wow

I removed my gameday prediction, I was too embarrassed. 

Time to give up on Grant?

Doran Grant is one of the top players left on Michigan's board, but the Wolverines' chances seem to be diminishing. Whilst UM was named in his top eight, Grant admits that its MSU, Ohio State, USC and Georgia Tech that are really standing out right now.

Really it's just going to come down to Michigan State and Ohio State, I can't see why Georgia Tech is in the top four? 

Anthony Zettel Update

A bit of relief here as four star prospect Anthony Zettel confirms that Michigan is still his leader over MSU, PSU, Iowa and USC. However, with the Spartans having such a good year, Zettel admits that Michigan's lead is quite narrow.

The Spartans will lose on Saturday, so expect some air to come out of the MSU bubble. I'm pleased Zettel still has us as the leaders, and I'm also happy that he will visit Michigan officially in December. Earlier this year he said that Michigan might not get an official because he's been there so often.

Could be close, but if Michigan ends the year with 8 wins, I think Zettel will definitely be a Wolverine.

Desmond Morgan Update

Desmond Morgan (West Ottawa, MI) was the latest recruit to be offered by Michigan this week, the three star linebacker got the call from Coach Rod on Tuesday night. Morgan is considered a bit of a sleeper, he hasn't received much attention from the big schools, but that could be set to change in the next few months. 

Morgan admits to growing up a Michigan fan, but won't announce any favorites just yet. The Wolverines are near certain to get an official visit though, and given that his main priority is academics, I'd imagine Michigan is his leader right now.

His other offers are mainly MAC schools right now, but he should gain some more Big Ten interest after his senior film gets sent out. He'll take his visits after his senior season.

Morgan is around 6'1 225lbs, and claims to run a 4.67 forty yard dash. You can check out his highlight reel from his junior campaign, here.

Mailbag

As always...

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.

Question via email: What ever happened to Cyrus Hobbi? and is Michigan still #1 for Anthony Zettel?

We certainly haven't heard much from Hobbi on the Michigan front for a while, which is worrying. He visited unofficially in the summer and seemed to have a good time, so the hope is that he'll come back for an official. He recently went to Nebraska and gave them a 10/10 which again, is worrying. Distance and academics will play a big role in his decision, and unfortunately Michigan only has one of those going for them. Personally I think he'll end up at either Nebraska or one of the California schools.

As for Anthony Zettel, Michigan does still lead for him. He wants to play DE in college, and Michigan gives him the chance to start early there. The Maize and Blue are also his childhood favorite, so I can't see Zettel heading elsewhere, unless Michigan melt down and lose the next 4-5 games.

Brad via email: What up with Doran Grant, it seems like he would be on the highest priority list, along with LB’s.

Grant probably is a high priority for the coaching staff, but he might also be considered an unrealistic target. He's a Buckeye fan living in Ohio who's dad played at Michigan State. MSU currently sit at #5 in the BCS, and OSU will probably make it to a BCS bowl. Sure, he's got to love the playing time available at Michigan, but with his two favorites having such good years, it's unlikely in my opinion that Michigan can lure him away. Hopefully they will get an official visit at least.

Hi, since A.J. Jordan is not gonna be a wolverine, who do you think we will get at the wide reciever spot and how many do you think we will take. Also do you have any news on Conelius Jones and if he will play or even get on the team.

Michigan still has a shot with Sammy Watkins, and a good one at that. But with kids that highly rated, you can never be sure. Hakeem Flowers is still on the board, but there wasn't exactly a buzz after his official for the Iowa game. There are rumors that Michigan are still trying for DeAnthony Arnett, but MSU is looking good for him right now. Chris Gallon (Dee Hart teammate) will visit with the rest of the Dr Phillips crew for the Illinois or Wisconsin game, and Prince Holloway should also take an official up north. It's not a great group in terms of ratings, but to be honest WR recruiting isn't a worry compared to DL, LB and DB.

