Gallon Completes His Work and Will Be a Wolverine

If you follow recruiting religiously, you knew that Michigan had 3 recruits from the 2009 class that were borderline making it academically. Justin Turner didn't walk with his senior class and it's believed he didn't take the Ohio HS exit exam seriously and didn't complete or failed one of the sections. Justin is a good student and it's hoped he can re-take the test and be in Ann Arbor sometime before August.

Second was a member of the all name team, Fitzgerald Toussaint a Ohio running back that took care of his issues late his senior year. So that leaves one super fast, slot WR from Florida Jeremy Gallon that needed to raise his GPA and get a couple of points on his ACT.

Mgoblog broke the story and I will let you read what JG had to say:

TOM: So, you qualified?
JEREMY: Yup.

TOM: What was the deciding factor?


JEREMY: I had to get a couple points on my ACT, and I had to boost my GPA. That was it mainly.

TOM: So that's all you needed to qualify?
JEREMY: Yup, Coach [Rod] Smith called me and said he had some good news. I checked the internet to see for myself, and I'm really happy.

TOM: So when are you going up to Ann Arbor?
JEREMY: Coach Smith is going to give me a call, and let me know. I just want to go up there and show everybody what I'm capable of.

That is good news. Now Justin needs to take care of his business (please Justin we need all the 5 star DB's we can get) and the Michigan Football Class of 2009 should be ready to go.

• Michael Rothstein, A Notre Dame Columnist will be covering the Wolverines Basketball and Football programs for annarbor.com or formerly known as the Ann Arbor News. I am heading up to Michigan and specifically to Ann Arbor to join the staff of AnnArbor.com. While there, I'll be leading the coverage of Michigan men's basketball and helping out with Michigan football. That should be a pretty big change for Michael, going from Charlie Weis to Rich Rod, Jimmy Clausen to Tate Forcier, No conference (in football) to The Big Ten. I guess his focus will be mainly on Basketball. I wonder if his Irish Insights have any "inside information" on what Good Time Charlie eats?

• Tony Jefferson, LB from California is trying to work out an official visit to Ann Arbor this summer.

• This maybe more then we can handle but: Zoltan Mesko is a Playboy All American and will appear in the September issue. Zoltan at the Playboy mansion, interesting.........

• Michigan recruiting brothers: Terry and Terrance Talbott from Huber Heights Wayne in Ohio. Terry is a heavily recruited DE and Terrance is a DB. Terry has offers from UCLA, Wisconsin, Purdue, Arkansas, UK, Illinois and others. Michigan has not offered either brother yet but they hope to take an unofficial to Ann Arbor this summer. Terry said, “They were really just saying they were interested, and they want me to come up there and take a look. It’s one school I definitely want to come up and check out ... and get a look at the Big House.”

• Michigan still needs Running Backs to fill out the 2010 class: The focus seems to be on three players: Livonia Stevenson’s Austin White (6-0, 186), Miami Central’s Brandon Gainer (6-0, 194) and Miami Booker T. Washington’s Eduardo Clements (5-10, 185). All three running backs has Michigan in their top 5. With the loses of Grady, Minor, and Brown next year, Michigan needs at least 3 running backs in the 2010 class. They currently have one with the commitment of Texas RB Stephen Hopkins.

• Per ESPN: MICHIGAN: Players report: Aug. 9, First practice: Aug. 10, First practice in pads: Aug. 14

New Grady to the Wolverines and Rumor Mill

Sorry for the non-post yesterday, I was under the weather.
Enough about me already lets get on with the show:

• One Grady in, One Grady out? The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Kelvin Grady former Michigan Basketball Point Guard and brother of recent inmate Kevin Grady, will join the Wolverines this Fall. Kelvin Grady, who played the past two years as a backup point guard on the Michigan basketball team, is expected to join the football team.
  By staying at U-M, Grady will be able to play immediately instead of sitting out a year as a transfer under NCAA rules. He will have three years of eligibility.Kelvin was an all state running back and had over 2000 rushing yards his senior year. Kevin was a 5 star running back out of Grand Rapids who last year had a DUI and this past month spent less then a week in jail for probation violations. It is unknown what Kevin's status with the team will be after last months violation. Coach Rod has said he will sit down with Kevin and discuss the facts before making a decision. Kelvin is expected to join the football team as a slot receiver. There isn't any problems with scholarships since RR and Staff have 5 left for next year with the recent transfers and the ones left over from the 2009 recruiting class.

