Friday Recruitin' Now Starting To Get Into 2014
Stribling The Stripling
![7417780138_3cb4462f21_z[1]](https://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Friday-Recruiting_BDE0/7417780138_3cb4462f21_z1.jpg "7417780138_3cb4462f21_z[1]")
Channing Stribling via MNBN
The most notable development from Michigan's summer camp was of course the offer to and commitment from NC CB Channing Stribling. The Hello post was pretty light on scouting content because there wasn't any before Michigan's camp kicked off. Let me try to fill in a couple of holes. First, Maize and Blue News has a bit on Stribling's post-offer activities:
In more than 10 years of attending the Michigan summer camp, Channing Stribling pulled something today that we don't remember seeing before. A rarity at the very least. In the past, the rule of thumb was that if a player earned a scholarship offer at the camp, they were done. Whether they committed or not, it was sort of a “mission accomplished” type of event and the player would either head home or stick around to watch without competing. Not so with Stribling.
The young defensive back pledged to the Wolverines this morning, then went out and kept working to improve his game. He continued to attentively go through drills and was even running full speed demonstrating the wide receiver position for other campers, where many are often inclined to take it easy. In the sweltering 90 degree temperatures he had to endure, it speaks well of the work ethic of the Wolverines’ latest commitment.
247 got some quotes from his coach($):
“One of things that made him attracted to them is his size. I think he might grow another inch. Long arms. He controls his body very well. You see a lot of kids in high school that size, they have a tough time managing where everything is going, but Channing does a great job with body control.”
He is declared the "epitome of an athlete." Coincidentally, that is the working title of Charlie Weis's soon-to-be-published memoirs.
GBW's Kyle Bogenshutz has an excellent article on how Stribling went from random guy in a gray helmet to Michigan's latest commitment($):
“I think the first day after we did drills and we did Air Force ball [ed: must be a drill] and I started doing little moves,” he explained to GoBlueWolverine, “and they asked me what my name was—and I told them I was Channing Stribling, and they started looking at me more the next few days." …
“It was the next day, that next night after Air Force ball, that they asked me to go meet the defensive coordinator. And I met him and he said he’s going to look at me the next few days,” said Stribling.
Unfortunately paywalled, but if you've got the subscription check it out.
Stribling's commitment may have yoinked a scholarship offer from 2013 OH CB Aregeros Turner, who impressed($) but did not leave camp with an offer. Despite having offers from Washington, Tennessee, and Illinois he still told 247 Michigan was "probably like my top school or at least top two right now." In the event of a DB decommit (not likely) or an open slot he may be a guy to keep an eye on.
2014 Caremeter: further incremented
In non-Stribling news, Michigan offered a handful of 2014 kids. Most prominent amongst them is MI WR Drake Harris, a dual-sport star with a Michigan State offer in basketball but possibly a higher ceiling in football. Sam Webb's News article this week is on Harris:
"(Brady) Hoke sat down with us and was reiterating again how much he liked Drake," said Harris' father, Mike. "It was nice. He definitely made Drake feel like they really want him. It was fun for him. We had a good time down there. Hoke is straight up and real, and I like guys like that. He let me know what he thought and I like that. It was definitely a great feel."
He's still figuring out what he wants to do in college.
Other 2014 offerees included FL WR Corey Holmes (first offer) , OH LB Joe Henderson (first offer), PA S Montae Nicholson (PSU, Pitt), and DC CB D'Andre Payne (Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, OSU, VT).
Cass Tech CB Damon Webb would have been amongst them if Michigan hadn't fired one off a week earlier after seeing him at the SMSB camp. He impressed again. Pargoff:
Rising junior Damon Webb of Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech continued to live up to the hype, showing up for the afternoon session and performing exceptionally well. He breaks and closes so quickly and attacks the ball in the air that there were times it appeared quarterbacks had mistaken him for their primary target. As we noted after the Sound Mind Sound Body Camp, he is easily a top-100 prospect for 2014.
The rest of these guys are just names at this juncture. We can try to fix that. Webb on Nicholson:
This ball-hawking safety had to be the leader in interceptions during his time on campus Tuesday. He showed great range and made quarterbacks pay for any passes they hung in the air.
At 6-3 and 200 pounds, Nicholson is big enough to play strong safety, but his exceptional leaping ability and ball skills make him tailor-made to roam the field at free. The surprising thing about this talented youngster is his camp performance was below his own standards.
That begs the question — if he earns a Michigan scholarship on one of his "off days," how good is he when he's on?
