keyshon camp

Durkin Leaves, Partridge Stays

Recruits care more about the man in the middle. [Fuller]

While Michigan lost a strong recruiter when DJ Durkin accepted the head job at Maryland, it doesn't appear his departure is going to have a significant impact on the program's recruiting, at least in the short term. The latest Wolverine pledge, Jordan Elliott*, summed up the general feeling among the commits:

This don't change a thing

— ChadTough〽️ (@XCV____) December 2, 2015

The reaction from uncommitted targets depends on the prospect; for the most part, their ties are more to the program—Jim Harbaugh's program—or their primary recruiter. The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan posted reactions from several prospects that included four-star TX DE Levi Onwuzurike saying that it wouldn't affect him as long as Greg Mattison stayed on staff ($). Five-star CA OLB Caleb Kelly said it affects his recruitment, but he's been considered a long-shot at best for a while now. This is worth watching, though:

Los Angeles Loyola 2016 cornerback David Long Jr.

"That would be huge [to lose him], but if [Stanford defensive coordinator Lance] Anderson replaces him it would work perfectly, but that's in a perfect world."

Despite being a Stanford commit, Long seemed more likely to end up at Michigan. We'll see what comes of his imminent in-home visit; hopefully that clears up any concern.

Meanwhile, 247's Steve Wiltfong reported today that director of player personnel Chris Partridge will not follow Durkin to Maryland, which was rumored to be a strong possibility—Sam Webb added Partridge is in line for an "increased role" with the program. While Michigan's recruiting in New Jersey has reached the point where Partridge isn't essential to their ability to land that state's top talent—more NJ recruits mention Jabrill Peppers than Partridge these days—it's still a a significant plus to have his connections there.

*So I can save myself an extra paragraph, Elliott isn't going anywhere.

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I Will Now Surgically Attach Myself To My Laptop

247's Steve Lorenz has published an early list of visitors for The Game. It's free, extensive, and includes the following big names, among many others:

• Five-star GA ATH Mecole Hardman, a Peppers-type who's expected to stay in SEC country but is giving M a serious look.
• Four-star TX ILB Dontavious Jackson and his teammate, three-star S Chris Brown, will take their long-awaited official visits.
• Four-star MD OG Terrance Davis, who maintains Michigan as his leader heading into his official visits, per 247's Luke Stampini ($).
• Detroit King teammates LaVert Hill and Donnie Corley could be back on campus for unofficial visits, as could Hill's fellow tenuous PSU commit, Quinn Nordin.
• Four-star FL DT Keyshon Camp is showing a lot of interest despite his USC commit; after taking an official in September, he'll pay his way back for an unofficial.
• Three-star FL WR Keyshawn "Pie" Young has had Michigan at or near the top of his impressive offer list for a while. He'll be in on an official.
• In addition to hosting a huge number of current commits, M will host six top-150 recruits each from the 2017 and 2018 classes.

Michigan also will have a second USC flip candidate on campus in three-star WR Velus Jones Jr., who added an offer a couple weeks ago and will be in on an official visit.

One big name who initially planned to make the trip is four-star TX OT Jean Delance, who had to reschedule his official visit because his team advanced in the playoffs. In a sign that his interest is legit, he told 247's Ryan Bartow that as a result he's pushing back his announcement date ($):

Delance had hoped to announce a verbal commit January 2 at the Under Armour All-American Game.

That's now up in the air.

"No I will not commit," Delance said. "I will visit these schools before I (am) committing if possible."

This might put Michigan in a tight spot if another lineman wants to commit before Delance is ready to make a decision, but that's one of those good problems.

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Gary Return A Distinct Possibility

It's been a good week on the Rashan Gary news front. Jennifer Coney, mother of the five-star defensive lineman, gave an extended interview to 247Sports that contains a couple significant developments. First off, they're leaning towards a return visit to Ann Arbor:

"It would definitely be in January right before Signing Day," she said. "We are leaning that way. I want him to go there one more time before he decides. His sister, my husband, all of us will be there."

A visit from Gary would be his fourth to Michigan's campus as a recruit. He's already been on his official visit for the game against BYU and was on campus twice during the off-season.

Paying their way to take the whole family to campus right before Signing Day when Gary's already seen it three times is hard to take as anything but a great sign. So, too, is this quote from Coney about Gary's official visit to Auburn, the program considered the top contender for him aside from Michigan:

"They showed us a video, the day in the life of a football player," Coney told the SEC Recruiting Buzz podcast. "At the end, I was so unimpressed, they said, 'Are you okay?' I said, 'This is not what I came down here for.' "

While Coney added that Auburn then had her meet with multiple academic advisors, which she found far more impressive than the presentation, but that still stands in stark contrast to her quotes about Michigan's academic presentation—and both Coney and Gary have maintained academics will be a significant factor when the time comes to make a decision.

Michigan also looks to be in great shape with one of the top overall prospects in the 2017 class. Five-star NY OT Isaiah Wilson has Michigan in his top eight with plans to narrow his list to four soon and make a decision this summer; given that timeline, the visit plans he gave Rivals' Adam Friedman are very encouraging ($):

"I haven't begun planning a lot of things yet," he said. "I know that I might go to the Penn State game against Michigan. It depends on the cars and who is driving. In February I plan on visiting Michigan for the basketball game against Michigan State. I know that's going to be crazy. In the spring I will take some visits but nothing is set in stone yet. I don't have a schedule or dates."

It's important to note that neither Penn State nor Michigan State are in his top eight.

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