Friday Recruitin' Curses The Tide Comment Count

Ace

Today's recruiting roundup was done a while ago, then I derped and deleted the post. Friday! Pardon my brevity as I discuss updated MaxPreps rankings, Leon McQuay III, and a slew of new 2014 offers.

Alabama Ruins Everything



If you don't get this, watch Shutdown Fullback. All of them.

First, Alabama ruined the sanctity of the BCS (ha!), then defeated Michigan in the first game of their softball super regional last night, and now the Tide goes and passes the Wolverines for the top spot in the MaxPreps team recruiting rankings. Michigan still has the edge in overall commits (18 to 14), but Alabama's eight top 100 commits tops Michigan's five. MaxPreps's Tom Lemming updated that top 100 list this week, and here's where you can find Michigan's commits:

  • QB Shane Morris, #16 (5*)
  • OL Logan Tuley-Tillman, #50 (4*)
  • LB Mike McCray, #63 (4*)
  • OL David Dawson, #78 (4*)
  • OL Kyle Bosch, #89 (4*)

Other notables include Su'a Cravens at #5, Henry Poggi at #25, and Laquon Treadwell at #30—all those players earned five-star ratings.

Mike McCray, by the way, finally got his Ohio State offer today. If this bromantic text conversation with Shane Morris is any indication, however, he's not going anywhere. If you remember, McCray's father was a captain at OSU. Unless McCray takes a visit to Columbus, there's little reason to be concerned.

One more recruit to get five stars from Lemming is FL DB Leon McQuay III, who's still talking about Michigan after his visit last week. McQuay talked to Tremendous about making beats—he wants to study audio engineering—with walk-on QB Jack Kennedy and also named Michigan to his top five:

"Michigan definitely made a move on this visit. They are in my top five along with USC, Florida, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt". This is a top five for now and is subject to change.

Just as importantly, McQuay expressed a desire to visit Ann Arbor again; Michigan won't have much of a chance unless that happens. McQuay also talked to 247's Josh Newberg and named a top ten($) that includes the five schools above plus Florida State, Miami, Clemson, Oregon, and UCLA.

McQuay's visit could pay dividends that go beyond his recruitment, as he got in the ear of Seffner (FL) Armwood teammate Alvin Bailey, a four-star receiver who also holds a Michigan offer. According to 247's Todd Worly, Bailey now plans on visiting Ann Arbor this summer, likely by the end of next month ($).

Recently offered TX DT Hardreck Walker "can't wait" to see Michigan, per 247's Clint Brewster, and he's planning to use one of his official visits to check out Ann Arbor ($). Walker also holds offers from West Virginia, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Auburn, Texas Tech, and Northwestern.

AZ WR Devon Allen is still very, very fast:

Allen says he's definitely looking to compete in track at the college level and that the school he picks will likely have a strong presence in track and field. To give you an idea of the caliber of track athlete Allen is, here are his PR's from this season:



100m: 10.49

200m: 20.75

110 hurdles: 13.52

300 hurdles: 36.39

400: 48.45

Yowza. The downside to this is that if Allen is serious about attending a school with a top-flight track program, Michigan could be at a serious disadvantage when going up against Pac-12 and SEC schools. Allen did mention, however, that Michigan is in contact with him the most along with Arizona State and Arkansas.

Quickly: 247 breaks down film on CA S Su'a Cravens. They also, like everyone else, predict him to go to USC. NC WR Uriah LeMay will announce his decision on June 1st, and he'll likely join his brother Christian at Georgia. TTB gives a scouting report on TN RB Jordan Wilkins. Happy trails to VA LB Matt Rolin, who committed to South Carolina.

The Rain In Spain Never Mind I'll Stop Now

Sam Webb's latest offering at the Detroit News profiles 2014 NC OT Bentley Spain, who holds 12 offers, including one from Michigan. Spain's team didn't perform so well last year, but that problem didn't extend to Spain, who told Webb that he didn't give up a sack and recorded "about 60 pancakes." Spain also gave his thoughts on Michigan and mentioned a possible time for a visit:

"They're moving toward a pro-style offense, which I think is very good for me," Spain said. "That's the kind of offense I'd like to play in, ideally. I love what they're doing up there. I think they're really on the rise and they had a great season last year. I think I just need to keep developing relationships with all the coaches and get up there for a visit.

"I'm planning on coming out in early June, but I don't have anything set in stone yet."

Spain currently maintains no favorites and plans to wait on a decision until at least this time next year.