As for Cornelius Jones, I haven't heard anything about him in a while, which probably means he won't be coming to Michigan. Antonio Kinard however, originally from the class of 2010 is there on most Michigan commit lists, so it looks like he'll get in.

Brian via email: Must get Latwan Anderson. Any chance?? Thank you in advance. Love your work.

I heard he quit the Miami team because he couldn't get playing time - which he certainly could at Michigan. For the moment I think he's just running track for the Canes. Since he hasn't stepped on the field at Miami, he could transfer and play next year at a Div 1 school. Anderson is obviously a very talented player, but I'm not sure if Michigan will go after him. UM has had a lot of trouble with players like him, I don't think they'd want another. He was originally a WVU commit so maybe he'll try there first.

Tom via email: You haven't mentioned how Tim Jernigans visit was. What can you tell us??

Tim Jernigan himself hasn't done any interview that I know of since the visit, however his dad has. The four star DT is WIDE open at this point, despite rumors that he was a Florida lean. He really enjoyed the visit, especially when he got to hang out with the players. There are two key factors for Jernigan, playing time and academics, both of which Michigan has.

He spoke with all the coaches, the academic advisor, Mike Barwis, Dave Brandon. Michigan really went all out, and it seems to have paid off. The Wolverines should definitely have a hat on the table on signing day, which is when he'll probably announce.

Funderburk to Arkansas

Forget what I type below about Quinta Funderburk being down to four schools, he's down to one. Arkansas. The four star WR committed to the Razorbacks today just one week after his official visit up to Ann Arbor. 

He said he knew Arkansas was the place for him after his official visit there earlier this month, but just had to see other schools, like Michigan and Florida, to be sure. The hogs have seven pass catchers in this class now (WR's + TE's), and brought in six last year. I hope they realize that they won't throw it 50 times a game when Ryan Mallett isn't under center?

WR's left for Michigan: Sammy Watkins, Hakeem Flowers, Chris Gallon, Prince Holloway, DeVonderick Nealy (RB/Slot) and maybe DeAnthony Arnett if we're feeling extra bold. 

Updates!

All good news!

- Four star WR Quinta Funderburk has narrowed his list down to just four schools, Michigan, Florida, Arkansas and West Virginia. This comes after Funderburk visited UM for the Iowa game last weekend. He's already taken officials to all but West Virginia, so a decision could be coming pretty soon, definitely one to keep an eye on.

- A lot of you have emailed asking what DT Tim Jernigan thought of his visit last Saturday. Unfortunately I haven't seen any articles on his trip just yet. However, he did say on facebook that he got to hang out at Denard Robinson's place, so I'm sure it went good! Jernigan has to consider Michigan on playing time alone, none of his other favorites offer the opportunity that UM does. Especially considering there are rumors that Will Campbell might switch to O-Line :O

- DE Deion Barnes has released his top five schools, which are Michigan, Penn State, Pitt, Georgia and South Carolina. I don't think he's visited this summer, so look for him to be on campus soon.  

- Michigan coaches will be at the game of DT Kevin McReynolds today. Apparently the coaching staff is really going after this guy now, and the persistence is paying off. Hopefully they can persuade him to visit for a game.

- The coaches will also be scouting DeAnthony....Arnett? Yes, even though he dropped the Maize and Blue off his list a couple months back, the UM coaches must feel they still have some kind of shot. They'll be at his game tomorrow. By the way, it was Michigan that cooled on A.J Jordan, not the other way around, so that means they are confident of landing better WR's. If Arnett goes blue, it would certainly be sweet, I've had him down as an MSU lock for a while. 

- LB Lamar Dawson is still considering Michigan, his list currently includes Kentucky, Louisville, Florida, USC, Oregon, Tennessee and Michigan. He'll narrow it down to five after his season ends, and then take officials. Given our LB play, this is a huge target.

