2015: Not Dead Yet

Well, I'll be damned:

In a move that comes as something less than a shock, UCLA announced Sunday that defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich "has stepped down" from his position on the Bruins' staff.

Ulbrich has been widely linked with new coach Dan Quinn's Atlanta Falcons staff and is expected to become the Falcons' new linebackers coach, per reports.

With that news, it's unlikely 2015 top-50 LB Roquan Smith will re-commit to UCLA. After taking a break last weekend, Smith will reevaluate his final four—UCLA, Georgia, Michigan, and Texas A&M—this week. With the extra time, Smith's coach believes he'll be more assured of his decision, per GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz ($):

“He’s actually relieved,” Harold said. “Like I told him, and the relief comes from the fact he gets more time. He went on five straight trips so of course the last trip you take is still fresh on your mind and he didn’t have like two days to hash everything out. He was conflicted up until he went on television. I told him you can go with your heart now and not turn a letter in and make a better decision because I want you to be 100-percent sure.

Georgia is the presumed favorite, but Michigan should be right in the running—yes, despite the "Michigan University" sign, which Smith's coach admitted was his error, not his star player's.

There's no substantive update on Mike Weber and whether or not he'll ask out of his Ohio State LOI.

[Hit THE JUMP for updated 2016 rankings, a ton of new offers, and more.]

Scout Updates 2016 Rankings

The 2016 Scout300 was updated last week; top Michigan DT target Rashan Gary remains atop the list. Michigan commit Eric Swenson landed at #100 overall (#11 OT); the other Wolverine commit for 2016, LB Dele' Harding, didn't make the cut.

The #114 player overall, GA OT EJ Price, told 247's Keith Neibuhr that Michigan and Auburn are "tied for No. 1" on his list ($). The Wolverines have been creeping up his leaderboard—he'd recently put out a top ten with Auburn #1 and Michigan #2—and it seems that's because of both Harbaugh and the depth chart:

“They’ve been speaking to me a lot,” Price said. “They’ve been reaching out to my coach. I’ve been looking at their offensive line class. It just looks like a good fit right now.

With small O-line classes in the last two cycles, it shouldn't be hard for this staff to sell prospects on the chance to see the field relatively early on in their careers.

Check Your Messages

If you're a 2016 defensive back, you probably have a Michigan offer. 247's Steve Lorenz ran down the offers that went out around NSD last week. Ten went out to defensive backs, with an 11th going to Temecula (YES) CA three-star ATH Demetric Felton, who projects to slot receiver and plans to visit Ann Arbor soon, per GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz ($).

The top-ranked player to pull in an offer is AL CB John Broussard, who's ranked 63rd overall on the 247 Composite. Broussard told The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan he's considering using an official visit to see Michigan ($).

Four-star CA S CJ Pollard received an offer directly from Jim Harbaugh and immediately lined up plans for an official, per Sullivan ($):

"I told Coach Harbaugh I was committing to an official visit right away," he said. "I'm super-fired up and excited. I've always liked Michigan. THat's a program that's going to be turned around instantly thanks to Coach Harbaugh. I've seen all of his success with the 49ers, so I have faith in that. I've committed to an official visit, and I told Coach Harbaugh that right away: I will be coming down there for an official visit.

Another recently offered four-star CA safety, Marquel Dismuke, told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown that he's considering a visit ($).

Michigan should also get a visit from four-star NJ CB Jordan Fuller, per Bogenschutz ($):

“Michigan is still Michigan,” Fuller said. “I just know they’ve been big time for a long time and I know their stadium is the biggest in the U.S. and the most wins ever.”

Having already visited Boston College, Penn State and Rutgers, with plans to see Michigan, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Duke and Ohio State in the future.

“I’m looking for good academics and I want to know if I can play early,” Fuller said. “I want to have a family vibe that I get there and just being able to see myself there.”

Three-star OK S Calvin Bundage told GBW's Josh Newkirk that he's "most definitely going to take a visit up there soon," after receiving his Michigan offer ($). Bundage also added recent offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Arizona.

For a more complete list of DB offers from early last week, check out Steve's free article.

More 2016 Offers

Michigan shot straight to the top of three-star FL LB Jonathon Jones' list after he added an offer from DJ Durkin, per Lorenz ($). UCF and Duke comprise the rest of his top three, according to the Orlando Sentinal, though that seems likely to change if and when Jones pulls in more offers; he recently participated in South Carolina's junior day and came away expecting an offer.

Three-star DE Terrell Hall also added a Michigan offer recently, per Lorenz ($). Hall boasts a very impressive offer sheet; he looks like a prospect who'll eventually move up in the rankings.

The Wolverines also offered unranked AL RB Kingston Davis, a 6'1", 225-pound back who told Tim Sullivan he's considering a visit ($). Working in Michigan's favor here is their late addition of Davis' high school teammate, 2015 CB Keith Washington.

Etc.

Excellent photoshop work that hopefully won't totally backfire:

Another sweet #Michigan edit. This one for top 2016 CB target @dee_knowz pic.twitter.com/n5ZrOBYJlE

— Steve Lorenz (@TremendousUM) February 9, 2015

That was sent to three-star CA CB David Long, who told Lorenz he's still looking to make a major visit happen ($):

Long, who started track this week, is looking to make a visit along with four-star QB target KJ Costello and four-star WR target Dylan Crawford.

"We were just talking about it the other day," he said. "The only hold-up will be how my track practices work out and whether or not I will have enough free time. I've talked to my parents about it already and we're looking to make it work. It's definitely a possibility but not a certainty at this point."

Regardless of whether Long (and high highly rated friends) can pull together a visit in the very near future, their interest level is high.

Four-star Traverse City West OL Thiyo Lukusa told Kyle Bogenschutz there's "no doubt" Michigan is back in the race after hiring Harbaugh ($). He also said he has a leader, but didn't want to reveal it—I doubt it's Michigan at this point given how recently they were a non-factor in his recruitment, but that could change in a hurry.

Cleveland.com's Ari Wasserman with an interesting look at how top-ranked quarterbacks tend to stay close to home, more so than highly ranked players at other positions. A notable exception from the article: Andrew Luck, who went to Stanford from the Houston area despite having offers from closer to home.