2018 recruiting class: names trending Blue
It never ends. NSD just means we're done with one class. I hope you enjoyed your moment of relaxation. That is one more second than Harbaugh had of relaxation.
Now it's time for 2018 (born in 2000!) It will be a smaller class since the last two were massive.
We currently have two consensus 4 stars committed in Otis Reese and Emil Ekiyor.
Here's some key targets from 2018 that we have a large lead for in crystal ballz-
- Dorian Thompson-Robinson, 4 star QB from Vegas. Last Michigan ball was January 15th and we're leading for him at 63%
- Tyler Friday, DT, the #1 player from NJ and highest ranked player with a Michigan offer. We're 67% on him, but his most recent ball is to Rutgers for some reason. This will be corrected.
- Marquan McCall, the #1 player in MI. High school OL teammate of Ja'Raymond Hall's. He's 40% Blue but nothing has been put in on his timeline in months.
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Aidan Hutchinson, #2 player in MI and a 6-5/234 DE, son of
SteveCHRIS. We are 100% balled for him because obviously. - Kalon Gervin, a 5-11/180 CB from Cass Tech. 88% Blue with his last 7 predictions being for Michigan, nothing since August.
- Kolin Demens will sign 10 years after his brother Kenny Demens did. Slipped a bit in the ranking, obviously we're 100% on his radar.
- Will Mallory, #11 TE in the country from Florida who holds Clemson and Alabama offers. Son of former Harbaugh teammate.
February 2nd, 2017 at 9:19 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 12:06 PM ^
Look, to all the "things change", "Aubrey Solomon" crowd...i'm not saying UM is out of it for DTR. But I am saying that despite the Ballz it might not be entirely accurate at this moment that UM really leads.
The coach that was doing a lot of the leg work to bring him to UM went to another school that DTR was already interested in, and DTR said that it would be a big factor. Obviously its a long way until Signing Day 2018, but generally QB's commit earlier in the process so they can help recruit as well.
Sorry that it might not be ideal, but examples of recruits going against what they say publically doesnt mean DTR will too. He might, who knows, but right now its at least a battle that UM might be trailing.
February 2nd, 2017 at 1:16 AM ^
I can't remember where I read this, but msu might lead for Maquan McCall right now. Hopefully someone else has read the same and can confirm if this is true.
February 2nd, 2017 at 1:29 AM ^
Seems like 80 percent of the time MSU leads for a guy that Michigan wants, he ends up going to Michigan. Ambry Thomas, Lawrence Marshall, Kugler, Brian Cole, Drake Harris, Irving Bey, Oliver Martin etc. come to mind. We also have a whole season to play where MSU could go 5-7/6-6.
February 2nd, 2017 at 8:00 AM ^
Who is this Lawrence Marshall of which you speak?
February 2nd, 2017 at 10:01 AM ^
because MSU was in the midst of their football utopia and we were not very good. Now we are starting to get who we want when it's a 1-on-1 battle. Just look at the DetNews interview of the Blue Chip kids. Just about every Sparty was salty because we didn't show any serious interest. Our kids were complementary of MSU but basically said we were a better school/program. We will need to start winning some conference titles and more though because OSU feels they can come in and steal some kids away.
February 2nd, 2017 at 2:10 AM ^
Teammate of J.Hall. McCall to Michigan book it. MSU is done. I think Rutgers is 3 to 9 times more of a threat. LOL.
February 2nd, 2017 at 7:16 AM ^
Yeah, I remember reading the same thing a few days back. It was either on 247 or Scout, but they did say MSU had the early lead. Obviously its still far from a done deal and Michigan should play a big factor in his recruitment.
February 2nd, 2017 at 1:41 AM ^
a little break from recruiting. Thank you.
February 2nd, 2017 at 1:44 AM ^
I could see Robinson here but what about us taking it straight to Auburn and going after Joey Gatewood. He's a big QB, assuming we want at least one dual threat QB on the roster, but if we stick to pro-style, what about Arthur Sitkowski?
February 2nd, 2017 at 1:51 AM ^
Seems the coaches backed off SItkowski.
February 2nd, 2017 at 9:39 AM ^
This is true.
February 2nd, 2017 at 9:40 AM ^
Michigan is supposedly going to go after Gatewood some, and they're going after some players who are already committed. After getting a couple kids they like in consecutive classes (Peters, McCaffrey), I think they might go ahead and swing for the fences by trying to flip someone.
February 2nd, 2017 at 1:21 PM ^
They should go hard after Trevor Lawrence.
February 2nd, 2017 at 1:47 AM ^
Great thing for us is that Notre Dame and MSU are pretty down. In fact PJ Fleck might be more of a threat than those two.
Any word on whether the state of Michigan is going to produce a lot of talent in 2018?
February 2nd, 2017 at 2:11 AM ^
won't be even close to 2017. 2017 was a banner year for in-state talent. I expect UM to recruit even more nationally in 2018.
February 2nd, 2017 at 9:39 AM ^
There are some solid prospects, but the top-end talent probably isn't there like it was with Donovan Peoples-Jones and Ambry Thomas.
February 2nd, 2017 at 1:51 AM ^
But it's never to early to start getting familiar with top prospects on our board. Only 364ish days left until NSD!!
GO BLUE!!
