Wayne Lyons

We're in the middle of a recruiting dead period, and about a month away from signing day. I thought I would give an update on who's left on the board, time frames for when specific recruits will make their decisions, and who will be visiting in the near future. 

Who's Left?

2011 Michigan Commits
Name Position State Rivals Ranking
Demetrius Hart RB FL 4 Star
Justice Hayes RB  MI 4 Star
Brennen Beyer DE MI 4 Star
Blake Countess CB MD 4 Star
Dallas Crawford CB FL 3 Star
Jake Fisher OL MI 3 Star
Delonte Hollowell CB MI 3 Star
Kellen Jones LB TX 3 Star
Chris Rock DE/DT OH 3 Star
Greg Brown DB OH 3 Star
Jack Miller OL OH 3 Star
Desmond Morgan LB MI 3 Star
Tony Posada OL FL 3 Star
Matt Goudis K CA 2 Star

That's 14 current commitments, and for argument sake we'll just assume that Michigan will take 20 in this class. Rich Rodriguez has recently said they will take anywhere from 18-20 commits, so we'll go with 20. Here's a look at the most likely recruits left at each position, up to this point. There could be some new names pop up, but this list seems pretty solid for now.

Wide Receiver
Name State Decision Date Rivals Ranking
Kris Frost NC Army All American Game (Jan 8th) 4 Star
Hakeem Flowers SC Either January or Signing Day. May still take visits. 3 Star
Devin Lucien CA Signing Day. Visiting Michigan January 7th 4 Star
Prince Holloway FL January 15th. Recently said he will commit to Michigan on his January 15th visit. 3 Star

Frost is in this category because he will most likely get his chance to try wide receiver before potentially moving to linebacker. The situation for Michigan here is that they may just lead for all four of these receivers. 

Defensive Backs
Name State Decision Date Rivals Ranking
Wayne Lyons (S) FL Army All American Game 4 Star
Raymon Taylor (ATH) MI  Visiting January 7th. Decision after that. 4 Star
Sheldon Royster (S) NJ Visiting January 7th. 4 Star
James Richardson (CB) TX Deciding in January 3 Star
Roderick Ryles (S) FL Planning a visit, decision date unsure. 3 Star

Again Michigan is in great position for most of these recruits. 

Tight End
Name State Decision Date Rivals Ranking
Jack Tabb NJ January 3 Star
Frank Clark OH Visiting January 7th, decision date unsure. 3 Star
Tanner McEvoy NJ Visiting January 7th, decision date unsure. 3 Star

Tabb is thinking over his decision, and will be announcing sometime in early or mid January. The coaching situation had been factoring into his decision, and he was also hoping for an offer from Miami. He's not getting the Miami offer, so it will be between Michigan, North Carolina, and Arkansas.

Offensive Line
Name State Decision Date Rivals Ranking
Chris Bryant IL January, or Signing Day 4 Star

Bryant isn't sure if he wants to wait until signing day to make his decision, or just get it over with. He is waiting to see what happens with the coaches, but Michigan is likely to land Chris.

Defensive Line
Name State Decision Date Rivals Ranking
Anthony Zettel (DE) MI Likely to decide in January. 4 Star
Darian Cooper (DT MD Visiting January 7th, likely to decide signing day. 4 Star
Max Issaka (DE)  NJ May visit Michigan 3 Star
Deion Barnes (DE)  PA Visiting January 7th, decision in mid-late January or signing day 4 Star

As you can see, there are a lot of recruits left for only roughly 6 spots left. The good news is that there is a lot of quality left on the board. The recruits that are left and still have Michigan in the race are ranked highly, and more importantly could help Michigan in key areas. 

Visits

The next visit weekend will be January 7th, and will be host to a good amount of prospects. Here's the list so far, and as usual will be updated as we get closer. These visits aren't set in stone, so they could change from now until the 7th.

