kyle murphy

Or: Wednesday Recruitin' Wasn't Particularly Subtle About This Yesterday

Matt Godin Goes Blue

MI DE/DT Matt Godin committed to Michigan on WTKA this morning, and though the podcasts are not available quite yet, it was apparently a good one. Here's another quote Godin gave to Tom:

"We have one goal, a National Championship. I've already been talking about it with my future teammates. We are going to be a defense with a nasty streak."

Aside from The Wolverine Blog:

After reading a lot of commitment posts, one tends to see two patterns emerge to rationalize a lowly three-star... The other subset would be the prototypical ‘Oh, Iowa and Wisconsin make championship contenders out of these types of kids every year’, but what does that mean? It means that the kids may not have the same explosive potential as others, but are high effort, smart, and (for the most part) pretty technically sound. I think it’d be hard to put Godin anywhere but the latter category

...There are no further breakdowns of his game - yet - so for now, enjoy the Hello: Matt Godin post. And (since I forgot to add it this morning) a hearty thanks to MGoUser Six Zero for the image.

Happy Trails

NC OLs Clayton and Brock Stadnik committed to South Carolina. Michigan had been interested in Brock only, and when it became clear that the twins insisted on attending school together, the recruitment cooled quickly.

IL WR Jordan Westerkamp committed to Nebraska. Michigan wasn't a serious player for him, but he's a (new) teammate of IL DT Jaleel Johnson, a recent recipient of a Michigan offer, who seems to really like Michigan.

CO TE Evan Baylis has committed to Oregon. Something tells me Brady Hoke's staff isn't sweating the loss of a tight end.

He's not off the board yet, but GA WR Jaquay Williams is making a commitment soon, and I for one would be shocked if he picked Michigan.

The Interview Portion of Our Programming

FL QB Bennie Coney is still including Michigan among his top 5, and certain reports have indicated that's a final list. He's also turned his act around after being kicked off Plant City's team last year, according to Coach Wayne Ward:

When you’ve made a mistake, the only thing that people remember was that mistake, no matter what you do. For me, he’s been doing good. He has a 3.0 (GPA) in the classroom, he just scored an 18 on the ACT so he’s qualified already. That just lets you know that he’s making the proper steps in becoming a collegiate athlete. …He’s been doing everything the right way, we just want to make sure we stay on that path.

Bennie himself also talks about his maturation process. Coney has been nominated to the US Army All-American Game.

Tom talked to former Wolverine Ricky Powers, the high school coach of OH S Jarrod Wilson:

Jarrod is a smart kid, and I know he's planning on narrowing it down soon here. I don't know who it will all be narrowed down to, of course Michigan will be on the list. I think he'll have schools like Michigan, Stanford, and Notre Dame which shows you his intelligence...

I think he has a timeline, but I try not to talk to him about it too much. He's quiet, but he's a great kid and he really will break down different things to make a decision. He'll make the right choice.

There's plenty more on Jarrod in the interview, but sounds like Michigan is not heavily recruiting his teammate, OH WR Corey Smith, who is deciding soon ($, info in header).

OH RB Bri'onte Dunn, currently an Ohio State commit, visited Michigan over the weekend ($, info in header). Tom caught up with him after the visit:

It was better than I expected. They showed us around a lot and explained all the schooling stuff to us. They were good people, they seem like I could build a relationship with them. I'm just looking around right now, I'm still committed to Ohio State.

Though he says he's firmly committed to the Buckeyes, we'll see what happens with their infractions case.

CA WR Malik Gilmore talked to Tom about his recruitment:

I'm still taking everything in right now. I want to get out and take my visits and then I will start to narrow down the schools. I've been hearing from Cal, UCLA, and Northwestern lately, so we'll see. I'm not sure what I want to do yet, but I will be seriously considering Michigan in all this.

His commitment is still a long way out, but Michigan is definitely a school he's considering.

