most years i promise myself i wont pay attention to recruiting, but it never works out that way.

michigan got a couple of nice recruits this weekend, both linebackers. one is javon ringers' nephew, and depending on who you talk to, the top lb from ohio. the other is a line backer from cass tech.

from what i gather, both are high ceiling type players.

howevs, wednesday at 2:15, the country's top pro style qb, zach pike, is set to announce. he just attended auburn's spring game so it'd seem like he's headed south, but michigan probably feels as confident as anyone else.

also, there supposedly was a 3rd committ this weekend. he's silent, but is a highly ranked defensive player.

it'll be fun seeing what mattison can do as a recruiter. his former boss urban said he's the best recruiter in the country, and he did well for is w/ what time he had in 2011.

pike set to announce in under an hour, not gonna hold my breath on him going blue.

but, if he does not, all is not lost.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9279zdNPv24

shane morris is a year behind pike (gonna be a jr next year), but some people have him as the better prospect, and he was born and raised blue. with gardner getting his redshirt last yaer (think he got it/ is going to get it), the timing might be better with morris. both will be highly touted recruits and im sure michigan would love to have either, but pike is sort of a big body that looks in the john navarre mold. thats an era im not eager to see again.

Michigan Football Recruiting Class Of 2012

1.OT Ben Braden (Rockford, MI) - 6'6", 285 lbs., NR
2.OG Caleb Stacey (Cincinnati, OH) - 6'4", 275 lbs., NR
3.MLB Kaleb Ringer (Clayton, OH) - 6'0", 219 lbs., NR
4.OLB Royce Jenkins-Stone (Detroit, MI) - 6'2", 215 lbs., NR
5.TE Devin Funchess (Farmington Hills, MI) - 6'5", 205 lbs., NR
6.TE A.J. Williams (Cincinnati, OH) - 6'6", 260 lbs., NR


Williams is listed as a TE but will likely play Tackle his senior year. It's the start of a very good class. These transfers that have occurred recently will obviously hurt our depth next year but will likely help us longterm with all the talent in Michigan and Ohio this year. I believe that Michigan was only going to have 15 or so scholarships this year but at this rate, it might be 20 when all is said and done. Going to be a blessing in disguise, IMO.

friday m got a very highly touted lb commit, joebolden.

http://notredame.scout.com/a.z?s=109&p=8&c=1&nid=4577277

this week is supposed to be even better, though. apparently, we're getting 1, maybe 2 commits, and the first one is going to be a big deal and going to make waves. its speculated that zeke pike, who committed to auburn recently, is coming to ann arbor instead.

I love a good heel turn.

its probably not zeke.

michigan is also in play for brionte dunn http://scoutcombines.scout.com/a.z?s=450&p=8&c=1&nid=4237881 who is osu's top recruit but is supposedly a little weary with tatgate. but its probably not him either.

gunner kiel, scouts top qb http://hsindiana.scout.com/a.z?s=389&p=8&c=1&nid=4358413, just visited michigan, but its not likely its him.

the kid is supposed to announce first thing tomorrow.

if its not one of the 3 above, most likely "big national news that will make waves" is probably a bit hyperbolic, which is hardly unusual for recruiting. but regardless, this class is shaping up to be far better than anything RR ever put together.

I'm loving this. Most 2012 recruits in the Big Ten (and top two, so far, without a five star!) when we BARELY put together a 2011 class.

the player in question was james ross http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=4393336

you look at his offer sheet to see how good he is. we beat out osu, nd, psu, usc, some other schools, and alabama and lsu were looking at him as well.

he's our 4th lb this class, and 7th in the last 2. but he appears to be the kind of guy you take no matter what. samm webb says he's a better prospect than state of's in several years, including willy gholstein, campbel, and the thomas kid for the spartans.

i think in the near future, the bad lb play we had under RR will not be a problem.

brionte dunn is visiting the squared this weekend. im only a recruiting sunday driver, but this is the guy i want more than anyone we can get. its evident that this d class is going to be great, offensively we really just need a lineman. i dont see any giants needs anywhere else. but we have no proven stud rb, and the perhaps most intriguing back on the roster was rawls, just a *** recruit and freshman to be (i expect more than *** production tho).

