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Remember, all-time updates can be found on the 2011 Michigan Football Recruiting Board. If you have any recruiting tips or questions, you can e-mail them to me at [email protected] or tweet @varsityblue.

Visits

Since next week's Thursday Recruitin' is the last one(!) before actual football(!), I'll devote a good portion of it to a visitor list for the UConn game. Of course, there's no harm in looking ahead, right?

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FL RB Demetrius Hart (at right) is expected to make it in for UConn (along with either the Michigan State or Iowa game). Will he be able to convince his buddy, Alabama Commit S Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix to join him? (Sounds like it).

GA S Avery Walls has named four of the schools that he'll officially visit. Michigan, Tennessee, Cal, and Oregon are the lucky few, and he's trying to schedule a fifth. The Michigan visit is next week.

LA CB Daren Kitchen will make his official visit for the UConn game ($, info in header). He's on commitment watch if a written offer comes through.

Tom has compiled a more comprehensive list, including a number of unofficial visitors from the classes of 2011 and 2012.

Non-UConn related, NJ S Sheldon Royster might try to visit Michigan before the end of the month ($, info in header). Seeing as how the month ends in five days, he'd have to get that over with very soon.

In less certain visit news, a couple guys are "maybes" on making it to Ann Arbor this fall.

OH OL Aundrey Walker has named three official visit destinations: Michigan State, Ohio State, and USC. The Spartans and Trojans seem to be the two teams giving Ohio State the biggest challenge. Michigan is a longshot for him at this point. [Ed: Glenville guy so obvs.]

FL CB/S Jonathan Aiken is starting to set his official visits, and Michigan should be one of those:

“Nothing is really set in stone, but there’s really a couple I really plan on taking which is Rutgers and UCLA,” said Aiken. “Once I get my schedule from my coach, I can probably go ahead and set them two in stone, because those are two I really plan on taking. There are a couple others, I might go to Michigan.”

It doesn't sound like he's high on the Wolverines, and he's planning to make a commitment in the early fall. If he does come to Ann Arbor, the Wolverines might secure his commitment, but otherwise don't hold your breath (H/T On the Banks).

CA CB/Ath DeAnthony Thomas, a USC commit, has talked about visiting other schools, including Michigan. However, it's not the Wolverines (or even the Trojans) that he's favoring:

Thomas who is nicknamed the "Black Mamba" is the top CB in the country. He was considered a lock to USC but now lists Washington and UCLA as his favorites.

We'll have to wait and see if Rich Rodriguez offers Thomas.

Pruning Lists, Taking Tests, Graduating Early

NJ QB/TE Tanner McEvoy is narrowing his list to ten schools. Once he gives his turndowns to the coaches of teams that aren't making the cut, he'll make the list public. I would be surprised if Michigan makes the cut (H/T On the Banks).

MI RB Thomas Rawls, is trying to up his ACT score, and takes it again in September. He speaks with Fred Jackson regularly, and it sounds ike Michigan will offer once he gets qualified.

His film is impressive, and he could be the big back complement in this class if everything works out academically. Rawls is in a similar situation to MI DT Damon Knox, whose impressive film could net him an offer with improvement in the classroom.

IL OL Chris Bryant is the latest profilee of Sam Webb in the Detroit News. The upshot:

"Signing day was my goal, but with everyone committing so early and everything it is hard to say (that a choice will be held off that long). Once I set my top schools and they start filling up, I'm going to have to go ahead and decide out of my top schools which one I'm going to...

"(The Michigan coaches) were telling me that I'm definitely one of the top guys on their recruiting list," he said. "If it ever came down to the point where they were just running out of spots or had one spot left, they said that they would definitely get in contact with me and let me know.

If Michigan pushes for a commitment at some point, they're likely to get one.

MD DT Darian Cooper has narrowed his list to seven schools, including Michigan. He won't plan any official visits until he is down to five schools.

NC Ath Kris Frost tells Tom that he plans to graduate early from high school. If he commits to Michigan, look for a January enrollment.

Happy Trails

WI RB Melvin Gordon committed to Iowa.

