To say the University of Michigan had a tumultuous couple of months would be an understatement. The earliest indication of that is in recruiting. Here is a quick look at the newest Wolverines.
NAME | POS | Scout | Rivals | ESPN | State |
Chris Barnett | TE | 3 | 5.8 | 78 | TX |
Russell Bellomy | QB | 3 | 5.5 | 78 | TX |
Brennen Beyer | DE | 4 | 5.8 | 79 | MI |
Greg Brown | CB | 3 | 5.5 | 77 | OH |
Chris Bryant | OL | 3 | 5.8 | 77 | IL |
Tamani Carter | CB | 3 | 5.5 | 74 | OH |
Frank Clark | LB/TE | 3 | 5.6 | 77 | OH |
Blake Countess | CB | 4 | 5.8 | 80 | MD |
Justice Hayes | RB | 4 | 4 | 79 | MI |
Keith Heitzman | DE | 3 | 5.5 | 75 | OH |
Delonte Hollowell | CB | 3 | 5.7 | 79 | MI |
Kellen Jones | LB | 4 | 5.7 | 79 | TX |
Jack Miller | OL | 3 | 5.5 | 78 | OH |
Desmond Morgan | LB | 3 | 5.5 | 78 | MI |
Antonio Poole | LB | 4 | 5.7 | 78 | OH |
Tony Posada | OL | 3 | 5.5 | 78 | FL |
Thomas Rawls | RB | 3 | 5.8 | 76 | MI |
Chris Rock | DE | 3 | 5.6 | 78 | OH |
Raymon Taylor | CB | 3 | 5.8 | 77 | MI |
Matt Wile | K | 3 | 5.3 | 73 | CA |
Brady Hoke obviously saw what he believed to be major holes when he took over on January 11th. The names shaded in Maize above made their initial commitments to Hoke and Co. The Recruits in Blue never wavered during the coaching transition. The purple shading indicate the players who committed to Rich Rodriguez, but needed reassurance from the new coaching staff before deciding to come to Ann Arbor. With that said, I will go into a little more detail on each player. I will not offer any in-depth scouting reports because, frankly, I don’t know much about the X’s and O’s when it comes to football. I was 5’9’’ 145 pounds when I graduated high school and have never played organized football. If you are interested in that sort of things, I can point you in a few directions, but my doing it would be disingenuous. Also a few notes before I begin:
- Ø I do not subscribe to Scout.com, Rivals.com, or ESPN Insider. Any information given is freely found on the internet. I will never pass along “Insider” information to the best of my knowledge.
- Ø Terms like “sleeper”, “over-rated”, or “under the radar” are my opinions only. These opinions may be based on several criteria such as highlight tapes, offensive/defensive system, or offer list.
- Ø The links in a player’s name will be to their Rivals.com profile. I prefer their layout, and will use them for consistency’s sake.
- Ø When I mention a player’s offers, I will only highlight the bigger names. The links provided will list all known college offers a player has accumulated.
Chris Barnett- The biggest example of how fluid the recruiting game can be. Chris Barnett is the 14th ranked tight end in the class of 2011. He originally committed to Oklahoma and Arkansas before signing with Michigan on February 2nd. He also held offers from schools like USC, Florida State, and Miami (FL), among many others. He was the biggest surprise in this class, and will be able to compete for playing time early on. He has good size at 6’6’’ 245 lbs.
Russell Bellomy- I assumed Hoke would bring in a QB to eventually move the offense to a Pro-Style system, but Bellomy is more of a dual-threat QB in the mold of a Tate Forcier. Bellomy was originally committed to Purdue, but got contacted by Michigan after the coaching change. He’s 6’3’’ 178 pounds, with a 40 time of 4.63. He is an obvious redshirt candidate with Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner ahead of him. Also held offers from Boise State, Colorado, and Minnesota.