• Ohio Offensive Lineman enjoys the BBQ and Commits to the Wolverines: Michigan picked up it's 12th verbal commitment to the 2010 class and first Offensive Linemen with the commitment of Christian Pace (6-3, 260 lbs.). Here is the write up from Varsity Blue:

Recruiting Notes:

Michigan fans have known about Pace for quite some time, as he was among the earlier offensive linemen offered post-signing day. He received an offer in early April, and almost immediately hit campus for the Wolverines’ spring game. Though he spoke effusively about his trip to Ann Arbor, a visit to Northwestern “wowed” him, so fans weren’t sure how sincere his interest in Michigan was. A return trip to the University of Michigan, however, sealed the deal. He went home without committing, but the premium sites mentioned that his timetable might accelerate considerably. Accelerate it did, and he phoned Rich Rodriguez today to share the good word.

Player Notes:

Pace is currently a little undersized for an offensive lineman, at just 260 pounds. However, he has a big frame, and will be able to pack on enough muscle to compete well at the college level. He is likely to be an interior line prospect with his height limiting his ability to play on the outside. Pace is very aggressive and nasty with his blocks, and shows an ability to get to the second level of defenders. His strength and technique are pretty good for a high school player, especially one with the low weight that he currently carries. When he teams up with Barwis upon arriving in Ann Arbor, he could be converted into a beast. One big knock on Pace is his pass protection. His high school apparently has a predominantly running scheme, and he’ll have to improve in protection. Pace is a 3-star prospect to both recruiting services.

• Two items of note from the Mgoblog Message Boards: 1- Is that Bill Martin tried to schedule Minnesota for the first game in 2010 to open the new Big House. The Golden Gophers declined. The game if played, would have been an un-official Big Ten game but the "Little Brown Jug" would have still been on the line. Bill also said, that the first game will be against a BCS School. 2-There is a nasty rumor floating around the Internet that 5 star DB and 2009 signed commitment Justin Turner is "iffy" to qualify this Fall. Justin is a very important recruit for the Wolverines, so let's hope he clears up any academic issues he might have.

• The Michigan Golf Team did well in Toledo and made it to the Semifinals before losing a "Heart breaker" to the eventual National Champions Texas A&M. Congrats to the Golf Team on a excellent year!

• The Michigan Softball Team started well in the College World Series beating Alabama before losing back to back games to Florida 1-0 and Georgia 7-5. Nice run Ladies and good luck next year!

• Braylon Edwards goes "yard" in batting practice with the Cleveland Indians.

Larry Raper Is Not Coming to Ann Arbor

Many believed that Michigan might use one of it's 2-3 remaining scholarships for 2009 on former Clemson commit Larry Raper. Larry is a 5"10 165 lbs. athlete from Shelby North Carolina with break away speed but was rumored to have some grade/test issues. The Michigan coaching staff had some "thoughts" of Larry playing CB for the Wolverines.

Larry put all the speculation to rest today and signed with North Carolina A&T. I'm guessing that Michigan wasn't really seriously interested in Larry and did not offer him. Larry had offers from Toledo and South Carolina State.

Another Preferred Walk On at Michigan

The BHB is starting to be the place where you get all your Michigan Wolverine walk-on news.

Coach Rodriguez has found another walk-on he would like to add to next years team. It's Fullback Calvin Smith from Joliet Catholic Academy in Illinois.

Smith is 6-2, 235 and rushed for 537 yards for an average of 5.5 yards per carry.

Now, Smith is planning to enroll in at least one class this summer so that he can participate in Michigan's summer workouts.

"I'd like to get on special teams next season and maybe get a chance to play in goal line situations," he said

My $.02 on walk-on's: I love the idea of a preferred walk-on coming to Michigan, it gives the team depth, but it also gives the team the ability to practice with a higher number of players. One of RR's comments this past year was, Michigan was doing a lot of good things on Monday - Friday that wasn't showing up on Saturday. Maybe having more kids at practice will allow Michigan the ability to practice at a different level and close the Saturday gap.

This policy also gives kids a chance to "live the dream" and put on the winged helmet in front of 110,000 fans on a Fall Saturday. Now that is something they can tell their grandchildren about!
I'm very much in favor of this new policy and hope it gardeners a "diamond in the rough"!

Je'Ron is Blue

Today has been a good day, a couple of losses but some huge pick ups as well. The latest is 4 star WR, Army All American, Je'Ron Stokes!

Welcome to Ann Arbor!!!