Kevin Sousa also taking visits

Michigan's QB commit for 2011, Kevin Sousa, will take three official visits this fall to Middle Tennessee, Wake Forest and Louisville. Sousa still claims to be a solid Michigan commit, but wants to see what else is out there.

This is a somewhat surprising decision considering he just visited Michigan officially for the Iowa game, and claimed the visit was great. Still, this is another commit to watch along with Greg Brown.

Jordan to Wisconsin

As expected, four star WR A.J Jordan has committed to the University of Wisconsin over his other finalist, Michigan. Jordan was scheduled to visit Michigan officially last weekend, but canceled that and soon made announcement plans. From then on, it was pretty obvious where he was going.

Rewind a month or so, and things were looking real good for Michigan. Jordan had visited for the UConn game, and seemed to love his time in Ann Arbor. He also had his former mentor on the team, Roy Roundtree. It really looked like Michigan would get him.

Back to the present, I'm honestly not sure what happened. He just cooled big time on Michigan. It's a shame, but we will move on. 

Updates

- Michigan's first commit of the 2011 class, CB Greg Brown, is starting to look at other options. The three star recruit took a visit to Syracuse this weekend, and could make more trips this fall. Brown hasn't filled out as expected, so is this turn of events good for Michigan?

- TE Drew Owens had a great time at the Big House on Saturday, despite the loss to Iowa. Owens has put the Wolverines in his top five, which is a good start.

- 2012 DE Chris Wormley is rumored to be favoring Michigan right now, although a decision won't come for a while. He was offered on Saturday at the game, which perhaps gives Michigan the slight edge over Ohio State.

- Reminder that the A.J Jordan decision should be announced this evening.

A.J Jordan Announcement

Four star WR A.J Jordan is apparently set to announce his decision tomorrow, with Michigan and Wisconsin being his two choices. 

The Wolverines were in a great position with Jordan only a couple of months ago, however things have cooled down since then. He was meant to be a visitor for the Iowa game, but he backed out of that with scheduling difficulties. Then all of a sudden he's ready to announce, which probably means he won't be picking Michigan.

This is a shame, Jordan is a very talented player and would have been a nice edition to the WR corp, however the Wolverines do have several other targets at the position. Hakeem Flowers and Quinta Funderberk both really enjoyed their visits over the weekend, as did ESPN 150 WR Sammy Watkins. Look for Michigan to land at least one of these three.

Wisconsin also picked up the commitment of offensive tackle Ray Ball this week, who was also a Michigan target.

Michigan still #1 with Crawford

ESPN 150 defensive back Dallas Crawford has confirmed that Michigan is his number one school right now after he visited unofficially for the Iowa game yesterday. 

The combination of a good coaching staff and the chance to play early seems to have won Crawford over, but he still has a few more visits to go. Miami is currently just behind the Wolverines, and he'll definitely visit them in the next few months for an official, as well as West Virginia and Tennessee. 

However, because yesterday's visit was an unofficial, Crawford will come back to Michigan in the winter for an official, as will his teammate Sammy Watkins. Really, they just want to see what snow is.

Miami is the main competition in both cases, although the Canes probably lead in the race for Watkins. I'm certainly not overly worried right now about WVU and Tennessee for Crawford. 

They are probably going to visit Michigan in December, so expect a decision later that month or early January. 

Weekend news

Tim Jernigan arrived on campus last night, which is a great start! Not sure who his host is, but chances are its Denard or Mike Martin. The rest of the recruits for today's game should be arriving this morning.

The game itself is going to be very hard. Iowa has one of the best defenses in the nation, a lot better than Michigan State's. They also have a good run attack, which means Michigan's defense are in trouble - they have to force some turnovers to give the team a chance. 

I'm going to take the pessimistic view this week, if Iowa wins I'll be right, and if Michigan wins I'll get a nice surprise.

Final Prediction: Michigan 24 - Iowa 38 

Mailbag?

