Monday Recruitin' Dons Shades
NITRO EXPLOSION NEON HIGHLIGHT CHROMETACULAR
This week marks the start of high school All-American bowl practices, which are already under way and feature eight Michigan commits: Juwann Bushell-Beatty, Michael Ferns, Drake Harris, Bryan Mone, Jabrill Peppers, Wilton Speight, Jared Wangler (Under Armour, all on Team Nitro), and Mason Cole (Army, Team East). At the start of day two, we've already had some Michigan-on-Michigan crime:
Jabrill Peppers intercepts fellow Michigan commit Wilton Speight. #UAAllAmerica https://t.co/tFzPgIAQcU
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 30, 2013
And subsequent trash talk:
Peppers screamed, "That's all day next year, Wilt" after his interception.
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 30, 2013
Peppers, recently named the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year, stood out as one of the top performers in yesterday's opening practice session, per Rivals' Rob Cassidy ($):
The No. 2 player in the Rivals100 Presented by Under-Armour had never participated in a national-level event until now, so there was some intrigue surrounding his arrival in Florida.
So far, so good. Peppers was one of the top performers on Day 1. He was a nightmare in coverage and was beaten only once during one-on-one reps. He showed the speed to stay with smaller wide receivers and the strength to press larger ones. Peppers was aggressive without gambling and stood out like the country's No. 2 player should.
And today he received some lofty praise from former NFL head coach and standout defensive back Herm Edwards, especially when considering the spectacular performance of current Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves in the same game last year:
Herm Edwards told me in his three years coaching in the #UAALLAMERICA game, Jabrill Peppers is the best DB he's seen.
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 30, 2013
There will be much more coverage of both All-American games in the next two roundups; the UA game—which may be difficult to watch without protective eyewear—kicks off on Thursday at 4 pm on ESPN, while the Army game is set for Saturday at 1 pm on NBC. Maize n Brew has an informative primer for both games, and MGoUser MJ14 posted a nice roundup of first-day practice reactions from the UA game.
As for more Peppers stuff, because there's always more Peppers stuff, check out Sam Webb's DetNews feature and his senior highlight reel if you haven't already.
[Hit THE JUMP for the latest 2015 offer, updates on Malik McDowell, Cassius Peat, and Keisean Lucier-South, and more.]
Michigan Offers Christian Kirk, Plus 2015 Updates
The bowl trip to Arizona, well, could've gone a lot better; it did, however, provide the Wolverines a chance to offer 2015 Scottsdale (AZ) WR Christian Kirk, the #1 receiver and #32 overall prospect in the 247 Composite. Kirk told GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz that the offer was "a big one," and while he already holds an offer sheet filled with the nation's top programs—including a recent one from childhood favorite Oregon—he's looking to make his way to the Midwest for visits ($):
“I’m trying to get some dates for schools and once I get those I’ll finalize where I’m going,” Kirk said. “Definitely most of the California schools on the west coast, Stanford, UCLA, USC, definitely Oregon and then sometime this year I’ll get up to the Midwest too.
“I definitely want to go see multiple regions of the country.”
While Kirk wasn't able to make it to a Michigan bowl practice because of an illness, fellow Arizonan Cassius Peat, a four-star 2015 linebacker, took one in and told Bogenschutz that—despite not yet receiving an offer from them—"chances are really high" that Michigan will receive a visit from him ($).
Speaking of coveted juniors without a Wolverine offer, CA DE Keisean Lucier-South, who's expressed a lot of interest in Michigan, will get a visit from the coaches in January, per 247's Steve Lorenz ($). If the Wolverines offer—and unless the coaches think MN DE Jashon Cornell is in the bag, which is unlikely, that should happen eventually—they'll be among his top schools:
If the Wolverines offer, they will immediately move up his list, which includes offers from Texas, Tennessee, Washington, UCLA and USC among others.
"I wouldn't say they would be the favorite at this point, but it's still really early," he said. "I don't have any favorites. Michigan would be up there for sure though. Depending on how my spring goes, I would like to go to a spring practice. I may not be able to because of camps though. After that, I would take an official there too."
Lucier-South is a consensus top-50 overall prospect. Unless there are off-field concerns—and there's no sign that's the case—I don't see any reason why Michigan wouldn't put forth an offer.
At Least He Doesn't Announce In 2013...
Rivals and Scout each posted lists of the top uncommitted prospects in the Midwest for 2014. As one would expect, MI DL Malik McDowell features prominently in both posts. The good news: both expect him to end up in the Midwest, and Michigan is acknowledged as the longtime favorite. The bad news: the last two schools you'd want to see him choose are the two most likely to unseat the Wolverines. Scout's Allen Trieu ($):
The popular opinion has been Michigan for much of his recruitment, and the proximity and academics are in the Wolverines' favor and his parents have had nothing but positive things to say about their visits there. However, we believe that Malik ending up in a winged helmet is not the done deal many believe it is. Michigan State remains a strong contender for his services especially given the way the defense played this season. Ohio State, who has his final official visit is a darkhorse candidate to be the surprise team in the recruitment.
