Quick and dirty recruiting rundown on the Opening by 247
A recruiting rundown on most (all) participants at The Opening next week. A lot of it is stuff we know, and there's not a whole lot of in-depth on there, but it did scratch the recruiting news itch. And it's free:
http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/The-Opening-Roster-rundown-recruiting-storylines-38030217
Wasn't the most recent report saying that Gary was not impressed at all with Ohio State or was that just his mother?
We need Brandon Peters, Terrance Davis and Michael Onwenu to be in the ear of Gary, Caleb Kelly, Dontavious Jackson, Naseir Upsher, and Devin Bush Jr. It would be nice to have a few more verbals there for that reason. Pretty solid group to start with.
I bet Connor Murphy will end up at Michigan.
How is it wrong? Auburn, Alabama, and Michigan are the front-runners, and ohio state still does appear to be in that next tier down. Not a likely destination if things hold, but hasn't been ruled out completely.
Doesn't seem like he would still "consider" them after a lousy visit, that's all.
I am not saying that the initial reports of a lousy visit to OSU were not true, but from Gary himself after his most recent visit per Rivals.com:
""That was my third time being up there and it was my mom's second time. I'm glad she came with me to see the place. I was happy to see Larry Johnson and Urban Meyer. I've been building that relationship ever since freshman year. I knew Larry Johnson when he offered me at Penn State. It's the same thing with Urban Meyer. I went up to the Ohio State camp when he first took the job and he gave me the offer. The academics there were good. My mom seemed to like it and it seems like that could be good."
Well...I'm getting my info from Brandon Brown who apparently is completely full of shit. But I already knew that from the whole Hand situation
Ha, Idk man, getting any kind of reliable information from a 17-18 year old kid has to be a brutal job.
I say this with all due respect because Brandon seems like a good guy (and so did Tom Van Haaren, while a couple other guys who cover recruiting are dillweeds):
I just don't think Brandon has great information and/or reaches useful conclusions based on the information he has. Of all the guys I've encountered on Rivals, 247, Scout, and ESPN, he seems to be the least reliable.
Go back to the Malik McDowell situation, did mama win out in the end - NO!
That's true, but it doesn't really change what I said.
Agreed.
Maybe the next time he gets caught off guard, I'll bump this thread.
BB is an idiot, haha.
I think it's safe to say that he is at least still considering them if he's already planning a return trip to Columbus this summer. Apparently the weather, while he was there, didn't allow him to see all that he planned on. I still think his current top 2 is Auburn and Michigan, but who knows. He doesn't really give anything away.
Well, Gary just visited them so I guess its fair to say they're in the 'considering' group...
I just hate seeing fucking Alabama there, things rarely go well for us when saban gets his Hand on things.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Does anyone know if Hand still plans on majoring in civil engineering? I wouldn't be surprised at all if his major turned into general studies or kinesiology.
But let's be clear, Saban didn't beat us for Hand. We lost Hand with our on field performance.
You're right, but I also think your clarity sucks!
you put into it, Hand wanted to pursue an engineering major. The UM coaches tried to steer him away from engineering while Bama said gave him the green light on engineering. Of course, like you said, I'm sure on the field performance played a big role too.
There is no doubt that the on field played a factor. Also, SUPPOSEDLY he had his heart set on the Engineering college, and as most everyone knows we have a top 10 program, while Alabama is most certainly in the top 100. Going thru what people said, it seems we steered him away from our Engineering school, as probably his grades/scores may not have been up to snuff, while he kept spouting on about how the 'Bama Engineering Dean was a "Real Football Guy".
I know 3.9-4.0 students that had 24 hours a day to study for their classes that struggled immensely in engineering at Michigan.
The program is no joke and extremely hard to even get admitted to.
I am sure Hand is a respectable student, but the MIchigan admissions people knew his transcripts and that he wouldn't get accepted into the engineering school if they told him to look at a different major.
I am sure you will hear the whole thing, "Well it doesn't matter where you go, its what you make of it"
If you're going to include Terrence Davis, you should include Upshur as well because he's about as close to a verbal as you can be without actually being one. And don't forget Johnathon Jones as someone they need to be recruiting. He's a solid player and it would be nice to get him to actually drop here soon.
and they could't do a campus tour as planned, his mother said they would probably go back to get that aspect of the visit.
I think Lorenz or Wiltfong tweeted at some point after that OSU was not a big factor for him going forward, however. It's possible he didn't like it, but his mother does and so she wants him to see it again with better weather.
Auburn. I really see Gary's recruitment boiling down to Michigan and Auburn. My opinion is based off of recruitnik tweets, and my gut-feeling.
I will give a slight edge to Michigan, but if Auburn has a great season they will land him.
I would love it if he came here, but I don't want to get my hopes up.
One thing i saw that was alarming was the day after Gary visited Michigan, Wiltfong put in a crystal ball for Auburn. And he reported Gary said Michigan hit it out the park. Thought that timing was strange.
I thought that was strange as well.
If I had to guess I would say that Wiltfong heard the frontrunners were Michigan and Auburn. He chose Auburn due MIchigan not being able to haul in highly-touted defensive lineman. Especially lineman with huge offer sheets.
It really comes down to how well MIchigan performs in it's first year with Harbaugh. Can the team win 7-9 games and look real competitve. The team has to show major growth, maybe by winning a rivalry game or something like that.
If Auburn makes the playoff or wins a national title, then I think they have him.
I certainly agree. The reason we have "sure thing" big fish that haven't pulled the trigger yet is because they are waiting to see some on-field production.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Michigan was never really in the game for both of them.
Also that Twitter kid is saying a big LB may commit on Saturday, but who knows on that front
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Thinking that LB would be Devin Bush Jr.
I guess yeah. If I had my wishes it would be Dontavious Jackson. Bush just doesnt inspire me that much, something about a 5'11 LB. We have James Ross and Vilma has had a good NFL career at 5'11 but idk man.
I will say I have watched Bush's film and he plays very hard and loves contact, so I'm sure he could play well under Harbaugh
I love that kid's film. Great size for a Mike.
Bush is small, but like you said he does play hard.
Could see him at SS as well. He looks fluid.
Another LB I would love to have is McCulloch("The Shark"). IMO he is one of the best OLB in the country. Seems to have legitimate interest in MIchigan too.
I really hope it is Dontavious Jackson, but I'm not sure when he is supposed to announce.
The timing would also be a bit strange if Hawkins announced for South Carolina right now.
Gary is such a huge priority. Not only is he just an incredible player, but we didn't take any DTs last year and not only do we not have any committed this year, I don't know of any we even have a shot at. Unless Onwenu moves to defense, which wouldn't piss me off at all, especially if Terrence Davis ends up committing.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Chris Daniels, who is originally from Michigan, is also considering us.
I think Rashad Weaver could very well end up playing defensive tackle. Physically, he looks a lot like Chris Wormley to me (who's now about 6'4", 300 lbs. IIRC).
Only naming guys we have a realistic shot at. These are the 10 I am most hopeful for.
1. Rashan Gary
2. Caleb Kelly
3. Terrance Davis
4. Xavier Kelly
5. Dontavious Jackson
6. Naseir Upshur
7. Brad Hawkins
8. Devin Bush Jr.
9. Ahmir Mitchell
10. Lamar Jackson
I might be spacing out here, but who is Lamar Jackson?
Safety from CA