As always...

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.

Got a few questions yesterday, so this is actually a proper mailbag :O

Tim via email: First off what can you tell me about Prince Holloway from Cape Coral H.S. in Florida? Then if he commits I'm guessing that he will go to the slot position, but do you think that will have any influence on DeVondrick Nealy committing? Or if Nealy commits does it keep Holloway out? How do the two compare? What else should we be looking for from the WR class? Do you now if we are going to offer Daren Kitchen, if so when?

Answer: Both would likely end up in the slot at Michigan, whilst Nealy is a RB at the moment, given Michigan's depth at RB he would probably move to slot. In terms of rankings, the players are quite similar, Holloway is rated 77, Nealy is 78. I don't think either player will be put off if the other commits, but Michigan might be. The original "blueprint" for this class was to take two WR's and one slot. However with all the transfers, Michigan can take a few more players, so its up to them whether they want to take another slot. I'd prefer to see the class loaded with defensive talent. Right now, WVU leads for Holloway, and Michigan leads for Nealy. Both have more visits to go, so we'll just have to wait and see.

As for Daren Kitchen, I read a while back that he'd already been offered, this turned out to be false. He still only has a "verbal" offer. Which basically means the coaching staff are waiting to see if they can get someone better first. Its harsh on Daren (who I'm sure is a good player), but when your secondary is that bad, I don't blame them for being careful. Michigan still has the edge over Texas A&M here, so if Kitchen gets the full offer, expect a commitment. 

Mike via email: Regarding Anthony Zettel, how did his visit go and was the loss a big let down for him?

Answer: I haven't heard anything on how the visit went for Zettel, but I doubt it was that bad. Going into the season all he wanted to see was Michigan win some games, so the coaching staff stays on. I think if Michigan gets to eight wins, that will be good enough for Zettel. Check out this article with Sam Webb and some experts who weigh in on Zettel.

Before the season started, MSU was only third in his recruitment, so I don't think they have overtaken the Wolverines in this one just yet. Zettel grew up a Michigan fan, and in the end he'll be a Michigan player.

Roy via email: Do you think they will get the LB from Orchard Lake Saint Mary's, James Ross, in the class of 2012 & Royce Jenkins-Stone from Cass Tech ?

Royce is definitely a Michigan lean right now, and if he had an offer I reckon he might be tempted to commit on the spot. The Wolverines are heavy favorites to land him. He and James Ross are part of a trio of players from the state who have played together since they were kids, the other guy is Cass Tech's CB, Terry Richardson. They have often talked about all going to the same school, and if that happens, Michigan is the most likely destination. 

Royce will commit to Michigan unless something goes wrong, and Richardson has to like the Wolverines given all his former teammates that are already on the roster. James Ross, who is probably the highest rated of the three, will be a challenge. Alabama, OSU, Notre Dame are all after him, but fortunately Michigan has already offered, which must count for something! Ross is a frequent visitor for UM games too, which is great to see. The decision of the other two could play heavily into his recruitment, so its too early to guess with Ross. However Royce is a big lean.

Bradley via email: Hello, and thanks again for all the great updates. I know that I saw this somewhere but who will be in town for the Iowa game, and do you think any will commit?

Well, I posted earlier today about Tim Jernigan visiting for the Iowa game, which is HUGE. Sammy Watkins and Dallas Crawford attending makes this arguably Michigan's biggest recruiting weekend of the year. There's also rumors that one more BIG time prospect could be heading up for the game, I'll have more on that later. 

There is however some bad news, A.J Jordan won't be town for the game, hopefully he'll rearrange his visit for the Wisconsin (his other favorite) game. Apart from that, things are looking good for Saturday, with WRs such as Hakeem Flowers and Quinta Funderburk are expected on campus. TE Jack Tabb, who visited Michigan earlier this year could also be in attendance. There will also be a few 2012 in state guys too.

