Wednesday Recruitin' 5-26-10

The 2011 Michigan Football Recruiting Board holds the answers to life's mysteries.

BBQ Aftermath

The annual BBQ at the Big House event came and went with little in the way of commitments, though the Wolverines reportedly improved their position with a number of prospects.

MD DT Darian Cooper (pictured at right) said:

"Everything went really well, we got to see the new renovations and the field and everything. We also had a quick tour of the academic facilities, and the food was really good. I really liked the bbq chicken, so that was nice"

Although he's not ready to name a leader yet, Michigan definitely did themselves a favor with this event.

PA LB Branden Jackson also talked to Tom:

The campus was really nice. I knew it would be, but it was really nice. Once I got around some of the players, too, I knew I wouldn't be left out. Everyone was just real nice, and made you feel comfortable. They weren't hyping anything, they were just being real about what they go through.

MI OL Anthony Zettel may have been edged closer to making a decision for the Wolverines ($, info in header).

VA DE Corey Marshall had his "eyes opened" ($, info in header) at the event.

The visit help Michigan "move up" OH WR AJ Jordan's list, to their current "high" position ($, info in headers). Jordan is a former teammate of Roy Roundtree, Michael Shaw, and Brandon Moore, which should help the Wolverines.

In case you missed it, FL RB Demetrius Hart didn't manage to attend. He'll visit Alabama and Auburn again before coming to Michigan (likely for an official visit). He recently impressed at a Nike Camp in Alabama:

Demetrius Hart impressed as well and showed why he's among the most heavily recruited backs in the region. Hart seemed to tire toward the end of the camp (temperature was in the mid-90s) but no one was more impressive early on. Hart is short but not small and is very well put together. He's an explosive back who can stop and start on a dime and showed great hands out of the backfield.

The article goes on to mention that Michigan is still his favorite.

Future Visits

With the BBQ out of the way, the next big event from a recruiting perspective is Michigan's summer elite camp, where borderline prospects will have the chance to earn offers, and some offered players will check out Ann Arbor on unofficial visits.

NC LB Kris Frost couldn't make it to the BBQ, but he'll attend Michigan's summer camp in July ($, info in header).

VA LB Antoine Pozniak hopes to earn a Michigan offer this summer. From the wording of the article, he may come to summer camp in an attempt to earn that offer.

MI CB/RB Raymon Taylor will definitely be camping at Michigan this summer.

The Chaminade-Madonna trio is going to try to make it to Michigan this summer, according to FL WR Curt Evans:

"I plan on visiting a lot of schools in the summer," he said. "I know we're going to Ohio State for sure, and coach said we're going to try and make it to Michigan and Notre Dame. I know we're going to go back to Florida and also see Florida State. By myself, I want to see Stanford, Vanderbilt and South Florida."

That would be a positive development in the recruitments of QB Jerrard Randall and S Jonathan Aiken, as well.

New Offers

Michigan has offered a pair of OH TEs in Austin Traylor and Nick Vannett. According to Linebacker-U, Penn State also zipped an offer to Vannett just a couple days earlier. He had narrowed his recruitment to 11 schools early last week, but the new offers might change that:

On Monday, Vannett cut his list from 25 down to 11 schools. But by the end of the day, Penn State and North Carolina State sent offers his way. With the Nittany Lions on board, things seemed to change for Vannett. He told Scout.com's Bill Greene:

"Without a doubt, Penn State makes my favorite list"

Hopefully, that willingness to add the Nittany Lions to that favorite list means he's also open to doing the same for the Wolverines.

OH OL Ryan Kelly (pictured at right) has committed to play in the Under Armour All-American game. He's also a recent Michigan offeree.

Since the end of the football season, Kelly’s visited Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Cincinnati and Alabama.

“He’s just extremely, extremely athletic,” West coach Larry Cox said. “He’s really good on his feet. That’s what impresses Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Tennessee. Their coaches are extremely impressed with how quick he is and how light on his feet he is.”

With the Buckeyes filling up on offensive linemen, it might be easier than usual for the Wolverines to pluck a top guy out of Ohio, but there will be other top competition as well, as Alabama recently offered.

Last week, PA DE Desimon Green was "close" to a Michigan offer, and it appears as though he's received it.

Happy Trails, Present Or Future

Happy trails, GA TE Jay Rome.

Removed NY LB Quentin Gause (Rutgers commit).

The next few guys aren't off the board just yet, but probably will be soon.

AR QB Kiehl Frazier will make a decision soon. Michigan has not approached the top of his list, so there's just about 0% chance he picks the Wolverines.

A couple tweets from Cincinnati Enquirer recruiting guru indicate that OH QB Braxton Miller is close to a decision:

Might be some update on Wayne QB Braxton Miller's college recruiting options the first week of June

Huber Heights Wayne junior QB Braxton Miller might have press conference June 3 to announce college decision.

