TomVH: Darryl Monroe and Avery Walls Update

Submitted by TomVH on

I spoke with Dr. Phillips LB Darryl Monroe today, and he updated me on his status. He's a teammate of recent commit Demetrius Hart, and Michigan recruits S Roderick Ryles, WR Chris Gallon, and 2012 QB Nick Patti.

Monroe is currently committed to Washington State, but as I've said before it's very soft. He has been in contact with the Michigan coaches lately, and will be up soon for a visit.

I just talked to Coach Smith today, and he said he's just waiting to hear back from the defensive coaches. Waiting to hear if they want to offer me. I'll be coming up there probably for the Illinois game. We were all going to come up for the Wisconsin game but Nick told me we might change it, I'm not sure yet.

We'll see when they all decide to come up. It sounds like Michigan has a real shot if they decide to offer. It's hard for Darryl to really analyze anything, and where each school stands.

I want to see what Michigan has to offer from the depth chart, the defensive schemes, the academic side, and the atmosphere. If I go up there and I love it, then it will be on the coaches then. If they offer or not, but we'll see what happens.

He said if he and all his teammates decide Michigan is the best place for all of them, then that would be great. They all need to find the right place for them though. We won't know more until they all take their visit up to Ann Arbor, but it sounds somewhat promising so far.

Avery Walls is a defensive back out of Georgia that Michigan fans are hoping to get. He recently came back from a trip to Cal, and has decided that he's going to take a few more visits before he makes his decision.

I'm going to go to Michigan State, South Carolina, Virginia, and U Conn. Once all my visits are done then I'll decide from there. I don't have a leader right now, because I haven't seen all the schools yet. I'm still evaluating different things about each school. 

He recently went out to Oregon and Cal, and said that all the schools he's visited so far have been different in their own right.

They all had a certain mentality about them from the coaches, a certain lifestyle, and a different climates.

I couldn't get a good read from him, so I'm not really sure what to think. We'll have to wait to find out his decision after his visits are up. 

Comments

Tim

October 12th, 2010 at 8:54 PM ^

IIRC, he visited both Michigan and Michigan State when he was in the state (but came to Ann Arbor twice, bookending his Lansing trip).

There's always a chance I'm thinking of somebody else though.

Laser Wolf

October 13th, 2010 at 9:12 AM ^

Kid seems to have great instincts and excellent closing speed. Makes his read quickly and shoots the gap. Tom, do you know why he doesn't have a more impressive offer list? Yahoo only reports offers from Washington St. (obvs), BG, Georgia Southern, Jackson St., Marshall and Middle Tennessee State.

TomVH

October 13th, 2010 at 1:25 PM ^

He's hearing from more schools now like Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Kentucky. I'm not sure why there wasn't earlier interest. He transferred schools which can sometimes mess with the process.

KBLOW

October 12th, 2010 at 8:04 PM ^

Sorry if you covered this already Tom, but do you know what Monroe sees in WSU?  Not to bag on their program but what other offers/interest does he have aside from the Cougars and UM?   

Nard Dogg

October 12th, 2010 at 8:27 PM ^

Paul Wulff has put a little more of an emphasis on recruiting Florida and, I believe, has four FL commits in this class (including two from Orlando). That doesn't really answer the question of why WSU other than perhaps he sees Wulff recruiting hard down in Florida and a few others have signed with the Cougs, which might give WSU a little traction with some players down there.

Don

October 12th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^

if our DC wasn't widely considered to be a horrible recruiter. I understand that the DC isn't the guy responsible for defensive recruits at Michigan, but I still think it's unfortunate to not have a dynamic closer in that position.

bluenyc

October 12th, 2010 at 8:37 PM ^

It seems Avery is keeping his options open.  I think I remember Tom saying he was going to commit by the end of this month.  It seems like that won't happen with his other visits.  I wonder if he still intends to enroll early.   Hopefully, but doubtful, that he is pulling a Dee head fake.  I think he visited MSU in the summer in between visits to A2. 

