Michigan Showcase 7 on 7

Michigan is hosting its showcase event, and many top prospects from the midwest have shown up, as well as a few familiar faces. Former Wolverine and Superbowl winner Larry Foote will be coaching the LB's in attendance today, which includes 5 star recruit Lawrence Thomas, although its unlikely Thomas will take part in the 7 on 7. 

Another former Michigan player, Ron Bellamy, is coaching the WR's at the event. DeAnthony Arnett is rumored to showing up a bit later. Arnett and Thomas are two of the top in state players for the class of 2011, however both currently favor MSU over UM, so its crucial Michigan keeps getting them on campus.

Other notable names in attendance are MI ATH Valdez Showers, OL Chris Bryant, WR Shaq Washington and WR Nick Davis. 

Brennen Beyer Update

In state DE and four star prospect Brennen Beyer made another trip to Ann Arbor this week, this time to watch some team workouts. Beyer previously made the trip for Michigan's 2nd junior day, and it seems like he's a lock to be a Wolverine. 

He is taking other visits, but just so he can compare Michigan with other schools. MSU and Northwestern have already got visits, and Notre Dame could be the next destination, but if they don't live up to Michigan, you can expect him to pull the trigger before his senior season begins. 

Ray Hamilton Update

Ohio's top TE for the class of 2011 might just end up in Ann Arbor next season. Ray Hamilton was one of the more high profile recruits at the Michigan Junior Day, and he was impressed with everything UM has to offer.

Hamilton's father was a teammate of Rich Rodriguez when they played at West Virginia together, and the two have remained friends ever since, making the Hamilton family very comfortable with the Michigan program. 

Hamilton spent most of the visit with Offensive coordinator/TE coach Calvin Magee, and the two bonded well over the course of the day. Ray clearly has good relationships with the Wolverine staff, something that will be important in his final college choice.

As usual, the parents came away thrilled with the academic side of Michigan, which is a huge tool to have in recruiting. Hamilton is by no means ready to make a decision, and he still remains open to all schools. However he claims he will have cut it down to five by the summer, I'll be shocked if Michigan are cut!

Kevin Williams Update

Ohio defensive tackle prospect Kevin Williams was one of many recruits to make the trip to Ann Arbor for UM's junior day, and he came away very impressed with the Wolverines.

Kevin brought a lot of family with him on the visit, and all were extremely happy with what Michigan had to offer. The usual things stood out to Williams, the coaches, facilities and academics, all areas where Michigan excels....(well some people might argue with coaching!).

He will definitely be back for an official visit in the future, and Michigan is sure to be there till the end.

Williams grew up supporting Notre Dame and Michigan (although favoring ND in the annual ND vs UM game!) but Ohio State and MSU are also in the race to sign him. He has offers from UM and MSU, but he is getting a lot of interest from OSU, ND and also some southern schools like Florida and Alabama. His stepdad is a huge MSU fan, which might give the spartans a bit of help.

Commit #3

Michigan's recruiting class of 2011 received it's third commitment this weekend when in-state WR Shawn Conway gave his verbal pledge to the Wolverines. 

UM was Conway's first scholarship offer, and he accepted it instantly. Shawn is a big receiver at 6'4 and was recruited to be an outside receiver at the next level. He has an unbelievable pair of hands, which are showcased on this highlight reel here.

In terms of star ratings, Conway has gone under the radar completely, he is not rated by Scout, Rivals or ESPN. This is largely due to some not so impressive junior stats, however his High School team was forced to play an inexperienced sophomore QB last season. One concern with him is speed, he doesn't seem that explosive, however he will most likely redshirt his freshman year, giving him ample time to get up to pace. 

After taking such a large haul of WR's in last years class, Conway is wise to snap up the offer early as Michigan will probably only take two outside receivers. 

Junior Day

There is roughly 35 juniors visiting Ann Arbor for Michigan's 2nd junior day of the year, however there are some disappointments among those who couldn't make the trip. Top linebackers Trey DePriest and Lawrence Thomas are absent today, although Thomas had a quick visit last week. Trey had a basketball game and therefore couldn't make it in, he'll visit in the spring instead.

