Allen Gant commits to Michigan

Lucky #13 for Michigan is legacy recruit Allen Gant. He is the son of former Wolverine DB Tony Gant who played from 1982-1986. Rivals.com lists him as a WR, but he is universally known to be a safety.  He is a 3 star recruit to Scout.com, and unranked by the rest of the recruiting websites. He picked Michigan over Stanford, Illinois, and West Virginia.

He is the second defensive back recruit in this class, joining Terry Richardson. I predicted Gant to be a member of this class a few weeks ago, so it comes as no surprise. With the OSU troubles, Gant moved up his timeline to secure a spot. Michigan could swoop in and lure a few Buckeye commitments ( cough, cough, Brionte Dunn, cough) when possible sanctions get handed down.

The recruiting train could keep rolling on Thursday, when DB Wayne Morgan makes his decision known. I will have more on him should the news be positive.

Congrats Allen, and Go Blue!

Michigan Recruiting Overview

I have been meaning to write this up for a while, but the landscape keeps changing commitment wise. Michigan has 12 commitments before June 1^st, which is almost unheard of in Ann Arbor. And not only is there quantity, there is quality.

The Commitments

Name	Position	Scout	Rivals	ESPN
Joe Bolden	OLB	4	4
Ben Braden	OL	3
Pharaoh Brown	DE	3	4
Devin Funchess	TE	4
Matt Godin	DT	3
Royce Jenkins-Stone	ILB	4	4
Mario Ojemuida	DE	4
Terry Richardson	CB	4	4
Kaleb Ringer	ILB	4
James Ross	ILB	4	4
Caleb Stacey	OL	3
A.J. Williams	TE	3

That is one heck of a start. Considering last season's class, Hoke and his staff are killing the recruiting trail. Don’t believe me? Read this. Scout.com had 5 players with 4-star status. There are already 7 this season. I know there are still 9 months or so until NSD, and rankings fluctuate, but wow. That’s impressive. I’m still waiting on Rivals and ESPN to rank the rest of the players, but Iast year, Rivals had 6 4-stars compared to the 5 this year.

Who’s Left?

This is where things get tricky. The actual number of available scholarships is unknown, so I will use 20. 25 is normal, but I remember reading that this will be a small class (I can’t remember where, man am I getting old) so I will use 20. With 12 in the fold, spots are getting tight. There are also certain needs that haven’t been met yet. Namely, DT, OL, RB, WR, and Safety. If you are so inclined, you can add QB, but with Shane Morris already a member of the 2013 class, I don’t see it as a huge priority. But most coaches like to take at least one QB per class. I already covered the quarterback position in-depth, so I will skip it here.

The Candidates

Running Back

Running back is a lot like Quarterback, in that most coaches will take at least one a year. Michigan has offered some good prospects like Keith Marshall, OSU commit Brionte Dunn, and Greg Garmon. Michigan probably has <1% chance with Marshall, but is in good position with Dunn and Garmon. Dunn is nervous-pervis about the OSU “situation” and will be visiting Michigan quite soon. Although he is still a Buckeye commit, I would give Michigan a 45% chance with Dunn. If any sanctions come down, I am willing to bet that number will go up. Garmon is a guy that is wide open. He has tons of offers, but hasn’t declared any leaders (that I know of) to this point.

There are certainly more, but those are the high-profile guys at RB.

Wide Receiver

The number 1 player in the country is Dorial Green-Beckham. He is probably a bigger longshot than Marshall at this point, but it’s nice to dream. Realistic candidates are guys like Aaron Burbridge, Dwayne Stanford, and Jaquay Williams.

Burbridge is an interesting story. He is teammates with Mario Ojemudia and Devin Funchess. Like those two, he was always considered a MSU lean, but Michigan has made major inroads at Farmington Hills Harrison. He is now considered a favorite to end up at Michigan. If his grades are good enough. Unfortunately, that’s a big IF. He is an elite talent, and would be a huge pick up if he can meet admission standards.

Stanford is another interesting player. He grew up a Michigan fan, and is friends and teammates with DE Adolphus Washington. They are thought to be a package deal. Actually, just read this.

Williams is the longest shot of the three as a southern player with SEC interest. Again, there are more, but I am focusing on the big timers.

Tight End

Tight End is probably done for the class of 2012. Although A.J. Williams could and might move to OL, so maybe there is still room for Ron Thompson. Who knows.

