TVH Weekly: Trey Keenan, Will Hines, Wyatt Shallman, and More
Michigan kept the commitment train rolling by landing Matt Godin and 2013 QB Shane Morris last week. With 11 commitments already in the 2012 class it doesn't look like things will slow down just yet. Here's a look at some recent happenings, and where Michigan is at with a few new prospects.
Trey Keenan
6'5", 270 lbs.
Offensive Lineman
Argyle, Texas
Keenan is a versatile lineman that has racked up around 15 offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi State, and Tennessee, amongst others. Despite the fact that Trey lives in Texas he has some roots in Michigan.
Michigan came by the other day, Coach Funk did. We plan on making it up this summer because my grandma still lives in St. Clare Shores, that's where my dad's from. He played at Northwood and he's a big Michigan guy. He grew up with the 70's and 80's teams when Michigan was cranking out good teams. He always cheered for Michigan.
Trey has been to Ann Arbor before, just not for a football game.
Before I was a football player I was a big hockey player. We went to Ann Arbor for a hockey game once. I played hockey until I was 15, and I was actually drafted by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western league.
Michigan already has one former hockey player turned offensive lineman in Ben Braden. It would be pretty unique to have two in one class. The Wolverines seem to be high on Keenan's list for a number of reason.
Coach Funk said they're in a real shortage of offensive linemen, they only have eleven. They want to try to get six out of our class. I think he likes how athletic I am, and I'm strong enough to be in lifting meets.
It seems as though the Michigan coaches are positioning themselves to make Keenan's final list as well.
I want to figure out my list by the schools that I feel like have invested time in me, coming by my school, and making the extra effort with handwritten letters like Michigan has. If football didn't happen that I'd still love going to school there. I also want to go to a place that could push me football wise and if everything worked out right, get me to the next level. I think Michigan fits those points.
He plans on having his narrowed down list out by the end of this school year. As he said he'll make it up to Michigan sometime in the summer. Ultimately he would like to have his final decision made before his senior year starts up at the end of summer.
Will Hines
6'1", 175 lbs.
Cornerback
Waco, Texas
Michigan is in great shape with a few defensive backs that already hold offers. The coaches, however, are still offering defensive back prospects that they think fit their system. Glenville DB De'von Bogard is the most recent recipient, and Will Hines could potentially be on that list as well. I have been in contact with Hines for some time now, but he believes that things are starting to pick up.
I have eight offers so far and I think Texas A&M and Michigan might be close to offering. Michigan came by the school the other day. Coach Funk said he liked my updated highlight film and the defensive coordinator just needed to look at it. He's going to look at it in the next few weeks I guess.
I believe the coaches will be out recruiting these next couple weeks, so Mattison will probably watch his film after that. Hines said that he does have a top list right now, but that could change if some schools jump in the mix.
Right now it's Arkansas, Baylor, Missouri, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma State. Those are the top five that have offered. If Michigan offers then they'll probably take Notre Dame's spot.
Hines doesn't know too much about Michigan yet, but is definitely hoping for an offer.
They have a great history, a great program, and they make a lot of great players. It's going to be tough to get up there, but I am going to try to get up there for a visit. I'd like to make my decision towards the end of summer after I get some visits in.
Like I said Michigan is in great shape with a few other defensive backs, so we'll see in the near future how many spots are left.
Wyatt Shallman
6'3", 235 lbs.
Athlete
Novi, Michigan
Michigan has already extended a few offers to 2013 prospects. Commit Shane Morris, and Ohio super Dymonte Thomas were the first two. The third is Detroit Catholic Central ATH Wyatt Shallman.
[Michigan] offered me in person. Me, my dad, my mom, and sister all met the coaches. We went in and talked to Coach Hoke and he offered. We were just kind of small talking and then he said, by the way you have a full scholarship to go here that will pay for your education. We just kind of looked at each other, and my mom cried. It didn't really sink in to me until I was driving away from the stadium and I could see it in the rear view, as cliche as that sounds.