IN OL Nick Martin committed to Kentucky.

FL OL Max Lang committed to South Florida.

MI TE Ben McCord committed to Ball State. He wasn't willing to wait around for higher-caliber offers, it seems.

FL DE/DT/OT Giorgio Newberry is planning official visits to LSU, Tennessee, Notre Dame, and Clemson. He doesn't mention Michigan in the article, and another one says he's down to a final list without the Wolverines, so happy trails it is.

SC DE Gerald Dixon has trimmed his list to South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Auburn, and Wake Forest.

MI CB Valdez Showers committed to Florida yesterday. Michigan State and Michigan were the runners-up, though he said he always wanted to get out of the state.

2012

FL QB Nick Patti won the Golden Gun Accuracy Challenge at the Las Vegas Elite 11 camp.

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FL OL Abraham "Nacho" Garcia (at right) is interested in a few schools early in the process:

I like Wisconsin, Michigan and UM too,” Garcia said. “I’ve read up on the Big 10 and I have friends that are going there. I have friends that are going to a bunch of schools."

With LSU, Florida, and Ohio State also on the radar, it sounds like he has bigtime early interest. He wants to be the top recruit in the class of 2012, thanks to his run blocking skills:

"Abe is the kind of guy that can be the cornerstone of your team," Harriot said. "He's a strong force, he's the anchor of our line. We know we can go to his side whenever we need a first down or a touchdown."

Keep an eye on Garcia for next year's class.

OH DE Chris Wormley attended Michigan's Fan Day on Sunday.

Remember, for past updates, you can check out the 2011 Michigan Football Recruiting Board any time. It will be updated with information form this post later today.

Jake Fisher Goes Blue

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As covered in the Hello: Jake Fisher post, the offensive lineman from Traverse City is the newest addition to the Michigan family. Local paper article:

On Fisher's first visit to Ann Arbor, he met a number of former U-M standouts and current NFL players. Then on his second trip, he and Wooer also got a campus tour with Rodriguez on a golf cart during the visit.


"It was after I left I thought 'that's it,'" said Fisher of when he realized he'd be going to Michigan. "I just didn't want to blow off everything else in case something happened."

One of our outstanding mgoboard members, 913Vaughn, dug up junior year stats for Jake Fisher at tight end. He had 10 receptions for 185 yards and a TD on an offense that only had 38 completed passes the whole season. A free Rivals story shows his potential as a college tight end... and beyond:

Michigan State initially recruited Fisher as a tight end, where he'll see plenty of time this fall (while switching to offensive tackle during spread situations and seeing extensive time on defense, as well). With Fisher's decision looming, MSU coaches broke down film for the standout and told him they'd bring him in as a tackle, too, unless he kept his weight down enough to play tight end. "That wasn't likely to happen," Fisher noted...

Fisher's admittedly made huge strides in the weight room, spending three days a week on heavy lifting and conditioning with a full body workout. He's packed on 24 pounds since the end of basketball season and is carrying the weight well, maintaining his quickness. His athleticism was on display at the Michigan summer camp when he went up (and held his own) against some of the top defensive ends in the Midwest, including U-M commitment Brennen Beyer.

The story also says that he received a Notre Dame offer, but after he was sold on Michigan. Magnus breaks down his game on Touch The Banner, and the crew at GBMW does the same.

Happy Trails

OH OL Ryan Kelly committed to Alabama. The writing was on the wall for this one as soon as Michigan picked up Jack Miller as a center.

PA CB Dondi Kirby has narrowed his list to a top 7 that does not include Michigan.

Visits! With Decisions!

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MI RB Justice Hayes (at right) visited Ann Arbor last weekend, and will now push his decision forward ($, info in header). He'll officially announce his decision on July 30th (next Friday) at 11am. Michigan and Notre Dame appear to be a strong top two for him, but - unless Fred Jackson worked magic on last week's visit - I'd be surprised if his choice was something other than Notre Dame. UMGoBlog says this is bad news, but you only have 25 scholarships each year (significantly fewer this year). You can't take every kid, and you can't beat yourself up when one of them picks another school.

