Catching Up: St-Juste, Hamilton, Kareem

Benjamin St-Juste [photo via 247]

We're slowly getting more information on the unexpected commitment of Canadian cornerback Benjamin St-Juste. Tim Sullivan suggested earlier this week that St-Juste could come in as early as this fall. Based on what St-Juste told TMI's Brice Marich after his commitment, however, 2016 is the most likely option:

“I have already graduated high school in Canada because we graduate one year earlier than the U.S. and now I need to add the same courses they have in the U.S. to be eligible.  It is not fair for Canadians.  So I need to do extra courses to be eligible and do another year. As soon as I get that, then I will be leaving Canada to be playing at Michigan.”

This isn’t the first time the Maize & Blue have harvested talent from Vieux Montreal.  St-Juste will be following in the footsteps of former Wolverines Renaldo Sagesse, Alain Kashama, Emmanuel Casseus and Deitan Dubuc.  If all goes according to plan he will make his way to Ann Arbor as part of the 2016 class. 

247 is the first to rank St-Juste, giving him three stars based on the admittedly scant information available. Steve Lorenz caught up with former Michigan CB and current Bolingbrook (IL) head coach Todd Howard, who helped coach the defensive backs at Michigan's camp, to get his thoughts on St-Juste:

"The first thing that stood out to me was his size," Howard said. "He's a legitimate 6'3" and with a helmet and cleats, he looks all of 6'4"-6'-5". The other thing that stood out immediately about him was that he is definitely a true cornerback. When we first started working, he asked if he should be working with the safeties. I don't think he even realized he has the athleticism and length to play the cornerback spot at a high level. He showed excellent footwork and played with a very low pad level for someone of his size as well. He was very impressive."

That's a tall corner. If St-Juste's feet are quick enough, there's a lot to work with.

There were two major announcement yesterday, one that went Michigan's way and one that didn't. Four-star Farmington Hills Harrison DE Khalid Kareem chose Alabama over Michigan, even though he came very close to ending up with the Wolverines, per MLive's Nick Baumgardner:

"At one point, yeah, I did think I'd end up at Michigan," Kareem said Wednesday. "But I really just had to think about what the best decision was for me and my family."

Kareem mentioned a particular recruiting factor that will work against Jim Harbaugh until he's had time to turn the program around:

The competition Alabama will face on the field in the Southeastern Conference and the competition Kareem will face in practice every day with the Crimson Tide's established roster were the tipping points.

Right now, Michigan's not on that level. Kareem said the chance to play for a national title right away was important to him. If Michigan were in that spot right now, would his decision be different?

"Yeah, it might've been another factor," he said. "I know they're going to get there. But (Alabama's there right now)."

Despite all that, Kareem didn't feel totally firm in his choice until yesterday morning. We'll see if the coaches continue pursuing him or if they move on to other targets.

On the flip side, four-star MD OT Devery Hamilton joined the class yesterday afternoon. He told Rivals' Adam Friedman that Michigan's academic presentation played a major role in his commitment ($):

With academics played a huge part in his decision, Michigan went the extra mile to show Hamilton everything at its disposal.

"I met a professor from the business school," he said. "He was very open and inviting. He seemed like a nice person. I also talked to a pediatric oncologist at their hospital. He was very friendly. Both of them made sure that, if I was interested in going into either one of those fields, Michigan had the resources to point me in the right direction."

I think we've retired "The Pattern™" as a thing, but if we're still using it, Hamilton fits the bill.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]

Recent Visit Reactions

Many expected three-star FL LB Jonathan Jones to commit on his lengthy visit last weekend. That didn't come to pass, but Jones told Tim Sullivan the thought crossed his mind ($):

"There was most definitely temptation [to commit]," he admitted. "The coaches ask of course, 'how are you feeling? What do you feel about a commitment?' You do think about it, especially after you met with the players. Honestly, Michigan has everything I want, they have everything to offer, but it just wouldn't be a wise choice for me to not look at the other schools and make my decision. It wouldn't be wise for me. There was temptation, it was 'should I or not?' but you've got to stay true, and you've got to stay with your gut feeling."

