TVH Weekly: Armani Reeves, Allen Gant, Adolphus Washington, and More
Michigan has been on a roll with commitments so far with the 2012 class. What may be more impressive than the number of commitments is how they're getting kids to change their decision timelines. They've had a number of prospects that were thought to be waiting until after their season pull the trigger. That trend might continue in the near future. Here's a look at this week's happenings.
Armani Reeves
5'11", 185 lbs
Cornerback
West Roxbury, Massachusetts
Reeves has had Michigan and Penn State at the top of his list for a little while now, but he's decided to bring his top two public.
Penn State and Michigan are the top two. I know I'll be back up to Michigan in June. I'm really not sure if my decision timeline will be moved up or not. It probably depends on how my visits go.
Armani has said he wants to wait to make his decision, but he's also aware of Michigan's situation with defensive back offers and Terry Richardson's commitment.
I hope I can take my time with all this, so we'll see what happens. The coaches told me they want two corners and two safeties, and since Terry [Richardson] committed so early that plan kind of shifted up. They want me for corner, and Penn State said that I could play on both sides of the ball and special teams, so we'll see.
Reeves said the Michigan coaches haven't brought up offense with him, but you'd think they would allow him to try any spot where he can help. He said he'll try to clear that up with the coaches when he visits in June.
Allen Gant
6'2", 210 lbs.
Safety
Sylvania, Ohio
Michigan recently offered Gant, and he told me he will be up to Ann Arbor in roughly two weeks. The Michigan offer came with much excitement from both Allen and his father, former Wolverine, Tony Gant. The elder Gant talked to me about how this affect's Allen's recruitment and how he feels about his son receiving an offer from his alma mater.
As a dad I was so elated, I always wanted Allen to follow in my footsteps. I think he'll make his decision in the next month or so, and right now he's leaning towards Michigan. That's a dream come true to have him potentially go to my alma mater. As a former player for Michigan, we have to do it right the first time. We can't bring in anyone we don't think is going to contribute to the team. It doesn't hurt that Allen is my son, but if he can't play football, he can't play football. That's not the case with Allen, he can play. I'm just elated all the way around.
Gant also shed some light on his son's national ranking, and what a program would be getting with his son.
They're going to get a student athlete who's full of character and leadership. You have to look at those qualities, he has to be smart, be a student athlete, and be a leader. From the football aspect he reminds me of [former Wolverine] Keith Bostic, as far as his aggressiveness. He loves to hit, he's a big safety. An analyst asked me why he's not nationally known, and it's because we knew it would probably come down to Michigan and Ohio State. We never went to any combines or camps, so his name wasn't really out there that much.
Tony also mentioned the fact that he and Allen both know where they stand with the Michigan coaches, and where everyone else is at in the process.
We have to be aware of how many kids they have committed and who they're recruiting, but we know exactly where we stand with the coaches. We know that Michigan really wants him. We were going to sit back and wait until February, but that was basically from me. I went through the recruiting process in high school and my dad was dying. I didn't get a chance to enjoy the process. Early on I wanted him to travel a little bit and meet some of the great coaches, but deep down we knew he would stay in the midwest. Plus with a program like Michigan, they have the right to be selective. They go after the best, sometimes you can't wait until the last minute to make that decision.
Mr. Gant said that they have been hearing from more and more schools now that the Michigan offer has come through. Purdue, Nebraska, and Michigan State all came down since Michigan offered. Like his father said, I would expect a decision shortly.
Adolphus Washington
6'4", 230 lbs.
Defensive End
Cincinnati, Ohio
Washington and his teammate WR Dwayne Stanford have been a hot topic lately. They have both expressed interest in Michigan, and while I still think Ohio State will be hard to beat Adolphus recently released his top five schools.
My top five is Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Kentucky, and Miami. Michigan is recruiting me really hard and I know they want to play young talent so that's why they're in there. Me and Dwayne are supposed to [visit Ann Arbor] this weekend.
