Cass Tech 2015 LB Michael Oliver is visiting today
Detroit (MI) Cass Tech linebacker Michael Oliver, a CMU commit, is visiting Michigan today. He's a 247 Composite 3-star, the #78 inside linebacker, and the #48 player in the state. Here are his highlights.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
So is R. Smith now down to 0% chance of Going Blue???
January 31st, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
this can't be a good sign.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:47 PM ^
Not sure if he's at 0%, but they're different kinds of players, anyway. Oliver is an inside linebacker all the way, whereas Roquan Smith is a weakside/outside type of guy.
January 31st, 2015 at 3:08 PM ^
Roquan Smith is a elite athlete from what I have seen and read. Don't know much about Oliver.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:49 PM ^
Seems like it - with all the RBs being offered and this at LB it wouldnt speak to highly of chances of Weber or Smith for those last few slots.
I was anticipating Durkin was going to bring 2-3 recruits he had been building year+ relationships with him up to Michigan but it doesn't appear that is going to be the case which is disappointing. Hopefully 2016 is better for him - he is supposed to be an ace recruiter.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:30 PM ^
Since Durkin was at Florida for the past four years, it's probable that the majority of kids he was recruiting were from Florida or other deep Southern states. People may have underestimated the difficulty in getting those kids to all of a sudden switch their thinking to coming up north simply because Durkin is in Ann Arbor.
It's an interesting object lesson overall—there was plenty of blind optimism around MGoBlog that simply because we have Harbaugh and a staff full of NFL experience that top-rated recruits were going to be ditching their commitments left and right to come here for the 2015 class. We have to wait couple more days to know for sure, but right now it seems like that degree of optimism might have been a bit excessive. We're just going to have to wait until 2016 to get a true picture of this staff's recruiting chops.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^
not everyone bleeds blue. Coach Harbaugh is a force, and he's brought together an excellent staff, but there simply wasn't enough time for them to turn a lot of guys to Blue. I'm not going to waste a moment getting down if NSD doesn't go our way, it's way past NSD that I'm looking forward to. We're all very excited to see what Coach Harbaugh can do at the helm; this is just the beginning of the beginning.
January 31st, 2015 at 5:41 PM ^
Southern kids to Florida, these are kids he couldn't get to commit..Or perhaps Florida never offered them. He's getting them to give us a last minute look. We may still reel in 1 or 2 like Jarius Adams. At the same time, Durkin has to work on the other defensive recruits like Marshall.
January 31st, 2015 at 7:39 PM ^
Disagree here - a lot of kids were not going to UF because it was a flaming tire fire not much different than UM. Many thought Muschamp was done so how could Durkin get people to commit to a staff that would not even be there? Muschamp had at least SOME chance to stay there I suppose but that was pretty much done by late October. So Durkin had players who were interested in an elite football school but turned off by instability. I would have liked him to land someone this class and I think it's right to be disappointed by him not doing so. Even further the coaching staff that did land at Florida was not exactly high in sex appeal so not like they were thinking "OMG the school I was interested in now has this rock star coach so I'm clearly going there, screw Durkin."
January 31st, 2015 at 7:35 PM ^
The reason I picked on Durkin was he has been college recruiting the past 2 years which is the cycle that would get kids to come here - its the time needed to build a serious relationship. So I was expecting more from him for the 2015 class - it doesnt mean anything to his abilities long term but he was 1 of 2 guys (Drevno) who really was in there recruiting while most of the other coaches were in the NFL so was most likely to bring someone here. And unlike Drevno he is noted as a super recruiter.
I didn't expect much from Harbaugh or any NFL assistants he brought for 2015 - they have not been recruiting for the past half decade. Most of their HS coach relationships are old/stale and their relationships with kids non-existent.
January 31st, 2015 at 3:34 PM ^
I am still sorta in a state of shock that Harbaugh has gotten Michigan into the conversation on so many "committed" recruits. Whatever happens on NSD, the Harbaugh Effect is in full force and will only be stronger next year,.
January 31st, 2015 at 5:30 PM ^
The staff has offered multiple players at every position they've recruited, except LB and FB. That leads me to believe LB was not a high priority, rather than they were counting on Smith and just learned he's not coming. They don't seem to be the type to put all of their eggs in one basket. From the outside, there was never any indication that Smith was even likely, let alone a sure commit.
More offers might just be going out because we have more openings than originally anticipated from added attrition. It's also possible that he plays a different position than Smith anyway. Someone below mentioned FB, which would fit.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:00 PM ^
I wouldn't put that much stock in it. As of now we have 6 slots (probably more like 8) to fill by Wednesday and all of the more high profile guys on our board are still up in the air. The closest "lock" we have is Ty Jr. and we really have no idea what he's going to do.