As for commits, the only ones I could see happening are Crawford and Tabb. I think all the others would want to take more visits after this. Crawford has been high on Michigan for a long time, and Tabb really enjoyed himself on an unofficial in the summer, so things are looking good for both these guys. However, its highly possible that nobody commits. Crawford and Watkins might want to do a joint announcement thing, so Crawford might have to wait.

Thanks for the questions guys, keep em coming!

Boom!

Tim Jernigan, one of the top recruits in Florida this year will be visiting....MICHIGAN officially this Saturday for the match against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Jernigan is a four star prospect on ESPN, with a rating of 82 - very good. However scout.com ranks him as a top five player nationally! This would be a major get for Michigan.

Jernigan has always had Michigan in his top five, so this shouldn't come as a huge surprise, but I'm certainly relieved that the visit is finally happening. What's great about it is that he'll get to hang out with two other big time Florida prospects in Crawford and Watkins. 

He was once considered a Florida lean, but now it looks like playing time will be a huge factor in the decision, which is why Michigan has a real good shot to land a top recruit. Don't expect a commitment from him this weekend though, Jernigan will take all 5 visits and probably leave it very late to sign.

Questions

As always...

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.

Q: What do you think of our chances of getting the 2012 Davis brothers of ohio; Demitrious and Chris. And how many 4 star recruits do you think we'll end up with in 2011?

A: Truth be told I haven't heard too much about the Davis brothers. Demitrious is a dual threat QB and Chris is a WR; which sounds like a great combo for brothers. Scout has virtually nothing on them, however Rivals says both of them have Michigan interest. ESPN says Demitrious is 5'8, which means he can't play QB at Michigan. So I guess they will both be recruited as WR's. Neither made any top 100 for 2012, so right now its too early to talk about their recruitment. If I hear more, I'll do a post.

As for the 2011 class, Michigan could in theory end up with as many as 10 four star recruits. They already have three committed (Dee Hart, Brennen Beyer and Delonte Hollowell), and there are several 4 star guys leaning towards Michigan. I expect the Wolverines to land A.J Jordan, Anthony Zettel and Dallas Crawford, so there's three more already. Then we have players like Kris Frost, Avery Walls, Sammy Watkins and others who Michigan has a really decent chance with. 

UM has a lot more scholarships available (22?) now too, so they can take a much bigger class. I think they could rank in the top 15 nationally as a class, to get any higher they would need to start pulling in the top end recruits like Tim Jernigan, Cyrus Hobbi and maybe even Ray Drew.

Mickey Johnson Update

ESPN 150 defensive tackle Mickey Johnson (Covington, LA) has shaken things up once again with his list, this time claiming he has no leader. Florida State, Alabama, Oregon and Arkansas are now added to the original top five of UCLA, Nebraska, LSU, Michigan and Tennessee. 

This gives him nine schools to look at, meaning Michigan's chances of an official visit just got a bit lower. He will definitely take visits to UCLA and Nebraska, who have been in the race the longest, and I'd imagine FSU will get one too, as they are recruiting him the hardest right now.

He'll narrow it back down to five at the end of his senior year, and then probably take the remaining three visits during the winter.

Visitors Reactions

Although the game didn't go to plan, at least the Wolverines seem to be doing well in recruiting right now. Here's a couple updates from the game.

- DeVondrick Nealy has moved Michigan to the top of his list after the official visit to Ann Arbor this weekend. Nealy loved everything UM has to offer, and gave the visit a 10/10. He'll visit previous leader Arkansas soon, for their game against LSU.

- Doran Grant was the top prospect on campus Saturday, and despite the loss, he sees the positives about going to Michigan. Playing Time!! Yes, Grant knows he has the talent to basically walk into the two deep, if not earn a starting role sometime in his freshman year. PT is a big factor in his decision.

