I'm not sure how much to read into it but Dior Mathis was at the scrimmage on Saturday and says he plans to be at the WMU game. Don't know if this was already covered or not.
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Tuesday Recruitin'
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A pretty light week as most high school prospects are focusing on preparation for their senior season, rather than recruiting. Once official visits start rolling, it should get interesting again. All updates can be seen on the 2010 Recruiting Board.
Your Weekly Semi-Creepy Devin Gardner Update - Now with Co(r?)nelius Jones!
Fluff on MI QB Commit Devin Gardner. It's nothing you've never heard before, if you're more inclined to not click Free Press links.
Inkster has eight road games and three brutal trips to Ohio to play against Cleveland St. Edward, St. Ignatius and Steubenville High -- all powers.
With no home games and needing to win five games just to make the playoffs, Gardner's situation is different from any top-flight quarterback in the state.
I've yet to figure out why the Vikings have no home games. There's a pretty good photo gallery by the Free Press, as well. There was video floating around the interwebs of Gardner's performance at a scrimmage last week, but it appears to have been taken down.
Rivals AMP caught up with QB Commit Cornelius Jones. They're currently not allowing embedding of said video, but Jones says he's 100% solid with Michigan. He's open to switching positions once he gets to Ann Arbor, but will come in as a quarterback. Jones's high school season began on Friday, and you can see how it went in this week's Friday Night Lights feature.
By the way - there's still some confusion about whether Jones's first name is "Cornelius" or "Conelius" (no 'r'). Alas, I've been unable to definitively clear that issue up, so I'll continue with option A until it can be settled once and for all.
Officially Visitin' (Or Not)
Hopefully once the season gets underway, I'll be able to devote an entire section of each recruiting post to that week's docket of visitors. For now:
OH TE Alex Smith has started talking about his favorites, despite being "committed" to Cincinnati. I think at this time it's fair to say he's no longer a commit to the Bearcats, they just lead for him. Wisconsin and UNC are atop his list behind Cincy, with Kentucky shortly behind. Smith's only scheduled official visit thus far is to Wisconsin for the season opener, and a Michigan visit no longer sounds like a lock.
WI P Will Hagerup had named his official visit to Michigan for the Western game on September 5, those plans are changing. He'll now head to Ann Arbor for the Indiana game on September 26th. This will be his last official visit before deciding, which is a minor boost to Michigan's chances.
Michigan will get an official visit from VA LB Aramide Olaniyan, currently a Duke commit ($, info in header). He's taking all five visits, so the Wolverines may have a chance to pry him away with Duke if they really want him.
Though there was talk about who would be getting Sharrif Floyd's official visits in the last update, he intends to change his plans for those visits ($, info in header). Since Michigan was not under consideration in the previous list, any chage is good for the Wolverines. No word on whether they're in his newly-adjusted plans.
Scouting Reports? Scouting Reports
Rivals covered a couple scrimmages, and talks about a couple M prospects of note:
S- Latwan Anderson- Glenville- After turning in a great performance vs. Elyria Catholic from the safety spot, Anderson put on a show at wide receiver against Cardinal Mooney. He made a spectacular catch above his head along the sideline against Braylon Heard. He also made a circus one-handed catch out of bounds that drew loud applause from the crowd. At safety, he forced a fumble at the goal line on Braylon Heard.
WR- D.J. Williamson (Michigan commit)- Warren Harding- Speed will never be an issue with Williamson, he can really glide on the football field. He is still growing into a natural receiver, but should really benefit from having a solid passing quarterback take over at Harding, transfer Jordan Miller. Williamson also played some cornerback, and showed good ability to break on the football.
Williamson sounds like a potential sleeper; you can't teach speed. Ohio HS Sports.com also took a look at a few players, including WR Jerald Robinson:
Jerald Robinson, WR/DB , Canton South -- Michigan commit is always a big-play threat and also had 7 interceptions last year. His three-year QB has graduated and he'll face double and triple teams, but he'll still produce.
So, hooray for that, I guess. A lot more preview-type stuff on Michigan commits in Friday Night Lights.
Defensive Backin'
OH S/WR Bobby Swigert has narrowed to a list of four suitors: M, Stanford, Nebraska, and BC.
If things go as planned, Cullen Christian may end up as the "Guy Everyone Took For Granted And Aren't Excited When He Commits" for the class of 2010. He's still saying good thing about Michigan, and will play multiple positions for Penn Hills this season:
"Michigan is No. 1, but I probably won't make my decision until sometime during the season. I don't know how close I am to pulling the trigger...
Teams didn't throw the ball to my side much last year. At safety, I can make plays."
He is taking official visits to UCLA, WVU, and Maryland in the first month of the football season. I would presume one more official visit, then hopefully a commitment to Michigan when he takes his final visit to Ann Arbor.
FL CB Tony Grimes has narrowed to a top 3 of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ole Miss. He does not plan to make a final decision until Signing Day.
