Sunday 5 June 2011

Weekend Updates

Firstly, the ESPNU 150 will be released this week, so that should be exciting, especially since those are the ratings I'll be referring to from now on when I talk about a recruit. Sidenote: Devin Funchess is no longer rated 81 on the Michigan page, weird. He's back down to 80, which is still very good. Anyway, on with the news...

- Gunner Kiel will be making his college decision in the next 10 days according to scout.com's Allen Trieu. This is bad news for Michigan, as this accelerated timeline means the Wolverines probably won't get that second visit; a visit I think they needed to catch up/overtake the likes of Oklahoma and Alabama. So yeah, this is bad news, Kiel will now be taken off my projected class, to be replaced by Austin Appleby.

- A couple of southern defensive ends ruled out Michigan this weekend, despite previous talks of a visit. Jarontay Jones actually committed to Virginia Tech, and Jordan Jenkins said something about going no further north than Tennessee. Both of these guys are good players, but it doesn't matter much due to the talent level of Ohio DE's.

- You can forget about Armani Reeves, once they start skyping with JoePa, its over! Jokes aside, I'm actually surprised that JoePa would do something like this, but it's a really good way to talk to recruits, and I hope UM coaches do this/would be willing to try it.

Reeves is pretty much a Penn State lock in my book now, they've promised him a shot at all three phases of the game, plus he's got a teammate committed there, And we don't even know if UM still wants him? If the cooled on Morgan, maybe they cooled on Reeves too? Whatever happened, they have to land Jarrod Wilson now to make this whole situation work out.


27 comments:

  1. Sigh...If Kiel is gone, then I'll be looking forward to next recruiting class. No get me wrong, this class is shaping up to be a good one, but I'm going to look forward to Shane Morris. Can't wait!

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  2. Benji,
    If Michigan does not get Kiel I have to guess Hoke will focus on Appleby (does he have a offer?) I do not want to judge Appleby on last years video because he was hurt so in your opinion how good is he and is Michigan in good hands with him? I have heard some good things about him. And will things slow down on the recruiting front or can we expect more news in June PLEASE DO NOT say any name some people are senative about that. I matself would like to get some O-Linemen on board. I do not know if you can do this? can you tell the commits to get in the ears of some unsigned guys? I just think if you hear about Michigan from guys allready commited it may sway them.Let me know what you think. And thanks for all you do with everything going in your life.

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  3. I don't see a QB necessary this year at all, with all of the defense line and offensive line talent still out there with great interest in us, why burn a scholarship. Wwith Bellomy in 2011 and Morris in 2013 there is no need for another QB. Denard,Devin and Russel can handle the load next year.

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  4. @Edi: Most schools want to take a QB every year though, because its the most important position and you can't afford for guys to transfer out or just be a flop.

    @Jer: Appleby is a solid QB with good size, and I really think Michigan will offer him when he comes to camp. He's not going to win us a national title, but he could still be a good Michigan quarterback.

    I think we'll see a couple more commits in June, I'm hoping for one DL and one OL to drop, both are seemingly close to a decision.

    The Michigan commits will already be recruiting other guys. A.J Williams talks to Washington and Stanford, whereas Kaleb Ringer talks to Chris Wormley, and of course Matt Godin talks to Dan O'Brien etc etc. They don't need a push from anyone to get recruiting.

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  5. I think they said Michigan can't win a championship with Greise as QB too. I think some QB are overrated there has been alot of kids winning chamoionships that were not that talented.

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  6. With Kiel going elsewhere, I think we need as many scholarships as possible available. With the possible "Death Penalty" put on O$U, we could definately land some serious talent.
    This would be an ideal and realistaic class.
    14+
    Wilson,Pipkins,Jones,Wormley,Washington,Burbridge,Stanford,Dunn,Magnuson,Diamond,Banner

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  7. Michigan has a realistic INDIVIDUAL shot with all those guys. But its not realistic to think we'll land all of them. Other schools have good recruiters too!

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  8. It would be nice though!!!