For his part, Holmes tweeted out a "mission accomplished" after landing his offer. He then told 247 Michigan had the "early edge($)" with him:
“The offer just kind of gave me butterflies because I have always been a big Michigan fan,” said Holmes. “It was my goal to earn an offer there and I’m really glad I could accomplish it. Michigan is definitely my top school right now.”
He wants to get his commitment out of the way before his senior season, which still gives him a full year to come to a decision. Pargoff:
Corey Holmes continued to display excellent speed, quickness and athleticism as he did yesterday, but his performance late in the morning session was marred by dropped passes. He definitely has all of the athletic ability needed to earn a scholarship offer from the Wolverines, but he needs to become more consistent with his hands.
He goes to St. Thomas Aquinas, a school Michigan has recruited frequently over the last decade or so. They've had little success when it comes to actually securing Aquinas kids but that's usually because they've gone to Notre Dame instead. It's a school that sends a lot of guys North, is what I'm saying.
Payne says some nice things about Mallory($) and vaguely positive things about Michigan but it seems like he's a long way from figuring things out. He says he'll be in for a visit to see what the game atmosphere is like. Henderson is a 6'4", 220 pound guy as a rising junior so he would be a SAM at M.
Meanwhile, 2014 IN WR Dominque Booth did not get his camp offer but feels one is coming($) after a couple of games in his junior season.
Quarterbacks : wolves :: scholarship : t-bone steak equidistant from them
Michigan has not thrown out any offers at quarterback yet but after getting a look at MI QB Chance Stewart and OH QB DeShone Kizer one or both is probably going to get the call soon. Tremendous caught up with Stewart after the camp:
Chance was at Michigan all day Tuesday after earning an offer from Wisconsin last Sunday. Chance felt like he performed really well at Michigan, and even "threw better than I did at Wisconsin".
He was able to talk a little with the Michigan coaches about a potential offer and they told him "they had to evaluate a couple other guys at their camp, and after camp they will figure it out". he went on to say "they said we would be in contact by the end of the week".
Michigan and Wisconsin would be Stewart's top two if Michigan does pull the trigger, and given what Stewart told 247($)…
“I really hope I can pick up that offer because Michigan is a special place to me. They have the best of the best in everything and I feel like Coach Borges and I really communicated well and he helped me become a better player at camp.”
…I don't think Wisconsin would have much of a chance, especially since he says he wants to make a decision as soon as possible.
TomVH and Chantel Jennings make it sound like it's edge Stewart($) in an article on offensive top performers:
2014 Chance Stewart -- Looks the part of a top quarterback. He had a few struggles but took well to coaching and made some nice throws. He's a Michigan kid who's familiar with the program.
2014 DeShone Kizer -- Had a shaky start but brought it back together towards the end of the day on Wednesday. He got his technique down and threw well in the final one-on-ones.
The timeline Kizer was given($) also suggests the staff might prefer the instate kid:
“(Borges) explained to me that he didn’t want to offer an 2014 quarterbacks before camp, and he doesn’t feel he has ‘that guy’ yet,” Kizer said. “He wants to see a couple of games at the beginning of the season and see if I improve from camp before he makes any moves.”
Either way, if Michigan picks up a four-star-ish guy after Shane Morris that's moving towards the Gutierrez-Henne-Richard embarrassment of riches (that was just enough to get Michigan one starting QB—lottery tickets, man).
A window of Derrick Green hope
You know what they say about getting a kid on campus and Seeing What Happens($).
“I want to get out there again to speak with the head coach,” Green said. “I’m definitely going to get back there. I want to go up there and see what (Brady Hoke) has to say – what he likes about me, why they want me, and just to get a feel for who I might be playing for one day.”
That visit won't happen until the fall, though, at which point Michigan may be ultrasounding athletic-looking pregnant ladies.
The Distant Future, The Year 2000
Michigan pulled the trigger on what I believe is their first 2015(!) offer when they slyly implied but did not promise 2015 KY RB Damien Harris that he would get an offer in August of his senior year… which is still two years away for the rising sophomore. Obviously this dude is a manchild. Webb:
At 5-11 and 195 pounds, he is powerfully built, but still very fluid; he does yoga to maintain that fluidity. In drills and 7-on-7 action he showed great burst and caught the football very well. One really can't fully appreciate how talented and physical Harris is without the pads on. One look at his film and those things become abundantly clear. Michigan clearly thought so. So too did Fresno State, Ohio, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Illinois and Tennessee.
