Monday Recruitin' Gets Trolled
The Tipping Point?
Is Desmond Fitzpatrick the next to drop? [Fuller]
Michigan added a trio of football commits and even a basketball commit over the last few days. If you missed them, here are links to their respective Hello posts:
- Four-star 2016 IN QB Brandon Peters
- Three-star 2016 MI FB/ILB David Reese
- Three-star 2016 AL RB Kingston Davis
- 2015 German F Moritz Wagner (hoops)
Jim Harbaugh got himself a backfield in one weekend, and it's a very Harbaugh backfield: Peters is a 6'4" quarterback with decent athleticism, Davis is a load of a running back at 6'1", 230 pounds, and Reese would bring a linebacker's build and mentality to the fullback position.
Where Reese ends up is still in question; he told GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz he'll start out on defense despite reports that indicated Michigan was recruiting him at fullback, and he'll get a head start on figuring out which position he'll play ($):
“Coach Harbaugh said I could play any position and wherever my heart is at I can play. I’ll be playing linebacker. If I don’t start at linebacker I’d be open to fullback.”
“I can see myself playing anywhere on the defense,” added Reese. “Inside, outside linebacker. Just to be around that energy and I’ll be an early graduate as well.”
Peters, meanwhile, told Sam Webb he knew "a couple weeks ago" that he wanted to go to Michigan, and he's not shying away from the crowded depth chart at quarterback ($):
“I know there are a bunch of quarterbacks there right now, but that doesn’t stop me. You’re just going to have to go there and you’re going to have to compete and earn a spot. That’s fine with me. I love to compete. Also at the same time, it is a special opportunity to play for Coach Harbaugh. I think things are going to really start going in the right direction and I really want to be a part of it. I loved it there. The atmosphere was awesome. The fans are awesome as well.”
Peters added that he's "definitely" going to recruit other prospects, starting with in-state receivers Donnie Corley and Desmond Fitzpatrick.
Speaking of Fitzpatrick, many expected he'd join the weekend commitment party after his friend and teammate, Reese, joined the class. Those expectations grew to near-certainty when Fitzpatrick teased a major 8:00 pm announcement on Twitter yesterday.
The announcement? His dad is in a sitcom that debuts this month.
That is top-notch trolling, young Mr. Fitzpatrick. He told 247's Steve Wiltfong that he feels "really comfortable" at Michigan, but wants to be 100% sure before making a switch, so there's still a very good chance the post I may have written yesterday ends up seeing the light of day.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Weekend Recap: New Offers
At least watch until the EPIC TOEBALL at the 0:38 mark.
Michigan extended a few offers to campus visitors over the weekend. Three-star OH OG Josh Sills held only a handful of MAC offers heading into his visit, and Michigan's offer caught him by surprise, per Rivals' Josh Helmholdt ($):
"We were standing on the field during pre-game and Coach (Tim) Drevno came over to me," Sills said. "He asked me what I thought, and I told him I really liked it. He asked me if I would be interested in coming up for camp this summer and I told him I would. He said that he wanted me to come play football for him and he was offering me a scholarship, but he wanted me to come back up for camp that summer.
"It actually kind of surprised me. It was the first time I had ever been to Michigan. It was awesome and I was speechless, didn't know what to say."
You'll want to watch Sills' junior highlights above, if for no other reason than to see a 300-pound lineman moonlight as a toeballing kickoff specialist.
There's a very strong Michigan connection for the next offer, which went out to 2017 Brother Rice TE Carter Dunaway, the son of Craig Dunaway, who played tight end under Bo Schembechler, and the younger brother of Jack Dunaway, a 2015 preferred walk-on. Michigan is Dunaway's first offer, and it's hard to imagine they aren't the odds-on favorite.
Michigan also extended an offer to the top kicker on kicking guru Brandon Kornblue's rankings, Rockford (MI) kicker/punter Quinn Nordin, who hinted to Sam Webb that he may be leaning towards the Wolverines ($):
Sam Webb: (Laughter) So what then is your timeline?