so dunn is arguably our biggest need, a *****, and to top it off, is currently osu's. hokeamania will be raging if we snatch this one up.

more good news. mario ojemudia and pharoah brown (both DE's) committed today. mario, with funchess (a te who committed earlier) represent 2/3 of the farmington hills high big three. the third, a wr named burbridge, probably is 50/50 state and UM. significant because FHH has been a traditional MSU feeder school.

we'll likely get a commit from a highly regarded DT matt grodin this week, and are strongly pursuing chris wormley who is one of the best DE's in the country.

this class is filling up fast, and pretty much the antithesis to RR's. we pretty much obliterated sparty, dominating the local talent, the state coaches and newspapers are going to be gushing over michigan, and it is loaded with defensive talent.

i keep thinking back to jason whitlock's column arguing for hoke over harbaugh http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/brady-hoke-not-jim-harbaugh-is-perfect-coach-for-michigan-wolverines-010711. get a sense that whitlock was very right.

one otherthing.

under RR and barwis, our strategy was get the players lean and mean, totally rebuilding their bodies. ive been told it takes several years to get to the positive results--part of the reason i wanted RR to get more time. some players responded positively early, but other guys like will campbell (a ***** recruit) has struggled. are they related?

with these two recruits, theyre both a little light (especially pharoah, whos 6'6 or 6'7 and 215 or so). our new philosophy is to add more and more muscle and not just have a strong core. supposedly, pharoah is an athletic freak. if thats true, and the new sc coach is legit, we could have a star in the making here.

There are concerns about Burbridge qualifying academically.

pike set to announce in under an hour, not gonna hold my breath on him going blue.

but, if he does not, all is not lost.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9279zdNPv24

shane morris is a year behind pike (gonna be a jr next year), but some people have him as the better prospect, and he was born and raised blue. with gardner getting his redshirt last yaer (think he got it/ is going to get it), the timing might be better with morris. both will be highly touted recruits and im sure michigan would love to have either, but pike is sort of a big body that looks in the john navarre mold. thats an era im not eager to see again.

morris just committed. im no expert, but i like what i saw from his highlight's better than pike's. and i'd rather have a guy who grew up a wolverine fan than a guy who seems a little wishy washy-- all else being equal. um was in on another big qb (gunner kiel, currently rivals 19th best prospect in 2012), not sure if this affects that. probably yes and no.

also, i believe sparty was recruiting this kid pretty hard as well. sparty should have known that good qbs dont go to msu.

matthew godin just committed today. not the biggest get of all time (believe he's viewed as the 40th or so best DE in the country) but we wanted him, and so did sparty.

there was an article in the freep a week or so ago about sparty becoming more of a national recruiter and not limmitting itself just to michigan any more.

that may be true but maybe not. or, to borrow from moe greene:



Yeah, let's talk business, Mark. First of all, you're all done. Michigan State football don't even have that kind of muscle anymore. The Dantonio's sick, right? You're getting chased out of Michigan by Hoke and the other football teams. What do you think is going on here?

http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/parenting/2008/02/22/greene200x184.jpg

i was making my bones while bukdow was still going out with football players.

also, if 1) msu doesnt significantly improve its national recruiting, 2) hoke strings together another year or two like this one, msu is gonna be relegated to fledgling mac level status.

rumors of another big recruiting week for UM.

terry richardson, a **** db from cass tech (major michigan feeding school) is ready to announce his commit, no surprise there.

but then, theres also rumors that gunner kiel, a ***** qb may be announcing for blue as well. a little surprising since shane morris just announced last week, though i suppose if your a hotshot qb you dont about a guy a year behind you.

also talk that burbridge, the wr from FHH, also wants to commit. the problem with this is the forementioned grades issue. this class is filling up quickly, and if this kid cant qualify we probaby cant waste a spot on him.

howeva, these rumors arent nearly as reputable as the last "big week coming" rumor, which did pan out.

richardson is announcing tomorrow. his finalists are about as elite as they get, but you can bet he's blue.

gunner's final four : usc, alabama, mizzou, and of course, UM.

gunner is a big time qb talent, allegedly. hoke has the "i recruited tom brady" card. thats a hell of a card. hopefully, we return to being qb U.

