vic enwere

Something Unrelated To Nussmei--wait it's totally about Nussmeier

Sam Webb's latest Detroit News feature covers the potential recruiting impact of Doug Nussmeier; according to Greg Biggins—who covered the West region for Scout before becoming their national analyst, and therefore is familiar with Nussmeier's recruiting efforts at Washington—he's a more active and willing recruiter than his predecessor:

“I'm a big fan of Doug Nussmeier as a coach, recruiter and person,” Scout.com National Recruiting analyst Greg Biggins said. “He's a high-energy, loud, fun-loving coach who has a magnetic personality. He relates very well to kids because of his youthful, outgoing personality. Just from a personality standpoint he's basically the opposite of Al Borges if you're looking for a comparison. He really loves to recruit.

As a lead recruiter, Nussmeier secured commitments from two four-star All-American QBs at Washington for the 2012 class, four-star All-American Cooper Bateman for Alabama in the 2013 class, four-star All-American David Cornwell for 2014, and the consensus #2 2015 quarterback, Ricky Town, who pledged to the Tide last August (and remains "very solid" in that commitment, for those hoping he'd follow Nussmeier to Michigan). That's quite a track record, and there's more; even if you don't want to credit him too much for landing 4.5-star Tuscaloosa native Bo Scarbrough, he certainly earns points for venturing up to Ohio to reel in four-star WR Derek Kief in the 2014 class.

With Michigan still searching for a quarterback in the 2015 class—and highly unlikely to receive a commitment from their two current offered prospects, five-star Josh Rosen and three-star David Sills—there's work to be done on that front by Nussmeier. Thankfully for Michigan, he's already developed a relationship with one of their top targets, three-star CA QB Kyle Kearns:

2015 QB Kyle Kearns who has been a #Michigan target says he has a very good relationship already with Nussmeier. Calls him a good friend.

— Brandon Brown (@CoachBrown3) January 9, 2014

We've also got a "sam webb knows all" tag on this blog for a reason; it's possible he gave away Michigan's next offer, as this is buried in the Nussmeier story:

Pending Nussmeier’s evaluation the Wolverines could decide to intensify their pursuit of already-offered prospects like Bellflower (Calif.) Don Bosco’s Josh Rosen (five-star, No. 2 QB nationally), Elkton (Md.) Christian Academy’s David Sills (three-star, USC commit), and Albuquerque (N.M.) Eldorado’s Zach Gentry (four-star, No. 23 QB nationally) -- or move on to other talented options like Birmingham Brother Rice triggerman Alex Malzone (four-star, No. 20 QB nationally).

None of the four recruiting services—including Scout, Webb's employer—lists Gentry as holding a U-M offer; thus far, his only listed offers are from Louisville, Tennessee, San Diege State, and the two New Mexico schools. That list should grow, however, as he's the 12th-ranked quarterback in the country according to to the 247 Composite and his film is impressive—he's a 6'6" pocket passer with impressive mobility and a strong, accurate arm when he's not throwing off his back foot (a big issue in his sophomore tape). If Michigan has offered (or plans to offer) Gentry, he looks quite worthy of it.

The reaction from current commits and targets in the wake of Nussmeier's hiring was overwhelmingly positive($); here's a pretty representative quote from four-star 2015 PA OT Sterling Jenkins:

"That's a great hire for Michigan. I can't wait to get the chance to meet him."

Meanwhile, Nussmeier is already reaching out to prospects he was recruiting at Alabama. On the recruiting front, there's no question he's an upgrade over Borges. The only current commit whose status may be of concern after Borges' firing is 2015 RB Damien Harris, whose high school coach was a grad assistant under Borges:

Damien Harris' mom said it was sad and a shock to hear about Borges, but right now they are letting it sink and aren't talking about it.

— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) January 8, 2014

There's been concern about Harris' commitment going back prior to the OC change; thus far, however, there's been no remotely definitive sign that the childhood Michigan fan is going to back out of his pledge. For now, it's a wait-and-see situation, and the Wolverines don't plan to wait long to talk to Harris: Nussmeier and Fred Jackson plan to stop by his school later this week, per Sam Webb.

[After THE JUMP, a Michigan commit saves a life (seriously), the latest on the 2014 running back situation, Brandon details five new underclassman offers, and more.]

Just When You Thought It Was Safe...

Jabrill Peppers reaffirmed his commitment this week. So did Shaun Crawford. Michigan had successfully weathered the storm caused by their on-field woes. And then...

GEORGE CAMPBELL OUTTA NOWHERE.