Quinn Nordin: “I’ve always been asked this and it has always been kind of been the same thing. I don’t have a set timeline, but this definitely will maybe persuade and my family has always been Go Blue, we’ll see. Penn State is a great school. Michigan is a great school. Iowa is amazing. We’ll have to see. Sit down and collect my thoughts and think what I want to do and obviously this is going to drop some more attention for recruiting. I think right now I have offers I’m proud of and happy with and we’ll have to see what happens once I sit down and talk to my family.”
Those three schools—Michigan, Penn State, and Iowa, all of which have offered—comprise his top group.
Weekend Recap: 2016 Visit Reactions
Four-star MI SDE Khalid Kareem told 247's Steve Wiltfong he was impressed by the play of the defensive line in the spring game, and his comfort level continues to grow with the coaching staff ($):
Ranked by 247Sports as the No. 3 player in the state and the nation’s No. 13 strong-side defensive end, the 6-foot-4, 252-pound Kareem sees a fit for himself at Michigan. He also continues to feel comfortable with Harbaugh, defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin and defensive line coach Greg Mattison.
“I have a great relationship with them,” Kareem said. “Every time I go up there they embrace me like I’m part of the team.”
Kareem is far from a sure bet to end up in the class—he has visit to Tennessee and Alabama lined up in the next few weeks—but he's been on campus quite a bit lately.
The struggles of the wide receivers in the spring game wasn't entirely a bad thing. Four-star MI WR Donnie Corley noticed the potential for early playing time, per GBW's Josh Newkirk ($):
When asked if sees opportunities to play early at Michigan or if it will be deciding factor in his decision? Corley replied: "Yes I have seen opportunities to play early [there]. And [playing early] will play a role in my decision."
At the moment, Corley says he doesn't have a leader in his recruitment. However, he did say he was "high" on the Wolverines.
At this point, Tennessee may be Michigan's chief competition for Corley, who admitted it "could be nice" to play with Reese and Fitzpatrick in college.
Top-100 ILB Dontavious Jackson came all the way from Texas with teammate Chris Brown, a three-star safety, and tweeted both were feeling the love from Michigan fans. His response when Wiltfong asked him how his visit was going was short and sweet: "Loving it!!!" There will be a ton of competition for Jackson, but Michigan has put themselves in good position to be in it until the end.
A somewhat surprising name on the visit list was four-star USC commit Daelin Hayes, but it turned out he attended the game as part of a team-building trip for Ann Arbor Skyline's football squad; he told Wilftong he's "100 percent Fight On." It'd be a surprise if Michigan made much of a push for Hayes.
Earlier in the week, Michigan hosted three-star OH S Tony Butler, a Pitt commit, who told Newkirk that he'd have to think about his decision if the Wolverines put forth an offer ($):
"I don't know when it's going to happen," Butler said of a U-M offer. "But hopefully sooner rather than later. But I can feel an offer coming soon."
What would an Michigan offer mean to Butler?
"Not sure," he admitted. "It would definitely be a big one. I really don't know what would happen. Just going to go with the flow and see how things go."
He added that decommiting from Pat Narduzzi would be akin to "decommitting from my father," so it's not a slam dunk Michigan gets him if they decide to offer.
Weekend Recap: 2017 Visit Reactions
2017 OH RB Todd Sibley desmonstrates the proper way to take a visit photo:
I love cheerleaders pic.twitter.com/gxc5mr2XkB
— T Sib (@ToddSib23) April 4, 2015
Sibley, an Akron native, is considered a likely Ohio State lean, but he maintains that Michigan is right up there with the Buckeyes, per 247's Steve Lorenz ($):
Earlier in the week, Sibley visited Ohio State, and the Buckeyes are believed to be the leader for his services. However, Michigan has given him something to think about.
"These are the two schools I'm thinking most about because they've been on me the most," Sibley said. "I want to spend some time with both schools and keep getting to know them before I make any kind of decision. It's not going to be easy because they're both great schools with a lot to offer."
The #2 overall prospect in the 2017 class, IL SDE AJ Epenesa, had his family in tow and told Wiltfong that Michigan stacked up well with the other schools he's checked out recently ($):
Epenesa has taken recent visits to Iowa, Missouri and Notre Dame.
"Michigan compared well," he said. "They are a great school, very football oriented and the academics are top notch so they are definitely a good school."
