Michigan Friday: Needs Livers

This is a unique Michigan Basketball team, we thought they would likely be an average Big 10 team and then had a great weekend in the Bahamas and jumped into the top 5 in the nation and the only team to beat the #1 team in the nation (currently).  

Now their top shooter Isaiah Livers is hurt and Michigan is struggling to find any outside shooting.   Eli Brooks has again found his mid-season slump and shot 3 three pointers and 2 free throws that was no where near going in.  Wagner had 15 points with a nice 3 pointer in OT but he is much too quiet on the court and sometimes just lost on offense.

Teske again got their opponents center's best game and guy named Trevion Williams went for 36 against him and threw up any kind of shot that went in.  He even hit a Harden like 3 pointer which was his 2nd 3 pointer of the season.  Williams did miss the most important shot of the game when he had an uncontested layup to win the game in regulation and shot it with T-Rex arms.   Teske had 18 points and probably played the most minutes of his life last night.

The hero was Simpson who went 9-13 from the field with 22 points and was killing the Boilermakers with his dribble drives.  He kept the Wolverines in the game, when it was clear the team was looking for answers on offense.  His senior leadership was the difference and the reason the Wolverines snuck out a win in double OT.

Another issue is that Michigan left 9 points at the free throw line going 15-24.  Michigan will need to find some outside shooting as they travel to The Barn in Minneapolis on Sunday.   Lets hope that groin heals quickly.

• Tru Wilson will look to grad transfer to another school and spend one more season playing football.  He is now in the transfer portal.  He has a nice story as a former Michigan walk-on.  Michigan's RB depth is in very good shape next season. 

• If you missed it JKP is also in the portal.  Injuries and depth chart, hurt his chances to get on the field outside of special teams. 

• 16 of the 30 players in the 2017 class have now left the program (2 are to the NFL)

Wolverine Wednesday: Hawkins Has a New Job

Brad Hawkins has had a long unique road on his way to Ann Arbor.  He was expected to join the 2016 class as a 4 star WR out of NJ but had some academic things he needed to clear up.  He went to a prep school got his grades in order and joined the 2017 class a re-classified 3 star WR.


With the large WR in the 2017 class it was expected that Brad would join the DB unit as a safety come Fall Camp.  That happened and we really haven't see much of him (expecting a redshirt) until Saturday's game where he was returning kick offs with Ambry Thomas.


Now it seems Don Brown has asked him to play the Viper role in his defense.  "They came to me and said, 'Brad, we want you to play viper,'" Hawkins told reporters on Tuesday. "It was coach's decision. I just did what was best for the team."


Good Luck to him and I hope he does well as a kick off returner as well.

• WOTS is that Emil Ekiyor is expected to de-commit from Michigan soon and maybe follow that up with an Alabama commitment.

• Jimmy is the third highest paid coach this year behind $11M for Saban, $8.5M for Dabo and $7M for Harbaugh.

Michigan Monday: Plays The Recruiting Name Game

Many of us remember the 2017 instate LB recruit David Reese.  He was committed to the Wolverines for a long time and wanted to enroll early.  Coach Harbaugh told David and his family that they didn't have room for him to enroll in January and David decided to open up his recruitment and committed to Florida.  David played as a true freshman and will get reunited with his friends from Michigan in Dallas in a couple of months. 


Now Michigan is recruiting another David Reese in the 2018 class.   You guessed it, this David Reese lives in Florida and plays LB.   David is being recruiting by Don Brown.   

• If you Google or Bing the name Michael Thompson, you will get the former NBA basketball player and a Guitarist.  Neither of these guys are interesting to Jimmy and Don Brown.   The Michael Thompson they are interested in, is a 4 star DT from St. Louis where Michigan just made his top 5 with Ohio State, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU.    Michael will visit Ann Arbor later this month.

• IL TE Luke Ford is visiting Ann Arbor this weekend.   Is there a better place for a Ford then in the State of Michigan?

• CJ Smith a former 2018 Safety commit to Florida has recently re-opened his recruitment and lists Michigan in his top 5 with Oregon, Louisville, South Carolina and Oklahoma.

• TE Jeremy Ruckert is announcing this afternoon and has Michigan in his final group with OSU, ND, and Wisconsin.   Insiders predict and agree its an OSU decision.

• Remember the name Michael Johnson Jr.?  He is the 2019 4 star QB that Jimmy got a ton of press for trying to hire his father.  Dad ended up at Oregon and Jimmy offered the son last week.  Jr. is saying he is open to playing at other schools. 

• Remember the name Rutger Reitmaier?  He was a 2017 DT recruit that Brady Hoke convinced to play at Oregon.  He is leaving the Ducks program and now might head to Tennessee to play for the former Michigan head man.

Michigan Monday: Tabs The Right Former AD To Run Ford

It seems once you become the Michigan AD, your next job is being the CEO of a major name brand.   We all know who runs Toys-R-Us and now Ford has fired their CEO and will bring in the captain of turnaround in Jim Hackett to run the company.   Smart choice!


I wonder who the Jim Harbaugh is of the auto industry?   Good Luck Jim H. in one of the highest profile CEO jobs in the country.