According to multiple outlets, Campbell actually decided to decommit last week, but waited until this week to inform the coaches of his decision. Steve Lorenz relays the news that Florida, Florida State, and Clemson (ugh) are involved in Campbell's recruitment, and while Michigan isn't out of the picture, they're losing perhaps their biggest edge ($):

Yesterday, I tweeted out that Michigan was still in it for Campbell after his decommitment. I still believe this, but after doing some digging while on the road today, I'm not sure how high the Wolverines are on his list at this point. If you forced me to choose, I believe he ends up somewhere else. Where that is, I don't know. Mason Cole leaving for Michigan within the next two weeks is about the worst thing that could happen in this regard because their friendship was a big part of getting Campbell committed in the first place. Without Cole in his ear and Michigan being a ways away, the excitement about the Wolverines could fade over time.

The Wolverines will continue to pursue Campbell and in-state athlete Brian Cole as their top priorities for receiver in the 2015 class; after being in great shape for both just a few months ago, however, there's a distinct possibility that both end up elsewhere—there's a very good chance Campbell stays in the South, while Cole may be a Michigan State lean and also has interest in Ohio State. Michigan's very strong group of 2014 receivers mitigates some of the hurt from this, but there's no sugarcoating the loss of one of the nation's top prospects, especially when it seems directly tied to uncertainty (real or perceived) regarding the program.

It might not end with Campbell, either. Shortly after that decommitent went public, fellow 2015 blue chip commit Damien Harris tweeted "Here comes the tough decision.." which, well, obviously raised some red flags given the timing. That could very well be nothing, however, as Harris—unlike Campbell, a childhood fan of Florida—grew up rooting for Michigan; he also subsequently retweeted fellow recruit Justin Hilliard questioning why anyone would commit to a school without "110%" certainty, as well as today's news about Michigan scheduling the game against Florida in Dallas in 2017, when he'd be a junior. Since Harris' first tweet has garnered a lot of attention, I figured I'd add some context—for now, at least, it seems early to panic.

This entire sports year post-Final Four can still die in a fire, though.

[Hit THE JUMP for updated Scout rankings, the latest on Vic Enwere and Josh Rosen, and more.]

This past weekend almost every member of the 2014 recruiting class was in Ann Arbor to bond, catch a basketball game, and recruit a little bit themselves. Jabrill Peppers headlined the group as well as 2015 committed defensive back Shaun Crawford, mostly because there had been some rumors that they may both be interested in visiting elsewhere. Ace, with the help of others, all but squashed those rumors. Perhaps the most intriguing prospect among the commits was running back Vic Enwere, the Texas native who is currently committed to California.

Enwere is a 6’1”, 215 lb. bruiser of a running back with good speed, strong leg-drive, and phenomenal balance. He grades out as a 3-star prospect according to the 247 Composite and his offer list matches with some of the more notable schools being Kansas State, Michigan State, Missouri and obviously California and Michigan. I caught up with Vic to see how his visit went and where exactly the Wolverines stand for him after his first trip to Ann Arbor.

After talking to Vic a few times prior to his visit I’ve already determined that he isn’t the most excitable kid, keeps his responses short and sweet, and also doesn’t sugar coat anything. He said his visit to Michigan was “pretty good” and that he really enjoyed hanging out with the other recruits. As we know by now the future members of Team 135 are a very close knit bunch and Enwere said that he didn’t feel like he was an uncommitted guy while he was hanging out with everyone. “I felt no different than anyone else. They treated me the same. They are a good group of guys.” He then admitted that he definitely felt like he could be part of that group.

The coaches did their homework and paired Enwere up with Amara Darboh as his player-host due in part to both young men being of African descent. He said that Darboh was really cool and made the stay extremely comfortable for him.

Now that he is back home and waiting to take his official visit to Cal in January he says that his commitment is still the same, a soft verbal to the Golden Bears. I asked him if either team had an edge right now and he said, “I wouldn’t say it’s 50/50 yet. It all depends on how my visit to Cal goes. Cal still has the edge right now.” Once that visit is complete he will evaluate all of his options and make his final decision near National Signing Day.

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My Crystal Ball pick right now is for Enwere to flip to Michigan but honestly after talking to him tonight I’m not so sure. He says Cal still has the edge, remains committed (albeit softly) even though he hasn’t taken a visit to Berkeley yet. He will take that visit in January and then sign his letter of intent while it’s still fresh in his mind. It will be very interesting to see how aggressively the Michigan coaches pursue him and what effect that has on his commitment. At this point it would be an impressive job if they can get him to flip.