vince biegel

2012 Offer/Recruiting Board lives here.

Visits Past

MI TE Devin Funchess was on campus, and he has a sister who attends Michigan.

MI OL Ben Braden was on campus Sunday, and received a Michigan offer.

IN DT Sheldon Day grew up a Michigan fan ($, info in header), and was on campus over the weekend. Day's highlight video:

WI LB Vince Biegel spoke with Tom about his Michigan visit last weekend:

He's going out to BYU in a few weeks and then he'll probably make his decision after taking in a few spring practices. After this visit Wisconsin is still the leader, but he said that he will definitely be back in Ann Arbor for a spring practice to see how the coaches coach.

Tom gets the feeling Wisconsin still leads, but the more times he hits campus, the better the Wolverines' chance to shake him free.

OH S Allen Gant didn't receive a Michigan offer when he was on campus last week. He plans to make it back to campus March 26th, but likely won't receive an offer until summer camp.

Visits Future

OH OL Caleb Stacey will visit Ann Arbor tomorrow.

MA LB Camren Williams will be here this weekend, along with his teammate, CB Armani Reeves, and a host of other prospects:

• OH TE AJ Williams (not yet set in stone).
• OH OL Kyle Dodson. He grew up a Buckeye fan, but is warming up to the Wolverines ($, info in header).
• OH DE Pharoah Brown.
• MI LB Royce Jenkins-Stone.

Tom will post an updated visitors list as the weekend grows nearer. For his part, Williams is interested in academics - particularly kinesiology - which is a huge boost to Michigan's chances. He wants to decide by June.

MI WR/TE Ron Thompson will visit Michigan this spring ($, info in header).

OH QB Austin Appleby talked to Tom last week:

"In a perfect world, [I will decide] by the end of June or early July. I am planning on attending a few camps and I don't know what doors may open. I know it will be by August 1st for sure."

Appleby will visit Michigan April 2nd.

IL DT Tommy Schutt will visit Michigan this spring.

MI OL Chase DeBack has been invited to Michigan's March 26th Junior Day. With a name like that, why oh why isn't he a defensive end or linebacker.

New Offers

Michigan has offered TN RB I'Tavius Mathers.

IA WR Amara Darboh has been on fire lately, picking up offers from the likes of Michigan. Michigan State, and Florida.

MN OL Jonah Pirsig has picked up a Michigan offer.

MO OL Evan Boehm has a Michigan offer.

Local fluff on FL OL Ty Darlington, who is aiming to be his class valedictorian. He is a recent Michigan offeree. He hails from the same high school as Jeremy Gallon.

UT DE Troy Hinds has picked up a Michigan offer.

Happy Trails

MD OL Mike Madaras, one of the Good Counsel contingent, has committed to Maryland. And he was willing to talk Michigan as recently as last week ($, info in header). We hardly knew ye. No word on whether that will affect the recruitments of Stefon Diggs (a newly-anointed five-star), Wes Brown, et al.

IL OL Dan Voltz committed to Wisconsin last night. He had been planning to visit Michigan this weekend, so that's a downer for the Wolverines.

TX DE Mario Edwards is a top national prospect who had some Michigan interest, but he has committed to Florida State.

UPDATES

CO QB Cyler Miles is getting interest (but no offer yet) from Michigan. If the Wolverines want a shot at the kid, they may have to offer pretty soon, because he plans to decide over the summer ($, info in header). If he doesn't get a couple of the offers he wants by then, he might extend the process longer.

Might a snub by Ohio State motivate OH QB Maty Mauk to become a Wolverine? KY QB Zeke Pike wants to decide by his senior season "or somewhere around there."

CA WR Bryce Treggs may be close to a Cal commitment. His father was a Golden Bear in the '90s. However, he plans to be at Notre Dame April 16th, so don't expect him to commit before then.

Michigan is showing the most interest in MI TE Matt Doneth:

Doneth also admitted that he lives in a firmly "Spartan household" but with Michigan showing him the most love recently, he would be willing to "Go Blue" if they offer.

The article mentions that he's most interested in Ivy League schools, so a scholarship offer from the next best thing might be hard to resist.

Michigan is in the top four for IN TE Pierre Aka ($, info in header).

FL OL Avery Young has been invited to the US Army All-American Game.

IL DT Vincent Valentine holds a Michigan offer, and will take his time with the recruiting process:

He wants to take some unofficial visits this spring and summer to get a feel for some of the schools he hasn't yet seen. "I'll probably take my officials after my football season so I can stayed focused on the season for us," he said. "I think I'll get my decision in by January or December."

There's still a long way to go in his recruitment, but he talks about his game as well:

"[coaches] were just saying they liked my tenacity, they liked my aggressiveness, they liked the way I get to the ball and my hustle," Valentine said....

