Kevin Sousa

This weekly update is brought to you late by CMU's homecoming. Here's a look at a few recruits that I caught up with after the Iowa visit weekend. I'll pass along more info as I start to catch up.

Dallas Crawford

5'10", 185 lbs.

Cornerback

Fort Myers, Florida

Dallas has dreadlocks, so he's ok by me. He's also very interested in Michigan, so much so that this past visit vaulted the Wolverines into the top spot. I was under the assumption that Michigan had been leading anyway, but this visit may have pushed it over the top for him. Every time he comes up to Ann Arbor he seems to be more and more comfortable with the surroundings and coaches.

Crawford was on the trip with highly touted teammate WR Sammy Watkins. Watkins has always listed Miami as one of his top schools, and often throws in Michigan and Clemson. There seems to be some problems up at Miami now, rumors that freshman safety Latwan Anderson is going to transfer along with what maybe two or three more young players. Miami also recently lost 2011 commit WR Eli Rogers, and while this isn't confirmed I've heard that they have some work to do to keep 2011 QB commit Teddy Bridgewater.

Just something to keep an eye on. If Miami continues to play poorly and starts to lose players and commitments, it may help Michigan's case. It also helps that his teammate is in his ear about joining him. They will both be back up for official visits around December. I'm more and more optimistic about Watkins as the time passes. Two unofficial visits to Michigan signal major interest.

Chris Wormley

6'4", 255 lbs.

Defensive End

Toledo, Ohio

Wormley is an important piece to the 2012 class on the defensive side of the ball. Michigan fans have been anxious about defensive recruiting, but the 2012 class could restock Michigan's depth chart in a big way. Early on I had reported that Ohio State was in the lead because of the attention he was getting from them, but that may have changed.

The game was good, besides the loss. Michigan has been moving up, they're up there right now. They just offered me too.

He likes to keep things close to the vest, but the word on the street now is that Michigan is the team to beat, and it may be pretty hard to beat them. [Ed.: The generally plugged Buckeye Planet mods are saying it's likely M, FWIW.]

Michigan has offered Wormley, as he said, which is a step in the right direction. He said that it feels good to have the offer, but he's probably not going to be making any decisions any time soon. Wormley will be one of the best players out of Ohio, and should be in the 4-5 star range when the rankings come out for 2012.

Kevin Sousa

6'2", 213 lbs.

Quarterback

Lake Nona, Florida

Michigan's quarterback commit was in Ann Arbor for his first game, and really enjoyed seeing the atmosphere. Sousa has only been playing football for a few years, so hasn't been too sure how he stacks up, or how well he's prepared for the next level. His coach told me that meeting Michigan's quarterbacks gave him a better glimpse of his potential:

The game experience was great, and Kevin enjoyed the excitement and everything. Sousa finally realized how gifted he is physically after meeting each quarterback and seeing their performance in the weight room. I just hope they show him the interest they should because he's a steal.

I've mentioned the last bit before, but it seems like there may be a lack of communication going on. I'm not going to speculate on the reasoning behind that, for obvious reasons. We'll see how it plays out.

Extra:

• It looks like the Illinois game will now be the date for the big Dr. Phillips visit. So far commit Demetrius Hart, S Roderick Ryles, WR Chris Gallon, and QB Nick Patti are scheduled to be there. If Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix shows up, then his recruitment might get interesting.
• DT Kevin McReynolds (6'2", 280 lbs, 4 Star) is now interested in Michigan. He spoke with the coaches last week, and said he would like to make it up for a visit. Here's his junior film, and a video of how he currently trains. Michigan coaches will be at his school on Friday, so it sounds like they're turning up the heat on Kevin.
• [Ed.: A newspaper article indicates CB Greg Brown was scheduled to be at Syracuse this weekend. That might be an indication the two parties are looking to go separate ways.]

Here's video of Kevin Sousa's first game this year. 

For those in the Central Florida area, Kevin Sousa's Lake Nona team will play on Brighthouse Sports Network tomorrow night at 7:30. It's a good chance to catch him in action without leaving the comfort of your home!

