Glad we didn't end up with this kid, he got arrested over the weekend for contempt of court-not answering summons.

http://mugshots.tampabay.com/mugs/manatee/2011/apr/14/2011004918/

Also looks like he's put on a little weight. Do you think a greyshirt is in order? Or a medical schoarship? Maybe he'll just get cut all together.

As we get closer and closer to signing day, Michigan nabbed two quality commitments this week in instate LB Desmond Morgan and Maryland DB Blake Countess. Michigan is currently at 13 commitments, which leaves anywhere between 5-7 more spots open. A few updates from this week, and a look at what could happen going forward:

Roderick Ryles

6'1", 185 lbs.

Safety

Orlando, Florida

I'm sure everyone has noticed that Roderick has an outstanding set of dreadlocks, always key in recruiting. Ryles was committed to Arkansas, but recently decommitted/had his offer pulled from the Razorbacks. He has opened up his recruitment, and Michigan will be part of the process.

I'm not with Arkansas anymore, so it's back open with everybody. I'm definitely interested in Michigan. I just talked to Coach Smith on Thursday (10/9).

Dr. Phillips just lost in the state championship game so Roderick will be focusing on recruiting going forward. He hasn't set up his visit date yet, but is looking to do that soon.

Darian Cooper

6'1", 275 lbs.

Defensive Tackle

Hyattsville, Maryland

I'm not sure where it originated, but there was a rumor that Michigan was out of it for Darian Cooper. That's not entirely true. This was somewhat discussed in this thread earlier, and this is what Darian had to say about it.

Tony Dews came out on Thursday, and we talked about some things. I asked him about the coaching situation and he said that we'll know on January 1st. They're not out of it yet, I'm just concerned with what's going on with them because I had a friend go through that too.

While Michigan isn't out of it for Cooper, they are slightly behind the likes of Penn State, Georgia Tech, Iowa, and Michigan State. We won't know if Michigan is back in it until we know the fate of the coaching staff.

[Ed.: That's quite a statement from Dews, if second-hand. Not even a "we'll be back." Everybody limbo.]

Jack Tabb

6'4", 230 lbs.

Tight End

Red Bank, New Jersey

Jack Tabb and recently offered Glenville prospect Frank Clark are the main tight ends on Michigan's board these days. Tabb has decided that he's ready to announce his decision after visiting Michigan, Arkansas, Iowa, and North Carolina.

I'm announcing either Wednesday or Thursday, I'll find out tomorrow. I'll have hats for Arkansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Rutgers, and Iowa.

The coaching situation at Michigan has also been in Tabb's mind recently. He really liked his visit to Ann Arbor, but I wouldn't get your hopes up with him. 

Extra:

• Commit Demetrius Hart told reporters last night that he will officially visit Florida, and still plans on enrolling early wherever he decides to go. If Rich Rodriguez stays, then I think Dee will too. If Rich Rod goes, then so will Hart.
• Instate DB Raymon Taylor was offered by Michigan this week. He's a lifelong Michigan fan, and barring anything out of the ordinary there's a good chance he'll be a part of this class. Taylor is a Rivals four star who was committed to Indiana before their coaching change; the other sites have him a generic three-star.
• The Army All American game will be played on January 8th, and Michigan fans will have reason to watch. Michigan commits DB Blake Countess and RB Demetrius Hart will be in the game. The two prospects announcing their decisions during the game to keep an eye on are FL S Wayne Lyons and NC ATH Kris Frost.
• There's a dead period that starts today that will run through January 3rd. The next big recruiting visit weekend will be that following weekend of the 7th. We'll have more as it gets closer, but so far WR Devin Lucien, TE Frank Clark, DB Sheldon Royster, DB Dallas Crawford, and DE Deion Barnes are scheduled to be there. 

Chris Hays from the Orlando Sentinel posted this article after talking to Demetrius Hart. The article says that Demetrius plans on staying committed to Michigan as long as Rich Rodriguez is the head coach. The shocker is this. If Rich Rodriguez is fired, Demetrius says he will end up at Florida, not Alabama.

I spoke with Chris about the article, and he felt that Demetrius was being genuine. He, along with everyone else, isn't sure what Demetrius will do but said Demetrius told him he will stay if Rich Rodriguez does too. He told Chris Hays tonight that Alabama is out, and it's all about the spread offense for him. Demetrius is also no longer enrolling early, according to Chris and the article.

[Ed-M: Well, f.

In case you went to bed last night thinking that Michigan will be playing in a bowl game, a competent CEO-type athletic director is in charge of the program, and a 5-star-ish recruit perfect for our offensive system will be enrolling in January, you seem to have been 2/3rds correct.

