TVH Weekly: Jehu Chesson, Eric Olson, Jarron Jones, and More
The evaluation period is over, which means no more off campus visits by the coaches. There is a quiet period from now until July 31st. A quiet period allows a coach to write or call a prospect and recruits can visit the school's campus.
So the next big events for Michigan will be unofficial visits and camp (June 19th-23rd). Here's a look at what could be happening in the near future, and where a few other prospects are at in their recruitment. As always you can follow me on Twitter at TomVH, and feel free to email me with tips or questions at [email protected].
Jehu Chesson
6'3", 175 lbs.
Wide Receiver
St. Louis, Missouri
Chesson received an offer from Michigan this past week, and it was one that he thought would be coming in soon.
They had been looking at me for awhile, and they told me that I'm among eight kids that they were evaluating. Coach Hecklinski visited my school and they didn't offer right away, but he said to hang in there with them. He finally told me that the staff wanted me and they offered.
Jehu is an interesting prospect because he had been recruited by the old Michigan staff, and actually knew them better than the current staff.
We visited campus last summer. I kind of wanted to see it so we sacrificed a little and made the trip. They obviously have a different coaching staff from last year. Right now I just need to build that relationship with them. I know Coach Hecklinski. The number one thing for me is to have a role in the offense. I'm a receiver, I'm a little bias to having the ball in my hands. I can control how good I become, but they're the ones that choose how to use me.
Chesson plans to take his time with his recruitment, and wants to wait to see what schools offer before he makes any decisions.
I'll take all of my official visits. I would definitely consider Michigan for an official visit because it's not a place I can easily get to. Take an official to Michigan would make more sense than a place like Mizzou. I want to narrow my list down at the end of the summer. It should be a pretty long list still but at least I'll be getting it somewhere. After that I'll try to get a top five.
Michigan would obviously like to land a receiver in this class and it looks like this is one position that they'll have to wait to find out who they get. Chesson plans on waiting, Dwayne Stanford wants to announce later in his season, and Aaron Burbridge has some work to do in the classroom.
Eric Olson
6'6", 265 lbs.
Offensive Line
Cambridge, Massachusetts
I mentioned this past week that Olson would be visiting Michigan this Tuesday (the 7th). His Michigan offer came in recently and Michigan will be the last school he sees.
About two months back Coach Mallory said that the offensive line coach had watched my highlights and loved them. We kept in contact and I told him the interest was mutual. Eventually about three weeks ago they pulled the trigger and offered me.
Some prospects only say that academics are a big part of their decision but Olson's final list makes it clear he means it.
I really want a school that combines academics and athletics. It's something that's really important to me and I've told a number of schools not to waste their time recruiting me because of their academic standing. I have a 3.2 GPA, but I'm at a very rigorous private school and I scored a 1930 on the SAT and a 29 on the ACT.
So yeah, he's pretty serious about that. Olson says he's playing everything by ear, but he would like to have a decision made by mid summer. With Michigan being the last visit and a good combination of what he's looking for, they have a good shot.
Jarron Jones
6'5", 308 lbs.
Defensive Tackle
Rochester, New York
Jones has been committed to Penn State for some time, but has said that he will continue to visit schools. Michigan is one of the programs he and his family would like to see more of. I spoke with his mother about where he's at, and when he should be at Michigan.
If you asked Jarron he would say Penn State was the best place for him, but that was after visiting Rutgers and Pitt. Before talking to me and his dad he told a reporter that he was committed to Penn State. We said he should have talked to us first. He does feel he loves Penn State and Larry Johnson was the first person to critique Jarron. I loved that because I don't want someone to feed my son, he needs reality. Life is reality, and he needs a dose of that. It's not that we don't like Penn State, if that's still the best place for him then Penn State it is. We're going to discuss it as a family.
As far as what schools they're looking into now, his mother outlined some of the programs they like and how they feel about distance from home.
He told the Florida coaches he's not really interested in going that far, and we're not interested in him going to the west coast. I want to be able to get to him if something were to happen. Virginia Tech is a school he's loved since childhood so we'll be going there. We're going to Michigan in June when we visit Notre Dame at the end of June. At the end of July we'll go out to Louisville and maybe Ohio State.
The Jones family doesn't know too much about Michigan yet, but they're eager to learn more.
