jourdan lewis

Mark Bialek/Freep

In a game that matched the weather, Orchard Lake St. Mary's ground out a 13-6 victory over Cass Tech in a driving rainstorm on Friday, handing the Technicians their first loss of the season. OLSM dominated the line of scrimmage, rushing for over 200 yards, and Cass Tech couldn't overcome a third-quarter muffed punt by Jourdan Lewis that led to the final St. Mary's score.

Due to the constant rain, I wasn't able to take video last weekend, so unfortunately there are no highlights in this post. I did, however, spend the game talking to a Detroit-area high school coach who's been coaching in the region for over 40 years. He unequivocally stated that Cass Tech junior CB/WR Damon Webb was the best player on the field for either team—overall, not just in that single game—and in fact he'd tried to get Webb to transfer to his school when he left U-D Jesuit last year. I also asked him about RB commit Wyatt Shallman; the coach is convinced Shallman's best position is running back and compared his combination of size and athleticism to NFL Hall of Fame back John Riggins.

[After THE JUMP, full scouting reports on the Michigan commits, Webb, and more.]

Today's recruiting roundup has the latest on the Green/Treadwell/McQuay triumvirate, the status of Shane Morris, and much more.

Morris Done For The Year?

Upchurch/MGoBlog

This isn't at all how Shane Morris expected to finish out his high school career—the Freep's Mick McCabe reports that Morris will miss this weekend's game with mono, and his coach doesn't expect him back for the rest of the season. If you doubt the kid's toughness, read this paragraph...

“He had a sore throat and took some medicine and took it easy at practice but didn’t feel any better," Verska said. “Friday morning, he had a blood test and found out right before the game he had mono. He said he wanted to play, and the doctor said it was OK, because it wasn’t in his spleen. And Mom and Dad said it was OK. He tried, but he ran out of gas in the second quarter.’’

...and then see where he ended up a couple days later:

Shane Morris sent me a text saying he is hospitalized for the night with mono, and they're not yet sure what will happen with his season.

— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) September 19, 2012

The biggest priority for Morris will be getting back on his feet and caught up in the classroom—no easy feat with mono—and I hope you'll join me in wishing him a swift recovery, because mono really, really sucks.

[Hit THE JUMP for upcoming official visit plans of McQuay, Green, and Treadwell, plus much more.]

Today's recruiting roundup has the latest on Laquon Treadwell, a roundup of last weekend's commit stats, and more.

Treadwell: New Top Six

Rivals's Josh Helmholdt caught up with IL WR Laquon Treadwell following his unofficial visit to Ole Miss—new home of former Crete-Monee teammate and one-time Michigan commit Anthony Standifer—and he revealed a new top six($): Florida, Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss, in no particular order. This is pretty close to previous top groups of Treadwell's, though Auburn is notably absent. He's also scheduled his first official visit to Oklahoma on October 27th, when they face off against Notre Dame.

I still believe Treadwell is a Michigan lean until he says they're out of the running, though it's worth noting that this was his second visit to Ole Miss, and this time around he brought his mother along to meet the coaches. That's a sign of genuine interest; we've known all along that Treadwell would do his due diligence, and Wolverine fans should expect to have to sweat out at least a few more of these visits.

On the field, Treadwell continues to show why he's so coveted as a prospect, earning top weekend performer honors from Helmholdt after recording seven catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns on Friday night ($).

Subpar Stats: Explained

Shane Morris turned in another underwhelming statistical performance in a blowout loss to Brother Rice, and how can he be a five-star rabblerabblerabble oh wait:

DeLaSalle quarterback Shane Morris, who was diagnosed with mononucleosis earlier this week, played just the first half and completed eight of 17 attempts for 87 yards and one interception.

DeLaSalle coach Paul Verska said Morris likely would be out for the next 10 days, perhaps longer.

"They deserved to win," Verska said. "They're quick on defense. Real quick. (Shane) is sick. He's been sick."

During my bout with mono I ate chicken broth for Thanksgiving dinner while zonked out on Vicodin. I certainly made no attempt to play football, or even move, really. Get well soon, Shane.

Healthier players turning in healthier stats over the weekend included Dymonte Thomas—who rushed for 309 yards and four touchdowns on 16 carries and added "around 12 tackles," according to Tremendous—and Gareon Conley, who caught four passes for 103 yards and three touchdowns and also had a 78-yard pick six. Highlights of both performances are in the video above starting at the 1:05 mark.

[More recruit stats plus Malik McDowell's visit reaction after THE JUMP.]

David Dawson receives his Under Armour All-American jersey in a halftime ceremony

Last weekend, the definitely-not-a-van made its way to Cass Tech for their matchup against Detroit Renaissance. For the second straight week, the Technicians came away with a blowout victory, jumping out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter en route to a 44-0 final. With the win, Cass Tech starts their title defense with a 3-0 record, including a season-opening triumph over defending Division II state champion Brother Rice.

Video Highlights

Soundtrack: "Detroit Twice" — El Michels Affair

Player Evaluations

2013 CB/WR Jourdan Lewis (Michigan commit): Lewis focused largely on wide receiver in this game, rotating in on defense after the first couple possessions. He showed his shiftiness on offense, taking a tunnel screen 15 yards for a touchdown, then making a Braylon-esque leaping grab on a fade for the subsequent two-point conversion. Lewis recorded another receiving touchdown in the second half and also made an impact on special teams, breaking into the second level on a punt return.

