What goes up...

...must come down. 

After two good commitments this week, Michigan then loses out on TE Ray Hamilton. The Ohio prospect has chosen to play for the...Iowa Hawkeyes? What happened?

There hasn't been much coverage of Hamilton's recruitment, but I still can't find the last time he talked about Iowa. I thought UM were in a great position here, especially with all the links to UM through Hamilton's father and one of his best friends, Jack Miller (UM commit #6). He made it up for two junior days and really hit it off with Rodriguez, all seemed to be going great.

He has apparently visited Iowa, and clearly felt comfortable enough to commit, but still this is a surprise. Best guess is that he wasn't happy with NCAA infractions, or Michigan's use of the Tight End? Either way, Iowa have stolen one here.

Two commitments...both to UM!

Who'd of thought it? After a somewhat slow start to recruiting this year, Michigan finally picks up the pace with two solid commitments in as many days. Last night, offensive lineman Jack Miller said he was all in for Michigan, choosing the Wolverines over 20 other scholarship offers. FL QB Kevin Sousa became the 7th commitment of the class, picking UM over Illinois as well as South Florida, West Virginia, Louisville and others.

Miller (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's) is a life long Michigan fan, and just couldn't pass up the opportunity to play for the Maize and Blue (Boston College was 2nd choice). Miller is listed as a three star DE on scout, but is fully expected to play on the O-Line at Michigan, possibly at Center.

Miller is also good friends with Ohio TE Ray Hamilton, and will definitely be trying to lure him to Michigan in the coming months. Remember Hamilton's dad is good friends with Coach Rod from their playing days at WVU, so UM has two really good connections there. 

In Sousa, Michigan gets another sound dual threat QB, he passed for over 1500 yards and gained 989 on the ground during his junior year, and runs a hand timed 4.54 40 yard dash.....and a slightly more disappointing 4.71 electronic! You can check out part one of his highlight reel here.

Kevin was visiting Michigan with his coach from high school, and both felt like UM was the right place to be. The family atmosphere that Michigan has going right now is really paying dividends, Sousa said it just felt like home. 

His commitment may close the door on the long shot of Marquise Williams going blue, as really UM only wanted to take one QB in the class. 

Daren Kitchen Update

Despite still not receiving a Michigan offer, Louisiana defensive back Daren Kitchen still holds the Wolverines in high regard, in fact, they are still his top school. 

Kitchen, listed as a three star CB on scout.com has offers from the likes of Stanford, Nebraska and Kansas, but still keeps trying for the UM offer. He's sent up some more tape for the coaches to go over, and now its just waiting for Coach Rodriguez's seal of approval. 

He fully expects to get the offer eventually, and when he does, there's a very strong chance that he'll accept on the spot. This is largely due to his great relationship with Coach Fred Jackson, who is the area recruiter for Louisiana, he recruited Carvin Johnson and Drew Dileo from the 2010 class.

Conelius Jones Update

2010 QB commit Conelius Jones will not enroll this fall after failing to qualify academically. He'll now go to a prep school, like Antonio Kinard. Both players expect to join Michigan in the winter, although sometimes it doesn't always work out. 

I was a pretty big fan of Jones in the end, he lead his Spartenburg high school team through an incredible playoff run, eventually losing out in the semi-finals to a nationally ranked Byrnes school (Marcus Lattimore and co). But this setback pretty much rules out whatever small chance he had at playing QB now at Michigan. With Gardner enrolling in spring, he'll be way behind the rest and at best 4th on the depth chart.

Jones is a good athlete though and with training could certainly contribute on defense at DB, or as a receiver on offense.

Quick Hitters

Commitments are coming thick and fast!

- Four star safety Ron Tanner will make his announcement on July 2nd, he likes Michigan, but its going to be Ohio State.

- LB Nick Lifka has chosen to play for Boston College, had some interest in UM.

- DB Dallas Crawford has Michigan and Miami as his top two right now, which surely means UM will get a crucial official visit in the fall.

- Ohio OL Aundrey Walker continues to favor Ohio State and others, but says his family loves Michigan!