Michigan has been the favorite to land McDowell throughout much of his process, but watch for Ohio State as the Buckeyes will have him on campus just days before National Signing Day.
On top of that, neither expert even mentions Michigan when discussing four-star Glenville defensive backs Marshon Lattimore and Erick Smith, both of whom are presumed Ohio State locks.
Happy Trails
Two 2014 defensive backs once thought to be Michigan-bound have ended up elsewhere in the Big Ten. Four-star PA DB/WR Montae Nicholson chose Michigan State over Florida State, Oregon, Pitt, and Virginia Tech. Four-star IL DB Parrker Westphal picked Northwestern over Vanderbilt. Both players appeared to be destined for Ann Arbor until space got tight in the class and the coaches backed off their recruitments, a move that doesn't look great in retrospect now that Da'Shawn Hand is an Alabama commit and McDowell is by no means a certainty.
December 30th, 2013 at 2:04 PM ^
I love the Peppers quote:
Peppers screamed, "That's all day next year, Wilt" after his interception.
Good to see that mindset - I can't wait to see him lace 'em up for the Wolverines.
December 30th, 2013 at 2:25 PM ^
the quote and the swagger - but to Speight's credit - the WR gave up on the route for an easy pick for Peppers.
Let's hope both make each other better players!
December 30th, 2013 at 5:11 PM ^
Peppers, of course was not referring to game day.
December 31st, 2013 at 7:33 AM ^
my co-worker's mother-in-law makes $71 hourly on the internet. She has been without work for eight months but last month her check was $12184 just working on the internet for a few hours. hop over to this website>>>>bay91.COM
December 31st, 2013 at 9:07 AM ^
December 31st, 2013 at 9:47 AM ^
Happy ending?
December 30th, 2013 at 2:09 PM ^
“I definitely want to go see multiple regions of the country.”
like you could buy a postcard or t-shirt that said "upper midwest" on it
December 30th, 2013 at 2:15 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^
he looks like he could play a variety of positions...kid has close to Pepper's speed.
Edit: I think I saw a bubble screen in his junior highlight reel. Do want. And a double move that left him wide open. Holy crap.
December 30th, 2013 at 2:16 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 2:22 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 7:57 PM ^
If he comes here we will.
December 30th, 2013 at 9:02 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 2:35 PM ^
than Hargraves. My belief is that Hargraves is the best lock-down CB I've seen come out of HS that I can remember. Peppers can play it all, but I don't think he's as good at that aspect of pass coverage. That versatility and playmaking ability from him and Thomas is really the type of ability Mattison is looking for from his DBs to become much more versatile in his blitz package.
December 30th, 2013 at 3:05 PM ^
I tend to just see him listed as a DB.
December 30th, 2013 at 3:30 PM ^
Regardless if the coaches list him as a CB or not. He's going to play nickel. He has the ability to play safety. He could play CB. I think you start him at NB/CB (in that order) and see where he, along with the rest of the players shake out, but he's so versatile as an athlete that to me - again, outside of appearances - it doesn't make sense to already lock him in.
December 30th, 2013 at 2:36 PM ^
He needs to add quite a bit of weight, is the one worry with him. He has very high upside, but just needs to grow a lot into the position. That's why he's top 50 but you see some schools waiting and seeing how his body develops, IMO.
December 30th, 2013 at 3:44 PM ^
I feel like Michigan could really have had a big advantage with him if we'd offered earlier. The need for another DE is even more important given the the loss of Hand and the shaky situation with McDowell. Seems to me, even if he can't put on enough weight, he could move over to LB.
December 30th, 2013 at 3:58 PM ^
I agree with need for more DE's. At one time it looked like there could be 2 highly touted guys coming in (Hand & McDowell) and now Hand is gone and it seems 50/50 on McDowell.
Our D line has depth but doesn't scare anyone, at least not at this point. I hope really hard that Charlton and Ojemudia can come on strong next year. Our pass rush is very poor and almost any QB looks good standing in the pocket all day.
December 30th, 2013 at 4:13 PM ^
And I think with the DE situation in the 2014 class, you're going to see at least a few more DE offers go out before it's all set and done.
December 30th, 2013 at 4:36 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 5:25 PM ^
There are probably other ones, but I haven't been keeping up on recruiting well enough since the season started to be sure. I probably forgot someone though.
