Monday Recruitin' Is A Believer
Recruiting +3
I don't think #60 is gonna catch him. [Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal]
Michigan landed three new commitments over the weekend; if you missed the action, click the names for the full Hello posts on DE Reuben Jones, QB Zach Gentry, and OL Nolan Ulizio.
Gentry's commitment post focused a lot on his athleticism and mechanics, so this quote Scout's Greg Biggins gave to MLive's Nick Baumgardner about his arm strength proves useful:
"He's got an NFL arm, I've seen him flick the wrist and it's effortless, he doesn't have to wind up, the release is tight and he can throw it," Scout.com national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins said Sunday. "A lot of times you see young quarterbacks try to get more velocity by winding up, and they lose accuracy. With him, it's effortless. He just flicks the wrist and the accuracy and mechanics stay the same.
"Mechanically he's strong, and I love his arm strength."
Three of the four recruiting services rated Gentry as a four-star—Rivals and ESPN have him just outside the top 100—with the only holdout being 247. That doesn't mean 247 doesn't see his potential; when running down the best of the 2015 class, Barton Simmons pegged Gentry as a boom-or-bust candidate with serious upside:
3-star that could play like a 5 – Zach Gentry
A recent Texas decommit and Michigan commit, Gentry is the single most unique talent in this class. He’s huge at 6-7, he has a big arm, he doesn’t have good footwork but he is also extremely athletic, he’s extremely raw, plays shoddy competition in New Mexico but he’s got a world of potential. Still following? Bottom line: Don’t be surprised if Jim Harbaugh turns Gentry into a first-round draft pick as a quarterback, but also don’t be surprised if Gentry goes the Blake Bell route and ends up at tight end either.
Nolan Ulizio's commitment post was a little light on scouting reports; since that published, ESPN gave Ulizio a three-star rating and posted an evaluation ($):
Ulizio is an OL prospect with good size and a physical, lunch pail type style. Little better football player then he is overall athlete and ceiling may not be real high, but with some continued development good prospect that has flown under the radar some and can be a productive contributor to an FBS OL potentially as a RT or could very well see a move inside to OG.
Ulizio's high school coach also discussed his game with The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan ($):
"The great part about Nolan is he's a very physical, aggressive player," said Cox. "He plays with a nasty attitude and enjoys being an offensive lineman. He takes his job of protecting the quarterback and running backs really seriously. He's 6-5, 285. For a high school senior, that's pretty special. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, he plays to the whistle, and he finishes really really well. Secondly, I think Nolan does a great job of conceptualizing what you're trying to do offensively. He can think on his feet, with the defense a moving object that he reacts to quickly.
That last bit is important—a big part of a lineman's job in Harbaugh's offense is identifying the right man to hit when pulling, which isn't always easy to do on the fly.
The Wolverine's Brandon Brown caught up a position coach at Reuben Jones' school—former M OL Ricky Barnum ($):
"He's one of the players that I love to coach against and coach with," Barnum said. "He's an extremely hard worker and he's very strong. I'm not just saying that either. In games, he gets double and tripled-teamed and he manages to fight through it. You can watch his highlight where he runs plays down from the backside. I'm talking 40 or 50 yards down the field. On the field he really has a motor. That's the one thing I'd say about him, he has a motor."
With the three additions, Michigan's 2015 class jumped 22 spots in the 247 Composite team rankings to #69 overall. That's still well off the pace M would like to be at, obviously, but they're poised to push into the top 30 if they round out the class as expected, which would be quite acceptable given the small group of commits compared to other schools.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Up Next?
Three-star Wisconsin DE commit Jake Pickard went into the weekend as one of the most likely official visitors to commit, and while he didn't pledge on the trip, he told GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz it was a "very good visit," and the atmosphere at Crisler was "electric." ($) Per 247's Steve Wiltfong, Michigan seems to have pushed in front of Wisconsin, and a final decision could come very soon ($):
While a commitment was certainly on the family’s mind. Syracuse will make an in-home visit on Monday and Wisconsin will be in Tuesday. A final decision could then come Wednesday.
“The players for sure,” the elder Pickard said of what impressed his son. “He thought the coaching staff was incredible, obviously the campus and the academics. All the four point were chalked off.”