I guess Ray Drew may not make it for a visit. 

Webber's Pimp

October 12th, 2010 at 8:40 PM ^

Wow. This is a new development. I thought Walls was one of the recruits we had a great shot at. This latest update doesn't insprire much confidence. Better have a Plan B. Of course all our problem can be solved with Clinton-Dix (man's gotta have a dream right?)...

MWW6T7

October 12th, 2010 at 8:46 PM ^

It seems like I remember from somewhere that Walls was supposed to decide on the few weeks following his visits out west. It would seem that he is not as sure as he was before about where he wants to go. Were any these new schools he is going to visit on his radar before the past few weeks? Is he planning on enrolling early?

Dan TrueBlue

October 12th, 2010 at 9:07 PM ^

I'm totally new to following this whole recruiting thing.  But does it surprise anyone else that we're trying to pull so many people from the same school?  Is that how it's usually done?

I can see how that creates a little more bonding and charisma among some of the guys on the team, although it could also cause some clique-forming at the exclusion of others (hopefully not!).  And  I can see how being accustomed to playing together might help out on the field.

But isn't there something to be said for diversifying your investments?  In football, we often see teams exposed to be less than what we originally thought.  I'm not saying that's true of Dr. Phillips.  But it seems like there's a small chance of it being true for any school.  So is it really wise, as a general policy, to draw so many eggs from one basket?

I'm not saying it is or it isn't, but it's something I've been wondering about.

bdneely4

October 12th, 2010 at 9:29 PM ^

and I think you might be right regarding the diversification of recruits for most High School teams.  However, I do not think this Dr. Phillips team is your everyday team.  I believe it has been mentioned by TomVH or Tim that this Dr. Phillips team is full of Division 1 prospects.  If the coaches think their guys can help our team then bring them on.

Dreisbach1817

October 12th, 2010 at 10:23 PM ^

I know this didn't turn out for Dee Hart, but I still think it may have been a mistake having Walls visit for the first game of the year.  I guess, considering that he was going to decide early, the earlier visit the better.  But not getting a commitment and then having him travel across the country on visits makes us lose our edge with Walls.  I still think if we get a few wins, Walls will be Blue.  But imagine had he visited this weekend -- at the cusp of a decision.  I think we could have locked him down. 

MightAndMainWeCheer

October 12th, 2010 at 10:50 PM ^

 They all had a certain mentality about them from the coaches, a certain lifestyle, and a different climates

I'm hoping the "different climates" bit wasn't an implication on us.  It sucks that the UConn game was unusually cold; luckily he was here over the summer to see that Michigan isn't Antartica like recruiters in California and the South like to make it out to be.

ShruteBeetFarms

October 12th, 2010 at 10:53 PM ^

OSU pulls kids out of Cleveland Glenville HS constantly. Granted, it's an in state school, but Michigan has developed a pipeline to Trotwood Madison HS in the Dayton Ohio area. Shaw, Roundtree, and Brandon Moore are all from Trotwood Madison. We're also recruiting a WR from there now. I think a pipeline into a Florida school is a big plus for the program.

 

detrocks

October 12th, 2010 at 10:59 PM ^

I had hoped that Walls would be going Blue after his west coast trip but that doesn't sound likely given all of the schools he's looking to visit. I wonder if he'll make it back to A2 before making his decision?

stillMichigan

October 13th, 2010 at 12:12 AM ^

I can see how offensive recruits see our team and say- wow, I want to be a part of that. I hope these young men know the M tradition on D and can consider our past and envision greatness and want to be a part of that. We need them.

NateVolk

October 13th, 2010 at 7:43 AM ^

Honestly, If I were a kid playing DB and wanting to maximize my potential as a DB was a primary consideration, I'd have reservations about Michigan right now.  Wanting to explore every option before jumping in would be prudent and understandable.

Gotta be confident guys like Walls will circle back after they see the totality of what Michigan brings to the table.