• Michigan's Softball team lost twice to UW this weekend and is now out of the tournament.  Congrats on another strong season.

• On Saturday, the Alexandria Sportsman's Club, a non-profit organization based in Virginia, named Luiji Vilan, incoming freshman their athlete of the year for football.

• Wagner and Wilson will have to make a decision on the NBA Draft or coming back to Ann Arbor by Wednesday of this week. 

Michigan Thursday: Is Late In The Day

Sorry for the late and short post today.

Mgoblog former message board insider and now Touch the Banner contributor has some new practice insights.   Here are the ones that I found interesting:

- Banged up list: DPJ, JaRaymond Hall and Nolan Uilzio.  Grant is still on crutches.
- All the RB's have looked impressive.
-He called out that Gentry is really starting to play well at TE.   He and Bunting could make a nice 1 - 2 punch!

• 2017 G Shakwon Barrett is going to visit this weekend.  He is a 6'3 point guard out of Canada.  Michigan has one spot left, which could go to a 5 star Center, a 5th year transfer, or this guy?

• Mike Onwenu is down 15 pounds to 360!

• Michigan's latest PWO Matt Brown was also the AP and USA Today's Ohio defensive player of the year.  What a great pick up!

Michigan Thursday: Still Has Some After Glow

Michigan had a nice NSD and finished strong.  They didn't get everybody they wanted but that rarely happens on NSD.   Michigan did drop a few spots in ESPN's national rankings as FSU and USC really landed some big fish late in the day. 

Here are the final standings 

Rivals #4 Team
Scout #3 Team
24/7: #4 Team
ESPN: #6 Team

4.25 average across all the services.

Some other Big Ten and ND team rankings on 24/7:
ND: #11
PSU: #15
Maryland: #18
Nebraska: #23
MSU: #34
Wisconsin: #40
Iowa: #41
Rutgers: #42

Durkin is doing some good recruiting at Maryland and PSU did a nice job after their strong finish to the season.   It's funny, I saw one of Penn State's recruit start to question his interest in Happy Valley after the Michigan game this year.   He said, he was happy on how the team finished.


Also if you missed it, Nico's LOI did make it to Ann Arbor last night.  New punter commit, Brad Robbins LOI has not been confirmed by Michigan yet.   I wouldn't be surprised if he took a visit to Ann Arbor and hand delivered his LOI to the coaches. 

• Michigan also got another PWO commitment from Ryan Veingrad yesterday. He's a 6'3" 230lbs DE from Boca Raton, FL. 

• Michigan and Mississippi is not a good match.  Michigan has pulled one recruit out of Mississippi and it's Jeremy LeSueur.   There must be a curse.   That is why many thought Willie Gay would never make it to Ann Arbor.

• It seems crazy, its now time to start looking at 2018 recruits.

• 2017 RB Cordarrian Richardson who had MSU in his final group, committed to Maryland via Weather Balloon on Wednesday and signed with UCF on Thursday.   Got to love recruiting!

• Last point of the day, I wonder if Jimmy banked a scholarship for that Clemson offensive line transfer Jake Fruhmorgen?

Michigan NSD in Review

I love it when a plan comes together.  

Michigan was expected to get two high profile recruits in SEC Country, Aubrey and Nico and they did.   The other 3 guys were long shots and were trending away from the Wolverines.   They all ended up going to other schools. 

When you come away with a 5 Star DT and a 6'5 4 star WR - It is a great day!  

The Signing of the Stars was a bit long and Michigan didn't announce the LOI's until the show started.     It was worth the wait and all the commits signed and faxed in their paperwork. 

There were a couple of funny mistakes.   I was watching on ESPNU when Aubrey announced.   I thought he said, Miami instead of Michigan but I didn't think too much of it with the audio issues they were having.   I guess he really did say Miami by mistake. 

Michigan also put a PWO WR on the commitment video which was clearly a mistake as well. 

We even had a little bit of a surprise with the commitment of the #1 punter in the class from Ohio, Brad Robbins. 

This is a top 5 class and you have to love it.   Here is where Michigan stands right now on the services:

24/7 = #4
Scouts = #3
Rivals = #4
ESPN = #4

Note: as of 4:00 Michigan is yet to announce the LOI's of Collins or Robbins.

Update: Nico is in


Michigan State has had a very difficult NSD:

• A scholarship offer player turns down an offer from MSU to walk-on to Northwestern
• Then MSU loses a WR they were leading for to South Alabama.
• Then a 3 star DL commit doesn't sign a LOI because he is in jail in Orlando. 

They have the #21 rated class on Scouts.


The pull your hair out event of the day

Alabama recruit 4 Star DE and Army All American Jarez Park from Florida wants to join Bama so bad, he will gray shirt.   It seems Alabama ran out of scholarships and Park prefers to wait a year to join the team instead of signing with another team.    Park will join Alabama next January. 

Who's In?