Cincinnati has also offered Shallman, and he's hearing from MSU as well. The interesting part of the Michigan offer is that the coaching staff has told him they want him as a tailback, not a fullback.
I was offered as a tailback at Michigan. There's a common misconception that I'm big and will play fullback. I believe that I could be a different type of tailback. I had a long talk with Fred Jackson. They were telling me how the offensive coordinator came from Auburn with Ronnie Brown. Everyone said Ronnie was a fullback, but they noticed his speed and used him as a tailback. I feel like there's some parallels with him, and they told me I'd be dotting the i.
Even though Michigan was his first offer, Penn State was where his recruitment started. That seems to have left an impression on him as well.
Penn State is really the first school to start recruiting me. I went down to a camp after freshman year and they started talking to me after that. With them being my first influence in recruiting really intrigued me. I would love to get an offer from them because of all the tradition they bring to the table.
Penn State may have been the early bird, but Shallman's family will also factor in to his decision.
It's a great thing for my family to have this offer, because they're a football family. I was never a football fan growing up until about 8th grade. My mom is a crazy Michigan fan, she has bumper stickers that say Oh How I Hate Ohio State and everything. It will probably take me awhile to make my final decision, too. It involves my whole family, they're my rock and this is a family decision. I'm going to take my time with everything.
Wyatt is lucky to have a good foundation to support him, and he also has a good friend that recently went through the recruiting process as well.
Me and Matt [Godin] are really good friends. He was kind of my mentor this season, and he was a sophomore on varsity also. We've talked a little bit about recruiting and Michigan but we haven't had a lot of time to sit down and talk about it. Once you commit you're kind of a recruiter for that school so I'm sure he'll try to do that with me.
Shallman is nowhere near a decision, obviously, and plans to let everything take its course.
Extra:
Ohio DE Chris Wormley recently said Michigan was his leader in a Toledo Blade article. Wormley told me last week that he thinks he's inching closer to a decision. Once track is over in June is when he'll start to focus on his recruitment.
Instate DB Terry Richardson will most likely be making his announcement this week. It will probably be Tuesday or Thursday, according to his coach. I'll let you know once I have the official word. An early decision is good for Michigan. [Ed: The announcement is set for Tuesday at 11:45am]
Ohio DE Adolphus Washington told me that he will be making a trip to Michigan soon. It's safe to assume that he will bring his teammate WR Dwayne Stanford with him as well. Look for that to happen in the next two weeks.
There's been a rumor running around that Michigan may be getting a visit from QB Gunner Kiel. I haven't confirmed that yet, but there's been a lot of smoke around Kiel's name lately, so keep an eye on that. [Ed: Source of the smoke seems to be Facebook stalkers noting a Kiel wall post from Borges asking if he's coming in this weekend. If he does end up on campus that's a very good sign since he was just in Ann Arbor. Rapid-fire visits like that usually mean the school being visited is the leader.]
Georgia DT Jordan Watkins is expecting a visit from the Michigan coaches this week, or next. Watkins has a ton of offers, has a 3.7 GPA, and even plays the cello.
A couple quick notes on a few questions that keep coming up. It looks as though the Michigan coaches have cooled on TE Ron Thompson for now. His coach is planning on calling the Michigan coaches this week to find out what's going on. Please try not to speculate too much here.
Illinois DB Anthony Standifer had to reschedule his visit this past week because his father couldn't make it. He plans on rescheduling it in roughly two weeks, once the coaches are back from recruiting trips. Michigan is still in good shape with him. The new offers from the likes of Notre Dame may cause him to slow things down, but when he visits a commitment is possible.
I was told and reported awhile ago that Michigan and Rutgers were probably the top two schools for New York DB Wayne Morgan. I was told recently that Michigan may have taken over the top spot for Morgan by his coach. Both Morgan and his coaches have been impressed with the Wolverine coaching staff.
To me the only package deal that might end up working out is the Stanford/Washington thing. But, there is still too much time left and too many things can change.
regardless if burbridge or trich comes are those.not package deals?
