ifeatu melifonwu

The board is narrow and looks set to stay that way. Let's get to it.

Oliver Martin: In The Boat?

4* IA WR Oliver Martin did make his official to Ann Arbor. That knocks out a host of schools trying to get in last minute and restricts available options to the places he's been. It also probably means he's in the boat. Wiltfong is at the point where he would be "shocked" if it wasn't Michigan; Lorenz says it would be a "significant surprise"; Webb issued a gut feeling.

Most likely scenario: Martin is already committed and just waiting to announce. Silent verbals and all that, sure, but two days before Signing Day I like Michigan's chances to make that stand up.

Nico Collins: Uh, Same?

My operative theory on the way wide receiver recruiting went this year was: they wanted four. They had three guys who were committed, two silently, after Brad Hawkins re-emerged. They held a spot for Donovan Peoples-Jones no matter what. Thus those couple months where it looked like Martin would head to Notre Dame. Once noise about AL WR Nico Collins and Georgia started up, Michigan re-engaged Martin to get back to four.

Soooo then about this:

Those are the main 24/7 Georgia writers pegging Collins to Michigan after an official to Athens on the last available weekend of the cycle. As far as crystal balls go that's pretty definitive: bad-news picks from plugged in folks late in the game are almost certainly on point. Mansell's explanation is pretty wishy-washy, unfortunately:

truthfully this is starting to feel that ends up somewhere else. That guess from me right now would be Michigan.

Nonetheless a flood of Michigan picks has triggered, including Wiltfong. Collins hasn't said much about his recruitment in forever, so it appears that nobody will be getting clarity until he announces on NSD. Wiltfong related that the Georgia crystal ball run was initiated by Collins's coach at Chalkville telling people that Georgia had surged when everyone was in San Antonio for the Army game; nobody appears to have talked to Collins himself.

That may be the crux of the swings here, with people around Collins saying things that don't actually reflect his mindset. Brown quotes a source:

"We are beginning to hear that the Georgia staff doesn't think they're going to land him," our source said. "I don't really know what happened but he looked miserable at the basketball game this weekend."

It was always odd that Collins, who had taken not just an official but three(!) unofficials despite living in Alabama, would be genuinely in play. Maybe he never was, but there were reasons to pretend like there were? Only thing that makes sense at this juncture.

Side note: What's the deal with five receivers? Michigan has the space, with 26 current commits and a class that can get up to 31 or 32 per reports earlier in the year. They're seriously chasing just six guys, all of whom get section headers in this post. A clean sweep of the five guys not named Collins is extremely unlikely, so the question is "do you want a 6'5" WR with offers from Alabama and Georgia or air?" That's not tough to answer.

[Update: Sam's latest update says Michigan has four slots left, but "could push it to five." A sweep of the offered guys other than Tufele would apparently shut Melifonwu out.]

Aubrey Solomon: status quo is good

Signs still point to Michigan for 5* GA DT Aubrey Solomon. Michigan fans are in a state of panicky anticipation about his recruitment—and to be fair it is that kind of recruitment—so occasionally someone must hold the fanbase's collective hand and reassure them. Sam did that last night, saying the word from down south was "still Michigan." He won't put the ol' gut feel on it because it's that kind of recruitment; it sounds like he's got a ton pointing the right way here.

Wiltfong's in much the same boat, telling the Michigan 247 board that Solomon's "always loved Michigan" and that he continues to hear Michigan is where he's leaning; Alabama and USC lurk. Georgia appears to be out. Brandon Brown reports that word out of Lee County was still M as of a couple days ago.

Willie Gay: status quo is not good, sayin' there's a chance

LSU remains the tentative favorite for 4.5* MS LB Willie Gay. Wiltfong currently has Michigan in third; Sam did clarify that a "VERY" well-placed source asserts that Michigan is #2 to Willie. The Compromise Pick scenario is thus in play since this is believed to be the situation:

PREFERENCES OF GAY'S MOTHER

1. Mississippi State
2. Michigan
3. LSU

PREFERENCES OF GAY

1. LSU
2. Michigan
3. Mississippi State

That's obviously a long shot. I would get your fists ready to shake at the Mississippi black hole.

FWIW, LSU's recent flip of 4* TN LB Jacob Phillips from Oklahoma is one that should help, not hurt, LSU. Phillips and Gay were on campus at the same time and reportedly hit it off; Phillips is 6'4" and 230 and projects to MLB. Gay is emphatically an OLB.

Mekhi Becton: cumong man look at the depth chart

Conflicting signals on 3.5* VA OL Mekhi Becton. Scout's Michael B Clark reported that Michigan had "gained momentum" after their in-home, which focused heavily on the depth chart and chance to play early. Michigan has been recruiting Becton hardest per a proverbial source close to Becton; VT and Michigan are supposed to be his top two.