Today's Announcement:

1. 9:30 AM Mekhi Becton between Virginia Tech and Michigan
2. 10:00 AM Willie Gay - LSU, Michigan, Miss State
3. 10:30 AM Aubrey Solomon on ESPNU - Michigan
4. 12:00 PM Jay Tufele - USC, Utah, Michigan
5. 2:30 PM Nico Collins - Michigan

Nico is all Maize and Blue!!!! Here is his commitment video

The below players have signed their LOI (Letter of Intent) and now officially Michigan Wolverines:

• Chuck Filiaga is in
• Joel Honigford is in
• Andrew Stueber is in
• Luiji Vilain
• Deron Irving-Bey
• James Hudson
• Aubrey Solomon is in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Phil Paea
• Kwity Paye
• Drew Singleton
• Jordan Anthony
• Josh Ross
• Kurt Taylor
• O'Maury Samuels
• Oliver Martin
• Brad Hawkins
• Dylan McCaffrey

Ok, here is the deal, Jake is a PWO and somehow got his name in the video by mistake.   If your wondering, Brad Robbins is on scholarship.

We have a new surprise name Jake McCurry.  He showed up in the Signing Day video and is a 6'1 and 180 pound WR/SS.  He is not rated.  




Also News is breaking Michigan might have added a punter as well.  Confirmed: Michigan has added Westerville, OH punter Brad Robbins to this class.  He is rated the #1 punter in the class and a two star recruit.

Becton in a minor surprise picks Louisville.
Gay to Mississippi State
Tufele heads to USC
5 Star DT Aubrey goes Blue!!!!

BHB Reaction:  Yes, on Aubrey!  Everything else has gone the way we expected.  Becton picking Louisville is a surprise but he isn't coming here, so it really doesn't matter.   Michigan now has one or maybe two spots left.    I wonder if they are on the phone right now with a few guys?


While we wait, if you want to poke a little fun at MSU.  This kid turned down a scholarship offer at Michigan State to walk-on at Northwestern.   They also lost a Jalen Tolbert WR recruit that they were chasing to South Alabama.

Also Maryland flipped 4 star WR Tahj Capehart from Virginia Tech this morning and a RB that had been committed to Tennessee.


These guys enrolled early:
Ambry Thomas CB 5'11 170★★★★
Tarik Black WR 6'4 200 ★★★★
Donovan People -Jones WR 6'2 200 ★★★★★
Cesar Ruiz C 6'3 320 ★★★★
Donovan Jeter DT 6'5 250★★★★
Jaylen Kelly-Powell S 6'0 180 ★★★★
Ben Mason LB 6'2 247★★★
Corey Malone-Hatcher DE 6'3 245★★★★
JaRaymond Hall OL 6'5 255 ★★★★
Ben St-Juste DB 6'3 185 ★★★★
J'Marick Woods S 6'4 200★★★

Michigan Monday: Updates Recruits Trends and Welcomes PWO's

We are two days away from National Signing Day and Michigan is still in it for a number of high profile recruits.  Jimmy also welcomed a number of preferred Walk-On's prospects this weekend and there were a couple of commits.   Let's take a look at where thing are trending for Michigan's top prospects first.

Aubrey Solomon - Many of the Michigan insiders still feel Michigan is the choice.   I'm not sure anyone has let Aubrey know.   He continues to say that Alabama leads, which could be a fake out or maybe he loves that hurricane simulator like DeShawn Hand.   Sam Webb still thinks he ends up in Ann Arbor.   This could be a Mike Weber situation, so we need to keep a close eye on this one.   He will commit at 10:00 on ESPNU.

Nico Collins:  He visited Georgia this past weekend and some Georgia insiders came away with predicting that Nico was heading to Michigan.  Seems the latest trend has Nico staying with his favorite and leader for most of his recruitment.   Sounds like Jimmy and Coach Hamilton had a big impact in their last visit.  Let's hope he stays with his heart and goes Maize and Blue on Wednesday.  He will announce at 2:00 on Wednesday.

Oliver Martin: Was in A2 this weekend and there isn't a ton of visit reaction yet.   Many still expect that Oliver's heart is still in Ann Arbor and that he will end up Maize and Blue over ND on Wednesday.   This could be one of the best WR classes ever in Ann Arbor if Nico and Oliver are both Blue.

Willie Gay:  He likes LSU and mom likes Michigan and Miss State.   I'm guessing he will stay close to home and picks Mississippi State.   If he wants to get away from home and mom won't let him go to LSU, then Michigan has a chance.   Don't hold your breath on this one. 

Ifeatu Melifonwu - It seems both sides are considering if they want to move forward.   Michigan hasn't officially offered yet and could be looking at what the numbers are going to be.   I wouldn't be surprised if he got offered and committed on Tuesday or Wednesday.   This might be a situation where he waits to sends in his Syracuse LOI until Wednesday afternoon.

- DT Jay Tufele - unless its a huge surprise, Jay will stay out West.
- OL Mekhi Becton seems to be heading to VA Tech.


Now lets look at some of the Preferred Walk-On's that are most likely heading to Michigan:

• Saline linebacker/fullback Tyler Plocki, he will play FB at Michigan.  He is 6'1 and 215 pounds.
• Mt. Pleasant 6'3 290 pounds OG Sean Fitzgerald committed as well.  Sean had a scholarship offer to the Air Force Academy.
• Divine Child WR/S Evan Latham also committed.  He is 6'3 and 191 pounds.
• New update: Pittsburgh Safety Jack Young a 6'2 185 pound Safety, was committed to play for Columbia.
• More:  FL TE Chris Hanlon and MI LB Adam Fakih.

