Changes to Projected Class

It looks like Michigan will take six offensive lineman now in this class, which is one more than I previously had mocked. So when I add the sixth OL, the total is now at 27. Michigan is meant to be recruiting a class of 26, so what position should I cut down?

I think it has to be one of the offensive skill positions, or a DE. Since I think UM still wants Washington and Wormley badly, it'll have to be the offensive guys. But still, it's hard to predict which one, so for the moment I've left it at 27, with the assumption that Michigan won't take either a QB or RB, or a WR (less likely). Now that the numbers work is out the way, lets get onto changes.

The first change is one I meant to do over the weekend; the addition of Kyle Kalis. The general view is that Michigan leads for him after that visit on Friday, and although we didn't get the commitment, there's still a high chance of him going blue in the end.

The second change is at QB. I've added Maty Mauk instead of Austin Appleby. This is partly because Appleby still doesn't have the offer, and partly because Mauk had a great visit to Michigan earlier this month. The Gunner Kiel ship has probably sailed.

That's it for now. I've decided to not included Jeremy Clark, mainly because I still believe Jarrod Wilson will go blue, and in doing so, deny Clark a chance of being part of the class.

Commitment Profile: Blake Bars

Name: Blake Bars

Location: Nashville, TN

Position: OT (could play guard?)

Ratings: ESPN – 3* (79), Scout – 3*, 247 Sports - 3*

Recruitment: Bars was rumored to be a bit of a Penn State lean earlier in the process, but after visiting Michigan in the spring, the Wolverines shot up his list dramatically. He followed that up with another unofficial in June that cemented Michigan as his leader. Committed at the end of June; becoming the 17th commitment in the class, and the 4th OL.

Offers: Michigan, Florida, LSU, Penn State, Mississippi, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Clemson and others.

Stats: Currently stands at 6’5 and 275lbs, with no reported 40 yard dash time. Being an OT, he has no stats.

ESPN Analysis: Bars demonstrates good tough run blocking skills, showing the ability to dominate at his present level of competition. Has the height and athleticism for the offensive tackle position at the BCS level of play; will need to add bulk to his frame over time.
Has good flexibility and balance, and has good explosion on his first step. Doesn’t possess elite strength for the position, but his balance and leg drive allow him to move his opponents. Displays good athleticism and as a result should be able to handle speed rushers at the next level, as well as get into the second level. He’ll need to make some tweaks in his general pass protection, but his long arms and quick feet should be an asset in the college game. He’s not an early starter, but should develop into a good tackle once he’s added mass.

Scout Analysis: None available.

Improvements: Needs to add muscle; get near 300lbs at least. Technique issues. Pretty standard stuff for high school OT’s.

Film Highlights: Link here.

Final Thoughts: As mentioned above, Bars is not an early impact player, but his athleticism and long arms mean that he could be competing for a starting role after 2 years. In other words, a redshirt is almost a guarantee.
It also depends on what type of lineman Michigan take in the rest of the class. Do they see Bars as a guard if they end up taking tackles such as Kalis, Diamond and Magnuson?
I know there will be a few of you thinking, why didn’t Michigan hold out for guys like Andrus Peat, Zach Banner etc instead of taking this three star guy. Well the truth is that those guys are still longshots even if they visit Michigan. Bars has a lot of potential, and thus we should be happy about his commitment. Trust the coaches!

Blake Bars Commits!

Commitment #17 is here in the form of offensive lineman Blake Bars. This shouldn't be a big surprise, just look at the post below this!

Bars is the 4th offensive lineman to commit, leaving probably two spaces left for OL in the class, which are likely to be filled by Kyle Kalis and Jordan Diamond.

Blake is a three star OT. (OMG only 3*'s, wtf hoke??? [sarcasm] ) However, he's got a rating of 79, which means he's awfully close to that fourth star.

Full commitment post to follow later today.

Blake Bars Update

Michigan currently has three offensive lineman committed, and could well pick up one more this weekend if Kyle Kalis does indeed pull the trigger. Then they have long time UM lean Jordan Diamond, who should be deciding towards the end of summer/early fall. This would give them five quality guys, but the way they are going, it looks like they'll be taking a 6th.

Andrus Peat is still an option as the 6th guy, but his decision could take a while, then we have other top guys like Joshua Garnett and Zach Banner. Another prospect who is high on Michigan is Blake Bars, and he's set to announce his decision sometime in the next week. Bars was assumed to be a Penn State lean for a while, but recently it looks like he could be leaning towards the Wolverines.

So that's yet another potential commitment in the next week or so!

Kyle Kalis Update

After Luke Fickell was named interim Head Coach for OSU, ESPN150 prospect Kyle Kalis re-affirmed his commitment to the Buckeyes, much to the disappointment of Michigan fans. Just a few weeks later, and things have changed rather dramatically! Kalis is no longer a Buckeye commit, and he's recently visited Ann Arbor.

Now there are rumors that his recruitment will in the next couple of days, with Michigan as the likely choice. So keep a look out for this potential commitment!

Quick Hitters

Unfortunately I still haven't found my way to a proper computer yet, so for now its just more quick fire notes...

- Jarrod Wilson will announce his decision on July 8th, and as of right now, I'm expecting it to be Michigan with Notre Dame in second. This would mean that yesterday's grayshirt commit Jeremy Clark would likely stay a grayshirt commit.

- Kyle Kalis visited campus yesterday I believe, and no commitment was made. I haven't been following his recruitment thay closely after the last few days, but most UM fans seem to be really optimistic here!

- Chris Wormley is another weekend visitor, and I'm expecting a decision fairly soon from him.

- OL Paul Thurston committed to Nebraska yesterday. This one hurts a bit more than the Olson commitment, because Michigan was the leader for Thurston, and he's a more highly recruited prospect.

Greetings from Berlin

My trip to Berlin is almost over; normal blog service should resume by tomorrow evening! In the mean time, here are a few quick nuggets:

- 2012 WR Bo Dever has decided to walk on at Michigan.His father, Dave Dever, is a former Wolverine player. Bo is 6'2 and 190lbs and by the sounds of it, has the potential to earn some scholarship offers from low level Div 1 schools, so this can only be seen as a positive since Michigan got him for 'free'.

- OL Eric Olson has committed to Northwestern over Michigan and a couple others. Michigan had their chance to win him over during his visit, but Northwestern is a great school, so no hard feelings. In the context of the whole class, this isn't a big loss, as Michigan certainly fancies their chances with some other OL prospects.

- speaking of OL prospects, Blake Bars is deciding soon and has a top five of Michigan, LSU, Florida, Vanderbilt and Penn State. Hopefully I'll have more of this soon.