Also, if someone wants to take full stats for Sousa in case local articles are insufficient (and e-mail them to me at t.w.sullivan1@gmail.com), I'd much appreciate it.

2011 Michigan commit QB Kevin Sousa (Lake Nona, FL) participated in UF's just completed Friday Night Lights camp.  As you might expect most of the coverage of the camp have focused on the UF commits who participated and the fact that James Wilder didn't attend (fueling speculation that he's starting to favor FSU). 

However, some observers offered their assessment of Sousa via twitter.

Yeah he looked real sharp liked him a lot RT @varsityblue @EdAschoffGSUN Did you see #Michigan commit Kevin Sousa at FNL? How did he look?

QB Kevin Sousa, a Michigan commit tossed some real good balls at Florida's Friday Night Lights event. His footwork was also impressive.

Kevin Sousa, a Michigan commit has thrown some good balls tonight.

I have quite a bit of info, and I'm going to be out of pocket for the next couple days, so here's the weekly update. 

Kellen Jones

6'1", 209 lbs.

Inside Linebacker

Houston, Texas

Kellen has made it public that he is very high on Michigan, and his father is a huge fan of the Wolverines, as well. Jones' father grew up in the midwest, which is likely where his fandom stems from. I had the chance to speak with the head coach at St. Pius X, Coach Kimball, about Kellen. Here's a few notables from our convo.

Kellen's one of those kids you dream about as a coach. He has a relentless work ethic, he's a go getter, and a leader. We issued equipment on the first day, and Kellen got dressed up in full pads, greeted everyone at the door, and asked them if they were ready. We think, instead of comparing him to someone else, he might be the next Kellen Jones.

Coach Kimball told me that some people see him as a middle linebacker, some as an outside linebacker. Either way, everyone agrees he's going to have a nice career at the next level. His coach had this to say about his recruitment.

Kellen originally wanted to commit before the season, but the offers started to come in, more and more, so we decided that it would be in the middle of the season. He's going to try to make it up to Michigan, but we're not sure when.

When asked about Michigan's chances, his coach said they have a very good shot, and that Kellen is taking a very hard look at the Wolverines. Jones also has a pretty exciting highlight video:

Kyshoen Jarrett

5'11", 182 lbs.

Cornerback

East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

Jarrett is a four star corner, with a nice offer sheet that has been considering Michigan for awhile now. I asked him how his recruitment was coming along, and he had some positive developments in the near future for Michigan.

I'm going to be narrowing down my list in about two weeks. I'm going to get it down to about 8 or 9 schools.

I then asked if Michigan would be on that narrowed down list, and he had this to say.

Heck yeah! They already have two defensive backs in this class, but I'm definitely considering them. They're still recruiting me pretty hard, too.

It looks like Michigan is still on the search for defensive backs, and they happen to be in good position with a few.

Avery Walls

5'11", 184 lbs.

McDonough, Georgia

Safety

Avery is a big hitting safety, out of Georgia that recently took a visit up to Michigan with his mother, who happens to be a Buckeye alum. Walls got a chance to check out Michigan, and then head north to look at MSU as well. As you can see by his picture, he would have no trouble remembering Michigan's mascot, if he were to choose them. I spoke with Wall's head coach, who is new to the program, but already had a good feel for Avery as a player.

I coached against Avery last year, we played against him. He's a physical football player who loves to hit. He's generally always around the football, too, he's got great ball skills. I was really impressed by how he moves around the field, too.

While he had good things to say about his trip to Michigan, don't get too excited yet. As I just said, Walls' mother is an OSU alum, and he grew up a fan of the Buckeyes, too. Ohio State hasn't offered yet, but if they do, I would imagine they would lead. His coach tells me he's wide open at this point, and will be trying to figure out where his 5 official visits will take place.

Andre Yruretagoyena

6'5", 258 lbs.