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  9. I consider Pipkins,Wormley,Burbridge,Magnuson,and Diamond as Michigan leans.
    Wilson is very interested and put us in his top 3 after just one visit.
    Jarron Jones seems to have no idea where he wants to go and is wid open right now.
    Stanford,Washington and Dunn are all guys that are a bit confused right now, and with all the new Ohio State stuff coming out and NCAA violations coming, Michigan must be looking better and better each day. I know that this class would be difficult to put together and would take alot of work, but it is feasible

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  10. I'd be happy if we batted 500 on those picks. As far as Morgan goes, does anybody really believe that we cooled on Morgan. I find it easier to believe that he cooled on us, albeit, maybe and hopefully temporarily. I think it's okay for a kid to to not just jump at Michigan and to take their time and think it all through. I hope Morgan is still in the mix......any chance Benji.

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  11. I can guess different reasons for why the Coaches have yet to even offer Appleby (in regards to Kiel) but I wish I knew for sure. I'm still thinking the coaches had a plan in advance for this years class, but with the early rush of commits, and now Tresselgate, and our top prospects likely waiting to see how the 2012 football season plays out, I imagine the coaches won't turn kids away anymore to fill positional needs. I don't think they'll say no to a 5 star lineman because they want another skill player (for example.) I think the process moving forward will be dictated by recruits timetables more than roster needs. With all our best prospects still on the table I can't imagine the coaches turning any of them away until we hit 25.

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  12. I agree with you about Kiel and Reeves, I think Kiel ends up at OU and Reeves at PSU. Reeves is from Massachusetts though, not Pennsylvania.

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  13. Guys on 247 saying that Oklahoma has no confidence in landing Kiel now and they've offered 3 more qb's in the last week (alllegedly) because of it. Further reports on 247 speculate a Michigan-Alabama race for him but Kiel has recently canceled his trips to both Michigan/Alabama summer camps. It could mean he won't take a visit because his mind is made up to go to one of them, or it could really mean anything. Kiel has been mum so we can only speculate until he commits somewhere. I was really surprised by this news, though.

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  14. This is way off the subject, but it looks like thomas Rawls qualified at Michigan, there is a scout headline indicates this but I am not an insider so I can't tell for sure. If anyone knows any more about this I would love to know. I think this kid could be special

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  15. I am not a expert but I am pretty sure he is qualfied.

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  16. Rawls got his act together academically his senior year, and he seems like a good guy, so I always had faith that he'd qualify. Hopefully Aaron Burbridge will follow in his footsteps.

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  17. I would like to start by saying I like PSU(especially before they joined the big ten) And I love Joe Pa. I just don't know how a kid can commit to a coach that may not be there in a couple of years. Reeves will be taking a big chance on PSU.I do wish him luck.

    Benji, If Kiel goes to Bama he will have to sit for awhile won't he? There is some talent already there.

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  18. I know Alabama has A.J. McCaron for the next 3 years including this year. and Philip Sims is a redshirt freshman this year and Phillip Ely is a 3-star that will be a freshman this year. If Kiel red-shirts his first year he could compete for starting quarterback his (redshirt) sophomore year, and I think he could beat out Philip Sims. But Sims would be a senior so Kiel would have to play up to his hype. Phillip Ely is a good recruit but would probably only play if Kiel is a flop

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  19. @Will, this is all true, however at Michigan, h would be facing some brutal competition in the class right behind him. I would think that this would seem like a riskier situation in that while getting beat by a guy ahead of you may limit you to only one or two seasons starting, getting beat by a guy behind you could mean never starting. This is especially true when you take into account the current QB situation.

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  20. Yea, I thought alabama was a better choice and I think Russell Bellomy would beat him out Bellomy's junior year assuming he redshirts

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  21. and assuming Gardner doesn't get his redshirt

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  22. Ive been looking at the highlights of Chris Wormley and im really not impressed .. I dont see why you guys are so in love with this kid... Aside from his measurables he really doesnt WOW me like some guys do

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  23. Look at his sophomore film instead

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  24. Minor note, Benji: Armani Reeves is from MA, not PA, thus his home state school would be UMass :)

    I'm willing to give you a pass since most people outside the US can't name more than 4 or 5 states anyway (even most Canadiens).

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  25. Benji, when does the rivals team rankings come out

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  26. @ Will, the ESPN150 comes out June 8.

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  27. hey first thank you so much I was waiting for this during the whole week because I was too busy so I could not keep up with all the games not even visiting my favorite price per head bookmaking blog, but I think that your blog is becoming my favorite now ;)

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