I called and talked to Coach Montgomery. We had a long talk and he seemed excited to get us up there. Me personally, I have no real knowledge of Michigan. I understand that they're a great institution. Jarron has some knowledge as far as the football side of things. I told Michigan that I would like to see their APR score for the last few years, too. I need to know the coaches are going to do a good job of being a mentor to him. It's very important for us to know what type of coaches they have.
These visits will help their family get to know everyone, and help them figure out where the best place for Jarron is. There obviously won't be a decision until after the visits are done, so they won't know anything at least until after July. [Ed: APR score should come with lots of explaining.]
Extra:
California OL Erik Magnuson is visiting on the 10th. I outlined this in the last Weekly Update, and he has Michigan as his number one team. This is a very big visit for Michigan, very big.
Massachusetts DB Armani Reeves told me that he has dropped Michigan from his list. He says he is no longer going to camp at Michigan, but will visit Notre Dame instead. His list is Penn State and Notre Dame now.
As you can see New York DB Wayne Morgan decided to hold off on making his announcement. There probably won't be room for him once he's ready to decide, since he wants to take his official visits now.
Ohio S Jarrod Wilson did visit Michigan last week, and now has Michigan in his top three with Penn State and Notre Dame. I should have more from his coach Ricky Powers this week. Wilson could potentially be making his visit in the near future.
I will outline a list of recruits that I think Michigan could get, or is in good shape with sometime this week. There's been a lot of people asking about that, so I'll post that soon. I'm trying to confirm a few visits, so I'll post those when I get them as well.
For everyone asking about DE Chris Wormley, he does have Michigan as number one right now, but still hasn't decided when he wants to make a decision. I'd imagine it won't go too long though.
...a potential Gunner Kiel visit?
The coaches better start developing a good answer to explain Michigan's APR. Jones' Mom is seriously in control of this process.
Magnuson's visit is potentially big, very big for Michigan. That's fitting.
Haven't seen it anywhere but here.
...validity to it. Hoping Tom has some insight to share.
No idea. I think it just started out as wishful thinking by some individuals, and grew as these things do...
It would be fairly easy to explain our APR: RR and the CC. But it is more important if Hoke had a good APR at San Diego State and Ball State
Penn State is known for using their graduation rates, especially for black athletes, as a selling point.
Come to Penn State, the Grambling of the Northeast.
He said Michigan's recent DB commits gave him pause, but ND has Darby and Shepard already committed.
Best of luck to him regardless.
I would be shocked if he didnt end up at PSU.
Nevermind, see this covered a couple posts down...
I think ND is set to take a large DB class relative to us.
They're looking for 10-11 guys to fill the open DB, WR and RB positions in this class. How exactly they all shake out won't be set in stone until they make it to campus.
Certain guys will be more likely to end up in certain positions of course, I don't expect to ever see Baratti line up at receiver but a recruit like Prosise certainly could
I agree. We have 2 CB's and 1 S, while ND has 2 CB's and 2 S's already committed. My only explanation is if ND told Reeves they would try him at WR as well. I still think we knew pulling Camren Williams and Reeves from PSU from the start would have been difficult, and that is where I'm sure Reeves will end up.
ND was always there for Reeves and they may have offered him a shot a receiver if they think he is capable, it would certainly fit the recruiting strategy this year.
It sounds more like UM said commit now or you don't have an offer. It seems to have been pretty mutual to move on for both parties.
It would be nice to get Magnuson to verbal on the 10th. That should get the ball rolling for our other OT's we are pursuing. Has Pipkins made any comments on when he intends to make his decision? I think we have a pretty good shot with him after reading his last interview.
Nothing concrete. He wants to do some summer visits for sure. Could decide before season or wait and take his officials. Wouldn't expect anything in the near future.
First Morgan, and now Reeves. Wonder what is happening with our secondary recruits. If Jarrod Wilson goes our way, all will be forgotten though.
And how great could the Magnuson visit be? If he likes UM before the visit, you'd think his opinion will only improve afterward . . .
"this will be a very big visit for Michigan" stuff that he's been doing for a couple weeks as a not very subtle hint.
There were some major hints around Wayne Morgan, too. I think the hope is that with Magnusson, the feelings don't change. I mean, look at Reeves, too. Just weird how these things play out day to day, week to week.
because he had committed to Michigan. I'm not saying Magnuson has committed to Michigan, just that Tom doesn't usually make statements like these without good reason for optimism.
Morgan was the (only) silent commit.