"I just love to hit people, most of all," he said. "I love hustling to the ball, getting there and making plays for my team. If you're on the O-line, you don't really get that much shine. I love getting the shine by playing defensive tackle."

He's a likely 5-star player, but there's plenty of competition: Iowa signed his teammate, RB Rodney Coe, last month.

MI DT/DE Matt Godin might make a decision "any day" - or could extend the process ($, info in header).

PA DE Noah Spence is very interested in Michigan, but won't make a decision any time soon. He plans to visit Ann Arbor with his dad this summer.

Michigan is in the top 7 for GA DE Jarontay Jones, along with Florida, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Florida State. Per the linked message board post, Florida and Auburn are the top two.

IL LB Antonio Morrison is interested in Michigan.

Etc.

Last week's Sam Webb column breaks down the top talent in the state, March Madness-style. MI LB James Ross has a USC offer.  Rivals fluff on WA OL Zach Banner. NC OL Brock Stadnik will participate in the 2012 Under Armour Game. CA S Shaquille Thompson decommitted from Cal ($, info in header), so Michigan may get another shot at him before his Army Game announcement. NJ LB Kaiwan Lewis may be getting a Michigan offer soon.

We're onto the 2012 class, eh? How many scholarships does Michigan have to give? What's the breakdown on commits at different positions? Who are likely options at some of those positions? All that and more inside Wednesday Recruitin'!

The Numbers and Positions

Take a gander at the Depth Chart by Class, and you'll see there are 83 scholarship players on the 2011 football roster (including Jordan Kovacs as a scholarship player). That means there are two open slots for the 2012 class.

In addition, Michigan will have 15 scholarship players see their eligibility expire following the 2011 season - Shaw, Hemingway, Stonum, Odoms, Grady, Koger, Huyge, Molk, Martin, Van Bergen, Watson, Herron, Fitzgerald, Woolfolk and Williams. Whether or not Mike Williams sticks around for his fifth year doesn't affect the 2012 class because he's gone after this season either way.

Altogether, that means our operating number for the 2012 class starts at 17, before there's any roster attrition. Assuming a couple players ultimately leave the team for any reason (unrenewed fifth years, early NFL entry, etc.), we'll peg the starting number at 19.

Without going into too much (boring) detail, Michigan needs by position are approximately as follows:

• QB: 1
• RB: 1
• WR: 2
• Slot: 0
• TE: 1-2
• OT: 2
• OG: 1-2
• OC: 0
• DT: 2
• DE: 2
• LB: 2
• S: 2
• CB: 1

If you want the nitty-gritty, you can peruse the Depth Chart by Class. In next week's recruiting update, I'll run down all the prospects Michigan has offered once more, and hopefully a recruiting board will be operational by then. After that, recruiting updates should be back to normal.

BH OfferBlitz

Don't get the reference? Acquaint yourself here and here.

Michigan decided to go on an offer blitz shortly after last week's recruiting update went up (great timing, guys!). Among the newly-offered prospects are:

Cass Tech teammates LB Royce Jenkins-Stone and CB Terry Richardson received offers ($, info in headers) from Michigan's staff on Wednesday. Richardson is turning into a serious bigtime prospect. Already holding an offer from Bama, USC entered the mix last week. Jenkins-Stone is planning to make an early commitment (HT: Mgomember LarryHarrison), and is getting bigtime offers of his own.

Unsatisfied with offering only one set of teammates on Wednesday, the Wolverines went up the road to Farmington Hills, giving offers to Harrison WR Aaron Burbridge, TE Devin Funchess, and DE Mario Ojemudia ($, info in header). FHH has been a Michigan State feeder lately, so it remains to be seen if Brady Hoke and Co. can steal any of these prospects away from the Spartans. 24/7 Sports fluff on the Harrison guys, and Burbridge tells them he's "always been a State fan."

OH QB Maty Mauk received a Michigan offer. He told Tom that he plans to make it up to Ann Arbor within the next couple weeks. As the younger brother of former Cincinnati QB Ben Mauk, most assume Notre Dame's Brian Kelly should be able to land him.

Michigan has offered NC RB Keith Marshall, who is likely to be among the top prospects in the nation. His highlight reel is a sight to behold:

CA WRs Derrick Woods and Malik Gilmore have both received Michigan offers.

MI TE Ron Thompson was offered by his favorite school ($, info in headers).

CA TE Taylor McNamara has received an offer.

IL OL Dan Voltz was offered by the Wolverines and plans to make an early decision ($, info in header).

The Wolverines have offered CA OL Kyle Murphy, according to a local paper.

AZ OL Andrus Peat (younger brother of 2011 Nebraska signee Todd Peat) received a Michigan offer this week. He should be one of the nation's top offensive linemen in this class.

IL DT Tommy Schutt has a Michigan offer ($, info in header).

