Update 7/7: Video of FL RB Cassius McDowell.

Linked to articles on MI DE CJ Olaniyan, OH S Latwan Anderson, OH DT Terry Talbott (second), WI P Will Hagerup, FL RB Cassius McDowell, FL CB Tony Grimes (second), OH WR Jerald Robinson, OH OL Andrew Donnal, OH OL Christian Pace.

Removed PA WR Andrew Carswell (Pitt), OH RB Spencer Ware, OH OL Andrew Rotheram, OH RB Roderick Smith(OSU), GA CB Darius Robinson (dropped M), OH RB Andre Givens, FL LB Zach Allen (Wake), GA DE Henry Anderson (Stanford), NY DE Dominic Easley (dropped M).

Dior Mathis stuff. More EEEE about Gardner from Lemming. The Daily Gopher is going all tracky on Seantrel Henderson.

Editorial Opinion: Recruiting board lives here. What happened this week? Nothing!

Well, not much. Things that did happen:

Happy Trails

Eh, a bunch of guys off the board as folks get serious about narrowing their lists in preparation for official visits and whatnot. The board is now thinning the herd. In groups:

• Apparent plan B guys without offers or without, you know, commitable ones: OH OL Andrew Rotheram, OH RB Andre Givens, and probably PA WR Andrew Carswell since he's an ACK WR.
• Guys who never seemed interested: OH RB Spencer Ware, IN RB Roderick Smith, GA CB Darius Robinson, and NY DE Dominic Easley.
• Mild disappointments: FL LB Zach Allen and GA DE Henry Anderson.

None of these guys were in the core group of guys who have expressed serious interest, but Allen's commitment to Wake Forest just about shuts Michigan out of Pahokee this year. Anderson, meanwhile, was a strongside DE candidate with a nice set of offers, family from Wisconsin, and an academic mindset. He would have been a nice addition to Michigan's thin defensive line class; Harbaugh snatched him up for Stanford.

Hello Early

Michigan brought in a third of its last class early, and that trend isn't slowing down. OH OL Christian Pace plans on enrolling early, joining at least Ricardo Miller and Jerald Robinson. I thought I had seen a couple other commits announce their intent to show early, as well, but when I reviewed the board I only had EE markers next to those two. If anyone has additions to that list, the comments beckon.

While we're on Pace, I've mentioned his intelligence makes him well-suited to center in the past; his coach agrees:

“He’s very intelligent,” Shoremen coach Dave Dlugosz said. “Some players understand: I’ve got to block this player on this play. Christian can look at the defense and he understands the concept of the play, and he’s capable of making adjustments not only for himself but for the rest of the team as well.

“He plays tackle for us, but Michigan is going to move him to center, where he’ll be responsible for making most of the blocking calls.”

Aaand a little more quoteporn:

“I had a number of college scouts tell me that might be the best senior lineman tape in the whole United States, it was that good,” Dlugosz said. “He’s a very, very physical player. He’s an individual that has tremendous footwork and he’s very agile. He loves the physical part of the game and he knows how to finish blocks.”

That echoes Rivals' assessment of the tape; the only thing holding Pace back is an overall lack of hugeness that makes him an imperfect fit for offenses other than the spread and limits his pro potential. Everything else points to a long-term starter. This is one of those guys you can credibly argue is a four-or-five star to Michigan even if the recruiting sites don't give him the gold star.

Pace will have a tough time unseating a then-senior David Molk when he's a redshirt freshman, but he's got at least a 50-50 shot at the starting job after that, as Rocko Khoury is the only sure center on the roster at the moment.

Speaking Of

Kurelic caught up with OH WR Jerald Robinson, who had a couple of interesting things to offer. Thing the first is a bunch of offers:

Since selecting the Wolverines, Robinson said he has added offers from Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Syracuse, Pitt, Cincinnati and a few others. The additional offers have not changed Robinson's thinking.

Some ammo for the theory that Rodriguez identifies talent better than others there.

Thing the second is some clarity on his position after Michigan's camp:

"At first the Michigan coaches were talking about defense," Robinson said. "But after they saw me at their camp (in June) they said they want me to play wide receiver."