  • S Sheldon Royster - Michigan is in Royster's top four with North Carolina, Rutgers, and South Carolina
  • DE Deion Barnes - Michigan is in Barne's top group with Penn State, South Carolina, and Georgia.
  • WR Devin Lucien - Michigan is in a very favorable spot for Lucien. This visit could determine where he ends up.
  • DT Darian Cooper - Cooper still lists Michigan in his top group, but definitely has concerns about the coaching situation. He should have some answers by this time.
  • ATH Raymon Taylor - Recently offered by Michigan, and recently decommitted from Indiana I suspect that Michigan leads. 
  • TE Tanner McEvoy
  • TE/LB Frank Clark - The Glenville prospect always speaks highly of Michigan, and is excited about the visit. 

This past weekend was host to a few important official visitors, and this weekend will see even more prospects coming in for the Big Chill hockey game. A slightly different format:

Visitors from this Past Weekend (12/3)

There were no commitments from Maryland DB Blake Countess or Florida S Wayne Lyons. I spoke briefly with Lyons, and have a full interview scheduled for later today. He had this to say so far:

"It was a good trip. The academic side of it was good, and I know my mom liked that too."

More later.

Rumors had Michigan potentially leading for Countess, and this visit was a big one since it was his first official. Blake was tweeting the whole weekend; here's a few of them:

  • goblue !!!!!!!!!!
  • Michigan was great. i could def. see myself there!
  • I was with Josh Furman, Denard and Devin Gardner..and the other players that were there on officials.Delonte, wayne and G.Brown

His coaches aren't easy to get ahold of, so I'm still working on getting more from him. Lyons is expected to make his decision at the Army game, and will take a trip to Nebraska next.

Official Visitors for the Big Chill

This weekend is not only host to the Big Chill and fireworks, but a plethora of official visitors. Here's the list I have compiled so far. As always this list will be posted permanently in the diary section to add and remove recruits.

  • LB Desmond Morgan - This could be the last visit before Morgan makes his decision. I wouldn't be surprised if he announces his choice shortly after.
  • DE Anthony Zettel - This is Zettel's last official visit. He's already been to MSU, Penn State, and Iowa. 
  • OL Chris Bryant - This probably won't be the last visit for Chris. He's been wavering on when he wants to make his decision. He might wait until signing day, or he might just pull the trigger. Michigan is in a favorable position either way.

I'll continue to add to this as I confirm more names.

On to specific recruits:

Kris FrostKris Frost

6'3", 210 lbs.

Athlete

Matthews, North Carolina


Frost is down to Auburn and Michigan, and has been for some time now. He still plans on enrolling early, and will be announcing his choice at the Army All American game in January. I'm in constant contact with Kris, and I believe that Michigan is in good position right now… as long as Rodriguez is retained. If Michigan were to make a change, then there might be some trouble. I don't believe that a defensive coaching change would make too much of a difference with Kris. The coaches have been on him, and are continuing to show him that they want him, as well:

Coach Rod will actually be out to my house on Thursday. They've just really been telling me how I fit in there, and how much I'm wanted. I don't think I'm going to be able to make it back up there for another visit, but that shouldn't matter too much anyway.

If you remember, Kris was going to try to come back up for another unofficial visit. That won't be happening, but it's not a big deal.

Devin LucienDevin Lucien

6'1", 189 lbs.

Wide Receiver

Encino, California


If you read my post yesterday you already know that Devin has scheduled his official visit out to Michigan for January 7th. Since Michigan has offered they have shot up Devin's list, and this visit could potentially vault the Wolverines into the top spot.

I love the overall tradition at Michigan. The tradition they have reminds me a lot of what we have at Crespi (High School). The brotherhood that the players have is amazing. I love the fans, and the whole community of Ann Arbor. I can't wait to visit.

A lot of people have wondered what recruits are thinking as far as the coaching situation with regards to Michigan. Devin felt comfortable enough to share how he was thinking.

I like Michigan for Michigan, so it doesn't really matter to me. I think it matters more to my parents just because they want me to be somewhere stable. Coach Dews has talked to both my parents and they both like him a lot. He's actually coming out this week on Thursday.

