UConn Visitors

The big recruiting news over the weekend was that Demetrius Hart might have to delay his official visit to Michigan because he hadn't registered with the clearing house - something you must do before you take officials.

This would mean Dee and Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix would visit for the MSU game instead, and Hart would take an unofficial to Auburn next weekend. However, word is today that Hart will be able to register in time for the UConn game, and still hopes to make it. As long as there are no technicalities, he should still be there.

North Carolina QB commit Marquise Williams, originally slated to visit for the MSU game, has now changed his plans and will be at the Big House next Saturday. It's turning out to be a big weekend for visitors, with Avery Walls and many more expected to show. 

Note: Check out this huge hit by Avery Walls last week....link here.

Quick Hitters

- Michigan commit Shawn Conway got off to a good start with a kickoff return TD and two receiving TD's in his first game. Article about the game here.

- Kris Frost says Michigan and Auburn are pulling away from the pack in the race to sign him. LSU are also in the mix, and he'll take an official there for the Tiger's game vs Alabama. I'm not as excited about Frost as I once was, mainly because he wants to play WR. He'll be a good WR, but a great linebacker. 

- Sam Webb takes a look at Chris Bryant, an offensive lineman who is very high on Michigan in his latest article for the DetNews. Link here. 

Showers picks Gators

Three star athlete Valdez Showers has committed to the University of Florida over his other finalists, Michigan and Michigan State. Iowa, Northwestern and Auburn were also under consideration.

I thought there was meant to be some kind of announcement this week, his family was trying to set up a press conference with fox sports news (scout.com), but I guess that didn't work out. 

Should we be disappointed about this decision? Yes, Showers in one of the top players in the state of Michigan and therefore he should be ours. But you have to look on the bright side....at least he didn't choose Michigan State! What are the odds that we play Florida in the next four years? low....too low.

Brandon Fulse Update

ESPN 150 TE Brandon Fulse has named a list of his 10 finalists, which doesn't include Michigan. The lucky ten are, in no particular order, Clemson, Florida State, Miami-FL, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, South Florida, North Carolina, Texas Tech and Oregon.

Many people thought he might visit Michigan along with some other Florida kids this fall, either for the UConn, MSU or Iowa game. It's actually really surprising that Michigan didn't make the top ten, given UM's need for a TE in this class.

Glenville (Ohio)'s Frank Clark now seems like the top TE left on the board right now.

Showers down to three

One of the top in state recruits, Valdez Showers has cut his list down to just Michigan, Michigan State and Florida, and is expected to announce his decision this week.

Showers says there is pressure to stay in state, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if he ended up in Gainesville, FL. He came back buzzing from his camp visit with the Gators.

For some reason I just don't think its going to be Michigan, he has a better rapport with the coaches at MSU, and probably Florida too. The announcement time hasn't been made yet, I'll post something about that soonish.  

Travis Hughes Update

Michigan's pursuit of linebacker Travis Hughes has probably come to an end, after he announced his official visit schedule, which did not include a trip to Ann Arbor.

Maryland, LSU, Virginia Tech, UNC and Clemson are his top five, and whilst he says other schools could pop back into the mix, he said he's mainly focusing on those schools. 

Hughes is a five star prospect on scout.com, so it would have been great to get an official. Still, there are plenty more linebackers to be had in this class; Kris Frost, Sean Duggan, Lamar Dawson, Branden Jackson etc etc.

Weekend News

Been away since Thursday, so let's see whats happened in the recruiting world since...

- Prince Holloway says he will definitely take an official to West Virginia, and "possibly" take one to Michigan, which confirms that WVU are the leaders right now.

- Tim Jernigan claims no leader in his top five of Florida, FSU, LSU, Alabama and Michigan. It's almost certain he'll be at a game in Ann Arbor this fall, at the moment he's looking at his own schedule to decide on visit dates.

- 2010 RB Austin White has left the program, a few quotes here.

- Daren Kitchen will take his Michigan official for the UConn game, and could commit on the day if he gets anything more than a verbal offer.

Question Time

I do love a good question...

Once again if you have any questions related to Michigan football recruiting, or just football recruiting in general, please send me an email at mgorecruit@live.co.uk and I'll do my best to answer them.

Drew via email - I'm i die-hard Michigan football fan and my question to you is, do you think Anthony Zettel, and/or Cyrus Hobbi will choose Michigan? And how good of chance do we have of getting CB Doran Grant?