Michigan continues to send out offers to top-flight 2014 prospects, with four more going out this week:

  • Michigan joined Baylor, Nebraska, and Virginia in extending early offers to TX S T'Kevian Rockwell, according to 247's Todd Worly ($). Rockwell is a big safety at 6'0", 202 pounds, but after being laser-timed at 10.47 in the 100-meter dash, speed is by no means a concern. He also plays outside linebacker and running back, and if he bulks up at all—probably, considering he's still just a sophomore—one of those will likely be his position in college.
  • Tremendous reports that Michigan offered four-star NC TE Jeb Blazevich, who's already bringing in offers from a who's-who of top programs. Blazevich says he'll visit either this summer or, more likely, for a game in the fall. Click through to see his impressive sophomore highlights.
  • AZ WR Dionte Sykes also claims an offer from Michigan($), though he tells 247's Clint Brewster that UCLA "will be hard to say no to." He does mention a desire to visit several schools, including Michigan, before he makes a decision.
  • Four-star OH LB Michael Ferns already has nearly 20 scholarship offers, and Michigan joined the fray this week ($). Ferns says he'll visit Ann Arbor in June; he's already taken trips to Ohio State and Penn State.

Quickly: Canadian WR Jaylan Grandison will visit today, according to Tremendous. Michigan makes the early top five of DC CB D'Andre Payne, who will be on hand for the June one-day camp ($). Tim Sullivan with a writeup on IL CB Parrker Westphal, who has offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida, and others. Westphal is coached by former Wolverine corner Todd Howard.

Comments

reshp1

May 25th, 2012 at 3:03 PM ^

Michigan's music studio on N Campus should be a draw for McQuay. It's a pretty damn impressive facility, I had the fortune of recording there a few times while a student.

anonbastardo

May 25th, 2012 at 6:52 PM ^

(Performing Arts&Tech in the music school, where the audio engineering program resides) I can attest to the dopeness of the facilities, the main audio studio as well as the 2 electronic music studios.  I hope he can read music because there is still a core music curriculum requirement of 4 semesters of music theory and 2 semesters of piano performance.

Wolverine 73

May 25th, 2012 at 3:15 PM ^

Give me a top 5 recruiting class every year, and I don't care who is No. 1.  It isn't as though this is a science, and No. 1 really has better players than No. 2, which is better than No. 3.  Just be in the mix, and the coaching staff will have us competing to win the Big Ten yearly and have a shot at the NC game from time to time.

Willhouse

May 25th, 2012 at 3:26 PM ^

The text/twitter back and forth between McCray and Shane is amazing. Shane Morris has yet to take one snap as a Michigan QB, but he is already one of my favorite Wolverine QBs ever.

EnoughAlready

May 25th, 2012 at 3:37 PM ^

If the recruiting websites did not rank Michigan #1.  I don't care about recruiting philosophy, individual recruits, or the coaches' satisfaction with the class.  It's important -- emotionally, as a fan, I mean -- that Michigan have THE #1 class, according to recruiting websites.  Being ranked highly makes me feel good about the team of which I am a fan.

MFanWM

May 25th, 2012 at 4:19 PM ^

Looking at it from purely a recruiting perspective, a win against Alabama could be the most important recruiting tool Michigan could ever get.  Maybe a 10-20% chance, but it could prove to be an almost unbelievable coup if they could pull it off....hell making it a one score game might also pull that off.

Pray for the Denard who showed up for Nebraska and OSU last year to appear, but only a little better, and someone please make sure the DLine has their Wheaties, spinach and whatever else they need to get up for that one.

DonAZ

May 25th, 2012 at 5:22 PM ^

A win would be great.  But I think even a loss that showed Michigan playing tough, tight football would be a plus.  The sense is Michigan is on the upswing.  Anything that confirms that ascendency is a draw for recruits who want to be a part of driving Michigan back to the top.

True Blue in CO

May 25th, 2012 at 4:49 PM ^

Does anyone know more about our interest in 2013 RB/ATH Eric Moate out of Spoto, FL? He appears to be one of the fastest kids in Florida. Wondering if we are pursuing him as an RB, WR, or return specialist.

WolvinLA2

May 25th, 2012 at 4:56 PM ^

Holy T'Kevian Rockwell.  A sophomore running an FAT 10.47 at over 200lb?  That kid will be a serious recruit, no doubt about it.  Put him at RB - even if he doesn't put on any weight. 

True Blue Grit

May 25th, 2012 at 7:33 PM ^

Except taller.  I absolutely love the idea of a guy who can get down field very fast to get wide open under Shane Morris's passes.  Of course he has to have glue hands....

Alex.Y

May 26th, 2012 at 12:10 PM ^

Wow, there is a lot that is going to happen and very soon since June is just a few days away now. Things are about to get very interesting, that is definitely for sure. Thanks for the update.

 

It is that time of year when college teams start to look forward to the next tips and tricks to see who they can recruit and how well the teams will be.