Michigan Targets: Running Back

Michigan has yet to gain a running back commitment in the class of 2011, but that could change in the next few weeks, here's the three main prospects that the Wolverines are targeting:

- Demetrius Hart (Orlando, FL) - Hart has been a Michigan lean for a very long time, in fact many people expected him to commit last September! However with the troubles surrounding the program back then, he held off. Now things are finally looking up for the Wolverines, which has helped with Hart, who is very impressed with the 4-0 start. He was a visitor at the UConn game, and might come back up for the Iowa game as an unofficial. 

The main competition for Hart is from Auburn and Alabama. He visited the Tigers for their game against Clemson and gave it a 9/10 overall. This weekend he'll be at Alabama when they host the Florida Gators, a huge SEC match up. Personally I think right now the Crimson Tide are the biggest threat to Michigan. Firstly because the atmosphere on Saturday is going to be immense, and secondly because his teammate Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix is already committed to the Tide.

A decision should come in the next two weeks, and right now its looking like Michigan all the way. So...

Chances of Signing with UM: 80%

- DeVondrick Nealy (Monticello, FL) - Nealy has a top two right now of Arkansas and Michigan, with the Razorbacks the slight leader. He's already set up visits to both schools, he'll be in Ann Arbor on October 9th for the MSU game. If that visit goes well, Michigan could be the new leader for Nealy, but would the Wolverines take him if Demetrius Hart is already committed?

Chances of Signing with UM: 30%

- Thomas Rawls (Flint, MI) - Rawls has burst onto the scene after some explosive performances early in the season and he's now set to break Mark Ingram's Flint rushing record. Michigan really wants to take Rawls as their "big back" in this class, but they can't offer him until he sorts out his grades. He grew up a Michigan fan, so if he gets the academic clearance, expect him to go blue sometime in the next few months. The main competition right now is MSU, CMU, Iowa and Wisconsin, but if anyone leads, its Michigan.

Chances of signing with UM: 51%

Karlos Williams Update

Karlos Williams (Davenport, FL) is one of the top safeties in the class of 2011, and given Michigan's lack of depth in the secondary right now, he's a huge priority for the UM coaching staff.

Despite being a Florida State commit, Williams has always insisted that he'd visit Ann Arbor, along with a few other schools. It now seems like those plans are coming into fruition, as Williams plans to visit for the Wisconsin game late in the season. He could be accompanied on the trip by good friend and 2012 Michigan lean, Nick Patti. 

The visit has not yet been confirmed, and even if it were, things would have to go pretty good for Williams to consider switching his pledge from the Seminoles to the Wolverines. 

Wayne Lyons Update

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.

Anonymous via email: "According to Rivals we are pursuing Wayne Lyons from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. What the latest scooop on him and do we have a shot? Tony Dews is the lead recruiter."

Answer - Things aren't looking good for Michigan and Wayne Lyons right now. He has already shown up to a Michigan game this year, but unfortunately he was there to see Notre Dame. Still, seeing the Wolverines in action might have saved whatever small chance we have with him.

Whilst Rivals say Michigan are pursuing Lyons right now, his favorites don't include the Wolverines. His likely destinations for official visits include UCLA, Stanford, Nebraska and Auburn, and he'll also take unofficials to Florida, FSU and Miami.

A while back he released a top 14 schools, which Michigan was a part of, however he did admit to favoring the in state powerhouses. I'd be pretty shocked if Michigan got an official visit.

On a brighter note, Michigan is in a great position for two other defensive backs from down South, GA S Avery Walls and FL CB Dallas Crawford. Michigan's recruiting efforts will be strongly focused on these two over the next few months.

Weekend Notes

Was away again this weekend, didn't even get to do a prediction!

Whilst it was only against Bowling Green, the game on Saturday showed us a few things:

- Firstly, when Denard Robinson gets hurt, Michigan has two extremely capable backups that can come in and run the offense. It was great to see Forcier get back to his old self and just play good football. Devin Gardner was unlucky at times, he had a long TD pass called back for a personal foul, and then Hemingway dropped a sure TD on the 5 yd line, but overall he had a good day.

