillon discussed his recent Ole Miss visit and current plans to visit Auburn before his final choice, but when talking about Michigan he didn't mention any plans to reschedule his trip to Ann Arbor. That doesn't look so good in conjunction with this quote:

Michigan is where his high school coach, Rodney Saulsberry, graduated.



"He always talks about what a good experience he had at Michigan. I probably know less about Michigan than the other schools, but I did get a chance to go up there and take a look around. I didn't know anyone from Michigan but a defensive lineman of theirs named Pip talked to me for a while. I got a chance to meet several of their players on their team. They told me that it is fun to play for their coaches. He said they are real happy with their coaching staff."

McMillon has been to Alabama multiple times, including with his parents. Unless he finds time to schedule a visit to Ann Arbor with his family in tow before his decision date, it'd be a major surprise if he didn't choose the Tide.

At least one top running back target won't make it this weekend, either. Per Sullivan, Damien Harris no longer plans to attend the BBQ ($). Mike Weber might not be able to make it, either, as he's visiting USC until Sunday and might not make it back in time to get to Ann Arbor before the BBQ is over—he says he's trying to make it work, however, and as you'll see below Michigan continues to work their way back to the top of his list.

BBQ Preview: The Good, And The List

Before I go any further, Brandon posted a tentative list of BBQ visitors last week; there have been a few other changes in addition to the cancellations of McMillon and Harris.

Four-star in-state ATH Brian Cole is off the "maybe" list; while he won't be at the BBQ itself, 247's Steve Lorenz reports he'll be on campus tomorrow with his father and uncle ($). Michigan will host one other pre-BBQ visitor this weekend: 2016 four-star PA WR Cameron Chambers, who'll visit on Saturday. There's also an addition to the visitor list for the BBQ: three-star LA DE Jalen Bates, who's seeing increased interest from top schools, including a recent offer from Texas A&M.

While a lot of the recent focus here has been on 2015 four-star Virginia Tech CB commit Mook Reynolds, who'll be at the BBQ, another corner committed elsewhere could be in line to take Shaun Crawford's vacated spot in the class. Four-star DC CB Marcus Lewis will be in town on Sunday—he told 247's Steve Wiltfong that U-M is "very close" to Florida, the school to which he's currently committed, and the Wolverines might even be in position to change his mind this weekend ($):

"I don't think I'll commit, but I'll definitely make progress," Lewis told 247Sports on Tuesday morning. "It'll be a great visit though."

At the very least, he's leaving open the chance that Michigan will make a serious move towards the top of his list. In addition to the coaches, a host of current U-M commits—including recruiting point man Alex Malzone—will be at the BBQ, and you can bet they'll be turning up the heat on Lewis, who said this will be his final visit of the summer.

If you're hoping for a commit watch, the best bet among offered prospects is four-star NC SDE Darian Roseboro, whose presumed leader is Michigan heading into his weekend visit; he's already planned an August 29th decision, however, and should stick to that unless his time on campus goes so well he can't wait that long—a definite possibility given this coaching staff's track record with campus visits. If he reels in an offer, 2015 three-star Birmingham WR Grant Perry, Malzone's top target on Brother Rice, could be a guy who commits immediately. Perry camped at Michigan each of the last four years and has the attention of the coaches.

[Hit THE JUMP for the latest on a pair of Cass Tech prospects, three new 2016 running back offers, updates on several key 2015 and 2016 targets, and more.]