Congrats to all the PWO's!

Michigan Friday: Big Weekend - Days Before NSD

There was some interesting news breaking yesterday..........................

• Michigan RB's are solid.   With the dating and break-up of Najee Harris, Michigan started to loose it's grip on both of it's RB commits:  O'Maury Samuels and Kurt Taylor.   Samuels was getting strong interest from RR and Arizona and Taylor was looking at MSU and Hawaii.   Samuels was in A2 for his official visit last weekend.  Both guys reconfirmed their commitment to Michigan and are expected to sign officially on Wednesday. Good news!   Let us not forget that Michigan also lost RB AJ Dillon to BC a few months ago.

• Jimmy was out to see WR Nico Collins and told him that Michigan will be running some spread next year.   I expect this is a way to get the ball down field a bit more and maybe protect a young offense line as well.   Nico will be visiting Georgia this weekend, which is not good news.  This also gives more context to the Greg Frey and Pep Hamilton hire.   Not to mention that Kevin Wilson is now the OC at OSU.

• 4 Star WR Oliver Martin is expected to take an official visit to Ann Arbor this weekend.  Unless Michigan has some surprise names coming in, Martin will be the only prospect in Ann Arbor this weekend and should get the red maize and blue carpet treatment.  The Crystal Balls are now 40% to Michigan and ND for this talented WR.

• The Greg Frey hire is now official.  Tight Ends, Tackles and Run Game Coordinator

• Michigan Basketball beat IU by 30 last night 90-60. 

• Sam Webb believes that Michigan still has a shot at landing Willie Gay because his Mom likes Michigan and Miss State.  Willie seems to like LSU.   I still think Michigan is a bit of a long shot here.   Miss State is close to home and if a team is to beat LSU it's probably the Bulldogs.  This is a reason Michigan doesn't pull many kids out of Mississippi. 

Update per Mgoblog:  It seems Michigan will be hosting a number of PWO (preferred walk-on) candidates this weekend.  Please find a hidden gem at offensive tackle! 

Also Michigan might offer Punter Brad Robbins if they have an extra spot after NSD.   He is a Nevada commit that might visit after Wednesday. 

Michigan Thursday: The Final 2017 Recruiting Board

We are now less then a week away from the busiest day on the Big House Blog, which is National Signing Day.   This weekend is important, because recruits rarely sign somewhere without taking a visit.     So if there is a mystery guy or two out there they will probably be in Ann Arbor this weekend.  

Considering that its a bit unlikely we hear any new names, lets look at the last recruiting board for the Wolverines. 

1. 5 Star DT Aubrey Solomon - We know this story and what happened at the Army game.   He plays at huge position of need and his Crystal Balls prediction on 24/7 is 50% to Michigan, 31% to Alabama.   He has said as late as last week, that Bama leads.  Mattison and Partridge in home with Aubrey today.
2. 4 Star WR Nico Collins -  Michigan has seemed to have lead for Nico, since this past summer, Georgia has been coming on really strong and many feel Michigan might have lost their lead.   The Crystals say 50% Michigan, 37% Georgia.  Reports are that Bama is not being considered. Harbaugh and Hamilton in home with Nico today.
3. 4 Star WR Oliver Martin - He was very high on Michigan early and then Michigan backed off a bit due to numbers.   Michigan now has been putting on a full court press on the young man.  This seems like a really wildcard recruitment at this point, His Crystal Balls are 65% to ND and 30% to Michigan.  If he comes to A2 this weekend, I think Michigan might be the pick.
4. 2/3 Star S Ifeatu Melifonwu is a Syracuse commit and has been on campus since Tuesday and is expected to leave today.  Don't worry about his star rating, his brother was a 2 star that Don Brown recruited to UConn and now is heading to the NFL after starting for 4 years.   I think Michigan has a great shot to flip him.

Here are my assumptions with the final board.

• 4 Star LB Willie Gay - He has had Michigan his leader for most of his recruitment, LSU has been making a huge leap and Miss State is also making a play.  Many believe now that Michigan is trailing and there could still be admission issues.  There is also some noise that Willie doesn't like that Michigan got a number of other LB recruits in this class.    The Crystal Balls are 48% to LSU, 40% to Miss State, 8% to Ole Miss, 4% to Michigan.

• OL Mekhi Becton will head to VA Tech.  Here is a photo from Jimmy's visit earlier this week.  That is not exactly an excited face. Crystal Balls are 75% to VA Tech, 17% to Michigan.

• DT Jay Tufele will go to Utah.  CB's 75% to Utah.  None for Michigan.
• VA LB Ellis Brooks - Michigan didn't make it in home this week and he will not be visiting A2.

None of the guys on the board are Michigan locks and many can go either direction and change their minds on Wednesday.   This is going to be a wild finish and Michigan could get many or none.

