To be clear, I was asked to basically force a prediction in on this set of articles. I do not have a Crystal Ball in on Edwards on 247 and am nowhere near one.
Was told Speight had a safe lead after the spring last year.
Haven't heard the same this year, but not sure if that means anything at this point. I feel like I've been one of his biggest defenders and I do expect him to start.
This is a common sentiment around this time of year.
I do what I can to not cheat readers by posting something unless it's from someone I feel like has a legit feel for things. Two days in or not, it's been a battle since the spring, so you can take what you want from it.
Outside of Trevor Lawrence and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, I am about 99% confident that Hamilton preferred Milton and Tyler Shough over everybody else; the two guys he offered.
Michigan has gotten two top targets at cornerback in Gemon Green and Myles Sims. Mayfield and Hayes were top targets after the Frey hire and Milton was the first QB Pep Hamilton offered after his hire.
Otis Reese was/is literally their top VIPER target and Emil Ekiyor is a Top100 prospect.
It's not fluff to say almost every one of their verbals was at or near the top of their board at their respective positions.
Between the Freep stuff, appearing on the podcast with Ace and Brian pretty much every Friday and my day-to-day duties at 247, I ended up getting a bit overwhelmed throughout the course of the season. I should have foreseen it, but I did not.
I've discussed a couple of different ideas with Ace behind the scenes to do something different and plan to try to pick something up after the holidays and heading towards National Signing Day.
I was off on the point at which he became a take for the staff (because he wasn't in June after his first visit), but not nearly as off on how his recruitment ended as the above poster implies.
It was about as back and forth as it could get in the 24 hours before he committed. Parents preferred MSU, he preferred M, and Mattison and others sealed the deal late after fully believing he would choose the Spartans. Michigan's media day was the day after the BBQ, and the strong word at the event was that Hudson would choose MSU.
In fact, Michigan's GAs were evaluating some DT/DE types without offers after Hudson left campus after the BBQ in expectation that he was going to commit to Michigan State.
People always remember the ones you don't cover as well or the ones you are wrong on. I'm more than used to that by now.
Mason is a lot like Lasater...Probably projects best to fullback but really wants to play LB. They'll give him a shot at the position he wants and go from there.
We can change our pick frequently. Normally you don't see more than one change or so, but with some up and down recruitments I've changed mine a few times.
If a player makes an announcement date clear, it's locked usually about a week before the commitment is made.
The thing about the CB is that all the standard complaints people have about it are things that we (I) are more than cognizant of. I do what I can to avoid the flipping and flopping of picks, but in some recruitments it's difficult because you want to paint an accurate picture for readers.
I switched my Crystal Ball on Jean Delance to Texas. I think I got some less-than-stellar info that pointed to Michigan, and the buzz is currently with the Longhorns. Immediate playing time + mom/grandma seem to outweigh what Michigan has to offer.
It's just that his recruitment, despite the visits, has been perceived as the status quo for a while now, with MSU leading and Notre Dame and Michigan fighting as well. Ohio State has always been a dark horse and I don't think Tennessee is a factor.
The rule on 247 has long been that an unranked commitment to a Power 5 program is given a grade as quickly as possible if they haven't been evaluated.
Justice Alexander (87), Grayson Miller (86), Joe Bachie (84), Matthew Allen (85) are 4 commits to Michigan State the last two cycles who were given strong 3-star grades after committing to MSU.
An 82 is not a strong grade. It's lower than almost any non-ST recruit in all four seasons of the Hoke era. Rashad Weaver, who graded out as a two-star, remains the lowest. Our national guys liked Dytarious Johnson after we scored some extra game film from the Prattville staff which is why he received an 87.
Calling it a "scam" is frankly comical because the rankings are not only free for public consumption, but the subsequent commitments that have been graded out in this class have hurt Michigan's star average considerably.
It's going to change, and soon. Hasn't been fun for me as a writer.
Thanks for mentioning this as annoying....I'll be sure to mention it to our network guys.
Yeah, this isn't even close to accurate.
Take a look at the 300 targets or so listed and I'd venture to say that every 2016 prospect Michigan has offered is accurately updated.
But hey, I guess we could be Rivals and list literally every recruit as having "medium" interest. I think Leonard Fournette still has medium interest actually.
Schools use the illusion of an early "offer" to initially indicate interest in a prospect. Brady Hoke's staff did not operate this way, and while it's the "right" way to do things, it can hurt them in today's recruiting world.
Very rarely will a 2018/2019 prospect commit this early, so schools will drop an "offer" in. They'll then continue to evaluate the prospect going forward. If the prospect develops to their liking, they will be able to tell them that they believed in him early before other schools did. If they don't develop into a legit prospect, the school will just cease recruiting them.