Brennen Beyer-One of the earliest commits, Beyer committed in April 2010 and never looked back. A tall, lanky DE/TE (6’4’’ 220) from Canton, MI, he led his team to the state championship game as a senior. He gave his pledge to Michigan early, but still held offers from Michigan State, Notre Dame, Stanford, and UCLA. A year or two in the weight room will probably be in order to help fill out his frame.
Greg Brown- Brown is from the same high school as a certain former Michigan defensive back, and he certainly turned out well. His name is Charles Woodson. While no one is expecting a Heisman Trophy, he was Michigan’s only early enrollee, and is already working out with the team. The recruiting sites differ on his offers, but Scout lists him as having a Michigan State offer as well. Being on campus already, and the having watched Michigan’s secondary last year, he may get a chance to contribute early.
Chris Bryant- A big get out of Simeon High School in Chicago, IL, Bryant held offers from Stanford, Pitt, and the hometown Illini. Big as in he filled a need at guard, and big as in he’s 6’5’’ 335 pounds. He will be credited as a Hoke recruit, but he has been on the Wolverine radar for a long time. He is also teammates with 2012 OL recruit Jordan Diamond. A true freshman contributing as a true freshman is extremely rare in today’s game, so expect a redshirt.
Tamani Carter-The answer to the Trivial Pursuit question of “Who was the first player to commit to Brady Hoke at Michigan”, he came out of nowhere and decommitted from Minnesota. Carter has “sleeper” written all over him. His offers from Iowa, Stanford, and Arizona hint at his potential. Those schools are very good at uncovering DB talent flying under the radar. I wouldn’t look for him in any game action this year, but he may end up surprising some people.
Frank Clark- Believe it or not, Clark was one of the biggest gets for Hoke and Company. Clark is from Glenville Academy in Cleveland, OH. Glenville is one of the top producers of talent in the country. Due to a rift between Glenville head coach Ted Ginn, Sr. and Lloyd Carr reportedly involving Carr’s treatment of Pierre Woods, it is believed that Ginn refused to let any of his players come to Michigan. This was not only detrimental to Michigan; it was a coup for Ohio State. Ted Ginn, Jr, Troy Smith, Donte Whitner, among many others are notable alumni. Maybe Hoke can have a say in the top Glenville talent going forward. As for Clark himself, he is a TE/DE/LB tweener that will probably play defense now that Barnett is a Wolverine. Clark held offers from Michigan State, North Carolina, and Cal.
Blake Countess-One of the top rated prospects this year, Countess is expected to be a big part of the secondary for years to come. His offer list is outstanding, with Penn State, Tennessee, and Stanford among his list of suitors. He also comes from a very good high school program in Good Counsel out of Maryland. His talent alone should have him pushing for playing time early on.
Justice Hayes- Probably my favorite recruit of the year. He started out committing to Notre Dame, before deciding to stay in-state and verbal to Michigan. He then started recruiting players to come to Michigan. His attitude is outstanding, and his physical talent is evidenced by written offers from Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Michigan State, three schools that know RB talent when they see it. He was likely to play slot receiver for Rich Rodriguez, he will be a RB now. There is a glut of talent on the depth chart at RB, so he will need to really excel in practice to make noise in the fall.
Keith Heitzman-The most under the radar of Michigan’s signees. I follow recruiting pretty close, and had never heard of him until he committed in late January. His offer list is littered with MAC schools, and lower level Big Ten programs. He will hopefully be a good depth player and special teams contributor, with anything more being a bonus.
Delonte Hollowell-The first recruit to verbal to Michigan, Hollowell is the latest in a long line of Cass Tech alumni to sign with Michigan. His size is probably his biggest question mark at 5’8’’ 162 pounds. He committed to Michigan over a year ago, and will hopefully keep the pipeline to Cass Tech open for Royce Jenkins-Stone and Terry Richardson, 2 talented players in the 2012 class. He will probably need some time in the weight room, but with the secondary you just never know.
Kellen Jones-A linebacker out of Texas, Jones is the highest rated LB commit in this year’s class. He plays in the smaller division in Texas, so he will be making a big step up in competition, but his skills should translate well to college. His high school is also known to produce Division I talent, so maybe Kellen can help recruit Houston. He held offers from the likes of Boise St, Colorado, and Stanford. He should be ready to contribute in a year or two.
