CROOTAGEDDON: Signing Day Primer Comment Count

Ace


Tyrone Wheatley Jr. (far right) on his recent visit.

This post will be updated as new info comes in.

6 PM TUESDAY UPDATE: Added Shelton Johnson to the board.

7 PM TUESDAY UPDATE: Added Keith Washington to the board.

10 PM TUESDAY UPDATE: Added Karan Higdon to the board.

National Signing Day is tomorrow and the action gets started early for Michigan, as tight end target Chris Clark is slated to announce at 8:30 am ET. Here's eveything you need to know heading into the biggest day on the recruiting calendar.

The Current Class

Michigan currently sits at nine commits, headlined by in-state ATH Brian Cole—who's expected to end up at receiver, though he could also play safety—and New Mexico QB Zach Gentry, a recent flip from Texas. The list should hit ten by tomorrow; as you probably gathered yesterday, three-star Brother Rice WR Grant Perry, who was offered this week and decommitted from Northwestern last night, is expected to commit... well, any moment now.

The Board

The current list of propsects with offers and legitimate Michigan interest is down to eight prospects, including Perry. Here's the rest of the board, with their announcement time (if they've scheduled one) and my best guess at M's chances:

FL CB Jarius Adams (Rutgers commit) — 3-star, #125 CB, #1388 Overall (247 Composite)

Adams is a Rutgers commit who took an official to Michigan last weekend, and he's down to those two schools. He's actually expected to announce his destination sometime today, and it appears he'll stick with his current commitment.

CT TE Chris Clark — 4-star, #2 TE, #85 Overall

The one-time Michigan commit (and, previously, UNC commit) will choose between Michigan and UCLA at 8:30 am on ESPNU/WatchESPN. While Clark has been arguably the new staff's top target, insiders from both sides believe he's leaning towards UCLA. Of course, Clark's recruitment has been tough to predict all along, so we'll just have to wait and see.

TN WR Van Jefferson (Ole Miss commit) — 4-star, #11 WR, #108 Overall

Jefferson's recruitment is hard to pin down, as well. He committed to Ole Miss on January 25th, got a Michigan offer three days later, and took an official visit to Ann Arbor last weekend. Rumors swirled of a possible flip when he left campus, but a recent report from 247's Barton Simmons indicates he's expected to stick with the Rebels, albeit while leaving open the possibility that he'll change his mind.

CA CB Iman Marshall — 5-star, #1 CB, #4 Overall

The pipe dream. Marshall has long been expected to end up at USC and that hasn't changed despite a solid official visit to Michigan a couple weeks ago. Florida State is also a factor; after visiting FSU, M, and LSU, Marshall cancelled a planned official to Oregon. He's announcing his decision on ESPNU/WatchESPN at 4 pm ET.

GA LB Roquan Smith — 4-star, #5 OLB, #47 Overall

While there was a fair amount of optimism after Smith's official visit in January, spurred by his strong bond with DJ Durkin, that's all but vanished in recent days. Steve Lorenz reports that Smith is expected to choose between in-state Georgia and (of course) UCLA, with the Bruins the surprise favorite to land him ($). He'll announce at 11 am ET on ESPNU/WatchESPN.

MI RB Mike Weber (Ohio State commit) — 4-star, #9 RB, #78 Overall

The Cass Tech star has totally shut down communication with the media in recent weeks, and it doesn't seem like insiders on either side have a clear idea of what he's going to do. Since Weber sat down with Jim Harbaugh last week there's been increasing optimism from Michigan's end, however, and in the last day or so that's leaked over to the Ohio State side of things. We'll see.

NY ATH Tyrone Wheatley Jr. — 4-star, #12 TE, #312 Overall

Wheatley is another prospect who's gone quiet with the press, but an out-of-the-blue trip to Ann Arbor last week provided a great deal of hope that he'll join his father at Michigan. According to Lorenz, the team with the best chance of stealing Wheatley away from Michigan is, in fact, UCLA, who's come on strong of late ($). He's expected to announce around 3:15 pm ET tomorrow.

LATE ADDITIONS: FL DE Shelton Johnson — 3-star, #20 SDE, #364 Overall

Late Tuesday afternoon, 247's Clint Brewster reported that two sources are telling him Michigan has a legitimate shot with Johnson, who visited in January. Johnson is also considering Florida State (the presumed favorite) and Miami. He's high school teammates with Markel Bush, who could be in line for a late offer.

AL CB Keith Washington (Cal commit) — 3-star, #76 ATH, #954 Overall

This is a suprising name to add to the board, as Washington initially rebuffed Michigan and never visited campus, but I'm told he'll choose between M and Cal at 8:30 am ET.

FL RB Karan Higdon (Iowa commit) — 3-star, #40 RB, #478 Overall

Higdon will choose between Michigan and Iowa at 8 am ET, according to Hawkeyes247's Andrew Kulha, despite previously announcing that he'd reaffirmed his commitment to the Hawkeyes after taking an official visit to Ann Arbor last weekend.

Last-Minute Offers?