Damien Harris of Berea (Ky.) Madison Southern was easy to spot among the running back group. Standing in at around 5-10, 200 pounds, the young rising sophomore already has the build of an upperclassman. He showed off plenty of speed and skill to go with that. While it seems incredibly early to offer a 2015 prospects, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the Wolverines pulled the trigger to do just that. He really was that impressive.
I think Webb or Trieu mentioned that Harris was a Michigan fan who geeked out when Mike Hart was one of his position coaches at the camp. I'm guessing we'll see an article from one of the premium sites that can confirm or dis-confirm this in the near future.
Next week's event
That would be the visit($) of FL WR Alvin Bailey, Leon McQuay III teammate and four-star slot receiver. FSU is a considerable favorite; maybe Hoke can shake that assumption.
Happy Trails
Recently offered CA WR Darren Carrington commits to Oregon.
Etc.: Michigan does not offer a kicker. 2014 five-star Jabrill Peppers says M will make his top ten($). Damon Webb says he's been a Michigan fan his whole life($) and commiting early is a "possibility" but he doesn't think it will happen.
Very nize.
That's some good writin' That's why I come to this here blog. It's not all just UFR's and charts.
It's early, but I'd be surprised if Holmes doesn't end up part of the 2014 class. Grew up a Michigan fan, said it would be a dream come true to get an offer from them, and even discussed the possibility of a commitment upon a potential offer with his dad before he made it to camp. Now that he has the offer, Michigan is in the driver's seat.
Aquaman, is Holmes the one who said he would write up a camp reaction diary for Tremendous?
Yeah, that's him.
ultrasounding athletic lookin pregnant ladies. I love Brian write ups.
Will be interesting if he can still play corner if he continues to grow - not many 6'3" corners out there. His speed and size is similar to Jeremy Clark - he ran 11.6 100 meters in track.
Well, he's 2 inches and 25 pounds smaller, so maybe not that similar.
I'd be down with Chance Stewart. We're kind of at a low risk spot for QB recruiting this year, and Stewart looks like he has a lot of upside. If he doesn't pan out, it's not a major problem because we have Shane one year ahead of him, and probably Campbell in 2015. I'd like to get one of them early so they can Shane Morris the 2014 recruiting class. Since Chance loves him some Michigan, he'd be a great offer.
I realize you're presuming that Morris is going to live up to his sizeable expectations, but you don't have to look very far into the past to see the numerous examples of recruits (at Michigan, at the QB position) who did not. Morris may be Henne OR Guttierez OR Richard OR Forcier OR Robinson OR.....
Seriously, we're talking about a kid entering his senior year of high school in Morris' case andin Campbell's a '15 kid who doesn't even have an offer yet. Making assumptions about the needs in between them is laughable. I'd love to see these same sort of assumptions from like 2004, about what 2007 class recruits would be doing. Given the success rate of assumptions about Dee Hart, Sam McGuffie, etc. I'm pretty sure it would be extremely LOL.
The QB position is very important - the decision the coaches make here is one of the more important recruiting decisions they'll make in the class.
Stewart does sound like a promising player.
Actually Campbell has offers from Bama and ND already
I know, which is another reason why it's silly to assume he's going to start at QB for Michigan in 2018 or whatever.
C'mon Mat, I know you really want to debate O-line depth
Hilarious. We all have are favorite subjects and Mat's is clearly O line depth in '13 and '14
You can spot a LACK of depth years in adavance (or at least the risk of it happening.)
I'm still worried about next year's OL, BTW.
You have to argue with everything I ever say, don't you? You're easily my least favorite poster.
I didn't say no risk and I'm not saying we offer just some dude. But as opposed to 2013 where we absolutely needed a QB and he needed to be good, 2014 has less pressure. Whenever you sign a 5=star top-25 level talent, you ease the need for that position in the next class. That doesn't mean you ignore that spot, and I never suggested that.
Similarly, we'll be in a low risk spot for OL recruiting in 2014. That doesn't mean we won't take any OLs, but it means we can either sign guys who are more boom-or-bust types, or wait on only our top prospects because if our total is lower, we're in good shape.
The year we signed Forcier, we needed a guy who could come in and play right away. Had Morris not signed to early for this class, we would have been in a spot with this class where we needed a top QB.
At no point did I say Morris will certainly be a four year starter immune to injuries. If I knew that, I wouldn't want to offer any QB in 2014. All I said was that we're in a good spot at QB for the 2014 class having Morris in the class before.
After taking no QBs in 2012 and only taking Morris in 2013, I wouldn't exactly call QB a "low pressure position" for 2014, just because depth is bound to become an issue, not to mention Morris (or any QB) is only one injury away. I wouldn't be surprised if they took two in 14.