- Sam Webb chats with safety Avery Walls about his recent visits to MSU and UM, link here.

Andre Yruretagoyena commits

The Oregon Ducks have landed a commitment from four star OL Andre Yruretagoyena after what he described as a perfect visit to Eugene. This is hugely disappointing as many thought Michigan had a very good shot at Andre after landing Craig Roh and Taylor Lewan from the same high school two years ago. 

A few months ago there were reports that USC and Michigan were the main schools involved, but in interviews discussing the commitment, he fails to mention Michigan. The decision came down to Oregon (childhood favorite) and USC. 

Tony Posada Update

FL OL Tony Posada was one of the bigger names at the Michigan camp last weekend, and the three star prospect came away with positive reviews, in fact the Wolverines are now his leader. Posada had previously named UM a leader, but had never visited the campus before.

The visit was much needed, as Posada had his concerns about the weather up north, fortunately it was in the mid 80s during his stay! He'll be visiting nearly all the Florida schools this summer, but the main competition should come from just the Gators. He grew up a gator, and at one time it looked like he'd jump at an offer, but it still hasn't come.

If they do offer soon, then its going to be a Florida-UM race, but if they leave it too long then its purely Michigan's to lose. 

Weekend Notes

- The 7 on 7 tournament starts today, most of the in-state talent should be there, plus some Ohio kids such as Shaq Washington and Doran Grant. 

- Lamar Dawson is taking an unofficial visit to Michigan today, which is strange because a while back he didn't include Michigan in his top seven. Hopefully with a good visit UM can become a player in his recruitment.

- 2012 LB Royce Jenkins Stone is really high on UM right now, and may be tempted to pull the trigger, word is that he may of picked up an offer from the Sound Mind/Sound Body camp last weekend. 

- Florida QB Kevin Sousa has picked up a Michigan offer and places the Wolverines in his top eight schools along with Florida International, South Florida, West Virginia, Illinois, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee State

Corey Marshall to Hokies

Corey Marshall has committed to Virginia Tech over Virginia, Michigan and WVU. He did the old hats commitment, eliminating UM and WVU before selecting the Hokies. Distance from home was always a worry with Marshall, but after his visit to Ann Arbor things were looking good for Michigan.

Article here.

....

USA!!! USA!!!

Wow I thought they would never score, but that was awesome, great game!

UM out of the race

Michigan is officially out of the race for Ohio LB Trey DePriest after he named a final list of Ohio State, Alabama and Florida. DePriest always wanted to get up to Ann Arbor in the spring, but things just kept getting in the way.

It's disappointing when a big time prospect who grew up following UM then goes for OSU and the southern powerhouses. Personally I think it will come down to Alabama and Ohio State, and ultimately the home state team will win the race. Having Braxton Miller already committed will definitely help the cause. 

Kellen Jones Update

Kellen Jones (Houston, TX) will definitely be visiting Michigan this summer, and his whole family will be joining him on the trip. This is great for the Wolverines as his family are big Michigan fans, especially his father, who always wanted to attend the UofM.

Kellen also grew up a fan of the Maize and Blue, but insists favorites won't be a major factor in his recruitment. Other schools in the mix are Purdue, LSU and Stanford, all of which have offered the four star linebacker.

Academics will play a big role in the decision, another reason why Michigan is probably the favorite right now.

Antonio Kinard doesn't make it

Antonio Kinard will not be at Michigan this fall after failing to qualify academically. Kinard didn't pass one of the Ohio Graduation Tests, a state requirement.

It's not all doom and gloom for the DE/OLB, as he still has a chance to suit up in the Maize and Blue in the future. For more on Kinard's options, check out this quick article on AnnArbor.com, link here.

Updates

Today is the last day of Michigan's summer camp, so I'm sure there will be plenty of news surfacing in the next few days. In the mean time:

- Instate ATH Valdez Showers went down to Florida's camp and earned an offer, meaning he's very good! Showers is back in Michigan now and should be attending the last day of camp.