I'd expect Pickard to end up in the class.
Three-star GA ATH Chris Williamson ran down the aftermath of his visit with Scout's Chad Simmons, mentioning he was impressed with the Big House, M's academics, and the coaching staff ($):
"Michigan has one of the most prolific coaching staffs out there right now," said Williamson. "Nine of the coaches have either played or coached in the NFL, so that is pretty impressive.
"The coaches had a message for me and that was; Michigan is going to win. It is easy to believe that too because everywhere Harbaugh has been, he has won. I am a believer."
Williamson visited UNC the previous weekend and said the Michigan visit was "comparable"; he currently doesn't claim any leaders, and is back home figuring out whether to take officials to Florida and Georgia. Cal, UNC, and Michigan are all scheduled for in-home visits with him this week.
There are a couple prospects we can scratch off the list at this point. UCLA CB commit Will Lockett made it to campus and had a good trip, but it wasn't enough—he told 247 that while Michigan made it "extremely difficult" to choose, he's sticking with UCLA. TN LB Joshua McMillon had planned on visiting over the weekend, but cancelled after talking to Alabama's coaching staff.
A New Flip Candidate Arises
Michigan just offer! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/P5xFzbgm0l
— DJ (@DaishonNeal90) January 26, 2015
That's three-star Nebraska SDE commit Daishon Neal, who dropped two big-time schools from consideration before getting an in-home visit from Greg Mattison and receiving a Michigan offer:
Neal has yet to give any official comments about his visit to Lincoln, but the long time Husker commit tweeted on Sunday night that he will not be attending Oklahoma.
Neal also confirmed to HuskerOnline.com that he will not be visiting Oregon this upcoming weekend, but Michigan will be in Omaha on Monday for an in-home visit.
247's Steve Lorenz expects Neal to visit Michigan this weekend.
More 2015 Updates
Chris Clark will get an in-home visit from Jim Harbaugh on Wednesday. Clark raved about last weekend's visit to UCLA to Scout's Brian Dohn ($):
“L.A. was just so nice. It was like 75 degrees when I got there and I get back home and a blizzard is coming,” Clark said. “It was so much nicer there, and the campus is awesome. It’s really pretty and all the people I met were unbelievable. I enjoyed all the people I got to talk to. The coaching staff is just so chill. It’s such a cool staff.
“I loved (the campus). I thought it was awesome. L.A. is really, really cool. I never saw it before. It was an unbelievable first impression. Coach (Jim) Mora’s house is awesome.”
They're definitely a factor, so that in-home will prove critical.
A couple cornerbacks are strongly considering changing their current commitments to Michigan. Three-star Rutgers commit Jarius Adams, coming off his official visit to Piscataway, will take an official to Michigan this weekend, per Dohn ($). Three-star South Carolina commit Damon Arnette, who visited two weekends ago, either has Michigan in a dead heat with SC, as he told Sam Webb ($)...
“It’s a dead tie right now,” said an exasperated Arnette. “I think that everybody has shown me… it’s just a dead tie right now.”
...or he's got SC a little out in front, as he told 247's Ryan Bartow ($):
South Carolina cornerback commit Damon Arnette (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) said 'we're good, we're good right now' about the Gamecocks and his status following his weekend official visit to South Carolina.
Arnette, who officially visited Michigan last week, said he still plans to officially visit Ohio State January 30.
"I should have my final decision after that," Arnette said.
He said Michigan is still his "number two" school behind South Carolina.
Michigan will drop in for an in-home later this week.
Etc.
Michigan offered 2016 four-star FL CB Trayvon Mullen, per Scout's Corey Bender ($). Mullen is a consensus top-100 prospect who may be tough to pull out of the South.
How's recruiting going at Vanderbilt? Not great, Bob.
I like your style, Soso Jamabo. Not so much, creepy Alabama fan.
January 26th, 2015 at 2:33 PM ^
...oh, ain't that's an unapproved logo. Do not want.
January 26th, 2015 at 2:43 PM ^
Dave, is that you lurking here?
January 26th, 2015 at 2:42 PM ^
I get the feeling Chris Clark loves everything about UCLA besides the actual football program.
January 26th, 2015 at 2:44 PM ^
I couldn't blockquote the entire article—he talked a lot about the opporunity to play with Josh Rosen and how much he respected Jim Mora as a coach.