Well, redshirting Bellomy is kind of like taking one in 2011.
Maybe I just wasn't clear. I don't think 2014 is a "we don't have to take a QB" type of year. We do. But with Bellomy looking like a solid player (who will be eligible through 2015) and Shane obviously showing plenty of promise, we don't need to recruit a guy who needs to come in and hit the ground running.
Bellomy and Morris haven't played a down for Michigan.
Every year (except for under Rodriguez) has been a year where the QB recruits are not expected to 'hit the ground running'. The goal is always the same - find someone who can start at some point down the line.
So are you saying that every year is exactly the same and the need is never any different from one year to another? If that's how you feel, fine. But my point is that in any given year, the importance of a particular position is more or less than other years.
But that's closer to the truth than saying 'we don't really have to worry about this class of high school sophomores because the high school freshman look strong and the high school junior is already in the CFB hall of fame."
I didn't say we didn't have to worry about it, and you're putting way to much weight on my Campbell comment that was a side note and nothing more. You like to hang on certain things way too much.
Look - Bolden, RJS, Ringer and Ross haven't played a down at LB yet, but the coaches felt we didn't need to put as much emphasis on that spot in the 2013 class because of them. You can never bank on any player doing anything in college football, but you need to plan around certain things probably happening because you only have so many scholarships to deal with.
You're right - something might happen to where Morris and Bellomy both can't play for us. But something might happen to Stewart too! Does that mean we need to take two QBs? Or three?
LB is the deepest position on the current roster, and they still took 2 in the class, 1 less than a 'normal' class size. Your argument that the 2013 class is altering recruiting strategy is dubious, at best. Especially considering Bolden and Ringer are EEs and many think Ross is prepared to play right away. Anyway, I'd argue the 2-person class has more to do with Jake Ryan and Desmond Morgan emerging than any 2013 guy. And...the class hasn't signed yet. (Not that I think they'll add a LB, but you never know - I didn't expect a long-snapper or a 2-star DB either.)
But yes, since LB is a position group, if you take 4 or 5 in one year you will probably need to scale back some other year. QB isn't the same - you're only taking 1, occassionally 2 guys, so you can't exactly spread the risk out between a bunch of bodies. At QB - you take one every year IMO, and occassionaly (like every 4 years of so, give or take attrition and supply side circumstances) you might take 2.
I've been high on Bellomy since first reading about Borges flying down to Texas to see him, and I think he's going to have a nice career - and that he'll start games for us and do well. I think Morris is a dream recruit. I'm not WORRIED about our QB position, necessarily, but its very important that we find at least one player in this '13 class. I'm viewing Bellomy or Morris as givens. The fact that we skipped QB in the '11 class means there are depth concerns until we get back up to 4 QBs on the roster. But it's not just about depth because whoever we recruit is likely to start some games.
Double post, but fuck it.
You post all the time. I only argue with the stuff I find particularly egregious.
Here's the weird part about your comment. "I didn't say no risk and I'm not saying we offer just some dude. " - who is saying you did? "All I said was that we're in a good spot at QB for the 2014 class having Morris in the class before. " Actually you said more than that and you talked about a high school freshman's role/influence on the UofM football program.
My point is simply that every year matters for QB recruiting. You can sit here and say it's not a priority because of X recruit, but that ignores the uncertainity of recruits. This is particularly galling given that there are literally dozens of examples, just in the last couple years of this.
You're totally wrong about '14 OL recruiting because, again, you're counting on a bunch of kids who haven't played a down for Michigan.
You get the best kids you can - every year. Yes, some years you might be willing to take more risk than others year, but that's when you have a guy like Jake Ryan lined up to play for 3 more seasons, not because of High School freshman.
Are you arguing that every class matters exactly the same at QB? What if we had a class where we signed 3 QBs? Is the year after than as important as a year after we didn't take a QB at all and the guy we got the year before transfered away?
I think the importance can change from year to year. Do you honestly disagree with that?
That's what I think.
In your (extremely unlikely) example of 3 QBs, the assumption would be that at least one of them would not pan out at QB. Furthermore, they'd likely be split out (via red-shirts) to another class. So yeah, you'd still want the best QB you could get the following year. Its not like 4 or even 5 QBs is too many for a roster.
Between attrition, red-shirts, early NFL entry, etc. you want to take a good players every year. Especially QB.
