Visitors this weekend
Michigan has/had a bunch of recruits in town this weekend. For whatever reason, I don't think this weekend's visits have been blown up around here as much as I would normally expect. There is another huge visit weekend next week, but this weekend was a good mix and 4- and 3-star prospects.
The two headliners are probably top-100 prospects RB/CB Jeremiyah Love and S/CB Makari Vickers, but picks are coming in for TE Chico Holt to commit and some think Michigan is doing really well with 6'7" DE Collins Acheampong.
For those of you who are glad Don Brown is gone, Michigan even got a couple 310+ pound nose tackles on campus in Kayden McDonald and John Walker.
Here's the link to the full list: LINK.
On a side note, if you haven't heard, I have now started working part-time for Rivals. I may be stretched a bit thinner, but I am still going to maintain Touch the Banner and keep posting here on the message board and whatnot.
Congratulations Magnus on starting with Rivals. Appreciate your TTB site and your visitor recruiting updates that you link here - your summaries are helpful to track who is making their way to A2.
Thank you! I'm glad they're helpful.
Hey, glad to hear you’ll still be around!
Is your position with Rivals going to limit what you’re able to share here on the board and at TTB, or can we expect the same sort of content?
Some of my articles at Rivals will be premium content, and some will be free. However, Josh Henschke at Rivals has told me that he doesn't mind if I continue at TTB, MGoBlog, etc. He has not expressed any concerns about what information I share on any of those sites.
How does he feel about only using initials instead of names? Asking for a blog.
ROFL LMAO IDGAF GTFOH FB.
Josh is the man, I couldn't keep paying the $10/month. But he's seems like a genuinely nice guy who enjoys good old fashion chatting about Michigan (over the business or self-promotion aspects that some of his counterparts relish in).
You all will make a great team. Congrats!
Thank you!
Let’s talk Mel in E Lansing
that’s more interesting to me.
WHAT do you think?
Thanks a million Mags, and congratulations. You are proof that hard work pays off. Your avatar alone made me sign up on Mgoblog years ago. That's the truth.
Haha! That's awesome. Thank you!
Wait....that is not what he looks like?
Hey man I didn’t get a chance to congratulate you…I know these things are a huge labor of love and your reward is usually people telling you how wrong you are with a much more nominal knowledge base. Rivals is getting a gem…really happy for you!
Thanks for what you bring to this board and TTB. Really enjoy your football insight. Congrats on the Rivals gig, well deserved!
Thank you! That means a lot coming from an Angry Dad.
and some think Michigan is doing really well with 6'7" DE Collins Acheampong.
You wrote on TTB that this is his second unofficial visit. He must have some interest if he's willing to pay his way to visit twice from CA, right?
And damn, 6-7/230? Need to get him in the cafeteria ASAP.
I believe this is an OV for him. Also he has a bizarre situation where his school's football team was shut down for good during COVID, and it doesn't seem as if he is going to transfer prior to graduation, so he will be 2+ years from playing football by the time he enters college.
EJ Holland of On3 has predicted Acheampong to Michigan so we may be learning a lot more about him soon.
On3 does list him at 6'8" 254.
Can he hoop?
I love seeing the 6-8. I hope he sticks on DL
I was wondering why he has almost zero tape/highlights online but that would explain it
He's in HS. On that frame, he'll gain weight very quickly in college.
True. Especially when he focuses on football full time.
Can he hit a 3 pointer? Could do double duty in Ann Arbor
That was a mistake/typo. He took an unofficial already, and this is an official visit.
The following visitors have received at least one prediction to Michigan:
- Collins Acheampong
- Aaron Gates
- Jyaire Hill
- Chico Holt
- Logan Howland
- Paul Mubenga
- Christopher Terek
- Semaj Bridgeman (post-visit prediction)
- Fredrick Moore (post-visit prediction)
Not sure I agree with all those picks but this could be the start of a nice run for us.
This three star fellow Chico Holt has quite the "not a three star" set of offers following a quick internet review. Also has an offer from "Mel in Lansing" but perhaps somehow Harbaugh pulls off the miracle here.