------------

• Remember OL Erik Swenson?  He de-committed from Michigan late in the recruiting cycle last year and said that Michigan no longer wanted him.  Well, a writer from Chicago, thought it would be fun to bring it back up again after Erik signed with Oklahoma.   This time Jimmy went on the record.   Per Jimmy, Erik was asked to come to Michigan's camp (because he committed to Hoke) so the coaches could evaluate him - he declined.   Then Jimmy asked if he could come out to the Indy camp - he declined again.   Erik told him to evaluate this senior year tape, which was poor and Jimmy and Coach Drevno asked him to look around.   It seems the communication wasn't clear and that Erik, his family and HS coach were surprised in December when Coach told them there probably wouldn't be a scholarship for him.    Jimmy agrees that there was miss communication and that is on him.   Hat tip to coach for answering the questions like a man and not running from a poor situation.  If your wondering, this happens at many schools.  Of course we don't want it to happen at Michigan but with the coaching change it did.

• NBA News- GR3 will be in the dunk contest and LeVert had a highlight cross over dribble last night that is making the rounds.

Michigan Tuesday: Loves Private Aviation

flickr.com

When Bill Gates or Warren Buffett offers to buy the Big House Blog for $1.5 Billion, I'm only going to fly private aviation.   No more airport madness, long lines and long delays.   You also can be many different places on the same day. 

For example:

-Jimmy was entertaining recruits this Saturday and also flew out to watch Ifeatu Melifonwu's basketball game.

-Yesterday, Jimmy was finalizing plans to take his team to Rome, reportedly interviewed Greg Frey, and did an in-home with Willie Gay. 

-Today Jimmy is likely hosting Ifeatu Melifonwu on his official visit to Ann Arbor and will be at Mekhi Becton's basketball game tonight.

Got to love that private plane Jimmy gets to use!

• RB commit O’Maury Samuels took his official to Ann Arbor last weekend.  Arizona was in home with him on Monday.   Michigan coaches are set to be in home today.   I expect he will stick with his commitment to the Maize and Blue.

• Michigan has offered Allen Gant's cousin Toledo St. Johns LB Dallas Gant in the 2018 class.

• The trip to Rome is now official, how about the 2017 guys that enrolled early?  What a huge perk!

• Jeremy Gallon got drafted in the new pro football league for the team in DC.

• Son of former Detroit Lions and former Nebraska commit (he also took an unofficial to Ann Arbor) Robert Porcher IV committed to Virginia Tech yesterday.

*Please note if any of the BHB inmates would like to offer $1.5 Billion for the Big House Blog, I am negotiable!  :)

Michigan Monday: Could This Recruiting Class Have A Big Hole In It?

I'm sure you have heard by now that FL OT Kai-Leon Herbert has de-committed from the Wolverines.   This wasn't a surprise as Kai-Leon had been dating other schools for some time now.   He is most likely going to stay close to home and attend a Florida school.

That leaves Michigan with the following commits on the offensive line (at OG or OT):  Chuck Filiaga, JaRaymond Hall, Joel Honigford, and Andrew Stueber (Ruiz of course is a Center prospect).  Which in normal years would seem like plenty of recruits.  This is a unique year for the offensive line recruiting and Michigan probably needs/prefers to have two more prospects and probably tackle prospects. 

So who is left?

• VA OT Mekhi Becton is now trending strongly to Virginia Tech. 
• FL OG TJ Slaton may have some admission issues and is a HS teammate of Kai-Leon.
• PA OL CJ Thorpe who was planning an official to A2 for next weekend, re-confirmed his commitment to Penn State on Sunday.   He is a legacy Penn State kid and was a huge long shot of signing with Michigan anyway.
• Clemson OT transfer Jake Fruhmorgen is interested in Michigan but would have to sit out a year.  He would also take up a scholarship if he did transfer to Ann Arbor.
• OH OT Thayer Munford from Massillon, OH is 6'6 325 with a number of big offers including Alabama, Penn State, Louisville, Kentucky, Tennessee, MSU and others.  He really wants an OSU offer and doesn't have one yet.   There are some reports that Michigan is interested but hasn't offered yet.

It doesn't look great for any of those guys on the above list outside of Jake.   Thinking these guys probably wouldn't play next year, might help ease your mind on Jake jumping on board and he could be a ready starter in a year. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Michigan tried to get a new name 3 star OT on campus this weekend and tried to flip them before a week from Wednesday.    Also Michigan will need to be busy with some raw preferred walk-on's on the offensive line.

If your wondering about any instate guys that Michigan might like to steal, here are a couple names (I'm just pulling these players off the 24/7 top in state players list, I have no information if Michigan is interested in these guys)

-Mustafa Khaleefah from Dearborn, 6'6 282 pounds MSU commit.  No Michigan offer and mostly MAC offers outside of State.

-Larry Borom from Brother Rice, 6'5 338 pounds and a Mizzu commit.   Missouri seems to be his only offer, which is strange.

-Emani Mason from Detroit, 6'4 268 pounds has a Louisville and Cincinnati offer, is not committed anywhere and has taken an un-official to Ann Arbor a year ago.

