hale hentges

Ace •

Happy Trails, Shaun Crawford

It felt like only a matter of time, and so it was...

No longer a commit to Michigan Football.
— Big Poppa (@1ShaunCrawford) May 24, 2014

Shaun Crawford is no longer a member of the 2015 class after following through with his expressed desire to visit Notre Dame and scheduling an Ohio State visit for this weekend. Michigan is recruiting other cornerbacks—the timing of the recent offer to TN four-star Cameron Ordway was no coincidence—and while they'll pursue Crawford, his recruitment isn't heading in the right direction:

Recent decommit Shaun Crawford tells me that #Michigan definitely still has a chance with him. I'm personally not very optimistic.
— Brandon Brown (@CoachBrown3) May 24, 2014

247's Notre Dame insider believes a commitment to the Irish could be imminent, which would not surprise. Wherever he ends up, best of luck to the young man—if your sentiments are markedly different, consider refraining from commenting on this post. Fair warning.

Other Than That...

Yes, today's roundup started on a sour note, but the rest of the recent developments in the 2015 class are actually quite positive.

Things are looking especially good with four-star CT TE Chris Clark, who named Michigan his leader after his last visit and plans to see Ann Arbor again—along with Tennessee, Arizona State, and possibly North Carolina and Ohio State—before announcing his decision at The Opening on July 10th. The return trip is a good sign on its own, and the recruiting efforts of Alex Malzone appear to be paying off as well, per 247's Rusty Mansell ($):

There are few top prospects that Clark says he would like to play on the next level with.

“Oh man, that is a tough one, there is a couple of them, I like Matt Burrell a lot,” he said.”If we are talking quarterbacks, I definitely wouldn’t mind catching passes from Brady White (ASU commit), or Alex Malzone, who just committed to Michigan.”

Mansell, writing that post for 247's Georgia outlet, commented that he thinks Michigan is the ultimate destination. 11W's Jeremy Birmingham has the same gut feeling, as well. That would be especially tough for OSU given their other top TE target, Hale Hentges, committed to Alabama over the weekend. (Hentges also held a Michigan offer, but it's clear the Wolverines have dialed in their efforts on Clark.)

Meanwhile, Michigan made a slew of top lists for some quality 2015 targets. Four-star OH OLB Justin Hilliard named the Wolverines to his final five along with Notre Dame, Iowa, Ohio State, and Alabama, per Rivals' Josh Helmholdt ($):

"Michigan is definitely a school I have a lot of comfort with," Hilliard said. "Coach [Greg] Mattison, the linebackers coach, is very cool, very experienced and coached some of the greatest linebackers in the League. He is very involved in my recruiting right now.

Hilliard expects to make a decision before his senior season.

Michigan landed in the top three for OH DE Dre'Mont Jones, though they still have work to do to reach the top of his list, per 247's Tom Loy ($):

“Ohio State is No. 1 right now, then Michigan, then Notre Dame,” Jones mentioned. “Ohio State has the edge because I always have a great time when I’m up there. I like how they run their practices and I like how the coaches treat the players and it’s a great school.”

It's tough to see Jones ending up anywhere but Columbus, but Michigan at least has a shot—Jones plans to see Ann Arbor as one of several summer visits.

Cass Tech RB Mike Weber cleared up any misconception that U-M isn't among his top schools, telling Scout's Josh Newkirk they're in his top five with MSU, OSU, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, while also discussing Doug Nussmeier's offense in a very positive light ($):

“He coached a lot of great backs that are in the league right now or are going to the league,” Weber said. “So when he tells me things, I believe – because there is proof. He’s going to be good.”

Weber was slated to visit over the weekend, rooming with his old CT teammate David Dawson. After he seemed to cool on the Wolverines over the course of last season, it seems like the Nussmeier hire has really helped Michigan get back into serious contention.

Funchess-sized four-star IL WR Miles Boykin put Michigan in his top ten, as announced on Twitter. Aside from Florida and Oregon, it's a very Midwest group. According to 247's Steve Wiltfong, Michigan is up near the top of that group, and Boykin is set to visit on June 6th ($).

U-M also appears in the top ten for four-star TX S Khalil Haughton, whose list shows he's very willing to consider out of state schools.

[Hit THE JUMP for details on the latest strong camp showing from Alex Malzone, who Michigan's quarterback commit is recruiting himself, and MSU fans not grasping the core concept behind rankings changes.]

