Ben Braden

TTB Andrew interviewed Ben Braden a few days ago.  Braden says he's up to 6'7", 325 lbs. and not planning on redshirting.

The article is free, so you can actually read all about how awesome the 2012 OL class is (and that's without potential future commits like Jordan Diamond), but I'll post it here anyway:

The Wolverines have five commitments on the line led by top national tackles Kyle Kalis (Lakewood, Ohio/St. Edward) and Erik Magnuson (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon).

Kalis has a 247 Rating of 96 and is the No. 40 prospect in the country and No. 7 offensive tackle in a truly special class of tackle prospects.
Magnuson, 6-foot-6, 275-pounds, checks in at No. 63 with a 96 rating. He is the No. 10 ranked tackle in the class.

Joining the impressive duo are tackles Ben Braden (Rockford, Mi.), Blake Bars (Nashville, Tenn./Montgomery Bell Academy) and Caleb Stacey (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore). Braden is on the verge of four-star status checking in with a 247 Rating of 89.

The tight end group of Devin Funchess and A.J. Williams also comes in for an honorable mention.

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This weekend will be a big event for Michigan with the BBQ, but there will be a big time visitor before the cook out as well. With limited spots left prospects could start to make decisions depending on what their peers decide to do themselves, so every spot left is on watch. Here's a look at what happened this week and what's happening in the future. As always you can follow me on Twitter @TomVH and email me with any tips at TomVH@MGoBlog.com.

Amara Darboh

6'2", 190 lbs.

Wide Receiver

West Des Moines, Iowa

Darboh is a four star receiver that has shown interest in Michigan for quite some time, bnut has been  unable to make it up to Ann Arbor. That's about to change, as he has finally set up a visit to take in the campus and environment.

I'm going up to Michigan tomorrow [Monday the 25th]. Me and my basketball coach are going. He's a Michigan fan and he was able to give me a ride, so he wanted to go. We're taking off here at 8am on Monday, staying all day Monday, all day Tuesday, and then we might be back for a little bit on Wednesday too.

This is a big visit for both parties since Michigan is currently looking for wide receivers and Darboh hasn't been able to meet most of the coaching staff.

I have met Coach Mallory, but I haven't been up there yet. I'm excited, I don't have any questions right now but I'm sure once I get there I'll have some. I'm just excited to see everything. I've heard a lot of good things from my coaches. I've talked to the Michigan coaches over the phone, but I want to meet them and hopefully meet some of the players too.

As far as where his recruitment stands Darboh says he will likely narrow his list down by the time his season starts.

I thought I'd have a top list already but I'm not going to have it until my season starts. Hopefully when my season starts I'll have it narrowed down to a top five and then just go from there. If I take an official visit somewhere and  I feel comfortable and it feels right then I'll just commit there. Right now everything changes every now and then because I haven't seen everywhere yet. I don't want to name a list until I finalize it, but I think Michigan has a good chance to be in the top five. I'll know more about them after my visit.

Amara also holds offers from Florida, Iowa, Iowa State, MSU, Nebraska, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin among others.

Ben Braden

6'7", 320 lbs.

Offensive line

Rockford, Michigan

Braden has been committed to Michigan since March, though it seems much longer with all the other commitments Michigan has reeled in since. At the time, little was known about him, but since then Braden made quite a bit of noise at Michigan's camp with his size and performance.

I went up against a lot of good defensive linemen. Towards the end of the camp we were given the option to switch to defense, so I tried that out too. I did get to meet some of the other prospects and we were all kind of getting to know each other more than anything. Right now my height is 6-foot-7 and my weight is 320-pounds. I'm not really focused on a certain weight, just getting stronger and faster and better. That helped this year at the camp, but I still have some things I'm trying to improve on.

Ben is starting to realize that his last year of high school football is upon him, but is just trying to focus on one step at a time.

It's all starting to set in with all the seniors, but I'm just trying to worry about the season. With Michigan my family and I are going to try to get up for a few games. I do want to get up to the night game against Notre Dame. 

There have been fans that are concerned with what the final product will look like for Michigan on the field in 2011. They've been wondering how that translates to the recruits, and what their perspective is on how well Michigan does this coming season.

Just from meeting the coaching staff I'm very comfortable with their methods and how they teach technique. The biggest thing that I really love and a huge key to why I committed is the family atmosphere. With Brady Hoke and all the coaches I think this season is going to be great, it's going to be huge. I know that they're going to do great. With recruiting I think it's cool that we have a lot of good athletes that are committing to my class. I know we're all excited to interact and build friendships too.