- Michigan and Ohio State are the top two for 2012 LB Royce Jenkins-Stone. I get the feeling its Michigan really for him, he has a great relationship with Greg Robinson and he knows a lot of players on the team. Don't forget he's part of the trio of 2012 recruits along with Terry Richardson and James Ross, who all want to attend the same school. If that were to happen, it seems like either UM or OSU would be the options.

- Ohio 2-way lineman Jack Miller got his UM offer last week after visiting Michigan, and he seems to be very high on the Wolverines. Fortunately, Miller is great friends with fellow UM target Ray Hamilton, so there is a chance of another package deal there.

Demar Dorsey to the Cards

After being rejected by Michigan, highly coveted safety Demar Dorsey has signed with the Louisville Cardinals. This makes a lot of sense as Louisville's Head Coach, Charlie Strong, was the defensive coordinator at the Florida Gators when Dorsey originally committed there.

Of course we wish Dorsey good luck at with the Cards, its a shame he will never suit up for the Maize and Blue, but at least he gets to play in a BCS conference for four years, instead of going the JC route. 

Summer Camp

Michigan's three day summer camp begins today, and theres a load of talented players on show, as well as some less known players searching for the offers. For Kris Frost, this will be his third camp, and UM looks to regain the lead they created last time he camped; a commitment isn't out of the question.

Four star WR A.J Jordan will also be in attendance, although its unlikely he'll work out for coaches. Michigan holds the lead for Jordan after his visit for the BBQ. Last year Michigan picked up two commitments from players who attended the BBQ, and then the camp one month later.

As mentioned earlier in the week OL Tony Posada will be at the camp, and Michigan is in a solid position in his recruitment. A visit was vital, and Michigan finally has it. 

A couple of big names from the 2012 class will also be there, namely the Cass Tech kids, Royce Jenkins-Stone (LB) and Terry Richardson (CB). UM has had success from Cass Tech recently, and those two would be a good start for 2012 recruiting.

On a quick sidenote: Safety prospect Avery Walls had a great visit to Ann Arbor last week, even his mother (an OSU grad) was impressed. Michigan really rolled out the red carpet, with virtually all the coaches greeting Walls in Schembechler Hall, and it paid off. He also visited MSU whilst he was up here, but UM probably has the better chance.

Mid Week Updates

A few quick hitters:

- Michigan is the leader for Detroit LB Ed Davis. The three star recruit had a good camp session a couple of weeks ago and received his offer whilst on an unofficial to Ann Arbor last weekend. He also attended the Iowa camp, and the Hawkeyes are the likely 2nd place.

- Under Armour All-American Ja'Juan Story has cut his list to 14 schools, and somehow Michigan didn't make it....

- FL QB Jerrard Randle committed to Oregon, he had a UM offer.

- Florida Safety Avery Walls was in Ann Arbor yesterday, more on this shortly.

- WR Chris Gallon has put Michigan in his top three schools, but has Tennessee as his leader. Gallon attends the same school as UM lean Demetrius Hart. 

Tony Posada Update

Florida OL Tony Posada has named some of the schools he's still looking at, after receiving over 25 scholarship offers. Michigan, USF, Missouri, Rutgers, Texas Tech and Tennessee are the six schools.

Posada will also be visiting Michigan next week for camp as one of his high school coaches is running a camp there. He's always been quite high on UM and had previously named the Wolverines as his leader. 

One notable absence from the list is the Florida Gators. At one point, it seemed like Posada would jump on a Florida offer, but it still hasn't arrived. If the Gators do offer, I'd imagine they would still get a look in. 

Devin Smith Update

Get ready to take Ohio WR Devin Smith off the board...

The three star receiver got his Ohio State offer yesterday, and is a long time Buckeye fan. Apparently he even told the coach who offered him that he was a Buckeye, so the decision has already been made? Anyway, expect an announcement shortly, unless he decides to drag things out. 

Smith has visited Ann Arbor and seemed to be quite high on Michigan, he is the former teammate of DB JT Turner, which gave UM a good connection. 

This isn't a huge loss if it happens, as Michigan is still the probable leader for fellow Ohio WR A.J Jordan, a player rated much higher.

Two positive updates!

The news around UM recruiting has been pretty negative recently, as a few good targets either cut Michigan, committed elsewhere or named the Wolverines in the trailing pack. 