Some things to keep in mind regarding Detroit King/Michigan's in-state recruiting:
1. Their last staff reportedly didn't like the way Brady Hoke recruited either. This staff recruits in a much different fashion than Hoke's did, so there are also many that believe their staff is simply not high on Michigan period.
2. One of the reasons for this is the connection with Michigan State's recruiting coordinator Curtis Blackwell. Blackwell is a King alum and has known a lot of the kids that have recently transferred into King (Martell Pettaway, Kyonta Stallworth, Corley, etc.) before they transferred there.
3. Ohio State and MSU are both coming off of historic seasons. Michigan is obviously not. The new staff, while attractive to recruits, has had to work from way, way behind with a lot of the established in-state prospects like Corley, Jordan, Kareem, etc. because of the relationships those prospects have built with other staffs. There's no way they were ever going to get all, or maybe even many of them.
4. Where the argument really falls apart is in 2017. Michigan has now offered Jaylen Kelly-Powell, Ambry Thomas (King), JaRaymond Hall (Oak Park), Allen Stritizinger (De La Salle), Joshua Ross (OLSM) and Carter Dunaway (Brother Rice) before any other regional program. They will obviously continue to recruit their 2016 targets hard, but I think they know that 2017 is the class they will have the most success in-state with, and they've definitely made the SE side of the state a major priority early.
Once the Kentucky writers start to turn, it may be worth noting. I know Chris Fisher has his on UK still and I think he'd have a good idea on what's going on from their end.
Kentucky picks usually come in for almost every top guy because they get who they want.
Some of the predictions are piggy-back picks on some of the early picks; that part I will not and have never not denied regarding the Crystal Ball.
However, our Duke insiders (Andrew Slater, Adam Rowe) and our Kansas insider (Matt Scott) are among the best I've worked with at 247 regarding underground info. None of those three guys would have gone with Michigan without some sort of information pushing them in that direction. I trust them in that respect.
I'm staying out of it personally because Michigan came in late and there was no way to develop real contacts regarding his recruitment.
The "temps" are usually set by how our analysts agree on where a certain prospect is leaning, but if a prospect reaches out and wants his page a certain way, we always go with their wishes.
Good example is Jeffrey McCulloch (http://247sports.com/Player/Jeffrey-McCulloch-47648). Michigan is in his top group with Texas, Bama, LSU and probably A&M among others, but he wanted his page to reflect that he's even with everyone, even though we know they're not.
It's about as good a basic gauge as you'll get on a prospect's interest. We try to avoid situations where it appears the interest is being embellished. In fact, I'd probably move Curtis Robinson and Isaiah Chambers among others to "cool" at this point.
Truth be told, I look at this stuff as kind of weird myself, but it's just part of what the game has become. With all the extra staffers/competition out there, you're not just trying to win the kid, but the family, the dog, everybody.
He told our analysts he was still considering a visit either this week or next week, but told other reporters differently. It's looking less likely he visits, but he hasn't shut the door.
I'd add one thing; the intel on Jefferson hasn't really changed a lot....he's just had a tendency to be a flake. When he committed to Ole Miss, he told the Oklahoma staff he was committing to them. Because of that, I've been hesitant to make any prediction on him. We keep hearing good things though, so I went with it tonight.
I don't think I am the only recruiting writer who feels good about him right now. He had a great visit and Drew Richmond decommitting from Ole Miss (they are friends) helps their case too.
Michigan's chances of flipping him were very low, so it's not a major negative that he's not coming. More resources can be put towards kids they have a good shot with.
Not an article I would read much into as a Michigan fan because Michigan only has six commitments.
Normally, the national writers for the site ask our input on these types of pieces. They did not for this one. They went strictly by the recruiter rankings.
We've switched over as many targets as we can to the new staff, so it will be interesting to see if any of the new staff works their way up those rankings.
Michigan is in it with him again, with MSU probably leading at this moment. He wants to visit for a basketball game. 2016 is mostly on the backburner right now though.
Recent Comments
To be clear, I was asked to basically force a prediction in on this set of articles. I do not have a Crystal Ball in on Edwards on 247 and am nowhere near one.
Was told Speight had a safe lead after the spring last year.
Haven't heard the same this year, but not sure if that means anything at this point. I feel like I've been one of his biggest defenders and I do expect him to start.
This is a common sentiment around this time of year.
I do what I can to not cheat readers by posting something unless it's from someone I feel like has a legit feel for things. Two days in or not, it's been a battle since the spring, so you can take what you want from it.
Jedd Fisch offered those other quarterbacks.
Outside of Trevor Lawrence and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, I am about 99% confident that Hamilton preferred Milton and Tyler Shough over everybody else; the two guys he offered.
B+ is "fluff"? Lol, alright.
Michigan has gotten two top targets at cornerback in Gemon Green and Myles Sims. Mayfield and Hayes were top targets after the Frey hire and Milton was the first QB Pep Hamilton offered after his hire.
