In this week's Thursday Recruitin', a high school coach manages to out-hyperbole Fred Jackson, Ondre Pipkins gets invited to the Army AA Bowl, a Scout, er, scout channels his inner Rod Allen, and two more 2012 commits plan to enroll early. Please let me know if you have any comments, criticism, suggestions, etc.—as always, I'll be reading the comments, and you can also reach me on Twitter or via email, where I'll also encourage you to send any recruiting articles of interest that you think I should include for the next week's edition.

Early Enrollin'

With the coaching staff saying for a while now that the 2012 recruiting class would hit at least 26 members—and possibly, if not probably, go as high as 28—despite there currently being just 24 available spots, Michigan was going to need to find some players to enroll early. Safety Jarrod Wilson has been in that boat for a while, and now comes the news that two linebackers will arrive in Ann Arbor for the spring term as well ($, info in header)—Joe Bolden and Kaleb Ringer.

The Wolverines are allowed to backdate up to three early enrollees, essentially having them count as part of the 2011 class, which allows them to push up to the Big Ten limit of 28 recruits in a class. Bri'onte Dunn, if Michigan were to land him, is also a candidate to enroll early, but that now is more of a developmental bonus and less of a numbers necessity if the Wolverines can pluck him from Ohio State's grasp.

In other news on current commits, Tim Sullivan's latest contribution to the Freep profiles tight end commit A.J. Williams, who has played almost exclusively on the offensive line his last two seasons in high school but will still be a tight end for the Wolverines, one of the reasons that drew him to Ann Arbor:

Though he loves pancaking opposing defenders, he didn’t want to be exclusively a blocker in college. The opportunity to play tight end is another reason he chose Michigan.

“That’s also what made Michigan a great decision,” said Williams. “They actually wanted me for the tight end position, which I want to play.”

His 6-foot-6, 265-pound frame should help Williams be ready to contribute from the first day he steps on campus in August. Playing as a blocking tight end, he should be more ready to play than the average freshman. After not catching any passes for two years, however, he will have to make an adjustment when he gets to the next level, and get reacquainted with the nuances of going downfield to catch passes.

With the lack of depth and size at the tight end position for next year, Williams will have the opportunity to play right away. Though he may not be ready to be an oft-targeted receiver in the passing game, his blocking should be an asset right off the bat, especially when Michigan runs the ball.

Steve Junga of the Toledo Blade has a lengthy piece up on safety commit Allen Gant, whose work ethic has made him a three-sport star at Sylvania Southview and impressed his father Tony, a former Wolverine himself:

In the spring he will earn his fourth letter in track and field, where he is a rare blend -- a discus thrower and shot putter who also runs sprint relays.

"The drive really comes from Allen," Tony Gant said. "I had a certain type of drive, but what he does -- lifting weights and eating healthy and drinking a gallon of water a day -- I never did that.

"I was a 6-foot, 185-pound kid who never lifted a weight in my life until I got to Michigan. He's in the weight room six days a week on his own. He motivates himself."

"Allen's always had a good work ethic, even as a youngster," [his grandfather and former professional baseball player] Chet Trail said. "You never had to do too much to get him to practice. I wish I could take some credit for [his motivation], but Allen is a self-starter."

Gant already weighs in the 200-pound range and looks like he's ready to step on a college field immediately, though he'll likely get some time to develop as a depth player and on special teams before being called upon to contribute on the defense.

Quickly: Ondre Pipkins was one of four prospects recently named to the Army All-American Bowl, joining fellow commits Royce Jenkins-Stone, Kyle Kalis, Erik Magnuson, and James Ross. Kenny Allen's commitment writeup at The Flint Journal. Your TomVH insider content of the week includes Drew Henson breaking down the offensive commits, Marcus Ray doing the same for the defense, and profiles of his top two committed prospects, RJS and Kyle Kalis.

For more, hit the jump.

Paywalled Articles in Which Visits and Such Are Mentioned

Yuri Wright is still narrowing down his list, but he has a few schools in mind for official visits ($, info in header), and Michigan is one of them. The top cornerback in the country has the Wolverines consistently among his top group along with Rutgers and Cal, though it's not out of the question that a school such as Maryland or Georgia could become a major player in his recruitment as well. Michigan State has been mentioned, but, well, I'll believe he's headed there when I see it.

Wideout Jehu Chesson has cut his list to six, and hey, this isn't even paywalled:

Ladue wide receiver Jehu Chesson (6-3, 185) recently told WildcatReport.com, a Rivals.com affiliate that covers Northwestern, that he has narrowed his list of schools from 12 to six: Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Northwestern and Oklahoma State.

Chesson is off to a strong start to his senior season. He has 23 catches for 305 yards, averaging 13.3 yards per reception, and two touchdowns. He also has 18 tackles and an interception on defense.

I'm expecting Michigan to take two receivers in this class, especially if Danny O'Brien—as expected—commits to Tennessee on October 6 (I'll be at the presser, for the record, so you'll know as soon as he makes it official). Chesson is definitely a candidate to fill one of those spots, though Jordan Payton and Amara Darboh might beat him to the punch. Another potential receiver commit is Monty Madaris, who will make his decision after the season ($, info in header).

