Hoops: Michigan Drops Jalen Coleman

Since basketball recruiting news comes in waves with long periods of inactivity, and I'm the basketball guy around here anyway, hoops recruiting updates have been absorbed into the regular recruiting roundups; please excuse—and correct!—any errors I might make while I acclimate myself to the hoops recruiting scene, which I've largely ignored while Brian handled the updates.

The big recruiting news in either sport this week is that Michigan, in the wake of landing D-III transfer Duncan Robinson, has dropped high four-star 2015 IN PG Jalen Coleman from consideration, per GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz ($):

Via a phone call Tuesday afternoon, Coleman’s father Piankhi Lands said that recruitment is now over.

“Well we were trying to (set up an official visit) and they told us they were only recruiting one person for the class of 2015 and a Division III guy they had picked up, they didn’t want to set up an official date, Lands said. “They had already given a scholarship out.”

This means a couple things. For one, the staff must be very optimistic about Robinson if they're willing to pass on a shot at an elite 2015 recruit like Coleman to get him—Michigan was a very strong contender (along with Notre Dame, oddly) to land Coleman until this development. It also means the scope of the 2015 recruiting focus has narrowed significantly. Five-star IL PG Jalen Brunson announced five official visit destinations recently that did not include Michigan ($). Sam Webb believes Michigan is also done recruiting four-star Saginaw SG Eric Davis ($).

Two names appear to remain on the board for 2015, players Michigan would take despite the fact that either one would knock a slot out of the very promising 2016 class. The first is Indiana five-star Caleb Swanigan, a skilled 6'9" big man with offers from the likes of Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisville, and Michigan State. It's hard to see a scenario in which Michigan wouldn't take him if he wanted to come. While the Spartans are thought to lead in his recruitment, Michigan isn't out of it, per The Wolverine's Chris Balas ($):

The Michigan camper (last summer) has kept the Wolverines in the mix. 

"The relationship is pretty good," Swanigan said, "and it's starting to build strength. They usually don't offer guys until after the year because they're real concerned about academics, but they're starting to recruit me more. 

"Michigan, definitely, they show a lot of love. I've been to the facilities once or twice before. They've been pretty strong."

The other is high four-star combo guard Perry "P.J." Dozier, who's probably still under consideration because he's 6'6" (and reportedly growing) with point guard skills. He's slated to take an official visit to Michigan on September 26th. Dozier sees himself as a primary ballhander at the next level, and apparently so does Michigan, which Dozier's father said is a big positive when talking to Bogenschutz last week ($):

“And again, we never really told the coaching staff what we were looking for, we wanted them to tell us what they saw him as and Michigan did a great job in recruiting, they were there pretty early in the game, showing a lot of interest and with the history of what they’ve done there.

“And Michigan, we have much more respect for the coaching staff there. But mainly, they’re recruiting him the way he wants to be recruited.”

Dozier could potentially eliminate the need/spot for a point guard or shooting guard in the 2016 class given his size and skill-set.

In 2016 hoops recruiting news, Michigan offered 6'6" five-star wing Josh Langford while he was on an unofficial visit last Friday. UMHoops has some video of him dunking all over people, among other things, at that link; Dylan has also compiled sophomore highlights for 2016 commit Jon Teske.

[Hit THE JUMP for football updates, including newly released state rankings from Scout for Michigan and Ohio, and commit Andrew David kicking footballs a very long way with accuracy.]

Scout State Rankings: Michigan & Ohio

Scout updated their 2015 football state rankings, and they reflect that the best players in Michigan do indeed go to Michigan, at least in this class:

1. Brian Cole, WR - Saginaw Heritage
Great year as a running back and safety last year, but size and ball skills make him a good projection to receiver at Michigan. Not on the most talented team, so teams keyed on him heavy last year and he still produced.

2. Mike Weber, RB - Detroit Cass Tech
Had a really strong junior year. Good pass catcher out of the backfield and a slasher with good burst and vision. Committed to Michigan.

MSU commits Kyonta Stallworth and Tyson Smith take the next two spots, followed by Alex Malzone at #5, then Spartan commit Tyriq Thompson at #6.

While Michigan hasn't made the same recruiting impact in Ohio that they've had in previous Brady Hoke classes, they do have Tyree Kinnel, who came in at #8:

8. Tyree Kinnel, CB, Huber Heights Wayne
Smart player who is always in good position and plays with great fundamentals. Plays corner in high school, but could transition to safety in college.

In an interesting note, Ohio State has landed commits from just three of the top 12, and the three uncommitted prospects in that group don't appear to be headed to Columbus.

Scout also released a Midwest 150, and it has Michigan's top player, Brian Cole, one spot above Ohio's, Justin Hilliard.

The Kicker Can Kick (And Punt, Too)

High school scrimmage season is underway in various states around the country, including Ohio. Scout's Bill Greene took in a Massillon scrimmage against Avon that featured kicker commit Andrew David booting some deep kicks in less-than-ideal conditions:

Andrew David absolutely killing the ball punting. Everything 45-50 yards with mucho hang time. Field goals coming up. #Michigan

— Bill Greene (@BillBankGreene) August 12, 2014

Andrew David slams a 47 yard FG against the wind. Good by plenty. #Michigan.

— Bill Greene (@BillBankGreene) August 12, 2014

David discussed the scrimmage with 247's Steve Lorenz, and mentioned that even though he's allowed to kick field goals off a tee in high school, he's prepping for college by going off the ground ($):

"It went great," he said. "I am kicking the ball off the ground college-style and made every ball except for one from 57 yards that missed left. I had 7 kicks and made six of them. I also had six punts including one that was in the air for over five seconds that went 56 yards in the air from the line of scrimmage. I thought overall it was a solid day for me to begin the season."

If that hang time is close to accurate... yowza.

Etc.

The top-ranked 2016 recruit in the state of Michigan, USC commit Daelin Hayes, is no longer the top-ranked recruit in the state of Michigan, as the Detroit News reports he's transferring to a high school in California:

Linebacker Daelin Hayes, ranked the No. 1 player in Michigan for 2016, has transferred from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, reportedly to St. Bonaventure High in Ventura, Calif.

“He’s no longer on the team,” OLSM coach George Porritt said Tuesday.

Sounds like that USC pledge is a pretty firm one.

247 released a top 100 for class of 2017 prospects—yes, the players who are entering their sophomore seasons—and a few Michigan prospects made the cut. Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones is #12 overall (#2 WR), East English Village Prep OT Emani Mason is at #30 (#5 OT), and OLSM LB Josh Ross came in at #51 (#2 ILB). Ross holds the only Michigan offer among the three, though it'd be a surprise if it stayed that way—it's still very early, of course.