That's the weekend of the 27th. A few months ago I would have thought Michigan wasn't really in the running, and even up until recently I wasn't sure how much of a chance they would have. I think there is some serious interest in Michigan from both prospects. Both plan on waiting to announce their decision at an All American game so there's plenty of time for Michigan to catch up.
Where does Michigan stand?
It's unknown for sure how many scholarships will be available come February, but the consensus is that there will probably be somewhere around 22. With that being said, Michigan is in great shape with:
Defensive backs:
As Armani Reeves said above, the Michigan coaches might take 2 corners and 2 safeties. They have Terry Richardson already on board, so that's one corner. Reeves said the coaches want him for cornerback. Wayne Morgan has Michigan as his outright leader, and can play either safety or cornerback. Allen Gant is a safety, and as I noted above could pull the trigger soon. The same goes for Anthony Standifer position wise, but he could decide to wait a little while before making his decision. I still think Michigan leads for Standifer though. Michigan leads for three of the four, and is in the top two for Reeves. Barring anything weird happening you will probably see 2-3 of these prospects in Michigan's class.
Offensive line:
Ben Braden and Caleb Stacey are the two commitments on the offensive line so far. Michigan would like to take 5-6 for this class, and some have said that TE commit AJ Williams could move over to tackle if the coaches wanted him to. That's a luxury. They have positioned themselves well with kids like Jordan Diamond and Erik Magnuson, who happen to be the 209th and 34th overall prospects in the country to Rivals. Both are also four stars on other sites. Magnuson will take an official to Michigan and I have a feeling there's a very good chance he picks the Wolverines.
They also still have a chance with Zach Banner, since he has said he will take an official visit to Michigan. Colorado OL Paul Thurston recently visited Michigan and came away very impressed. There's a good chance that Michigan will make his final cut as well. Banner is the 31st overall prospect and Thurston is ranked 137th. Without even mentioning a few other prospects Michigan has a great shot with like Shane Callahan [191st overall] and Trey Keenan, Michigan has a shot with the number 31, 34, 137, and 209th overall prospects in the country all on the offensive line. That would quite the haul.
Defensive line:
Commitments from Mario Ojemudia [hybrid DE/LB], Pharaoh Brown, and Matt Godin have given Michigan a solid start with the defensive line. They would probably like to add two tackles and another strong side defensive end to go with Matt Godin.
The name that seams to pop up the most for that position is Chris Wormley. Michigan is the leader for Chris, and he recently told me he thinks he's getting close to a decision. As mentioned above Adolphus Washington has Michigan in his top five, and it looks like they will get a strong look. Outside of those two Michigan fans are to be very excited about Missouri DT Ondre Pipkins, who's originally from Saginaw. I believe that Michigan has a very good chance with Pipkins, who is also thinking about moving his decision date up. He just won the DL MVP at the stacked Columbus Nike camp.
Instate DT Danny O'Brien was being recruited this weekend by the Michigan commitments at the Nike camp in Columbus. His recruitment has been interesting, so we'll have to wait and see what happens with him. Illinois DT Jaleel Johnson and indiana DT Sheldon Day are very much in the conversation, although I believe interest from Day could be slightly slipping. Ohio DE Tom Strobel was in Ann Arbor this past weekend, so he should probably be on this list as well. I'm in the process of getting a hold of Strobel to discuss the visit as we speak.
DT Jarron Jones is "committed" to Penn State for now, but says he will visit Michigan. His commitment is very soft at this point, and he's interested in checking out what Michigan has to offer. These are the likely candidates, as of now, to take up the spots for the rest of Michigan's defensive line class. As always I'll give you the "Anything can happen, so don't take this as 100%" warning. There are a few other prospects, like Georgia DE Jordan Jenkins who say they will visit that might move up. Until they visit though we'll keep this list as it is. Although Illinois DE/DT Faith Ekakitie was recently offered I'm not sure on how much interest is there yet from Faith. He'll have to get to know the program and coaches a little more before anything serious.
Extra:
There is a "silent commit" right now on the defensive side of the ball. He's not sure when he wants to make it public yet, so when he gives the OK I will let you know.