- Secondly, the defense isn't THAT bad. Sure, they are prone to big plays, but they also make a few themselves. They definitely came out there with something to prove, and if you take out that 70ish yd screen pass that should have been a 3-4 yd gain, then they only conceded around 210 yards.

- Cam Gordon is slow! He got burned by Kyle Rudolph against Notre Dame, which I thought might be a one off, but yesterday he just never looked like catching Tyrone Pronty on that screen pass. He's probably better suited to strong safety, however Michigan has no other decent Free S.

- Lastly, the run game is dominant! Having 466 total rushing yards against any team is impressive, and it was nice to see what Fitzgerald Toussaint can do on the field. Nine players rushed the ball for Michigan, and all but one had an average of 4 yards per carry or more. Michigan now has the nation's 2nd best rushing attack.

Recruiting Notes:

It was mainly 2012 recruits at the game, but they were some good ones. Ohio DB Allen Gant (Charles Woodson's cousin?) made it up for the match, as did Michigan prospects Dan O'Brien (DT), Dakota Perry (DE) and Hunter Matt (LB). 

A.J Jordan Update

Ohio WR A.J Jordan has put Michigan in his top two along with Wisconsin following his visit to Madison last weekend for the Badger's win over ASU. Purdue are also in the mix and may get an official visit later in the year.

Jordan will visit Michigan officially on October 16th for the big match-up against Iowa, where he'll get to see former teammates Roy Roundtree, Michael Shaw and Brandon Moore perform on the field.

He's been really high on Michigan for a long time and I'll be generally quite surprised if he ends up elsewhere. Whilst his Wisconsin visit went well, he should be a Wolverine by the end of the season.

Weekend Recap

Been away for a bit, so here's a few quick hitters from the weekend:

- Dee Hart gave his Auburn visit a 9 out of 10, which is worrying for the Wolverines. He's not 100% sure if he wants to even visit Alabama and Arkansas, so it will come down to Michigan and Auburn. UM are still the favorites, but its much closer than before.

- 2012 OL Jordan Diamond made it to Ann Arbor for the UMass game and enjoyed himself. He's been a longtime Michigan fan and after the visit admitted that the Wolverines are his clear leader right now. 

- 2011 OL Chris Bryant (teammate of Jordan Diamond) also made it to the game on Saturday, and he's considered a Michigan lean right now. His top schools are Michigan, Stanford, Kansas, Arizona, Illinois and Minnesota. Despite visiting Michigan twice unofficially in recent times, the Wolverines will still get an official later on in the year. Landing Bryant would certainly help with Diamond too.

Transfers, Updates and Predicitons

Firstly, if you haven't watched Denard Robinson - The Happening yet, do so here. Really good video! On with the show...

- Michigan has yet more players transferring out this week, firstly DE Anthony LaLota and now it has been announced that true freshman Davion Rogers has decided to leave the program. LaLota's departure is likely a playing time issue, whilst its not yet been said why Rogers has left. Have to look on the bright side and say its more scholarships for a talented 2011 class. And speaking of 2011 recruiting;

- Dallas Crawford AND Sammy Watkins are both penciled in as visitors for the Michigan-Iowa game, but it won't necessarily be an official. Does this mean the talented duo would then come up to A2 a third time in the winter for an official?

- WR Hakeem Flowers (Greenville, S.C) has named a top five of LSU, UCLA, Oregon, Georgia Tech, and Michigan. It's not a final five, things could change. Haven't heard that much about him, so I'll believe his interest is legit when he sets up a visit.

- Anthony Zettel and Chris Bryant are the two main visitors for the game tomorrow. Zettel is as of now meant to be there, but his main objective tomorrow is to get to the MSU-ND game, so he may leave Ann Arbor a little early if need be. I'm sure the result will be beyond doubt by the time he leaves anyway.

