marvin grant

MSU Visitors: 2018 Prospects

The Michigan State game represents the first of two huge recruiting weekends for the football program, which loaded up on visitors for the two rivalry games. Using the visitor lists from 247, TMI, and The Wolverine, let's start with the 2018 prospects who will be on campus.

OFFICIAL VISITORS

• The most notable official visitor is three-star FL WR Shocky Jacques-Louis, a Tennessee commit who had Michigan in his top group before dropping for the Vols. With UT off to a rough start and the Wolverines looking for a wideout in the class, Jacques-Louis could be on flip watch.
• Four-star GA CB Chris Smith looks like a tough pull; he's been a Georgia commit since May. That said, this will be the second time he's been to Ann Arbor, and he told Rivals's Chad Simmons he's been in frequent contact with the coaching staff.
• As Steve Lorenz notes, Michigan is a longshot for all three California prospects taking official visits this weekend. Five-star WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and four-star defensive backs Julius Irvin and Bryan Addison will all take their trips without any family in tow, which tends to be a bad sign for out-of-region prospects.
• Four commits will take their officials: German and Gemon Green, Cam McGrone, and newest pledge Kevin Doyle.

UNOFFICIAL VISITORS

• Four-star Oak Park OG Marquan McCall, a Kentucky commit, will be in attendance. Michigan didn't push for McCall before his initial commitment, but it's possible they'll try to make a move now that Emil Ekiyor is a serious threat to leave the class.
• Commits Aiden Hutchinson, Jalen Mayfield, and Christian Turner are expected to take unofficials this weekend, likely to help serve as recruiters themselves.

I wouldn't expect too much immediate movement among 2018 prospects after this weekend unless M makes a big spash with Jacques-Louis. There's plenty of intrigue among the underclassman visitors, though, so make sure to hit...

[THE JUMP]

[Nasternak]

David Nasternak, our well-traveled videographer, made the drive to Detroit to take in what we thought was going to be a conveniently-located opportunity to see Cathedral guard and Michigan commit Emil Ekiyor. David didn’t get what he came for, though, as Ekiyor ended up sitting this game out due to injury. All’s not lost: we’re going to scout Ekiyor this weekend. David was able to come back with film of 2019 safety Marvin Grant, who received a Michigan offer back in March, from the Prep Kickoff Classic, and said film was certainly worth the trip.

Marvin Grant Every-Snap Film

Grant is #4 in black. He’s usually lined up deep over the slot.

[Hit THE JUMP for the scouting report]

One Hinton Down, One To Go?

Michigan added their second 2019 five-star defensive end in a week's span on Saturday night when Georgia product Chris Hinton committed. You can find the full Hello post here if you missed it over the weekend. Since Hinton dropped, Scout's Allen Trieu has posted an updated, detailed scouting report featuring some praise few senior defensive linemen receive, let alone 265-pound sophomores:

His defensive film shows just how athletic he is though. He can really bend. He plays with good leverage and pad level, and does a good job of winning those leverage battles in the run game. When he needs to re-direct and pursue a ball carrier, he can absolutely do it. He is a fluid kid for such a big body and his lateral agility is excellent. We would categorize his foot-speed as good, especially considering his size. He will probably not be a speed-rusher as a weakside end, but if he plays defense, we see him as being a tackle or in Michigan's system, a strongside end or "anchor."

Trieu mentioned that when Scout put together their 2019 rankings, every single regional analyst placed Hinton in the top five overall. Much of that is because of his obvious physical talent; it's also in part because people around him can't stop mentioning how he's mature beyond his years. Trieu caught up with Hinton's high school coach for one such quote:

Yeah, it's easy to say this every time you call on a player and say he's this and that or whatever... but this kid's unbelievable. He's just an unbelievable young man. He may be the most mature 16-year old I've ever been around whether that's talking to adults, whether it's the way he can just communicate with you and understand what's going on, the way he does a great job of pushing teammates in a way that he cares for them and calls them up to be the best all those kinds of things. He's just really, really special. The old adage is, if your best player is your hardest worker, you'll have a good team. We'll be good this year and next year because he can just get after it. And he knows his role isn't just for him to be good, but to help others around him be good as well.

It'd be more than satisfactory if Hinton arrived on his own, but it gets better, as his younger brother Myles Hinton is a potential five-star offensive tackle in the 2020 class. Myles told TMI's Evan Petzold that his brother's commitment helped M's chances:

"Michigan was already high on my list and my brother committing just makes it that much better," he told The Michigan Insider. "I'd love to play with my brother (at Michigan). I think it would be really cool for us to both go to the same place."

He's planning to visit campus for a game or two with his brother this fall. Stanford is the other school standing out; Michigan looks like the team to beat. Steve Lorenz put in a Crystal Ball for Myles to Michigan shortly after Chris's commitment. He also put one in for four-star 2019 IN DE George Karlaftis, who would give the program a remarkable three-man DE recruiting haul well over a year away from Signing Day 2019.

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