Etc.:
CA WR Kenny Stills is still nominally considering Michigan. I wouldn't get your hopes up, though he may be taking an official visit. OH DE Derrick Bryant once favored Michigan, but now it appears as though he doesn't want to play in the Big Ten ($, info in header). He currently favors UCLA, Oregon, Kentucky, and North Carolina. MD OL Arie Kouandjio has named 8 schools on top of his recruitment, and Michigan isn't among them. He's bumped down to a Nefarious Eduardo, and is soon to be removed. Removed FL CB Eric Mitchell, who committed to Ole Miss.
August 25th, 2009 at 11:41 AM
#2
August 25th, 2009 at 11:49 AM
#3
I want to know what is Cullen Christian waiting for with his commitment? If he likes Michigan so much, why doesn't he pull the trigger? Attention getting? Players can do that on the field. Maybe he is looking for something better. What could be better than Michigan?
August 25th, 2009 at 11:53 AM
#4
He is a senior in high school, cut him a bit of slack. It sounds like he'll end up at Michigan, but he is just enjoying his senior year and recruitment right now.
August 25th, 2009 at 11:59 AM
#5
The reason that Inkster doesn't have any home games is pretty simple. With the dissolution of their previous conference, they became an independent. They didn't really market themselves for other conferences and no other conferences really came in and said "Come on in!" This surprised me a bit, you would think that there would be a conference out there that would have taken Inkster onboard.
So as an independent, they've got to try to fill their schedule. Well, since Inkster is up the proverbial creek in scheduling because they are an independent, they struggle to find opponents. Because their opponents know that they are one of the few teams Inkster can play, they force them to have the game on the road.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:11 PM
#6
There are other independents in the state that have scheduled home games. Also, plenty of teams with full conference schedules also struggle to pick up a non-conference game, I'm not sure the teams Inkster is playing on the road were in any better negotiating position.
I think a bigger issue for Inkster is that it is pretty clear that they blatantly recruit. They must have a hard time convincing teams to play a home and away series with them (unless they have 8 home games next year). I'd guess that some teams were willing to take on the challenge of playing a loaded Inkster team, even if they felt Inkster wasn't building a program in the most ethical fashion, but weren't willing to travel to Inkster to do it.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:20 PM
#7
There are fewer independents than there used to be. Before Muskegon joined the OK Red, they faced some difficult times filling out a home schedule, too, and frequently made long trips (including Ohio and Indiana) to get to 8 or 9 games.
Add in that Inkster's scheduling happened really, really late, and you have the perfect storm for all road games.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:24 PM
#8
yes there are other independents but how many of them had their conference dissolve this year? that's why inkster has no home games this year in addition to the reasons listed by likwid.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:47 PM
#9
fill me in on the conference dissolving angle. When did this league decide to dissolve? There was no forewarning that it was coming? If they knew even one or two years in advance, they should have been able to schedule at least a couple home games.
August 25th, 2009 at 1:11 PM
#10
Landon, sometimes you need to know who not to argue with around here. Likwid and Obes are generally on top of their game, it's safe to assume they know what they're talking about.
August 25th, 2009 at 1:37 PM
#11
It didn't seem like he was arguing with anyone. I feel bad for you if you are afraid to ask someone a relevant question because they are informed. Isn't that the point of a question and answer forum?
August 25th, 2009 at 6:40 PM
#12
I appreciate the pity, and I agree that asking questions to those informed is a great feature of the forum. However, if you look again, you'll see that Landon's post includes no questions, but merely disputes why he thinks the two posters are wrong. I wasn't trying to be a dick, just that there are certain posters around here who know their shit better than others, and if those two guys felt they knew why Inkster couldn't find home games, it's probably legitimate.
August 25th, 2009 at 7:13 PM
#13
Wow, Wolv, I guess I should have known better to throw out additional theories. I don't know what Likwid's basis of knowledge is, but I see now that he has a diary on upcoming high school games, so I'd guess he's reasonably well informed as a high school football fan. But that still doesn't tell me exactly what he's basing his post on, is it just from what he read in the paper? does he have any inside information? He certainly could, but on the surface there wasn't anything there to prevent me from suggesting another reason.
I never said he was wrong, and in my second post, I admitted to not knowing the details of the timing of the demise of their conference, and asked for a little bit of a backstory. Going independent certainly makes it harder to schedule, I get that. But there's more to high school scheduling, especially for schools like Inkster, than is always apparent on the surface. High school sports administration and scheduling is a subject I do have some expertise in and I see some tell-tale signs in Inkster's schedule that says there problem isn't completely about being an Independent. Even in the Freep article linked to below, you can read between the lines and see the signs, where he says nobody would schedule them locally. Maybe the transfers and the recruiting isn't the main reason they are on the road all season, but it certainly is at least one factor.
August 25th, 2009 at 7:56 PM
#14
Hey I'm not looking to get into a fight, in fact I don't really have any idea why Inkster is playing all away games. My only point in my first post (which really failed) was to let you know that those 2 guys usually know what they're talking about. Not everyone who posts or reads these comments knows which posters are knowledgeable and which ones are full of shit. I just wanted to let you know that the statements of those 2 guys in particular was likely reliable. I'm sorry if that point wasn't received how it was intended.
