Multiple UM Targets Winnowed School lists Yesterday
Magnus noted CB David Long decommited from Stanford yesterday and his final 2 is Washington & UM. Certainly not a slam dunk - Washington has had one of the best defenses in the nation the past 2 years per advanced stats, and by now we should all know players choose schools not just due to "logical" things but relationships matter a lot.
Long came out of his UM official mid Oct looking like a 50/50 battle btw UM and Stanford but since then a good # of crystal ballz flipped to WA. Long will go to WA in mid Jan on official, immediately after the dead period ends. UM can offer progress of Lewis and Peppers and I believe Long does have family in the area but it looks to be a battle. Will be interesting to see where Lorenz flips him as he had a Stanford ball. Ace is the only UM ball at this time.
Also a few other names of note winnowed their lists yesterday.
- First, DE Levi Onwuzurike narrowed down to 4 teams - Washington, UM, Baylor, ASU. Looks like Washington could be this year's UCLA in that both are battling for a lot of top players late (last year rosen and clark off top of head). Levi is a quiet kid like Crawford apparently and his only 2 crystal ballz are to Washington. Story here.
- Next, S (I assume) Khaleke Hudson named a top 4 of PSU, Pitt, UM, and UCLA. UM is the only 1 of the 4 he has not visited so that's a good sign to be in a final cut without setting foot on campus. Will visit Jan 15th. Comments about all 4 schools in story hehe.
- WR Crawford tweeted a final 6 (wink) of UM, Washington (you again!), Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, Miami. Assuming he is EE that list should be sort of meaningless soon.
- Last, a little discussed GA LB Elysee Mbem-Bosse was set to announce his decision Thu and suddenly put that off despite graduating this week and looking to be EE. Top 4 included UM so that at first sounded promising but he named a new top 5 which included Florida.
Mbem-Bosse looks like he could be a viable plan if Jonathan Jones picks Notre Dame so this delay gives UM some more time to do some convincing but Florida seems to be mucking that up - Auburn was a leader and I assume Muschamp leaving and new UF offer are reasons for delay. Oklahoma and NC State are the other 2 names involved - 2 SEC powers and Big 12 champ is a nice offer list for a guy who is in the 400s in composite rank. At least a name to keep on radar even if chances seem poor. No idea if David reese commit to UF Fri hurts or helps- both look like ILBs, as does Bush for us.
December 19th, 2015 at 12:36 PM ^
4 lanes currently open (23 of 27 spots accounted for)
| Top Target | Backup | Backup | Result? | |
| $$$ | Rashan Gary | Nooobody | Rashan Gary | |
| WR | Dylan Crawford | π Young | Dylan Crawford | |
| TE | Isaac Nauta | Chase Allen | Jacob Mathis | Chase Allen |
| LB | Dontavious Jackson | Jonathan Jones | Elysee Mbem-Bosse | Jonathan Jones |
| CB | David Long | Lavert Hill | Chris Brown | Lavert Hill |
| S | Jordan Fuller | Khaleke Hudson | ?? | |
| OL | Jean Delance | Terrance Davis | ?? | |
| DE | ? | Connor Murphy* | Levi Onwuzurike* | ?? |
| ETC | Quinn Nordin (PSU) | Victor Viramontes | Quinn Nordin | |
| Nope | Mecole Hardman Jr | Caleb Kelly | Donnie Corley | n/a |
| Velus Jones | ||||
| Other potential lanes | ||||
| 1 | Rashad Weaver | Temple visit | ||
| 2 | Kiante Enis | Indiana visit | communication stall | |
| 3 | Sir Patrick Scott | If Long+Hill want in | ||
| 4 | Dytarious Johnson | vague grade rumors | ||
| 5 | grayshirt(s) |
December 19th, 2015 at 12:40 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^
I would say no one else is must get because there are multiple options at each position. Delance or Davis for OL(though would prefer Delance as he's a tackle), Hill or Long at CB, Crawford or Young or Corley at WR, Jackson or Jones at LB, Onwuzurike or Murphy at DE. The staff has done a great job of having a solid top 2 at each position of need still on the board.
December 19th, 2015 at 1:07 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
For LB, I thought Jones was now the top target after Bush committed?
December 19th, 2015 at 12:47 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 1:30 PM ^
Lets hold horses a bit - Jones is like a 400th ranked guy.
We had 3 top 150 guys in 2012 for comparison.
| ILB | Joe Bolden | 4 | 75 |
| ILB | James Ross | 4 | 115 |
| OLB | Royce Jenkins-Stone | 4 | 139 |
December 19th, 2015 at 2:50 PM ^
Major differences in the coaching staffs recruiting and coaching those guys
December 19th, 2015 at 3:03 PM ^
of course.
But right now our projected LBs are a #250 guy, a #480 guy (Jones), and a #1000 guy along with a bulked up Devin Gil who is a #950 guy who is a S in hs. Just was responding to the guy above and saying Jones + Bush is not valhalla. On paper we have a lot of work to do with these guys. These arent multiple Jaylon Smiths. The LB class of Winovich Furbush Ferns Wangler was more highly rated in fact.