Braden's size and performance at Michigan's camp, in my mind, don't match up with how he's rated on the recruiting sites. As Tim speculated in last week's Friday Night Lights primer, he should have a shot to move up.

Darius Powe

6'2", 186 lbs.

Wide Receiver

Lakewood, California

Powe is a four-star receiver that has recently come to the attention of Michigan fans. He has shown interest in Michigan, and says the Wolverines are among his top group.

I'm trying to visit Michigan. I've been talking to Coach Heck about when I should come out there. [In order] Oregon State, Michigan, UCLA, Miami, and Cal are on top right now. I'm trying to wait everything out to see all my choices and narrow everything down.

Powe's teammate and fellow wide receiver Malik Gilmore is currently committed to Oregon State, but also had interest in Michigan at one point. It will be interesting to see how Powe's recruitment plays out. He says that he's a fearless playmaker that isn't scared to go across the middle of the field to make a play.

Extra:

I posted today that 2011 OL Graham Glasgow switched his preferred walk on commitment from Ohio State to Michigan in mid June. He's a 6'7", 295 lb tackle that has been showing some potential so far. Another walk on OL that seems to be holding his own is Gary Yerden from from Parchment, Michigan. Others have pointed out on the board that Yerden was formerly a weight lifter and broke the dead lift record in high school.

If you somehow missed the visitor list for the Big House BBQ this weekend you can find it here. This should be a big deal for Michigan; there are a few uncommitted prospects at the event and there might be potential for a few things to keep an eye on. We'll see.

2013 QB Shane Morris, 2012 DB Terry Richardson, and TE Ron Thompson are all at the Gridiron Kings event in Florida this week. If you've missed coverage of it you have not been on the internet because it's everywhere. Just in case, here's a link to an article. In that article Tom Luginbill says that if Shane Morris were in the 2012 class he would a top five or six guy in the country.

This will be the home of the BBQ visitor list. The event takes place on July 31st and looks like it's invite only. I'm still working on confirming visitors so I should have more names added as I get them. Be sure to continue to check back frequently. 

Here's who I've confirmed so far:

Yes

LB Royce Jenkins-Stone - Commit

DB Terry Richardson - Commit

LB James Ross - Commit

DE Matt Godin - Commit

DB Allen Gant - Commit

TE Devin Funchess - Commit

DE/LB Mario Ojemudia - Commit

DE Tom Strobel - Commit

OL Kyle Kalis - Commit, said he will for sure be there. He's going up with his head coach Finotti, because his coach wants to sit down with Mattison to talk defense.

OL Ben Braden - Commit

2013 QB Shane Morris - Commit

DT Danny O'Brien (6'2", 293 lbs, 4 Star)

WR Jehu Chesson (6'3", 182 lbs, 3 Star)

2013 OL Steven Elmer

2013 RB Wyatt Shallman

2013 LB Jonny Reschke

RB Bri'onte Dunn (6'2", 215 lbs, 4 Star) - His father told me yesterday that Bri'onte will likely be going up with his cousin Dymonte Thomas. Bri'onte's Dad might not make it up though.

DE Chris Wormley - Said via text he is coming to the event.

DT Ondre Pipkins (6'3", 325 lbs, 4 Star)

DB Anthony Standifer - commit

2013 WR Laquon Treadwell

2013 DB Dymonte Thomas

TE AJ Williams - Commit 

2013 RB Ty Isaac

Not Coming

OL Jordan Diamond (6'6", 290 lbs, 4 Star) 

DB Jeremy Clark - Commit, said he's going to try to make it up.

OL Caleb Stacey - Commit

WR Monty Madaris (6'2", 190 lbs, 3 Star)

LB Kaleb Ringer - Commit

LB Joe Bolden - Commit

There are a ton of visitors this weekend so there will probably be a matching amount of info. Since OL Ben Braden and LB Joe Bolden were the two visitors on Thursday I'm going to do a mini update on them here. Here's a look at how their trips went.

Joe Bolden

6'2", 225 lbs

Linebacker

Cincinnati, Ohio

Bolden has a decent offer list so far with the likes of Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, NC State, Stanford, and Tennessee to name a few. He took in Ann Arbor for the first time with his dad, uncle, and cousin.

We got there around noonish and we met with Coach Smith, Coach Mattison, and Coach Hoke. Coach Mattison told me more than likely I'd be playing the MIKE linebacker spot. It's definitely a privelage to sit down with him and watch film. Coach Hoke basically stated the goals as a football coach, as a team, and as an individual. We just talked casually for awhile.

