Thursday Recruitin' Runs Down The Candidates Comment Count

Ace

If you missed it, Brian handled the recruiting primer for which needs Michigan should fill to finish out the 2015 class. Today's recruiting roundup will attempt to figure out which prospects are most likely to fill the ten or so remaining spots.

THE MOST LIKELY CANDIDATES

CT TE Chris Clark (4*, #2 TE, #80 Ovr. on 247 Composite): Clark, a former Michigan commit, consistently stated over the last few weeks that his interest in the Wolverines would rise significantly if Harbaugh took the job. He spoke with Harbaugh—whom he called the "LeBron James of coaching"—this week and told MLive's Nick Baumgardner it went very well:

"We kind of just talked about how he hopes Michigan turns into 'Tight End U,' and all the top tight ends he produced while he was at Stanford," said Clark, who will play in the Under Armour All-American Game on Friday. "I think six of them went on to the NFL. He said he thinks I could be a great leader for the class, and he's just hoping I'll be a part of it.

"He was a really cool guy, I liked him a lot."

Clark is now down to Michigan and UCLA, and I'd guess he ends up back in the fold.

MI ATH John Kelly (3*, #57 ATH): Kelly could play either running back or defensive back at the next level, though given Michigan's needs I'd guess he'll be recruited for defense. He spoke with Harbaugh within the last couple days and told 247's Steve Lorenz he was "really pumped" about the conversation ($). Even prior to that, he indicated Michigan was moving up his list ($):

"I would love to play for Coach Harbaugh," Kelly said. "I hear he's a tough coach. I'm looking to play for a coach that will try to squeeze out all of the talent and potential in me. His hiring is a great thing for Michigan as well. As long as he contacts me and my family, the chances of me playing at Michigan will definitely increase."

Michigan State is Michigan's chief competition, with Minnesota and Iowa also factoring in. Getting Kelly could help M's efforts in pulling in another major target: former RB commit and current OSU pledge Mike Weber, who's close friends with Kelly; they'd stated in the past they'd like to play together in college, and the Buckeyes aren't pursuing Kelly.

[Hit THE JUMP for probable visitors, other candidates, and the names you can scratch off the wish list.]

PROBABLE VISITORS

CA CB Iman Marshall (5*, #1 CB, #3 Ovr.): One of the most immediate impacts of Harbaugh's hiring was a renewal of interest between Marshall and Michigan. He's told multiple reporters, including TomVH, that the Wolverines will now receive one of his official visits, along with FSU, LSU, and Oregon. USC and UCLA are the presumed favorites, but Marshall maintains he's open, and Michigan is certainly trending in the right direction.

GA OLB Roquan Smith (4*, #4 OLB, #46 Ovr.): One of the top remaining uncommitted prospects, Smith told 247 he'd take an official visit if, as expected, Michigan hires Florida interim HC and DC DJ Durkin ($):

"If Durkin goes to Michigan, I'm going to take one of my visits there because I know him and know what kind of guy he is," Smith said. "He's just a great guy. He takes care of his players on and off the field."

Georgia is currently the favorite for Smith, who's also taken officials to LSU, Ole Miss, and UCLA.

DC CB Marcus Lewis (4*, #10 ATH, #129 Ovr.): Lewis held Michigan in very high regard before the 2014 season, uh, happened. As mentioned in Monday's roundup, Lewis told Rivals he's interested in taking an official to Ann Arbor. His top three is currently Kentucky, Washington State, and Miami (YTM), in that order; I'd expect Michigan could make a big move against that group.

NV WR Cordell Broadus (4*, #18 WR, #149 Ovr.): Snoop Dogg's son told TomVH he'd "definitely" visit Michigan if Harbaugh was hired. The Crystal Ball predictions for Broadus on 247 are pretty evenly split between UCLA and USC.