Epenesa is an Iowa legacy; as his ranking indicates, he'll field interest from all over the country.
Four-star 2017 Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones told Newkirk he'd "love to see Michigan be back on top," and while he won't name a leader the Wolverines are at or near the top of his list ($):
Not known for giving a top list of schools, Peoples-Jones did admit the Wolverines are a school he is considering heavily.
"I don't have a top, but they are definitely up there with all the others," Peoples-Jones said. "I mean, they are going to stand out to the end just because they're big instate school and have a hug influence on everything around Cass Tech. The pipeline, the history, they're going to have a place based off of that."
I think Michigan would happily accept an athlete of Peoples-Jones' caliber.
Etc.
A couple of out-of-state visitors are on campus at this moment. Steve Lorenz reports that four-star CA LB Camilo Eifler and three-star NC CB Mark Gilbert are in town; Eifler is one of Michigan's top targets at linebacker.
Michigan offered three-star 2016 TX ATH Donovan Duvernay on Thursday, and that offer is notable for a couple reasons, per Lorenz ($):
Another interesting storyline revolving around Duvernay's recruitment is that of his brother, Devin, who is another legitimate Division 1 prospect and holds an offer from Michigan. As twins, there are plenty who believe the pair want to play with each other at the next level, and Duvernay did not deny it.
"That's definitely something we've considered," he said. "I'd love to play with my brother in college."
Devin Duvernay is the #3 wide receiver and #38 overall player on the 247 Composite. Michigan is letting Donovan choose between receiver and cornerback.
Michigan is one of five schools standing out to four-star 2016 NJ DE Ron Johnson, who visited a couple weekends ago, per Rivals' Adam Friedman ($):
"Ohio State, Michigan, South Carolina, Miami, North Carolina, Rutgers, Alabama and Temple are the schools that are really recruiting me a lot," said Johnson. "I don't think I have a leader. Some of the schools I'm really interested in are Michigan, Ohio State, South Carolina, Miami and Alabama."
The Wolverines are making a strong push for several top New Jersey prospects, including Johnson, Rashan Gary, Brad Hawkins, and Ahmir Mitchell.
I have to tip my cap to Desmond Fitzpatrick for his fakeout yesterday. It's refreshing to see a recruit have a little bit of fun with his recruitment since it can be a very stressful experience for a young kid.
However it will be less refreshing if a commitment never comes... But I think it will before next February.
If Fitzpatrick's commitment (along with Reese), leads to Khalid Kareem committing to Michigan, then I will help happily take Fitzpatrick.
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AFAIC, we have just as much right to say Harbaugh is building a championship team as you have to say he isn't. Ohio State bought three more five-stars: big deal. Ohio State gets mercenaries and trains them to be Buckeyes. Michigan gets kids who want to play at Michigan.
Besides, i you were a player with NFL potential, would you want to play for Meyer or Harbaugh? Who is going to develop you better in the traits that are specific to the NFL? Ohio State takes the unethical kids off of the table. They are actually doing clean programs a favor.
Lol you can't be serious with this comment...
You've gone past the maize and blue glasses stage. You are high on maize and blue paint fumes.
Urban can't get talent into the NFL? Tell that to the 35+ players he coached that are now currently in the NFL, vast majority of whom aren't potential criminals.
Sorry, Tater crushed it! Tim Tebow wants his Urban glasses back Occa!!!
I do agree that he is way past the tinted glassses and went too far, but I can't name a Meyer guy in the NFL that I would want on my pro team. I admit I may just be biased or forgetful right now, but: Hernandez obv a criminal, Tebow washed up and overrated, Brandon Spikes is pretty much a joke... Even Alex Smith pretty much sucks in my opinion (no arm strength, minimal stats worth noting other than his lack of turnovers). Again, I may just be missing a bunch or not even knowing certain guys played for Meyer. But to me, it seems like he is a GREAT college coach, knows how to win at this level at any cost... but his style doesn't translate to the NFL and he doesn't need to care about that as long as he wins in college. I am envious of his success, but he doesn't teach skills that win after college.
HOT SPORTS TAKE ALERT!!!
Wow....Tater must be drunk.
