Cravens announcing college choice on June 6
I don't think this is a good sign for us
Has he ever mentioned a leader or just his top group?
Says he will try to take unofficial visits before June 6.
No, but it's pretty much consensus among the recruiting experts that it's USC and he's going to bring a bunch of good California players along with him eventually (Hutchings, Davis, etc.)...
This might be a bad sign for us in terms of Cravens, but maybe this is a good sing in terms of Mathis? Maybe as they've been talking about the visits they were going to take together they both realized that they already knew where they wanted to go?
Maybe Mathis commits to us around that same time?
Mathis will probably not qualify so I highly doubt he commits, I'd rather he doesn't commit so he doesn't waste a spot
It was fun pretending while it lasted. The guy tweeted that he was going to "try" to take unofficial visits before his announcement. If he doesn't care to make them, chances are he won't be going anywhere those visits may have been to.
What's that, we already have Dymonte Thomas? O ok, I'm sad but not terribly sad.
Well, you have Thomas for the time being anyways.
before your decision.
Not good for us, since he hasn't visited yet and previously said he would take an official in the fall. He's probably headed to USC.
Oh well, best of luck to him. We have Dymonte, so we'll be just fine.
I know he and Mathis were planning on taking a joint official during the fall. I'm assuming this means that this is no longer happening. Any insiders know if he's giving Michigan another unofficial before 6/6?
He has to take up his scholarship before one of his 18 go at USC. Good luck to him!
he's going to USC.
Oh oh, that is D Day. Hoke better be prepared to storm the beaches at Malibu if he plans on landing young Cravens.
Realistically we have a good shot at a few of the big names on our wishlist. Remember that Pipkins (5*) was an August commit last year and shocked quite a few. Kyle Kalis (4*) announced in July, Jarrod Wilson (4*) in July, and Darboh (4*) in December to name a few.
Don't start with that. According to a Scout article, Kendall Fuller called Michigan "like a second home". We will be fine.
Easy there, tiger. Cravens would have been difficult to pry from Pac-12 country. He never visited Michigan and probably won't. His demonstrated interest in Michigan is limited to a handful of interview quotes. This isn't like Jordan Diamond visiting Michigan four times and then committing to Auburn. You're extrapolating a lot from an outcome that isn't all that surprising.
Interesting; didn't know that. I guess all hope is not lost. I still think he'll be difficult to pry from Lane Kiffin's clutches, but if we can get him on campus, Hoke and Mattison can close like no other.
We might not...but there's a pretty good chance we get SOME of the big names.
I'd be shocked if Michigan doesn't pull at least 2 of:
Isaac
Treadwell
Levenberry
Poggi
Mathis
LaCouture
If we can get a few of those and fill in the rest of the spots with decent quality, this class will be great. Any more than that and it's pretty much outrageous how good this class is. Also, even if we finish similar to 2012, 2013 is a superior class already.
Of those 5, I'm the most skeptical of Mathis and LaCoture.
Mathis is a flavor of the week type of recruit.
I might change my mind about LaCouture if he makes it up for his second visit with his dad. Right now, I think LSU is the one to beat.
Although I agree with you on Mathis, he has to end up somewhere, and he came all the way to Michigan for a reason.
That, and the fact that USC already has two DEs committed, means we have as good a shot as anybody. He's camped with a lot of M commits at this point, so between Dawson, Taco and Shane, he'll have a lot of talented guys in his ear.
I didn't know that about USC having two DEs already. Would they even take him? With their scholarship reduction I wouldn't think they could afford to have 3 in the same class unless they were short on them already.
April 18th, 2012 at 11:28 PM ^
Yeah, USC has two DEs, and they took 3 last year, despite the reductions. I took an estimation of how many guys they'd take at each spot, and there's no way they take another DE, unless they have some DE exodus with the guys already on campus, or a couple of their 2012 DEs don't make it in.