As usual the coaches were down to earth and the Big House was shockingly big.

The coaches were really easy to talk to, I feel like I get along with them really well. My dad is my AD and my uncle is my coach and they knew the coaches from when they were at Ball State. They really like those coaches, and they've known each other for awhile. We all got to go to the Big House too, and that sent chills down my back thinking about the history that's been in that stadium.

This visit was a positive for Michigan, but Bolden isn't making his decision any time soon.

I was definitely impressed by this visit. Michigan is definitely up there on the list overall. I haven't narrowed anything down yet, I just know that Michigan is up there. 

Bolden may visit North Carolina this weekend, and plans on trying to make it back up to Michigan sometime soon.

Ben Braden

6'6", 285 lbs

Offensive Line

Rockford, Michigan

As you probably know Braden committed on his visit Thursday. He and his coach had planned this visit for awhile and Ben decided that he was comfortable enough to make his decision. I spoke with his head coach, Ralph Munger, about the visit.

He and his father made a trip to Wisconsin, the family made a trip to MSU, and also Michigan. He's been traveled and checked out a lot of places. Ben shared with me and his parents that he appreciated all the time with the coaches, but he just feels real comfortable with Michigan. He was going to go to MSU also, but in the last couple weeks he was just really excited about Michigan. After today I could see why, he really feels comfortable there. He connected, he looked at the educational opportunities, the football opportunities, and he felt that was the place he could call home.

From a coaching perspective, it's important that a high school coach is comfortable sending his players to that respective school they choose. Luckily for Michigan, Coach Munger has a long time relationship with Brady Hoke.

I've known Brady for a lot of years, he's been very good to me. I've learned a lot from Brady. I've known him on a very personal level and what you see is what you get with Brady. All the years that I've known him and he's still the same guy that he was ten years ago. He's definitely a player's coach, a coach's coach. I can't say enough good things about Brady. He has a certain magnetism with attracting good people. He's very demanding of his players, yet his players are always willing to give everything they've got. He assured me all the coaches will treat the players like sons, and there's a lot of teaching going on there. The line coach that Ben will be working with, he's a family guy, and a very good teacher too. 

The recruiting process is very much about relationships and it seems like all the past work that Brady Hoke has put in will soon start to pay off for him.

This weekend is one of the first big visit weekends for the Michigan coaches. I've confirmed a number of big prospects so far, and as usual this list will continue to change as we get closer to the weekend.

• Visiting Today - Ohio OL Caleb Stacey (6'4", 275 lbs): No offer yet, but hoping to get one soon.  ***Michigan offered Caleb on his visit.

March 19th

• Ohio OL Kyle Dodson (6'6", 315 lbs): Michigan has made a lot of ground up with Dodson. He's very interested in Michigan.
• Mass LB Camren Williams (6'2", 215 lbs): Making his decision in June so this visit will be big for Michigan.
• Mass ATH Armani Reeves (5'11", 185 lbs): Teammate of Camren Williams, very excited about the visit.
• Michigan LB Royce Jenkins-Stone (6'2", 215 lbs): This is good for Michigan to get Royce back on campus. He's seen his recruitment take off offer-wise and Michigan needs to solidify their position.
• Michigan LB James Ross (6'0", 210 lbs): Same deal with Royce, this is great for Michigan to get James back up on campus.
• Michigan DB Terry Richardson (5'9", 160 lbs): Michigan has a lot of work to do with Terry so any type of visit is a good one.
• Michigan OL/DL Kelby Latta (6'4", 295 lbs): Michigan's new coaches have sparked some serious interest from Latta. Before the hire he was very high on Wisconsin, but the new coaches are giving Michigan a chance.
• Ohio DE Pharaoh Brown (6'6", 260 lbs): It will be good to get Brown on campus this early. There's limited spots in Ohio State's class for defensive ends and Brown could end up being a key prospect down the road.
• Michigan OL Ben Braden (6'7", 285 lbs): I reported earlier in the week that Braden had made a trip up to Michigan this past Sunday, and he was offered on that trip. Braden may be coming up this weekend, or it could be next weekend as well. 
• Illinois DT Vontrell Williams (6'2", 265 lbs): No offer yet, but hoping to get one.

Not Coming

• Ohio TE AJ Williams (6'6", 260 lbs): Williams has tried to schedule a visit for the past two weekends, but it looks like the 26th will end up the date he'll make it in.