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The 2014 rankings are out. Malik McDowell is at 15 while Damon Webb comes in at 33. Drake Harris checks in at 39. That's a lot of impressive in state talent. I can't remember a time when Michigan had that many prospects so highly regarded.
Michael Ferns is at 76 and is the #6 MLB
http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=4&pid=88&yr=2014
Michael Ferns is at 76 overall and the #6 MLB. Hopefully we can add McDowell and Webb as well.
Harris is 39
Thanks. I changed it and put Ferns in the post as well.
Good lord the recruiting arms race is really getting riduculous. I understand watch lists at this point, but lets let these kids at least finish their junior year or something. I wonder if recruiting rankings are going to get less and less predictive with the earlier and earlier evaluations.
I bet the get more predictive. The initial list will be less predictive since it comes out earlier, but I bet this will lead to the top players being scouted more times, giving the sites more info to base their assessments on.
Football recruiting rankings will still be dealing with a problem basketball doesn't have: top football players don't play each other that often in real-world settings. Until that changes, there's going to be an inherent margin of error in them that I'm not sure additional scouting opportunities will make up for.
but the recruiting sites have to keep up with the times, so if players from the 2014 class are starting to commit, then the sites are going to want to be able to post information about them. I don't necessarily agree with it, but recruiting is big business these days and competition from the 4 major sites is at an all-time high.
Cass Tech QB Jayru Campbell got offers from ND, alabama and EMU.....as a sophomore.
Hell, look at the handful of 8th graders getting verbal offers. There's that David Sills kid who is a 2015 like Campbell and has been committed to USC since February 2010.
I'm really curious about McDowell. I know he's getting all kinds of big-time looks, but there's not much film on him. I wish we had more to go on, because being the #15 player in the nation is a pretty lofty rating.
He has attended a handful of camps with kids a year older than him and looked like a top-250 kid compared to kids who are a year more developed than he is. That usually leads to a lofty ranking. Now he'll need to earn it against kids his own age over the next year.
Yeah, I just don't put a lot of stock in camp performances from linemen... Not much film seems to get out from Loyola games.
Well, as such a big prospect, he'll get pretty heavily scouted, and I'm sure he'll go to a number of camps again. He'll have plenty of time to prove or disprove that ranking.
Than say 1-14, or 16-30 or something? Don't know, asking. Because the whole silliness of the game is they have to have someone ranked for each spot, and I wouldn't think there's extensive film on many juniors halfway through their season.
I've seen more film on several of these guys than on McDowell, yes. I'm not sure about all of them, but several.
Brian Mone, d-lineman from Utah at 111. Was our first 2014 offer.
Just don't freak out when, about a year from now, only one of these guys is still in the top 100.
Eh, I bet about half or more of these guys are still there, whether that is right or wrong of course.
Check out the wig on WR Kd Cannon..
Weird hair, but that kid can play some football. I've been keeping an eye on him for a while...
He has interest in Michigan; we've talked to him a couple times and he's hoping to get an offer. Full intro will be coming relatively soon.
Interesting that it appears that we have offered only one RB in the Scout 300, and he is all the way down at #27 RB.
We have offered four running backs in the top 50, I'm not sure what you are referring to.
Alex Bars at 226 and Tommy Doles at 252. Those two would be a good start to our OL class.
I'd throw Kyle Trout (#99) and Mason Cole (#112) in there, too (among others).
We're in especially good shape with some elite OTs and CBs.
Dante Booker, St. Vincent-St. Mary's in Akron, OH = #47, #2 OLB (offered)
Nyles Morgan, teammate of Laquon Treadwell at Crete-Monee HS in IL, = #50, #4 MLB. (No offer yet)
It's interesting that Scout has Booker below Ferms, since most feel that Booker is the top prospect in Ohio over Ferns. Interestingly enough, Scout has Marshon Lattimore as the top prospect in Ohio, a WR form Glenville.
EDIT: my list shows Booker at 110. Which one of us is reading this wrong?
You're right, Booker is at #110. 47 is his jersey number. Fail.
in order for MIchigan to take any more LB's in 2014, he would have to be a very, very good one. Assuming one more max, Booker would certainly fill that bill.
Makes me think UM might have a down year in recruiting
- that was sarcasm by the way
Selling jerseys in Ohio.
Seems like there is a possibility for another really strong class....I like it
How big will our 2014 class be? about 18 or so?
Well we thought this class was going to be small too. It's too early to determine class size.
Another kid to keep an eye on who I believe will blow up---Lawrence Marshall, DE, Southfield.
Kid is about 6'4 215...reminds me a lot of Mingo from LSU.
I watched Ojemudia last year, and this kid is bigger, faster, and stronger.
You're a little generous on his measurables, as an article from August listed him at 6'3" 200. He's a guy who could get an offer down the road, but is probably more of an MSU/ Illinois type kid. We'll only take one WDE and we have a shot at a couple good ones.
As for sleeperish DEs, I like Gelen Robinson a lot.
I just saw him in person last week, and Fred Jackson was sitting in the stands to see him (Mike Hart too). Allen Trieu verbatim today said "top 5-10 kid in the state", listed him at 6'4 215. I aksed him what he thought when he saw him "loved him, the real deal". That doesn't sound like just an MSU/Illinois type.
