Tuesday Recruitin' Isn't Even Trying To Pronounce That
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.
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.
January 24th, 2017 at 4:26 PM ^
Give me Solomon, Gay and Collins...Plus any random dudes Harbaugh and Brown squeeze in there at the end. Only eight more days!
January 25th, 2017 at 7:43 AM ^
So . . . you just want us to get three 4+/5-stars from the deep south in January the week before NSD and then you'll be happy?
You don't want much. Are you my wife?
January 24th, 2017 at 4:28 PM ^
All five of Solomon, Martin, Collins, Becton and Gay. Book it.
January 24th, 2017 at 4:30 PM ^
Well that's the dream scenario..... User avatar checks out.
January 24th, 2017 at 5:12 PM ^
Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus. Someone has young daughters in his house. Hopefully.
January 24th, 2017 at 4:48 PM ^
I believe we only have room for 4 more committments. Over 30 commitments we have to grey shirt someone. I am quessing we are chasing 5 guys, hoping to get 4 of them.
Give me Solomon, Gay, Collins, & Iffy(Ifeatu Melifonwu)
January 24th, 2017 at 6:01 PM ^
I read that we can get to 32, but that means there will be no room for grad transfers. It seems like the magic number is now 30 giving the coaches the ability to sign some grad transfers if they see a fit.
January 24th, 2017 at 6:41 PM ^
If UM gets to 30 commits I don't think the coaches are going to turn away recruits they want so they can leave a couple scholarships open for possible grad transfers.
January 24th, 2017 at 10:19 PM ^
sounds like the best candidate.
January 24th, 2017 at 4:28 PM ^
More week!! Let's put a bow on this awesome class!! Bring on the stars with some signing.
GO BLUE!!
January 24th, 2017 at 4:32 PM ^
Great sneaky insert of Solomon news at the end.
January 24th, 2017 at 4:40 PM ^
"While everyone prefers bigger names ..."
Melifonwu is at least 4 syllables. How much bigger of a name do you want?
January 24th, 2017 at 4:47 PM ^
It needs to be hyphenated, preferably with "-Saltalamacchia".
January 24th, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^
Size doesnt matter to me lol
January 24th, 2017 at 5:12 PM ^
never
January 24th, 2017 at 4:51 PM ^
That'll be a significant achievement, given how hard it is to get top-level recruits out of GA or MS. Getting both would be a huge coup.
January 24th, 2017 at 5:00 PM ^
And Gay (MS), Solomon (GA) and Collins (AL) would really knock it out of the park.
January 24th, 2017 at 7:37 PM ^
The SEC would be so mad.
January 25th, 2017 at 1:02 PM ^
January 24th, 2017 at 6:08 PM ^
January 24th, 2017 at 6:38 PM ^
I'm guessing I just can't think of them, but nobody else from Georgia really pops into my brain.
January 24th, 2017 at 7:33 PM ^
I wouldnt say UM has "pulled GA kids for years", but there have been some GA players.
Carlos Brown, Jeremy Ciulla and David Cone would be the most recent ones
January 24th, 2017 at 7:35 PM ^
but we don't get highly rated players out of Georgia very often. We did get David Cone. Also Brett Petway. He might have been good at multiple positions.
January 24th, 2017 at 7:50 PM ^
No offense to David Cone, but I'm not sure we were beating out the best teams in the ACC and SEC for his talents
January 24th, 2017 at 8:00 PM ^
Maybe not his quarterbacking talents, but I bet his rapping talents were in hot demand.
January 24th, 2017 at 8:17 PM ^
With inflation, he'd be a low 3* today.
January 24th, 2017 at 7:46 PM ^
Juaquin Feazell, 1994 recruiting class, Fort Valley GA.
January 24th, 2017 at 5:07 PM ^
MSU thinks they're going to sign Oliver Martin?
January 24th, 2017 at 6:57 PM ^
January 24th, 2017 at 5:07 PM ^
Give me Solomon and any kind of OL and I'll be happy. Everything starts with the lines. Gay would be my next pick. I'd love to have Collins too, but we have lots of talent at WR in the pipeline already, low priority.
January 24th, 2017 at 5:09 PM ^
develop, but clearly there is talent there and athleticism there. Don Brown will probably be able to go back to this well of hidden talent for at least the next few cycles.
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January 24th, 2017 at 5:12 PM ^
Well isn't it dicey getting guys out of NE because the competition level is so low? A lot of people look good running past 5'9" 160 lb white kids in Maine vs. playing in the top division in Texas HS football for example. However, if Don Brown wants this guy, I suspect he'll be pretty good
January 24th, 2017 at 5:14 PM ^
to swoop in at the end and fill a spot or 2 in a recruiting class since no one goes after tham hard
a nice safety net after we fight for as many of the big boys as we can vs. the other top teams
January 24th, 2017 at 6:52 PM ^
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January 24th, 2017 at 6:03 PM ^
January 24th, 2017 at 7:12 PM ^
January 24th, 2017 at 7:36 PM ^
Which part is formerly?
The 160lbs, from Maine, or white?
January 24th, 2017 at 7:51 PM ^
Please accept my humblest apologies and 1,000 mgopoints
January 24th, 2017 at 7:38 PM ^
on those players. But if you're talking about where to find underrated players to take a flyer on, NE is an ideal place to look.
January 24th, 2017 at 9:55 PM ^
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January 25th, 2017 at 11:37 AM ^
You'd probably not be in Maine?
Seriously, I wondered the same.
January 24th, 2017 at 9:30 PM ^
While the kids in the NE are shoveling snow all winter the kids in Texas are practicing football in thier indoor practice facilities and preparing for spring football.
January 24th, 2017 at 5:10 PM ^
As a point of order, Brian mentioned that MSU went 3-9 last year, while Notre Dame went 4-8.
To clarify, that is exactly correct. I just wanted to repeat it too.
January 24th, 2017 at 5:14 PM ^
Heard MSU morally outscored their opponents by 3-9 points every game.
January 24th, 2017 at 5:22 PM ^
It's not easy to be Defeated With Dignity (TM) once, let alone Defeated With Dignity (TM) nine times in a season.
They're kind of the moral victory national champion by some measures.
January 24th, 2017 at 5:23 PM ^
I present this as an alternative fact to the lies being dispelled
January 24th, 2017 at 8:55 PM ^
and his name means something in arabic, but who the heck knows what it is.
January 25th, 2017 at 12:08 PM ^
I loved baghdad bob.
January 24th, 2017 at 5:33 PM ^
Can confirm. Just looked it up and those were in fact their records. I'd like to point out MSU was 3-9* (*=with dignity).
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