MO DT Ondre Pipkins was the subject of the latest Sam Webb column in the Detroit News. Michigan seems to be in strong position. Allen Trieu on Pipkins's game:

"Pipkins is a big-bodied space-eater that can command double teams, but he's quick enough and light enough on his feet to penetrate and disrupt," said Trieu. "Once he learns to really use his hands and consistently play under people, he's going to be an even tougher guy to move and block... Big kids like him that are 320 pounds and move the way he does are very rare."

And his high school coach Greg Reynolds:

"Ondre is strong and quick off the ball, and when he can latch onto an opponent and stay low, he can take care of some gaps for sure," Reynolds told Scout.com. "He gets double-, sometimes triple-teamed, which allows our linebackers to flow freely. He plays with a good motor. His job is to draw the double- and triple-team, but he is very disruptive in the backfield. We're going to do some things next year to try to open things up for him."

The Saginaw expatriate is on track for a late summer decision, or he may let his recruitment drag on a bit longer.

NY QB Chad Kelly visited Ann Arbor last week, and talked to Tom about his impressions:

My impression was that it was a great program and they're turning it around from the past few years. I think it compared pretty well and overall it was a good time... In the process I'm just checking everything out, trying to find the pros and cons of all these schools. I will make my decision before the season though.

He'll have to camp to earn an offer, but Michigan might be in good position if they show interest.

Tom interviewed AZ CB/ATH DJ Foster following his Michigan offer last week:

As of now I kind of have a top five, but schools keep offering so it keeps changing. Right now it's USC, ASU, Oregon, Stanford, and Cal. That changes all the time though, like when schools like Michigan offer...

I plan on taking all five of my official visits. I'm definitely going to try to use them on schools that I can't really see on unofficials. I would love to use one of them on Michigan.

If the Wolverines can get him on campus, they have a chance to land him, but we'll see if such a visit actually happens. Since it sounds like Michigan wants him on defense, here's his highlight from that side of the ball:

Etc.

The MSR Ohio Blog compliments OH OL Commit Caleb Stacey:

Some colleges are looking for that "hard-nosed tough guy," and two that come to mind are Caleb Stacey(Oak Hills) and Benny McGowan(Centerville). Both need to improve pass blocking techniques. Both need to work on balance. Both do bring that toughness and nastiness that Zach Born [sic] brought to Ohio State.

Despite the frequent misspellings, apparently this guy is legit. Plus he's complimenting a Michigan commit, so I'll trust him.

Other Offensive Linemen: WA OL Zach Banner is one of the top offensive linemen in the nation, and stands at a massive 6-9, 300. he has guaranteed that he will visit Ann Arbor ($, info in header). TX OL Michael Starts wants to visit Michigan this summer. CA OL Kyle Murphy is interested in Michigan ($, info in header). TX OL Trey Keenan has a Michigan connection ($, info in header).CA OL Jordan Simmons was expecting a visit from Michigan last week. Michigan visited MN OL Jonah Pirsig earlier this spring ($, info in header). Michigan is "up there" with CO OL Paul Thurston, who visited over the weekend ($, info in header).

Defensive Linemen: GA DT Jordan Watkins may be receiving a Michigan offer this week. NY DT Jarron Jones is a soft commit to Penn State, and he'll visit Ann Arbor in June. Michigan has offered VA DE Ken Ekanem.

Defensive Backs: TX S Will Hines had Michigan coaches visit last week, no word on an offer yet. NJ S Elijah Shumate is "high on Michigan" ($, info in header). A Michigan offer has piqued the interest of GA CB Geno Smith ($, info in header). Michigan has offered FL RB/DB Nelson Agholor. He's one of Rivals's new 5-star prospects.

Army All-American nominations have started to drop, and include some Michigan commitments.

Hopefully there is a (brief) break in commitments this week, so we can take a step back and take a look at the recruiting class as a whole in the next edition of Wednesday Recruitin'.

2013

OH RB Dymonte Thomas recently visited Ann Arbor with his cousin, 2012 RB Bri'onte Dunn.