Gameday Prediction:

This prediction is certainly a lot easier than last week...Michigan are going to win! :O

Is everyone else sick of hearing about how Denard is going to get injured if he keeps running it so much? I'm sure Rich Rod is, so he'll reduce D-Rob's action this week, probably to around 2 quarters. Still, with Gardner or Forcier at QB, Michigan will dominate a pretty small D-Line in UMass, look for the team to put up around 50. 

Fitzgerald Toussiant is listed as probable for the game, which is great news, I'll be looking to see what he brings to a position which has slightly disappointed this fall. Hopefully they will give the RB's a lot of carries to build up some kind of confidence heading into Big Ten play.

From a defensive standpoint, I'll just be happy if there are no 50 yard plays against us. Breakdowns in coverage have haunted the team for a while now, look for the young secondary to rack up some confidence in this one. Cameron Gordon needs to bounce back after being torched against Notre Dame. 

Kicking a few field goals would be nice too.

FCS programs have done well this fall against BCS foes, but I can't see Michigan losing this one. 

Final Prediciton: Michigan - 51, UMass - 13

Quick Hitters: 2012

Michigan hosted a lot of big time 2012 recruits for the UConn game, here's some reactions:

- Ohio DE Chris Wormley, who has been put in scout.com's top 100 prospects, has a top two of Michigan and Ohio State, although he's also interested in Alabama, Penn State and Iowa. 

- Ohio QB Maty Mauk saw UM beat UConn at the big house, and then witnessed the D-Rob in South Bend last week. Mauk used to be a Michigan fan, but was basically pressured into becoming a Buckeye! *Shakes head in digust*. Still, Michigan has a good shot here. Notre Dame could be the early leader, they have already offered, and Brian Kelly recruited Maty's brother to Cincinnati.

- Dan O'Brien is one of only two prospects from the state of Michigan to make the first 2012 rankings on scout, the other being James Ross. Fortunately O'Brien is very high on Michigan, as well as Tennessee who he camped with. O'Brien has been at loads of UM games and both his father and brother support the Maize and Blue. Check out this DetNews article covering O'Brien. His stats are very impressive!

- Terry Richardson right now is probably the top corner in Michigan for the class of 2012, but right now it seems like he's really high on Ohio State, especially after visiting them for the Miami game. Hopefully childhood friend Royce Jenkins-Stone (UM lean) and Terry's former Cass Tech teammates can convince him that Ann Arbor is the place to be.

Demetrius Hart Update

Arkansas has now joined the race to sign Florida RB Demetrius Hart, becoming his fourth finalist. The Hogs already have a Dr Phillips player committed for the 2011 class, and could add another in LaQuentin Smith who announces next week.

His official visit schedule is as follows:

Sept 18th: Clemson @ Auburn

Sept 25th: Alabama @ Arkansas

Oct 2nd: Florida @ Alabama

A decision will come soon after that final visit to Alabama. It's not be confirmed whether he will visit Michigan unofficially for the Iowa game.

My bad.

Totally forgot about this all important news.

Four star defensive back Dallas Crawford has booked his flights to Michigan for the Iowa weekend, where he plans to use up one of his official visits. This is great news for Michigan, who are probably the leaders right now for Crawford. A great visit could land a real playmaker in the secondary. 

It's hasn't been confirmed yet if Crawford will bring his teammate Sammy Watkins. Both recruits came to Michigan's Spring game.

Michigan Targets: Quarterbacks

With one QB already in the class (Kevin Sousa), and three talented players already on campus, QB recruiting certainly isn't a priority for the Michigan coaching staff. However, there is still one signal caller who could end up in Ann Arbor.

- Marquise Williams (Charlotte, NC) - Apart from maybe Braxton Miller, Williams is the top QB in this class for what Michigan is looking for. He has the poise, leadership and dual threat ability that Michigan craves, there's just one problem. He's committed to North Carolina. Yes, Williams picked the Tar Heels early in the summer over Michigan and Virginia Tech, however the race is far from over.

Williams always wanted to visit Michigan but he never got round to it, which is why Michigan didn't have that good of a shot in the first place. He's decided to open things back up, and the Wolverines have many things going for them.