Notable attendees are:

- RB Justice Hayes       - OL Anthony Zettel          - Brennen Beyer

- TE Ray Hamilton       - OT Audrey Walker          - DT Kevin Williams

- Current commits (Hollowell and Brown)

Of these players, if any were to commit it would probably be Brennen Beyer. His entire family are Michigan fans and he has already been on campus before, however he might not be ready to offer a verbal just yet. 

Junior Day #2

Michigan is holding it's second Junior Day of the year, and this one should have even more recruits attending, however one of the top players on Michigan's board won't be there, Trey DePriest. DePriest will be playing in a HS basketball match instead, but he announced he would be in Ann Arbor during the spring to check out the Wolverines.

Lawrence Thomas is still a maybe for junior day, but there were signs of encouragement for UM fans when the 5 star prospect popped in for a chat with Greg Robinson today. Thomas is the highest rated prospect from the state of Michigan, but UM are currently trailing in the race to sign him. Among the early favorites are none other than Michigan State!

Quick Hitters

Some quick notes about the class of 2011:

- Michigan plans to take 4 or 5 offensive lineman in the 2011 class, and one of them could be Anthony Zettel, who seems to have Michigan as his favorite early on. 

- Ohio OL Aundrey Walker is one of 10 OL to be offered so far by the Wolverines, but Glenville HS is known as an OSU pipeline, and the Wolverines are a real longshot here.

- Ohio WR Devin Smith received his Michigan offer this week, to go along with his offers from MSU, Toledo and Ball State. Devin comes from the same high school that produced J.T Turner and Shawn Crable for the Wolverines, so Devin is eager to get up to Ann Arbor soon.

- Michigan is high on the list of Scottsdale (Az.) Chaparral OT Andre Yruretagoyena, who's former teammate Taylor Lewan is currently on the UM roster. 

- Four Star TE Ray Hamilton will be in Ann Arbor for Junior Day next week. Hamilton will visit many schools over the next few months (including Oklahoma, Cal, Stanford, Wisconsin etc) before narrowing down. UM did not take a TE in this year's class, so Hamilton will be an important target for 2011.

Kevin McReynolds Update

Washington (D.C.) Defensive tackle Kevin McReynolds recently received his Michigan offer, and the Wolverines should have a decent chance with the four star recruit.

Illinois and Pittsburgh are two other big schools that have offered him a scholarship, but big time programs such as LSU, Alabama and USC are showing interest after Kevin put in a sound performance at the UA AA combine. He earned an invite to the next year's UA game too.

As for Michigan, McReynolds is impressed with what the Wolverines have to offer in terms of academics, alumni backing and facilities, UM will be a school that he takes a "long hard look" at. 

Trey DePriest Update

2011 five star outside linebacker Trey DePriest is in no hurry to make his college decision, and despite growing up a Michigan fan, he will look at all schools evenly. 

DePriest, from Springfield (OH), is the top OLB in the nation according to scout.com's early rankings, and he recently made the trip down to Alabama to check out the raining national champions. The visit went well and the Crimson Tide could be a force in his recruitment.

Michigan Head Coach Rich Rodriguez stopped by at Trey's high school last week, and it looks like DePriest will attend the next Michigan junior day, which is encouraging. 

Ohio State are bound to come into the mix shortly though, they had a poor recruiting year in the class of 2010, topped off by losing the state of Ohio's top LB, Jordan Hicks. The Buckeyes will try to stop a repeat of that this year. 

2010 Class Evaluations

DetNews' Sam Webb recently did an article on five members of the 2010 class, with analysis and projections for next season. He takes a look at Jibreel Black, Cullen Christian, Demar Dorsey, Devin Gardner and Marvin Robinson.

Check out the article here.

DeAnthony Arnett Update

DeAnthony Arnett, one of the state of Michigan's top players, has named a top eight schools as well as three leaders. Michigan has made the top eight, but the Wolverines are currently trailing USC, Notre Dame and Michigan State.