December 30th, 2013 at 2:52 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 3:08 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 3:28 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 3:37 PM ^
Not to mention that we don't lose any CBs this year (outside of Avery), which means we basically have Countess, Taylor, Stribling, Lewis, and Hollowell as our top 5 CBs returning. You have some guys that could move around a bit, like Dawson, Douglas, Hill, as well as some of the above. And you have some other depth at the position with Richardson. Then you have safeties with Clark, Thomas, Wilson.
Of those players listed, you only lose two of them after next year's season is complete. So that's a lot of young guys (10) for those four positions, and you're bringing in two players. Now, I liked Nicholson more than Westphal and would have liked to have seen him on the roster, but it isn't a huge miss from Michigan's standpoint. They have some young players that have shown pretty good ability and some established guys that can play. The coaches can't just sit there and try to put all the eggs in the DBs basket, there are other positions that need to be filled at least as much as adding an extra DB is needed.
December 31st, 2013 at 12:38 AM ^
I realize we're reaching a good level of depth in the secondary, I just wouldn't have cooled so quickly on them especially once Alabama came calling for Hand's services. I would rather we had kept the lines of communication open, maybe one of those two could have filled an open spot if we can't or don't get another position of need in this class. It may turn out that some of the players we recruited for the secondary end up as LB's or possibly working on the offensive side of the ball. Like the offer to Wangler, it just seems like a poor decision IMHO.
December 30th, 2013 at 5:35 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 4:23 PM ^
Everything you post is completely hyperbole and overreaction. Do you not remember the horrible situation our secondary was in under RR? The entire defensive depth chart, especially the secondary, needed a completely overhaul that we are still in the process of dealing with. The fact that Mattison was able to field a competent seconadary over the past few years is a testament to coaching and unique ability of Jordan Kovacs to prevent big plays (who was lost this year and largely explains the increase). Next year we finally get to have Hoke's very talented first full class become upperclassman and people like you want to blow everything up again. You have no idea what rebuilding something actually entails.
December 30th, 2013 at 4:38 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 6:45 PM ^
Sure they do. Most people on this board have witnessed the Lion's 50-year rebuilding program to one degree or another. They've had arguably the greatest running back in history on their team, and now they have Megatron, yet they've only played in one playoff game in the last 20 or so years. Players are not the only piece of the puzzle - you also need coaches who can develop and put the players into a position to win. I think the mass amount of people you refer to simply don't think this staff has what it takes to take Michigan to the next level, good players or not.
December 31st, 2013 at 7:53 AM ^
And yet Hoke, Mattison, and Mallory all have pretty decent track records. There aren't a ton of great defensive backs coaches just waiting for a call from Michigan right now that are any more proven than Mallory.
December 30th, 2013 at 3:34 PM ^
They took 4 DBs in 2012 (though 1 has since changed to LB), 5 DBs this past year, and have 2 coming in for 2014. Maybe once Watson committed in June, the coaches didn't feel there was room for another and/or were anticipating the scholarship to go to a different position?
December 30th, 2013 at 3:05 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 3:59 PM ^
He is literally the only positive thing in Michigan football at the moment...
You don't enjoy Devin Funchess' work?
or Devin's toughness?
JMFR?
or Shane "Jesus" Morris (as the scorned Sparty would say)
December 30th, 2013 at 5:38 PM ^
Or the 15 other guys who have committed to play for Michigan.
December 30th, 2013 at 4:02 PM ^
Both go to Glenville HS in Cleveland which is pretty much the most rock-solid OSU pipeline there is. I wouldn't read too much into the fact that they appear to be OSU locks.
December 30th, 2013 at 5:15 PM ^
You are right. Glenville is an OSU pipeline, and Smith and Lattimore probably will wind up at at OSU one way or another. But...Frank Clark and Willie Henry are from Glenville, so it's not impossible to pull kids from Glenville. More importantly, both seemed to show legitimate interest in Michigan at the Barbeque and UTL II. Seems like 2014 recruiting is ending with a whimper. Still time for a signing day surprise or two.
December 30th, 2013 at 5:40 PM ^
Clark and Henry both did not have offers from OSU.
December 30th, 2013 at 7:10 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 3:34 PM ^
commits are playing in the All American games. Recruiting is dead?
December 31st, 2013 at 7:55 AM ^
Yeah, fully half of our 16 commits were selected to the top two high school All-America games, but people are still fretting about the class...
January 2nd, 2014 at 4:17 AM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 4:01 PM ^
The Halcyon days of Rodriguez recruiting when we had a total of zero (0) recruits in the UA game.
Yes, recruiting is clearly problematic these days.
December 30th, 2013 at 4:32 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 5:09 PM ^
Harris is a 2015 guy.
December 30th, 2013 at 5:18 PM ^
December 30th, 2013 at 7:14 PM ^
That makes a lot more sense, thanks. Not sure how I missed that.
December 30th, 2013 at 4:39 PM ^
Comments