NDatRivals
Four-star cornerback and ND target Terry Richardson committed to Michigan on Thursday morning. USC, Bama and LSU were the other finalists.

we definitely have another commit, he announces monday. its another big get, a defensive player, and he's kicking off the national side of our recruiting--not from mw. aparently hoke drank enough of MSU's milkshake that he'll let them have the rest-- except for the couple more we'll take locally.

i like. recruit locally --> nationally --> globally?

Most seem to think it's Wayne Morgan, a defensive back out of Brooklyn. Others say Armani Reeves, a DB out of Boston. Both are very good players by all accounts.

3 things of note:

1) shane morris, 2013 commit, won mvp of the nike elite 11 camp this weekend, beating out notable such as zeke pike and gunner kiel (both a grade above him). dont know history of these camps, but this seems like a pretty impressive accomplishment. watching the highlights of the three, i certainly like shane's the best. nice that he's local and blue. it'd still be nice to pick up a commit from gunner, but i wouldnt if i were him.

2) michigan is making a big push on aziz shittu, rivals 12# ranked recruit in the country. hes a DT currently committed to stanford, but is talking about taking an official visit to michigan. i think were going to get him, and he'd be the mastodon of this class. we have a ton of defensive commits, but no DT's so far, and its also a position of huge need for us. the fact that mattison will surely be the lead recruiter (the dirk nowitzki of recruiting), how can we not like our chances?

3) the silent commit 99% chance was wayne morgan, who announces on the 1st. i've made a big deal about killing msu head to head, but it seems like everyone who commits also had an offer from alabama--which is significantly more noteworthy.

i was a huge RR supporter, but it didnt seem like he ever had a class like this. alot of it probably is due to mattison at DC compared to the table scraps Rodriguez was working with. i think anyone who is paying attention, even the most ardent supporter of the previous regime, has to like what they are seeing out of ann arbor.

Shittu, lol.

3 things of note:

1) shane morris, 2013 commit, won mvp of the nike elite 11 camp this weekend, beating out notable such as zeke pike and gunner kiel (both a grade above him). dont know history of these camps, but this seems like a pretty impressive accomplishment. watching the highlights of the three, i certainly like shane's the best. nice that he's local and blue. it'd still be nice to pick up a commit from gunner, but i wouldnt if i were him.

2) michigan is making a big push on aziz shittu, rivals 12# ranked recruit in the country. hes a DT currently committed to stanford, but is talking about taking an official visit to michigan. i think were going to get him, and he'd be the mastodon of this class. we have a ton of defensive commits, but no DT's so far, and its also a position of huge need for us. the fact that mattison will surely be the lead recruiter (the dirk nowitzki of recruiting), how can we not like our chances?

3) the silent commit 99% chance was wayne morgan, who announces on the 1st. i've made a big deal about killing msu head to head, but it seems like everyone who commits also had an offer from alabama--which is significantly more noteworthy.

i was a huge RR supporter, but it didnt seem like he ever had a class like this. alot of it probably is due to mattison at DC compared to the table scraps Rodriguez was working with. i think anyone who is paying attention, even the most ardent supporter of the previous regime, has to like what they are seeing out of ann arbor.

are you on mgoblog?

i swing by every day, but dont post. people there kind of rub me the wrong way. im mostly just there to see what tomvh has to say.

i swing by every day, but dont post. people there kind of rub me the wrong way. im mostly just there to see what tomvh has to say.

It's a very pretentious group and they're rude to their fellow fans, but it's damned informative.
I post at my own risk.

Yeah, they make me glad to have only a tenuous connection to the university.

conversely, its still better than msu's board. right now they have a thread on there about tate forcier and an alleged suicide attempt. most people with any sense at all would leave that one alone and not make a joke, like how the general sports populace didnt make any jokes about dantonio's heart attack. these people are rivals, but theyre also people. some things are absolutely out of bounds, even behind the anonymity of the internet. its really bad that the thread is riddled with jokes about tate and his attempt.