IL WR Laquon Treadwell should be on your radar . He's a teammate of 2012 prospect Anthony Standifer.

OH OL Mark Donnal, the younger brother of Michigan State Spartan Andrew Donnal, plans to visit Ann Arbor ($, info in header). He seems to be mostly a hoops prospect, however.

MI DE/FB Wyatt Shallman has picked up a Michigan offer, but the coaches told him they want him at... tailback? He's 6-3, 250 as a high school sophomore, so uh... yeah...

The title says it. Without further ado, the 2012 Michigan Football Recruiting Board v1.0.

It's a little light on features right now, and is hardly more advanced than umhero's offer board (a hearty tip o' the hat to umhero because I definitely used his list to fill in a few gaps in my own), but I plan to add more in the near future. Individual players will have pages of their own with more information, links to posts that mention them, video, and much more.

I'll start rolling out the 2.0 features ASAP. It's a wiki, so users with more than 500 points can edit it.

MORE New Offers

The coaching staff is offering kids left and right, so between the time I publish this and the time it hits your eyeballs, things are subject to change. Bear with me.

CA QB Jake Rodrigues received a Washington offer last week, and within a half hour, Michigan had followed suit ($).

OH RB Bri'onte Dunn is currently an Ohio State commit, but that didn't stop Michigan from offering him last week. The Buckeyes already have another back (Warren Ball) committed in the class, and the Wolverines' coaching staff may try to sell him on being "the guy" in this class.

OK RB Donovan Roberts picked up a Michigan offer earlier this week. Michigan and Indiana are his only offers, but he has plenty of interest from Big 12 schools as well. His film is impressive:

CA WR Jordan Payton is a USC commit, but Michigan still sent him an offer. Brandon Huffman says he's solid to the Trojans.

GA WR Jaquay Williams has offers from both Michigan and Ohio State ($, info in header).

NC WR Jody Fuller picked up a Michigan offer last week.

The Wolverines sent an offer to NJ WR Leonte Carroo.

Michigan has offered OH TE AJ Williams. According to Duane Long, Williams is an outrageously athletic (but raw) prospect.

Michigan has offered MA CB Armani Reeves ($, info in header), as well as his teammate, OL Camren Williams ($, info in header).

Add OH OL Tyler Orlosky to the list of offered prospects ($, info in header).

OH OL Taylor Decker has received a Michigan offer. Ohio State and Notre Dame are presumed to be his (heavy) leaders at this point. Duane Long talks about his skills:

Decker is the fourth five-star tackle in this class. The sooner he becomes a football player first, the sooner he will become the football player that he can be. I have him as a five-star but that has everything to do with his physical tools. He still has some work to do to catch up with Kalis, Dodson and McGowan as football players.

"Dodson" refers to OH OL Kyle Dodson, who received a Michigan offer of his own.

CA OL Jordan Simmons has a Michigan offer. Tom said last week to keep an eye out for him, so also stay tuned on CA OL Ellis McCarthy too.

CA OL Arik Armstead has a Michigan offer, but he's' a USC commit.

According to his coach, FL OL Avery Young is now holding an offer from Michigan. Tom says it'll be tough to pull him out of Florida.

The Wolverines offered a pair of defensive tackles yesterday in CA DT Aziz Shittu and MO DT Ondre Pipkins. Pipkins used to live in the Saginaw area, so he's familiar with the stats of Michigan.

Michigan has offered GA DE Jordan Jenkins.

Brian covered a bit of the drama around MI DE Matt Godin last week. TomVH Godin update ...and by the end of the week, he received his offer ($, info in header). Godin was on campus yesterday, and enjoyed it.

TX DE Mario Edwards has picked up a Michigan offer.

OH LB Kaleb Ringer visited Ann Arbor last week ($, info in header), and received an offer. He might be receiving an offer from Ohio State as soon as this Sunday.

TX LB Jeremiah Tshimanga reports a Michigan offer (HT: umhero).

Michigan offered TX LB Peter Jinkens over the weekend.

