Wednesday Recruitin, For the Last Time Comment Count

Tim

This is my final post on mgoblog (aside from the remaining opponent previews, which are already written and should be published in the next week or so), so I'd like to thank everyone for reading, and of course Brian for the great opportunity over the past couple years. Congratulations and good luck to Ace and Heiko.

On to the recruiting...

Wide Receivin'

We already knew that Michigan was likely to take two wideouts in the 2012 class. The departure of Je'Ron Stokes changes that to a certainty, and even opens the door to taking a third.

Who are the main prospects on the board?

IA WR Amara Darboh finally has a highlight video on Youtube, thanks to 24/7 Sports:

Darboh has narrowed to a final five ($, info in header). Given that he's visiting Michigan for the season opener against Western, it's safe to say the Wolverines are in good position for him.

For those who were expecting a commitment from OH WR Monty Madaris at the BBQ and dismayed he didn't make it in, fear not, as Michigan's "stock is on the rise" ($, info in header) with him.

OH WR Dwayne Stanford participated in a chat with Rivals readers last week, and had a few things to say about Michigan:

Q: Will you take an official to Michigan?

Stanford: I don't know if Michigan will be one of my officials yet ... I only know Alabama and LSU so far.

Q: Since LSU isn't recruiting Adolphus does that move Michigan high on your list?

Stanford: Yes, it does ... it's something we've talked about ever since I started getting recruited. Michigan does have a chance .... especially with me and Adolphus both liking them. They made the short list. They're right there in the mix

Q: Has Michigan's 2012 recruiting class caught your attention?

Stanford: Yes, it has ....

Q: How important are academics to your decision, and do Michigan's strong academics help them?

Stanford: 1. They're important but college is what you make of it

2. Yes, it does ... I know they're a great academic school

Q: What was your favorite school as a kid?

Stanford: I would say it was Miami & Michigan when I was a kid ...

Conventional wisdom has Michigan outside his top group right now, but if the staff can get him on campus, they stand a chance. Stanford has eliminated Miami (YTM) thanks to their impending doom.

CA WR Jordan Payton is the other hot name on Michigan's board right now, and he'll visit Ann Arbor for the night game against Notre Dame.

Other Positions

IL OL Jordan Diamond is sticking to his plan of waiting until after his senior season to commit:

Diamond simply will not allow college recruiting to interfere with a high school season in which he hopes the Wolverines [ed: not those Wolverines] "finish the job" with a state title. "I'm not going to bring recruiting here to Simeon," Diamond said. "I'm not going to use that as a distraction to my teammates. I'm not even going to deal with it during the season, it's going to be after the season."

Though Michigan's coaches would love to have him, if the class fills up before he's ready to commit, Michigan won't be the choice. He's OK with missing out on opportunities by waiting:

Diamond doesn’t fear schools will rescind his scholarship offers as time passes. If some do, that’s fine with him. “Whoever wants me at the end,” Diamond said. “It’s going to be a dog fight. Anything is possible. The main thing is holding out and seeing where the real coaches are. The real coaches who stick there with you. That’s what I’m looking for.”

With Michigan's loss of Tony Posada, they may be more willing to wait on an elite lineman like Diamond. It probably means they'll take at least one more lineman.

Speaking of the offensive line, Duane Long ranks OH OL Commit Caleb Stacey as the #48 overall prospect in the Buckeye State:

The most underrated offensive lineman in Ohio. This kid is just a solid football player who has been well schooled. Ohio players get so much more exposure if the Buckeyes showed interest but Stacey is a guard, a very good guard. The Buckeyes have been offering tackles this year. I am sure we will see him in the Michigan starting lineup in three years time.

Go Caleb, go. Long's employer, Bucknuts, has ranked Caleb's fellow Michigan commit, OH DE Chris Wormley, as the top prospect in the Buckeye State.

Michigan is still on MI TE Ron Thompson's list, though it's unlikely that he could join Michigan's class.

NJ S Elijah Shumate has trimmed his list to six ($, info in header), and a quick glance at his profile page shows that Michigan is among the programs making the cut.

Happy Trails, GA WR Jason Croom, who committed to Tennessee. Michigan tossed him an offer in June, but he always seemed SEC-bound.

CA S Shaq Thompson doesn't include Michigan in his top 5, the schools to which he'll take official visits.

2013

24/7 Sports throws down the gauntlet in the race to be the first service to rate prospects, with their initial 5-stars for 2013, along with the Top247 prospects in the class. Of note, MI OL Steve Elmer was one of the prospects close to 5-star status.

Last week's Sam Webb recruiting column in the Detroit News covered MI LB Jon Reschke. He sounds just about as Green-and-White as they come, but Michigan is making a move:

A return trip to Ann Arbor a month later for the "Barbecue at the Big House" also earned significant praise. "I went down there with my good friends Shane Morris and Wyatt Shallman," Reschke said. "It was great. We got to see the whole campus, the whole Big House, the locker room — everything. It definitely made me want to go to Michigan a little bit more."