Firstly, the allegations against North Carolina are pretty darn serious, and Head Coach Butch Davis could well be fired. Secondly, Virginia Tech lost their big game against Boise State, and then dropped a shocker to FCS James Madison. These two programs have had poor starts to the season, whilst Michigan has flown out of gates with two good wins. Michigan seems the most attractive program right now.

My only concern is the playing time issue. Williams is a fighter, and wants to compete. But with D-Rob, Devin and Tate all on campus, it could be a few years before he sees the field. Will this scare him off?

In the end it will come down to how bad things turn out at North Carolina, and how well his visit to Ann Arbor goes. Michigan has a serious chance.

Chances of signing with UM: 35%

Note: For those who may wonder if Michigan would want to take another QB in this class, remember that Michigan lost a QB in Cornelius Jones who they thought they would have for 2010. Add that to the fact that Williams is a very good player, and a lot more polished than Kevin Sousa at this point.

Make that 12

Yesterday I posted that 13 ESPN 150 prospects were still considering the Wolverines in some shape or form, well take one of those off. 

Initially, reading Ha’sean Clinton-Dix is “now 85 percent Alabama” stirred up some hope that maybe Michigan could been that other 15%. But after reading through the Orlando Sentinel's article (Line here) those hopes were brutally shot down.

No mention of Michigan whatsoever.

Florida, FSU and now USC are the most likely alternatives to Alabama. It's also bad to here that Karlos Williams (FSU commit, but Michigan longshot) is talking up the Seminoles to Clinton-Dix. Hopefully Williams will still follow through with his plans to visit Ann Arbor later this fall. 

State of Recruiting

After a 2-0 start to the season, including a huge win over Notre Dame in South Bend, things are really looking up for Michigan on the field. That success quickly translates to recruiting as well, and right now Michigan is in a position to land a really top notch class. I count 13 ESPN 150 prospects that are still considering UM. Some are real longshots, some are locks, here's a quick run down.

Michigan Leans

- RB Demetrius Hart (Orlando, FL); Grade - 80.   Ranking - #122

- CB Dallas Crawford (Fort Myers, FL); Grade - 80.    Ranking - #143

- FS Avery Walls (McDonough, GA); Grade - 81.    Ranking - #61

Still in the Mix

- Sammy Watkins (Fort Myers, FL); Grade - 81.   Ranking - #52

- Tim Jernigan (Lake City, FL); Grade - 82.     Ranking - #30

- Cyrus Hobbi (Scottsdale, AZ); Grade - 82.     Ranking - #31

- Mickey Johnson (Covington, LA); Grade - 80.   Ranking - #118

- Doran Grant (Akron, OH); Grade - 81.      Ranking - #65

Possible, Not Probable

- Ray Drew (Thomasville, GA); Grade - 87.     Ranking - #3

- Gabe Wright (Columbus, GA); Grade - 81.    Ranking - #92

- Demetrious Nicholson (Virginia Beach, VA); Grade 81.     Ranking - #91

Commits that will visit

- Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix (Orlando, FL); Grade - 83.   Ranking - #23

- Karlos Williams (Davenport, FL); Grade - 83.     Ranking - #20

With only a small amount of scholarships left, and several other four star prospects that still favor Michigan (Anthony Zettel, AJ Jordan, Kris Frost), the class of 2011 should fill out quite nicely with some real big time recruits. Last year only Devin Gardner made the 150, although Michigan did sort of land #12 overall prospect Demar Dorsey.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be going over all the prospects still on Michigan's board and giving you a rough idea of UM's chances in signing them. 

Recruiting Updates

A few bits of news from Michigan's top targets:

- Dee Hart loved his visit last weekend, fans were chanting his name, he had family and friends with him, and most importantly the Wolverines won! So why no commitment? It looks like he'll take two more visits before announcing his decision, firstly to Auburn this weekend, and then to Alabama for their game against Florida on October 2nd. A decision will come shortly after that. He may still come back to Ann Arbor for the MSU or Iowa game.

