Ifeatu Melifonwu to visit tomorrow

Submitted by jbibiza on

Buckle up? According to Sam Webb, Melifonwu will visit tomorow and if he is offered a flip from Syracuse is likely. For those who missed it - marginal 3 star safety/athlete prospect from Mass. with great athleticism. His brother was a safety at U Conn who is getting a lot of NFL draft buzz. Looks like a diamond in the rough unearthed from Don Brown's contacts in the Northeast.

http://247sports.com/Player/Ifeatu-Melifonwu-92365

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swan flu

January 23rd, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^

That's precisely my point. This guy's offers are not a great measuring stick for how he will be under this staff because a) he is not at a power house and b) Harbaugh and brown regularly get insane results from players with limited offer sheets.

Joined: 08/16/2010

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TrueBlue2003

January 23rd, 2017 at 2:12 PM ^

which is an ACC team.  It's not like he's off the radar completely.  This is how "weird" guys come into the fold for top tier schools late in the cycle.  If you have spots left with only a couple weeks to go in the signing period, you move to lower tier P5 commits that have good measurables and thus have a reasonable chance to turn into top tier P5 contributors since they're realistic to flip.  It's not magic.

Joined: 01/05/2010

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Don

January 23rd, 2017 at 11:35 AM ^

the Michigan staff is no longer actively trying to flip Isaiah Wilson from Georgia. He also didn't sound particularly optimistic about Willie Gay, although he didn't say anything specific other than he couldn't say anything one way or the other about the reports Gay has already committed to LSU.

However, he was still surprisingly upbeat about Nico, and was also optimistic about Oliver Martin. He refuted the notion that the staff is going hard after Martin because Nico is a lost cause.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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ColeIsCorky

January 23rd, 2017 at 1:38 PM ^

Thanks, Don. I thought about posting a quick update on the board, but this sums up most of it. To add to what you said, he did say that he believes we lead for Oliver Martin.

Other quick notes..

Michigan will be visiting Nico for an in-home this week.

Interesting side note on Oliver Martin, which makes sense if you followed the timeline, but the increased interest in Martin has a direct correlation with Pep's hiring - Pep loves the kid and wants him in this class.

One other kid I haven't heard much about - Thayer Munford 4* OT out of Massillion, OH - May be some interest brewing for him. He's wanted an Ohio St. offer but has yet to receive one. Word is that if he doesn't get that offer, Kentucky is the probable landing spot. If Michigan offers, however, it might change things up. May need to keep an eye out on him. Nothing definitive though.

Joined: 11/15/2016

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Caille33

January 23rd, 2017 at 2:17 PM ^

I was just looking at this kid earlier today.  For a 4* recruit his offer sheet outside of Bama and OU is lacking.  All his recent CBs have gone to OSU even though he hasn't received an offer from them yet.  Seems like a guy who would fit perfectly into this class given our OL needs.  Has Michigan had any contact with him to this point or would this just be us throwing our hat in the ring at the last minute and hoping?

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Mr Miggle

January 23rd, 2017 at 4:55 PM ^

It sounds like he's still waiting on an offer from them, The best way to get one is to show interest in Michigan. From our standpoint, he'd be a serious risk to flip on signing day. There are a lot of pitfalls in recruiting. Maybe it's worth seeing if there's interest.

Joined: 10/07/2010

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Mr Miggle

January 23rd, 2017 at 12:14 PM ^

We've got Long, Hill, St. Juste and Thomas in this and the previous class. We may be very light on experience, but that's a very solid group going forward. Watson has played some and Washington will be a RS soph. 

Safety, on the other hand is more concerning. We seem to be moving some of the safety prospects to SAM and safety is a much harder position for freshmen to play. It's going to take lonhger to see where we stand.

Of course, I have no oblection to a DB that might play either. 

Joined: 10/07/2010

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craig_james

January 23rd, 2017 at 11:48 AM ^

I stumbled on his twitter. He hinted at receiving interest from Michigan. Class of 2018 3* I dont typically twitter stalk but I saw him comment on an article on twitter about the players we are sending to the NFL

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