Kyle Murphy

The theme of 2012 recruiting for Michigan so far has been wide receivers and linemen. Forty of the (approximately) sixty-seven offers have gone to wide receivers, defensive, and offensive linemen. MGoUser umhero has been gracious enough to update the offer list here. If you'd like to go even more in depth, Rescue_Dawn has used his free time to create a recruiting map. As always, if you would like more updates from me you can head over to Twitter and folllow me @TomVH. If you have any recruiting tips or questions please email me at TomVH@MGoBlog.com.

Andrus Peat

6'6", 270 lbs.

Offensive Tackle

Tempe, Arizona

Another recruit out in my neck of the woods, Peat has racked up offers from almost everywhere. Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Notre Dame, Texas... you name the school they've offered Andrus. That offer list includes the Wolverines. Andrus returns some early interest, and wants to find out more about the program.

I definitely have interest in Michigan. Their program's prestige and just how they have consistently won over the years is definitely a plus for me. The fact that they produce great offensive linemen, and NFL guys is great too. Michigan is definitely a school I would like to get out and see. I'm going wait until all my offers come in and then go from there. I'll take some spring and summer visits then cut my list towards the end of the summer.

Peat's father played in the NFL and his brother was a Nebraska signee for the 2011 class so he has some familiarity with the process. The fact that his brother chose a team to the north says distance may not be a factor. It's too early to tell if Michigan will make the cut. They have their work cut out for them since they're competing against the world.

James Ross

6'0", 209 lbs.

Linebacker

Orchard Lake, Michigan

Ross is probably the top prospect in the state of Michigan for the 2012 class. He has been racking up the offers lately, and recently received a verbal one from Ohio State. James and his father recently visited Ann Arbor before the Best of the Midwest combine so they could get a better feel for the new coaches. His father (also named James) told me about how that trip went.

We've been up there quite a few times, but I wanted him to meet the new staff. The staff was actually trying to get him up there as much as I was. Everything was smooth, everything they said was what he was looking for.

I'm not sure I even need to say this any more, but Greg Mattison has again left his mark on a recruit.

He fell in love with coach Mattison. I never paid attention early on to coordinators that much, but that guy was great. He was kinda funny too. He and coach Hoke broke it all open for him. We were there close to three hours just talking about football with Mattison, and more conversation with Hoke. Hoke's like a good ole boy, it was refreshing. 

Besides gaining comfortability with the new coaches there were a few questions that were answered on the visit as well.

I know I read what type of defense they were going to run, and they told us it's going to be a 4-3. We run a 3-4 at Orchard Lake St. Mary's. What they want out of him is probably better for James, though. They said they want him to play WILL linebacker to emphasize his speed and have him free, a lot of blitzing, and basically let him play his game. James and the coaches saw eye to eye on that, I disagreed, but James thought that was good. 

This visit did a lot for Michigan for both Mr. Ross and his son. It gave them a clear picture of how James would be used, and the people that would be coaching him as well. Mr. Ross is a Michigan fan, but has made sure he lets James make his own decision. Mr. Ross thinks that James will likely make his decision once he finds the place he feels is right.

Kyle Dodson

6'6", 315 lbs.

Offensive Tackle

Cleveland, Ohio 

As I mentioned last night, Dodson received a Michigan offer yesterday. He's a monster offensive lineman reporting other offers from Illinois, Michigan State, NC State, and West Virginia. 

[Michigan] was definitely a school I wanted an offer from. Coach Funk was the one that offered me. He said they enjoyed watching my film and I look like a player they want at Michigan. They have a lot of tradition, and even though they haven't been playing that well lately I still have a lot of interest in them. I'm definitely going to try to make it up there for the Junior Day.

Growing up in Ohio typically means there are some ties to Ohio State, and that's true for Kyle.

How I was raised, I grew up a Buckeye fan and not liking Michigan. Now that I'm more mature and I'm looking at schools it's completely different. This is my decision, and it's going to be my choice so all that stuff goes out the window. I'm first looking at academics, because I want to major in criminal justice, second a family based football team, and third the environment and surroundings. 