OH S Jarrod Wilson was offered by Michigan. He's a true free safety, which you may note is an area of weakness on Michigan's roster. He visited Ann Arbor with his teammate, WR Corey Smith, over the weekend ($, info in header). Tom talked to Smith, who will talk to Michigan's coaches about whether he's a better fit on offense or defense before they extend him an offer. Both players plan to wait until the Under Armour game to announce.

NJ CB/S Yuri Wright reports a Michigan offer.

Michigan recently offered MD CB Ronald Darby, who boasts a 4.31 real (FAKE!) 40 time. His high school helmet is spectacular (at right).

FL CB Deon Bush told Tom that Michigan has offered him. Deon plans to sit down with his dad and find a time that they can get up to Michigan. He impressed at a recent combine in Miami:

Bush, a rangy safety, measured in at close to 6-foot-1 and 180-pounds and ran a blazing 40 yard dash of 4.44 seconds. He moved quickly and fluidly through the three-cone drill for a taller athlete, bending and getting low out of his cuts. His vertical was a very respectable 34 inches, he hammered out 17 reps on the bench and showed good lower-body explosion with a 10-foot-5 broad jump.

He's got a number of top offers, so expect a fight for this kid.

Combines

I missed this in last week's update, but Nike held a SPARQ combine in Cleveland a couple weekends back, and a couple Michigan targets impressed:

Ohio DE Ifeadi Odenigbo finished 5th overall with a Sparq score of 109.02. This was Ifeadi's first combine, and he placed fifth overall out of hundreds and hundreds of kids...

Ifeadi's teammate, OL Benny McGowan (6'4", 300 lbs) was the first offensive lineman to ever score over 100 on the Sparq scale. Ifeadi told me that Benny was injured for most of his season, which is why there aren't more schools after him, but he's a sleeper. Benny also happens to like Michigan, and has them in his top five...

RB Marc Cargle from Pontiac held the top overall score with 111.3. Cargle was hurt for most of his season, which is why there hasn't been much hype around him.

Midwest Showcase fluff on MI TE Ron Thompson.

MI OL DaRon Brown was on campus this weekend.

Recent offeree Matt Godin is friends with MI DT Danny O'Brien, and they rode home from the midwest combine together (although Novi and Flint aren't remotely close to each other if Ann Arbor is the point of departure). Danny still holds Tennessee as his favorite, but says he's interested in playing with Godin in college.

IL OL Jordan Diamond didn't participate in the Best of the Midwest Combine this weekend, but he still traveled to Ann Arbor with 2011 Commit Chris Bryant and 2012 IL QB Robert Gregory. Diamond enjoyed his visit, but isn't any closer to making a decision.

Other Updates

Following a train of thought from above... Ohio State has offered Odenigbo. On his game from the article:

What makes Odenigbo so intriguing is his mixture of size, strength and speed. He was the Elks’ best sprinter last spring, excelling on the 400- to 1,600-meter relays. He also ran away with Centerville’s preseason conditioning test last fall, a combination of strength, agility and speed.

The offer is a bit unexpected, as most thought OSU wouldn't have the spare scholarship to extend him an offer. They become his heavy favorite blah blah blah. This is especially disappointing because now Sam Webb's recruiting column last week is likely for naught:

The Buckeyes extended a scholarship offer Wednesday -- a development that many pundits believe is an ominous sign for all of the other programs giving chase.

Since he's not a Buckeye yet, how about a little talk on his game:

"He has great physical tools," Centerville coach Ron Ullery told Scout.com. "He has a great frame. He's going to grow and have good weight on him. What he has is speed -- speed off the edge and change of direction -- and it's explosive speed. ...he was the only guy I saw on film all year chase down (five-star Ohio State quarterback signee) Braxton Miller, and he did it two, three, maybe four times."

"He's a kid with a very high ceiling," said Allen Trieu, Scout.com's Midwest regional manager. "He's a smart, coachable kid who can project into a lot of systems. In the Midwest he's one of the top prospects. I like the film more and more each time I go through it. His lack of size is holding him back some, but I think he's a high four-star type prospect."