He says Michigan coaches are waiting to see film of him playing linebacker (he was a defensive end for Brother Rice last year) before they'll extend an offer. He wants to make a commitment prior to his senior season.

Duane Long continues to wonder why Ohio State hasn't offered OH S/RB Dymonte Thomas:

His offer list is better than most seniors to be and he has not even stepped on the field as a junior. His grades are outstanding. He is know to be a high character kid. His measurables are legit. The argument that the Buckeyes are so deep at running back carries no weight. Thomas may be a better safety than he is a running back. I think he is, and he could not care less which position he plays. Baffling non-offer.

He seems like a Michigan lean, and the longer it takes for OSU to offer, the more the Wolverines can build that lead. Additionally, if it takes the Buckeyes too long to offer, Thomas could help sway his cousin, 2012 OH RB Bri'Onte Dunn, to Michigan.

Duane Long runs through some more 2013 prospects of interest.

Comments

Bobby Digital

August 24th, 2011 at 11:14 AM ^

This boy was brought up in a time of blood and dying and never questioned a bit of it. He never turned his back on his folks or his kind. I rode with him... and I got no complaints. The blue bellies will give ya a better burial than I can, boy.

Baloo_Dance

August 24th, 2011 at 11:18 AM ^

Did Duane Long just rank the top 50 players in Ohio, then criticize his own list by saying Caleb is underrated?  

 

His ranking of Caleb is consistent with the 3 star ratings from Scout/Rivals/ESPN/247.  

El Jeffe

August 24th, 2011 at 11:19 AM ^

What they said, Tim.

Now then--who would Darboh's YMRMFSPA comparison be? At first I thought he was a mortal lock for Tai Streets, but there was something about his movement that brought Manningham to mind. Can anyone offer insight?

BrewCityBlue

August 24th, 2011 at 11:38 AM ^

I was watching the video before i saw your comment, i also thought Mario, with a little mix of a more possession-oriented Avant mixed in there. So, i guess my opinion is a hybrid of Mario and Avant. I'm not sure about Darboh's speed, but he seems to run decent routes and catch the ball smoothly. 

michgoblue

August 24th, 2011 at 11:37 AM ^

He isn't even listed as one of the 5* players for the class of 2013.

I know that he hasn't even played his junior, let alone senior, season, and that he dominated some of the elite summer camps despite being younger than the other QBs, but maybe we should rescind his offer? 

jamiemac

August 24th, 2011 at 12:05 PM ^

This could be the Last Time, this could be the Last Time, maybe the Last Time, I dont know......

RIP ASS MGOTIM

I look forward to more runaway cats in Ann Arbor and to copying and pasting your behind paywall insights in an MGoForum thread soon!

Sounds like the MGoPodcast Band is breaking up.....you'll have to sit in on one of the soon-to-debut JCB ones sometime this fall. Otherwise, see ya on Gameday and good luck with the new gig.

goblueSTL

August 24th, 2011 at 2:01 PM ^

Had 4 receptions for 87 yards, including a 42 yard touchdown in the season opener last week.  I caught some of the game on a webcast and he was in double coverage most of the night.  He also returns kicks, but the opposing kicker was avoiding him like the plague.

bouje13

August 24th, 2011 at 12:23 PM ^

I'm not going to lie when I saw that both Tim and Tom were both moving on to greener pastures I thought MGoBlog was being bought out and prepared for the worst.
<br>
<br>It's really going to be different without Tim and Tom but I'm sure ace and heiko will do fine.
<br>
<br>Good luck Tim!

M-Wolverine

August 24th, 2011 at 12:34 PM ^

And we'd be glad to have him. But this part-

 

 

The main thing is holding out and seeing where the real coaches are. The real coaches who stick there with you. That’s what I’m looking for.”

 

Is a bit disingenuous. If you have 5 coaches who stick with you till after the season, you're still only going to choose one of them. To expect coaches to revolve their whole recruiting class around you just because you might pick them is a bit short-sighted. To say you don't have to give any committment, but they should stay committed to you....come on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jon Benke

August 24th, 2011 at 12:45 PM ^

Our strong 2012 OL class might scare him away, though I am hoping the kid wants to be apart of that.  I think Notre Dame and Michigan State are high on him, I just hope that he looks at what Michigan is doing, and gives us a real look .. oh, and protecting Shane Morris can't hurt your chances of winning down the line.  Sucks that it's down to us versus two rivals.

J. Lichty

August 24th, 2011 at 1:17 PM ^

in an interview with TomVH, posted a few months ago Elmer's dad does not consider kids one class ahead of Steve to be an impediment to early playing time.  He believes that Steve is on a level playing field to compete with those guys He is focussed on depth chart ahead of the 2012 class and whether there are entrenced starters/heir apparents.

I would appear with the dearth of o-linemen, and especially takcles in the last two classes, it is a favorable depth chart for Elmer.