-Robert Hudson from Walled Lake, 6'8 320 pounds committed to Iowa State, mostly MAC offers.

- Kelvin Ateman Jr. from Cass Tech, 6'5 300 pounds, committed to Toledo

All the above guys are 3 stars on 24/7 and probably too long of a shot to get an offer.

• WR Oliver Martin was planning a quick visit to Columbus this weekend and then cancelled it.   If he comes to Ann Arbor this weekend or week for a quick visit, I think Michigan has a fighting chance. 

• Jimmy will do an in-home with Nico Collins this week.

• RB commit O'Maury Samuels visited A2 this past weekend and seemed to have a good time.  Hopefully, he will stick with his commitment and sign on 2/1.

• Jimmy is expected to visit VA LB Ellis Brooks on Tuesday.

• Jimmy visited with Syracuse S commit Ifeatu Melifonwu at his basketball game on Saturday.   He is another guy that might visit and could be on flip watch.  Update: He will visit Ann Arbor on Tuesday.

• The rumor mill is spinning that Michigan is heading to Rome for a Spring Football trip.

• Update: Reports are Jeremy Clark isn't getting a 6th year and will now look to the NFL.  Michigan will have a very young secondary next year.  

Michigan Friday: Says Good Bye to Wyatt Shallman




Detnews

Wyatt was a local RB that just never could get on the field.   He will always be known for his rock and roll hair and his long list of injuries.   When Jimmy took over, many thought that Wyatt had found his role in a big powerful backfield at the Tailback or Fullback position.    It seems injuries kept him out of that role and now he is leaving A2 with his degree and one more year to play some football.   Maybe he will go Thomas Rawls on us or maybe he will play another year and then end up in the business world.   Either way, good luck to Wyatt and Rock On!

• Taco seems to be climbing up draft boards and might end up in the middle of the first round.  

• DeVeon Smith has impressed so much in the Shriners practice, he has been invited to the Senior Bowl.

• There is some "smoke" that Jimmy might give the RB role to a current member on the staff and hire another assistant.   There seems to be plenty of smoke around former Michigan assistant and current Indiana OL coach Greg Frey.

• Jimmy and Don Brown were out to see Kwity Paye this week.

• Aubrey Solomon will be announcing at his school on NSD at 9:45 AM

Michigan Thursday: Some Names A Bit Off The Radar

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In Jimmy's two past recruiting classes at Michigan, it seems he always pulls a few names out of a hat late in the process.   I will try to give us a few possibilities of guys that could pop in for a late visit and could join the 2017 class.

• 4 star RB Cordarrian Richardson from Tennessee is getting a visit from Jay Harbaugh.   He once was a Clemson commit.   Hopefully,  O'Maury Samuels will re-confirm his commitment to Michigan this weekend on his official visit.

• 4 star OG CJ Thorpe is not a surprise name as he has been talked about for a couple of a weeks.   He is a PSU commit and his dad played there.   He will visit A2 this weekend and Michigan will need to sell him pretty hard to re-consider his commitment.   Maybe they can show him a photo of the Michigan - PSU final scoreboard.   There is also a concern that Kai-Leon Herbert's commitment to Michigan is as soft as whip cream.

• 4 star LB Ellis Brooks has really wanted Michigan's attention for some time.   Willie Gay continues to be up in the air with his Michigan interest and qualification.  It's clear that Willie is the coaches first choice, but if Ellis visits and gets an offer, don't be surprised if he jumps at it.

• 3 star DB Ifeatu Melifonwu  is a Syracuse commit.   He is a 6'3 athlete that Michigan would be looking at for a DB role.  He played RB, WR and DB in high school and seems like a good athlete.    My man has 3 offers from Syracuse, UConn and BC.   His brother is a 4 year senior starter at Safety at UConn and might get drafted.  We know Don Brown loves tall DB's and he could come in as a CB or most likely a safety.    Michigan seems to really want another DB and Brandon Sebastian is now off the board as his visit was cancelled last weekend.   There are some thoughts that Brad Hawkins could play DB, but his WR highlights are tremendous.  Michigan has also re-started recruiting Oliver Martin, which could mean bad news on Nico (Georgia trending and the loss of Jedd) and Michigan taking an extra WR instead of a DB.  

This is going to be a fun two weeks.......

PS: Yes, I know that Crystal Balls keep trending to Michigan for Solomon.   I will believe this one when I see it. 

Wolverine Wednesday: As Aubrey Turns

Aubrey Solomon was once committed to the Wolverines.  Then Michigan sent him some mail, thanking him for visiting the Big House BBQ and miss spelled his last name.   He de-committed right after that mail arrived. 

Since then he has revisited Ann Arbor and brought his mom.   From all reports his mom loved Michigan and mostly Momma Gwen.   Michigan then started trending again for the 5 star talent. 

As it happens with most players, after any visit the player starts trending to that school.   During the recent All American game, Aubrey was telling many of the recruiting services that Alabama had a big lead in his recruitment.    He even was caught on video bashing Michigan with some Georgia commits.   He did apologize for that video.