TN OLB Joshua McMillon (4*, #15 OLB, #223 Ovr.): The Alabama commit had Michigan running second to the Tide when he made his pledge back in August, and per Lorenz he's told multiple current M commits that he'd take an official visit to Ann Arbor if (in all likelihood, when) Harbaugh reaches out to him ($).

FL WR Auden Tate (4*, #30 WR, #241 Ovr.): The Florida State commit took an official visit to Michigan for the Maryland game, which speaks to his high level of interest; just about every other recruit had long written off the Wolverines by that point. Lorenz reports that there's a good possibility Tate pays his own way for an unofficial visit, and if that comes to fruition he's a likely candidate to commit ($).

MURKY

GA OL Chuma Edoga (5*, #3 OT, #16 Ovr.): Before Edoga committed to USC, he showed a great deal of interest in Michigan, even participating in all four days of M's summer technique camp back in 2013, a rarity for a prospect of his caliber. For some reason, the Wolverines never offered, and he pledged to the Trojans in the spring. With his USC OL coach, Tim Drevno, now taking over as M's OC, we'll see if he finally gets that offer; if he does, I expect him to take it under very serious consideration.

CA WDE Keisean Lucier-South (5*, #2 WDE, #23 Ovr.): KLS showed very heavy interest in Michigan and took an official visit before the season went south; he eventually committed to UCLA. Harbaugh has reached out to him, which KLS tweeted about without indicating much more than that, so we'll have to wait and see if anything develops here.

TX WR DaMarkus Lodge (4*, #7 WR, #37 Ovr.): The uncommitted receiver told Scout's Bill Greene that he'd "definitely be interested" if Michigan contacted him ($). Lodge named Ole Miss as his leader within the last week.

MI RB Mike Weber (4*, #13 RB, #94 Ovr.): Weber, of course, was once a Michigan commit before opening up his recruitment and eventually pledging to Ohio State. He's said he's solid to Ohio State, but Harbaugh reportedly reached out to his family while flying to Ann Arbor; oddly, Weber's father denied that report, but Weber himself discussed the phone call to multiple outlets—I think Weber's dad just wanted to deflect some attention from his son, who's grown (understandably) tired of the reporting side of the recruiting process. I have no idea how to read into the quote Weber gave to Scout's Anna Hickey ($):

Does this mean Weber will give consideration to the Wolverines?

"Um, as of right now, I don't think so," Weber said. "I mean, you never know what will happen. I might take a visit, I don't think... I really don't know," Weber said. "It's really hard."

If—if—he takes a visit, I like Michigan's chances, especially if Kelly commits.

GA WDE Arden Key (4*, #5 WDE, #103 Ovr.): The South Carolina commit told Greene he expects to hear from Michigan, "would definitely talk to them," and he'd be interested in both the school and Harbaugh specifically ($).

NY TE/DE Tyrone Wheatley Jr. (4*, #10 TE, #235 Ovr.): Wheatley has been relatively quiet throughout his recruitment, but he's already taken—and raved about—an official visit to USC and has others scheduled to Alabama, Oregon, and UCLA. Auburn and Penn State are also involved, and per Scout's Brian Dohn it's unclear where Michigan fits into the picture ($):

His father, Tyrone Wheatley Sr., played at Michigan and the younger Wheatley said he was scheduled to speak with new Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh on Wednesday night, but he was uncertain where the Wolverines fit into his recruitment.

This could change in a hurry, of course, if the elder Wheatley—who's now a free agent after Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone opted out of his contract—signs on to Harbaugh's coaching staff.

NOT HAPPENING

As noted on Monday, five-star CA QB Josh Rosen and five-star KY RB Damien Harris both stated they wouldn't be considering Michigan; Rosen in enrolling early at UCLA while Harris is choosing soon between Alabama, Kentucky, and Ohio State.

Former commit Darian Roseboro told Rivals in a video interview that he'd talked to Harbaugh and politely declined an invitation to take an offical visit; he's solid in his pledge to NC State.

