zohizzle101

February 9th, 2010 at 4:58 PM ^

When I clicked on their names, they had a ranking on their profiles under "national". Maybe this is an initial rough ranking or it might not mean anything at all but here they are for your pleasure:

17: Anthony Zettel
48: Chris Rock
76: DeAnthony Arnett
78: Delonte Hollowell
93: Doran Grant
141: Justice Hayes
166: Lawrence Thomas
238: Trey DePriest

lhglrkwg

February 9th, 2010 at 5:00 PM ^

dont forget andre yruretag.....taylor lewan's friend

also, i think the numbers are probably arbitrary at this point. andre is listed as #11 right now which i think is unlikely

Mr. Maize

February 9th, 2010 at 5:01 PM ^

I'm surprised to see Hollowell make this list. Good for him that he's getting recognition. A notable missing from Rivals and Scouts on their Initial 150 or Watch Lists is Demetrius Hart. I figured he'd be on both. His film is spectacular.

West Texas Blue

February 9th, 2010 at 5:06 PM ^

Brennen Beyer is a notable omission from Rivals 250 watchlist. With both Scout and Rivals watch lists out, good to see alot of Michigan targets are highly regarded (and most have great offer lists).

Magnus

February 9th, 2010 at 5:08 PM ^

QB Teddy Bridgewater - athletic QB who fits our system.

QB Christian LeMay - offered; from same school as Jamar Adams, Kris Frost

QB Braxton Miller - offered; from same school as Talbotts

WR DaVaris Daniels - offered

WR Karlos Williams - offered, probably as a safety

TE Brian Miller - offered

TE Jay Rome - offered

OL Christian Westerman - offered

DE Jadeveon Clowney - offered

DE Jalen Grimble - offered

DT Vincent Croce - offered

SR Damiere Byrd - likely target if coaches want an elite slot

S Hasean Clinton-Dix - no offer yet, but from same school as Ricardo Miller prior to Miller's transfer

LB Kris Frost - offered; from same high school as Jamar Adams and Christian LeMay

CB Jabriel Washington - offered

LB James Wilder, Jr. - offered

The majority of players Michigan has offered so far are on this list, meaning they have a good shot to be 4-stars. That's good news on the heels of offers/commits that were kind of head-scratchers early last year (Williamson, Kinard, Travis Williams, etc.).

Magnus

February 9th, 2010 at 5:30 PM ^

The guys at Rivals think he'll be a high 3-star/low 4-star. Remember, Tony Drake looked pretty awesome on film, too, but he was only a 3-star recruit. Those tiny little slot ninja types don't get a great deal of respect.

spacemanspiff231

February 9th, 2010 at 7:20 PM ^

It's not just his film. He has a TON of offers as well. Furthermore, if he were just a tiny slot ninja type as you call him, he'd probably be listed as an all-purpose back. He is not. He's listed as a running back. Also, the schools offering him aren't exactly spread oriented teams. He was offered by Notre Dame BEFORE Brian Kelly was there. He's offered by Stanford, Florida State and also Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech runs the triple option but they don't exactly employ little scat backs. Just b/c he's short doesn't make him a slot/scat back. Mike Hart was just as short. Furthermore, for 5'8, 190 lbs. is not exactly small.

spacemanspiff231

February 9th, 2010 at 8:23 PM ^

In my above post that just being 5'8 and 190 lbs. doesn't make someone a slot ninja as you say. Even if he's 183 lbs. as Rivals lists him, that's pretty good sized. Furthermore, I don't think you read a word I said. Again, I guess Mike Hart must have been a slot ninja b/c he was only 5'9. If you can run hard between the tackles, you are not a "slot ninja". Sorry. If you watch other video of Demetrius Hart, you can see that he can definitely run hard between the tackles.

Magnus

February 9th, 2010 at 8:32 PM ^

I don't think you caught on to my point about Hart. When I called him a slot ninja, it was kind of a tongue-in-cheek reference to his small stature, not necessarily his position.

Small backs don't get as much respect in the rankings. I think there were five 5-star running backs on Rivals this year, and their average size was about 5'10" or 5'11" and 205 lbs. or something like that.

Now, I realize that you're not necessarily saying Hart should be a 5-star, but my point is that smaller backs get ranked lower. Even your example of Mike Hart doesn't help you much - he was a 3-star, as I'm sure we're all well aware.

IBleedMaizeNBlue

February 9th, 2010 at 5:51 PM ^

Vincent Smith, who was first team all-state junior and senior year, as well as florida small schools offensive player of the year was only a 3-star as well...

Dee Hart may not be 5-6, but he's still 165. Let's hope he slips through the cracks, though, because this kid, like Smith, is the real deal.

edit: scout says he's 165, his highlight video says he's 190. Who to believe...

Jon Benke

February 9th, 2010 at 5:45 PM ^

Looking at his offer list, which is very impressive, he might not be as much a Spartan as most would have guessed. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

As far as Michigan goes, I hope RR keeps his offers only to the best, while letting the season, and hopefully more winning, lure the top guys in, then work his magic late.

Winning should cure everything.

arfabe

February 9th, 2010 at 5:47 PM ^

Thomas will either end up at MSU or out of state. He will make his commitment by the end of this summer (but possibly earlier--maybe late spring).

The reasons all the Rivals and Scout people think LT will go to State are the following:

1) Yes, Renaissance hearts MSU
2) Thomas's best friend, Chris Norman, plays for MSU (will be a Soph. next season)
3) Another good friend of Thomas, Mylan Hicks, just signed a LOI for MSU
4) According to those who facebook stalk, Thomas mentions MSU a lot and is a "fan" of MSU on facebook
5) Renaissance's coach really dislikes Rich Rodriguez--presumably because of something that happened with a Renaissance player that went to WVU

Yinka Double Dare

February 9th, 2010 at 5:38 PM ^

Thomas is at the wrong high school. I'm sure Rodriguez will try with Thomas, but the coach there hates us. He somehow has it in his head that Rodriguez and his staff were terrible to his players.

As noted on this site in the past, one of those guys the coach thinks we did wrong was a two-star (Criswell) that was given a grad assistant spot by Rodriguez, and the other was Carson Butler, who was given multiple chances despite being a five-star jackass.

But the coach thinks what he thinks, and he will almost certainly try to steer Thomas away from Michigan (and to Michigan State, which Rivals' offer list reflects by putting them as "High" interest), or at worst even attempt to deny access to Rodriguez and his staff. Hence why no one here is particularly optimistic on Thomas.