- The only reason Anthony Zettel isn't currently a Michigan commit is because he wasn't sure how good the Wolverines would be this year. Well he has to be somewhat impressed with the way UM has started the season. He'll be at the UMass game for an unofficial before heading up to East Lansing for MSU v Notre Dame. Iowa and Penn State are considered the main competition right now, perhaps more so Penn State.

- ESPN 150 Defensive Tackle Gabe Wright (Columbus, GA) will take an official to Michigan this fall, which is a testament to UM's recruiting staff as Wright had previously stated he favors staying in the south. Auburn, Georgia and reigning champs Alabama are some of his favorites. Still a long shot right now, but hope!

GO BLUE!

For the second year in a row, Michigan has overcome the Fighting Irish in the dying seconds of the match, which will surely vault the Wolverines into the top 25 polls!

The victory was scrappy, and there are so many things to work on, but right now I couldn't be any more happy! The last three Heisman trophy winners have been sophomores, and if Denard Robinson keeps putting up these numbers he could continue the trend. Anyway, here's a quick analysis of the game.

Offense/Special Teams

Robinson completed 24 of 40 passes for 244 yards and also ran for 258 yards on the ground, including an 87 yard TD run....which somehow wasn't the longest play of the day? Plus, when it mattered most, down three points with just minutes left, he led his team into the endzone, securing another historic victory over the Irish!

Tay Odoms and Roy Roundtree were very impressive at WR, gaining 91 and 82 yards respectively. The running back situation worries me, its clear to see why no one "won" the job in camp. The best stat  for the team was no turnovers, the worst stat is either 8 penalties for 99 yards (most of which were for holding and false starts), or 3/16 on third down.

The funniest play of the day was when Will Campbell and Quintin Washington lined up as lead blockers for Hopkins 1 yard TD run. No stopping those guys...

Special teams were pretty poor, Gibbons missed FG's from 39 and 40 yards, and Michigan didn't get any openings on kick or punt returns. Will Hagerup had the freshman nerves, slicing a few punts for little yardage, but calmed down and delivered two decent punts within the 20 late in the game. He averaged 38.2 off nine punts with a long of 53. Kickoff and punt coverage was decent.

Defense

The Michigan defense had its good and bad moments, Cam Gordon certainly isn't a deep safety, but with UMass and Bowling Green next on the schedule, they will get some vital experience before heading into Big Ten play. 

Cullen Christian made a rookie error by hitting Michael Floyd when he was going out of bounds, setting up a tense final play. There were some break downs in coverage, Kyle Rudolph had 164 yards receiving, including a 96 yard TD. However they did manage three interceptions, one from each QB that Notre Dame played.

They will certainly have to improve that coverage in future, but they weren't helped out that much by the D-line, who I didn't think got that much pressure once Crist came back in. A lot of the time they only rushed three, probably fearing the ND receivers would get free if they blitzed more. 

Final Thoughts

Its funny how everyone says Denard Robinson can't run 29 times a game every week without getting injured, but he ran it 28 times against Notre Dame and only missed one snap. Yet Dane Crist disappeared for almost two quarters after taking two hits. The Irish will be using this as their primary excuse for losing.

Notre Dame fans will moan, especially this guy - Damefan1, who no doubt is wondering why he talks trash BEFORE the game is played? Last year ND fans complained about the refs, however this year Michigan has reason for complaint, T.J Jones (is that his name?) clearly let go of the ball before entering the endzone on his 56 yard "touchdown". 

Overall, you have to be happy. This is the first road win since Minnesota in 2008, and it comes against a good ND team with a top coach in Brian Kelly. Michigan should once again start the season 4-0, and now they will feel a lot more confident when they travel to Indiana. 

I'm glad my prediction was wrong. Go Blue!

Oh, and UConn won 62-3, which makes last week look even better! Admittedly they played Texas Southern, but still :D.

Gameday Predictions

The previous rule of not being able to pick against Michigan has been lifted...