DT Ondre Pipkins was named the D Line MVP at the Nike camp in Columbus. Here's some pictures of him, as well as Michigan commits Terry Richardson, Shane Morris, Mario Ojemudia, and James Ross at the event. Pictures are from ESPN Rise Flickr account. Someone asked me recently if Pipkins had made his top group public. He said it was supposed to be private, but an analyst ran with it so it's out there. Michigan is in very good shape with Pipkins, his visit in June will be pretty big.
OL Jordan Diamond told me that he will probably be making his decision sooner than expected. He wants to try to visit all the schools he's already been to one more time, then decide.
This is why Tom is who he is, hes not going break the kids trust by telling us because a few of us cant wait. Good job Tom.
Thanks Tom. Sounds like things are still rolling. Who would have thought we would be seeing this type of excitement from recruits back when "The Process" was going on! Magnuson and Banner would be great gets (along with Diamond). Washington and Stanford would be awesome!
unless we end up taking a full class of 25. Assuming we take 2 more DEs, 2 DTs and 2 more DBs, that leaves 4 spots for QB, OL, RB and WR. I gotta figure we take at least 2 more OL, which means we're either going to have to pass on taking a QB/WR or see if scholarships open up (obviously with no intention of doing anything remotely skeezy to get extra scholarships).
Am I missing something?
We currently have 12 commits +1 silent = 13 total
Add in 2 DE, 2DT and 2 DB would bring the number up to 19 total which would leave 6 spots (not 4) available on offense if we sign a class of 25.
they expect a class of around 22. Assuming that's the case, the numbers seem really tight.
Oh, I see, I was basing my comment on your mention of UM signing 25 in the class. My bad.
That said, I can't see how they don't take 2/3 more OL.
I still don't think a QB/RB are as important as OL.
It's that we need to be well-stocked at all positions.
It would be a shame to have a season down the road with a monster defense derailed because of a lack of quarterback depth.
I hope this was sarcasm, QB depth is going to be one of this team's strengths for the years to come. Next year we'll have DR/Gardner/Bellomy, and the year after that Gardner/Morris(possible redshirt?)/Bellomy. And that is assuming we don't take a QB in this class. We will hopefully never ever see the Sheridan-Threet shenanigans from years past again.
It's also worth noting that our new (old) style of play should keep our QBs from getting hit as much as the spread option. Of course, Matt Stafford would argue that a QB can get hurt in the pro style as well, but hopefully they take less punishment.
Tom says "They would probably like to add two tackles and another strong side defensive end"
So, thats 3 more DL for a toal of 6 DL. 4 LBs already. 1 DB plus, we'll say, 3 additional, makes for a total of 14 on defense.
For offense:
"Michigan would like to take 5-6" OL and has told Morris that they'll take a QB. Add in the 2 TE commits and that give you at least 8 for offense.
Thats 22 total scholarships.
The implication there is that if they take any RB, FB, WR it will be if scholarships open up. Otherwise, or if some of the elite players they've offered to-date for these positions was to commit, the coaches would go sacrifice numbers at one of the other positions they said above. The need at these positions is not for numbers, but for high-end/impact talent. So, they don't really have to take anyone.
Keep in mind this is what the coaches would like, ideally, to take, not necessarily what they will take. For elite talent, they'll be flexible.
I agree with what you say, but I have a feeling that the coaches want to take a WR in this class no matter what. It is hard to say without official word from the coaches. But the number of offers given to WR gives the impression that they want one for this class.
this is all so good and such a great luxury - thanks Tom! Such professionalism too - not spoiling a kid's commitment :)
Why wasn't Morgan mentioned in the weekly update? Is he the silent commit?
Wayne Morgan has Michigan as his outright leader, and can play either safety or cornerback
Thanks. I missed that line.
I think this might be our mystery #13.
Its quite the mystery........
Is it as big as the mystery of the missing apostrophes?