Jones saw Duke earlier this summer, and the trip to Durham went as well as the Michigan trip did. He also wants to see Notre Dame, Stanford, and Oklahoma before wrapping up his recruiting process. Since he has a busy schedule the remainder of the summer, those additional trips will have to wait until official visit season in the fall.

Jones has had Michigan at the top of his list for quite some time. It'll be interesting to see if he's a take for the coaches if/when he's ready to commit, especially if he follows through on his plans to extend the process into the fall.

Top-100 KS WDE Xavier Kelly visited last weekend with his father, and Michigan went so far as to personalize the trip, giving Kelly's dad—a Detroit native and big M hoops fans—a tour of the basketball facilities led by John Beilein, per Lorenz ($). Kelly came away from the visit expecting Michigan to be in his recruitment for the duration:

"Michigan has a great, great chance to make my final five," he said. "I felt good about the program, the coaching staff and the fit there overall. My plan right now is to get it to five at the end of July and take official visits to those schools. I'll make my final decision at the Army All-American game in January."

Among the programs Kelly is considering are Notre Dame, Clemson, Florida State, Nebraska, Florida and Oregon among many others. 

Kelly won't be an easy pull, but Michigan is right in the thick of things.

If Bill Walsh Likes It, I Like It

TomVH has a great article posted on Brandon Peters and Michigan's quarterback camp that contains a very good explanation of why Harbaugh had the QBs fielding grounders and playing dodgeball ($):

Peters is a multi-sport athlete, having played football, baseball, basketball and even track throughout his life. Those attributes are a big reason why Harbaugh and his staff targeted Peters in the first place.

"Bill Walsh told me at Stanford, when I first got the job there. I asked him, ‘How do you find a quarterback?' and he said he looks for athletic talent as one of the top three things," Harbaugh said. "I asked him to explain what that meant and he said they're the best athlete at their high school. They could field a fly ball, they could be on the track team, play soccer, could be the sixth man on the basketball team if it's not their main sport."

Makes a lot of sense to me.

More 2016 Updates

Top-ranked kicker Quinn Nordin might make a decision "real soon," he told Scout's Allen Trieu, and if that comes to pass, Michigan looks to be in great position:

Nordin may take one more visit before that decision.

"I'm going to try to get down to Michigan. I'm going to get home [from vacation], get on the phone with Coach Harbaugh and see if I can get a visit scheduled, but that would be the only visit I take until I make a decision."

Nordin's kicking coach is former Michigan kicker Brandon Kornblue. Penn State, Michigan State, Georgia, and Arizona State comprise the rest of his top five.

Michigan made a big push for four-star CN ATH Chase Claypool at Sound Mind Sound Body, but after a visit last weekend to Notre Dame, the Irish have risen to the top of his list, per Scout's Anna Hickey:

“Notre Dame is definitely at the top,” Claypool said. “They’re in my top three for sure. Michigan and Oregon are the other two. I will probably announce a commitment at The Opening. If I don’t announce a commitment, I’ll announce my top schools.”

Four-star CA ATH Jack Jones told Rivals' Adam Gorney the one official visit he's sure he's taking is to Michigan ($). Jones could be a wide receiver or cornerback in this class, but USC and UCLA may be tough to beat.

Michigan is in the top three for four-star VA CB Wayne Davis, per Scout's Jacquie Franciulli:

"Virginia Tech, Ohio State and Michigan," said the four-star corner. "They said they want me; they want me to get up there; and that I fit good in their program."

Davis joked that the Wolverines and the Buckeyes are rivals, but his interest in both of them are equal.

Another four-star corner, Texas prospect Jared Mayden, named Michigan to his top seven. It'd still be a big surprise if he ended up in the class.

Etc.

Michigan offered 2016 three-star FL CB Jayvaughn Myers, per Tim Sullivan. Myers has an offer list befitting a four-star, and both Florida state schools are heavily involved.

Happy trails to four-star CA OLB Darrian Franklin, who committed to Oregon this week.