Hayes Gets Wisconsin Offer, Postpones Decision

Michigan looked to be sitting pretty with 2016 Orchard Lake St. Mary's LB Daelin Hayes last week when he announced his intention to make an April 27th decision. After receiving an offer from Wisconsin yesterday, however, Hayes has decided to take more time with his recruitment, per Rivals's Josh Helmholdt ($):

"Once [Wisconsin] offered I was in complete shock," Hayes said. "I honestly didn't see it coming. It was an amazing feeling and I immediately thanked God."

....

"My parents are the reason I decided to wait things out," he said. "[They] want me to slow down the process."

Brandon said Hayes will now wait until after his junior season to make a decision.

According to TomVH, Hayes now has Wisconsin in his top three with Michigan and Michigan State. While the second quote above indicates that the postponement wasn't entirely due to the new offer, it's clear the Badgers are going to be a factor moving forward.

In related news, 247 is the first outlet to release complete rankings for the 2016 class, and Hayes comes in at #126 overall (#8 RB—he's being recruited at multiple positions). Michigan's lone commit in the class, IL OT Erik Swenson, gets an initial ranking of #233 overall (#23 OT); that comes as a bit of a surprise, as Swenson had been billed as a potential five-star when he committed.

Given that these players have yet play their junior seasons, and most of the offseason camps are still to come, I wouldn't put a great deal of stock in these rankings. By the time these players sign their LOIs, the list will have changed dramatically.

[Hit THE JUMP for details on two recent offers, a big-time weekend visitor, Michigan commits in the updated ESPN300, and more.]

Two Recent 2015 Offers

Michigan continues to focus much of their 2015 recruiting efforts on the trenches, and their last couple offers bear this out. Brandon posted on LA DE Jalen Bates yesterday; he's cousins with Jonas Mouton, so there's a U-M connection, but he also maintained even after receiving the Wolverine offer that his top school is... Louisiana-Lafayette. Pulling prospects out of the deep South is hard.

Though it wasn't reported until this week, the coaches extended an offer to four-star 2015 WA OT Henry Roberts last Friday, and he told 247's Steve Lorenz he's considering a cross-country trip to check out Ann Arbor ($):

"Michigan moves up for sure with the offer," he noted. "I still need to get to know them better and start to develop a good relationship with the coaching staff, but it's definitely a school I am going to take notice of. It'd be nice if I could get out to visit sometime this spring or summer, but if I do make it there, it will probably be for an official."

Roberts holds offers from the entire Pac-12 as well as the likes of Miami, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin; as Michigan fans well know, it'll be tough to reel in a West Coast prospect with that type of offer sheet.

Various Visit News

2015 four-star VA DE Clelin Ferrell—who recently named Michigan to his top 11—will visit campus this weekend, per Brandon. This is obviously a prime opportunity for the Wolverines to cement themselves among his favorites.

The Wolverines hosted a couple prospects with close U-M ties recently, and both came away impressed with what they saw from the team. 2015 OLB Tyriq Thompson, son of former U-M DB Clarence Thompson—told Scout's Allen Trieu he's also planning to narrow down his list in the near future ($):

"I went to Michigan for the Tom Lemming photo shoot and then spring practice. It was pretty good. They looked a little bit better than last year. I just chopped it up a little with the coaches, talked about things."

On where his recruitment stands at the moment, Thompson said, "I'm starting to narrow down the list."

Coveted 2017 LB Josh Ross, brother of current U-M LB James Ross, also told Trieu that he liked what he saw at Michigan's final spring practice ($):

"I've been talking to the coaches for a long time since my brother got recruited. I feel comfortable around the coaches. I feel real comfortable around the team. They said they want to get this season back for next year. They looked a lot better than last year. I think they'll be real good."

Ross also visited Michigan State, and said he could see himself playing at either school. Oklahoma has also offered, but this could be shaping up into another in-state battle.

Etc.

ESPN updated their rankings for the 2015 class, and Michigan now has three ESPN300 defensive back commits:

• Garrett Taylor, who didn't hold an offer the last time ESPN updated their rankings, is U-M's top-ranked commit at #106 overall (#10 CB).
• Shaun Crawford falls from #73 to #154 (#10 ATH). I'm not sure why he dropped so far aside from the usual known quantities moving down as recruiting services get around to scouting more prospects.
• One of those prospects is Tyree Kinnel, who went from off the list to #182 (#13 S). The process giveth, and the process taketh away.

If you missed it, Brandon posted a comprehensive list of the players most likely to end up in the 2015 class, as well as Doug Nussmeier's current plans for seeing 2015 QB prospects throw in an effort to earn an offer.