’23 Recruiting Board (FB)

Submitted by Rzr on December 8th, 2021 at 10:51 AM

While there is an important game coming up on the 31st between Michigan and Georgia, there is an undercard fight playing out today on the recruiting front.  The two programs are going head to head to land the commitment of Top 70 LB Raylen Wilson out of Tallahassee, FL for the class of 2023.  Wilson is expected to announce his decision at 3pm this afternoon.  Based on the recruiting board, a lot of people are betting on Michigan winning this first battle. 

Raylen Wilson Game Tape

As for the rest of the board, I will leave this here and provide updates as we go. 




 

The changes made to the coaching staff last year will be paying for this cycle.

 

Go Blue!

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Magnum P.I.

December 8th, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^

Thanks for posting. The board was helpful to see, as I haven't followed recruiting much the last few years. 

What's the buzz on Dante Moore? Any insider bitz as to his leanings? Exciting prospect.

What's the story on Jalen Thompson? It's always weird to me when a highly rated kid chooses MSU. 

Joined: 07/16/2009

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AZBlue

December 8th, 2021 at 11:55 AM ^

MSU hired his old coach out of Cass Tech in a non on-the-field capacity - hence the CBs to the Spartans.

I thought the original consensus was that he was not eligible to go to MSU due to the NCAA rules - aka 2-year ban on recruiting kids when doing this (unless it was an on-field position).  I have seen some chat from the Spartan side of things that they can skirt that IF he doesn't sign or Enroll until after the 2 year time-period expires which would be June-ish (?) timeframe in 2023.

Joined: 09/14/2008

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OldSchoolWolverine

December 8th, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^

Thanks RZR for doing this. It's good work...  but I take one exception....The "must have" generational talent on Moore...  does he have exceptional leadership qualities like Cade ?    Or do we have another Milton ?

I thought at the time that Magnus was nuts for the crappy grade he had on Cade...    he admitted his error .  But many people need to re evaluate what is important at QB and not just athleticism., And not fall for the Miltons of the world.

Joined: 11/03/2013

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SanDiegoWolverine

December 8th, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^

OldSchool, what are you even talking about? What do Moore and Milton have in common other than both of them are quarterbacks? If you read any articles about Moore it sounds like his team loves him and he has high football IQ. He's a legit 5-start. 

Also, Milton organized a lot of practices outside of the season and countable hours, if anything it was McCaffrey that people questioned when it came to leadership. Either way it's an extremely lazy and uninformed take.

Joined: 02/03/2009

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OldSchoolWolverine

December 8th, 2021 at 12:19 PM ^

I only take exception to calling ANY qb a "must get", when if you consider, our even our resident Magnus thought that McNamara was a dud... go back and read up on him.  People here were in the same delirium over Shane Morris.   I have no idea if Moore has those intangibles, and apologize that it came across that way....  but again, I take exception to using those adjectives for any QB, because the way they seem to be measured, we have gotten burned.  That is all.

Joined: 11/03/2013

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DMack

December 8th, 2021 at 10:40 PM ^

You never really know about any of these kids until they reach that next level. It's fairly easy for a kid that's taller, bigger and/or faster to dominate the H.S. game because most of the kids they play against lack those same attributes. Unless of course they play for programs like IMG, that play against other top level athletes and are basically feeder schools for colleges. In those schools players stands out, not just because they're big and athletic, or because their playing against 5 ft. slow kids. Once they get to the college level and play against other grown men who are equally as gifted physically, then you see who has it and who doesn't or who can be coached into it and who can't.

I remember a kid who use to play in the Detroit PAL league who was running for 300 yards a game and scoring touchdowns at will. His nickname was the man-child and everyone thought he was the second coming of Jesus. unfortunately, he never grew into a player who could do that against physically gifted players who knew how to play the game. My guess is Dante has come thru the same Detroit proving ground since he was 7 or 8 and folks have been watching him light it up for years. The difference is Donte has the size, athleticism and IQ. Joe Milton was simply big and had a canon for an arm. He wasn't accurate, he couldn't read defenses he wasn't a great runner and he couldn't manage game time pressure well enough to play on the biggest stage. Only time will tell if Donte can do it against the big boys but word is, he got game and I trust the programs he's been associated with.

 

Joined: 06/22/2015

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ak47

December 8th, 2021 at 11:38 AM ^

There is no indication from his time playing that Milton had any sort of leadership issues. Milton wasn't an exceptional talent, he had an arm canon that he didn't know how to use and the hope was that he could improve the accuracy. Milton was a borderline 3 star/4 star who completed 50% of his passes in high school.

There is essentially no comparison between the two and its a weird shot at the character of Milton for no reason.