Rivals reported last night that HB Demetrius Hart intends to decommit from Michigan in favor of Alabama. Tom VH spoke to someone close to Hart and confirmed...that it may be true.:

Regarding Dee Hart, I talked to someone close to him and it looks like the rumors may have legs. Not sure specifics yet.

The news inspired a 500-response thread and at least one user getting caved. As an attempt to restore sanity, and because I trust Tom, I am bumping Tom's diary on the subject (and on other RB options Michigan is in good shape with) to the front page.

At the moment, this seems to be rumor, but believeable. It becomes fact when Dee Hart says it is; until then we have a source close to Dee who says it's fact. For those of you who remember getting burned by Will Campbell only for a "just joking" thing after, this doesn't feel like that.

If you stick a gun to my head and say "okay Misopogon, you tell me why Hart decommitted right this second or I'll blow your brains all over your precious internet," I would say that Dee wants to get his college football career underway at the beginning of January, and Michigan wants to make a decision on who will be his head coach after that. This opinion is entirely conjecture, conflicts with a previous statement made by Hart, and should be taken as no more than that. Expect something more informative and concrete from Brian or Tim later today. Here's Tom: [/Misopogon]

TomVH: Dee Hart Alternatives

Hopefully everyone's calmed down from the Demetrius Hart news. For those of you that follow me on Twitter, I did talk to someone close to him and it looks like he will be decommitting. He's shut down contact, so I wasn't able to get a hold of him or his family. They don't like to disappoint people, so I'm not sure how much contact they'll have. The Michigan coaches will be making a visit out to try to do damage control with Dee. We'll see what ultimately happens with it, things can change.

Moving on from that, Justice Hayes is committed, Michigan is hoping Thomas Rawls makes grades, and there's two more options out there. Tre Mason (5'10", 190 lbs, 4 Star) and Devondrick Nealy (5'10", 175 lbs, 3 Star). Michigan is in great position with Nealy, and we most likely lead.

Mason is one to watch, and I talked to him tonight. He was interested and intrigued with the news of Demetrius Hart. I asked him about Michigan, and he had this to say.

I like Michigan, but Coach Dews has been talking to me about defense lately, and I do not want to play defense. I like Auburn a lot too, but if Michigan wanted me back as a running back then they'd have a good shot at me. I'm looking at depth charts and everything, so we'll see. 

You have to think that Michigan had been talking defense with Tre because they had Demetrius Hart and Justice Hayes committed. They didn't have room for a third running back of the same kind. If Demetrius does in fact decommit then I would assume Michigan would tell Tre that they want him on offense again. Just something to keep an eye on if everything goes down as it seems like it will. 

In a special to the Freep (print link) Josh Helmholdt of the Wolverine.com expands on his earlier report that Greg Brown is no longer a soft commit ($) and lists Brown and super-recruit Dee Hart as January early enrollers at Michigan.

Fremont (Ohio) Ross cornerback Greg Brown, who became U-M’s first commitment in the 2011 class back in Sept. 2009, is on track to graduate high school and enroll early. He will take his official visit to U-M next weekend, and start classes in Ann Arbor a month later. "I'm just focusing on finishing my high school education next month and in those following couple weeks, I will be enrolling at Michigan to play ball for the Wolverines. I just can't wait to get in the Big House in front of those 110,000 fans and play some football."

Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips four-star recruit Demetrius Hart is likely to play for U-M next year because of his exceptional talent and play-making ability as a running back. The 5-8, 190-pound Hart is the other commitment scheduled to enroll, and having him in spring ball should hasten his first appearance in the Big House.

We knew this about Frost (thanks, Tom), but Helmholdt goes on to list Michigan recruiting targets Avery Walls and Kris Frost as likely early enrollers.

Several of Michigan’s remaining targets in the 2011 class are also planning early graduations, including four-star Georgia safety Avery Walls and Charlotte, N.C., prospect Kris Frost, who took his official visit to U-M last weekend.

Brown's visit to Syracuse appears to have solidified his commitment to Michigan and the early enroller status for Brown and Hart will give them clear head starts on their development.  With Hart likely to compete for the starting RB assignment and Michigan's desparate need for secondary depth, this certainly qualifies as positive news.

Demetrius Hart is mentioned favorably a total of three times across these two articles:

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1153697

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1152732

SIYAS (Sorry if you've already seen ... I thought these merited a post.)

h/t to Haxel Rose for alerting me to an incorrect second link (now fixed).