And our defensive coaching was not awful under hoke/mattison unlike the O.
December 19th, 2015 at 3:09 PM ^
I'm not gonna pretend like I'm some sort of talent evaluator so I don't really know the difference between a guy like Bolden and a guy like Bush, but I think Bush's 250 ranking doesn't jibe with his offer sheet. A lot of big time schools wanted this guy. Jimbo Fisher made him a priority, and based on what I've read on FSU message boards he's now making Jones a priority since they lost out on Bush. So I think we're definitely looking at some good players coming in or potentially coming in to our linebacker class.
December 19th, 2015 at 3:27 PM ^
I am not pooping on anyone - just saying this group of LBs has a lot of work to do vs how they are viewed by the recruitniks.... and guys like ross and jenkins-stone et al were in theory much more "sure things" than this group. Just like Dontavious Jackson is viewed today as more of a sure thing @ LB then trying to convert a lower rated high school safety and asking him to be impactful within 2 yrs.
None of it matters once they get on campus - see Jake ryan. Lets hope we have a Jake ryan in this group.
December 19th, 2015 at 11:44 PM ^
I'm hoping Bush and Jones are much better at tackling in open space. I thought we needed better athletes at LB this year, that could reach more trackles and not whiff on so many in the open field.
December 20th, 2015 at 9:42 AM ^
Meaning, were we earlier in the year offering and pursuing more highly ranked LB's that we lost out on, or were we always targeting these guys as our preferred LB recruits. That would make a difference I think if it were the case.
I must say, I am very worried about LB, and sort oif feel we should be taking like 10 of them this year (I know that's not rational). Now I'm concerned that even getting these 2 won't solve anything for us. It's probably been discussed, but are grad transfers a possibility?
December 19th, 2015 at 4:07 PM ^
You and me both. I am fascinated by bush... ahem. He is ranked in the fringe 4 star range yet since he came on the radar in the spring/summer it seems like he's been regarded as one of the very very top targets. I too went to FSU boards to see what they thought (something I never do), and saw the same thing about Bush. Also saw comments about like 'you don't want too many superstar recruits like bush'. So weird that everyone except the sites seem to know about this kid.
By the time the season starts I've usually completely forgotten about recruits except maybe one or two. For sure I'll have Bush on my mind next fall... ahem.
December 20th, 2015 at 12:53 AM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
Not sure where the coaches stand but Jones is similar to Bush in size/role while Jackson would be a bigger more solid LB in the middle so many would prefer Jackson.
December 19th, 2015 at 12:56 PM ^
I think they want Jackson the most but Jones is more feasible with Durkin leaving - Jackson has a lot more suitors as well. Thats my assumption only - I guess Jones could be higher on the board but I would doubt that from all the tea leaves that have been out for months. I see Jones as more of the "gettable" guy of the 2 and ND might have taken the lead there in past month so we are spending a lot of attention to show him love.
They have seemingly stopped communication with Caleb Kelly; conceding to OU.
Until Jim calls me to verify I am just going on what has been out there w/ tea leaves. Could be wrong on order.
December 19th, 2015 at 12:58 PM ^
I don't think they're conceding to Oklahoma as much as they just decided they weren't that fond of Caleb Kelly's game and how it fit Michigan's program.
December 19th, 2015 at 1:07 PM ^
It would be interesting to know if they would have taken Kelly over Jones if they knew they could have either.
Jackson seemed like the top option of those 3....but of the other 2 I still think its Kelly.
I know it has been said they dont see him as a 5* top 30 player in country but I presume they still viewed him as an upgrade over Jones. When Kelly was more in play they seemed to give him more attention and basically set up a satellite camp in Fresno for him.
December 19th, 2015 at 1:18 PM ^
Maybe they don't like him as much now that they've had much more time to evaluate him
December 19th, 2015 at 1:23 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
We need everything @ LB - see depth chart. You recruit for 2-3 yrs down the road.
Again... we wanted Kelly this summer / early fall and our depth chart didnt improve from summer to now looking 2 yrs down the road.
It''s ok to say we miss on a guy - it happens. Sometimes when we miss on guys Sam tends to be a rationalizer to help UM save face which is fine - he is basically a promotional arm for UM.
December 19th, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^
Harbaugh isn't the type to concede like that though. I mean, they're still heavily recruiting Nauta even though he's a heavy lean to Georgia. They have been heavily recruiting Corley even though they had miles to catch up in his recruitment. If they really liked Kelly they'd still be pursuing him hard regardless of how strong a lean he is to Oklahoma.
December 19th, 2015 at 3:11 PM ^
Are we still heavily pursuing mecole hardman the past 3 weeks? Doesnt seem like harbaugh to just give up like that.....
At some point you look at your limited time and move on even if you like someone. You make some exceptions like 2 you noted. Mecole would be top 3 on entire target board but since his visit you see reality and not much is happening anymore - he is staying south. Same with Kelly now. Kelly has seemed destined for OU for a long time now so you only beat your head against wall so many times.