In some respects, they are, I guess. But as far as I know, the FHH and Cass Tech guys never said "We're going to the same school." They just said that they would go wherever fit them best.
A lot of times when kids say, "We're going to the same school," that notion fizzles out rather quickly.
he needs to pick a better phrase for that and quickly.....
I know that Morris was told we'd be accepting another QB, but would one as high profile as Kiel make him second guess?
Yes. Morris has made it clear that if Michigan takes a high-profile QB in 2012, he will run home crying to his mommy and immediately flip to Eastern Michigan.
This will make Ron English the greatest recruiter ever.
I think most us recall how Coach Hoke not only held most of the class together last year. And then pulling in some great recruits at the last min
ute.. And we said we can't wait till he has a full year to work with..... All I can say now is WowThanks Tom. Love this quote:
If Michigan offers then they'll probably take Notre Dame's spot.
I was about to post the same. I like the way this Will Hines kid thinks!
Great update. I am not sure I see the Ronnie Brown, Wyatt Shallman correlation. He is a long way from being a senior, so he may look more like Mike Alstott by the time he graduates.
There is one thing that connects Wyatt Shallman and Ronnie Brown.
That thing is Fred Jackson's irrepressible, child-like optimism uncanny scouting acumen.
but would having a Mike Alstott type on the roster be a bad thing? We wouldn't have to worry about third or fourth and short, he would punish other teams Ds, and would make some nice plays catching the ball out of the backfield.
It would be nice to have ANOTHER RB like this.
Remember, Stephen Hopkins is on the roster.
Hopkins would be a senior by 2013, which is when Shallman would be a true freshman. So there won't be much overlap if he commits.
Completely understood. My only point was that the team might already be creating an Alstott-type RB with young Stephen.
I love how frequently these TomVH posts arrive in the middle of the night. (It might be earlier than that where he's based, which, IIRC, is Arizona.) It's like an offshore MGoBlog.
Anyway, it's nice to see new material in the morning.
The Toledo Blade article I saw listed Michigan as Wormley's leader but it didn't have a quote from him saying that. http://www.toledoblade.com/HighSchool/2011/05/14/Titans-Eagles-rule-City-League-2.html
As for Washington, Duane Long listed him a little while ago as a weak-side DE and Wormley as a strong-side DE. A commit from both, then, would give Michigan three WDEs and two SDEs in this class. That seems like a lot given Michigan's limited class. It makes me think that the Michigan coaches see Washington as an SDE and that if they get him that they can't take Wormley, and vice versa. http://www.duanelongreport.com/2011-articles/march/picking-my-starting-22-defense.html
is just trying to talk himself out of the possibility that Michigan could land Washington and Wormley. You're telling me that if it comes to signing day in 2012, and Washington tells Mattison he wants to commit, that he'll get turned down? I think not.
But anyway...I'm just not sure where Michigan could fit all of these guys. Since the coaches are saying that they want another four OLs, the class is really crunched for other positions.
As WolvinLA says, Wormely and Godin might be able to play some tackle, though the coaches apparently told Godin that they're recruiting him at the RVB position and Wormley looks like a classic SDE who would only play tackle on passing downs.
Anyway, Michigan probably won't have to choose between Wormley and Washington, and it will be a good thing if they do.
Although Ojemudia, Brown and Washington are all WDEs, it's very possible/likely that one of them grows into a SDE, especially Brown or Washington because of their height. Also, I bet Godin ends up playing inside as a true DT, and even Wormley could be a tackle based on his size (a lot of people think he's bigger than the 250 he's listed at, since he's been listed at 250 for over a year now).
I agree though, that if we take Wormley, the only reason we take another DE at all is if it's an elite guy like Adolphus Washinton.
This might come as a ridiculous post. If that is the case, I apologize in advance. However, in the event that this does happen, and we take Wormley and Washington, we will have a ridiculous amount of talent on the Dline in 2-4 years. If this does happen is there any chance our scheme could change to a 5-2 type front to get more of these guys on the field at once. Although typing this I realize we will have a solid LB core in this time frame as well. Thoughts?