That's hopeful for a badly needed option at tackle. The rest of it not so much. Wiltfong hears that VT and Louisville are the top two; with that previous report from a Louisville commit that UL and Michigan were the top two, folks reporting on Becton have hit for the cycle.

Ifeatu Melifonwu: I think I can pronounce it now

MA S Ifeatu Melifonwu did not immediately flip from Syracuse after his official; in fact, Wiltfong reports that he returned to Syracuse this weekend. It's unclear whether Michigan has offered at this point or if they're waiting to see how things work out with the non-weird guys on the board.

Either way, Melifonwu has decided to do a hat thing on NSD:

I will be at Grafton High on National Signing Day when Ifeatu Melifonwu makes his big announcement where he'll play college football pic.twitter.com/Akp6eBFSq7

— Carl Setterlund (@CarlSetterlund) January 28, 2017

It's odd, but Melifonwu is a guy I'd really like Michigan to add. They don't have a lot of safeties, is brother is headed for the early rounds of the NFL draft, and Don Brown is familiar with the area and the family. I'd be more bummed about missing out on him than one of the WRs despite the WRs being highly touted folks.

Etc.

MI DT commit  Deron Irving-Bey profiled and hoo man:

Sitting in Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio’s office a year ago, Deron Irving-Bey couldn’t hold it back.

It seemed like the seminal moment in his journey.

“He surprised me with it,” Irving-Bey said of MSU’s scholarship offer. “We were on a little academic tour. He called me in his office and said he was going to offer me. That’s when I just started crying. I always thought I would have to go to a JUCO because I never thought I was good enough for that.

“Just the thought of Michigan State, one of the top colleges, I’m like, ‘This is a dream come true.’ ”

Been a rough crootin' year for our friends in East Lansing. Did you hear the one about the guy they flipped from Temple who took under a week to be like "nah, I'm going to Rutgers"?

Michigan is "heavily" pursuing FL OL/mountain Daniel Faalele, which is what I like to hear.

Walk-on commitments are beginning to roll in. Amongst them are former Air Force commit Sean Fitzgerald, an instate OG/DT with respectable size already. A college coach told Trieu that he "will play there at some point." Michigan also flipped Columbia commit Jack Young, a safety out of Pennsylvania. MI LB Adam Fakih announced a commit, as did FL TE Chris Hanlon.

FWIW, former Michigan TE commit Jack Carter Dunaway landed at Princeton.

Solomon has decided, has not announced

Chad Simmons talks to GA DT Aubrey Solomon:

"I feel like I have found out where I am going," Solomon said.  "It came to me on Wednesday.  I just prayed about it the night before and when I woke up, the answer came to me."

Football and graduation rate are the two things Solomon cited in his decision, and things are holding steady with the expectation it will be Michigan. The Georgia 24/7 guys still think it is Michigan:

Just talking to a few sources in the last 48 hours, I continue to feel like Aubrey Solomon is going to Michigan. Just too much smoke there. Alabama I feel like is 2nd from talking to most down South.

Brandon Brown reports that a source "very close" with the Leesville program says he is "all blue"; Lorenz says confidence remains high on Michigan's end.

Martin visiting this weekend

Michigan's renewed fervor in its pursuit of IA WR Oliver Martin appears to be paying off:

Source: #Michigan getting an official visit from 4-star WR Oliver Martin this weekend. Huge.

— Brandon Justice (@LandOfJustice) January 26, 2017

That report was confirmed by Allen Trieu and a local reporter, who noted that last week's supposed official to OSU basically never existed:

This Oliver Martin visit, unlike to OSU, seems like it's really happening. Michigan source: They're already working on "flights, hotel, etc"

— Matthew Bain (@MatthewBain_) January 26, 2017

Martin returning to Michigan, a school he's already been to, instead of heading to one of his other suitors, speaks volumes about his recruitment. We've flipped our crystal ball back to Michigan in response.

Gay still somewhat up in the air

Sam caught up with MS LB Willie Gay's mother and talked about it on WTKA this morning. A reader paraphrases:

Long story short, it sounds like Willie Gay's favorite school is LSU at the moment. However, to say Mom would be disappointed in that choice is a bit of an understatement. The way Sam puts it makes it sound like basically LSU is not an option in HER opinion. Willie could still choose LSU obviously, but if her opinion has even a small bearing on his decision, then LSU better do something to sway her opinion.

Sam doesn't think Michigan is the favorite here; the most realistic scenario that sees Gay end up in AA is mom nixing LSU and Gay liking Michigan more than Mississippi State.

Sam has a couple of pieces on Scout with more detail:

My feel for this is Mississippi State is Mom's first choice followed by Michigan.  I think Willie is leaning to LSU and that she is really against it. I don't know who Willie likes more between Mississippi State and Michigan.