Offensive Line

With Braden and Stacey in the mix, they are probably looking for 2-4 more players. There are some big targets still out there.

Jordan Diamond is thought to be a heavy Michigan lean. He was teammates with 2011 OG Chris Bryant. He will likely decide in early fall.

Zach Banner is the biggest of the big targets. How big? 6’9’’ 295 lbs worth of big. He is from Washington state, but maintains Michigan interest.

Andrus Peat is the number 2 OT in the nation. He has offers from everyone. He likes Michigan. Sounds great, right? Not so fast my friend. His brother will be a freshman at Nebraska in the fall.

Kyle Dodson is another 4-star OT that seems to really like Michigan. I could definitely see him as a member of this class.

Jordan Simmons is a huge guard from Encino, CA. I just want to make a bunch of Encino Man jokes.

Defensive Line

There are 3 commits so far, but there is probably room for 2 more. There are some big names left here as well. The aforementioned Washington is obviously one of them.

Chris Wormley recently named Michigan his leader, and could be deciding soon. He plays the strong side DE, whereas Ojemudia and Brown are weak siders.

Jarron Jones is the number 2 DT in the country, and is currently a soft commit to Penn State. He recently said he will visit Michigan anyway. He says he rushed into committing, which happens all the time. Michigan would welcome him with open arms.

Sheldon Day was thought to have committed to Michigan in April. Turns out, it was not true. Maybe. There is a shroud of mystery over Day’s recruitment. He could commit any day now. Or never mention Michigan again.

Danny O'Brien is from Flint and is a very good DT prospect. He loves Tennessee. He likes Michigan. Enough said.

Linebacker

Michigan signed anywhere from 3-6 linebackers last year, depending on position switches. I figured they would sign 2 this year. They have signed 4 so far. All four are very, very good players. I can’t see them taking anyone else here.

Defensive Back

Terry Richardson was the big fish. They landed him this morning. There is probably room for another CB and maybe a safety.

Armani Reeves,Anthony Standifer, and Wayne Morgan are the leading candidates at CB. Elijah Shumate, Jarrod Wilson, and Allen Gant are the options at safety.

Morgan could also play safety. Standifer was a “sleeper” up until Michigan offered. Since then schools like Iowa and Notre Dame have offered him. He is visiting soon. Jarrod Wilson is coached by former Michigan RB Ricky Powers. Allen Gant was recently offered. He is also Charles Woodson’s cousin. Family Values!

Predictions

Sticking with 8 openings, I would predict the class as:

1.       Chris Wormley, DE

2.       Aaron Burbridge, WR

3.       Jordan Diamond, OT

4.       Kyle Dodson, OL

5.       Sheldon Day, DT

6.       Jarrod Wilson, S

7.       Allen Gant, S

8.       Brionte Dunn, RB

That’s obviously a very optimistic view. This is supposed to be “best case” scenario. I’m sure the class ends up with some guys less highly touted than this. But if Michigan has success on the field, this is entirely possible. As Ron Zook has shown us, it doesn’t matter if you can recruit if you can’t coach on the field. Let’s hope Hoke can coach.

Go Blue!

Terry Richardson commits to Michigan

Commitment #12 for the Wolverines is Cass Tech CB Terry Richardson. Richardson is the #10 CB in the country to Scout.com and a 4 star to both Scout and Rivals. He is another candidate to be the highest rated player in the state and continues the Cass Tech pipeline (Will Campbell, Teric Jones, Delonte Hollowell, etc..)

 

T-Rich, as he likes to be called, had the most impressive offer list of all the Michigan commitments. He had a final 5 of USC, Alabama, Notre Dame, LSU, and Michigan. He also held offers from Michigan State, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. So he’s kind of a big deal. He is best friends with Michigan commitments James Ross and Royce Jenkins-Stone.

Cornerback isn’t a huge need in this class, but you always take a local guy with an offer list like Richardson’s. He’s a typical Cass Tech CB, 5’9’’ 160 lbs. He has been well coached, since CT’s head coach is former UM player Thomas Wilcher. He said on WTKA this morning that he will continue to recruit players to Michigan, so this class could be huge.

Congrats Terry, and Go Blue!

Matt Godin commits to Michigan

Michigan’s class just keeps on rollin’.  Detroit Catholic Central (of Novi) DE/DT Matt Godin became the 11^th member of the recruiting class. He has been committed since the spring game a few weeks back, but waited to make it official until this morning.