Demetrius Hart

Name: Demetrius Hart

Location: Orlando, Florida

Position: RB + Returner

Ratings: Scout – 4*, Rivals – 4*, ESPN – 4* (80); espn150 (#118)

Recruitment: Received his Michigan offer early on, and favoured the Wolverines straight away. Former teammate and best friend Ricardo Miller was already a Michigan commit at this time. Dropped Michigan at one point because of the NCAA allegations but after speaking with Coach Rod he put them back in the lead. He visited for the spring game and the season opener against UConn. Main competition came from Alabama (finalist) and Auburn. He selected Michigan on October 8^th 2010, right after scoring 4 TD’s in a game.

Offers: Had offers from most major programs, like Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Auburn, Georgia etc. In other words, big time offers.

Stats: Holds school records in most rushing categories. According to rivals he had over 2,000 all-purpose yards and 21 touchdowns as a junior. He’s off to a good start this year too. Currently weighs around 185 at 5’8. Runs 4.5 forty yard dash.

ESPN Analysis: Hart is a short, stocky runner with great quickness and productivity. A small explosive package. Utilizes his low center of gravity to his advantage as a runner; very difficult to get direct shot on him. Hits the hole with great downhill burst and authority. A decisive runner. Slices through defences with quick cuts, he has great ball carrier vision.

A very good receiver coming out of the backfield, has polished hands which could help him see the field early as a freshman. Overall, Hart is a great competitor and running back prospect who would be garnering more national attention if he just had a few extra inches.

From the man himself - “I think my strengths are I can see the whole field. I can read a defense real well, watch a lot of film and I have speed so I can get around the outside or I can get through holes. I know how to be patient and wait on things like for blocks to happen and stuff like that.”

Improvements: Get taller?

Film Highlights: Link here. It’s only three minutes, but it’s a good three minutes...

Also check out his announcement video, here.

Final Thoughts: Ricardo Miller started it, and Dee Hart is continuing it. A pipeline to a Florida powerhouse school is exactly what Michigan needs right now. Dr Phillips consistently sends out D1 talent, and that will continue next year with 2012 QB Nick Patti.

Hart is a true competitor and really should be ranked higher than #121 on ESPN. “would be garnering more national attention if he just had a few extra inches”. It seems a bit harsh, Hart has excelled in camps, 7 on 7’s, and by all accounts is set for a record year rushing. Look for his stock to rise at the end of the year.

Dee Hart commits! Go Blue!

The Demetrius Hart recruitment saga is finally over, with the Michigan Wolverines trumping the Crimson Tide of Alabama! Hart committed to Michigan by putting the hat on his little cousin, and in doing so sent the crowd into a frenzy.

He announced his decision just after the game, in which he had around 270 all purpose yards and four touchdowns! Hart is an ESPN 150 recruit with serious potential to start/get good time next year, this truly is a great get for Michigan. 

Edit: Announcement video link

In truth, Michigan lead this race from start to finish, but there were some bumps in the road. The NCAA allegations were certainly a setback, but in the end, Dee was always going to be a Wolverine. He's the 11th member of the 2011 class for UM right now, but in a way its almost just the beginning of this class. No disrespect for the first 10 commits, but over the next few months Michigan could gain commitments from some real high profile kids, Hart is the first of many.

Attention now switches to the MSU game, which kicks off at 3:30 ET or 8:30 GMT where I am. Thankfully its on ESPN 3!

GO BLUE!!!

Roderick Ryles Update

Three star safety Roderick Ryles may be an Arkansas commitment right now, but his recruitment is far from over. Ryles is yet another Div 1 talent from Dr Phillips high school in Orlando, so he's the teammate of Clinton-Dix and Dee Hart.

Ryles will take his official to Ann Arbor for the Wisconsin game, where he'll be joined by teammates Nick Patti (2012 QB), WR Chris Gallon (who is also looking at UM), and Dee Hart. So if Dee is going to the Wisconsin game, it leads me to believe that he's chosen Michigan. With four of his friends going, would Clinton-Dix be tempted to tag along for another visit?

