Sunday 30 January 2011

Rawls + Cooper Update

The big news this weekend is that Thomas Rawls has officially received his Michigan offer, and apparently was elated over it. This is a kid that has always wanted to play for Michigan, but he didn't have the grades. But he didn't give up, he worked his butt off in the classroom and now has an offer to one of the top academic universities in the world, I'm so happy for him!

Rawls will make his announcement on signing, in a press conference at 9:30AM ET.

Extra: Rawls also seemed very optimistic on Michigan's chances of landing Chris Barnett...

If you haven't seen it already, check out TomVH's interview with Chris, here.


Darian Cooper is also going to be announcing his decision on signing day, although he doesn't have a time set just yet. One of the biggest factors in his decision will be his relationships with the players, so it's good to hear that he got on well with Josh Furman (host), Taylor Lewan and fellow recruit Antonio Poole.

Michigan has finally made it back into Cooper's top group, along with MSU, Iowa and Georgia Tech; and you can't help but feel optimistic here. We know his mom really likes Michigan, even more after Michigan showed her this again (go down to #15!). He and his mom are also good friends with the Hollowells if I remember rightly?

4 comments:

  1. Typically, if a recruit doesn't exit an official visit absolutely raving, he isn't real likely to commit. I'd be pretty shocked if Cooper came to UofM based on his reserved reaction in the TomVH interview. Then again, Cooper seems to be a pretty serious kid in general. He was respectful and mentioned the positive things he liked, but wasn't particularly enthusiastic. That said, you never know. Having the last visit before signing day is an advantage.

    Bennett sounds nothing like Cooper. He is forthright about being wide open and seems seriously impressed by UofM. Since his recruitment is a little strange, I like our chances as well as anyone elses. The question will be if, once he settles down from his visit, will a Texas kid feel comfortable going so far from home. The other interesting dynamic is how many schools will be willing to hold a scholarship for him beyond national signing day.

    Rawls, it sounds like, should pretty much be considered part of the class.

    Fisher, I'm not real clear on why people are so down on UofM's chances. We had nice weather this weekend here in Oregon, but it's a long way from Traverse City. He reportedly wasn't that high on Florida after visiting there, so who knows what he'll think of Oregon. When it comes down to it, many kids are reluctant to go so far away from home.

    My opinion of likelihood of committing to Michigan based on the various reports out there:

    1. Rawls
    2. Willingham
    3. Clark
    4. Fisher
    5. Barnett
    6. Cooper

    Clark is an interesting case because of his high school's relationship with OSU and Michigan. If he chooses to come to Michigan, it'll be a very positive sign for one of the best football high schools in the region.

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  2. Any word on any Plan B type offers if people like Fisher, Cooper, and Barnett choose other schools? I heard there was an OL commit to Illinois (Flavin) who may get an offer and Willie Beavers (another Illinois commit) name has been thrown out for DT.

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  3. Well, Jake Fisher actually used to live in Oregon, so he's probably quite comfortable out there. He's actually said in previous interviews that Eugene is a "beautiful" place.
    As for Cooper, I wouldn't read too much into his interview, he probably doesn't want to give anything away before signing day.

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  4. Eugene is a nice place and has a lot in common with Ann Arbor as a city. But its a long way from his parents and friends, so thats a big hurdle for some kids. Plus, Oregon has 4 pretty highly regarded OL prospects already committed. Obviously, Fisher is comfortable with the spread offense and may have doubts about fit at Michigan. But...he committed to UofM once. There's a decent chance he liked more than just the offense style and coaching staff. I'm certainly not saying he's a Michigan lock, but a lot of circumstantial evidence would say we have at least as good of a chance as anyone else.

    Regarding Cooper, I agree that he doesn't want to say too much, but you can often read between the lines with comments made by teenagers. I'm not getting my hopes up there.

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