I'm a believer in the idea that you strive, roughly, to fill out a complete starting unit every season. Obviously a few positions require fewer bodies (OL, FB) and others more (RB, LB) but more or less a stable program shouldn't have big differences from year to year in positional groups. I think Michigan's approaching a point of stability where that's the case.
Oh jeez, of course you take the best guy. I never said we should pass on our good options and instead recruit a kid who sucks just because we can.
Don't be mad at me just because your mom didn't love you enough to give you that second t.
And that's where I call it a weekend. Have a great one, y'all.
REEELAX!!!!
If we get Morris, Stewart and Campbell. We're good. There is no team in the country that could ask for more. If they don't all pan out? Oh well. But you're talking about 3 potential Elite 11/4* or Better QBs in 3 years. Nobody has a crystal ball.
If we can sign those 3 in 3 years...it's on us to develop the talent, because it will be there.
Edit...AND State of Michigan H.S. coaches won't have any room to say we don't recruit this state. We could take a recruit from any place in the world if we wanted. Yet, 3 from Michigan in 3 years? Yea. That could be huge for the future and erase all thoughts of a certain former coach and the PERCEPTION he didn't recruit the state.
alright so maybe I'm out of the loop, but is Mike Hart part of the coaching staff now or is he still apart of EMUs staff and was just helping out at that camp?
At least he was during SMSB
IMO Fred Jackson coaches at Michigan until JJ graduates then retires. Hoke gets familiar with Hart through the camp circuit and he steps in for Freddy Jack.
Tyrone Wheatley would've been a great choice, but he's risen up the coaching ladder so quickly that it might not be in his best interest by that point. But if he comes to Michigan, best believe Syracuse will grab Hart (who's from upstate NY) from EMU, the same place they got Wheatley.
Both would be tremednous candidates.
I've speculated that Jackson and Mattison will retire in 3-5 years. Hart/Wheatley...and Teryl Austin would be perfect replacements.
Wheatley is an excellent recruiter. He'd be a great addition to the staff down the road.
I have no doubt we'll be saying the same thing about Hart by the time FJ leaves. Again, we're not talking today.
People praise Denard for being a great ambassador/recruiter while on campus. Hart was even better. Hart was constantly mentioned in recruiting wrap-ups from prospects...Carr always gave Hart the top prospects or at least made sure he got part of the trip.
He's just a great guy. People will forever remember him for running his mouth, but that same talk is what helped get guys here to campus. He's somewhat of a different guy off camera, and definitely different now that he's older and more mature.
I think both would be excellent additions. Hart is going to be one hell of a RB coach one day, he knows the game, he'll be able to recruit, he's got the personality as well. Also, it's not like either (Hart or Wheatley) won't have access to Freddy J whenever they need him.
It would almost be a shame for one of them not to be the next RB coach at Michigan, they're THAT GOOD and they bleed maize and blue.
EMU was involved in the camp.
In the 3rd block quote, it mentions Air Force Ball, with uncertainty as to what it is. To clear that up, "Air Force Football" is basically "Ultimate Frisbee" with a football. Anyone can pass the ball forward or backward, and when you catch the ball you get 3 steps before you have to throw it again, with the goal of eventually throwing it down the field to the end zone. If one team drops the ball or (obviously) throws an interception, the other team gets it.
Right, the amout of people who care is probably very low, but I saw something that I knew and felt like boosting my ego.
It's very cool that you know that Chuck - I think more highly of you now.
Does that help?
I saw a game of it in Columbia, SC in an organized league. It was a hoot.
Air Force football is where everyone is an eligible receiver and QB. You can throw the ball forward or backwards but after receiving the ball, you can only take 3 steps before you have to stop and find another reciever.
the problem with Stribling is he is a bit of a tweener. Who knows if he is going to end up at corner, safety, or wr. I'd say at this point, he is more of an ATH than a CB recruit.
He does have a year of growth potentially and if that adds an inch or more then I'd say we'll be looking at in a different position. However, if he stays put I sincerely hope and believe they'll groom him to be CB. I understand it may seem a bit unorthadox to have a larger cb but in the next decade you'll be seeing more and more teams heading that direction. It's much easier to switch to zone coverage to counter faster receivers than it is to grow 3 inches in order to handle huge targets like Michael Floyd was. Whether it ends up being Stribling or they look to someone else to fill the role, I think having it's fast becoming a requirement.
I've heard from one area H.S. BB coach that he is a MSU lean at this point as Izzo is attending nearly all his bball and fball games. I'd love a kid from my (favorite) H.S. to play fball (or bball) for my favorite college team! Hoke needs to show just as much of a presense as Izzo!
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