Recruiting Board Updated

Update 6/15: Linked to David Arnold article and a second -- dude is fast -- plus one on commit Vince Helmuth's further attempts to throw things really far. Removed SC LB Scotty Cooper (Clemson), S Marshall Jones (USC), CB Marcus Gilchrist (dropped us), OH S Sidney Glover (IU), NC RB Marcus Houston (NC). Linked to article on Mitchell Schwartz. Added MI WR James Rogers as a commit; also moved TX CB Troy Woolfolk to commit. There's very little on Rogers on the internet, but Michigan Elite football has a brief story and some video. Added IL DT Josh Brent, LA DT Rolando Melancon, and CA S Malachi Lewis. Linked to another one of those big ol' Fox Sports articles and an article on Toney Clemons.

Editorial Opinion: Camp has come and gone with the two aforementioned commitments, who were briefly discussed earlier. There's little to be found on either at this point as both Woolfolk and Rogers are sort of sleeper types. There are no surprises on those removed from the board.

As per usual, the roundup articles on Fox Sports have a information on Michigan targets both serious and hopeful. Information from the latest:

• OK OL Matt Romine still lists Michigan and plans an unofficial visit.
• CA RB Curtis Shaw -- an offeree -- "favors Washington slightly" over a host of other schools including Michigan.
• IL OL Dave Molk received a Michigan offer at camp and "may decide by August."
• TN LB Brian Smith, a Notre Dame legacy favors (duh) Notre Dame:

  "I really want to go to Notre Dame." Smith told Scout.com. "Notre Dame has always been my dream school. My dad went to school there, played football there, and I never missed a game growing up. My favorites right now are Notre Dame, Michigan, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Florida and Michigan State."

• Two new names for your radar: CA ATH Malachi Lewis...

  Malachi Lewis, a versatile running back/receiver/safety from Rio Mesa High in Oxnard, Calif., picked up an offer from UCLA this week, and USC could be next. Lewis also has offers from Cal, Georgia Tech, Washington, Michigan and Nebraska.

  ... and KS DE Christian Ballard, who apparently committed to Kansas before he realized that, uh, he could go somewhere other than Kansas.

One of the two articles on David Arnold is your fairly standard track-exploits stuff, but the other is in-depth and highly recommended and not only for its Arnold-related content, as it sheds some light on Michigan's recruting process in general...

``You need to have a great junior year; you need to go 100 percent,'' longtime Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr said. ``Because when we watch film, we watch the whole game film, and we will watch the plays that you're not involved in to see what you look like on tape.''

Carr told them to take standardized tests at least three times and to enroll in challenging courses. Michigan, he said, wants more than a great football player; the Wolverines want someone who stands out from his peers.

Arnold's also writing a journal for the Akron Beacon-Journal. The latest entry discusses his trip to Michigan camp:

We went into the indoor facility to do the 40-yard dash and vertical jump. My jump was 36-6 and I ran a 40 in 4.57 (electric timing). I ran a 4.3 something (hand-timed) in my track spikes. ... Then we went to lunch. I went with a select few that had lunch with the coaches in the team meeting room. We watched the Michigan game from this past season against Iowa.

...

I had to wait around to talk to coach (Lloyd) Carr. There were some guys over there, so I had to wait my turn to talk to him. He said to keep doing good work in the class, and that they're going to wait until the beginning of my senior season and evaluate my first couple of games and if everything goes well, they'll offer me then.

....

I'm not disappointed. I think I did all right. Pretty decent day.

Arnold, like recent commit Woolfolk, is a Michigan legacy who projects as a defensive back. Unlike Woolfolk, he does not have an offer. I'm rooting for him to get one, I mean...


... how could you not?