December 19th, 2015 at 4:00 PM ^
I think the staff got a better look at where they stand with Hardman when he visited, and realized that it would be impossible to pull him out of the south. I'm not sure if that's the same thing with Kelly. From what I remember, Kelly was kind of confused why he hasn't been hearing from Michigan as much. I'm sure he'd be a take if he wanted to come here, but I think this is a situation where Harbaugh and co. have other players higher on the board at LB. They don't follow the star ratings like fans do.
December 19th, 2015 at 1:22 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 1:23 PM ^
Question about Gary....Meyer seems to manage to insert himself into every avenue that he can to screw Michigan recruiting. That seems to be his style. First Cass Tech and now, or so it seems to me, NJ with his hire of Schiano, which was for them a great hire. I'm sure he is not delighted about the Kareem Walker flip from them to us.
Schiano is supposedly an excellent recruiter and of course knows NJ well.
With this most recent Meyer hire of Schiano, do we have any concerns about Gary?
December 19th, 2015 at 1:43 PM ^
Not with OSU. Ole Mi$$ seems to be the 2nd horse.
December 19th, 2015 at 2:48 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 3:31 PM ^
I agree in general - I disagree with Gary specifically. Not going to OSU.
I do think Schiano might have been a hire specifically chosen to try to combat UM's inroads in NJ (along with his defensive chops).
December 19th, 2015 at 1:45 PM ^
Given that Schiano has been out of the NJ football scene for several years, I think having Partridge on staff is much more relevant to Gary. Having several NJ kids already on the team or recently committed is probably even more of a factor.
I think Ohio State being Ohio State—defending national champs—is more important than having Schiano. Regardless, I think UM is going to be Gary's destination.
December 19th, 2015 at 2:06 PM ^
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December 19th, 2015 at 2:41 PM ^
I can't tell btw Levi and Murphy which is why the * next to each guy. 2 quiet recruitment processes. Murphy visits Jan I think- which the staff wants more is hard to tell. That position may be a luxury altogether in that we dont have room if we get say 6 other guys. Maybe the staff sees them as contingencies if we dont get Gary.
December 19th, 2015 at 12:39 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
But then it's hard to believe there's going to be enough attrition to take 27 this year in the first place. Harbaugh was definitely known to have some churn in his classes at Stanford and I'm sure it's going to be the same way here.
December 19th, 2015 at 1:22 PM ^
drunk.
December 19th, 2015 at 12:44 PM ^
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December 19th, 2015 at 12:47 PM ^
He is fast, but I was hoping for a RB contribution from him. The more I've seen of him, the less he looks like a running back. I think we have better prospects at WR and on defense.
December 19th, 2015 at 1:51 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 2:02 PM ^
I'm not sure how deep you need to go to recruit that hybrid position. I don't think of it as a position that you recruit for with the idea in mind of having a 3- or 4-deep depth chart. You probably want a couple guys, and then if there are injuries, you run a different defensive package or work in a backup corner. Something like that.
Anyway, Peppers is a redshirt freshman. We don't need to replace him just yet. If you've got a backup or two, you're in good shape.
As far as potential replacements, I think Josh Metellus or Devin Gil could slide in there in some ways. The coaches have also told David Long that they want to use him like Peppers, so perhaps that might be the plan for him long-term - play him at CB until Peppers leaves, then move him into the slot.
December 19th, 2015 at 2:16 PM ^
hudson actually looks like he could be 1 too if we miss on fuller. he is a rb on offense in hs who is a jack of all trades and looks to have a lot of quickness in small spaces. Could be an Enis type w/ higher ceiling on defense..
I love the recruiting profile defensively - Narduzzi, Shoop, Aranda all want him. 3 good defensive minds.
December 19th, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
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December 19th, 2015 at 2:43 PM ^
PSU's DC. PSUs D as been only saving grace past 2 yrs and he built Vandy's defenses up to quality levels as well.
December 19th, 2015 at 2:48 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 3:23 PM ^
We don't run a defense like Ohio State's, so a Darron Lee doesn't really have to be in the picture.
December 19th, 2015 at 5:59 PM ^
December 19th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^
Same here, but I have a feeling he will be told to look elsewhere. There just isn't enough room in this class to take 3 backs if they want to fill the remaining holes on the roster. I'd rather they keep him and not go after a grad transfer QB.
December 19th, 2015 at 1:32 PM ^
they can only sign 28 recruits (though apparently 27 looks like the # according to sources) but that 27-28 does not mean all 85 will be accounted for in the fall. adding a grad transfer in august counts towards the 85 in fall term but it impacts differently and its not the same as saying theyd need to sign 1 less hs kid.
no one really knows how harbaugh will dole out 5th years, which players and how many many will transfer, who will be forced to hang it up for medical purposes bw january and august, etc.
just pointing out hs recruits do not necessarily equate to grad transfers in the either-or scenario you painted. they usually have at least 1-2 available scholarships to allocate to walkons in the fall so its more likely to say theyd have to choose bw rewarding a walkon or adding grad transfer than not signing a recruit
December 19th, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
Not surprised Washington is getting love from all these recruits. Petersen is a hell of a coach. They're gonna be really good soon.
December 19th, 2015 at 12:57 PM ^
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