The MSU board is hilarious. They are permanently butthurt about Michigan.

tressel out = dunn to michigan?

this, as for 2012 recruiting, probably is a big boost to msu. michigan had completely froze them out of the best talent in michigan. they talk about a national strategy, but everyone knows thats nonsense. if this opens up ohio some, gotta think they can salvage a decent class compared to what probably would have been a lost one.

Ha. Anything is a big boost to MSU at this point. Their recruiting has been garbage and Michigan has shut them out so far. Michigan's class has filled up so quickly that we can snipe some 4 and 5 stars from OSU's grasp, but MSU is probably to enjoy some Ohio 3*s from this.

shittu decommitted from stanford.

if we were going to ever get a big, big time recruit, he would be the one. the stars are aligned. we should be getting two really good DT this year, since its been a while since we landed any that were elite (save will campbell, sort of).

UM just got Rivals #34 recruit, an OL from California named Magnuson

Is that the World's Strongest Man guy's kid?

4 star DE Tom Stroebel commited to Michigan today in a flat out surprise announcement!! He started the day and it only got better when Magnuson finally gave us a Left Tackle for our class. However, the day wasn't done. The new Michigan retro jerseys were unvailed at 8pm and when everyone saw Denard sporting in with his pads on the buzz went through the roof and tickets on STUBHUB reportedly jumped in price again.

Still not done thankfully........5 star #1 rated QB Gunnier Kiel was all set to announce for OKlahoma over Alabama, Notre Dame, Missouri and Michigan on Sunday, but apparently rumors are running rampant that he is now postponing the announcement due to something "happening with Michigan." Unfortunately, this information is behind a paywall on Scout so I don't have the full story, but the rumor mill is going bananas right now!!

what a pain in the ass. im gone for a couple days and 50 things happen. its gonna take me a full day of reading to catch up. f.

tom strobel: i hadnt heard his name before i think sam webb's article just mentioned it this week, i think. DE is interesting, we've taken many already, was hoping for washington (package deal with WR standford (sp?)), or chris wormley (who everyone but rivals seem to love). i wouldnt be surprised if we took another. problem is, even if we move some of these guys inside, michigan is also in on two very good DTs, pipkens and shittu. i guess this is all a good problem to have. also, washington is very highly rated, which is why i want him, but ive watched highlights of standford and burbridge, and i'd take burbridge every time. obviously, im no expert and dont have much context, but dude looks like a young braylon edwards.

magnuson: this one is no surprise. michigan seems to have a great shot at a bunch of very highly rated OL talent.

kiel: if the #1 qb wants in on your class, you take him, but he's not my top concern. i like morris' highlights better, and it seems like we could help this class more from a different spot. for instance, if it came down to dunn (rb) or kiel, i'd definitely prefer dunn.

i think we end up taking the full 25. there will be attrition, and i think the coaches arleady know this. if not, it seems like some of the recruiting was a tad sloppy... although it might be just part of recruting.

Apparently, the newest rumor out there is that the #1 QB in America is down to Indiana and Michigan with many people thinking that he is leaning toward Indiana. Go figure!!

P.S. His brother goes there (plays QB), he lives 40 miles away and loves Kevin Wilson

kyle kalis has officially decomitted from OSU. rivals calls him the 18th best talent in the class, scout has him lower but a 5 star.

he's visiting UM this weekend, and its looking good he's blue. word has it, he's very close to recent commit tom strobel, and also close with another likely commit, chris wormley.

its not done yet, but always nice to get a talent like that. but when you can take him out of OSU's hands? dont get better than that.

