Jarron Jones
The evaluation period is over, which means no more off campus visits by the coaches. There is a quiet period from now until July 31st. A quiet period allows a coach to write or call a prospect and recruits can visit the school's campus.
So the next big events for Michigan will be unofficial visits and camp (June 19th-23rd). Here's a look at what could be happening in the near future, and where a few other prospects are at in their recruitment. As always you can follow me on Twitter at TomVH, and feel free to email me with tips or questions at [email protected].
Jehu Chesson
6'3", 175 lbs.
Wide Receiver
St. Louis, Missouri
Chesson received an offer from Michigan this past week, and it was one that he thought would be coming in soon.
They had been looking at me for awhile, and they told me that I'm among eight kids that they were evaluating. Coach Hecklinski visited my school and they didn't offer right away, but he said to hang in there with them. He finally told me that the staff wanted me and they offered.
Jehu is an interesting prospect because he had been recruited by the old Michigan staff, and actually knew them better than the current staff.
We visited campus last summer. I kind of wanted to see it so we sacrificed a little and made the trip. They obviously have a different coaching staff from last year. Right now I just need to build that relationship with them. I know Coach Hecklinski. The number one thing for me is to have a role in the offense. I'm a receiver, I'm a little bias to having the ball in my hands. I can control how good I become, but they're the ones that choose how to use me.
Chesson plans to take his time with his recruitment, and wants to wait to see what schools offer before he makes any decisions.
I'll take all of my official visits. I would definitely consider Michigan for an official visit because it's not a place I can easily get to. Take an official to Michigan would make more sense than a place like Mizzou. I want to narrow my list down at the end of the summer. It should be a pretty long list still but at least I'll be getting it somewhere. After that I'll try to get a top five.
Michigan would obviously like to land a receiver in this class and it looks like this is one position that they'll have to wait to find out who they get. Chesson plans on waiting, Dwayne Stanford wants to announce later in his season, and Aaron Burbridge has some work to do in the classroom.
Eric Olson
6'6", 265 lbs.
Offensive Line
Cambridge, Massachusetts
I mentioned this past week that Olson would be visiting Michigan this Tuesday (the 7th). His Michigan offer came in recently and Michigan will be the last school he sees.
About two months back Coach Mallory said that the offensive line coach had watched my highlights and loved them. We kept in contact and I told him the interest was mutual. Eventually about three weeks ago they pulled the trigger and offered me.
Some prospects only say that academics are a big part of their decision but Olson's final list makes it clear he means it.
I really want a school that combines academics and athletics. It's something that's really important to me and I've told a number of schools not to waste their time recruiting me because of their academic standing. I have a 3.2 GPA, but I'm at a very rigorous private school and I scored a 1930 on the SAT and a 29 on the ACT.
So yeah, he's pretty serious about that. Olson says he's playing everything by ear, but he would like to have a decision made by mid summer. With Michigan being the last visit and a good combination of what he's looking for, they have a good shot.
Jarron Jones
6'5", 308 lbs.
Defensive Tackle
Rochester, New York
Jones has been committed to Penn State for some time, but has said that he will continue to visit schools. Michigan is one of the programs he and his family would like to see more of. I spoke with his mother about where he's at, and when he should be at Michigan.
If you asked Jarron he would say Penn State was the best place for him, but that was after visiting Rutgers and Pitt. Before talking to me and his dad he told a reporter that he was committed to Penn State. We said he should have talked to us first. He does feel he loves Penn State and Larry Johnson was the first person to critique Jarron. I loved that because I don't want someone to feed my son, he needs reality. Life is reality, and he needs a dose of that. It's not that we don't like Penn State, if that's still the best place for him then Penn State it is. We're going to discuss it as a family.
As far as what schools they're looking into now, his mother outlined some of the programs they like and how they feel about distance from home.
He told the Florida coaches he's not really interested in going that far, and we're not interested in him going to the west coast. I want to be able to get to him if something were to happen. Virginia Tech is a school he's loved since childhood so we'll be going there. We're going to Michigan in June when we visit Notre Dame at the end of June. At the end of July we'll go out to Louisville and maybe Ohio State.
The Jones family doesn't know too much about Michigan yet, but they're eager to learn more.
I called and talked to Coach Montgomery. We had a long talk and he seemed excited to get us up there. Me personally, I have no real knowledge of Michigan. I understand that they're a great institution. Jarron has some knowledge as far as the football side of things. I told Michigan that I would like to see their APR score for the last few years, too. I need to know the coaches are going to do a good job of being a mentor to him. It's very important for us to know what type of coaches they have.
These visits will help their family get to know everyone, and help them figure out where the best place for Jarron is. There obviously won't be a decision until after the visits are done, so they won't know anything at least until after July. [Ed: APR score should come with lots of explaining.]
Extra:
California OL Erik Magnuson is visiting on the 10th. I outlined this in the last Weekly Update, and he has Michigan as his number one team. This is a very big visit for Michigan, very big.
Massachusetts DB Armani Reeves told me that he has dropped Michigan from his list. He says he is no longer going to camp at Michigan, but will visit Notre Dame instead. His list is Penn State and Notre Dame now.
As you can see New York DB Wayne Morgan decided to hold off on making his announcement. There probably won't be room for him once he's ready to decide, since he wants to take his official visits now.
Ohio S Jarrod Wilson did visit Michigan last week, and now has Michigan in his top three with Penn State and Notre Dame. I should have more from his coach Ricky Powers this week. Wilson could potentially be making his visit in the near future.