Joined: 05/05/2011

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Magnus

December 8th, 2021 at 1:00 PM ^

I'll take my lumps for giving McNamara a low grade, but keep in mind that my grades are based on how I see their career playing out at Michigan. I thought McCaffrey and/or Milton would be entrenched as a starter, and I just didn't think McNamara would wait until 2022 or 2023 to play in Ann Arbor. Based on the number of QB transfers, I still believe that to be accurate...*if* McCaffrey/Milton had panned out. 

From my McNamara commitment post (LINK):

Overall, I like McNamara. It’s really not a very deep 2019 class of quarterbacks, but McNamara has some potential. He’s not a prototypical Jim Harbaugh quarterback (a.k.a. a 6’4″, 210 lb. guy), so it will be curious to see if this signals that Michigan is moving in a bit of a new direction. Anyway, one thing I alluded to up above is that I am not impressed with McNamara’s offensive line. Maybe it’s just the plays selected for his highlight film, but he is constantly running for his life and taking hits, and he doesn’t even appear to be a jittery guy who takes off too early. The highlights below just show a guy who needs to create as soon as he catches the shotgun snap. As I watch his film, I can’t help being reminded of Russell Wilson with his size, mobility, and throwing mechanics.

Joined: 07/17/2008

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Quailman

December 8th, 2021 at 3:52 PM ^

What a strange comment(s) to make. 

How do you take exception to a QB's skill/ranking, when, since you have to follow that up asking questions about him, it seems like you may not have a good read on him yet?

But I suppose thats because, reading the rest of your comment, that you are better at evaluating QB's and intangibles than everyone else

Joined: 08/30/2013

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Blue In NC

December 8th, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^

Thanks for the info and the update on Raylen Wilson.  I had not been following that closely.  I am not usually hopeful about a top100 player out of FL choosing MI over GA but let's hope it goes our way.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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AZBlue

December 8th, 2021 at 11:36 AM ^

I don't subscribe to the premium sites but I think you may want to add Luke Montgomery - Top 100 4* OT from OH to the list.  He has an OSU CB - (OSU writers do that for all top in-staters) - but he and his brother (2024 or 2025 QB) have been on campus for at least 2 games this year iirc.

 

EDIT - You have him listed as a DT - listed as OT by the sites..

Joined: 09/14/2008

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mwolverine1

December 8th, 2021 at 11:52 AM ^

This one reminds me of how a lot of the Tressel-era Ohio recruitments would go. I expect Montgomery to give us a fair shot, but ultimately he’ll stay in Ohio. But you never know. Michigan would win one every now and then and pounced on quite a few when Tressel was fired.

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core42

December 8th, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^

I find it odd that we seem solely focused on Dante Moore when he admits that he grew up an Ohio fan although he says it won't impact his decision. I don't see that info reported often but it's hard for me to go too hyped knowing that he's local now but grew up in Cleveland rooting for the F**keyes.  Hopefully it goes the way that Domani did where he chooses the local school instead of the one he grew up rooting for.

I'm also hoping the fact that he trains with Devin Gardner helps the cause 

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AZBlue

December 8th, 2021 at 12:08 PM ^

It is a "swing for the fences" year for M at QB.  Barring something unforeseen, JJ will overlap with the 2023 QB recruit for a year - heck Cade could still be on campus.

If Moore doesn't go our way we can look at a Grad transfer or a late riser to compete with Denegal for the 2024 starting job.

Plus -- I think we may have a pretty good shot at this Carr kid out of Ann Arbor for our 2024 QB recruit.

Joined: 09/14/2008

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It'sNotAToomer

December 8th, 2021 at 12:05 PM ^

Re: LB Jaiden Ausberry, his older brother Austin (a cornerback) is a '22 committing on the 13th. Austin has M in his final 6, but I haven't seen much Michigan buzz for him in a long time. Looks like he's taking visits to southern schools in December. Seems like a bad sign. Add to that that we look pretty full at DB this cycle. It isn't impossible for us to land Jaiden if Austin commits somewhere else, but it won't help.

Joined: 12/05/2021

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Perkis-Size Me

December 8th, 2021 at 1:01 PM ^

Amazing what winning big games can do for you on the recruiting trail. 

If Michigan somehow pulls it off and wins it all, the floodgates will bust wide open and you'll have more kids than ever that are kicking down the door to come to Ann Arbor. 

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Frank Chuck

December 8th, 2021 at 1:18 PM ^

"Generation talent" next to Dante Moore?

Hard disagree.

People use that term way too frequently to characterize recruits.

A generational talent is someone like Trevor Lawrence who is a sure, can't miss player. As talented and accomplished as he already is, Moore is not a generational talent.

I watched the state championship game between Detroit MLK and DeWitt.

Though he's rated as a 5 star, Moore didn't impress me as much as I hoped he would in the state championship game. But to his credit, Moore had much better performances against other teams.

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