tyler shough

Happy Trails: Tyler Shough

Four-star AZ QB Tyler Shough had long been expected to join Joe Milton in Michigan's class, to the point it was unclear who was running second behind the Wolverines, but quarterback recruiting has a way of turning on a dime. That happened last week, when Shough committed to North Carolina shortly after visiting Chapel Hill.

With Milton already in the class, this was a miss Michigan could afford. At the same time, it makes Milton a bit more of a risk if he's the only QB in the class; while Milton is a boom-or-bust project, Shough is more polished and has a higher floor. While Shough had maintained that Milton's presence in the class wasn't a factor, Steve Lorenz's notes on the commitment suggest otherwise:

I'm told he felt that UNC was a better fit from a football sense than Michigan, which can basically be translated to earlier playing time opportunities being available.

As of now, there's still a possibility Michigan looks to take a second in 2018. The A4 camp on Saturday got a lot more interesting all of a sudden.

Unfortunately, Saturday's A4 quarterback camp didn't provide alternative options, and Jim Harbaugh at least indirectly blamed the new Individual Associated With Prospects rule, which prevented Michigan from even trying to bring in the star-studded coaching lineup of years past to work the camp:

“That’s the landscape we have,” Harbaugh said. “Even pro players, you have to do a complete background search on who do they know that is already on our team or we could be recruiting. So we stayed away, just college coaches and our players.” ...

“Yeah, I think it’s silly and ridiculous,” Harbaugh said of the rule. “It’s been that way for 50 years that high school coaches can work camps and college coaches could go work camps at high schools. It’s always been that way. Drastic change.”

While the other recruiting rule changes were steps in the right direction, the IAWP rule is as much of an ill-conceived disaster as expected.

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Scout Rankings Update: Milton Gets Fourth Star

When quarterback Joe Milton committed to Michigan a little over a month ago, Scout was the only site that didn't rank him as a four-star. After last week's rankings update, that's no longer the case; Milton jumped to #261 overall. While movement was relatively minor for Michigan's other commits, their top uncommitted target at quarterback, Tyler Shough, also leaped up the rankings:

Shough checks in to the Scout 300 at No. 182 and is one of two quarterbacks out West to jump in to the 300 along with Camm Cooper. The Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton signal caller saw his stock soar this off-season with scholarship offers flying in from all over the country. After seeing him up close at the Elite 11 Finals over the weekend, it was easy to see why. Shough is a pure passer with a great feel for the position. He has a smooth, easy delivery, is smart with the football and among the most accurate quarterbacks in the country. California, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina and South Carolina are his finalists.

Michigan remains in excellent shape there.

HARBAUGH

Harbaugh.

(Green is fine, by the way.)

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Elite 11 Finals: Shough Makes, Milton Misses Cut

Ah, it's that time of year when I try to remember how the Elite 11 works. Bear with me. The Elite 11 Finals, which went down over the weekend, featured 24 participants competing for 12 spots in the final finals, which will occur at The Opening finals.

Michigan commit Joe Milton had a solid first day but didn't show the consistency in 7-on-7 drills to make the final cut. SBNation's Bud Elliott sums up what he needs to work on, which falls in line with his commitment profile:

Michigan QB Joe Milton has the strongest arm at the event. It's one of the biggest I've seen in covering this event since 2012. The next step for him is shortening his delivery, and dialing up the appropriate amount of touch and speed on each throw. Not every pitch is a fastball. Not dropping the ball so low will allow him to become more consistent.

While he wasn't selected for the Opening, Milton told 247 he was relatively happy with his performance:

Milton, as usual, flashed major upside all weekend and has the strongest pure arm of any quarterback in the class. He felt good about his performance for the most part, but knows some work on the mechanics is still a necessity.

"I should have been keeping my shoulder up a little bit more," he said. "I came into the weekend knowing I needed to work on my footwork and learn more about when I'm standing tall in the pocket. I scored high though and I was mostly satisfied with how I played."

Top target Tyler Shough, meanwhile, continues to rise in the eyes of scouts; he was selected for the finals after displaying an advanced ability to read defenses:

Shough told Scout's Blair Angulo that he's hoping to make a decision in June or July; the sooner he pulls the trigger, the better it looks for Michigan.

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