Jack Miller-A OL/DL prospect out of Perrysburg, OH, Miller will probably end up playing on the OL at Michigan. At 6’4’’ and 270 lbs., he can grow into any position on the interior line. Miller committed last June, and really hasn’t been heard from since. He was fairly quiet during the coaching situation, which was neither comforting nor worrisome somehow. He came out and said he never considered another school, and made himself many new fans by saying so. He chose Michigan over Michigan State, Pitt, and North Carolina.
Desmond Morgan-The other sleeper LB in the 2011 class, Desmond Morgan is out of Holland, MI. He is a big weapon for West Ottawa High School. He played QB as well, but projects to LB in college. He held offers from Northwestern along with a few MAC programs, but showed Rich Rodriguez enough to extend an offer. I can’t imagine a good scenario where he contributes much right away, but could start later in his career.
Antonio Poole-Another late to the party recruit, he was an early target, disappeared, then reappeared after Hoke took control. The #20 player from the state of Ohio chose Michigan over most of the Big East and the MAC. He is a player who may be under the radar, due to his lack of bigger offers, so Michigan might have gotten a steal here. His size/speed may allow an early contribution, but could probably use a year to get stronger.
Tony Posada-Posada fills many needs. He is a big OL prospect at 6’6’’ 315. He also comes from a very good high school program in Florida. He was thought to be lost after Rich Rod was fired, but Hoke and company did a good job retaining him. Missouri, Louisville, and Tennessee were all hoping to snag Posada, but he stayed Blue and could be a starter in a few years at either guard or RT.
Thomas Rawls-Rawls is a RB who just broke many of Heisman Trophy Winner Mark Ingram’s area rushing records. He has been a Michigan fan his whole life, and was destined to be a Wolverine. His offer didn’t come until last Saturday, and he allegedly broke into tears. His grades are rumored to be the issue, but he has obviously received the grades/test scores to qualify. His size is a plus at 5’10’’ 215, and could be a Mike Hart type sleeper.
Chris Rock-Rock is a big DE from the same high school as Patrick Omameh. He was an original RR commit that never decommitted or took other visits. He should be a redshirt candidate due to depth chart issues, but has the type of attitude that is hard to keep off the field. Rock chose Michigan over schools such as Oregon, Stanford, and Wisconsin.
Raymon Taylor-Raymon Taylor’s recruitment was strange when compared to many of his new teammates. He is from Highland Park, MI but never received much interest from Michigan early on, so he made a verbal commitment to Indiana. When Indiana had a coaching change, he opened his recruitment and started hearing from Michigan. Then Michigan changed coaches, and he waited to see who Michigan hired before officially visiting. He visited on 1/21 and committed on 1/22. He also called Michigan his “dream” school, so I guess it all worked out in the end. He also held offers from Wisconsin, Iowa, and Pitt. His athleticism could see him play DB or WR, and could put in in position to contribute in the fall.
Matt Wile-The latest to try his foot at kicker, Matt Wile was an Army All-American player out of San Diego, CA. He was recently ranked as the #4 kicker in America on Scout, and had offers from Washington, San Diego State, and Nebraska. Michigan’s kicking woes last season push Wile to the forefront of the depth chart, and should allow field goals to become a regular part of Michigan’s fans vocabulary.
All in all, Hoke did a pretty good job not only keeping this class together, but adding in guys like Barnett, Wile, and Poole. If I had to venture a guess, I would say the following see the field this season:
- Ø Barnett
- Ø Brown
- Ø Countess
- Ø Poole
- Ø Taylor
- Ø Wile
On its own, this class is probably a B- or B, but with a coaching change, and Michigan’s record the last 3 years, I will say B+. My next post will be on the misses of the 2011 class, and an extremely early look at the class of 2012. Go Blue!
1 comment:
Great post!
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