This week's Thursday Recruitin' features Michigan at the top of Scout's team rankings, several uncommitted prospects planning visits, Kyle Kalis laughing off the threats of Buckeye trolls, and a whole lot on the class of 2013. Usual disclaimer: Please let me know if you have any comments, criticism, suggestions, etc.—as always, I'll be reading the comments, and you can also reach me on Twitter or via email, where I'll also encourage you to send any recruiting articles of interest that you think I should include for the next week's edition.

Hoke's Magic Takes Michigan to the Top, More on Uncommitted Seniors

Scout is a believer in Brady Hoke and his first full recruiting class, naming Michigan's 2012 class as the nation's best in their latest team rankings. Click through to see national recruiting analyst Scott Kennedy analyze the class, but unfortunately not saying that Brady Hoke poops magic, despite that clearly being the case. He does have a very good point, however, in saying that Michigan—despite their tremendous early success on the recruiting trail—has yet to capitalize on their strong start to the 2011 season with a commit, though that is obviously expected to change.

Josh Garnett is featured as Scout's Performer of the Week, and in the accompanying video (which has been out for a couple weeks, but paywalled) he discusses his official visits. Garnett mentions Nebraska, Miami, and Michigan as the three schools he'll definitely take officials to, though he also mentions several West Coast schools—Washington, Oregon, Cal, USC, and UCLA—that he'll likely take trips to in an unofficial capacity:

The Seattle Times not only discusses Garnett, but also fellow Washingtonian Zach Banner and their respective timelines:

"Banner revealed this week he is probably going to decide in the next month or two but is only going to tell the coach of the school he is committing to and then wait to make the announcement at Lakes High probably right before the Army All-American Game (which is on Jan. 7). Garnett doesn't have an official timeline but he is definitely going to take his time and take his visits until he is going to make an announcement, so that's kind of why it's been so quiet."

It'll be interesting to see if Banner is able to keep his decision under wraps if he does in fact plan on telling a coach his commitment plans so long before his formal announcement.

For the rest of Thursday Recruitin', jump with me.

Continuing with offensive linemen, Michigan came through with a rather surprising offer ($) to four-star Castle Rock (CO) Valor Christian guard Alex Kozan last week. The offer apparently even caught Kozan off guard, and he's considering taking an official visit to Ann Arbor to go along with planned trips to Iowa and LSU. Kozan is looking to make his decision by Christmas, which could make Michigan's scholarship situation very interesting if he decides to commit—Banner's plan to tell the coaches early could come in handy if he wants a spot in this class. Regardless, Michigan needs interior linemen and Kozan is a quality prospect, so to those griping about this offer I'd like to kindly remind you that four-star guards do not grow on trees.

Several prospects discussed visit plans or narrowed their lists this week. Don Bosco Prep (NJ) corner Yuri Wright still has a lot of interest in Michigan and plans to make it in for the Ohio State game ($, info in header). Cincinnati Moeller receiver Monty Madaris plans to take visits to Michigan, Michigan State, and Florida State after his season, and hasn't yet decided on his other two officials. The Wolverines make the top five for running back Greg Garmon ($) and the top six for Wes Brown ($), who just cut Miami—his previous favorite—because of the impending NCAA DOOM. Jordan Diamond, meanwhile, is slowing down his recruitment ($, info in header), while TomVH runs down the players who could round out the class ($, sadface).

Kyle Kalis Laughs at Your Theats, Buckeye Trolls

Why Rivals won't let you embed free videos is beyond me, but this interview with Kyle Kalis is well worth your time. My favorite quote:

Mike Farrell: Did anything get beyond crazy, you know, like did you get any threats or anything like that?
Kalis: Yeah, I definitely got a number of threats, but I just laughed when I saw it.

Keep fueling the fire, idiots. Actually, don't, because threatening a high school senior for making an entirely logical life choice is about as low as low gets.

In other news on current commits: Congratulations to Royce Jenkins-Stone for earning a spot in the Army All-American Bowl; Vanderbilt is still pushing for Blake Bars, but he doesn't plan on taking any more officials other than to Michigan ($); TomVH on Hoke's in-state recruiting dominance (again, $, sadface).

Happy trails are in order for Danny O'Brien, who chose Tennessee last Thursday, and Devin Fuller, whose focus has narrowed ($, info in header) and he's no longer mentioning Michigan as a potential destination.