These are three of the top prospects on Michigan's board right now, both Grant and Hobbi are ESPN 150 prospects. Michigan's best chance out of the three comes from Anthony Zettel, who has always had Michigan as his leader. 

Zettel should be a commit already, but he's taken advice from family and friends to wait and see how Michigan does this fall on the field, which worries me greatly. He's also not sure if he'll take an official to Michigan and MSU, because he's seen them so many times, but he will take one to Penn State, who are currently 2nd on his list. This is a major disadvantage, but in the end if Michigan wins 7-8 games, I think he'll commit to UM.

Cyrus Hobbi visited Michigan earlier this summer and loved it, in fact he has Michigan in his top group right now along with UCLA and Cal. It would be great if Michigan could get him back for an official this fall, and have him hosted by one of the Arizona duo - Craig Roh and Taylor Lewan. I think Michigan has a decent shot here, he hasn't named a leader or anything yet, so it's hard to predict where he will go, but if Michigan does well this season they should make his final group easily.

Doran Grant is a strange one. A while back he had MSU (where his dad played) and Ohio State as his two leaders, but has since reversed on that and said everyone is even again. Personally I don't believe him. I think Ohio State is the leader right now, with MSU at #2, and Michigan at #3. It's going to be really hard for the Wolverines to overtake those two, especially since Grant has visited Michigan so many times, and still has them third. The depth chart is one thing that could help though, he wants to get on the field early, and with his talent he certainly could contribute as a freshman at Michigan. He will take an official to UM, which helps, but ultimately I think he'll go to Ohio State, I hope I'm wrong.

Quick Hitters

Adrian Witty, Boubacar Cissoko, Donovan Warren, Demar Dorsey, JT Turner and Troy Woolfolk...that's just unlucky.

Alas, on with the recruiting updates!

- LB Sean Duggan (Cincinnati, OH) has a top five of Boston College, Wisconsin, Michigan, Duke and Virginia, although BC and Wisconsin are probably the slight leaders. He plans to take officials to all five schools.

- RB Malcolm Crockett has committed to Cincinnati over Georgia Tech, Michigan and Rutgers. Cincinnati and UM were his top two, but he never got round to visiting Ann Arbor. With UM poised to get Dee Hart, did interest from Michigan drop off anyway? 

- Florida WR Kelvin Benjamin plans to visit Michigan this fall, he's simply a monster at 6'6 210 lbs. More on him soon.

Abandon Ship!

Several sources are reporting that Troy Woolfolk has suffered a really bad ankle injury, possibly season ending. As if it couldn't get any worse at corner....

Woolfolk is clearly one of the most important players on the whole team, he was the leader of the secondary, this is yet another terrible blow for Michigan and Rich Rodriguez, who quite frankly can't buy a break right now. 

I guess J.T Floyd is now #1 on the depth chart, and whilst he's come on a lot this year, that's not a great sign. Perhaps even more worrying is that a true freshman (Cullen Christian) is now a starter, without really having to earn it. Teric Jones, once a RB, once a Safety, will now play at corner. He's been practicing at both CB and S this week. Courtney Avery and Terrance Talbott are the "depth".

Between the five corners mentioned above, they combine for two career starts at CB, both Floyd's. This is worrying to say the least, some players are really going to have to step up now. 

Valdez Showers to decide soon

One of the top in-state recruits, Valdez Showers, will make his collegiate decision in the next few weeks as he's targeted a pre season commitment. The three star athlete narrowed it down to six earlier this month, but admits that Florida, Michigan, MSU and Northwestern are ahead of Iowa and Auburn.

Showers also claims there is a lot of pressure to stay in-state, especially when it comes to the Wolverines. He loves the tradition and exposure that Michigan has, but admits he's much closer with the Spartan's coaching staff. 

If he were to venture out of Michigan, my guess would have to be Florida. While Northwestern has great academics, I think he realizes that from a football standpoint, Florida and UM have much more to offer.

Official visits!

With the season starting in less than 20 days, official visits are being set up all over the country, here are a couple of interest for Michigan fans:

- Demetrius Hart has confirmed that his official visit will be for the UConn game, although he may come back up for the MSU/Iowa game. Teammate Ha'sean Clinton-Dix will also take his official to Michigan for the UConn game. It's unclear right now if some of the other Florida kids will come up on this visit, i.e LaQuentin Smith, Karlos "Showtime" Williams, Nick Patti and Brandon Fulse.

- DT Mickey Johnson now has Tennessee and UCLA at the top of his list, he previously had LSU at #1. LSU, Nebraska, Oregon and Michigan are in the trailing pack, but Johnson did announce that Michigan will get an official visit.