FL RB Demetrius Hart has been on campus plenty of times before, and his most recent trek was another positive experience:

Demetrius: It went real well. I've been up there plenty of times now, and every time I go up there I just like it that much more. The changes they're making, and the things they're going are really good. I really liked it.

Demetrius also managed to take a potshot at the press for their artistic license on reality, and said he'll be back in town for the UConn game. A commitment could come that weekend, but don't be surprised if takes takes a couple other visits first.

Nobody is expected to visit this weekend unless IL OL Chris Bryant makes it in. The next big visit planned is the 29th, when TX LB Kellen Jones hits campus.

FL OL Tony Posada plans to decide soon, possibly at a ceremony with fellow Plant Panthers QB Phillip Ely and RB/DE James Wilder. If Florida doesn't offer, there's a good chance he ends up in the winged helmet.

MI LB Ed Davis has reached a soft decision ($, info in header), and he's set to announce it at the end of August. Michigan was his first offer, and led for him earlier in the process, but that may no longer be the case. Iowa, Michigan State, and Cincinnati are the other finalists.

Other

FL QB Commit Kevin Sousa is named Central Florida's 2nd-best signal-caller, behind UF commit Jeff Driskel. With a productive season, Sousa could be a 4-star prospect by Signing Day.

Is Michigan soon to offer OH TE Frank Clark? ($, info in header). They seem to be set on taking a tight end in this class, and Clark reportedly impressed at Michigan's summer camp. He's a product of Cleveland Glenville, and Rodriguez has been trying to get back into that school ever since he's been in Ann Arbor.

MI OL/DE Anthony Zettel is down to 247 pounds. That's making the defensive end talk sound much more realistic, though he doesn't care which side of the ball colleges want him to play. Since he hasn't said otherwise, I assume Michigan still leads for him.

Tom's weekly recruiting post has updates on FL S/CB Jonathan Aiken, MD DT Darian Cooper, and more. Check it out for the latest.

Phil Kornblut's latest recruiting column contains a couple tidbits of interest to Michigan: The Wolverines are showing in interest in NJ Ath Sheldon Royster (and have extended an offer?) and TN DT Terry Redden. They're also still on the list of SC DE Gerald Dixon. I've added the first pair to the board, and have updated Dixon's section.

PA RB Collin Hegarty is also hearing from Michigan, but he doesn't have any offers yet, and it sounds like he's a longshot for one from the Wolverines.

2012

On Dee Hart's visit (more detail above), 2012 FL QB Nick Patti, a teammate at Orlando Dr. Phillips, tagged along. Tom caught up with Patti, who liked what he saw:

NICK: You meet the coaches, and you meet Rich Rodriguez, and when ever you meet a head coach you're meeting an important person. But, he's so down to earth. You can talk to him about anything. With Coach Smith it was all about business, but you still feel really comfortable. It's really easy to be around all of them.

Patti compared his game to Tate Forcier's, and you can see for yourself as his sophomore highlights are embedded in Tom's post.

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Update from last week's post, which brought up MO WR Dorial Green-Beckham (OMG shirtless at right). Tom pointed out a fluff article from MaxPreps that discusses Dorial on the field, on the basketball court, and in life

Green-Beckham grew up the son of a single mother with a history of substance abuse problems. He bounced around a lot as a child, through his early high school career. This winter, his high school coach adopted Dorial and his brothers, and hopefully it's the stability he needs to excel on the field and in the classroom.

As one of the top prospects in the 2012 class, Michigan will have a ton of competition if they hope to land this guy. He's the type of kid that you'll root for at the next level, wherever he ends up.

MI WR David Perkins, who was going to be one of the state's top prospects next year, has moved to Indiana.

Michigan is "very interested" in 2012 PA OL/DE Tyler Alt. He's a high school defensive end who will likely play offense in college.

Believe it or not, I've had my eye on a number of 2012 prospects already, and I'm going to start putting 2012 notes in the Thursday Recruitin' posts more regularly. A 2012 Michigan Football Recruiting Board will likely not be unveiled until Michigan gets their first commit in the class.