February 2nd, 2017 at 2:26 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 5:03 AM ^
among the top Michigan h.s. players next season. Transferring to IMG and returning to Muskegon in a short period of time, after the Big Reds were off to a 4-1 start and No.1 ranking in D3, played a huge role in Fairfield's decision to remain with the status quo, and treating Reed like any other in-coming transfer.
Recognized early for his sheer size, but proving he possessed the skills necessary to compete at the highest level of D1 football, I think he'll end up being among the state's best prospects by the end of the 2018 h.s. season.
February 2nd, 2017 at 10:16 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^
Offensive tackle.
February 2nd, 2017 at 4:10 AM ^
"Aidan Hutchinson....son of Steve."
There has never been a greater lock in the history of locks.
February 2nd, 2017 at 6:21 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 9:24 AM ^
He is son of Sam
/s
February 2nd, 2017 at 10:12 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 5:27 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 11:18 AM ^
Chris was a great All-American at Michigan, but the NFL loved his cat-like quickness so much that nobody drafted him—he went the FA route. On top of that, he never played a down in the NFL.
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090111aaa.html
From his wiki profile: "After graduating from Michigan, Hutchinson signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns. During training camp, Hutchinson developed complications from at tetanus shot and retired from football."
February 2nd, 2017 at 6:01 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 6:58 AM ^
In case you didn't know, he's not Steve's son. Unless Dr. Chris Hutchinson needs to have a talk with Mrs. Hurchinson.
February 2nd, 2017 at 6:34 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 7:02 AM ^
ALL THE CASS TECH DEFENSIVE BACKS!!!
February 2nd, 2017 at 7:04 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 7:17 AM ^
McCall will not be #1 ranked next season. He did not finish the season at Oak Park and probably is done in football.
February 2nd, 2017 at 7:33 AM ^
Haha what? Can anyone else attest to this?
February 2nd, 2017 at 1:12 PM ^
Nothing to indicate he won't be playing next year.
February 2nd, 2017 at 4:04 PM ^
Yea exactly.
February 2nd, 2017 at 7:40 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 9:23 AM ^
lol way to try and start a rumor. McCall took a visit to Wisky a few weeks ago, MSU stopped in to see him after the dead period, and I've seen nothing about him being done with football or transfering schools.
February 2nd, 2017 at 7:35 AM ^
Super excited about Tyler Friday. One of many NJ prospects for us this next recruiting cycle, will probably be a 5 star by the fall. There's a one-on-one clip where he whipped Isaiah Wilson TWICE IN A ROW, and he's a year younger! So, yeah, we want him, especially with Hurst leaving after this season.
Kalon Gervin is ANOTHER Cass Tech DB track star who runs a 4.38 (Jabrill / Jourdan speed). Unless we have an MSU-like season, that should be a lock with all of his teammates (both for football and track) committing to UM this past cycle. This should help maintain the Cass Tech pipeline as long as Wilcher is still coaching.
I want to add Taron Vincent, 5 star DT from IMG in Florida, who Scout has Michigan in his top 4. Take that for what it's worth. Also, Jahan Dotson, 4 star receiver from The Peddie School in NJ, has Michigan in his current top 9 according to Scout as well. And, lastly, BJ Foster, 5-star and #1 ATH from Texas, has had Michigan in his top 5 since Thanksgiving.
Looking to the o-line, besides McCall, Tommy Brown, 6'7 315lb 4 star OT from Cali, has Michigan in his top 10. Antwan Reed, 4 star tackle out of Muskegon, is trending toward UM over MSU.
There are a lot of other guys to pick up who are considering Michigan, but we cannot under perform this season if we want to attract those guys. Go blue!
February 2nd, 2017 at 7:43 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 9:35 AM ^
I think it's too early to tell. I don't think we were in the driver's seat for Aubrey Solomon, Nico Collins, Jordan Anthony, Dylan McCaffrey, or Ambry Thomas last year, either. Donovan Peoples-Jones wasn't a lock. The one elite guy we seemed to lead for all along was Cesar Ruiz.
February 2nd, 2017 at 10:25 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 7:45 AM ^
We need an elite RB, I thought Pledger looked all of that plus some for IMG. Also Oakland County has some great players again this year, and cass looks to have 3-4 on our radar as well.
February 2nd, 2017 at 8:03 AM ^
Agreed, but I'm reluctant that he'd go blue since our RB depth is ridiculous. If there's any position that won't be emphasized this coming cycle, I think it'd be RB. But, Chris Evans is an upcoming star, Kareem could have a coming-out party this season, and O'Maury is a freak athlete (maybe Kurt Taylor as well). Not saying Najee wouldn't have gotten run, but Pledger might have a tough time committing to a two year wait until a possible starting role. Still want him, though :)
February 2nd, 2017 at 9:32 AM ^
I'm not really worried about that too much. Chris Evans isn't an every-down back, and nobody else has proven himself. Unless someone comes out of nowhere (Walker, Samuels, etc.) to light things up, then there's an obvious spot for playing time.
February 2nd, 2017 at 8:09 AM ^
WD, can you fix your OP to reflect that Steve Hutchinson is not Aidan Hutchinson's dad?
February 2nd, 2017 at 8:47 AM ^
February 2nd, 2017 at 9:03 AM ^
said he wants to play with Ruiz again - 4-star - should be on the consideration list
February 2nd, 2017 at 9:23 AM ^
looking at 2018 right now for me is way too early. I want to enjoy this 2017 class and start thinking about Spring Ball, before I can get too excited about next years recruiting class.