allen stritzinger

KJ Hamler dominated the one-on-one portion. [Bill Rapai]

This year's Sound Mind Sound Body camp at Wayne State featured several of the state's best high school players, as well as some top out-of-state talent. Adam and I spent most of Friday afternoon watching the receivers and defensive backs—Seth covered the linemen on another field—and we saw impressive performances from a couple Michigan targets. Before running down the players who stood out to us, a few general notes/caveats:

• At a camp this large, even the top prospects only get a handful of reps in one-on-ones, so a couple good or bad reps can really skew the perception of a player. Drills were taking place on both sides of the field, too, so I didn't see every rep each WR/DB took. I'll note which players got more reps in than others that I saw.
• I mostly focused on the established prospects since there were usually two one-on-one matchups occurring simultaneously and I was trying to take notes between reps. If a prospect who stood out to another site isn't mentioned here, that's more a reflection of my focus than anything else.
• Donovan Peoples-Jones was listed on the initial roster but chose to attend the Rivals Five-Star camp in Atlanta instead. 2018 commit Leonard Taylor, who was supposed to work out at tight end, was also a no-show. 2018 commit Antwuan Johnson attended but dinged up his ankle and sat out most of the day.

With that out of the way, some evaluations:

2017 MI WR/DB KJ Hamler (M Offer)

Camp settings are ideal for Hamler, whose quickness and precision make him nearly impossible to contain in unpadded one-on-ones. He was easily the quickest wideout going through the three-cone drill, and that agility and foot speed was apparent in his route-running. Defensive backs had trouble getting their hands on Hamler, who got separation on nearly every rep he took and caught everything he could get his hands on. His route-running is advanced for a high school prospect; combined with his athleticism, he's hard to slow down.

Hamler is undersized, to be sure. He makes up for much of that deficiency with his ball skills—he's got great timing and can go up and get it. That showed up as much on defense as it did on offense. Hamler took some reps at cornerback, and while he's not at technically sound there as he is at receiver, he stayed step-for-step with his marks and came away with a couple interceptions, including a spectacular leaping pick on his final rep. Hamler also showed a high level of competitiveness; he took more reps than anyone else as best I could tell, and on a couple occasions I noticed him drop to the turf to knock out a quick set of push-ups when he was waiting for his next rep.

There were a couple moments when Hamler's size hampered him. Still, from what I saw he was the best performer among the WR/DB group, and only Ambry Thomas came close to matching him. Even though Michigan took a number of quality slot-types in the 2016 class, I'll admit I'm disappointed they aren't pushing harder for Hamler. While he'd be an ideal fit in a spread, I think he could be successful in any offense.

[Hit THE JUMP for reports on Ambry Thomas, Jaylen Kelly-Powell, and more.]

So, uh, this is going to be shorter

Ain't much happening now other than Harbaugh fighting with the SEC commissioner about going to IMG. Michigan's sent out some offers, a few kids were on campus, and right now there's a slow trickle of news. It's nothing like the entertaining chaos leading up to Signing Day.

Talking with the man

MI WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, a freshly named five-star at 247, had a conversation with one Jim Harbaugh on Signing Day.

Just got off the phone with Coach Harbaugh !! A great guy ...

— DPJ™ (@dpeoplesjones) February 3, 2016

He is a priority. Surprise!

Wilson visits, isn't committing yet

With the possible exception of CO QB Dylan McCaffrey, NY OL Isaiah Wilson is probably the top name on a hypothetical list of recruits Michigan fans are hoping to get an early commitment from. A combination of need, Wilson's rankings, and Michigan's oft-repeated status as his leader make him a prominent name early in the cycle.

We'll have to hold our horses a bit longer Wilson tweeted out a few days a go that he wasn't going to commit until "summer or maybe December." Still, things are pointing the right direction. Dude is retweeting Michigan softballists at the academic center.

Putting the STUDENT in student-athlete. Nice softball crowd at the Ross Academic Center tonight. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/I6e5lMzfvv

— Michigan Softball (@umichsoftball) February 10, 2016

Early yet big name everyone's after etc. Knock on wood and everything; feeling pretty good here.

Stritzinger reiterates Michigan lead, Wilson drops by

Wilson wasn't alone; Michigan had a select group up over the weekend. MI ATH Allen Stritzinger took another visit to Ann Arbor and reiterated to Josh Newkirk that Michigan is his leader. He has seen the Peppers, and likes it.

“(Coach Wheatley) is still on me about playing running back,” Stritzinger said of UM running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley. “But there are a lot of kids who are in the position to play both ways, and after seeing how Jabrill (Peppers) was used this year as an athlete, that’s what I’m looking at. That’s the same thing that I want to be, to be out on both sides of the ball, any way I can to get on the field.”

I expect this kind of thing to ramp up over the season to the point where McCaffrey is talking about playing some WDE. Stritzinger plans on extending his recruitment in to the fall; it would be an upset if he didn't land in Ann Arbor. Apparently as a defensive back.

The other uncommitted DB recruit on campus last weekend was Don Brown special and MI S Scott Nelson. He said some nice things and remains open. Still waiting for the Michigan State shoe to drop there.