Godin is 6’5’’ 260lbs and could play strong side defensive end or defensive tackle if he adds a few pounds. He is a 3-star recruit to Scout.com and is still awaiting evaluation by Rivals. Godin turned down such schools as Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan State, and Boston College.

Expect another commitment soon, since they have come in pairs to this point. Worst case scenario, we group together Shane Morris with Godin. Best case, we have another commitment coming.  Terry Richardson may be announcing next week.

This is another big pick-up for Hoke and Mattison. Godin is the kind of top in-state guy that RichRod caught so much heat for not getting. Godin has been a lifelong Michigan fan, so if he ended up elsewhere, the criticism of Hoke would have started.

Congrats Matt, and Go Blue!

Shane Morris commits to Michigan

Michigan received its first commitment for the 2013 class yesterday when Warren De La Salle QB Shane Morris ended his recruitment extremely early. Morris will be a junior in high school in the fall, so he won’t be wearing the Maize and Blue for quite some time.

I covered this in the quarterback analysis, but getting Morris was kind of a big deal. He will be a huge recruit when the sites start ranking the 2013 guys, and it allows Hoke to not take a huge QB in this class. It’s also important because quarterbacks can be great recruiters, so Morris can talk to all the top prospects both in-state and at the various camps he attends. As a sophomore, he already held offers from Michigan (obviously), Michigan State, Cincinnati, Syracuse, and a few MAC schools. That, if you couldn’t tell, is impressive.

I hadn’t planned a 2013 recruiting chart yet, but it looks as if I’ll be starting one.

Congrats Shane, and Go Blue!

Pharaoh Brown commits to Michigan

Within minutes of the news that Mario Ojemudia gave his pledge to Michigan, Ohio DE Pharaoh Brown joined in the fun. Brown is a 6’6’’ 220 DE from Lyndhurst, OH. He is rated as the #45 DE to Scout, but has a ton of upside. He is definitely a “sleeper” prospect. He chose Michigan over schools like Pitt, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Nebraska.

He was a bigger surprise today than Ojemudia, in that Ojemudia has been hinting about coming to Michigan for a while. I will put together a more in-depth recruiting post later this week, with prospects to keep in mind for the small amount of scholarships left.

Congrats Pharaoh, and Go Blue! 

Mario Ojemudia commits to Michigan

Michigan picked up its 9^th commitment today, securing a pledge from DL Mario Ojemudia. Ojemudia is listed on Scout as a DL, but others have him as a DE. At 6’2’’ 220lbs, I will go with DE. He is a teammate of fellow Michigan commit, Devin Funchess. He is a 4-star guy to Scout, and is unlisted on Rivals. He also held offers from Stanford, Illinois, Michigan State, and Iowa.

The in-state, defensive haul continues. All Michigan’s commitments have come in pairs, so I will see you shortly.

Welcome to Michigan, Mario. Go Blue!

James Ross commits to Michigan

Since there isn't much going on around the world this morning, I figured I would hit on this early. Michigan picked up its 7th commitment this morning, getting a pledge from MLB James Ross. Ross is the #2 MLB prospect according to Scout.com, and is the 4th LB pledge in this class. When you add in the 2011 class, that's at least 8 linebackers.

Ross will likely be one of the top in-state players this year, and is a National recruit. Ross also held offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, Nebraska, and others. I'm guessing Hoke is employing a Martin Mayhew approach, and taking the best players available instead of need. 4 linebackers seems excessive, but they are all great players.

Welcome to Michigan, James. Go Blue!

Steve Schilling drafted by San Diego

The San Diego Chargers once again showed their intelligence, drafting former Michigan OG Steven Schilling with the 201^st overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He will join LB Jonas Mouton as rookies in San Diego whenever the lockout is lifted (again).

Steven Schilling was a 5 star OT prospect in the class of 2006, Michigan’s second highest rated recruit that year behind Brandon Graham. After redshirting his freshman year, he started for four years. He was supposed to join Justin Boren as the next in a long line of dominant Michigan Offensive Linemen, following guys like Jeff Backus, Steve Hutchinson, Jake Long, Dave Baas, et al.

Like Mouton getting drafted before Greg Jones, Schilling was expected to be drafted as the aforementioned Justin Boren. Boren was not drafted, and will have to pursue his NFL dreams via the undrafted free agent route. If not, there is always the snow plow business.

Anyway, good luck in the NFL Steve. Go Blue!