OH DE Se'Von Pittman received an offer from Michigan last week, along with the likes of Ohio State and Michigan State.

“He is wide open,” [McKinley coach Ron] Johnson said. “There are a lot of different things he’s interested in. He’s going to go through the whole process and really get to meet guys. There are a lot of new staffs involved; guys he’ll want to meet and get to know. I just hope they go where they want to be, and where they’re going to have a chance for a good career.”

One of those places is Michigan. The Wolverines hired Brady Hoke to replace Rich Rodriguez. Hoke is from Ohio and seems to be making a renewed commitment to battling the Buckeyes in their backyard

Despite what his coach says, Pittman (pictured) is widely considered to be a heavy lean to the Buckeyes, and would be an excellent pull for Brady Hoke and Co.

WI LB Vince Biegel, who Tom says was offered Wednesday. Scout says he has three standouts ($, info in header), and considering the article was written by Sam Webb, smart money says Michigan is one of them. Biegel is a Mormon, but he says BYU doesn't have an advantage in his recruitment - although his father played there.

Other Updates

Michigan's new coaching staff is still interested in FL QB Bennie Coney. As mentioned in the fall, he didn't play football this season due to a disciplinary issue, but is still on good terms with his head coach.

Michigan State has offered and leads for OH RB William Mahone ($, info in header).

CA WR Bryce Treggs is hoping for a Michigan offer.

PA OL Tyler Alt impressed at the Army Combine ($, info in header). Tom talked to him this week, and it sounds like Tyler really wants a Michigan offer - as either an offensive or defensive lineman.

FL OL Cody Waldrop is hoping for a Michigan offer.

Michigan was "a childhood favorite" for IN DT Sheldon Day ($, info in header).

Tom gets an update from the coach of PA DE Noah Spence, who is one of the top prospects in the Keystone State:

"We'll try to get [Noah's highlight film] out in the next couple days, we'll email it to every program in the country probably next week," said Head Coach Jeff Weachter. "Michigan hasn't gotten it yet, but I'd imagine they will offer once they do, everyone else has."

Spence's father is researching every school in-depth, so Michigan's hire of Greg Mattison is certain to help the Wolverines. Mattison is also acquaintances with Spence's head coach.

Michigan's interest in OH DE Tom Strobel has "intensified" ($, info in header). He holds a Michigan offer.

OR DE Alex Balducci sent Michigan his film, and may get an offer soon.

Though he hasn't been offered yet, NJ S/LB DJ Singleton is expecting one from the Wolverines soon. Miami and Rutgers have already sent offers.

IN Ath David Perkins is interested in hearing from Michigan.

Tom's Weekly Update has a metric ton of information, and with limited space, I'm just going to link it and say read the whole thing. If you need more prodding, there's an update on LEVITICUS PAYNE within.

Visitors

IL OL Jordan Diamond is the subject of this week's Sam Webb column in the Detroit News:

"I'm most definitely still a fan of Michigan. No doubt about it -- Michigan is Michigan. I still enjoy watching those guys play. I'm in the process of getting some old film from Michigan. I'm really excited... We talk about (going to the same school) all the time," Diamond said of he and [2011 MIchigan Commit Chris] Bryant.

Scout's Alen Trieu says he's a borderline 5-star entering his junior season. Diamond would be a great and for Brady Hoke's staff. He's certainly no lock, but a visit this weekend could be a great start to building a lead. Despite being on-campus, he will not participate in the Best of the Midwest...

Speaking of which, it's not a University-sponsored event, but the Al Glick Fieldhouse will again serve as the venue for the Best of the Midwest Showcase this Sunday (last year it was called the Michigan Football Showcase). Allen Trieu breaks down the linemen who will participate. In similar news, New Level Athletics will be hosting a 7-on-7 Tournament in Ann Arbor again this summer. SI.com's Andy Staples explores how such tournaments are changing football recruiting in that article.

Both of the above-linked events provide an opportunity for prospects to experience Michigan's campus, even if the coaches can't use them as recruiting visits.

Happy Trails

AZ QB Connor Brewer left the board last week, as he committed to Texas, and now another prospect - this one already holding an offer - is off the table. FL RB Matt Jones committed to Florida.

Etc.

Rivals releases their initial 250 to Watch, and Touch the Banner breaks down which guys might have Michigan interest. Maxpreps's Top 10 includes a couple Michigan targets. 2011 Commit Frank Clark wants to reopen a Michigan pipeline to Cleveland Glenville ($, info in header). Ohio State recruiting guru Duane Long says "Hoke ain't no Joke." Dr. Saturday breaks down 2011 recruiting geographically. Fox Sports's Dave Dye runs down the 2011 class. SBNation Pittsburgh has a semi-novel idea with a Penn State offer matrix, so I ask you: would anyone be interested if I repeated that for Michigan?