I don't think that's a good idea. There is a greater chance one of those guys would get moved elsewhere. There seems to be a movement about which is suggesting Wormley would be a great OT.
I don't know of any college that runs a true 5-2. It's possible that Michigan could run a 3-4 with both OLB's being weakside end types (say, Pharaoh Brown on the strong side and Mario Ojemudia on the weak side). That's essentially a 5-2 but with more athletic DE's.
Anyway...I don't think a 5-2 or a 3-4 is in our immediate future.
This probably doesn't matter because Adolphus Washington probably won't come to Michigan, but he's already 258 lbs. and I doubt he'll be a weakside end in college.
Wormley is either a SDE or an OT. I don't think we have to worry too much about loading up at one of those DE positions. The offers have been spread around fairly well, so we might be able to grab 2 WDE's and 2 SDE's (if the class gets bigger).
2 WDEs = Brown and Ojemudia, and 2 SDEs
= Godin and Wormley/Washington/whomever, right?Where does the idea of Wormley as an OT come from?
There was a little bit of talk about it last fall, but I didn't believe it because the Chris Wormley I saw on his sophomore film was too skinny.
Now he's put on weight, and apparently some of his coaches said (and this was reported on Rivals) that he might have NFL upside as an OT.
Will his height be a concern at OT position. I know he is only a junior and still might be growing, but I just thought that ideally we wanted out tackles to be in the 6'5"-6'7" range.
Wingspan is probably more important than height, but yes, height might be a factor there. He doesn't really look like he could develop into a guard, either. It seemed to me that height was a little less of a factor for Lloyd Carr than it was for Rodriguez when it came to offensive tackles, so we'll see...
Rodriguez mostly only played and recruited guys who were 6'7"-ish to play tackle (Ortmann, Dorrestein, Lewan, Schofield), and even Huyge was 6'6". I don't remember that much of a height fetish previously, but maybe I'm wrong. Schilling was a tackle for Carr and he was only 6'4"-6'5".
You said he projects at SDE or OT, but what about DT? If he's putting on that much weight, having a 6'4" 295lb Wormley play inside at DT might be a good spot for him, no?
Defensive tackle is a LONG way off. And if he doesn't have the mentality for DE (as Rivals suggested), then he certainly doesn't have the mentality to play DT.
Battering Ram, yes please.
Sorry to all the spread guys but in my perfect world we run to set up PA, then once UM is up by 21 they bring in Smash'em Mouth'em but unlike the days of run, run, run, punt, it turns into mash the opposing D into submission, more points and start bring in youth for scrub time. But that is only in my perfect world.
but hoard had bunch blocking for him. he was the true battering ram.
double post
Did someone mention a battering ram? Chris Floyd says, "Hello." Also, he can levitate.
The helmet logo is timeless. Keep fighting the good fight, IU.
looks like Gunner Kiel is visiting Missouri today.
and it is in no way meant to offend the guy...But does Hines look to be at least 30 years old in that pic?
He looks like a man as opposed to a "high school kid"
That's not a bad thing, he could just have been an early bloomer, and be ready to contribute day 1.
Or he could actually be 45 and be this guy:
He probably looks sad b/c the heat lost last night.
Coach Hoke laughs at Greg Oden's lack of pointing power.
It is hard to judge just by looking at one picture. I'm sure that MO doesn't alaways look like this:
I hope MO always looks like that. Can you imagine seeing that across the line of scrimmage? Yikes.
Apparantly TRich has set a press conference for 11:45 tomorrow at his school.
Nothing against Shallman, but PSU tradition? I'm pretty sure they're #1 tradition is JoePa and I am just praying he doesn't keel over on the sideline one of these years. That's not even a joke, I am seriously afraid that that will happen one game. My God, it would be horrifying.
That said, Michigan tradition > PSU tradition. Lock it in.
Before Wyatt moved to Michigan, he lived in my small town in NJ. He was in my first grade class, I played against him in flag football, and did karate with him. He comes from a great family, and his mom is a huge Michigan fan. Hopefully he'll end up in Ann Arbor.
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