There's a window that Michigan can hit here but it looks like a small one. Lorenz reports that Gay will be a "tough pull" at this point.

Weird guy watch

MA S Ifeatu Melifonwu did make it to campus per Sam, and the odds that he'll get his offer are "really good"; a flip is naturally anticipated.

Other than that, all the various weird names have faded. Michigan look set to swing on their top targets and move on with a 27-29 man class unless they roll a critical hit. Lorenz did mention that Michigan is poking around OH P Brad Robbins, a Nevada commit. Robbins is "strongly considering" a visit the weekend after Signing Day; at that point Michigan will know if they have a scholarship spot or not. Survey says: very probably.

Guys like Dennis Norfleet do come out of the woodwork late. If there's a gentleman like that lurking about he's probably a low-to-mid three star instate kid like MI S Allen Stritzinger, who is also committed to Syracuse.

I may have to redefine Kaiju

2018 FL by way of Australia OL Daniel Faalele is turning heads at IMG because he is an absurd person.

He stands 6-foot-9, weighs 394 pounds and possesses a rare combination of power and speed. He is of Tongan and Samoan ethnicity and was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. He's 17 years old and wears size 18 shoes.

You may remember Michigan heading out to Australia last year for a satellite camp at which Faalele was the main attraction; Michigan offered a few months ago. That followed a half-dozen teams who did so despite the fact that Faalele has never taken a snap in anger. He's scheduled to do so this fall for IMG, and you should prepare yourself for a torrent of hype:

Wright recalls one memorable play when Faalele was responsible for trapping 6-foot-6, 260-pound defensive end Josh Kaindoh, a five-star recruit bound for Florida State, at the line of scrimmage. Faalele delivered a hit that sent Kaindoh airborne, and although Faalele sheepishly denied trying to do it intentionally, Wright isn't so sure.

"I stopped and thought, 'Did that really happen?' " Wright said. "Then I got in the huddle and said, 'Daniel, did you aim to do that, or did you just run into him?' Daniel said, 'Coach, what was I supposed to do?' I said, 'You were supposed to hit him.' He goes, 'That's what I did!' "

Michigan's obviously got an in here. Fingers crossed, because I need to see this kid next to Xavier Simpson.

Etc.

GA WR Nico Collins will take an official to Georgia this weekend; things continue to trend away in that recruitment. If Michigan does lock down Martin it's a wash.

Both GA RB Kurt Taylor and NM RB O'Maury Samuels reaffirmed commitments to Michigan. Taylor had said he would visit MSU; Samuels was still considering Arizona. With those two shutting their recruitments down, all of Michigan's commits are solid heading into the final visit weekend.

This isn't a surprise at this point but Sam says Michigan's pursuit of UT DT Jay Tufele is likely fruitless, with USC surging late and Utah though to be in front of the two Big Ten schools.

Michigan picked up MI LB/FB Tyler Plocki as a PWO. Michigan is bringing in a pile of guys this weekend as they continue to focus on their walk-on program. May the Kovacs be with them.

If you'd like to dwell, CA RB Najee Harris explains how close he was to flipping to Michigan.

Michigan offers 2018 OH LB Dallas Gant, cousin of former Wolverine Allen. They'll get a visit, etc.

Matt Wenzel profiles MI WR enrollee Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Martin cuts the brakes on his recruitment, leaps from van soon

IA WR Oliver Martin did not make a visit to Ohio State last weekend; he's got a couple visits left but people think he's just taking the one this weekend. "Flight issues" were cited, as they usually are; we'll see if that's accurate or not when Martin ends up on someone's campus this weekend. OSU, Auburn, Florida, and Michigan are all vying for that visit. If it's Michigan that would be a very good sign since he's already been on campus. Somewhere else would not be the death knell.

FWIW, Lorenz reports that Martin's recruitment has evolved into quite the wildcard:

Based on who I've talked to, there are three different coaching staffs who believe they are going to sign Martin in Notre Dame, Michigan and Michigan State.

Michigan State thinks a lot of things, I'm sure. It's a luxury to be (mostly) competing with teams that went 4-8 and 3-9 this fall, which Notre Dame and Michigan State did. Go 4-8 and 3-9. Those were their records. That they had. This year.

Losing both Martin and GA WR Nico Collins (who has gone radio silent) would be a bummer, but one that takes an A+ class down to an A-.

Gay still fairly mysterious

Relatively good news in the recruitment of MS LB Willie Gay: after his LSU visit there is still uncertainty about where he'll end up. As per usual, Team X Is Confident:

"I think the coaches at LSU feel great about landing him but no one seems to truly know what he's going to do," Scarborough explained.