Odd, since there were quotes from Robinson when he committed about playing receiver. Maybe the assertion was Michigan keeping the door open for a move to safety, rather than suggesting he'd definitely come in as one. Either way, that's off the table after Robinson caught everything in sight at Michigan's camp. He must have been extremely impressive given the current composition of Michigan's roster and recruiting class, which is heavy on receivers and light on safeties.

Weekly Gardner Eeee

Lemming reiterating his stance on MI QB Devin Gardner:

(Inkster quarterback) Devin Gardner is five-star player, and (Marvin) Robinson, a safety out of Florida, is one of the best. All of the other guys have one thing in common -- they are all really fast. They're all guys who fit Rich Rodriguez's system.

Getting Gardner was key, because he's an impact player. He's a great athlete, he's big (6-4, 200), and in the right hands, which is Rodriguez, he's going to be fantastic. He's going to be a great player. He needs to work on his precision as a quarterback, but he is a terrific athlete. And the quarterback out of South Carolina (Cornelius Jones) has a lot of potential. These are two quarterbacks who can run the spread.

That's the first I've heard about Jones from any recruiting analyst, by the way. Not that it's hugely useful or anything, but there you go.

Lemming goes on to say Michigan's locked down a bunch of good players and now needs just a couple positions: corner and defensive tackle. About that…

Wha?

So, yeah, Dior Mathis has a "new top two($)," and since Michigan was the presumed leader in the past this cannot be good news in their pursuit. The two leaders are now apparently Oregon and Michigan State, though the Oregon lead has to be flimsy since he's never even been to Eugene.

I'm not sure what to think about this. It sounds like Mathis has struggled considerably during the summer camp circuit—at every camp he and Mylan Hicks showed at, Hicks was mentioned first and foremost amongst corners—and Michigan has a number of other corners on the hook with better offers, if not ratings.

Here's one, FL CB Tony Grimes:

The 6-0, 170-pound Grimes reported this weekend that he will be making that official visit to Ann Arbor the weekend of Sept. 11, to coincide with the Wolverines’ home matchup with Notre Dame.

Grimes also plans officials to Ole Miss, Alabama, and Georgia, but those haven't been set yet. Miami is also thought to be a strong contender; he named UGA, M, and Ole Miss to SC-based Phil Kornblut when asked the "who's recruiting you hardest?" question.

Meanwhile at defensive tackle, the reason Michigan didn't react to MI DT Jonathan Hankins' Ohio State offer might be because he never got one. That would be more explicable than his wildly variant set of offers, which is basically "Oklahoma, Ohio State, and… uh… Virginia?"

Another name of note is OH DT Terry Talbott, who did well at Ohio State's camp:

A player whose name has come up on this blog has surfaced as a star of camp. Huber Heights Wayne defensive tackle prospect Terry Talbott has come in and put on a show. … He is just beating his opponents with elite level explosion off the ball. I have not heard measurables listed yet but the words "physical specimen" are being thrown about.

Michigan, UCLA, and Wisconsin have already extended offers; Ohio State appears to be waiting. Michigan has also offered Talbott's younger brother, a 2010 cornerback exactly nine months younger than him. (Which, like, whoah: you go, Father Talbott.) The elder Talbott is waiting:

"I'm going to wait it out," Talbot said. "I'm not going to make an early commitment. I'm going to wait until the football season is over before I pick a college."

Back to Deerfield Beach

Michigan's focus at tailback appears to be MI RB Austin White and FL RB Eduardo Clements, but if either or both of those guys fall through they could be in the market for someone else. FL RB Cassius McDowell, a former teammate of Witty and Robinson, has scheduled M as his first official, and JC Shurburtt says that Michigan is his leader.

Here he is in flight:

Eh? His style is weirdly lackadaisical. McDowell plans on waiting, so Michigan will be given the opportunity to pursue the aforementioned duo before McDowell makes up his mind.

Etc.: MN OL Seantrel Henderson will be tracked in excruciating detail by the Daily Gopher from here on out, FWIW. OH OL Andrew Donnal favors Iowa heavily($). OSU offered WI P Will Hagerup. MI DE CJ Olaniyan is cutting down to a top 5.