On the bright side, this means Chris Wormley probably won't get a committable offer from the Buckeyes, and is pushed toward Michigan.

ESPN talks about recent Michigan offeree Keith Marshall.

"Keith is without a doubt one of best backs in the country," said Millbrook coach Clarence Inscore. "There are not too many better. What separates him from everyone else is his work ethic on the field, in the classroom, and during the offseason. He always wants that edge. Keith has this internal drive and wants to be the best. Keith is just a great competitor that makes others better around him."

Also, mark this down for a FAKE 40 time in case the kid ends up going Blue:

While Marshall was timed at 4.25 in the 40 at UNC's camp, he also runs with power, balance and vision

Yessssss.

Michigan offered last week, and AZ OL Andrus Peat admits it's a big deal for him:

The Michigan offer is big, Peat said, mainly because of the program’s tradition and its success of producing offensive linemen over the years. The Wolverines will definitely be considered as his recruitment continues. “It’s definitely a big offer with how much they’ve won over the years and they definitely put out a lot of good offensive linemen so it’s one I’m looking at,” Peat said.

Tom talked to Peat, and says Michigan will have to work hard to land him.

KY QB Zeke Pike spoke with head coach Brady Hoke when he received his Michigan offer:

“I actually talked to the head coach (Brady Hoke) at Michigan and he offered me over the phone. I like how he’s gonna be going back to the traditional Michigan offense.”

Pike wants to decide before his senior season ($, info in header). He plans to make his first round of cuts after some school visits following his basketball season. Pike is good friends with 2011 Michigan commit Chris Barnett (HT: ChrisPerryCarry).

IL OL Dan Voltz has picked up some bigtime offers lately ($, info in header). He holds a Michigan offer, and plans to decide before his senior season. He went into a bit more detail with Tom:

The schools will have, like Michigan does, a good combination of football and academics. It has to be a school that I feel comfortable being at because I will be spending the next four to five years of my life there. Lastly, there has to be a stable coaching staff, that will play a part in it.

Saying "the schools that make my cut will be like Michigan" is certainly a good sign that the Wolverines are in the hunt.

Tom talked to the head coach of CA OL Kyle Murphy, who Michigan offered last week.

He's interested in academics, that's one of the reasons why Michigan appeals to him. He wants to play at the highest level he can, and the Big Ten and Michigan are right up there," said Patton. "The Big Ten is very prestigious, and he wants to go to a place that respects football and a good education. His family is very academically oriented, and they've said they'll move out of state for Kyle"

Sounds like academics are getting more than lip service, which helps Michigan.

MI LB James Ross was offered by Ohio State. Though OLSM has been friendly to the Buckeyes in recent years, I've heard they think Taurian Washington hasn't been treated right in Columbus, so keep an eye on that situation. Ross and his dad both came away impressed with Michigan after an unofficial visit over the weekend. Ross played hockey growing up, which he credits with his growth as a player:

“I actually think hockey is what separates me from most linebackers,” Ross said. “I think it helped me with that first quick step and getting to the ball as fast as you can, because hockey, once you see it you have to go. There is no delayed step into it. That’s definitely something that separates me.”

He says Ohio State and Michigan are certain to make his first cut, so it's safe to say those are an early top 2. He visited Michigan this weekend ($, info in header).

Etc.

FL QB Bennie Coney grew up loving Florida State, but is keeping his options open ($, info in headers). CA TE Taylor McNamara built a relationship with Michigan's staff when they were at San Diego State, and that could help the Wolverines in his recruitment. MI WR Aaron Burbridge has been offered by Ohio State and Notre Dame. OH DT Jaleel Johnson will be at Michigan's Junior Day, and is looking for a Wolverine offer at that time. GA DE Jordan Watkins wants to hear from Michigan. Michigan is interested in OH RB William Mahone as a defensive player. NY CB Wayne Morgan is in contact with Michigan. It's a great year for talent in Michigan.