charles omenihu

Two New Offers

The new (and still incomplete) coaching staff has hit the recruiting trail running, with a couple new offers to committed 2015 prospects going out this week.

TX WDE Charles Omenihu is a Texas commit whose three-star ranking belies an impressive offer list that also includes Florida, LSU, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, and TCU, among others. At 6'5", 232 pounds, he's got the frame to be a rush end in a DJ Durkin defense that'll utilize both three- and four-man fronts. After getting the call from Greg Mattison that he'd earned a Michigan offer, he talked to 247's Steve Lorenz ($):

"I talked to Coach Mattison and he told me I had a scholarship offer," Omenihu said. "Michigan is a program I wanted an offer from since I was a kid. They are a very prestigious school. Coach Harbaugh is a cool guy too. I know he has a plan for them and it's a plan I believe in."

While Omenihu has been firm in his commitment to the Longhorns, he said he'll "definitely" consider an official visit to Ann Arbor.

Michigan also offered three-star FL CB Damon Arnette, a South Carolina commit whose offer sheet—which includes Florida State, Louisville, Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Wisconsin—doesn't necessarily line up with his ranking. At 6'2", 185, Arnette has great size for a corner, something he told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown was a big factor in Michigan offering him; he also talked about his visit schedule, which changed in the wake of the M offer ($):

"All of my visits I've set up are realistic places for me," Arnette stated. "I'm not going just to go. I was originally going to Louisville on the 16th, but I cut them off today for Michigan. My other visits will be to South Carolina and Ohio State. Those three will probably be it."

Brady Hoke's staff didn't recruit Arnette at all, so to jump into the mix this quickly is a good sign for M's chances. As you'll see, the weekend of the 16th—just after the current dead period ends—is shaping up to be a big visit weekend for Michigan.

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

Dramatization. The real song our coaches sing on road trips is ram-a-lamma-ding-dong. Insiders believe Nussmeier could be the tenor the staff has been lacking.

The Michigan coaches have been traveling all over the country checking in on commits, offerees, and targets in recent weeks. I have been reaching out to recruits for the past couple of days to see who has been visited or who still might be. I’m sure this list isn’t all-encompassing but I was able to get in touch with a lot of prospects from the 2015 class. I mean A LOT of prospects:

Athletes and Defensive Backs

ATH David Dowell & RB Andrew Dowell – Lakewood, OH/St. Edward – Teammates of Shaun Crawford, the Dowell brothers were visited by Coach Mattison in the early part of the week and he told them he’d like them to come up for a visit, but it’s not planned yet.

ATH Osa Masina – Salt Lake City, UT/Brighton – Masina wasn’t visited this time around but Coach Hoke and Coach Ferrigno did visit him back in mid-December. There aren’t a ton of reasons to stop in Utah so visits to Salt Lake City will probably be few and far between.

ATH Jerome Baker – Cleveland, OH/Benedictine – Baker holds a Michigan offer and was visited by Coach Mattison on Tuesday and says that he is feeling Michigan a lot.

Cole could wind up the top-ranked player in the state. [Sam Webb]

ATH Brian Cole – Saginaw, MI – Heritage – Cole was visited by Coach Hoke earlier in the week.

CB Kei Beckham – Trotwood, OH/Trotwood-Madison – Coach Smith stopped by Trotwood-Madison on Friday but Beckham missed him due to his class schedule. TMHS is a frequent stop for the coaching staff so Beckham is confident he’ll see them again.

CB Marcus Lewis – Washington, DC/Gonzaga – One of four prospects to chat with Coach Mallory from Gonzaga. Lewis really liked Coach Mallory and plans to stay in close touch with him moving forward.

CB Iman Marshall – Long Beach, CA/Poly – Marshall’s father told me that a Michigan coach stopped in to see his son on Monday of last week, he was unsure of who it was but I’d guess Ferrigno.

[After the jump: look at the tags above. There's a lot.]