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.