Otis Reese was/is literally their top VIPER target and Emil Ekiyor is a Top100 prospect.
It's not fluff to say almost every one of their verbals was at or near the top of their board at their respective positions.
That's not the case at all.
Between the Freep stuff, appearing on the podcast with Ace and Brian pretty much every Friday and my day-to-day duties at 247, I ended up getting a bit overwhelmed throughout the course of the season. I should have foreseen it, but I did not.
I've discussed a couple of different ideas with Ace behind the scenes to do something different and plan to try to pick something up after the holidays and heading towards National Signing Day.
I was off on the point at which he became a take for the staff (because he wasn't in June after his first visit), but not nearly as off on how his recruitment ended as the above poster implies.
It was about as back and forth as it could get in the 24 hours before he committed. Parents preferred MSU, he preferred M, and Mattison and others sealed the deal late after fully believing he would choose the Spartans. Michigan's media day was the day after the BBQ, and the strong word at the event was that Hudson would choose MSU.
In fact, Michigan's GAs were evaluating some DT/DE types without offers after Hudson left campus after the BBQ in expectation that he was going to commit to Michigan State.
People always remember the ones you don't cover as well or the ones you are wrong on. I'm more than used to that by now.
+1
Michigan has not been a factor for Hamler for months.
2017:
OL Cesar Ruiz
LB Jordan Anthony
2018:
DT Taron Vincent (played for Biff Poggi at Gilman)
ATH Houston Griffith (Howard Griffith's kid)
OL Antwan Reed (former Muskegon product)
WR Brian Hightower (offer, Michigan not a factor)
No real pressing targets in 2017 in the Tampa area.
In 2018:
OL Nicholas Petit-Frere (Tampa/Berkeley Prep)
OL Richard Gouraige (Tampa/Cambridge Christian)
ATH Amari Burney (Clearwater Catholic)
TE Judge Culpepper (Tampa/Plant)
It was a national reporter of ours who interviewed both Ruiz and Singleton.....
I do believe Alabama really does lead for Ruiz as of now but Michigan remains right in it.
I do not believe Clemson leads for Singleton. It'd be a surprise if he chose someone other than Michigan.
Our readers were told at 8:30 AM this morning to expect Reese to commit this weekend.
Just saying.
We can change our pick frequently. Normally you don't see more than one change or so, but with some up and down recruitments I've changed mine a few times.
If a player makes an announcement date clear, it's locked usually about a week before the commitment is made.
The thing about the CB is that all the standard complaints people have about it are things that we (I) are more than cognizant of. I do what I can to avoid the flipping and flopping of picks, but in some recruitments it's difficult because you want to paint an accurate picture for readers.
This, pretty much.
I switched my Crystal Ball on Jean Delance to Texas. I think I got some less-than-stellar info that pointed to Michigan, and the buzz is currently with the Longhorns. Immediate playing time + mom/grandma seem to outweigh what Michigan has to offer.
It's just that his recruitment, despite the visits, has been perceived as the status quo for a while now, with MSU leading and Notre Dame and Michigan fighting as well. Ohio State has always been a dark horse and I don't think Tennessee is a factor.
Hamilton will announce now around 3:45. His school is trying to center his announcement around a team workout, which is why the time has fluctuated.
That's not what it said.
This is pretty much it.
Schools use the illusion of an early "offer" to initially indicate interest in a prospect. Brady Hoke's staff did not operate this way, and while it's the "right" way to do things, it can hurt them in today's recruiting world.
Very rarely will a 2018/2019 prospect commit this early, so schools will drop an "offer" in. They'll then continue to evaluate the prospect going forward. If the prospect develops to their liking, they will be able to tell them that they believed in him early before other schools did. If they don't develop into a legit prospect, the school will just cease recruiting them.
He has work to do in the classroom.
Some things to keep in mind regarding Detroit King/Michigan's in-state recruiting:
1. Their last staff reportedly didn't like the way Brady Hoke recruited either. This staff recruits in a much different fashion than Hoke's did, so there are also many that believe their staff is simply not high on Michigan period.
2. One of the reasons for this is the connection with Michigan State's recruiting coordinator Curtis Blackwell. Blackwell is a King alum and has known a lot of the kids that have recently transferred into King (Martell Pettaway, Kyonta Stallworth, Corley, etc.) before they transferred there.
3. Ohio State and MSU are both coming off of historic seasons. Michigan is obviously not. The new staff, while attractive to recruits, has had to work from way, way behind with a lot of the established in-state prospects like Corley, Jordan, Kareem, etc. because of the relationships those prospects have built with other staffs. There's no way they were ever going to get all, or maybe even many of them.