Defensively, Lewis more than held his own in coverage and was not targeted by Renaissance, who chose to take their chances with Damon Webb and DaQuan Pace. This wasn't a great showcase for Lewis as a cornerback prospect; he continued to show that he's a viable candidate for either side of the ball at the next level, however, and he should also contribute as a return man. Lewis did record a late interception to preserve the shutout.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the scouting report plus photos from Dawson's jersey ceremony.]

Today's recruiting roundup covers last weekend's high school action, bids farewell to a couple wide receiver targets, and looks forward to a big visit weekend for... basketball?

Get That Man A Square-Toed Shoe

Michigan commits Jaron Dukes (Marion-Franklin) and Taco Charlton (Pickerington Central) faced off against each other this past weekend; Central came away with a 45-24 victory, and MGoUser Dubs was there to take in the action. If you're looking to submit a scouting report for Future Blue Originals, this is how it's done:

DE/LB Taco Charlton, 2013:  Despite Marion-Frankin running away from Taco (about 80% of the time), he managed to rack up 8 tackles, and a tackle for loss (zero sacks).  It was about 50/50 as to whether he had his hand down as a DE, or whether he was lined up as an OLB.  Pickerington Central did show multiple fronts, ranging from a 3-3-5(!), 3-4, and a 4-3 (with Taco as DE).  He even saw around 5 snaps on offense, and caught a nice PA-pass for a 15 yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter.  He did leave early in the 4th quarter after an apparent shoulder injury (possibly a stinger).  But after being checked with a trainer, Taco was out there after a couple of plays, only to be banned to the sideline for the rest of the game after the game was well in hand.  Pickerington Central won 45-24.

As far as the "eyeball test," I must admit I was a little disappointed at Taco's lack of aggression.  There were moments when a sure passing down approached, and I expected to see that pass-rushing prowess we all read about in 7 on 7's this summer, but I did not see it.  The tackle guarding him was very large (some may say "fat," but I don't want to personally attack a kid), and VERY slow, so I was expecting Taco to beat him off the line, lower his shoulder, and destroy the QB.  Instead, he relied more on his inside spin more than anything.  I will suspect that perhaps, it was because the QB was a very good athlete, Taco was in charge of contain more than anything. Marion-Franklin sent a back to chip Taco's outside pass-rush, as well, which also would limit his opportunities. However,  I feel there were times where Taco could have taken over the game but did not. I do not know if it is a motor issue, or the coaches playing him conservatively against a dual threat QB.

WR Jaron Dukes, 2013:  It was very difficult for Dukes to get involved, mostly because the Marion-Franklin QB relied more on his feet than anything.  The throws the QB did make were hitches, outs, slants, and screens of all sorts.  That being said, Dukes still managed to haul in 5 passes (out of 8 targets) for about 42 yards.  He was targeted for a TD jump-ball thrown to him early in the 1st quarter, in which he had a height advantage of at least 6 inches over the opposing defender, however, the ball was vastly under-thrown, and was broken up.  Dukes also dropped a possible TD pass (at least a very large gain) during the hurry-up in the waning seconds of the 2nd. Dukes also handled the kickoff duties, which, if Michigan is looking for some sort of "Tom Dempsey style" kicker/WR hybrid, they got their man.

As far as the eyeball test goes, Dukes did not seem to show a lot of explosiveness, either off the line or to create separation against the defenders (it was kind of a soggy/muggy night, so the field may have been less-than-pristine).  There were many times in which the QB was scrambling and, rather than hit that extra gear, he seemed to simply jog.  Perhaps he is not used to getting much "love," as most of the passing offense derived from the slot receivers (which if true, why not put Dukes in slot?).  I will say this, he did look strong after the catch, breaking a few arm tackles and showing of a pretty solid stiff-arm.

Overall, I felt that these two looked the part of a D-1 prospect.  However, it is hard to tell their true potential based on their supporting cast:  obviously you'll run away from Taco because his supporting DE looked half his size.  And it's hard to get any love as an outside receiver when your QB cannot make the throws.  So, I had to remind myself: these kids are prospects. And with that, I have great faith in the Michigan coaches that they can mold these kids into serviceable players or, hopefully, even stars.

A huge thanks to Dubs for sending this in, as well as bringing up the possibility of a Michigan wide receiver also handling kicks "Tom Dempsey style."

[Hit THE JUMP for the full recruiting roundup, including info on what could be a huge visit weekend for the basketball program.]

It was a marathon opening weekend of high school football; Shane Morris and Warren De La Salle overcame early struggles to soundly defeat Pioneer on Friday night, then Saturday featured four marquee matchups in the Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Division I state champs Cass Tech and Division II state champs Brother Rice.

A note before I move along to the scouting portion: Yes, there was a shooting scare on Saturday night. It's remarkably unfortunate that a fight between a couple of idiots—in which someone threatened to pull a gun and caused a panic, though the police say no gun was present—has marred what was otherwise a stellar event. Kurt Kosmowski, Marty Dobek, and the whole Detroit Sports Commission crew put a ton of effort into pulling together 12 high school teams over two days, giving these young athletes a chance to play at a college stadium in front of nearly 10,000 people. The DSC has announced that they'll once again hold the Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State next year; while I hope they beef up security a bit, I'm also confident that they'll once again put together a first-rate football showcase.

[UPDATE: I got clarification of what actually went on from Tim. There was an argument that caused the first rush of people running to avoid the confrontation, and officials stopped the game since people ran onto the field. The fight continued in another area of the concourse soon after, and this unfortunately coincided with fireworks at nearby Comerica Park, which people mistook for gunshots. There was no gun present. Apologies if there was any misunderstanding about the situation.]

With that out of the way, let's get to the recap of all the action after THE JUMP.