The tackle he played against was 6'1 and he towered over him. His recruiting film also lists him at 6'4. The roster I saw listed him at 6'4, 215. Not sure why you want to debate something inconsequential as 1 inch and 10 pounds.
This kid is not a sleeper. Michigan doesn't send coaches to watch sleepers in the 14 class on their off week.
Kid is an absolute stud.
Marshall might be bigger, he might be faster, and he might even be stronger...
...but Ojemudia looked/looks like a better football player.
Based on what exactly?
I watched them both in person, Marshall's impact on the game was much greater than Mario's in the game I watched him against another d1 tackle in person.
There is two games of film on Lawrence so far, and he blows up both teams. Not sure what conclusion you have drawn from 1---not actually seeing him in person, and 2---two games worth of film of his junior season.
Like I said, Jackson doesn't just show up an anyone's game on an off week. The kid will be a stud, and when the guy who ranks him calls him "the real deal", you better believe he is a little better than just a "sleeper".
Just because Jackson watched him in person doesn't mean Marshall is better than Ojemudia.
Are you certain that Jackson wasn't there to watch anyone else? Such as wide receiver Brandon Bean?
I ma not saying because Jackson was there that makes Marshall better than Mar'io, I am saying that I, me, myself, have seen both, at the very same point in their high school careers, and Mario wasn't very disruptive in the two games I saw him in person. He was only about 6'3, maybe 200-205 his junior year. Lawrence is much thicker, and far more disruptive.
I spoke to his coach after the game, he told me verbatim that he was told Hart and Jackson were both there to see Marshall. When I spoke to Trieu, he said the same thing. On GBW, Mr. Beav also said Jackson is at Southfield to see Lawrence Marshall. I don't know what more you are looking for?
All I can tell you is what I have seen, in person, and what I have been told, by actual coaches, writers, and AD's. If you have something more, please feel free to share from Ohio.
Marshall will blow up, just wait. When he does, I hope we are on that train.
I haven't seen them in person, but from what I've seen on video, I think Ojemudia was the superior player.
I'm just curious what film you have seen of Marshall?
Allen trieu said just a short while ago on gbw, Marshall will be a 4 star and a top 150 kid. Not sure why we wouldn't want someone like that.
Anyways, not sure why people on this site aren't appreciative of actual information provided rather than debating measureables and which really good player is better than the other. The people with their finger on the pulse of recruiting say the kid is the real deal, my eyes told me he is the real deal, and those same people say there is a really good chance he gets an offer. After seeing him in person, I sure hope he does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGu0Qh9jf2o
You're the one who started the debate about "which really good player is better" with your comment about Marshall being better than Ojemudia. You're basically upset with yourself.
Just thought I'd put a kid on your radar, share some actual info. Have fun regurgitating what scout, rivals, tmendous, and everyone else say. I am sure you will see Jackson was in Southfield to see Marshall in two weeks or so.
We all appreciate bringing up new kids that maybe aren't on our radar. I think the way you broached it was what got the push back. You made a lot of absolute type comments, and came off as Marshall's dad or something. It's received by us poorly, because this kid has no offers and despite you telling us how in love Trieu is with him, he didn't make Scout's 300 list today.
Had you said something along the lines of "I've seen this kid Marshall in person, and I thought he looked as good or better than Ojemudia, who I've also seen play in person. When I was there, not only was Allen Trieu there saying many positive things, but coaches Fred Jackson and Mike Hart were there to recruit him. It sounds like he's a real riser in-state, so don't be surprised if his offer list starts to build fast" it would have gone over much better.
You can even throw in a "you heard it here first" if you want some credit.
I don't make a habit of regurgitating scouting reports from elsewhere.
Go blue.
I wish the new girl would stop walking by my office door...she's making it hard to focus. On MGoBlog.
Roughly 31 among the top 100 list Michigan as a school of interest--much better than a few years ago.
This is looking good for Michigan, but as soon as Rivals comes out with their 2014 list many of the kids will be stacked in completely different places. I like the way our coaches rank the recruits, because they're much better at it than the pay sites by any measure.
People say this kind of thing all the time, but it really isn't true. Think about all of the possible ways that you could rank the tens or hundreds of thousands of high school football players. Of course, there are differences across the services - and discrepancies between service rankings and offers - but the lists are pretty similar on the whole. It's rare that you see a two-star recruit with elite offers or a five-star recruit with a lousy offer list. Across services, they sometimes disagree about whether a kid is a four-star type or three-star type, but you rarely/never see kids with five stars on one site and two or three on another.
Do we know what's up with Artavis Scott (#15 WR)? It seemed like he was really interested when he visited with Mason Cole, but I think he needed to submit his transcripts or something before getting an offer. That was a few months ago now.
The kid has all kinds of great offers already - Florida, FSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, etc.
I think the coaches are waiting on his first semster grades.
Whether or not your statement is true, do you think the fact that McDowell has like 60 pounds on him have anything to do with it?
2014 rankings already? I'm glad I don't know most of these names. Recruiting is just getting too crazy. I only care about the current class that can sign in Feb. Anyone else that way?
Nope.
Damon Webb is blowing up.
I really really hope we get him.
The CB recruiting for 2014 will be very interesting, with Webb, Westphal and Vincent being among the ones to watch.