- Marquise Williams will still visit Michigan officially for the MSU game, despite committing to UNC earlier this summer. Would Michigan take another QB? 

- Also at the MSU game will be fellow N.C prospect Kris Frost.

- Avery Walls will take his official for the UConn game, no word yet on whether he'll bring 5 Star DE Ray Drew with him.

James Elliott Update

As mentioned last week, Florida OT James Elliott visited campus over the weekend, and came away with a glowing review. Elliott got to sit in on position meetings and catch a glimpse of the Wolverines practicing on Sunday.

Elliott now has Michigan as his leader, and even set up his official visit for the fall, which will be for the Michigan State game. He'll also take an official to Louisville, who are looking like the main competition for UM right now.

Questions!

I do love a good question...

If you have any questions related to Michigan football recruiting, or just football recruiting in general, please send me an email at mgorecruit@live.co.uk and I'll do my best to answer them. 

Will via email: "Hi. I read your blog every day. You do a really good job. I was wondering if you could answer a couple questions; who do you think will be the next recruit that commits for Michigan? And what do you think of the chances of Sammy Watkins, Spiffy Evans, Jonathan Aiken and Avery Walls committing. Thank you for your time and keep up the good work.

Response:

A lot of separate questions here, so I'll split it into parts.

First to commit - A lot of recruits try to end their recruitment before their senior season starts, so Michigan could pick up an unexpected verbal from someone like Chris Bryant (OG) or Nick Martin (OT). A.J Jordan is another who could commit before the fall, he's rumored to be visiting Ann Arbor later this month, and could commit then and there. However, if I had to give just one name, it's got to be Demetrius Hart. He'll take his official to UM for the UConn game, and its a near certainty that he'll commit either on the visit or shortly after.

Sammy Watkins - Michigan is still in an ok position for Watkins, however they are in much better shape for his teammate Dallas Crawford. Sammy enjoyed his visit for the spring game, but apparently has Miami and Clemson on top right now, with the Hurricanes being the favorites. It's not over for Michigan though, as Watkins will most likely take an official to Ann Arbor along with Crawford this fall, so Michigan will get their shot at him.

Spiffy Evans - Seemed very high on Michigan when he got his offer, but has since named a top five of West Virginia, Nebraska, Duke, Vanderbilt, and South Florida. So things aren't looking great here, but there is a chance Evans and teammate Jonathan Aiken will take an official to UM.

Jonathan Aiken - As mentioned above he's thinking about taking an official to Michigan with Evans, but nothing has been arranged yet. Aiken could be a little higher on UM than Evans, but there hasn't been much news regarding either of them recently.

Avery Walls - About a month ago he cut it down to 11 schools, and Michigan made that cut. The next step is for the Wolverines to secure an official visit, which at this point looks very likely. Walls seemed really impressed with his trip to Ann Arbor, his good friend Ray Drew (#3 overall prospect) claims Walls was talking up the Maize and Blue after his visit. 

Out of those four, Walls seems the most likely to go blue in the end, but I don't see a commitment from any of them in the near future. With both Walls and Watkins, its all about securing those vital official visits!

Thanks for the questions :)

Quick Hitters

- DT Darian Cooper (Hyattsville, Md) is looking to narrow his list down to just five schools over the next couple of weeks. Cooper was a visitor for the Big House BBQ and described it as an amazing experience, so there's a good chance Michigan makes the cut. Other schools in the mix include UCLA, Penn State, Maryland and others.

- OT James Elliott (Pensacola, FL) will visit campus today, he's a bit of a sleeper I guess, ESPN doesn't have anything on him, scout has him as a 2 star not ranked. However he has a decent pool of offers including Louisville, Maryland, Texas Tech, USF and Iowa State. His top three is currently Michigan, USF and Louisville.

- Justin Turner has officially left the program, Coach Rod said "he doesn't play for Michigan", enough said.

- 2010 four star recruit Cullen Christian will definitely get his shot at some playing time this year, in theory he's now 3rd or 4th on the depth chart, depending on how well James Rogers is doing.

- Demetrius Hart has brought Auburn back into the mix, but don't be alarmed, he's still a lock in my book. UM, Alabama and Auburn are the final three. 

Tony Posada

Name: Tony Posada

Location: Tampa, Florida

Position: OT or OG

Ratings: Scout – 3*, Rivals – 3*, ESPN – 3* (78)

Recruitment: Received his Michigan offer early on, he’s a recruit Coach Frey was very high on. Posada has always liked UM’s tradition, and after visiting Ann Arbor for three days in the summer, Michigan was the new leader. A Florida offer might have shaken things up, but it never came. His final four schools were Texas Tech, Missouri, USF and Michigan. He selected the Wolverines at a press conference on August 11^th.

