As always...
If you have any questions related to Michigan football recruiting, or just football recruiting in general, please send me an email at mgorecruit@live.co.uk and I'll do my best to answer them.
Got a few questions yesterday, so this is actually a proper mailbag :O
Tim via email: First off what can you tell me about Prince Holloway from Cape Coral H.S. in Florida? Then if he commits I'm guessing that he will go to the slot position, but do you think that will have any influence on DeVondrick Nealy committing? Or if Nealy commits does it keep Holloway out? How do the two compare? What else should we be looking for from the WR class? Do you now if we are going to offer Daren Kitchen, if so when?
Answer: Both would likely end up in the slot at Michigan, whilst Nealy is a RB at the moment, given Michigan's depth at RB he would probably move to slot. In terms of rankings, the players are quite similar, Holloway is rated 77, Nealy is 78. I don't think either player will be put off if the other commits, but Michigan might be. The original "blueprint" for this class was to take two WR's and one slot. However with all the transfers, Michigan can take a few more players, so its up to them whether they want to take another slot. I'd prefer to see the class loaded with defensive talent. Right now, WVU leads for Holloway, and Michigan leads for Nealy. Both have more visits to go, so we'll just have to wait and see.
As for Daren Kitchen, I read a while back that he'd already been offered, this turned out to be false. He still only has a "verbal" offer. Which basically means the coaching staff are waiting to see if they can get someone better first. Its harsh on Daren (who I'm sure is a good player), but when your secondary is that bad, I don't blame them for being careful. Michigan still has the edge over Texas A&M here, so if Kitchen gets the full offer, expect a commitment.
Mike via email: Regarding Anthony Zettel, how did his visit go and was the loss a big let down for him?
Answer: I haven't heard anything on how the visit went for Zettel, but I doubt it was that bad. Going into the season all he wanted to see was Michigan win some games, so the coaching staff stays on. I think if Michigan gets to eight wins, that will be good enough for Zettel. Check out this article with Sam Webb and some experts who weigh in on Zettel.
Before the season started, MSU was only third in his recruitment, so I don't think they have overtaken the Wolverines in this one just yet. Zettel grew up a Michigan fan, and in the end he'll be a Michigan player.
Roy via email: Do you think they will get the LB from Orchard Lake Saint Mary's, James Ross, in the class of 2012 & Royce Jenkins-Stone from Cass Tech ?
Royce is definitely a Michigan lean right now, and if he had an offer I reckon he might be tempted to commit on the spot. The Wolverines are heavy favorites to land him. He and James Ross are part of a trio of players from the state who have played together since they were kids, the other guy is Cass Tech's CB, Terry Richardson. They have often talked about all going to the same school, and if that happens, Michigan is the most likely destination.
Royce will commit to Michigan unless something goes wrong, and Richardson has to like the Wolverines given all his former teammates that are already on the roster. James Ross, who is probably the highest rated of the three, will be a challenge. Alabama, OSU, Notre Dame are all after him, but fortunately Michigan has already offered, which must count for something! Ross is a frequent visitor for UM games too, which is great to see. The decision of the other two could play heavily into his recruitment, so its too early to guess with Ross. However Royce is a big lean.
Bradley via email: Hello, and thanks again for all the great updates. I know that I saw this somewhere but who will be in town for the Iowa game, and do you think any will commit?
Well, I posted earlier today about Tim Jernigan visiting for the Iowa game, which is HUGE. Sammy Watkins and Dallas Crawford attending makes this arguably Michigan's biggest recruiting weekend of the year. There's also rumors that one more BIG time prospect could be heading up for the game, I'll have more on that later.
There is however some bad news, A.J Jordan won't be town for the game, hopefully he'll rearrange his visit for the Wisconsin (his other favorite) game. Apart from that, things are looking good for Saturday, with WRs such as Hakeem Flowers and Quinta Funderburk are expected on campus. TE Jack Tabb, who visited Michigan earlier this year could also be in attendance. There will also be a few 2012 in state guys too.
As for commits, the only ones I could see happening are Crawford and Tabb. I think all the others would want to take more visits after this. Crawford has been high on Michigan for a long time, and Tabb really enjoyed himself on an unofficial in the summer, so things are looking good for both these guys. However, its highly possible that nobody commits. Crawford and Watkins might want to do a joint announcement thing, so Crawford might have to wait.
Thanks for the questions guys, keep em coming!
