EJ Levenberry names top 3

I'm not going to lie, that jersey looks pretty good on him. *Hint hint* E.J.

His Scout profile has FSU, Oklahoma and Tenn as his top 3, although this could be old info.

http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=5120124

I don't know a ton about him yet but I like the fact that he's down to three so early in the process.

Looking good on E.J.  Colors really match his eyes.

EJ Levenberry w/o pads = Jeremy Gallon w/ pads

February 2012 yet.  A very early top 3 is just that.... a very early top 3.

Is he projected to become a 5 star ?

So he released a top 3, but nobody knows what it is? Isn't that against the definition of "top 3?" or is it just behind the paywall and everyone's being all secretive about it because of that?

I feel like it's sort of a silly charade to keep hushed about this type of content, because he presumably released it publicly and it's not exactly insightful reporting. I understand the need to keep some content under wraps from behind the paywall, but a list of schools just doesn't strike me that way. I might be in the minority. I feel like something that can get leaked with a single sentence isn't worthy of a paywall anyway. Something that would take direct quotes and paragraphs to summarize (i.e. plagiarism) seems more worthy.

I did an amateur scouting report for E.J. Levenberry back in late October/early November based off my observations of one of his games. At the time, I thought it was probably a longshot that we would ever be "in it" for him.

Now that both he and U-M are showing some mutual interest, I thought it might be useful to repost it here.

http://mgoblog.com/diaries/ej-levenberry-scouting-report-um-2013-offer

Take it for what it's worth.

Also, one of the posters ("Bull Dog")  claims, pretty credibly imo, that he is EJ's dad.  Interesting comments by him at the end although I think they were completely missed the first time around because he posted a few days after it went up.

This seems like as good a thread as any to bring it up on.  I can't understand why some people (except for MSU and OSU posters in disguise) feel the need to insult 16-18 year-olds who may be choosing to play at Michigan, or may have just chosen to not play at Michigan.  And i'm not talking about "he needs to learn to block better" or "he's fast but not very strong."  That's (somewhat) constructive criticism, and few kids would be really upset by it.  They know their strengths and weaknesses very well, as certainly they've heard them on an almost daily basis.

But  to say negative things about a kid's character, in the absense of public incidents such as arrests/suspensions/expulsions/massive amounts of objectionable twitter content (and even that last point I'm leary of) is wrong.  And the same should be true about parents.  For the most part these are adults very inexperienced in speaking to media, and suddenly they are inundated with questions about the future of their son, because the recruiting media is rabid. I'm a rabid consumer, so I'm not without fault.  But to say "so-and-so parent is too demanding," without mountains of evidence, and not merely a couple of quotes here and there, is rude at best and slander at worst.

Hoke and company seem to be trying to build a good program around good kids.  I think it's safe to assume that if a kid has been offered a scholarship to Michigan, that they've passed any character tests that the staff has.  Same should be assumed about their parents.  And if something comes up, the staff has also proved that they are not afraid to withdraw offers.

Lastly, these kids are trying to make what will be one of the most important decisions, if not the single most important decision, of their lives.  And they're doing it in a fishbowl.  It serves no purpose to question their motives if they pick another school over Michigan, or even merely consider another school over MIchigan.  Maybe it's because they really hit it off with a position coach.  Maybe it's because their friend already goes there.  Maybe it's because their family really likes the other school.  Maybe they want to stay closer to home. Maybe they don't like home and want to go farther away.  Maybe it was a torrential downpout in AA on the day they visited, and it was beautiful weather when they visited somewhere else.  Maybe it's because, although Michigan has great academics, another school has a really good department in whatever the kid wants to study.  Point is, who knows?  And what does it really matter?  Wish them the best and move on.  Great kids will choose Michigan, and those who do will be champions.   But great kids will also choose other schools, and hopefully many of them will be champions also (albeit off the gridiron on weeks they play Michigan.)

From what I've read about Levenberry's game, I would have to believe that he or a player of his ilk would be a top priority in the 2013 class.

I either missed this thread or ignored it because it was midseason/I wasn't in 2013 mode yet. I feel like it provided a lot of insight about the kid. I thought his father provided interesting insight into what sort of expectations they have for EJ. Anyway, it was a very interesting read.

Hello,

This is EJ's dad. I want to thank everyone for their kind words regarding my son.  Based on the comments that were posted on this blog previously I was not going to drive my son 8 hours to visit.

However, my son's athletic director and high school coach told me how impressed they were with Coach Jerry Montgomery and I really should talk with him.  Ultimately, that led to the 8 hour drive to visit such a great university.

I want each of you to know we would not drive 8 hours to see the university if my son was not seriously considering the University of Michigan.  Michigan, Florida State and Florida are his top 3 schools right now.

A month ago Oklahoma  and Tenness were in his top 3 but Brent Venables took the job at Clemson and Peter Sirmon took the job at Washington.  I can only tell you that the entire Michigan staff is a staff you all should support and be proud of.  The people in that football building is what got us to visit.

As a parent, I would feel very comfortable sending my son of to college under the leadership of Coach Hoke.  I would be confident that Coach Hoke would continue what I have started  as it relates to being a high character person. 

As you view the photo of my son you will notice that he has no tats, ear rings or dreads.  I noticed one blogger related EJ would probably have a future in front of the camera. 

Please know that we have had that conversation and his image is as important as obtaining his college degree.   Lavar Arrington is his mentor here in DC and Lavar is now a member of the media.  He is well aware of life after football and where the game can take you.

I made my son visit Michigan because of its academic reputation and the people in that football building.  Once he got there Coach Hoke, Coach Mattison and Coach Montgomery took care of the rest. 

Now, I can't guarantee EJ will choose Michigan but I do know he likes Michigan and the football family at Michigan and thus is STRONGLY considering Michigan. 

It is an honor for my son to have a football scholarship offer from such a fine academic university with such a rich football tradition. 

Furthermore, he is truly blessed to have the number of scholarship offers he has from the multiple universities.

This is all a blessing!

Thanks!

Eric Levenberry Sr.

If he sees what they have to offer in Talahassee, he'll head to FSU. However, things have gotten a little bit better under Jimbo fisher.