It would be great to get him but if he ends up somewhere else, at least he's not going there. Also, its only a matter of time before Brionte Dunn decommits as well. Apparently, he likes Penn State a lot though.

shittu demonstrating some interest in michigan over the weekend. sounds like we might be stomping around in california, as there is also a highly regarded wr who just decommitted from USC that we're in on, jordan payton.

http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=4263080

i like seeing michigan back in california. it served us well under lloyd and i think its more vulnerable than florida was (though RR didnt exactly do bad there, either).

also, i think the optimism over brionte dunn is pretty much done. personally, i would not take anything but a top end QB or RB in this class. we are in on so many high caliber players at position of greater need it would be dumb to take anything but very high end talent else where.

another really good weekend for michigan fans.

friday, **** FS jarrod wilson committed, and just now kalis verballed.

kalis committing is so good i might have to go lurk on an osu message board to see what they think.

lol


kalis u are a joke. shame on u and ur tweety bird brain. how u can go from a life long buckeye fan to the enemy is beyond comprehension. making this this loyal jump before all the facts are know is a mark of real immaturity. u have burned what could have been lifelong support in buckeye country. aa is a drab little town with nothing to offer students after they graduate. i do not wish u harm but i do not wish u well. i will greatly enjoy watching u and all the ohio traitors that went north lose again and again and again.

DrRay is pretty much the only likable Buckeye fan ever.

another really good weekend for michigan fans.

friday, **** FS jarrod wilson committed, and just now kalis verballed.

kalis committing is so good i might have to go lurk on an osu message board to see what they think.
I had no idea who Kalis was so I googled him. This thread's hilarious now:

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=145&f=3155&t=7240010&p=1

michigan picked up a commit from a FB. not the most heralded guy in the world, but fb's typically arent high profile recruits i think, and if the staff would accept a commit when we're this full they must like the kid.

watching shane morris a little on espnu's gridiron kings thing. kid has the tools, thats for sure. i saw two passes that were in the basket that were drops due to too much heat. he looks like the biggest guy on the field, but he's quick and coordinated. and he's got a beautiful throwing motion. he just went back to back big plays with ronald thompson, a TE out of se detroit. im not sure we have room for another TE in the class, but dude looks pretty good himself.

b-d, do you know what the dealio is with this Kellen Jones dude?

^ probably belongs in 11 recruiting

um, well i read rape allegations. it would ceartainly fit the bill, but this is about as reliable as buckdow is straight.

for any lurkers who might not understand, i mean that it is extraordinarilly, extraoooooooooordinarilly unreliable.

QB Gunner Kiel chooses Indiana over UA and others.

shane morris. dont know why gunner was even looking at michigan after this kid committed. maybe he didnt know. but it would be dumb to commit in front of him. indiana is a little surprising, but apparently he has family ties and their new OC is pretty high profile.

looks like the MSU indiana rivalry will be as hot as ever for 4 years.

ondre pipkens committed today. 22nd commit, we might take as many as 5 more.

which probably is related to this:

http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=14&yr=2012

dude doesnt seem that noteworthy based on his ratings, but apparently you can expect him to have a big uptick in the next rankings release. the last camp he was at, the nike something or other at osu, he apparently killed and was named mvp or something. so, he's a big get and fills a huge need. i think he was probably our top choice for the position.

anyway, i expect jordan diamond, a stud OL out of IL to be the only guy left i'd bet on us getting. for the other spots, we'll for sure take a WR, and probably a very elite one (such as maybe this guy http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Stefon-Diggs-89745). we're also looking at another star cb. and im pretty sure if dunn came our way we'd make room for him too.

sad to see this clase finishing up, but pretty happy with the results.

we are definitely taking a wr this class. burbridge committed to state. kid looked really good, but apparently grades were a huge obstacle, and michigan didnt have room to take a flyer.

whoever we get will be good.

one possibility is this kid


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rp_-YY_2B0

jordan payton, a top 15 or so wr.

another is stefon diggs


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC3jINBrzIg

rivals' #2 wr. pretty good athleticism, i'd say...

those are probably the two best case scenarios that we have a decent chance at. we currently are supposedly 1st for payton and in diggs' top 3.

filling out the rest of the class should be fun to watch. think we'll have a great chance at keeping that #1 overall ranking.

Michigan top 3 recruiting class (http://rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/football/recruiting/commitments/2012)