Offers: Michigan, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Duke, Texas Tech, Missouri, USF, Tennessee, Louisville, Rutgers and Wake Forest.

Stats: Currently weighs around 320 lbs at 6’5, which might be slightly too heavy, I believe Florida told him to shed a few pounds to increase his chances of an offer. He runs a 5.4 40 yard dash.

ESPN Analysis: Posada has great size along with enough explosion and playing strength to dominate defenders at his present level of play. Has the height and weight we like to see for the offensive tackle spot at the major level of competition. Shows good flexibility, but could struggle in open space against outside linebackers on the rush. Has a good pad level and uses his hips well to help drive through his blocks – has a “nasty streak”. Definitely more comfortable in the run blocking situations right now.

From the man himself - “I think I’m strong and I’m very physical. I have natural strength and know how to use that to overpower people. I’m pretty smart and I go from whistle to whistle. I’m never done blocking. I think I’ve got everything major down. So it’s all about fine tuning my game and things like my footwork and trapping. I just want to work on all the little things.”

Improvements: Could possibly drop a few pounds to improve his speed, a couple of years in college will sort that out. General technique is good, but can always be improved.

 

Film Highlights: None available

Final Thoughts: Not ready to contribute immediately at the college level, a redshirt in his first year is likely. A year or so with Mike Barwis will have him in good shape to contribute during his sophomore or junior season. Could play guard or tackle at the next level, that will be up to the Michigan coaches.

Posada is the third commitment on the offensive line in this class, meaning Michigan will only take one or two more. Anthony Zettel, Cyrus Hobbi, Chris Byrant, Ray Ball and Nick Martin all have Michigan in their top group, so UM will have to take commitments carefully from here on out.

Posada commits to UM

Tony Posada has become the 10th commitment for Michigan's class of 2011, choosing the Wolverines over Texas Tech, USF and Missouri.

He always liked UM, but at one time it looked like he was just waiting on a Florida offer, and then towards the end rumors about USF had Michigan fans worried. But in the end, he donned the Michigan hat (and a UM tie).

I'll do a commitment post in the morning.

Other News

- Doran Grant named a top nine which includes Michigan, as well as Ohio State (presumed leader?), Michigan State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Cincinnati, USC, UCLA, Penn State. He'll be looking to get it down to five around September. UM should make that cut, especially if they have won some games by then.

- Deion Barnes has put Michigan in his top five along with Penn State, Pittsburgh, Georgia and South Carolina. Barnes was a visitor for the Spring game at the Big House, where he had a great time. At the moment, those five will all get official visits, but the top five could change.

- Anthony Zettel visited Penn State last week and loved it, so much so that Penn State have leapfrogged Michigan....State. The Nittany Lions sit at #2 on his list, just behind the Wolverines! MSU is demoted to third.

- Rumors are flying around that Michigan defensive back J.T Turner is thinking of/has left the program. Turner was a scout.com 5 star recruit, but has clearly failed to live up to that ranking thus far. He arrived late on campus and has struggled to adapt to college, both on and off the field. Hopefully coaches can convince him to stay, as the secondary badly needs depth.

Commit #10?

Michigan now seems poised to hit double figures in commitments tonight, as it looks like Tony Posada will go blue after all. In a strange turn of events, he's now dismissed Missouri and USF, leaving just Michigan and Texas Tech in the race.

The buzz over the last week or so was that South Florida was in with a real chance, but now Michigan has to be the favorite. You can't rule Texas Tech out, but I'd be pretty shocked if their name is called. 

Both schools have already been informed of the decision, but Posada won't go public until 5PM tonight. 

Tony Posada Announcement

Tony Posada will make his collegiate decision on August 11th, aka tomorrow. He'll announce with teammate Philip Ely at a 5PM press conference. Michigan and local team USF are the two top right now, and its tough to pick a favorite, really could go either way. 

There might be a big crowd too, as James Wilder could possibly make his decision with them. Wilder is the son of a former NFL RB (also named James Wilder), and he's currently the number one player on Tom Lemming's top 100 recruits.

Edit: James Wilder will announce on August 18th now.

Jordan Walsh to Iowa

Four star offensive guard Jordan Walsh has committed to Iowa over offers from Michigan, Nebraska, USC and others. 

