Monday's News

Two main things for today. Firstly OG Torrian Wilson has confirmed that he will take an official visit to Michigan, despite committing to Stanford earlier this year. The visit will more than likely be on January 22nd. Tennessee will also get a visit.

The second piece of news has been a rumor for a week or so now, but it was confirmed to me today. Ohio safety Latwan Anderson will visit Michigan officially sometime in December. This is great news for Michigan, who would definitely make room for Anderson in the class. He's one of the top safeties in the country, and could play early at UM, which will be a factor in his recruitment. 

Best visit so far

"It was a good visit, I would call it my best visit so far," Parker said. Californian safety prospect Sean Parker took his official to UM last weekend, and Michigan is sure to be in the mix to sign the talented recruit on signing day.

ESPN caught up with Parker to talk about the visit, you can read the article here.

Johnathan Hankins update

Johnathan Hankins made the short trip to Michigan this weekend for his official visit, and came away with a lot to think about. Hankins will visit Ohio State this weekend before decided later this month.

Hankins was hosted by long time friend Thomas Gordon, but he also got to hang out with Will Campbell and Teric Jones. The three star DT was impressed by the facilities at Michigan, as were his parents.

I think we probably have Hankins right now, largely due to the distance factor. He lives about 20 minutes away from the UM campus, so family and friends can easy come and see games etc. William Campbell told him one thing he couldn't leave was his nieces and nephews, which really hit Hankins. 

Jerald Robinson - Interesting comments

Long time Michigan commit Jerald Robinson took his official visit to Ann Arbor this weekend, he got to talk to current players and commitments, as well as some of the other visitors.

His host was J.T Turner, but he got to speak a bit with Donovan Warren, who told Robinson to work hard straight away, and wished him good luck. Good luck, does that imply Warren won't be there? Some reports say Warren is leaning towards the NFL.

Robinson didn't speak that much with the non-committed visitors, but he said all of them had a good time, and he expects at least one of them (Richard Ash, John Hankins, Sean Parker) to commit, let's hope hes right.

He also mentioned that he speaks quite a bit with Maryland S/LB Josh Furman, and he expects Furman to choose the Wolverines later this month! Robinson is definitely optimistic, "we’re going to get a National Championship. One or more!” Again, lets hope he's right.

Kenny Stills Update

Five Star WR Kenny Stills has put Michigan into his top six schools along with Cal, UCLA, Oklahoma, Florida and Miami. His decision could come as soon as December 11th, due to a local news station wanting to televise the announcement.

Stills was at the Michigan-Ohio State game, and 'loved' the visit, but chances are he will end up elsewhere. He would be a great get for UM, as he would provide a legitimate deep threat for Tate Forcier next season (Stills runs a 4.36 40yd dash).

Commit #23

Michigan has very few scholarship places left for this year's class, so they should go to the better prospects left on the board. On with the news, Ray Vinopal has committed to the University of Michigan.

I find it hard to get excited about this commitment, scout.com rates him as a two-star prospect, and the #144 Safety? ESPN agrees, two stars with a rating of 68. Rivals.com also rates him as two star, which begs the question, why did he get a Michigan offer?

You have to look at what is left on the board for UM, four star players like Tony Grimes, Josh Furman, Sean Parker. Ratings aren't everything, many under the radar recruits go on to have great college/professional careers. I also trust Rich Rodriguez, he's a good recruiter and knows what it takes to fit into his system.

Ray will definitely be playing safety at Michigan, which worries me slightly after reading the ESPN analysis, "Looks more natural at running back than he does in the defensive secondary". 

Enough negativity, lets look at the positives. In reading his past interviews, Ray comes across as a smart football player, which is echoed by his 4.5 GPA. He also has good speed and acceleration, boasting a 4.41 electronically timed 40 yard dash. He may need to add some weight before college, but he has good intensity on the field, makes all the tackles and knows his assignments.

Vinopal's commitment leaves very few places left in class of 2010, it'll be interesting to see how things unfold from here on in.

Under Armor AA game

After writing the last post, I suddenly wondered, who is in the Under Armor All American game? I searched through google and went on ESPN recruiting site etc, couldn't find anything. Twenty minutes later, ESPN put up the entire roster, how strange. 

Anyway, the complete roster for the Black and White team can be found here.

Michigan won't be represented on the White team, unless Mike Thornton suddenly has a big change of heart and goes to UM, unlikely. The only player on the Black team is Devin Gardner, who is one of two quarterbacks on the team with Alabama commit Phillip Sims, I imagine they play one half each?

It's kind of disappointing to only have one player in the game, especially since they had four last year (I Bell, T Lewan, C Roh and Q Washington).