In a strange turn, that video seemed to give Michigan some momentum in his recruitment as his mother seems strongly in the Wolverines camp and Sam Webb reported that Michigan is very much still in his recruitment. 

Then Jimmy brings his daughter on a visit to Aubrey and his family and his mom is quoted as saying "best visit ever".    Then some Georgia insiders start predicting he will end up a Michigan.

So Michigan is trending again for Aubrey?  Nope.

Aubrey said this about Alabama last night: "They still lead big, but not by a huge margin," Solomon, a former Michigan commit told 247 Sports. "I like the physicality they bring and their defense."

"It was different," Solomon told 247 Sports of the visit. "There was no football involved. We bowled two games. We took Go-karts around for one lap. We ate and then talked. They said they still want me and have a need at my position. They said there's no hard feelings and I'm still family."

He is either playing everyone or he is really headed to Alabama.   Which wouldn't surprise any of us.

• Pep Hamilton was out to see Oliver Martin who Michigan seems to be recruiting again.   If your wondering, Nico Collins is trending hard to Georgia now.   Martin is more of a slot and Collins is more of an outside guy, so they could take both if it came to that.  Keep an eye out to see if Martin takes an official to Ann Arbor before 2/1.

• Michigan could still be in play for Clemson OL transfer Jake Fruhmorgen.  He would have to sit out a transfer year.

• Reports are that Michigan defensive analyst Rick Finotti is leaving for the head coaching role at John Carroll University.

• Coach Hamilton was also out to see commit RB O'Maury Samuels yesterday and it seems he will also take his official this weekend as well.

Michigan Tuesday: Coach Wheat To The Jaguars

Detnews

We had questions yesterday that were answered later in the day.   Coach Wheat is now heading back to the NFL to coach Denard Robinson and the other Jacksonville Jaguars running backs.   Jacksonville doesn't have an OC, so maybe Coach Wheat's responsibilities will expand in his new role.   Mgoblog suggested yesterday that when Coach Wheat signed his contract to come back to Ann Arbor that is was only going to be a two year deal as he was looking to get back to the league. 

This is a loss for the Wolverines from a recruiting and a coaching stand point.  Michigan will have to look for new candidates pretty quickly.   Also get used to other programs and NFL teams fishing from Jimmy's pond.   This will happen every year. 

Good luck to Coach Wheat!

So who is next?  Mike Hart and Cass Tech head coach Thomas Wilcher are the obvious candidates.   Mike has coached RB's at Eastern and Western Michigan and is now at Syracuse.   He does have a bit of bad blood with Harbaugh that may or may not have been resolved.   There are also a few questions if he is a top recruiter.

There seems to be some "smoke" around the Thomas Wilcher "fire" coming to Ann Arbor.   We are not sure if Jimmy's interest is in the RB role or to join his non-coaching staff.  This would for sure check the Detroit recruiting box that would be lost from Coach Wheat.

• Jimmy, Don Brown, and Coach Partridge visited Aubrey Solomon yesterday.   Jimmy brought his daughter so he could play with Aubrey's sister.   Aubrey's mom called it the best visit ever!   Some Georgia insiders also added crystal balls to Michigan yesterday.   At this point, it seems to be an Alabama - Michigan race.   Still hard to believe after that video came out. 

• 4-star Penn State OG commit C.J. Thorpe is planning to visit Ann Arbor this weekend.  I wouldn't hold my breath on this one, CJ's father played at Penn State, though he did play with Michigan DB coach Mike Zorich, who did an in home visit with Coach Drevno last night.   We will see if Jimmy can flip this talented offensive lineman.

• If you didn't hear, the visit from Brandon Sebastian CB was cancelled last weekend.  Not sure which side cancelled or the reason.   Hopefully, this means that Michigan is going to fill his spot on one of the offensive or defensive lines.

Michigan Monday: What Is Going on With Coach Wheat?

desmoinesregister.com

One of the things Michigan fans loved when Jimmy was hired was that he brought in Michigan and Detroit legend Tyrone Wheatley as RB coach.  Coach Wheat's bigtime jobs were at Syracuse and the Buffalo Bills before he got to Ann Arbor.   During those roles he worked for head coach Doug Marrone, who is now the head coach at Jacksonville.

On Saturday night, news broke that Coach Wheat was going to be the next running backs coach for the Jaguars.  That report seems a bit premature as Sam Webb reports that he is looking at that job and other Power 5 roles.    Reports are that Coach Wheat interviewed for the Western Michigan head coaching job but Tim Lester was selected.

We also learned this weekend that Coach Wheat's contract expired last week.  So what is going on here?  I have a couple of thoughts:

1. This could be a negotiation tactic and Coach Wheat might want a larger role and more money at Michigan.   With Pep Hamilton, I don't believe there is a larger role currently on the Michigan staff.

2.  Maybe the coaching styles didn't mess and he was told to look around.

Either way, it seems like a strange situation as Coach Wheat is a very good recruiter and his son of course is still on the team. 

I hope he stays while he looks for a good OC or head coaching role. 

• Looks like David Dawson is transferring to Iowa State. 

• Michigan State picked up Pioneer 4 star LB Antjuan Simmons commitment this weekend.   They also offered Michigan RB commit Kurt Taylor.  Kurt fell to a two star recruit on Rivals.