This is a bit of a surprise, Michigan seemed to be in a great spot for Walsh, especially with his Mom, who loved Ann Arbor. He never really named a leader, but said UM was high on his list after he visited campus last month. A decision timetable was never mentioned either, so this is certainly out of the blue.

It's unclear if he'll still take officials in the fall.

Ray Drew Update

Ray Drew (Thomasville, GA), one of the top overall prospects in the nation, has named Michigan in his top eight schools. Drew is ranked #3 in the ESPN 150, so its great for Michigan to still be in with a shot.

Drew is good friends with fellow ESPN 150 recruit, Avery Walls, who has visited Ann Arbor and sung the praises of the Wolverines to Drew:

"We’ve been talking about them and he’s been talking about how Michigan is a place I need to check out, and maybe set up an official with him so we can get up there at the same time."

An official visit is the next step for Michigan, if they can secure one with both Walls and Drew, then they could have a great chance at both prospects. However, with Drew being the #3 player in the nation, the competition is fierce to say the least. Also in his top eight are....the big three Florida schools, Miami, Florida and FSU, then you have the two in state powers, GA Tech and Georgia, and add in the reigning national champs Alabama for good measure. Auburn also makes the list, and they've done great in recruiting recently.

Quick Hitters

A slow week for recruiting...

- Rich Rodriguez is accused of NCAA violations from his time at West Virginia, which can't help recruiting. The allegations are similar to the ones at Michigan, e.g graduate assistants sitting in coaches' meetings etc. 

- Michigan CB prospect Valdez Showers has Michigan in his final six schools along with Florida, MSU, Iowa, Northwestern and Auburn. He always speaks highly of the SEC schools, and he definitely enjoyed himself in Gainesville. 

- In-state RB Thomas Rawls will take his SAT test in the second week in September, which will be crucial for him. If he does well, offers from the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and Wisconsin could follow. Rawls likes Michigan a lot, and will visit unofficially sometime this month to hang out with Coach Jackson and get a feel for the campus.

Michigan ideally wants to take Demetrius Hart and Rawls as a big back in this class.  

Tony Posada Update

Florida O-lineman Tony Posada will announce his decision at 4.30 ET on August 11th along with teammate Philip Ely. Right now, its anyone's guess who he picks. 

A month ago, all seemed great with Posada, he had named Michigan as his leader after a great visit to Ann Arbor, and was on the verge of committing around mid-July. But lately, local school USF has come on strong and could even be the favorites heading into the announcement.

Ed Davis to MSU

Detroit Southeastern's Ed Davis has committed to Michigan State, where he'll join his former teammate William Gholston in the Spartan's LB core. 

When Michigan first offered Davis, he looked like a UM lean already, but after several visits to Michigan State his interest in the Wolverines faded, and by the time his commitment came around, MSU were the heavy favorites.

Quick Hitters

With the Big Ten media days this week, recruiting has been fairly quiet, although Michigan has hosted a prospect this week. 

 - Redbank (NJ)'s Jack Tabb visited campus earlier this week and got talking with both Calvin Magee and Greg Robinson. This is because Tabb could play either TE or DE in college. Tabb enjoyed the visit and said Michigan could well get another visit so that he can meet Coach Rodriguez. As for ratings, well he has a Florida offer.

- RB Malcolm Crockett, who once had Rutgers as his leader, has named Michigan and Cincinnati as his top two. Michigan will get a visit this fall.

- Daren Kitchen has confirmed that he does have a verbal offer from Michigan, and names the Wolverines as one of his leaders along with Texas A&M and Memphis. He's still waiting on the paperwork from Michigan.

2012 QB: Nick Patti

Dr Phillips High school in Orlando (FL) has produced a lot of talent over the last few years, and Michigan has been there to harvest it. The class of 2010 produced four star WR Ricardo Miller for the Wolverines (although he did spend his senior year in Michigan, he committed whilst at Dr Phillips), and 2011 has Demetrius Hart, a big Michigan lean.

2012 may well continue the trend with QB Nick Patti, who is very on the Wolverines after visiting with Hart last month. Patti got to spend a good deal of time talking football with QB Coach Rod Smith, and then got some quality time with Coach Rodriguez. Both Nick and his dad were hugely impressed with Rich Rod, and although its probably too early to talk leaders, if there is one, its Michigan. 

Other schools showing interest are Oregon, Florida State (which he's visited), UCLA and Georgia Tech. Nick could be back up in Ann Arbor if he decides to visit with Dee and some other Florida kids for a game during the fall.