He received his USC offer this week, which must have shot them right up the list. As for Michigan, maybe the spread offense will be a negative when recruiting Arnett, who seems to favor the pro-style.

There is of course a long way to go, but Michigan has a bit of catching up to do. 

2011 Scout 150

Scout.com have released their early rankings for the class of 2011, and there are plenty of Michigan targets near the top, check out the full listing here. There are 25 Five Star prospects, which will eventually rise to 50.

Just in the top 15 there are three familiar names for Michigan. Firstly, at #7 on the list is MI LB Lawrence Thomas, who is the highest player in the state of Michigan, and the top LB overall. Coming in at #9 is OH QB Braxton Miller, he runs a 4.47 forty, and would be a great fit in the spread offense. Lastly, and arguably Michigan's best chance to land a top quality prospect, Trey DePriest of Ohio comes in at #15. DePriest grew up a Michigan fan and has been on campus a few times already.

As you go down the list there are more UM targets, WR DeAnthony Arnett clocks in at #57, and RB Justice Hayes earns a 4th Star, jumping into the top 150, both are key in-state targets for Rich Rod in this class. 

DeAnthony Arnett

DeAnthony Arnett is one of the top juniors in the state of Michigan, he's one of only two players in the state to have earned a four star rating in scout.com's early evaluations. This could be somewhat surprising given his size and speed, only 5'11 170lbs, and a 4.51 dash - good, but not exactly lightning.

On video, he doesn't seem that explosive, but he has great hands and uses his superior footwork and route running to get away from defenders.

To really judge how good this guy is, you just have to look at the offers and interest he is getting from the nation's top college programs. Michigan have already offered him, as have MSU, Notre Dame, Oregon, Iowa, Illinois and more. Teams like USC, Oklahoma and Ohio State will soon follow.

Arnett made it to Ann Arbor for Michigan's first junior day, and came away very impressed with the facilities that the Wolverines have to offer. Academics will be an important factor in the recruiting process for Arnett, but the style of offense will also be key. He says he can play in the pro or spread, but a pro style would be "more helpful" for his overall goals.

Michigan will be right up there at the moment, being the in-state school, but Arnett will be looking for the Wolverines to step it up on the field this season. I get the feeling this won't be a midwest battle between UM, MSU, ND and OSU. He is a big fan of Lane Kiffin, so USC will certainly be there in the end, as will Oklahoma, who he plans to camp with this year.

This will be a nation wide recruitment, and a big test of Michigan's in-state recruiting power.

You can check out DeAnthony Arnett's highlight reel here.

Anthony Zettel Update

This week I'll be doing updates on all the top juniors from the state of Michigan, starting with Anthony Zettel:

2011 Michigan OL Anthony Zettel was one of many to receive a UM offer on signing day, and the talented junior has the Wolverines at the top of his list. Zettel grew up a Michigan fan, which usually makes things a lot easier.

He visited MSU a couple of weeks back, and whilst he did enjoy the visit, it wasn't quite the same as his trip to Ann Arbor. Zettel attended the UM camp last summer, and could be back in Ann Arbor for Michigan's next junior day. Notre Dame is also showing a lot of interest, and they are likely to send an offer his way shortly.

Zettel currently plays at the Tackle position on the OL, but Michigan is projecting him to be a guard. Scout.com has him as a three star prospect at the moment, which means he could easily jump up to four stars over the spring/summer times. It will most likely be a three horse race with UM, MSU and ND, with the Wolverines favorites at this point.

You can check out MGoBlog's interview with Anthony here. (2nd article on the page)

The Class of 2010

Michigan's recruiting class for 2010 is now complete after Florida safety Demar Dorsey sent his letter of intent to Rich Rodriguez. The class now has 27 members, and Dorsey could be the most talented of the lot, with ridiculous speed and agility. 

Losing out on Sean Parker is disappointing, but gaining Dorsey makes it all ok. The class ends on a real high note, no de-commitments or anything like that (as far as I know), it looks like Rich Rod has raked in another top notch class full of athletes - "his guys".  