Dodson is planning on taking a trip to Ohio State soon, and could see an offer soon from the Buckeyes. He's also getting attention from Auburn, Oregon, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. 

A Few Names to Watch:

Illinois DT Jaleel Johnson (6'2", 277 lbs) is expecting a Michigan offer in the next two weeks, and told me he will definitely be at the Junior Day. 

Georgia DT Jordan Watkins (6'5", 260 lbs) is hoping to hear from Michigan. Watkins has a 3.66 GPA and offers from Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Miami to name a few. His film is here.

New York DB Wayne Morgan (5'11", 188 lbs) just received an offer from Alabama. His high school DB coach told me has interest in Michigan. Here are his sophomore highlights, junior film should be done this week.

Cali DT Ellis McCarthy (6'4", 310 lbs) his coach tells me Michigan is interested and has his film. He's extremely athletic for his size, quick, and goes whistle to whistle. Junior film is here.

Texas DE Mario Edwards (6'4", 260 lbs) already has big time offers and has had contact with Michigan, according to his coach. His coach also told me they've produced NFL talent before and Mario might be better than all of them. Mario's dad also played for the Dallas Cowboys. Junior Film.

Extra:

• Illinois OL Jordan Diamond took in an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor, and told me how that went.
• Michigan DE Matt Godin was offered by Michigan and will be back up to Ann Arbor on Tuesday with his dad to talk to the coaches. He and Danny O'Brien give an update on where they're at here.
• Georgia DE Jordan Jenkins, Cali WR Jordan Payton and OL Jordan Simmons were all offered. 
• Offensive linemen Kyle Murphy and Tyler Alt gave me an update on where they're at.
• Detroit OL Daron Brown (6'5", 310 lbs) took an unofficial visit to Michigan hoping for an offer. He told me he didn't get the offer, but the coaches told him they were definitely interested. 

California is an area of familiarity for Brady Hoke, and there's no surprise that he's made that region part of his recruiting focus. Typically a hot bed for recruiting talent, this year is no different for California.

San Clemente High School is the home to 2012 offensive lineman Kyle Murphy (6'6", 255 lbs), who was extended a Michigan offer this past Friday. Murphy's head coach, Eric Patton, told me how it went down. "Coach Ferrigno from Michigan called Friday. He got a little info on Kyle and then told us they were offering." Michigan's offer was not the first, and certainly won't be the last for the talented lineman. "He's very heavily recruited. He's being recruited by Cal, Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, and Washington. A number of Pac 12 schools," said Coach Patton.

It's still too early in the process for Murphy to have any leaders, and is wide open in the process. With so many schools coming after him, it's easy to see why. "He's a top notch recruit. He's a legitimate 6-foot-6, he's getting close to 6-foot-7 now. He's really athletic, good frame, great balance. He has and does a lot of things that big men don't usually have in high school," his coach said.

Outside of his athleticism, Murphy has a good reason to focus on academics. With an older brother starting on the Harvard offensive line, and maintaining a 3.9 GPA, he has a lot to live up to. "Kyle is probably a better football player than Kevin (his brother). He's interested in academics, that's one of the reasons why Michigan appeals to him. He wants to play at the highest level he can, and the Big Ten and Michigan are right up there," said Patton. "The Big Ten is very prestigious, and he wants to go to a place that respects football and a good education. His family is very academically oriented, and they've said they'll move out of state for Kyle, like they did for his brother."

With distance not a part of the equation, that's a big hurdle avoided by Michigan. The next step in the process will be to get Murphy in Ann Arbor, and on campus. "We haven't talked about visits yet to Michigan. I know he wants to visit, and he wants to take a serious look at a number of schools. My guess is that he'll take a look and then decide which five he'll want to visit. Outside of Michigan, I'd have to say that Stanford will be real high on his list," Coach Patton said.