Even then, they're stuck at 15 commits, and they have other needs. For example, they didn't take any DTs last year. Maybe a DE moves inside, but none of the DEs they've taken so far are huge DEs, they're all 240-260 type guys. I bet in this class they shoot for 2 true DTs. Also, they only took 3 OL last year. They were three incredible OLs, but you still need numbers on the OL. More stars don't mean you can't get hurt. I bet they get 4 OL.
Also, they didn't take a real RB last year, they took a FB, and only one TE. Maybe he can play RB too, but they'll take at least one RB and one TE, at least. They only took 2 WRs, so they'll shoot for two more. They only took 3 DBs, I'm not sure on the CB/S breakdown, but they'll need 2 DBs in this class. They took 3 LBs in 2012, so they can get away with 1 in this class.
So that looks like 2 DE, 2 DT, 1 LB, 2 DB, 1 QB, 1 RB, 1 TE, 2 WR, 4 OL. That's 16 guys for 15 spots. Point is, they're already tight, so they won't be in a position to take a 3rd DE just because he's good.
The two I feel the best about are Poggi and Levenberry. I have an uneasy feeling about Isaac. Not sure what to think about Treadwell, though his unexpected visit for the spring game speaks well for our chances. I don't think Mathis and LaCouture will come.
Question: Did you expect Cravens to commit to us?
He has been a long shot all along and he picking another school does not change much. We still have the same strategy and we're not scrambling for recruits to replace him.
you are sounding negative.
June 6 is my birthday! It will already be a great day, and what a great birthday present it would be if I got According to Jim on DVD! I love that show.
Wasn't he on that trip to Nebraska with Mathis? I hope they don't end up there. I don't really want to face him in our division.
Well that blows. I really thought he had some interest
Sarah Hughes
@SarahMHughes87Su'a Cravens tells me he's planning an unofficial to Michigan. We still have a shot, ladies and gentlemen.
He picked his decision date to be the 6th because it's his mom's birthday, so it may have to do less with him having a school already in mind, but just wanting to set a deadline/announce on his birthday.
+1 for being the first to post something other than speculative pessimism.
So speculative pessimism is 0, but speculative optimism is +1?
Look, even if we get him here - it's USC. But given USC's knack for recruiting our players who are committed, don't expect Mattison & Co. to stop recruiting Cravens. I think we are in this one until NSD based on that.
So he will officially become the annual "top star we think we have a shot with, but ultimately lose" following in the footsteps of Hart (or Frost if you prefer) and Dunn.
he visits then we will have a chance!
He just wants to make a decision before Michigan's class fills up.
"There's a handful of schools where I know they're a great fit for me and I don't want to keep dragging on this process. And I don't want to hold up scholarships for other kids."
What a nice guy!
That part stuck out to me too. Seems to be a kid who has his head on straight. Class act.
USC, no doubt in my mind.
I also have no doubt in my mind that as long as Kiffikins tries to pull kids like Dawson away, that we will continue to recruit Cravens.
Su'a is not one for attention. I'd be surprised if he didn't go to USC, but he should be taken for his word when he says he's serious about taking those visits and not knowing where he'll go yet. It's an uphill battle for Michigan, but it has been since the beginning. They're not out of it yet.
We need Treadwell badly. As siked as I am about Chesson, Darboh and Dukes, we haven't had a far and away #1 receiver since Manningham. As much as I loved Hemingway and as good as he was, he was never a guy who could take over a game consistently like Treadwell hopefully will!
Yeah I agree. Isaac isn't a do or die recruit because anybody can run behind that offensive line, but having a receiver like Treadwell would be necessary.
April 18th, 2012 at 11:43 PM ^
I wouldn't write him off just yet. USC signed 4 safeties in last year's class. Michigan has some space opening in the secondary after this year with Kovacs leaving. And we have Mattison who can pitch the, "i'll turn you into the next Ed Reed" line.
April 19th, 2012 at 12:02 PM ^
west coast kids seem to rarely leave