I just don't think the coaches are going to go out of their way to "bank" scholarships for next year when they could have an extra year with an under-the-radar guy they think they can develop. And I trust that this coaching staff will get the best out of each player who has the basic talent requirements to play in the B1G.
Plus it helps that Oliver goes to the same school as Weber. I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple more offers go out to MAC guys over the next few days.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
It seems like it's more the coaches making sure to cover their bases. We still have a shot with these guys and it could be that they haven't made their minds up yet. No reason to put all the eggs in one basket.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:51 PM ^
Some speculation this may be a FB offer...Have to wait and see
January 31st, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
LB is a position of need, as we'll have a dearth of upperclassmen LB next season, but not a ton of depth in the lower classes. Can't be going solely after Smith and I'll trust the staff on this.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
I don't think "dearth" is the word you wanted.
January 31st, 2015 at 3:18 PM ^
Easy to misspell plethora.
January 31st, 2015 at 3:27 PM ^
Hilarious, Magnus. Hilarious!
January 31st, 2015 at 4:24 PM ^
It wasn't that funny.
January 31st, 2015 at 3:44 PM ^
We have a dearth of upperclassmen LBs but we make up for that with a lack of any depth in the lower classes.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:42 PM ^
January 31st, 2015 at 1:45 PM ^
I think he's slow but a heavy hitter. I'm not super enthused about the prospects of getting a guy like him, but I also don't like the idea of banking scholarships.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:43 PM ^
these Wolverine coaches are tenacious, never giving up. GO BLUE!
January 31st, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
January 31st, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^
I think most people don't realize Dele Harding is a 2016 commit lol. Poor guy commited within minutes of the David Brandon firing...err resignation. That took up all the oxygen that week.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:49 PM ^
How many recruits are on campus this weekend?
January 31st, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^
AFAIK, there are four - Adams, Burnett, Jefferson, and Oliver.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:00 PM ^
Higdon's coach from the other thread said they were on their way.
January 31st, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^
January 31st, 2015 at 1:50 PM ^
Does it seem like he's a little small to be an outside linebacker?
January 31st, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^
He's short, yes.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^
At 5'11 and if lacking in speed he is a MLB. Basically this replaces Michael Ferns spot albeit not of the same HS caliber player.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:50 PM ^
Plays downhill, great first step/play diagnosing, hits hard. I think he is a great use for a scholarship if he is the type of guy to come in and work with a chip on his shoulder, while also strengthening the fence around Detroit (hopefully he is good friends with Mikey, and Donovan Peoples-Jones). If he plays on their side of the line of scrimmage 5'11 doesn't matter.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:53 PM ^
I think Cass Tech is sending him on blitz after blitz. I wouldn't take too much away from him attacking the line of scrimmage like he does, other than the fact that he's not tentative when it comes to contact.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:07 PM ^
The only reason I am hesitant to agree is that his diagnostic path is visible. He is either a tentative blitzer who abandons the gap he was supposed to attack or he wasn't blitzing on every play. You can see him take his first step and then adjust on many plays. He blitzes quite a bit, but on many plays its his first step and then appropriate flow and attacking of pulling guards. With our coaching and SC program he seems like a solid #2 Mike as an upperclassman.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:51 PM ^
January 31st, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^
Yeah, I like Ojemudia better, too, although he's farther away from playing size than Oliver. Ojemudia is about 6'2", 190.
January 31st, 2015 at 1:57 PM ^
January 31st, 2015 at 1:57 PM ^
Short and slow, but at this point we don't have a lot of options.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
The coaches need plan B candidates for every spot / player they're not sure about. Each offer does not necessarily mean we have zero chance with the plan A player at the same position.If he gets offered.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:08 PM ^
Mike Oliver and parents visiting University of Michigan today per their request. Harbaugh is high on Tim Walton 2016 stay tuned. #CTFB
— Dennis Parker (@Coach_P_) January 31, 2015
January 31st, 2015 at 2:07 PM ^
Other board rumblings that Oliver could be looked at as a FB??
January 31st, 2015 at 2:14 PM ^
He could be. He played it in high school, and Michigan missed out on Reagan Williams.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:37 PM ^
January 31st, 2015 at 2:38 PM ^
January 31st, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
January 31st, 2015 at 2:21 PM ^
If he does, it hasn't been reported.
January 31st, 2015 at 2:21 PM ^