Mending fences with Simmons

MI ATH Antjuan Simmons released a top 11 without Michigan in it, and then visited Michigan this weekend. This isn't a huge commitment since it involves walking across the street from his high school, but it does seem like whatever ill feelings existed after Michigan was slightly tardy in joining the offer parade he experienced last fall are getting patched over:

“I’m very interested in Michigan,” said Simmons. “It is a program on the rise. They are now in my top list and they're gaining ground.”

Simmons is going to look around extensively; he recently visited Texas A&M. Michigan at least figures to stick in his top list going forward.

Ambry exit?

MI CB Ambry Thomas is tough to read based on his interviews, which oscillate wildly. The latest comes from South Carolina's Rivals site after he got a Gamecock offer:

“Honestly, I’m feeling down south, somewhere down there,” he explained.

He plans a visit tour through the SEC and ACC in the spring. The last time we checked in with Thomas he was giving an ND site a midwest-oriented top five without Michigan, so… yeah. Get the feeling there are going to be a lot of changes in his recruitment. Out of state seems more likely than not at the moment.

New names and quick updates

Gentlemen will pop up on the radar with frequency now. This week's batch:

• 6'5" AL WR Nico Collins has set an unofficial for the end of March. That'll be his second time on campus, which is a indication Michigan is a real contender; Lorenz says dad is a M fan. Collins #54 on the composite. He is also 6'5". Yes, please.
• CA OL Brett Neilon and Wyatt Davis tell Brice Marich they have set a visit for late March as well; could be a junior-day-type-thing coming together.
• CA CB Jaylon Redd says a visit is a "strong possibility" and that he likes… wait for it… Jabrill Peppers.
• CA CB Greg Johnson names Michigan one of four schools pursuing him the hardest. He's planning a spring unofficial to Tennessee; no Michigan trip on the docket yet.
• CA TE Josh Falo has some interest in Michigan but won't take an unofficial. He'll have to wait for fall to come to campus. Michigan successfully executed the Asiasi recruitment in a similar situation, at least.
• Michigan (and Alabama) offered AL DE LaBryan Ray. Ray says he doesn't know if he'll visit Michigan, so… yeah. Probably nevermind on this one.
• Michigan offered OH TE Trey Pugh, a 6'6" 220 flex type. Duke, Northwestern, and Penn State are his other top schools so a high academic guy.
• FL OL Tedarrell Slaton has publicly backed off his previous assertions that Michigan led while talking to Miami's Rivals site. That's the kind of thing that happens sometimes when a kid is open about a favorite or two early in the process and gets some pushback. Michigan will no doubt stay involved.

Weekend Visitors: Three Uncommitted '16s To Take Officials

While next weekend's Michigan State game will be a bigger recruiting event for Michigan, there are a few notable visitors coming in for tomorrow's game. Allen Trieu has a free overview of the three uncommitted official visitors set to be at the game tomorrow; those prospects:

• Three-star NJ WDE Quayshon Alexander, a Nebraska commit. While Michigan is sitting pretty for four-star CO WDE Carlo Kemp, they're still making a strong push for guys who could project to the BUCK spot, and Alexander fits the bill.
• Three-star FL TE Jacob Mathis has been near the top of M's board at tight end for a while. Florida appears to be the main competition. One advantage for the Wolverines: former M kicker Garrett Rivas is Mathis' high school coach.
• Three-star TX WDE Levi Onwuzurike hasn't let on much about his recruitment, but he could be another option at BUCK.

Several current commits will take their officials this weekend, including a crew from New Jersey—Brad Hawkins, Ron Johnson, and Ahmir Mitchell—who'll likely work on recruiting Alexander.

This late-breaking news also seems worth mentioning:

Am told 5* #OhioState RB commit Kareem Walker is visiting #Michigan this weekend http://t.co/n3MUSJOPiX

— Marc Givler (@MarcGivlerBG) October 9, 2015

Walker had significant interest in Michigan before the Hoke era drew to a close; he committed to Ohio State in January, when Jim Harbaugh was desperately cobbling together a full 2015 class. Walker visiting Ann Arbor is a sign there's still legitimate interest. Steve Wiltfong reports it will be an official visit ($).

This even-later-breaking news, reported by Wiltfong, will also be of interest:

247Sports has learned that Top247 linebacker Devin Bush Jr. will visit Michigan this weekend for the Northwestern game.

It's an unofficial visit.

That is especially intriguing since Bush is paying his way for a visit from Florida, leaving open the opportunity to visit again on an official visit. Michigan looks to be in very good shape with one of their top remaining targets on the board.

According to 247's Steve Lorenz, several 2017 in-state targets will also be in attendance: TE Carter Dunaway (commit), OT JaRaymond Hall, WR/CB KJ Hamler, WDE Corey Malone-Hatcher, OLB Josh Ross, and RB/CB Allen Stritzinger. Hall's 2018 teammate Marquan McCall, a talented offensive lineman, will also be on campus, as will a pair of promising 2019 quarterbacks in Southfield's Sam Johnson and Belleville's Dwan Mathis.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]