Very disappointing to hear we are losing ground with Day. I thought he was the most likely of the DT recruits to end up at UM. I wonder if he is being "influenced" by his Buckeye-loving coach?
I also want to mention how much I HATE seeing these kind of major events taking place at the OSU campus. This is basically like getting unoffical visits from all of these elite recruits for the OSU program. I seriously doubt that they (OSU coaches) aren't taking advantage of this in some unethical way.
That was a mistake on my part. Adding him now, and I'll have an update on him during the week.
I'm almost impressed that you could read such a positive update on Michigan recruiting and still walk away so pissy.
Personally, I'm really frustrated that we aren't landing both Kiel and Pike this year in addition to Morris next year.
I can always find the gray cloud in any silver lining. That's just the way I roll.
Maybe but when three of Michigans commits are wearing Michigan hats at their its ok.
at their? come on.
come on...
I know its this damn smart phone that isnt smart.
You mean like the Auburn player who was offered sex when he visited Columbus?
Skeezy assed Buckeyes...who'd fuck anything walking around down there anyway? I mean who besides me?
Double post fail.
It might be hard to host a Nike Elite camp since we are an Adidas school now.
Diamond wants to make another round of visits to everyone he has already seen? Isn't that like 15 schools?
He meant he wants to take some more visits to schools he's already seen. Not including every school he's visited, but he wants to take a second visit to a handful of them plus maybe a few new ones.
oh ok, I know he said he likes to visit new places but to think he was only halfway through his visits caught me off guard and surprised me.
Those pictures of Ondre Pipkins are impressive. That is s scary looking kid. He also has fantastic taste in hair styles
With a good year and Rivals expanding their 5 star selection I can see it happening as well. They only have 17 5 stars at this moment.
And he's already one of the world's strongest men! http://www.theworldsstrongestman.com/wsm_legends.php
With all this good news i'm now suffering from kid in an candy store itus!!!
GoBlue
You and me both
I'm getting totally fidgety, checking the site every ten seconds to see if the silent commit has announced yet, or one of the others that seems ready to jump on board . . .
Any word on Evan Boehm, scout has him listed as having high interest. Just wondering if you knew anything concerning him Tom.
There's not a lot new with him as of last week. He plans on trying to get out to Michigan for a visit, he's just not sure when yet. Until that visit happens I don't think he'll know how he feels about them.
Thanks for all the great info.
Offensively I would like to see us get 1 or 2 receivers, maybe 1 elite RB and a QB. Add that to 3 more lineman. This staff is talking numbers that lead me to believe we are going to take a full class of 25.
That would be a monster OL haul that Tom outlined, so a cursory look at the reciprocal is in order. From the candidates Tom mentioned:
DE Jordan Jenkins #56 (5.9)
DT Jarron Jones #67 (5.9)
DE Adolphus Washington #86 (5.9)
DE Faith Ekakitie #100 (5.8)
DT Jaleel Johnson #140 (5.8)
DT Danny O'Brien #222 (5.8)
DT Ondre Pipkins #246 (5.8)
DE Chris Wormley UR (5.7)
None of our current recruits are listed in the top 250, although Pharaoh Brown's Rivals Rating of 5.8 means he's in the top 300. Chris Wormley's 5.7 lands him in the top 750 (5.5-5.7 are top 750; so he's somewhere in the top 450.) Ojemudia and Godin were unrated (/not evaluated?)
Danny O'Brien has Pitt, ND, Bama, Wiskie and MSU as his top 5 (according to Rivals.) I'm assuming that with Fred Jackson recruiting Mr. O'Brien and the Ondre Pipkins visit looming, those are our two most likely candidates at DT. With Wormley likely to snag up the last DE slot on the recruiting roster, I'm guessing the coaches would only likely make room for Jenkins, Jones or Washington to round out a monster D-line haul.
That's #222, #246 (and rising?), #300, #450 and two unrateds rounded out with a potential #56-86. For those of you who love mathematical placement, that's 5 recruits among the nation's 99.8th percentile of highschool senior football players.
They just did the 3 stars who were close to being 4 stars.
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