Tom was right at the time Morgan was the silent as AAB said and was going to commit to MIchigan on June 2nd. It seemed more that Hoke and co cooled on him because they had Standifer and Gant commit days before him. That's why Wilson somehow came out of no where after not hearing about him for a while. Thoughts simply are they wanted two of each and Gant and Wilson are the only two legit safeties right now.
He could just be referring to the fact that Magnusson is 6'6"/275 lb. Literally speaking, that does constitute a "very big" visit.
Yeah, that Morgan thing confused me, and now with Reeves? I'm wondering if this goes back to the coaches specifically wanting a safety, rather than a CB. Although there was recent talk about Yuri Wright, so who knows.
The coaches have stated they want to wrap the recruiting class up a couple months before Signing Day so they can move on to 2013.
Reeves felt pressure to commit right now and decided to alter course, just like the coaching staff.
It's no big deal.
we all thought we'd get either morgan or reeves. reeves is going to penn st. to be with his teammate, i bet. i wonder if the coaches can get back in on morgan. i know we all say that ship has sailed, but we don't know the internal politics.
Any updates on who our upcoming visitors will be? I keep hearing more and more names.
Jarron Jones is going to be interesting to watch-I just have this extreme faith that this coaching staff is going to be able to sell exactly what his mom is looking for.
So nothing to look forward to with regard to Kiel committing soon, eh Tom?
I'm not that worried about Reeves/Morgan now that we have Standifer, but I really, really hope we get Jarrod Wilson since he might be the best of the bunch.
I am of the same opinion as you in that I was highest on Wilson from the beginning. A true safety with the skill set he has would be a great pickup for UM. I am anxious to see how things pan out with this kid and hope the fact Ricky Powers is his coach will put us over the top.
did they change SAT scoring recently? thought it capped out at 1600
it's been a 2400 point system for 5 or 6 years. (800 math + 800 reading + 800 writing)
They added a writing section. Now there are 3 800 point sections totaling 2400. His 1929 corresponds roughly to a 1286.
It actually corresponds to a 1386. The 1900 level on the new scoring system is equal to 1380 in the old scoring system. Either way, it's around the 90th percentile, which is damn impressive.
Beyond being a top recruit, it's fun for me to see that Jaron Jones is from Rochester, since that's my hometown. His mom sort of touched on academics a little bit; it might be of interest that the school he attends in Rochester is pretty decent academically, though his parents may have just wanted to keep him out of the Rochester public schools, which are nothing special. It doesn't sound like academics will be the deciding factor, but it certainly can't hurt.
I don't really care about Reeves or Morgan now. We've got 8 cornerbacks in the fold for 2012, and there are bigger needs. I've always thought Reeves would follow Camren Williams to PSU, so we'll see if that happens...
But reading between the lines, it sure seems as though the Standifer commitment blew up Morgan and Reeves' interest in Michigan. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the coaches backed off on recruiting them.
Hopefully we can pull Jarrod Wilson and be done with defensive back recruiting.
Magnus, how would you rank the possible defensive backs in order of your personal preference? (Including Reeves, Gant, Wilson, Standifer and Morgan)
1. Wilson
2. Richardson
3. Standifer
4. Reeves
5. Morgan
6. Gant
What was the strategy behind offering Gant? The need for a true safety instead of Reeves/Morgan, who seem to be DBs, or maybe DB/safety hybrids?
You're asking the wrong person. I don't understand the offer, unless it's just a way to keep former players happy by offering their sons. I don't think Gant is very good.
According to others, Gant was injured junior year, and also "rested on his laurels." He's supposedly had a tremendous off-season which warranted the offer.
Also...Ohio State asked him to hold off on committing, so, he must've been doing something well the past few months.
I was looking for!
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<br>Thanks
Being injured is one thing.
Resting on one's laurels is not a good quality.
Offering Gant might be because of the need for another big safety. Last year, the only "safeties" we took were CBs who could play S, and neither were above 175lbs, and I haven't heard many safeties in the 2012 class being high on us (Morgan was another one of those tweeners) except maybe Wilson, but he's very much up in the air.
If we don't get a SS in this class, we'll be back to underclassmen safeties once the TGordon/MRob/Carvin class graduates.
We've also got Furman at SS, who's only a redshirt freshman.
I'm not upset that we offered a kid who already has the size, and apparently the "know-how" to play safety, and hoping he develops a little athletically.. Instead of offering a small kid who we hope will eventually have the size to play the S position.
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