Thursday Recruitin' Finds Another Funchess

Ace •

This is my last post of the week, and I'll be taking next week off to do anything that doesn't involve sitting in front of a laptop. I just wanted to thank everyone for reading along through football and basketball season, and tease that I've got some fun content lined up for my return. (Think dunks. Lots and lots of dunks.) Have a great week, everyone.

Offer Bonanza! (Does Not Include QB)

Michigan's thrown out offers left and right over the last week, as Brandon has covered in detail in this mgoboard thread. In fact, they're going out so fast a couple more offers didn't make that list; since Tuesday, the coaches have extended offers to four-star VA OT Matthew Burrell, three-star GA OT Zach Giella, and five-star GA WR Preston Williams (Tennessee commit).

Burrell generated a lot of buzz when he visited for the Notre Dame game last season; he showed genuine interest, though we'll see how much that's changed given how long it took for U-M to decide to offer him. Giella's three-star ranking belies his impressive offer sheet, and he's currently got LSU as his leader with Ole Miss running second ($); just getting a visit from him would be an accomplishment. Williams, the top-ranked receiver in the class, is looking around at other schools but it's unclear if he'll take a visit to Michigan, per 247's Steve Lorenz.

While the Wolverines may be on the outside looking in for those three prospects, they're looking good for two recent offer recipients at wide receiver. IL four-star Miles Boykin is being recruited at both wide receiver and tight end due to his 6'3", 212-pound frame. Michigan sees him as a Funchess-type wideout, and per Tim Sullivan that's precisely how Boykin wants to play ($):

The 6-3, 212-pounder is open to both spots, but prefers to be out on the edge making plays in space. Fortunately, that's where Michigan would like to see him line up, should he choose to become a Wolverine.

"I'd rather play receiver, but if my body grows I can't really do anything about that so I'm open to playing tight end, too," Boykin said. "[Coach Mallory] said because of how difficult I am to cover, that's why they're offering me as a wide receiver, not a tight end."

Boykin visited Ann Arbor for the spring game-ish thing and told Tim he'd like to see Michigan again before a potential preseason decision. All of the major Midwest schools, among several others, are in on Boykin; Michigan looks to be among his top schools, and that return visit will obviously be key if he sticks to his current timeline.

Meanwhile, three-star FL WR Auden Tate told Scout's Amy Campbell that Michigan was his childhood favorite, and it's a "dream come true" to hold an offer from them—as you'd expect, this has the Wolverines in a very good spot ($):

Now that Michigan has offered, Tate says it’s easily his number one school. “They’re the top, I’m going to try to visit them soon,” he said.

Tate added an offer from his favorite’s rival, Ohio State, earlier this month. While he wasn’t as ecstatic about it as he was the Michigan offer, he was still very happy to add an offer from such a historic program.

Tate's offer sheet suggests he should eventually climb in the composite rankings, and he told Campbell he plans to make a decision "sometime after summer" once he's had the chance to visit his top schools, which also include the likes of Clemson, Miami, and South Carolina. While Michigan will have to sweat out those visits, they'll also get one of their own, and for now they're in a great position to land him.

One reported offer that's been refuted by multiple reporters, including Sam Webb($), is 2015 four-star dual-threat QB Deondre Francois. While Michigan watched him throw this week, no new QB offers have gone out recently, according to Webb.

[Hit THE JUMP for the latest on Grant Newsome, Darian Roseboro, where Michigan stands for several top 2015 targets, and more.]

21 Targets for 2015

Brandon Brown •

At the request of several readers, the list below is of prospects that could actually become a part of the 2015 class. Obviously anyone with an offer could potentially wind up on this list if a visit were to be set up, or the coaches decided to put some serious pressure on. But that list gets unwieldy; who wants to watch 100 guys of whom three will probably end up in Michigan's class.

The prospects below are those who've already demonstrated legitimate interest, be it by setting up visits, releasing top lists, or clear statements expressing a high level of interest in Michigan. Each of them will score between a 3 and a 5 on “The Vibe." I expect no more than 4 or 5 of them will end up in the class, but 20% > 3%.

I asked most of them directly if they belonged on a list of recruits that were seriously considering Michigan. In some cases the responses were more forward than I expected and that tells me that Michigan is in serious contention with some of them.

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Athlete (DB/WR)

Brian Cole – Heritage – Saginaw, MI

The battle for the top athlete in Michigan seems to be between Michigan and Michigan State. Cole has visited Michigan several times and has recently been visited by the coaching staff. Even though he’s an in-state recruit, he’ll be able to go anywhere he wants, and there's time yet for national programs to make their plays.