Dorsey is ranked as the #12 prospect overall by ESPN, and considering he was a lock for Florida just a few weeks before signing day, this is an unbelievable get for Rich Rodriguez. Gotta love that Snake Oil! Demar joins the likes of Cullen Christian and Marvin Robinson in the 2010 defensive backs for Michigan, which is looking very impressive. 

Over the next few days/weeks I'll be looking in depth at the new Wolverines, seeing who has legitimate chances to start next season etc, and its never too early to start looking ahead to the class of 2011, which has already started well. 

Rich Rodriguez has had good results in recruiting despite posting just 8 victories as head coach of the wolverines, imagine the players he'll be signing in a few years! 

Demar Dorsey Update

Sports Illustrated is reporting that Demar Dorsey has chosen Michigan over USC and FSU. Scout.com and ESPN have yet to confirm the story, so I'm still thinking cautiously for the moment, I'll write more when it becomes official. 

Now it gets serious

Losing out on Rashad Knight? Ok, not that big of a deal. But losing Sean Parker to Washington when he was a Michigan lean? Ok, this one stings.

As announced on ESPN's live coverage of national signing day, Sean Parker has picked the Huskies over Michigan. The Wolverines were the favorites but the talented safety prospect had a change of heart at the last minute. This is bad news for GoBlueWolverine the magazine, their latest cover shot was of Cullen Christian, Will Hagerup and Sean Parker at the Army AA game!

The letters of intent have been flooding into Ann Arbor, and there are only three left to come in. These are Richard Ash, who is doing a signing "ceremony" at his High School in Pahokee, Antonio Kinnard and Demar Dorsey. This means Terry Talbott will be a Wolverine along with his brother after all!

The Dorsey announcement now become even more important as Michigan really wants to end the class on a high note. It would be disappointing to miss out on both Parker and Dorsey, but by no means would it be the end of the world, UM still has a very talented class.

Signing Day

Anything can happen on National Signing Day.

- Sean Parker announces on ESPN at 10AM. Many sources seem to think he's backed off Michigan and might pick Washington! 

- If the above is true, then most Michigan fans will be frustrated until around 1PM EST when Demar Dorsey is expected to choose Michigan!

- For some strange reason, I can't help but think UM will get both or neither....

Latest News

Sean Parker has looked like a UM commit for a while, but as mentioned earlier, Washington are making a real push for him. The Huskies made a great impression on Parker's official visit, and they are now the main competition for UM, USC are possibly out of it?

There are also some rumors that Richard Ash was looking around at other schools, this is something to keep an eye on tomorrow, although he'll probably stay with UM.

Look for Demar Dorsey to be wearing a Michigan hat tomorrow!!! I reckon we'll get them both! - Positive thinking...

Rashad to Rutgers + Dorsey Update

Scout.com is reporting that Rashad Knight has committed to Rutgers over Michigan. The rumors in recent days seemed to suggest he was leaning that way, but its still a bit surprising. Michigan has been near the top of Knight's list for a long time.

Knight is a talented player, but probably not in the same league (talent wise) with Demar Dorsey and Sean Parker, who will now be the focus on signing day. According to the poll on the right, only 4% of you thought Knight would have been the best addition to UM's class, so this news shouldn't be that disappointing. 

Onto Demar Dorsey now. Michigan is really giving this everything now, Rich Rod brought four coaches with him for the in-home visit and they really pitched the "Charles Woodson role" to him, i.e playing both sides of the ball, which would take advantage of Dorsey's 4.35 speed. Also in Michigan's favor is the fact that Demar's parents are very high on the Wolverines, probably due to the academics, and that he has family (Denard Robinson) up there. 

FSU fans think they have Dorsey all wrapped up, ESPN doesn't even mention Michigan when speaking about his decision, but there is NO WAY Michigan are out of it. There hasn't been much news about his trip to USC, but I get the feeling its UM or FSU. 

As for Sean Parker, Washington might be in the mix now, perhaps more than USC? Michigan is the favorite here. Both Parker and Dorsey will announce tomorrow.