August 25th, 2009 at 2:03 PM
#15
I'm not trying to argue, I'm just curious. I don't live in Michigan anymore and don't know anything about Inkster's conference folding. I'm just want to know how it all went down, and if there wasn't any lead-time. Unlike, say, when the Grand Rapids City league folded into the OK Conference there was at least a year or two of notice.
My only "argument" is that it seems to me that even with their conference folding they should have still been able to manage one home game or more than five opponents from the state of Michigan. Even Highland Park who is newly Independent this year managed three home games and 8 Michigan opponents.
If you look around the country a lot of schools that get a lot of "transfers" end up having tough times scheduling and end up having to travel out of state to get games. I think we're kidding ourselves if that's not what happened here, at least to some degree.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:10 PM
#16
Cornelius is my Dad's name and it is a common Dutch name. I know that in the Dutch immigrant community, for those who speak Dutch as a first language, they drop the "r" when saying the name (It sounds like "Conilus"), but as far as I know there is only one way to spell the name, and that is with the "r."
August 25th, 2009 at 12:12 PM
#17
The only thing I can find on Inkster not having any home games this year is this Freep article. Seems IHS got bent over a barrel when they lost their conference affiliation, and no local schools would agree to play at IHS. The article also implies that there were complaints about the condition of their field.
I'd make a wisecrack about any school wanting to play at Inkster, if not for the potential neg-lash.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:13 PM
#18
The "Cornelius" vs. "Conelius" debate sounds like a job for TomVH!
Also, Cullen Christian playing multiple positions at his HS is interesting. We are still going after him as a CB right?
August 25th, 2009 at 12:37 PM
#19
I think we're going after Christian as a CB/S combo, a la Justin Turner. If he shows ability to play both positions, he'll be slotted in where needed.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:50 PM
#20
DJ Williamson - a gliding fast WR with some ability at CB. Know what former Wolverine that sounds like? Morgan Trent.
August 25th, 2009 at 1:01 PM
#21
Wow, astute observation, Keith. Hopefully this staff is able to get more out of that type of player than the old one was. I also think Williamson is probably bigger than Trent, but I really like that comparison.
August 25th, 2009 at 1:46 PM
#22
Will the old VB "Big Ten Recruiting Class Rankings" feature return?
August 25th, 2009 at 2:03 PM
#23
Saturday is DG vs RM or Inkster vs. Pioneer at EMU. The tickets are $10.00 at the door or you can stop by the Pioneer Athletic office and they're a little cheaper.
August 25th, 2009 at 2:34 PM
#24
I hope Cullen Christian commits soon. I know right now Michigan is a heavy favorite for him but you never know with recruiting these days.
August 25th, 2009 at 3:21 PM
#25
How do we not know Jones' name for sure? I've never heard of Conelius and Rivals/Scout say it's Cornelius. So let's just go with Cornelius.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:25 AM
#26
I wrote something pretty in depth, about quite a few players, then clicked off the text and pressed backspace. If you've done this before, you know it takes the whole browser back, and deletes what you were doing. So, let me try again....
It's hard to say where we'll end up, because there's so much that can/will happen between now and signing day. If you remember, the reason we ended up with Stokes is because Lane Kiffin told Tajh Boyd that his scholarship wouldn't be honored. Boyd proceeded to commit to Clemson, with M decommit Bryce McNeal, and Stokes then committed to Michigan.
Marquis Flowers is interesting to me. He's a safety from Goodyear, AZ, and has mentioned that Michigan should get a visit. We could definitely use him.
Latwan Anderson seems like he'll eventually end up at WVU. If we can get another visit out of him, we'll obviously have a better shot, but I'm not sure if that will happen. He seems to have a hard time making up his mind.
I'm talking to Torrian Wilson tomorrow, so I'll be able to let you know more later. There were rumors that Michigan was out of his top group, but that's obviously not true.
Who knows what Dior Mathis is thinking. His recruitment has been a circus from day one. I have no clue what's going to happen with him.
Josh Shaw seems like a long shot.
Lo Waters is interesting to me. He keeps mentioning Michigan in his top group, and looks like we might get a visit out of him. I think we could have real shot, if we can get him on campus. I really like him. He's not talked about that much, but he's 6'1 200 lbs and runs a 4.5 forty.
Aramide Olaniyan is one to definitely watch. It wasn't linked in Tim's article, but my interview with him says a lot. I've talked to him once after this, and he has talked to his parents more about Michigan. He has Saturday games, but is going to try to figure out a date to make it up.
Tony Grimes....everything is "crispy." (his words)
Khari Fortt has mentioned Michigan recently, but I think it might be too late. This is another one that needs to visit for us to have a chance.
Shariff Floyd is not coming to Michigan.
Eduardo Clements will be on an official visit for the ND game, which is great. I've been hearing that we're leading for him, which is also great. Until that game, we'll have to wait and see.
Anthony Barr says we'll get a visit, but I have no clue. I've never talked to him.
**This isn't everyone, just off the top of my head. To go back to your original question, there's a lot of time left. Our class could look completely different by the end.
SIDE NOTE: I've been absent for the past couple weeks, and I'm trying to catch up with everything. I'll be posting more, and interacting more within the next week, or so.