Holt is also now a 4* on Rivals
I read somewhere that Jyaire Hill really loves Michigan and wants to commit, but his parents are pushing to wait it out because they don't have trust in Harbaugh due to him trying to jump to the NFL. This was something I read mid-last week on an article talking about possible commits to Michigan this weekend.
An official visit with mom and dad in tow seems like the perfect opportunity to straighten the story
A year ago NIL was just about to kick off for all NCAA schools. A year ago Harbaugh didn't flirt with the NFL to the level he did this past winter. In one year gas prices increased by about $1.50.
June is always a huge recruiting month for Michigan, but this year seems a lot different for obvious reasons that I mentioned. Harbaugh has made it difficult for the program's recruiting aspect to build any momentum from making the playoffs last year. Hopefully Moore, Bellamy, Hart, Elston and Clink can make some magic happen and overcome the obstacles Harbaugh created.
P.S. I am not blaming Harbaugh for flirting with his NFL admiration, but when you tell everyone that "This feels like the beginning", referring to Michigan being elite, then entertaining a few NFL coaching options just a couple weeks later, then you are one of the obvious reasons this recruiting class has gotten off to such a slow start.
Harbaugh also created 42-27 and the B1G champions.
I think we can appreciate 42-27 and also acknowledge that Harbaugh’s flirtation with the league, along with the departure of both coordinators, contributed to our recruiting malaise.
It would be nice to get Christopher Terek. Good size OT who has offers from Wisconsin and Iowa. Fortunately for us he grew up a Michigan fan.
Logan Howland is starting to blow up and would be a good get. Offer list doesn’t match his rating
Magnus making moves like Moussa! Congratulations on the new gig!
Thank you!
Congratulations on the new job.
I thought all recruits were "with Mel in Lansing" based on yesterday's posts.
Did those posts get taken down? This inside joke is lost on me.
Same. We are having a garage sale next weekend, so we are prepping this weekend and haven’t been on the blog as much.
This sale is my first one. I didn’t think about how much work it would be.
I can assure you, you missed nothing.
Everyone is glad Brown is gone. The program struggled with him... Even affected the offense in practice going against a small front and then getting crushed in the Big Ten. Jims deference to elders kept him on a few years longer.
I think too many have forgotten the good parts of Brown's tenure, as visible as the bad parts were. I also think claiming he was retained for *years* longer than he should is pretty crazy, the defense was top 10 nationally every year until the last one. If you really expected Brown to be fired based solely on the OSU game in 2018.. well, I disagree.
I agree with you, while Don overstayed his welcome and had trouble with the top teams, it still doesn't take away the enjoyment of seeing lesser teams shutout or get "rutger-ed".
It was already obvious by 2018 that we were getting to light on DT’s and the Osu game was a harsh reminder. It had nothing to do with the single 2018 osu game.
It was a long standing issue now that Brown had several things that coordinators were exposing with his defensive alignnment/assignment, putting a safety over a speed slot rec 12yds off the ball that couldn’t cover that level rec.. It was first exposed by Colorado and Osu, Psu and other teams attacked it every time they could. Osu couldn’t in 2016 with JT Barrett as the qb.
DT recruiting, specifically lack of run stopping dt and few with the size to be able to play against a top BigTen Oline. For those that doubt, look up who he inherited vs who he recruited…
Inability to adjust his coverage scheme. I don’t mean zone/banjo concepts I mean simple things like shading the db inside or outside on his rec.
Bump, jam, physically delay a route by any time.
ALevels of defenders, all corners always the same level, esp on the same side of the field in multi rec formations.
Lack of communication in the defensive backfield, they rarely communicated well, never transitioned coverage or as you do in a banjo coverage, or man in zone pass off a rec but communicate so your db’s know what’s coming.
No bump/jam, no levels, no communication led to the crossing route nightmare game. That was 101 of how not to play man coverage. And none of it was osu speed or our lack of. Has everything to do with Scheme, Alingment, Assigment, Shade, Jam techniques.. All things we did against Osu under MacDonald this year! Not to mention, having DT’s be emphasized in the defense allowed others to shine, DE’s, Lbers righ to the ball, Safeties could stay back in coverage and no have to be in the box to stop the run… all needed against maybe the best osu passing attack we had seen.