Other players talking visits behind paywalls who mention the Wolverines: Amara Darboh, Josh Garnett, Shaq Thompson (who might be a real tough pull away from the West Coast—I wouldn't get my hopes up too much), Darius Powe, and potential preferred walk-on offensive lineman Dan Gibbs, who hails from Birmingham Seaholm and holds a couple MAC scholarship offers.

2013 Stuff

The latest free offering from Sam Webb is on Celina (TX) offensive lineman Jake Raulerson, who received an offer from Michigan last week to go along with ones from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and more:

Among those with piqued interest was Scout.com Midlands Regional Manager Greg Powers. Upon seeing Raulerson perform live at the Nike Football training camp at TCU last April, the longtime talent scout was immediately convinced he was watching one of the most talented athletes in the 2013 class.

"There may not have been a player at Nike with this young man's upside," said Powers. "In the Midlands, you hear the term 'country strong' about every other day, and that is how I would explain Raulerson."

Tenacious and relentless are equally accurate descriptors. The 6-5, 250-pounder isn't always the biggest lineman on the field, but that hardly ever prevents him from being the most dominant.

"I go 100 percent all the time," he said. "What the coaches love about me is my motor and just going 100 percent. Wherever I'm at, whether it's backside or play-side, I'll finish the play. I'll try to get a second or third block and try to spring the play open. I'm going to try my hardest on every play because I want to win. That's the main thing about me — it is just me going all out every play, no matter what."

Meanwhile, Tim gets an update on another Texas offensive lineman, Tristan Nickelson:

“Michigan is kind of a clear-cut number one,” said Ron Nickelson. “Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, and Auburn are right near the top.”

Though the Nickelsons’ schedule has prevented them from making a trip to Ann Arbor yet, Michigan’s combination of academics and athletics is hard for other schools to match. Ron Nickelson, however, is in no rush for his son to make a college commitment. Even if a Michigan offer comes, they’ll visit Ann Arbor before making a commitment.

“I don’t want him to settle,” said Ron Nickelson. “If it ends up where Michigan is not a fit, then we would move to number two.”

If Nickelson does eventually commit to Michigan, expect him to be on campus early. He’s taking college-level courses as a junior, and is on-schedule to graduate from high school in December of his senior year.

As stated in the article, the Wolverines need to get Nickelson to campus—and also decide if they want to offer—before there's going to be any major movement here, but it looks like if Michigan wants him they'll be able to take him.

East Paulding (GA) running back Kamani Thomas has just recently popped up on the radar for Michigan fans, but the top tailback in Georgia certainly has the Wolverines on his mind [emphasis mine]:

Thomas, who rushed for nearly 2,000 yards last year as a sophomore, has early scholarship offers from Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, and Troy, along with serious interest from many SEC and ACC schools, including Alabama, LSU and Georgia Tech.

His dream school is Michigan. With East Paulding playing on Thursday, Thomas and his father will fly to Michigan on Friday for an unofficial visit this weekend. [Ed-Ace: This was written last week, so he was on campus for the San Diego State game.]

“If it was my choice, I’d sign with Michigan,” Thomas told the AJC. “I’ve always been a Michigan fan. My dad is a Michigan fan. I’ve got a lot of family up there.”

Joliet (IL) Catholic running back Ty Isaac, who has had a fantastic junior season thus far, discusses a potential decision date (not any time soon) and OH MY GOD YOU JUST TOPPED FRED JACKSON [emphasis mine]:

"I won't commit this year, maybe next spring at the earliest. I want to ask all the right questions. Where will I play early and fit in? Will the spread be a fit for me? Or do I have to look for a pro-style offense? I don't want to wait behind a lot of people. I want to go somewhere where the running back gets a lot of touches and can run downhill."

[Joliet Catholic coach Dan] Sharp describes Isaac with Marcus Allen and O.J. Simpson and Secretariat in mind. "He has the ability to break sharply. He has an extra gear that you don't expect with someone his size. He can make them miss but he can run through them, too. He has explosive speed and glides when he runs. He was made to be a running back like Secretariat was made to be a thoroughbred," he said.

Yup, Dan Sharp just went cross-species on you. The bar has been raised, Fred. The bar has been raised.

In a Chicago Tribune article on Isaac, Michigan comes in for a good quote after their recent offer:

"Every offer is a big deal, but getting an early offer from Michigan really is a big deal," Isaac said. "I've been really impressed with the coaches and the school. Michigan is another high-level school and program that has great tradition. ... Getting an offer from the Wolverines is pretty special. I'm excited about the offer."

This is Michigan and all that. It looks like the Wolverines will be in it for Isaac, who I think would be a huge pickup, right until the end.

Quickly: MaxPreps profiles Ponderosa (CO) OL Chris Fox. TomVH writeup on Lake City (FL) OL Laremy Tunsil, who already holds offers from Arkansas, USC, Florida State, Florida, Georgia, and Notre Dame, but wants a Michigan offer to go with them ($, info in header). Another ESPN150 Watch List offensive lineman who wants an offer: Owensboro (KY) Apollo's Hunter Bivin.