Wednesday 7 October 2009

Who's left? (Defensive Line)

Michigan's defense has been a big talking point this year, the secondary looks weak at times, and the lack of depth all around is somewhat alarming. So who is left in this year's recruiting class that could really help Michigan out next season? I'll start of this little series of posts with the defensive line, which has also struggled at times this year.

- DT Sharrif Floyd (Philadelphia, PA), rated as the one of the top defensive tackles in the class, Floyd is a five star prospect who has shown some interest in Michigan this season, but there are still questions over whether he will visit. Earlier this week there was a rumor that UM commit Ricardo Miller (who now basically recruits for UM) had convinced Floyd to take a visit to Ann Arbor for the Penn State game, another team that Floyd likes.

Chances of signing with UM: 15%

- DT Michael Thornton (Stone Mountain, GA), a four star DT who is likely to take an official to Michigan this fall. Georgia are still the front runners here, so Michigan would need the visit to go extremely well to lure the prospect up north. We haven't heard much about Thornton throughout the whole recruiting process, so I'm guessing our chances aren't that high at the moment, but at least he's visiting.

Chances of signing with UM: 10%

- DE Gabe King (Eugene, OR), has recently got a lot of interest from Michigan, and the wolverines have got back into the picture on this one. California are the slight leaders. He will visit Michigan officially this fall, maybe to the Penn State game. Academics are important to him, as is the tradition of a program. Oregon, Alabama and Tennessee will also get visits.

Chances of signing with UM: 25%

- DE Clarence Murphy (Hollywood, FL), just got his offer from Michigan, will go up to visit with teammate Tony Grimes. Michigan is in a great position to sign the duo, who have stated that they will be going to the same school. Murphy is a three star prospect. Michigan is probably the leader right now for him, and it definitely is for Grimes.

Chances of signing with UM: 70%

I really thought there would be more than four prospects....there are some others, but these are the ones that mention Michigan frequently in interviews.  



4 comments:

  1. what are your thoughts on our shot at seantrel henderson?

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  2. Hey Zach, Offensive line will be the next group on the "who's left" series, so I'll probably cover Henderson tomorrow, I think most will be pleasantly surprised.

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  3. thanks! also ive been a michigan fan most of my life, but its only been this year that ive really gotten into recruiting, normally i wait until they're actually in maize and blue. With that in mind, do you know when scout.com upgrades next year (in this case 2011) prospects to five stars and ranks them as opposed to how they have them rated now?

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  4. I can't really remember to be honest, it will definitely be after this season, probably around February or early Spring time.

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