Michigan has at least five open spots left in the class (assuming Perry takes a spot), and it doesn't look very likely that they'll get five players from the above group, so there's a decent chance we'll see a late offer or two go out, Dennis Norfleet-style. While the very nature of these offers make them pretty tough to predict, two names come to mind as potential candidates.

Unranked FL CB Markel Bush took an official visit a couple weeks ago; if Michigan misses out on Adams and Marshall, as expected, he could fill a need at corner. Bush doesn't hold any offers and would likely jump at the opportunity.

Cass Tech three-star LB/FB Michael Oliver, a Central Michigan commit, has come up as a potential late offer, and he could fill a need at either linebacker or fullback.

Comments

UMVAFAN

February 3rd, 2015 at 12:53 PM ^

In a small class, OL, DT/DE, WR, and QB are the most important because you don't want a yearly gap in these position groups because they typically take longer to develop and get up to speed in the college game. Luckily, we have three o-linemen, two QBs, one WR, and one d-end. Safety and TE are other positions that you typically don't see too many freshman getting playing time at and we're covered in those areas, too (assuming we get either Wheatley or Clark at TE -- one, if not both, will come).

It'd be nice to get a LB, CB, and RB in this class, but these are position groups that younger players can contribute at early in their career, so if Harbaugh can recruit 5 star studs in the 2016 class, I'm not too worried about a slip off in these areas (it's not like we'll be running out two freshman CBs at any point in the future and or 3 freshman LBs -- if one gets out there at each position group, it's not going to kill a season later on down the road like it would at offensive or defensive line, or at quarterback). And looking at RBs specifically, there were several freshman 1,000 yard rushers last year and in years prior to 2014, so if Weber doesn't come, it's not going to kill us.

Champeen

February 3rd, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^

You live in East Lansing?

Cole is athletically one of the top kids in the entire nation - were talking Peppers type athletic ability. I do question a few things in regards to Cole, but this kid is borderline 5* IMO.

 

* Apologize, sarcasm actually just flew way over my head.  So much negativity past few days it just blended in *

mwolverine1

February 3rd, 2015 at 12:11 PM ^

Jefferson's buddy Drew Richmond just decommitted from Ole Miss. Jefferson also removed "Ole Miss commit" from his twitter page and added a photo of the Detroit skyline. Could be trending back to Michigan...

west2

February 3rd, 2015 at 1:55 PM ^

maybe even get a wild card like Smith or even someone we haven't heard about yet?  So they will probably have 1-3 unfilled spots.   Are those spots likely to be filled by walkons or transfers?  Or do these simply add on to the 2016 class?    It has to be difficult with coaching changes because current players can't even relate to prospects what it's going to be like because the coaching staff is new to them too.  Have a feeling next season the recruiting  will be different. 

M Go Snacks

February 3rd, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^

Chris Clark is one of those guys where if he was coming to Michigan, he probably woudn't have waited till signing day to announce. We've seen this "strong interest early - not commited (or decommited) but still interested - doesn't commit" situation with other top recruits in the past. Hope I'm wrong on this one. 

Zarniwoop

February 3rd, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^

Anyone else tired of kids pretending they don't know where they are going? Not saying there aren't a VERY few that legitimately aren't sure, but the vast, VAST majority of them know precisely where they are going.

Yooper

February 3rd, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^

I don't think it is going to happen but it could be a shut out, at least on the top targets.  Oh well, we move on.  Still disappointing . 

bmacdude

February 3rd, 2015 at 12:23 PM ^

As a high school counselor of 18 years, Clark seems to have some coddling maturity issues. The Silver Spoon if you will. I don't know if he has the fortitude to handle what Coach Harbaugh will bring.

Roggin

February 3rd, 2015 at 1:06 PM ^

Speaking as a Michigan alumnus who happens to live in SoCal, a lot of the kids from out here (e.g., Marshall) seem to be more than open to attending school where they can experience all four seasons -- including winter and the snow that comes with it. The lure of SoCal has a more pronounced impact on those who have never been here before, like Chris Clark. Just my two cents....

redsoxaa

February 3rd, 2015 at 12:29 PM ^

I think we get Jefferson, Perry (obviously), Wheatley Jr, and I still think Clark.  By all indications he's looking for attention (not saying he shouldn't) and I don't think announcing UCLA at 5:30 am is quite the splash he'd be looking for.  Not going to worry about Weber, I don't even know if he has made a decision yet.

Uper73

February 3rd, 2015 at 12:30 PM ^

If we get one of the big targets it will be a good day. I don't see Weber as a possibility, pipe dream there( would love to eat crow).

To me, the most important one is Marshall- we need D backs and he possibly could play right away. The second would be Smith and/or Wheatley.

I would say Clark, but if he wanted to be here I think he would have said so. Although these kids do like there five minutes of fame with the silly hat deals.

Hope JH has some players off the radar screen to fill this class up cause I am skeptical with these high profile guys.

Hope I am dead wrong and I am humming the Victors tomorrow afternoon.

NFG

February 3rd, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^

Be prepared to be underwhelmed, but I wouldn't hold it against anyone on the staff. They worked their asses off in the limited amount of time they had to bring in recruits.