January 26th, 2015 at 2:52 PM ^
to see, with the lure of L.A., the weather, the bikinis....why a kid would want to go out to UCLA to play football. Mora was one of the Plan B options I wouldn't have minded seeing coaching here, so I'm not surprised that Clark is really into that program.
But here's something that I hope the coaches are reminding him: If he wants to play in the NFL, you need to remember that not every game on Sundays are played in 75 degree weather and sunshine. Nothing against Mora and his staff, but UM's staff is full of NFL experience and Michigan plays its games in all sorts of conditions which is more what he'd experience in the NFL.
I hope he thinks long term when choosing a school and a football program.
January 26th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 2:59 PM ^
According to Sam Webb, UCLA doesn't even use TEs in their offense. Clark would be the first.
Kinda crazy how weather and Mora's pitch to Clark is offsetting Harbaugh's proven record with TEs...
January 26th, 2015 at 3:22 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 4:44 PM ^
I imagine the coaches will try to drill into Clark on Wednesday. Hopefully, he will look beyond the weather and glitz of LA to where he has the best chance of being developed into an NFL TE.
January 26th, 2015 at 6:25 PM ^
IF they can get there on Wednesday.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:29 PM ^
The "not every game day is 75" NFL argument is kinda dumb. You're going to spend 3-5 years in college before ever getting the chance to play in the NFL. So why not spend it in someplace nice like LA? It'll be one of the last times you'll be able to chose where you want to live. And if you've never been, UCLA has a really, really beautiful campus. The alure of that is going to be tough to overcome while we all dig out of a blizzard here in CT.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:37 PM ^
I wouldn't have gone to the AF Academy to have a career in the AF. Yes, there are other avenues (easier or harder is debatable) but its a tough path that helps ensure success when you get there.
I know, I know.... SEC.... but, kinda dumb? A little judgemental, huh? Maybe..."Your logic falls apart [here]" or "I disagree because...."
January 26th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
Copy that. (Puts tail between legs and walks away)
January 26th, 2015 at 3:04 PM ^
I believe Clark is going to pick UCLA.
And if he does, I am fine with that, because I think it indicates that there are things that are more important to him than football. Don't get me wrong--I've lived in LA and Westwood is an amazing spot--I can't blame the kid for loving it. But Harbaugh's system is proven to be an NFL TE factory.
I wish him the best and hope he goes Blue, because I honestly believe Michigan gives him a far better chance of becoming an elite TE and a high NFL draft pick.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^
thinks that having "chill" coaches is important. Harbaugh is the exact opposite of chill.
He's going to UCLA.
January 26th, 2015 at 4:08 PM ^
Yup. Liking "chill" coaches is probably one reason he liked Hoke from the beginning. There are plenty of recruits who prefer that sort of staff.
It's just an issue of personality. But that statement about "chill" coaches also makes me think he leaning hard toward UCLA.
Hope I'm wrong.
January 26th, 2015 at 4:30 PM ^
that statement is a huge red flag for me. So was the bit about him being so impressed with Mora's house.
I know he's a great athlete, but a lot of things I've heard him say give me pause.
January 26th, 2015 at 10:15 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 3:49 PM ^
Good for him and good for them. I hope he has a great career there, just not against Michigan. What Michigan needs right now is kids who want to work, work and then work some more. There is a lot to be done to be relevant again; getting a great coaching staff in place was one very small step. If Clark isn't ready to grind (I have no knowledge of this) then Michigan, with this staff at this time, isn't the place for him anyway.
January 26th, 2015 at 4:01 PM ^
be fine with 3* or no * guys to fill out the class for this very reason. Those guys will work their asses off and play with a chip on their shoulder, a quality that has been lacking in recent Michigan teams.
As long as the coaching staff likes what they see in a player I don't care what their ratings are. Better a hard charging no star than a Prima donna 5* that is afraid to get his hands dirty.
January 26th, 2015 at 4:44 PM ^
You would seriously prefer a 5 star recruit to a 3 star? I wouldn't assume that just because a player has a 5 star rating means that he is a prima donna. It usually means he's bigger/stronger/faster and/or stood out in the football camps when he was up against the 3 & 4 star players.