As much as it pains me to stay it, I think the Irish will win today, purely because the game is in South Bend and Michigan hasn't won a game on the road since Minnesota in 2008. If the game is in Ann Arbor with that crowd, then it would basically be a repeat of last year.

Michigan (aka Denard Robinson) will put up points because Notre Dame's defense frankly isn't that great, although they have a stud in Manti Te'o at linebacker, who will be after Denard all day.

The real worry is Michigan's defense, which looked better against UConn, but still not great. Michael Floyd could have a field day if Dane Crist can get him the football. The key to the game is Michigan's D-Line/linebackers vs ND's O-Line. Can the Wolverines get enough pressure on Crist to force mistakes?

I don't know much about Brian Kelly's offense, but if it involves screens and short, quick passes, we are in trouble. Michigan's depth in the secondary is plain awful, and Notre Dame are probably going to run over us. The two deep for Michigan's secondary (i.e 10 players) has six freshman, three sophomores and a senior who used to play WR.

Prediction: Michigan - 24, Notre Dame -33

Mickey Johnson Update

ESPN 150 DT Mickey Johnson has had a top five of Michigan, UCLA, Nebraska, LSU and Tennessee for a while now, but for some reason he just shuffles the order around every few weeks. UCLA, LSU and Tennessee have all now been the favorite.

In his latest rundown of his top five, Tennessee are the leaders, with Michigan in second and UCLA in third. So the Wolverines have leapfrogged UCLA and LSU, I guess that's the difference a win makes.

If Michigan can stay in his top three, then they are guaranteed to get an official visit, which could be after the season. He's lived in several states before, so moving up north won't be an issue.

In his first game of the season, Johnson registered seven tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. 

Daren Kitchen Update

Louisiana defensive back Daren Kitchen is down to just two schools, Michigan and the Aggies of Texas A&M. This comes despite Kitchen missing his official visit to Ann Arbor last Saturday, a visit which he has now rescheduled for the Michigan State game.

He likes the environment and academics at both schools, however Michigan does have a slight lead over the Aggies, mainly because of their exposure. He will be visiting Texas A&M after the season, and he might also take a trip to Nebraska. 

Kitchen does actually have a committable offer from Michigan now, before he just had a verbal from Coach Jackson, his area recruiter. He's always been very high on Michigan, and I reckon he will commit whilst at the MSU game. 

Another one bites the dust...

This is really getting out of hand now.

Vlad Emilien, a safety from Plantation, Fl has left the program, becoming yet another casualty in the Michigan secondary. Word is that its not personal whatsoever, he actually really likes Michigan and Coach Rod, but thinks its best for his career to get guaranteed playing time.

Depth at FS is now alarming, so Teric Jones....welcome back to defense.

Quick Hitters

- Michigan is in a "very strong" position for Georgia Safety Avery Walls after he made his official visit to Ann Arbor for the game on Saturday. He has yet to name a leader, but Michigan has a GREAT chance to land the ESPN 150 prospect.

- Qunita Funderburk, a four star wide receiver from Chesapeake (Va) had a monster outing last week, raking in seven catches for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He is currently considering Florida, Arkansas, Penn State, Michigan, West Virginia, Clemson, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Alabama.

- Another WR, this time Michigan commit Shawn Conway also had a good day, bringing in seven catches for 135 yards and one touchdown. He also had 62 yards rushing and returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown.

- Many Wolverine fans were expecting a commitment from Dee Hart this weekend (including myself), but his Uncle wants him to take a bit more time and think hard about the decision. It's nothing to worry about, he's still a UM lock in most people's mind. He'll probably take an official to Auburn before making the decision.

A.J Jordan Update

One of the top recruits at Saturday's game was Trotwood-Madison (Ohio) wide receiver A.J Jordan, who currently has Michigan in his top two along with Wisconsin. Jordan really enjoyed the game and noticed the improvement on both sides of the ball since his last game. This was an unofficial visit by the way.

Jordan plans a mid season commitment after taking some official visits, one of which is to Wisconsin in two weeks time. Then he'll definitely be back in Ann Arbor for another game, although he doesn't know which one yet.

