BBQ Leftovers: Hudson Commits

Three-star OH DT James Hudson committed to Michigan yesterday, giving the Wolverines a head-to-head win over Michigan State. TMI's Brice Marich made his way to Toledo for Hudson's announcement and scored an interview afterwards in which Hudson detailed the reasoning behind his decision:

"Michigan is just a different type of feeling," he said. I could really connect with lot of the players there like Carlo Kemp and Rashan Gary, me and those two get along really well. Me and Rashan, we speak almost every day. We're great friends and we're going to be great teammates."

"I really spoke with Coach Mattison of course, DL oach, also spoke with Coach Brown and Coach Zordich. My relationship with Coach Matty is great. He's definitely my favorite D-Line coach I've met. Coach Matty has a plan for me and I like that."

That plan is for Hudson to play three-tech. Some sites still list him as an SDE, but he's reportedly up in the 290-pound range already. We'll (eventually) see what Brian comes up with for a YMRPFSPA; Hudson's impressive strength reminded me of Willie Henry when I watched his highlights.

The Wolverine's Brandon Brown caught up with Hudson's high school coach, who in detailing what he's working on with Hudson this spring may have explained why Hudson's first step doesn't stand out on film:

"Here’s how good his camp’s been thus far. We’ve been focusing on his first step being a little bit too big. That gets him a little overextended sometimes. That’s it," Dempsey said. "His hands are great, his feet are great, his motor has been great. It’s been very limited in terms of what we need him to work on.

"The biggest thing is that we’re going to watch him since he’s playing both ways so much. The effort he’s been putting into offensive tackle has been just as good as what he’s been doing on defense. We’re expecting a lot so I’m glad he’s expecting a lot out of himself. He’s a disruptive force at this level. He’s really started to master his position so I’m very excited for his senior season."

If that gets corrected, I really like Hudson's potential; as we saw with Henry, overwhelming strength can make up for a lot.

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

BBQ Leftovers: Maybe Still Don't Watch This

Even among a star-studded group, #1 overall prospect Najee Harris was the headliner of the BBQ, and insider buzz has Michigan very much in the mix after a great visit. Harris made the trip with his mother, which Sam Webb posted is of particular significance with Harris—she doesn't accompany him on many visits. Webb reports that the mothers of both Harris and Donovan Peoples-Jones stayed well into the evening on Saturday talking to Gwendolyn "Mama Gwen" Bush—Wayne Lyons's mother, recruiting staffer, and the unofficial "team mom" of the program.

Webb couches his optimism in caveats—Alabama is still the favorite, Bama insiders think OSU is their biggest threat—but a subsequent post from Scout's John Garcia Jr., who's plugged in on the Bama side of things, makes it clear Michigan is in contention:

Sources over the last month have said the top threat for Najee have been OSU, USC and UCLA at different times, so that may fluctuate, but Michigan is now on that list as well.

Finally, given perhaps a visit slow-down, enrolling in January and fewer schools really in it, I think Najee lands at either Bama, OSU, UM, USC or UCLA. I'll be honest, I'm close to eliminating UCLA on my personal board if anyone cares about it haha. So that means if he stays in-state, USC wins out. I do not think that happens at the end of the day.

247's Steve Lorenz, meanwhile, didn't mince words about where he's hearing Michigan stands after a visit that "could not have gone any better" with Harris:

That being said, I am certain of one thing as of now: Michigan is the biggest threat to flip Harris from Alabama, and they will get their shot to do so. Look for Harris to visit officially at some point this season.

We're also told that the west coast schools (UCLA, Oregon and USC to a lesser extent) remain the biggest competitors involved as well.

There's some conflicting information as to who the biggest competitors are, and there's always the threat of a post-visit afterglow wearing off, but Michigan is once again a threat to land the top overall prospect in the country. I still might hold off on watching those highlights if I were you, though. Abundance of caution and all that.

BBQ Leftovers: Holmes a Michigan/UCLA Battle?

Five-star CA CB Darnay Holmes made a quick pit stop in East Lansing before arriving in Ann Arbor for the BBQ. While he had some nice things to say about the Spartans, he was positively glowing about his time with the Wolverines, per Scout's Greg Biggins:

Overall, Holmes said the trip couldn't have gone any better.

"I loved everything about it, I can't think of a single thing that I didn't love out there," Holmes said. "I loved the campus and the school itself and academically, Michigan is the No. 1 rated public university in the country so that's huge. I want to major in business/finance and the connections there at Michigan are tremendous.

"From a football standpoint, there's a good opportunity to play early there. I don't care about depth charts but they lose some corners next year and I could play right away for a team that will win a lot of games. The whole visit was amazing and I'm looking forward to getting back there for my official visit on (Sept. 17)."

Insider rumblings give even more reason for optimism: both Steve Lorenz and Brandon Justice heard from sources that the belief is Holmes's recruitment will come down to Michigan and UCLA. Holmes is very close with freshman David Long and also is friends with Kekoa Crawford, which certainly won't hurt as Michigan tries to pry him out of California.

