robert washington

That's One Way To Get An Exclusive

Shortly before four-star NC RB Robert Washington was set to announce his college choice on Saturday afternoon, Bleacher Report released an exclusive commitment video in which Washington, somewhat surprisingly, pledged to Florida. Then things took a turn to Classic Weird Recruiting Story:

But at 3 p.m., Washington announced his pledge to Syracuse at Ascending Faith Church in Dallas, N.C. He explained the bizarre sequence in a brief phone interview.

"I did the report on Thursday," Washington said. "I had my mind set for the report, but I changed my mind the next day to Syracuse."

The last-minute switch caught all coaching staffs involved off-guard:

Either way, Washington isn't a Michigan commit. Right now, at least. Happy trails to the young man, though it might be worth keeping tabs on this recruitment until he enrolls somewhere.

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TMD: A Mother Knows

2016 #1 overall recruit Rashan Gary is expected to be on campus in May, accompanied by his mother, who's playing a very important role in the vetting process. Gary discussed her role in his recruitment with TomVH ($):

“My family being able to see me play is really important. My mom is my everything. Whatever she says and thinks is positive; that’s what I’m going to consider. My mom sees what I see and says all the schools I’m considering are good schools. It’s probably going to come down to me and her putting together a pros-and-cons list and figuring it out.”

Gary visited Michigan and Ohio State recently without his mother, who took a trip to Rutgers instead. (That trip reportedly didn't go very well for Rutgers.) Gary reported back to his mom, of course, and given what she told Sam Webb it sounds like Michigan is in a great position to stake themselves to a lead when she gets to campus with her son ($):

“He liked Ohio State,” said Mrs. Coney.  “He didn’t say too much of the school.  I think they didn’t spend a lot of time at Ohio State.  I think most of their weekend was at Michigan.  I know he met with Coach Johnson because he called me and I talked to Coach Johnson.  I’ll tell you the difference (between the Michigan and Oho State visits).  When he talked to me about Ohio State it was football, football, football.  But when he talked to me about Michigan he just told me about the environment, told me about the academics, told me about the dorms, told me about the campus.  I spoke with Coach Mattison it was totally a different conversation. One was about athletics, and then Michigan was all about academics and the people, (and) the environment.”

‘Okay Rashan, let me go see it for myself. (laughter).’

Michigan's M-Pact presentation should go over quite well.

Meanwhile, Michigan jumped out to the lead for another Paramus Catholic prospect, three-star WR Donald Stewart, who was offered last week, per 247's Steve Wiltfong ($):

“I talk to Coach Partridge daily,” Stewart said. “He told me that the players he coached that played there have nothing but positive things to say. I talk to Jabrill (Peppers) and Juwann (Bushell-Beatty) and they really like the school so I want to go up there and see for myself.”

The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Stewart plans to see Michigan the third week of May.

According to Wiltfong, Northwestern is currently Michigan's biggest competition for Stewart.

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Three's A Crowd?



Newest commit Matt Falcon has a ton of upside. [Nasternak]

Michigan's 2016 class went from two to six commits in less than a week, capped by four-star Southfield RB Matt Falcon's pledge last night. Tyrone Wheatley is proving to be a very impactful recruiter, as expected; he was the primary recruiter for Falcon, Kingston Davis, and David Reese. Falcon, who played youth football with the Washtenaw Wolverines, told Scout's Allen Trieu he's "been a Wolverine my whole life," and discussed Wheatley's role in his decision ($):

You mentioned Coach Wheatley, he's going to be your position coach. What made you feel like he was the right one to guide you for the next few years? 

We could talk everything besides football. We would talk on the phone for a long time. He's known about me since 8th grade and he's been there for me. He's been loyal, and I trust him and wanted to come play for him.

You have some guys that you know, in-state guys, guys from your conference that are considering Michigan. Are you going to be a recruiter now? 

Yeah, I'm trying to get everybody down to Michigan. Michigan is where it's at, so I'll talk to all of them and see where their minds are at.

With the recent wave of commits, Michigan moved up 25 spots to #20 overall on the 247 Composite team rankings. The Wolverines should be set at running back with Davis and Falcon, and Sam Webb mentioned on The Victors Board($) that's the case—unless four-star NC RB Robert Washington wants to join the class. Washington is set to announce his decision on April 25th, and prior to Falcon's commitment he told GBW's Josh Newkirk that Michigan was very much in the mix ($):

"They really want me, I'm their guy," Washington said. "Coach Wheatley is saying he would 'love' to coach me. He's been wanting to coach for me a long time. And Coach Harbaugh said I'm a 'special' player for him. So that was their message to me.

"My next step after I talked with Coach Harbaugh was he told me to put [Michigan] in my top-six. Michigan is a big school for me. I have always favored Michigan. So it's a big school for me, it's a no brainer to put Michigan in my top six."

The rest of Washington's top six is Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Syracuse, and TCU. We'll see if Falcon's decision impacts Washington's thoughts on Michigan; if it doesn't, the backfield could get quite crowded.

In other commitment-related news, four-star IN QB Brandon Peters will enroll early at Michigan, per 247's Steve Wiltfong.

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