- Under Armor All American center Ryan Kelly continues to name Michigan as one of his leaders. The #4 C in the nation has visited UM already but will definitely get back to Ann Arbor shortly. He has recently visited some schools down south in Alabama/Florida. 

- Arguably the top QB on Michigan's board, Marquise Williams, will make his college decision at the end of the month. The three finalists are Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia Tech. Other schools such as Notre Dame and LSU were previously in the mix, but they have been cut! Although he claims no favorite just yet, Michigan probably won't be the choice, largely because I don't think he's actually visited Michigan yet.

The World Cup is here!

Being English, the World Cup is a pretty big deal for me! England take on the USA tomorrow, and anything but a win will be seen as a failure, no offense to the USA! Anyways, posting may be light over the next month.

Today's News

- Three star linebacker Sean Duggan visited Michigan recently and absolutely loved it! He got to spend time with all the coaches as well as players like Craig Roh. 

- Shaun Conway has apparently transferred to a different high school, which may affect his eligibility for his senior year. More to come on this shortly.

- Ohio DB Jimmy May hasn't got any offers just yet, but already has his favorite school, Michigan. May is new to the CB spot, but has good potential. He's been hearing from a few schools, including the Wolverines, is he another sleeper DB?

Dorsey/other random updates

Dorsey

2010 commit Demar Dorsey will not play for Michigan this season, and most likely never will. Michigan has sent back his letter of intent, and the talented DB will now look elsewhere. A number of colleges have already been in touch with his coach. 

Some DetNews reporter tweeted that Rodriguez was pissed with UM admissions, and who can blame him! After all the work they put in to land him, and all the criticism over his non-existent criminal record, he won't ever see the field at Michigan.

Whilst it's annoying for fans as well not to have him, its important to remember that this isn't the end of the world. If you read ESPN blogs/reports, then you will know that they portray Dorsey as the savior to Michigan's weak secondary. However this is far from the case, whilst Dorsey has great potential with his speed and athleticism, most recruiting sites weren't that high on him. 

Max Preps, Scout and Rivals all had him outside the top 100, so perhaps he wouldn't have started anyway. The door is now well and truly open for Cullen Christian now to get the CB spot opposite Troy Woolfolk. 

Kent Turene

In my opinion, the story above causes a huge blow to UM's chances with Florida LB Kent Turene. With Alabama and Florida after him, and Michigan just flat out rejecting one of his best friends, I highly doubt the Wolverines are even close on this one.

USC Football 

Sources close to the situation have told the LA times that USC will be hit with a two year post-season ban, a loss of around 20 scholarships and some vacated wins from 2004. And you thought our violations were bad!!???

This will obviously have a terrible effect on USC recruiting, but possibly a good one on Michigan! The first player that springs to mind is OL Andre Yruretagoyena, who previously listed UM and USC as his favorites. Since then Oregon has joined the race, but you have to feel USC could be out? Leaving the Wolverines v the Ducks. Andre is looking to make it to Ann Arbor for the MSU game. 

Props go to Pete Carroll, he knew when to get out!

Quick Updates

- WVU leads UM, FSU, Florida and Tennessee for WR Prince Holloway

- The O-zone reports on Braxton Miller's commitment to OSU here. The 10th item on their list is of importance, as it states OSU will not take another QB. Cardale Jones to Michigan just got a bit more likely?

- Florida OL Tony Posada will visit Michigan this summer, and says if the Wolverines do make his final list, he'll visit again in the winter to see how cold it is!!!

News!

Been away for a few days, so here's whats happened!

- Michigan didn't make the top SEVEN schools for DeAnthony Arnett....Miami, who hasn't even offered made the list, heck, Iowa made it! 

- Justice Hayes now favors MSU and ND over Michigan and a couple others

- LB Ben Kline has committed to Pittsburgh, over offers from UM, BC, Rutgers and WVU

- Vincent Croce has committed to Virginia, wow this is a bad week of news....