Nothing's definite yet, but it sounds like his mind is made up anyway. Since we haven't heard differently, it's safe to assume that decision would be for Ohio State.

MI RB Justice Hayes has Northwestern on top, and one of his former leaders is sinking ($, info in header). Some Detroit newspaper of no repute indicates that it's probably Michigan.

Other

Tom grabbed a bunch of video at a practice in Chandler, Arizona, including some footage of QB Brett Hundley, who received a Michigan offer last week.

FL QB Kevin Sousa, like Demetrius Hart, was at the recent Alabama Nike camp:

Kevin Sousa (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) has been a frequent visitor to the Nike camps and the camp at Alabama was his third of the year... Sousa has great size and a huge arm but is still very raw. He continues to get better with each event and his confidence is growing. Sousa can make every throw and just needs to continue to improve his mechanics, tightening his release and understanding coverages and where to go with the football.

Shurburtt elaborates a little bit on his blog:

His arm strength and size has never been in question, but he’s improved his footwork and accuracy a great deal in a few short months. He’s also a high-character prospect that takes coaching well and has worked hard to step his game up.

On Saturday, he was very accurate and had even more zip on the ball that he normally does.

Raw, but plenty of upside. The "high-character" thing is new, but definitely a positive.

NJ RB Savon Huggins, who holds a Michigan offer, plans to narrow his list in July:

“I’ll have the top 10 by July, and I’ll cut mine down to a top five in the middle of the season,” Huggins said. “I will keep cutting down schools and stuff and then I plan to pick on signing day."

He says Rutgers is the only school guaranteed to make that cut, which means they're the likely favorite.

I actually removed FL WR/TE Kelvin Benjamin from the recruiting board recently, because there hadn't been much chatter of Michigan interest, but it sounds like the Wolverines are still after him:

“Florida has been down, everybody from Texas Tech to Rutgers, Oregon came down, Michigan, you know it’s just been going crazy in recruiting,” explained Benjamin. “A lot of offers and stuff like that coming in, just everybody been coming through. There will be like five recruiters at a one time coming through.”

Michigan is still lagging far behind in the race for his services, but it's good to see they're still pursuing this top prospect.

The Recruiting Guy has a questionnaire from AZ OL Andre Yruretagoyena. Andre is also evaluated by OregonLive's Ducks blog, which comes up with the following analysis:

On the field Yruretagoyena has a mean streak to him and he finishes blocks really well. He's also surprisingly quick for a man his size so like many of the successful Duck offensive linemen in the past, he could play on either side of the line before his time is through in college. He's got very long arms and has been described as a mauler in the run game.

Athletic, big, versatile... sounds like the prototypical Michigan guard, though the author seems to consider him a tackle.

PA DE Deion Barnes comes in for a round of fluff from the York Daily Record:

And some time in the next eight months Barnes must make the crucial decision of attending college. Penn State, Georgia, Michigan, Maryland, Pitt and South Carolina are some of his favorites.

He's had to overcome some definite adversity in his life, but has made the right decisions:

"I've seen good football players, good athletes, turn into drug dealers and get put in jail," he said. "But I have a father who pushes me. If I do something wrong in school (my parents) get on me.

Regardless of where he ends up, it's good to see he's staying on the straight-and-narrow.

A couple quick hits from Phil Kornblut's latest recruiting column:

DE Deon Lee (6-4, 210) of Defuniak Springs, Fla., continues to favor USC ahead of Louisville, Texas Tech and Michigan... He might visit Alabama, Michigan and South Florida this summer.

TE Jerrell Adams (6-5, 220) of Scotts Branch has seen his offer list grow to include Clemson, USC, Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame and Wake Forest. Adams said his top four are USC, Clemson, Illinois and Alabama with the Gamecocks still out front.

Adams is a new name here, but we were aware of Lee, who sounds like the more realistic grab.

KY LB Lamar Dawson will take his time making a decision, so don't expect a final choice from him until after his senior season. He also talks about his Michigan offer:

The Michigan offer surprised him. “It is a huge name in college football. They are still one of the top programs nationally and it’s really nice to be recruited by them,” Dawson said.

Seems like Michigan is a trophy offer, and not one he's that interested in pursuing further.

Etc.

OH S Eilar Hardy is the subject of Sam Webb's latest Detroit News article, but he doesn't so much as mention Michigan, so there's nothing to see here. IL OL Patrick Flavin is hoping for a Michigan offer. NJ Ath/WR Miles Shuler claims to be wide open, but Oklahoma could be a significant factor, according to JC Shurburtt. Recent offeree OH OL Ray Ball favors... Indiana? ($, info in header).