Establishing a pipeline from Dr Phillips would be huge for Michigan, as the school continues to pump out quality players year after year. 

Weekend Prediction

Michigan has lost their last two games to Michigan State, look for that streak to end this weekend. I know a lot of people are picking the Spartans, but I have faith that the Wolverines' D will step up in the rivalry game. 

While Kirk Cousins is a good QB, he won't have a Ben Chappell game. If Michigan puts him under pressure, he could well crumble on the road, and after all, this is his first road game of the year. What MSU has that IU didn't have, is a solid running game to back up the pass. This is going to cause Michigan problems.

All Michigan's defense needs to do is make a few plays! An INT or FF here and there could be all the difference. It's not as if they need to hold MSU under 25 points! Denard and Co should put up close to 40 points themselves.

Game Prediction: Michigan 42, MSU 34

Updated ESPN 150

Check out the new rankings here.

Players of interest for Michigan fans:

#142 Dallas Crawford, #118 Demetrius Hart, #115 Mickey Johnson, #108 Charles Jackson, #93 Gabe Wright, #68 Wayne Lyons, #66 Doran Grant, #63 Avery Walls, #39 Sammy Watkins, #32 Cyrus Hobbi, #31 Tim Jernigan, #20 Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix, #15 DeAnthony Thomas, #14 Karlos Williams, #3 Ray Drew. 

MSU Visitors + Dee Hart announcement

I'm sure you've all read how big the game against MSU is in terms of recruiting, so I won't go on about that. All you need to know is that there are four big visitors scheduled to be at the game! 

Official Visits:

- QB Marquise Williams - committed to UNC but could flip.

- RB/slot DeVondrick Nealy - Arkansas leads Michigan right now.

Unofficial Visits: 

- CB Doran Grant - likes MSU and Michigan a lot, so its a good game for him to watch. 

- QB Cardale Jones - has been in good form this season, likes Michigan a lot.

Michigan State and Ohio State are the leaders right now for Doran Grant, with Michigan probably in third. The Wolverines could really use a big win against MSU to boost their chances of landing one of the top DB's in the class.

Dee Hart Update:

Lots of different stories about how and when he's going to announce the decision. I heard he might have a live press conference on BHSN (Bright House Sports Network), and now I'm hearing he'll just announce it after the game. The later option makes more sense to me, as he's said previously he doesn't want it all to distract his teammates from the game on Friday night. 

Byron Moore Jr

Interesting story unfolding with a junior college prospect named Byron Moore. He was a USC commit in 2009 but left after redshirting his freshman year. Check out MGoBlog's interview with him here.

Michigan badly needs help in the secondary, and this guy plays Cornerback and Free Safety for his school, and ohh yeah he was ranked #70 in the ESPN 150 in 2009! By the sounds of that article, Michigan have a great chance, after all we have everything he needs; playing time and academics.

Click here to see Moore's ESPN profile from 09'. 

Sean Duggan Update

Three star linebacker Sean Duggan (Cincinnati, OH) has named a top four schools of Boston College, Michigan, Duke and Virginia. It's pretty much what he had as a top five, except he's cut Wisconsin. 

There's a slight chance that Duggan could make it up to Ann Arbor for the big game this weekend against Michigan State, but if not he'll take his official visit during the first or second week of December. 

Right now he favors Boston College, and to be honest I don't see that changing. His official visit to the Eagles will likely be for their game against Clemson. Michigan, Duke and Virginia won't get to host him for a game, which is a major disadvantage. BC are also recruiting Duggan's teammate Steven Daniels, who would like to play college ball with Sean.

Dee and Ha-Ha

Florida RB Demetrius Hart has officially cut Auburn and Arkansas from his list, leaving just Michigan and Alabama to fight it out for a commitment on Friday. This pretty much confirms what I said/guessed last week.