I agree with umichsea -- feel like the recruiting isn't where it needs to be to meet expectations down he road. I know we're in good position with a few elite 2015 prospects, but I'm surprised at the number of offers going out to 3-stars, and the number of commitments we're accepting this early from that category. Yeah, yeah, I know -- great evaluator of talent, finds diamonds in the rough who fit his system, etc. I'd buy that if we were going after a few lowly rated kids to go along with mostly 4- and 5-star targets, but it seems like half of our offers are not elite prospects and that those being offered may soon be filling up the class.
I'm surprised because my impression was that Harbaugh's hiring immediatey made us a hot program, so I don't understand why we would have to settle. I think we've seen enough analysis the past couple years to make the case that number of stars is a fair barometer of future success.
So what am I missing? Like are a lot of these 3-stars going to get a fourth? Please tell me I'm missing something.
A couple things, actually. You said it yourself "great evaluator of talent"...it's funny that the opposite of your take here was often a criticism of Hoke's recruiting: "he gets 4 and 5 stars who play like 3 stars". That and the criticism about not developing talent.
Harbaugh has Hoke's 4 and 5 star classes and a record of developing NFL talent. It will be interesting to see how he makes that talent develop. He has a record of having a good eye for talent and building programs. Obviously, Michigan has offered a high volume of 4 star players in the current cycle. I'm not totally a "trust the coaches" guy but Harbaugh has a lot more credibility than any board poster or, god help me, Trieu, Wiltfong, Webb et al. in talent evaluation. It's not like "oh noes we don't have any talent...".
Complicating matters, as high profile and great as the Harbaugh hire has been...Michigan football has been crappy for almost a decade. Kids were young when Lloyd was relevant in 06 and tOSU just won a National Championship. I'd say slow your roll on expectations until Harbaugh wins 9 or 10 games next fall....
Don't be that three star mafia guy.
Harbaugh was 1 win away from a National Championship with a roster that had only seven 4stars total. Three of whom were true freshmen. It's not the stars its the development that makes Harbaugh's teams winners.
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To which do you refer? The most recent Super Bowl, or the post expressing panic about our recruiting starz?
If it's the SB to which you refer, I truly do not feel a SB, with over 100 players from multiple college classes, represents a small sample size about the importance of starz.
if it was the post you referred to, then carry on...
He's probably refering actually to the raw numbers of 5*/4* vs 3*. As has been analyzed many many times by lots of people, there are a larger raw number of 3* in the NFL, draft, All-American, All-Conference, etc. But that's because there's like 100 times more 3 stars or less than there are 5 stars. Here's a breakdown from SB Nation:
Each year, roughly 4,500 football players sign Division I scholarships. In 2010, the year from which most of the prospects in the 2014 draft came, 27 were rated as five-stars by Rivals.com. Five-stars are considered no-doubt, superstar-type players. There were 395 four-stars, a designation for very good players, and 1,644 three-stars, or good players. And 2,434 were rated as two-stars or not rated at all, meaning they are at the lowest levels of FBS (85-scholarship level) or FCS players (63-scholarship level).
Crunching the math, 4/5* players are 995% more likely to be drafted in the 1st round
Additionally, it is true that no team has won an NC in recruiting rankings era (well, at least since we have a full set of data on this), without at least one class in the top-10 during the 4 years previous. Hell going by scouts data, every single one had at least one class in the top 5 and averaged #8 in the nation. I believe I've also seen an analysis that NC winning teams also average at least 50% 4 or 5 stars. Oregon was to be the one to break that trend this year who only had about 40% 4/5*. But they lost to OSU, who has cleaned up in recruiting under Meyer.
So basically, yes, good players can come from anywhere, and yes, coaching is the most important thing. But higher rated players in recruiting rankings are more likely to be high level players, and more of them tend to lead to more wins, and appear neccsary (along with good coaching) to winning an national championship.
File this reply to any & all future posts you might consider making regarding recruiting:
HARBAUGH > Starz
It feels like it has been forever since we have had an elite offensive skilled player at wide receiver or runningback. I miss the days we had spectacular play from those two positions.
We do have some elite talent on our roster.