Treadwell Gets His Offer and More 2013 Recruiting

Crete-Monee (IL) wide receiver Laquon Treadwell got his first scholarship offer earlier this week, and it's from Michigan, making them the leaders in his recruitment. Treadwell seemed (justifiably) excited when he got the offer, posting a series of tweets that should make any Michigan fan like the Wolverines chances to land him. I spoke to Laquon yesterday, and he is going to take some time before he makes his decision, which will be made with the blessings of his mother:

ACE: How does this affect the timeline of your recruitment? Do you still plan on taking visits, and are you considering making a commitment in the near future?

LAQUON: I still plan on taking visits. My mom wants to go on visits to a couple different schools, she hasn't [taken] any yet. She told me just to take my time and make sure I pick the right school, and let her have a part in my recruitment.

ACE: Do you have any plans to visit Michigan again this season?

LAQUON: Yeah, I plan on going to the homecoming game versus Purdue.

A quick quote on Laquon from his high school coach: He’s an excellent wide receiver,” coach Jerry Verde told 247Sports in the past. “Great hands and what he does after he catches the ball, he can outrun you or he can run you over. There were times where he caught the ball and ran over everybody on the other side to score a touchdown. That’s something you can’t teach. He just has that size and tenacity.”

247Sports's Steve Wiltfong has a great rundown from last week's Sound Mind Sound Body Maximum Exposure meeting, which was held in Southfield and hosted several big-time 2013 prospects, including Brother Rice linebacker Jon Reschke, who has Michigan State as his leader but is still open to other schools:

Reschke attended Michigan’s victory over Minnesota last Saturday.

“I sat down with Coach (Mark) Smith the linebackers coach and he told me he just needs to see some film of me at linebacker and hopefully they’ll offer,” Reschke explained, adding that he also keeps in touch with Wolverines assistant Fred Jackson.

Work that hyperbole magic, Freddie Jax. Another recruit who brought up Michigan was Detroit Crockett's Khalid Hill:

During the summer, Detroit (Mich.) Crockett Tech junior Khalid Hill took home position MVP honors at one of Michigan’s summer camp. The Wolverines staff invited him back for the Western Michigan game in September.

“They’re really interested in me,” Hill said, adding that he’s also receiving mail from Nebraska and Mississippi State. He attended a game at Eastern Michigan this season as well. “The coaches really like me and they said they just want to see more of me and they want to see my highlight film of me showing my talents against competition.”

Hill has four touchdowns in helping lead Crockett Tech to a 5-1 start. He played on the Maximum Exposure 7-on-7 team this summer with many of the area’s top prospects including Michigan class of 2013 quarterback commit Shane Morris. The possibility of catching passes from Morris on the next level excites him.

“I like how Michigan uses their tight ends a lot, and I also like that Shane Morris is going there and he’s the same year as me, so if I do go to Michigan, I’ll be there with him.”

Hill's teammate at Crockett, running back Desmond King, also has interest in Michigan, though the Spartans look to be in strong position for him as well.

Sam Webb profiles five-star Concord (CA) De La Salle linebacker Michael Hutchings, who has offers from just about every major program in the country, and also has connections through the powerhouse De La Salle program to former Wolverines Amani Toomer and Matt Gutierrez. Scout's Brandon Huffman and Hutchings himself describe his game:

"Hutchings is well put together and has nice long arms with a good base," said Scout.com West regional manager Brandon Huffman. "He can take on linemen and usually makes short work of backs trying to block him. He can also slip his blockers because he moves so well laterally. His hits are big and they almost always end up in a ball carrier or receiver on the ground because he runs through them. Hutchings also excels in coverage and does a great job on his pass drops. He's got tremendous instincts. The big key is that he does it against arguably the toughest schedule of any program in the West, so he's dominant against elite programs."

Said Hutchings: "I would say I am athletic. I can go out and cover. I'm athletic, versatile, and explosive on impact when I hit. On plays that are going away from me I need to kind of just show a little bit more of a motor, but I would say I bring a lot of aggression to the game."

Hutchings will be one of the most sought-after prospects of the 2013 class, but Michigan has a couple solid ins with him and also caught his attention by being one of the first programs to offer, coming in just after in-state schools Cal and USC.

Quickly: Wiltfong on Future247 DE Jake Butt, who has interest from Michigan and recent offers from Northwestern, Syracuse, and Duke, but names Notre Dame as his early leader; Joliet (IL) Cathlic RB Ty Isaac is interested in Michigan ($, info in header), and should find his way onto campus in the relatively near future; DCC athlete Wyatt Shallman picks up an offer from Michigan State ($, info in header); TomVH with ($) articles on Canton OL Cameron Dillard, potential in-state battles for the class of 2013, and projecting how the numbers will work for next year's class (his guess, like mine, is somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 spots).