Wiltfong:

LSU is battling local Mississippi State and Michigan for the Starkville (Miss.) High standout, and while Tigers sources feel good here, no question this one could still go a few different directions.

Lorenz reports that "multiple members" of Gay's camp are in Michigan's corner, however, and Michigan can really hammer home the certainty they provide when Harbaugh goes in home. Gay knows he'll play early at Michigan. He knows the defense has a spot that is perfect for him. He knows that Don Brown and his five-year contract will be there for the duration of his career. By God, if Michigan can't get Willie Gay out of Mississippi they'll never get anyone.

Becton VT trend?

A bunch of crystal balls for VA OL Mekhi Becton to Virginia Tech came in after his official visit. Tim Sullivan:

"Virginia Tech made a huge move," Sullivan said. "He's not going to commit soon but confidence is very high in Blacksburg."

As mentioned in the previous recruitin' roundup, Becton has people all over the place as they try to project where he might end up. The sudden VT interest isn't good for Michigan's chances, but this is another one of those recruitments that is low on certainty. Harbaugh is going in-home today, so expect some pictures of him hitting some dingers with a baby strapped to him.

Inevitable decommit happens, less inevitable one probably doesn't

FL OL Kai-Leon Herbert made the obvious official by decommitting, throwing off some slightly upset comments as he did so. Given Herbert's previous quotes about how there was opportunity at Miami and/or Florida while he'd have to compete for time at Michigan, it sounds like some assistant got in his ear.

In happier news, NM RB O'Maury Samuels's visit did in fact happen and went well. Any concerns about in-class competition should be mitigated by Najee Harris and AJ Dillon heading elsewhere; Arizona is the only competition. That would be a stunner, to say the least.

While we're on the subject, some brief rumbles about CT OL Andrew Stueber possibly flipping to BC are unfounded.

Weird guy watch

Michigan's been casting around for a fifth DB in the class and may have struck upon their guy: MA S Ifeatu Melifonwu, a Syracuse commit. Per Sam, Melifonwu is in town currently and is staying through Thursday. The vibe is that an offer will be followed by a flip.

Melifonwu is a deep cut New England recruit who is no doubt directly attributable to Don Brown's connections in the area. Specifically, Brown recruited Melifonwu's brother Obi to UConn. Ifeautu was a who-dat two star until recently, when 24/7 took a new look at his tape and bumped him into the low-to-mid three star range. (He's #874 if you want to get specific.) He's a true sleeper with a max of four articles on any of the sites, none of which scout him. Mostly they say "this person committed to Syracuse" in slightly different ways.

ESPNBoston comes in with the save:

Athleticism

Melifonwu ran a 4.58 in the 40 last year, so he has legitimate Division 1 speed. He plays even faster than that on tape. He moves well in space and he gets in and out of cuts with ease. Melifonwu is a long strider and he can accelerate quickly when running with or without the ball.

Ball Skills

Melifonwu is also a receiver, so the ball skills are evident on both sides of the ball. He can high point the ball one on one in coverage and he's strong with the ball in his hands. Melifonwu has long arms and a wide catch radius which enables him to win jump ball situations.

Bottom Line

Melifonwu has the size and the athleticism to be a productive press corner at the next level. Teams at the NFL and college level want corners with length that can jam and re-route receivers out of Cover 2. Melifonwu can do that and effectively support the run. The 40 time might not be ideal, but Melifonwu plays faster than his time and his athleticism is evident on tape. There no question that Melifonwu has the physical tools to be a multi-year starter at Syracuse.

Jeremy Clark-esque.

If Melifonwu is anything like his brother he'll be a steal. Obi redshirted and then was a four year starter at UConn, earning All AAC honors this year. He's set to get drafted, possibly very high:

Executive 2: UConn safety Obi Melifonwu
"The UConn safety is really intriguing. He's freaky athletic and he's going to put up big-time testing numbers. He'll run low 4.4s (in the 40-yard dash) and jump over 40 inches. He can play in the slot as well. Huge upside."

While everyone prefers bigger names with more proven ability, Melifonwu is deep in Don Brown's wheelhouse. I'll ride with him.

No other fringe names appear likely to surprise at this juncture. PA OL CJ Thorpe's visit to Ann Arbor was as pointless as it looked; he immediately reaffirmed to PSU. Lorenz reports that VA LB Ellis Brooks didn't get an in-home and Michigan isn't actively recruiting him.

The thing about fringe names is that you don't often know them until things suddenly happen; 50/50 another guy comes out of nowhere if Michigan has a spot late—and it looks like they will, especially since Jeremy Clark got screwed.

Etc.

Ryan Bartow recently told the USC board he's still sticking with his Michigan pick for GA DT Aubrey Solomon.