Many of us thought that Harbaugh's name and reputation would pull in a highly rated class (top 25) but now we are realizing that it's not enough and relationships with the players will need to be cultivated for more than a month. It's okay, Harbaugh will get the 4 and 5 star players next year.
January 26th, 2015 at 5:28 PM ^
January 27th, 2015 at 1:03 AM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 4:46 PM ^
So, if he doesn't come here, hopefully we can get Wheatley instead (or in addition to if Clark surprises us).
January 27th, 2015 at 3:29 AM ^
The Michigan staff will get him to the NFL.
Michigan football facilities are bettter than UCLA.
The Michigan campus is more of a college campus than UCLA..
Yes, the weather is much better in LA.
Coach Mora's house is no big deal. I have passed by it many times in MB. It is nice but.......The former Laker coach , Mark D'Antoni , who lives in the same community as Mora..he has a very nice house
The schools are comparable in academic reputation although I give Michigan the edge but the Michigan alumni is hands down bettter than UCLA
Go Blue ! ....Michigan grad living in LA
January 26th, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^
But seriously, losing recruits to Ivy League schools Vandy? At least they're recruiting the right type of kids putting academics on an equal footing with athletics I guess.
January 26th, 2015 at 2:49 PM ^
Nebraska must hate us right now.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:15 PM ^
That's what happens when schools are cruel to cat owners.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:30 PM ^
A tale of 2 Bo's, as the connection is obvious - Harbaugh was recruited and played for Bo, and now Jim will get Bo's recruits and they will play for him!
January 26th, 2015 at 3:47 PM ^
Bo Pelini must love us!
January 26th, 2015 at 2:50 PM ^
All I'm saying is that after watching Gentry's tape twice...
He looks pretty damned fast when he gets through a hole.
I can't believe that kid is 6'7" or 6'8".
Even if QB never works out, think of the Y he'd make!
January 26th, 2015 at 3:10 PM ^
I think Jay Riemersma is a much better comparison.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:21 PM ^
but taller.
January 26th, 2015 at 4:06 PM ^
the exact thought that hit my mind. :) Big Jay! He was a hell of a player.
Rob
January 26th, 2015 at 2:56 PM ^
I've got to say, Zach Gentry gets me excited and hopeful for the QB situation, which was probably the biggest question mark when the season ended/looking toward 2015 with a new coach. I am not saying Gentry has or gets the job right out the gate. I am just estactic that we have QB competition. And with a handful of guys who are all very talented, and each one a bit different style or build than the next.
It may be a while before a QB is decided on.. a long while. But I believe these QB's are going to fight and give their all, and I definitely believe Harbaugh will choose the right man for the job. This is exciting!
January 26th, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^
Ace not to get us off topic with the great weekend of football commits, but wasn't there a 5-star basketball recruit that was supposed to be on campus for the Wisconsin game as well?
Just wondering if he still ended up coming and how it worked out... or if I missed something.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:02 PM ^
Report: 5-star prospect Jaylen Brown reschedules official visit to Michigan for Feb. 21
January 26th, 2015 at 3:19 PM ^
I am going to assume I missed something. Ha! Thanks.
January 26th, 2015 at 5:18 PM ^
Cassius Winston is a 5-star 2016 PG that was at the Wiscy game.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:03 PM ^
blah.... double post.
so i'll use this to say.. Michigan State is (has been) out of the running for him.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:12 PM ^
and his strength is good to hear too.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:12 PM ^
listing U of Phoenix and ITT Tech as two of his top schools is absolutely brilliant.
Somehow UofP will work this into a future advertising campaign.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:19 PM ^
I wonder how DeVry feels about getting snubbed.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^
I'm sick of those guys getting all of the 5 star talent.
January 26th, 2015 at 5:16 PM ^
But I hear that all it takes is 1 semester at DeVry and you can fix anything with a cord!!!!
January 26th, 2015 at 3:23 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^
Yes, we're all Marshall.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^
The "arm strength / wrist flick" thing is what struck me about Cardale Jones in those games to end last season ... he'd just flick his wrist and the damn ball would go 50 yards.
If Gentry is like that, then me likes. A lot.
January 26th, 2015 at 3:45 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 4:12 PM ^
Let's move on.
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