Offensive Tackle

Scottsdale, Arizona

Andre is seemingly down to USC, Oregon, and Michigan as his top choices. He has taken and unofficial visit to USC, and you can now add Oregon to that list, as well. He took a trip up to Eugene, since his dad lives very close to campus. He had this to say about his experience.

It was pretty crazy up there. Their facilities are awesome, I can't really tell you one part that stuck out, it was all great. They're actually planning on building a six story, 80,000 square foot football building that will have coaches offices, players lounge, and will look over the city. They want it to look like a fortress.

Phil Knight is possibly crazy and a genius all at once. Unfortunately this visit leaves Michigan on the outside looking in, as far as the first hand experience for Andre. It's my assumption that the time between these visits and when he'll make it up to Michigan is possibly hurting Michigan's chances. The fact that they are also on the outside looking in, as far as distance doesn't help either. We won't know anything until he visits, but I'm thinking this is starting to fade. 

Tony Posada

6'6", 315 lbs.

Offensive Tackle

Tampa, Florida

As I told you in this update, Tony was coming up to Michigan for camp, with one of his coaches. He did just that. I spoke with him today about his trip, and although our conversation was brief, he had some great things to say.

The trip was wonderful. It was a thousand times better than what I expected. This puts Michigan in the lead, for sure.

This is great news, especially since we got him on campus. One of the major hurdles is out of the way. I am still a little worried about if Florida offers, and how that will change things. We'll see how this plays out, and if they decide to offer. Posada plans on taking a few more visits, and then hopefully making his decision.

Kevin Sousa

6'2", 213 lbs.

Quarterback

Orlando, Florida

Have you heard enough about him yet? As I'm sure you've all read, Kevin was offered, and already has his flight booked up to Ann Arbor this Tuesday.

The reason I'm including him on this update is for a few reasons. One, I wanted to make sure everyone knew he is coming up with Coach Paradiso, his high school coach. Paradiso has been on all of Kevin's trips with him, and he's the one that is closest with Kevin, helps him with his recruitment, etc. The other reason is because Kevin gave me a timeline of when he expects to decide. This is what he said about a possible commitment.

I don't think I'll commit while I'm there, because I'd like to at least discuss it with Coach Paradiso. But, I could make the decision as early as the plane ride back, or the latest by July 4th.

It sounds like Kevin won't jump the gun while he's at Michigan, while he did still leave open the potential for that. He trusts Coach Paradiso to help him, and wants to discuss it with him. Whether that happens on the plane ride home, or by the 4th of July, I would very much expect him to pick Michigan.

Extra:

• Unfortunately, it looks like S Ron Tanner, from Ohio, will be committing to Ohio State soon. I haven't confirmed that with him, but I was told by a reliable source to be the case. 

QB Kevin Sousa, from Lake Nona High School, has an offer from Michigan. Kevin's coach just called, and said Rich Rodriguez just called him to let him know that Kevin has an offer. As I wrote a week ago, Kevin was told this offer would be coming. Kevin's interest in Michigan is very high, and his coaches feel the same way. His coach told me their plans for Kevin, and they might move quickly.

We're going to try to get him up there in the next week. It will most likely be Tuesday. We just want him to see everything up there, and make sure that it's something that he likes. Michigan is really high for him, and us. My advice to him was, with Michigan, they're the whole package. The offense they run, the prestige of the school, and he'd have a chance to grow as a quarterback, since he's so new to football. I told him that playing two years at Michigan is a successful career.

Sousa could possibly be up to Michigan this coming Tuesday, and it sounds like there could even possibly be a decision that would come shortly after. 

We don't want to say too much, yet. I don't want to speak on behalf of Kevin, but there's a possibility that he could commit while we're there. We're not going there for no reason, that's for sure. I don't want to say he will for sure, but there's a possibility.

So, it sounds like we might be on commit watch for Michigan's next quarterback commitment. 

**UPDATE** - Kevin sent me a message, and they have their flight booked. He and his coach are flying up around noon on Tuesday, and flying back the same night. We are officially on commit watch.