Derrick Green '13- #1 RB/ #8 overall
Ty Isaac '13- #4 RB/ #27 overall
Jake Butt '13- #5 TE
Shane Morris '13- #4 QB
Drake Harris '14- Was a top 5 WR before injuring his hamstring senior year
Brian Cole '15- #4 Athlete
I know I know, recruiting rankings aren't always accurate. But maybe it was Hoke & Co. failing to develop the talent they recruited. These guys are still young. Let's not write them off as busts just yet and let's see what Harbaugh and his assistants can do with them.
round of the draft.
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I don't
-NO ONE EVER
Very simple, I like your style.
It's kinda great.
Great young men, great young football players. If they get on campus and can compete at a spot, they will. FB/LB, WR/DB. Harbaugh wants to win. Whichever kid want gets to get better can win the spot and play on Saturdays.
I don't think he would hesitate to play Jabrill on offense, Nortfleet on defense, or anybody - if they win the spot.
Competition every day in practice seems like a great way to bring a high degree of intensity.
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Mr. Davis, he seems like a high end O-Lineman.How did that visit go?
Oof, twins where one is elite and one is three-star. Rough. Well, here's hoping they both come here and become Tiki and Ronde Barber.
of the guys it looks like Michigan will end up with have room to move up in the rankings or fit a certain niche Harbaugh is looking for. I wouldnt be too worried about the lack of elite recruits, if we start winning, we'll see some more of them.
People just do not understand recruiting. First--all those ranking services are subject to change up until signing day. When you see a 3-star with offers from Alabama and LSU and USC and Texas and Ohio State and Michigan, count on that ranking changing to a 4 at some point. The evaluations of coaches, in the form of offers which are just now going out, factor into recruiting service rankings. And sometimes the recruiting services get it wrong and a guy they're all high on--based, after all, mostly on high school highlight films and combine testing and OMG shirtless!--isn't actually good at playing football. My point is, try not to look at a Rivals' ranking like it's the Word of God.
IIRC, last year we would all have gladly taken a team full of highly-regarded junior highers, if they came with Coach Harbaugh. It makes me happy that we're already so comfortable with The New Reality that we're quibbling over whether we're taking too many three-star recruits. The team abides!
We were 5-7 last year...elite talent is not going to be busting down our door to play here, until we start heading in the right direction on the field. It's a harder sell right now.
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MSU has been winning for awhile now and b4 the last few years basically all they had was 2 and 3* players. I think a lot of these kids will rise in the rankings and they normally do when they start getting bigger schools to offer them. Plus they have 1 more year of HS ball to improve. I think if these guys are really lower on a talent level Harbaugh is building for the future. To be honest im happy he is thinking about the future which says to me he aint gonna be here for 3 years and just leave. Stanford sucked ass when he got there and look at them now. Same thing with the 49ers he does not just make a team good today he loads them up so they can keep kicking ass. People talked a lot of shit about Morris in the spring game but he really didnt do that bad. The line was patched up and its still spring. Dude has never really played that much football at the college level. And under Hoke for some reason it seemed all his QB's got worse at they got older which made no sense. B4 Denard went pro i use to shut my eyes when he would throw the ball bcuz u didnt know if it was gonna be off by 5 yards or what was gonna happen. I loved watching him run but all the QB's seemed to play bad their final years. Harbaugh turned Alex Smith into a serious NFL QB. B4 that people were saying he was a serious bust. Relax and wait til fall camp see the team as a whole so we get the whole picture. We have talent and Harbaugh will not let us fail ! You can see the difference in the way the team takes the field and how they react on plays. The attitude is different and attitude is half the battle. If we go in thinking we are asscheeks and we r gonna lose we probably will. But if we go in knowing we can play our ass off and we wont quit then we have a chance to win every game which is exactly what happened at Stanford.
I don't know about you, but I never considered myself an asscheek.
Ya me either thats bcuz i played my ass off at whatever sport i was in. But a lot of times people go into games thinking the stage is way bigger then they are and get lost looking into the lights as the game speeds by. Everything starts with attitude and i think last year and years before that a lot of the kids felt like they were unprepared for games. Bcuz during the games a lot of times you would see guys moving to the ball and reacting to play way to damn slow. If they know they are tough and they know they are prepared and they all play together there is not much more u can ask 4 out of a team.
^^^^^^^I found your asscheek!
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