• Yesterday was a good day for NFL Football,  I hate when officials are too involved in a football game.  During the first half of Cowboys - Packers game it looked like the officials had the Packers and the points.    The officials were also the difference in the Steelers - Chiefs game as well with the holding call on the two point conversion.  (which was probably the right call)

Michigan Friday: New Recruiting Board With Updates

Since Michigan picked up one guy from their board and lost one, it's time to update it for the final stretch before the 2/1 signing day.  


1) Aubrey Solomon - I hate to have him #1 after that video came out last week.  I didn't even include him on the board last time.   I still think Michigan has an up hill battle here but it seems his mom is strongly in Michigan's camp and was very upset over the video.   Recent crystal balls have been heading to Michigan and the Michigan coaches will visit him next week.   Aubrey plays a position of huge need and a 5 star player.   I'm still a little torn here and would be pleasantly surprised if he ended up in Ann Arbor.

2) Nico Collins - I also hate when Michigan is the leader for a guy for nearly a year.  It never seems to work out for us if they don't publically commit.   There are rumors Nico is a silent, but there were also the same rumors for OT Wilson.    Jimmy was scheduled to do his in home with Nico yesterday but the birth of his child opened the door for Coach Wheat and Drevno to make the visit.   Which means Jimmy still has his in home left.    The latest trends has Nico heading to Georgia, which is not a good sign.  

3) Willie Gay - Is a great LB and some believe he could step into the Peppers role next season.  There is a bit of buzz from Willie about LSU during Army week.  Michigan has a 4 star LB directly in their backyard who they aren't paying any attention to, so it's Willie or bust for this spot.  There could be some admission issues here as well and getting at guy out of Mississippi is not easily done.  Coach Partridge was expected to visit Willie yesterday.

4) Jay Tufele - This recruitment may still be open.  Jay would be a huge pick up at a position of need for the Wolverines.  Jay will take a few trips this month and probably will be a NSD decision.   Michigan will need to put the full court press here but it's going to be hard to pull him from out West.   Right now Michigan has zero crystal ball predictions on 24/7 which is not a great sign.  Coach Mattison was planning to visit Jay on Wednesday.

5) Mekhi Becton - Is a 6'7 345 pound OT prospect.  I think Jimmy would take Becton over another DB if that is an option.  They might take both! 

6) Brandon Sebastian CB who is currently committed to BC is visiting this weekend, if he has committable offer, he should jump on it this weekend.  

I wonder if Michigan will start recruiting Oliver Martin again if Nico starts looking like a lost cause.   Oliver is looking at MSU and ND right now and I think his heart is in Ann Arbor. 

Michigan needs a DT and missing out on both Jay and Aubrey seems to a very good possibility.    Like I have mentioned before, I hope they have a plan B for that position.    I actually don't feel very confident about any of the top 4 guys on the board.

• The Pep Hamilton hire is now official.   Michigan gained a Pep and lost a Pep this week.   I hope he passes his recruiting test and hits the trail today!

• In some what of a surprise move, it seems Wisconsin DC Justin Wilcox is the #1 candidate for the Head Coach job at CAL.

• The buzz around Coach Wheat and WMU has seemed to have died down.

• Clemson OT Jake Fruhmorgen has decided to transfer and may look at Michigan.  He was a 2015 recruit and will have to sit out a year.  I remember his name during that recruiting cycle, I also believe he took an un-official visit to A2.

Michigan Thursday: Will WMU Fish Out of Jimmy's Pond?

When I heard PJ Fleck was leaving for the Golden Gophers, my first thought was which Michigan assistants would interview for the Western job.   

It seems that Michigan has two assistants that are or could be in the interview circle.  

#1 is Tyrone Wheatley:  Coach Wheat is known as a great recruiter and RB coach.  He is a legend in Detroit, has NFL playing experience, and also coached in the NFL.   I think this would be an interesting choice but his lack of a coordinator role might make this jump to big of one.

#2 is Tim Drevno who of course is Michigan's OC and just signed a 5 year $1M a year contact with Michigan.  Tim has been up for other head coaching roles and I believe would be a serious candidate if Western interviews him.   I think Tim will leave Ann Arbor in a couple of years for a head coaching job anyway, so why not WMU?

Another guy I would have looked at is Pep Hamilton if I was making the decision for Western. With him taking the Michigan job (even though it hasn't been officially released), I think this is probably a long shot.

Western is a much better job now that they are ranked and just played in the Cotton Bowl.   I wouldn't be surprised if they paid a coach over $1M a year, which is pretty high for a MAC school.  

You would think Western would need to move fast with signing day a couple of weeks away, but it seems that are taking their time to make the right decision.

• Jimmy and his wife welcomed another child on Wednesday.  His name is John Harbaugh, which is obviously named after his famous Uncle.  Congratulations to coach and his entire family!

• Jimmy is visiting WR Nico Collins today and using his 1 and only in home visit.   Today is the first day after the dead period. 

• Michigan Basketball dropped another Big Ten game last night.  I have little to no interest in this team right now.