4. Where the argument really falls apart is in 2017. Michigan has now offered Jaylen Kelly-Powell, Ambry Thomas (King), JaRaymond Hall (Oak Park), Allen Stritizinger (De La Salle), Joshua Ross (OLSM) and Carter Dunaway (Brother Rice) before any other regional program. They will obviously continue to recruit their 2016 targets hard, but I think they know that 2017 is the class they will have the most success in-state with, and they've definitely made the SE side of the state a major priority early.
Once the Kentucky writers start to turn, it may be worth noting. I know Chris Fisher has his on UK still and I think he'd have a good idea on what's going on from their end.
Kentucky picks usually come in for almost every top guy because they get who they want.
We don't have five full-time staff writers like Scout.
I'm good with what we do though, thanks for asking.
Posted this in one of the long threads yesterday:
Some of the predictions are piggy-back picks on some of the early picks; that part I will not and have never not denied regarding the Crystal Ball.
However, our Duke insiders (Andrew Slater, Adam Rowe) and our Kansas insider (Matt Scott) are among the best I've worked with at 247 regarding underground info. None of those three guys would have gone with Michigan without some sort of information pushing them in that direction. I trust them in that respect.
I'm staying out of it personally because Michigan came in late and there was no way to develop real contacts regarding his recruitment.
Our Duke insiders (Andrew Slater, Adam Rowe) and our Kansas insiders (Matt Scott, Ryan Noel) are guys I trust RE: basketball recruiting.
Slater had Kenny Williams pegged for Michigan, but will change his pick based on what he has heard on Brown.
I have no plans to predict, as his recruitment has been way underground for a while, and Michigan got in too late for me to really know anything.
That's David Reese you're thinking of.
If you could just link this and make our official list the OP, that'd be appreciated. It's free.
http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Early-Look-Spring-Game-Visitors-3…
The "temps" are usually set by how our analysts agree on where a certain prospect is leaning, but if a prospect reaches out and wants his page a certain way, we always go with their wishes.
Good example is Jeffrey McCulloch (http://247sports.com/Player/Jeffrey-McCulloch-47648). Michigan is in his top group with Texas, Bama, LSU and probably A&M among others, but he wanted his page to reflect that he's even with everyone, even though we know they're not.
It's about as good a basic gauge as you'll get on a prospect's interest. We try to avoid situations where it appears the interest is being embellished. In fact, I'd probably move Curtis Robinson and Isaiah Chambers among others to "cool" at this point.
Carlin Fils-Aime
Jarrett Guarantano
Shea Patterson
Malik Henry
Antonio Williams
Demetrius Robertson
Tavares Chase
Sam Bruce
Collin Johnson
Jake Hausmann
Willie Allen
Mike Williams (DT)
Janarius Robinson
Joseph Jackson
Dominique Ross
Darrian Franklin (pretty sure)
-----------
None of these players were re-offered by the new staff, and Ross was never offered by either staff.
It's actually the same guy lol
Truth be told, I look at this stuff as kind of weird myself, but it's just part of what the game has become. With all the extra staffers/competition out there, you're not just trying to win the kid, but the family, the dog, everybody.
This stuff happens way more often than people realize. Rarely does a letter go public though. You might be surprised.
He told our analysts he was still considering a visit either this week or next week, but told other reporters differently. It's looking less likely he visits, but he hasn't shut the door.
Of course!
I'd add one thing; the intel on Jefferson hasn't really changed a lot....he's just had a tendency to be a flake. When he committed to Ole Miss, he told the Oklahoma staff he was committing to them. Because of that, I've been hesitant to make any prediction on him. We keep hearing good things though, so I went with it tonight.
I don't think I am the only recruiting writer who feels good about him right now. He had a great visit and Drew Richmond decommitting from Ole Miss (they are friends) helps their case too.
It was the day after Michigan offered ---- which was about a week and a half ago. It may have changed since then!
I'm always on a mission to defeat the idea that all recruiting writers are evil click-whores, that's all.
Yeah, this isn't true. We made the article free to avoid the perception that we were fishing for subs ahead of NSD. Thanks for reading though.
I deleted it off his timeline over a week ago and it still shows up on his page for some reason.
To my knowledge John is not and will not be visiting again. He's risking it at Tennessee instead. Sorry about the confusion.
Always appreciate the links; thanks.
Michigan's chances of flipping him were very low, so it's not a major negative that he's not coming. More resources can be put towards kids they have a good shot with.
Not an article I would read much into as a Michigan fan because Michigan only has six commitments.
Normally, the national writers for the site ask our input on these types of pieces. They did not for this one. They went strictly by the recruiter rankings.
We've switched over as many targets as we can to the new staff, so it will be interesting to see if any of the new staff works their way up those rankings.
Michigan is in it with him again, with MSU probably leading at this moment. He wants to visit for a basketball game. 2016 is mostly on the backburner right now though.