I will outline a list of recruits that I think Michigan could get, or is in good shape with sometime this week. There's been a lot of people asking about that, so I'll post that soon. I'm trying to confirm a few visits, so I'll post those when I get them as well.
For everyone asking about DE Chris Wormley, he does have Michigan as number one right now, but still hasn't decided when he wants to make a decision. I'd imagine it won't go too long though.
As odd as it may seem the 2012 class is already starting to get to the point where fans speculate on who fits where and how many spots are left. The offensive line is a big priority in this class and with two commitments on board the coaching staff is likely looking for 2-4 more. Here's a look at some of the prospects Michigan has a chance with and a few other notes.
As always you can follow me on Twitter for more updates, and feel free to email me with any tips or questions at [email protected].
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Jake Meador
6'6", 280 lbs.
Offensive Line
Whiteland, Indiana
Meador is a four star offensive lineman, ranked 241st overall in the country by Rivals. He holds offers from Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Ole Miss, and Northern Illinois. He has also started to hear more from the Michigan coaches.
Coach Borges came down to my school a few weeks ago. He said they really like me and when they get back from spring recruiting they will discuss offering me. If they invite me up to take a visit then that's when they'll offer.
Jake lives relatively close by, but says he isn't too familiar with the Michigan program or Ann Arbor.
I don't know too much about them, but if they were to offer I would be interested. I would like to make a decision mid to late June. If they offer then I'll try to get up whenever I can.
We'll see what the coaches say about an offer, or if they ask him to camp. He says he wants to make his decision by June, but that could change if other programs start to show interest as well.
Paul Thurston
6'5", 275 lbs.
Offensive Lineman
Arvada, Colorado
Thurston took a trip to Ann Arbor just a few weeks ago and came away very impressed. It seems like his recruitment is starting to wind down now.
I'm probably going to make my decision in July or August. I'll probably see what happens in the next few weeks then maybe take one or two more visits. After that I'll narrow my list down in June and make my decision from there.
Paul has a great offer list including Arizona, Cal, Arkansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, Stanford, and UCLA among others. I think Michigan has a good chance here, but he keeps everything very close to the vest. I would be surprised if Michigan didn't make his top list, but anything can happen.
Erik Magnuson
6'6", 275 lbs.
Offensive Lineman
Carlsbad, California
Magnuson is a four star offensive tackle who is ranked 34th overall in the country by Rivals. He holds an impressive offer list that includes Michigan, Cal, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Stanford and others.
He told me back in March how great of a relationship he has with the Michigan coaches from their days at SDSU. He went so far as to call offensive line coach Darrell Funk, "The man." The original plan was to come out to Ann Arbor for an official visit, but that plan has changed.
I'm coming out [to Michigan] on June 10th. I'm really strongly considering them so I want to get out there and see it. They have a couple good 2012 commits, and I know the coaches really well, so I really like them.
Erik also recently told me that Michigan was in his top three with two other schools to be named later. Michigan has a very good chance with Magnuson, and the fact that he moved his visit up to June is a really big deal for them. Just something to keep an eye on.
Adam Breneman
6'5", 220 lbs.
Tight End
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Michigan already has a commitment for the 2013 class, so it's not too early to talk about it. Breneman is a 2013 prospect that already has offers from Alabama, Boston College, Maryland, Notre Dame, Rutgers, and now Michigan.
I hadn't heard anything from Michigan until last weekend when my coach informed me that they were coming to my school to offer me. I went to a game at the Big House with my family a couple years ago and was impressed. I'll decide soon if if's a place that I want to visit this summer. They'll definitely be a school that will get consideration.
It seems so early, but since he is already wracking up the offers he's already started in with his recruiting process and will evaluate schools this summer.
I don't want to say I'm going to narrow my list this summer, because I don't plan on doing that for some time. I am more going to decide which five to eight schools I want to visit. I want to learn more about some programs.
Plenty of time for Adam to figure everything out and it seems like Michigan is a place that intrigues him. We'll see if they get a visit or not.
Extra:
In case you missed it last week, New York DB Wayne Morgan has moved his decision date to June 2nd instead of June 1st. There's no set time yet, but he plans on telling all the coaches of his decision first. I will hopefully have some film of Wayne from a camp this past weekend posted soon.
California DT Aziz Shittu is still committed to Stanford but told me there's a good chance he will still end up taking an official visit to Michigan.
Illinois OL Jordan Diamond tweeted that he will be moving his decision date up. He wants to take a few more visits, but has been canceling the most recent [Wisconsin & Auburn]. He told me it will likely come before his first game of the season. Michigan is in good shape.
A new name to potentially keep an eye on, and to go along with the offensive linemen theme is Oregon OL Isaac Seumalo (6'3", 280 lbs). Seumalo is good friends with Cali OL Erik Magnuson, and while he doesn't currently have an offer the Michigan coaches are aware of him. He is a four star and ranked 175th overall in the country by Rivals.
Upcoming visits include: New York DT Jarron Jones [I will have more on him next week] is planning a trip for June 10th, Ohio DB Allen Gant should be visiting in the next few weeks and that is something to keep an eye on, Illinois DB Anthony Standifer is trying to plan a visit in the next few weeks so his dad can make the trip. Ohio tandem Adolphus Washington and Dwayne Stanford had to reschedule their visit from this past weekend. They haven't set the date yet.
Washington OL Joshua Garnett says he wants to take an official visit to Michigan.
If you missed last week's Weekly Update, you can find it here.
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