The school where he feels the most comfortable will be his college choice, and with two former teammates on the Michigan roster, you have to like the Wolverines' chances here. On his official he'll definitely get hosted by former mentor Roy Roundtree! 

Gameday Reactions

That was about as good as you could hope for as a Michigan fan, I don't know anyone who predicted UM to win by 20 points, but that they did with the 30-10 victory over the Huskies earlier today. Denard Robinson was simply awesome, in both the run and pass game. 

The big question mark in 2010 was, well was pretty much the whole defense, and for the most part they played alright. UConn dropped a lot of passes though, and don't expect the same from the Irish next week. Still, you have to be pleased with a 4/15 3rd down conversion rate for UConn.

On offense things flowed well, Rich Rodriguez's system finally looks near completion with the players he has now. Denard Robinson was an astonishing 19 of 22 for 186 yards and a TD through the air, and picked up just under 200 yards rushing. My favorite stat of the day is Will Hagerup's, one punt (which says a lot about the offense) for 51 yards. (Truthfully the punt rolled quite far, but still a good start to his average!)

Next week UM faces Notre Dame in South Bend, and that should be a great match-up. The Irish beat Purdue 23-12 at home, with their new QB Dane Crist having a solid debut. Although Purdue's D isn't much. 

The big question now in the world of recruiting, is does Dee Hart commit after today's game? If I was a recruit leaving the game, I'd be pretty impressed with what I saw from what is still a young Michigan team.

Loads of 2012 kids made the journey to Ann Arbor in the end, including a few big names from Ohio in Chris Wormley and Terrell Dorsey, and some top 2012 Michigan prospects in Terry Richardson and Royce Jenkins-Stone.

There should be plenty of reactions from prospects coming shortly.

Gameday Prediction

Recruiting has been pretty dead recently, and I'm currently away, which means very few posts as of late! But alas, I've found a computer and am able to write my gameday predictions!

But first, a few quick hitters:

- AJ Jordan and Anthony Zettel will both be at the game tomorrow as unofficial visitors, which is great news for Michigan.

- Deion Barnes, a defensive end from PA has got Michigan in his top five schools, meaning the Wolverines will get an official.

- Dee Hart and Ha'sean Clinton-Dix are definitely coming up from Florida for the game!

Prediction:

Michigan will win the game...let's get that out of the way early. I don't think UConn's defense will be able to stop Denard Robinson and Tate Forcier, who provide Michigan with two different but effective styles.

There is too much on the line here for Michigan to lose this game. Let's face it, if they do lose, Rich Rod is out. Because if you can't beat UConn at home (no disrespect Huskies), you won't be able to beat Notre Dame away and you definitely won't pick up many wins in Big Ten play. This is a must win.

The players will realize this, so they will be pumped up. Add this to 110,000 fans who have waited months in what has to be the hardest off season in sports, a newly renovated stadium and Michigan has a big advantage from a motivation standpoint.

The only worry is that defense....wow they were bad last year! To make things worse they lost the two best players on that side of the ball. And yet, for some reason I'm quite optimistic about the defense, even the secondary. By all accounts JT Floyd has stepped up majorly this spring and fall, and Cullen Christian is a future lockdown corner.

UConn are an alright football team, their offense will cause Michigan problems, but in the end the Wolverines WILL WIN this football game.

Final Score: Michigan 38, UConn 24.

Quick Hitters

The season has already started for most high school prospects, so their focus shifts from recruiting to, well, actually playing football. Hence the slow news as of late.

- Daren Kitchen will not be visiting Michigan this weekend, he'll come back another week. Still no word on whether he has an official offer just yet. Marquise Williams also looks doubtful to make it on Saturday, his visit might be pushed back to the MSU game.

- This means there will only be three official visitors on campus this weekend, Clinton-Dix, Hart and Avery Walls.

- There are a handful of kids who could visit unofficially on Saturday, like Anthony Zettel, AJ Jordan and the in state 2012 kids, Royce Jenkins-Stone, Terry Richardson and James Ross.