BBQ Leftovers: No Bateman

The most likely potential commitment heading into the weekend looked to be three-star AL OT Toryque Bateman, who'd said he was 50-50 on making a pledge at the BBQ. That didn't come to pass, and while Bateman told TMI's Josh Newkirk that Michigan is still his top school, he also let slip the likely reason why he didn't pull the trigger:

“Working on me was coach Bam (Richards), coach (Tim) Drevno and obviously coach (Jim) Harbaugh,” he said. “Their message was to stay on top of my grades, ACT score and making the correct decision for me.”

Michigan is looking at a numbers crunch on the offensive line. Lorenz mentioned M feels good about their chances with tackles Aaron Banks, Isaiah Wilson, and Henry Bainivalu after the BBQ; guard TJ Slaton once again named the Wolverines his leader last weekend; and center Cesar Ruiz has them tied at the top with Alabama and Oklahoma. Bateman's academic red flags seem like they'll keep him out of the class.

BBQ Leftovers: Wideout Numbers Growing?

Four-star AL WR Nico Collins still has Michigan on top after his BBQ visit, per Newkirk. While Collins says it's a "tight" race with his other top contenders, he also mentioned his recruitment might not make it to Signing Day—optimism is still high here.

Four-star IL WR Oliver Martin told Sam Webb that his visit put Michigan in good spot to land him:

“Then getting to see all of the other commits and all of the other players just further proved that Michigan is a great place to come and play football. Meeting some of the players on the team and then other commits and how we all mingled and hung out on the football helped you get a good feel for what kind of people are here (and) what kind of people they bring in.”

“They’re right at the top with a few other schools.  (Michigan) would be a great place to go, especially after coming and seeing everything that I saw today and knowing all of the commits.  It didn’t let down at all.”

Michigan should get an official visit from Martin, who also talked down rumors that he'd been close to committing to Michigan State in the past.

Notre Dame was reportedly the school in best shape to get four-star CT WR Tarik Black heading into last weekend. Black told Scout's Brian Dohn his Michigan visit was "fantastic," and he's got his eye on the depth chart:

"Going through the numbers game on the depth chart with coach Fisch, with the receivers and stuff like that, I thought that was really big," Black said. "Just to see how I stack up and fit in among the guys already there, I think that was a pretty big deal. I think depth chart-wise, it would be a good opportunity for me to go in and play right away."

Webb and Lorenz have both posted that Michigan may now be willing to take four receivers in the class; I don't think it's a coincidence that news came after they had DPJ, Collins, Martin, and Black on campus at once.

BBQ Leftovers: In-Staters

I've already touched on Donovan Peoples-Jones briefly; while he continues to keep his thoughts close to the vest, Michigan still looks to be in great shape with him (and, crucially, they have mom in their corner). Lorenz said that's the case with all three of M's top in-state targets:

However, after this weekend, I am more confident than ever that [Ambry] Thomas will verbally commit to the Wolverines when it comes time to make a decision. The same could also be said for the nation's top wide receiver in Donovan Peoples-Jones and four-star safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell.

All three had family members on Michigan's campus with them this weekend, and we're told that the staff made a huge impression on all of them.

It's far from over for any of them. Peoples-Jones and Thomas don't seem to be in a hurry to make a decision, and Kelly-Powell tweeted over the weekend that his decision won't come until after the season. It's still going to take a lot for other schools to push past Michigan.

Four-star Flint Southwestern SDE Deron Irving-Bey has been a regular on MSU's campus. The BBQ was his first trip as a recruit to Ann Arbor, and he told Sam Webb the visit couldn't have gone much better:

“Everything [stood out],” Irving-Bey replied.  “It blew me away. The coaches, the friendships among the players, the facilities… another thing was the (Jordan) gear.  The gear, man… everything is so nice! Everything I experienced (during the barbecue) stood out. It was way more than what I expected. It was a 10.”

“Really, I just loved it.  From the time I got there Chris (Wormley) hosted me throughout the whole experience.  He showed me the facilities, the field, and everything… telling us how the team is one. Chris told me (Greg Mattison) is a great coach. All around (the country) he has great connections.  He is a very experienced coach. He is a really great coach.”

“I was really blown away.”

His mother, a Michigan fan, said that even when putting fandom aside this was their best visit. Irving-Bey is still a take for the staff, and suddenly looks like a distinct possibilty to end up in the class, though it'll be a battle to the end with MSU.

Michigan also offered a pair of 2019 in-state tackles who are early candidates for five-star status. First was Belleville's Devontae Dobbs, the #14 player on 247's early rankings and one of the first four-stars on Scout, which doesn't give out five-star ratings this early. The other went out to East Kentwood's Logan Brown, who Scout's Allen Trieu said is regarded by some as a prospect who could emerge as the best in the Midwest in his cycle. Brown told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown that he grew up a fan and "really love[s] U-M."

Everything Not From The BBQ

Aubrey Solomon murderated a teammate again.

U of M commit @AubreySolomon91 yesterday. Once again, AUG 18 we can see him doing this vs our opp.on live TV. GO LEE pic.twitter.com/gpicfyU5TM

— Kevin Pych (@pychke) August 4, 2016

Season can't come soon enough for Lee County's O-line, I'm sure.

Michigan will get an official visit from five-star Ohio State CB commit Shaun Wade for the Wisconsin game, per 247's Bill Kurelic.

The first ordered 2018 Rivals100 doesn't feature any Michigan commits. Oak Park OG Marquan McCall is the highest-ranked in-state prospect at #32 overall.