Check out this story on Hart from the Orlando Sentinel, here.

Side note: At the end of the article it mentions that Ha'sean Clinton-Dix remains 100% committed to Alabama and is done with recruiting. This finally crushes whatever small hopes Michigan had of getting the Dr Phillips pair. 

Recruiting Updates

- Starting with the most important....Demetrius is apparently set to announce his decision on Friday, there won't be a press conference or anything, he'll simply tell the coaches. So fans/media should find out sometime Friday afternoon/evening. It HAS to be Michigan!

- 2012 QB Nick Patti (teammate of Dee Hart) has named a top four of Michigan, South Carolina, Georgia and Oregon. No official word on a leader, but chances are...its Michigan.

- Some good but kind of bad news now. Wayne Lyons is rumored to be back on the Wolverines after a strong push by the Michigan coaching staff this fall. The bad news is that Lyons suffered a slight MCL tear in his left knee and could miss the rest of his regular season.

- More bad luck as Kris Frost won't be making the trip up to Ann Arbor this week for the MSU game. He really wanted his parents to be there with him (encouraging sign), but unfortunately they cannot make it. He'll have to reschedule for another time. 

Aiken to Rutgers

Three star cornerback Jonathan Aiken has committed to Rutgers today; he must have been impressed with the Scarlet Knights' 14-17 loss at home to Tulane...

Jokes aside, this was always coming. He camped at Rutgers, had a great time there and was close to committing earlier in the summer. Aiken had interest in Michigan, as did his teammate Spiffy Evans, but the pair never arranged the visit. Shame.

Game Reaction

Probably the worst defensive performance from a Michigan team in a long time, I mean they really looked hopeless out there. For crying out loud, they let Tandon Doss get over 200 (yes, TWO HUNDRED) receiving yards :O

To be kind to them, they kind of stuffed the run in the second half, but that didn't exactly work out because it meant Indiana just threw even more. Still, at least we don't have the worst defense in the league, that title surely belongs to Indiana, who somehow let Michigan gain 574 yards in just 18 minutes of possession, on just 45 plays. That's just under 13 yards per play on average...

Congrats go to Junior Hemingway, who's leaping catch late in the game most likely saved the jobs of the coaching staff (I would have taken IU to win in OT), and of course Denard Robinson who became the first QB to rush and pass for 200 yards in a game, twice - I think? He got some kind of record, I wasn't really listening.

Up next we have Michigan State at home, who seemed to dispose of Wisconsin fairly easily today. At the start of the season I was looking forward to the MSU match as a date for revenge, but now my confidence is shattered.

Recruiting:

If I'm Doran Grant, Dallas Crawford, Karlos Williams, Ha'sean Clinton-Dix etc etc, I'm thinking Michigan is the place to be. They have a kick ass offense in place for at least two more seasons, and I can walk into the starting lineup without even showing up to camp! Jokes aside, there is serious playing time available here, someone must want it.

Game Prediction

Certainly not confident about tomorrow's game. Michigan has injures at the RB position, and Denard Robinson was included on the injury list; he's down as 75% to play. This worries me greatly!

No time for major details, Michigan wins 45-41 in a shootout.

Deion Barnes Update

Three star defensive end Deion Barnes (Philadelphia, PA) will visit Michigan officially in the winter, as well as trips to Penn State, Pittsburgh, Georgia and South Carolina. 

Barnes has kept a keen eye on the Wolverines' progress so far this year, especially the work of Denard Robinson, surprise surprise. (Note: D-Rob is really drawing the attention to UM right now, he's one of the most, if not the most talked about player.) He's also kept in touch with the Michigan coaches, who often check in to see how he's been doing.

Barnes, who will be playing in the Chesapeake Bowl along with a few other Michigan targets, will announce his college decision in January after taking his officials.

So far this season he's raked in over 30 tackles and 5 sacks in just four games.