Comments

Boom Goes the …

January 1st, 2015 at 2:41 PM ^

still in play...obviously some more likely than others.  I'll guess Kelly and Clark pull the trigger in the near future, and Weber eventually sees the light.  Finish out with Auden Tate and Marcus Lewis and probably still a few others not even on the radar

Tater

January 1st, 2015 at 5:20 PM ^

I think it's great that Harbaugh is going after one of Sparty's 3-stars.  I would like to see him yank a couple of Sparty's better commits as a "surprise" for NSD.  The first step to reestablishing dominance over Sparty is to lower the quality of their recruiting class.

TheFugitive

January 1st, 2015 at 2:41 PM ^

My god. I haven't read one of these since September. Ace, writing the recruiting posts must be fun again, yes?

RobM_24

January 1st, 2015 at 2:42 PM ^

Do we have the highest ranked class of "guys lost" in the modern recruiting era? I know ND has had some years where they lost a lot, but our list is ridiculous.

Farnn

January 1st, 2015 at 2:49 PM ^

Anyone know what the timeline would be for Mora to get hired? If any coaches head to the NFL it would definitely add more potential names to this list.

The Man Down T…

January 1st, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^

Maybe we get a ton, maybe we just get some of them.  Next class is going to be huge.  Harbaugh and crew will have an entire year to work the trail and the phones.  Next year's class will be special.

Dallas Walmart…

January 1st, 2015 at 3:22 PM ^

Too bad about Kirkland.  Was really hoping he comes back.  Still, seems like there is a lot to be hopeful for.  I really like the possibility of coaches (Durkin and Drevno) bringing some top-notch prospects with them from other big name programs.  Would love to see Edoga and/or Roquan Smith in this class.  Also, if Kelly commits, it's hard to imagine that Harbaugh won't be able to at least get Weber to visit sometime in the next month.  As you say, at that point I really like our chances.

kelariuy

January 1st, 2015 at 3:54 PM ^

like  Elaine explained I didnt even know that a student able to earn $7114 in a few weeks on the computer 

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Danwillhor

January 1st, 2015 at 4:22 PM ^

that we'll come real close on a lot of guys but end up with a small, high quality class or a larger lower quality class this year. It just seems a late, Harbaugh or not.

MGoGrendel

January 1st, 2015 at 4:33 PM ^

I recently posted, I was shocked by how many kids had offers from just about every school except Michigan. We were on listed some with no check under "offer". On other lists we didnt' even get listed, but there were severaly B1G teams including our two closest rivals.

I know we have a small class, but at least extend offers to 5* kids. For example, Chuma Edoga mentioned above - he had interest in us!! What, we are full at 5* OL guys?

Mr. Yost

January 1st, 2015 at 6:40 PM ^

And he's never met the man...it's not that surprising.

Guys commit to coaches more than they commit to schools.

It's January and he's probably done with this recruiting stuff that he's been going through for 2 years and doesn't want to complicate it with one month to go. Not that far fetched.

thisisme08

January 1st, 2015 at 7:35 PM ^

Just spitballin' here but that pledge may not have lasted anyways.  Me thinks the home state pull was strong with Roseboro and while he liked Michigan enough to commit by signing day he could have been putting pen to paper for another school regardless of Hoke's job status.

ljmGOBLUESpringLake

January 1st, 2015 at 7:14 PM ^

will improve with Harbaugh on board, and with the coaching staff that he is assembling. Young men don't always make the right decisions when it comes to what team/scoll they want to play for and be a part of. 

ai know if Harbaugh was in my living room speaking to my son or grandson, Ithey would listen with open ears and mind.  Good luck to Harbaugh and staff, with the rest of the recruiting process.

 

Go Blue

kilar

January 3rd, 2015 at 1:17 PM ^

my dad in-law got a  fantastic yellow Mercedes  SL- Class SL63 just by working online with a lap-top.

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