This is just one point of view but Devin is more interested in the program, and since he could probably play in most systems anyway, it won't matter much. The timing of this visit could help Michigan too, since Lucien is planning on making his decision on signing day, which is only 3 or 4 weeks from when he'll be on campus.

Other items [from the editor]

  • The Orlando Sentinel caught up with FL RB Dee Hart, who says he will remain committed to Michigan if Rodriguez is retained. If he isn't, he's going to Florida to play in the spread.
  • MI WR Shawn Conway will not qualify and is headed to a JUCO. He says he would like to return to the fold after his time there is finished but it is extremely rare for Michigan to take a JUCO kid who did not qualify out of high school. Austin Panter, the last JUCO at Michigan, was a qualifier who played seven on seven and went to JUCO for exposure, and the last one before that was Russell Shaw. Michigan's coaches have clearly known about this for a while given the offer to Lucien and late push for Arnett.

These next few weeks will be crucial for the finish of Michigan's recruiting class. This weekend and next weekend will see Michigan hosting lots of talent. Here's a few updates on some of those recruits, a new visitor scheduled, and a current commitment.

Wayne LyonsWayne Lyons

6'0", 190 lbs.

Safety

Fort Lauderdale, Florida


Michigan was outside of Wayne's top list for a while, and they weren't sure if they would get an official visit from him. He decided that the Wolverines would be included in his top five, which will result in the official. He'll be in Ann Arbor this weekend with his mother to take in the campus.

I'm really just looking for comfort, and I want the coaches to make it clear to me how I'm going to fit into the system. I'm hoping to see a good environment and campus, and how the coaching staff works. I'll also be looking at depth charts, and I know Michigan needs defensive backs.

An important factor in this process will be Wayne's mother, who will be accompanying him on this visit.

My mom is really looking for a lot of the same things that I am. She wants to feel comfortable with the school, and feel comfortable enough to let me go there.

His mother has been on all his trips with him so far and will also be at his final visit to Nebraska. Lyons will be making his announcement at the Army All American game, and Michigan has been making some strides with him. Also visiting this weekend are four star Maryland DB Blake Countess, who Michigan is in good shape for, and current commit DB Delonte Hollowell. I'll update as I hear any more recruits that will be in town.

Lamar Dawson

6'2", 230 lbs.

Linebacker

Danville, Kentucky


Dawson had told me a few weeks back that he wasn't as interested in Michigan as some of the other schools in his top seven. He has always maintained that Michigan is in that top seven, but they needed some work to do. They will now get a chance to do that work, as he's decided to schedule a visit to Ann Arbor.

I'm coming up there on January 22nd. Michigan's in my top seven, and I didn't get to go there for a game so I thought I'd come and take a look. I don't really have any leaders right now, but I'm looking for a place that I feel comfortable. I haven't really seen as much of Michigan, so they're still a little behind some others.

As he noted Michigan is behind, but like Lyons a visit is a step in the right direction. Dawson won't be making his decision until signing day, so there's plenty of time to think about it, plenty of time for Michigan to let him know how much they want him. The other schools he lists in his top seven are Tennessee, USC, Florida, Louisville, Kentucky, and Oregon.

Kellen JonesKellen Jones

6'1", 210 lbs.

Linebacker

Houston, Texas


Kellen's family is as excited as anyone for him to join the Michigan family. His father is an MGoBlog reader, and wanted me to share a few things with his fellow fans. The pictures below are of Kellen with former Michigan linebacker Jarrett Irons at a family get together, and the second with Coach Rodriguez and former Michigan great Desmond Howard. Below that is a highlight tape from one of Kellen's games a few weeks ago against St. Thomas, where his team won 33-28 (ED: I'm having problems with uploading the video to YouTube. I'll post it when it goes up). Enjoy.

Extra:

  • New Jersey TE Jack Tabb is visiting North Carolina this weekend, and most likely Arkansas on the 10th. He's hoping to have his decision made by Christmas. Michigan has put themselves in good position with Tabb after his official visit.