Thursday Recruitin' Listens To The Right People Comment Count

Ace

Today's recruiting roundup is short and sweet, as Monday's edition got bumped back to Tuesday; read on for updates on weekend visitors and a compelling feature on Maurice Hurst Jr.

Maurice Hurst Jr. Feature

The Boston Globe's Bob Holmes profiled commit Maurice Hurst Jr. this week, focusing on his relationship with his father, former New England Patriots defensive back Maurice Hurst. The elder Hurst has never seen his son play football and is almost entirely out of the picture, though he did try to give Maurice Jr. some advice on his recruitment:

One effort by Hurst Sr. to get involved backfired earlier this year.

The last time Maurice saw his father was freshman year, when he and his mother traveled to New Orleans, Hurst Sr.’s hometown. Since then there has been no contact, until they spoke just prior to Maurice’s commitment to Michigan in June.

“My mom told me to give him a call to talk about schools. It was kind of uncomfortable because he kind of wanted me to go to LSU or Alabama. He didn’t really think Michigan was an ideal school so it kind of frustrated me a little bit.’’

Maurice never told his father he was going to Michigan.

“My mom may have, I’m not really sure.’’

Hurst Jr. said in the article that he was looking for a school that balanced great academics with a shot at the NFL instead of just looking for a football school, so his final choice was not a surprise. The whole piece is well worth a read, and I'm sure Michigan coaches are excited to hear that Hurst's fabled 75-yard touchdown run last season came on a "power right" playcall.

Weekend Visitors Update

By his standards, it's been a while since IL WR Laquon Treadwell visited Ann Arbor. That will change this weekend, however, as he's set up an unofficial visit for the Air Force game:

According to Josh Helmholdt, Treadwell also has an unofficial visit set up for Ole Miss the next weekend when they host Alabama ($). It's great for Michigan to get Treadwell back on campus, but I wouldn't expect a commitment; he's been steadfast in his insistence that he take visits before making a decision.

Also visiting this weekend is 2014 OH TE/DE Chance Sorrell, according to Tremendous. Michigan is joined by Wisconsin and Tennessee in Sorrell's top group, though none of the three have offered as of yet. TN OL Alex Bars, younger brother of Michigan freshman Blake Bars, also plans to attend the Air Force game, via Tim Sullivan ($). A handful of commits will be there as well, though not ace recruiter Shane Morris, who has a game against Cincinnati Moeller on Saturday afternoon.

Etc.

Tremendous's Gobluegr gives us a name to watch as Michigan rounds out the 2013 class: Ann Arbor Pioneer cornerback Dewan Olive-Abinojar, who was very impressive when the Pioneers played Warren De La Salle (Shane Morris) in the season opener. Curt Mallory reached out to Olive-Abinojar after that game and told him he could potentially earn a scholarship, though I suspect he's a backup plan if the Wolverines miss out on higher-rated targets. Olive-Abinojar plans to attend the Michigan State game and says it's likely he'd commit if Michigan offered.

Happy trails to 2014 WI DE Conor Sheehy, who decided to stay in-state and commit to Wisconsin. The Badgers are off to a nice start in their 2014 class with four prospects—including MI QB Chance Stewart—already in the fold.

Comments

EGD

September 6th, 2012 at 1:13 PM ^

"I was hoping you would go to Alabama or LSU" is to a football player as "Oh, I was hoping you would go to Harvard or Yale" is to a normal student.

JeepinBen

September 6th, 2012 at 2:29 PM ^

The Wistert brothers of Michigan

Wistert was the first of three brothers to play for Michigan. The other two are Al Wistert and Alvin Wistert. All three Wistert brothers wore number 11 for the Wolverines football team, and all three were All-Americans. Interviewed by The Detroit News in 2004, Alvin recalled: "And if I'm not mistaken I think this is unprecedented in the annals of college football: that three brothers all would go to the same school, all played football. All played tackle, all wore the same number 11, all made All-American. Two of us played on four national championship teams. And all were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame."[12]

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitey_Wistert#The_Wistert_brothers_of_Michigan

http://www.annarbor.com/sports/um-football/michigan-makes-wisterts-no-11-the-fifth-number-with-football-legends-distinction/

Michigan makes Wisterts' No. 11 the fifth number with "Football Legends' distinction

Elmer

September 6th, 2012 at 1:37 PM ^

I know Sheehy supposedly did well at the UM camp, but his high school tape sure didn't look that impressive.  He didn't look very athletic, but we have three DL coaches and they decided to extend an offer, so he must be a solid prospect.

True Blue in CO

September 6th, 2012 at 2:13 PM ^

for Air Force, Illinois, and MSC allow for more 2014 recruits and 2013 commitments come and visit for games this season. With the exception of UTL we did not have any 3:30 home games.

oriental andrew

September 6th, 2012 at 3:20 PM ^

That story was heart-breaking to me, especially where they quote his mom talking about how she couldn't understand how the elder Hurst wouldn't want to be involved in the kid's life.  Maybe I'm getting sentimental as a father, but that had me welling up.  I'm glad he's able to move on, but I'm sure he'll continue to have some of that resentment toward his father for a long time to come. 

I'd also be willing to bet that the family atmosphere (as cliché as it is to say) had a role in him choosing Michigan.

UMJunkie

September 6th, 2012 at 11:27 PM ^

Sounds like a great kid.  Looking forward to him competing for Michigan on the field and also doing well in the classroom.  As any father of a boy can attest Mo Sr has done himself and his son a great disservice by not playing a role in his son's life.  I am thrilled when my six year old does well on the soccer field and I never even played that game.  I can't imagine the joy of watching a son excel at the same sport at such a high level.  Here's hoping that Mo Jr will some day have the opportunity to do things differently with his son.