- Demar Dorsey is an NCAA qualifier! However, he hasn't been admitted into Michigan yet. He's apparently got a 2.5 GPA and an 18 ACT. If Dorsey doesn't get into UM, he'll re-open his recruitment and go elsewhere. 

ESPN 150 Rankings

Jadeveon Clowney is the consensus #1 recruit among the three major recruiting sites, ESPN, scout and rivals, with ESPN ranking him a whopping 4 points above the next best player. 

Players of interest for UM:

- Tim Jernigan is the first target on the board at #32

- Trey DePriest is next at #35

- DeAnthony Arnett (#53) is ranked just one place above Sammy Watkins (#54)

- Doran Grant is #67

- Andre Yruretagoyena just misses out on the top 100 at #101

- Lawrence Thomas, who was a 5 Star on rivals yesterday, ranks just 135th on ESPN!

- Dallas Crawford is the last UM target to make the list at #142

Well this is not a good list for UM fans at all! Very few targets made the top 150, however Brennen Beyer and Delonte Hollowell both got a rating of 79, and four star status. AJ Jordan, Demetrius Hart and Anthony Zettel all got a rating of 80, meaning they are very close to breaking into the top 150. 

A player I haven't mentioned before is GA safety Avery Walls. He made the 150 today, and is pretty high on UM right now, he'll likely be visiting this summer. 

Check out the full rankings here.

Mid-Week News

The ESPN 150 will be released today, and here are a few players that are currently on the watch list:

Anthony Zettel, Kris Frost, Justice Hayes, Dee Hart, DeAnthony Arnett, Delonte Hollowell, Brennen Beyer, Sammy Watkins, Dallas Crawford, Doran Grant and many more! I'll do another post later to see which of these made the list!

- In other news, Under Armor AA Ryan Kelly has picked up some great offers, such as Michigan, Alabama and Florida. Kelly has already visited UM but says he wants to make it back to Ann Arbor soon, good signs!

- Kris Frost has confirmed that some of his high school team will camp up at Michigan again this summer, which is great news. Frost has always favored UM, but recently schools like North Carolina and Auburn have caught up because they've been able to get visits.

Rivals100 released

A day after Tom Lemming released hhis top 100 high school players for the 2011 class, the boys at rivals.com have done the same. Once again, none of the current UM commits made the list, but there are plenty of targets on it. Here's some of the notables:

For the record, last year the top 26 players reached the 5 star status on rivals.

- CB Doran Grant lands at #23

- Kris Frost is a bit of a surprise at #27, potential for 5 stars down the stretch? 

- Dee Hart #34! One of the best RB's in Florida, definitely deserves to be in any top 100, especially after some good camp performances in the spring.

- Sammy Watkins is #39, he looks set for a great senior year, he just had 141 yards receiving in his spring game, so he could well rise above this ranking.

- Tim Jernigan is #45, which is pretty much the same as his Lemming ranking. Are scout.com overestimating him by putting him at #2 overall?

- DeAnthony Arnett comes in at #49, he's been great all spring and deserves to be in the top 50.

- Anthony Zettel is #58, has UM as leader, commit hopefully coming in the next couple of months.

- Instate RB Justice Hayes is #75

- Andre Yruretagoyena, the former teammate of Craig Roh and Taylor Lewan is at #81.

- Trey DePriest just makes the list at #93.

Overall the rivals 100 is a lot more positive for UM fans, as the wolverines are in a great position with at least four of those recruits. 

Tuesday Updates

News from over the weekend:

- PA running back Maika Polamalu carried the ball for over 1450 yards last year, but his college future could lye on defense, at the safety position (could it be because he's the cousin of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu?). The three star prospect has a couple of offers, but is likely to pick up some more when he attends camps this summer. He claims Michigan will "definitely" be one of the camps, along with South Carolina and Pittsburgh.

- UM did not make the top seven of Florida corner Nick Waisome, who now lists Florida, Florida State, Miami-FL, Georgia, LSU, South Carolina and Louisville as his top schools.

- FL RB Demetrius Hart insists his recent visit to Alabama's Nike camp was just business, and UM is still his top school right now. Hart will have to wait until the fall to get back up to Ann Arbor, so fans might have to wait a while for a commitment.