Je'ron Stokes is a 6"1, runs 4.4 and is ranked the 14th WR in class by Rivals. He had orginally commited to Tennesse but changed his mind after the coaching change.

This is a huge pick up and after the decommitment of Bryce McNeal during the fall. Many believe Stokes to be a better WR then McNeal.

Big Recruiting Weekend On Tap For The Wolverines

With many teams coming back from Thanksgiving holiday or getting ready for their Conference Championship or starting practice for a bowl game: The Michigan Football program can focus on the future and work the recruiting trial long and hard.

One of the most important things about recruiting is getting kids on campus "to drink the kool-aide" and get a feel for the program and academics. There are 6 or 7 official visit weekends left between now and signing day (there is a 2 week dead period around the holiday's). This weekend will be an very important one for the remaining spots in this years class. Michigan needs to fill holes in the Offensive Line and in the defensive backfield.

Here are some of the recruits that are scheduled to come in this weekend:

• "Big" Will Campbell, the 5 star DE. RR visited all the Cass Tech players at school this week. Big Will has made recent visits to both Alabama and LSU. Might still visit Miami and USC. The Miami coaches were in town to visit with him this week as well. I think Big Will made all of Michigan home games this year.
• Teric Jones- Cass Tech and Michigan commit
• Thomas Gordon- Cass Tech and Michigan commit
• Fitzgerald Touissant-Michigan commit
• Isaiah Bell-Michigan commit
• Justin Turner-Michigan commit
• Donovan Tate - MLB potential draftee and tentative for this weekend (update 12/2: Tate commits to North Carolina)

Snake Oil Alert for the following visitors:

• Junior College defensive end Pernell McPhee of Mississippi is committed to Mississippi State
• Jamal Patterson, WR Stanford commit
• Je’Ron Stokes, WR and Tennessee commit is also tentative for this weekend

The weekend after could also be big with the following recruits coming to A2:

• Four-star offensive tackle Taylor Lewan.
• Mike Jones of Orlando - Michigan commitment
• Brendan Gibbons Michigan commitment
• North Carolina cornerback commitment Josh Hunter

Those That Come Early Will Be Champions

Soon to be Freshman Tate Forcier

Question: What is one way to take the suspense out of signing day in February?

Answer: To enroll in January.

My theme for the Michigan program since the Northwestern loss is for potential recruits to enroll early at Michigan to get a jump on preparing for next year. Last year Michigan only had one recruit enroll early at that was Texas WR Darryl Stonum and he saw significant playing time. This year is very critical since Michigan is expected to play two Freshman quarterbacks next year.

Recruits that arrive early will get the benefit of Mike Barwis strength and conditioning program, un-scheduled practices that are run by the players, and Spring Ball. It's a huge advantage to have Freshman in early when you are re-building a program that lacks depth at many positions. Reports are that Michigan could only have 19 scholarship players on defensive return next year. That is a scary thought when you talk about depth on a defense.

So now on to the good news: Thanks to my friends at Mgoblog, here are the list of potential recruits that could enroll early. The names in Blue have recently confirmed that they are scheduled to be on campus at the end of December:

• Tate Forcier, QB
• Mike Jones, Safety
• Brandin Hawthorne, LB
• Vincent Smith, RB
• Vladimir Emilien, Safety
• Shavodrick Beaver, QB
• Will Campbell (recent de-commit but still considering U of M)
• Anthony LaLota, DE

Michigan Defensive Tackles: Gain One - Lose One

Michigan received it's 19th verbal commitment to the class of 2009 from Defensive Tackle Pearlie Graves (6-3, 260) from Tulsa East Central High School in Oklahoma. Which is good news because Michigan lost another player off the current roster Jason Kates. Jason is 6"2 and 336 pounds and has struggled with his weight. He didn't even sniff playing time this year, so with a good Freshman class coming in next year, Jason decided to pack it up and leave the team. Kates was a Sophomore and was rated 4 stars from Rivals and 2 from Scout. Let's hope "Big Will" Campbell is part of that great Defensive Line class of 2009.

Now on to the particulars for Pearlie via Varsity Blue as always:

Player Notes:

Graves plays primarily defensive end in high school, and that is where the recruiting sites list him. However, he has a big frame, and with a college-level strength and conditioning program, he will likely move to defensive tackle. He will likely end up as a penetrator who is more of a speedy defensive tackle than Big Ten fans are accustomed to.

Recruiting Notes:

Graves was offered by Michigan in the summer, and the Wolverines immediately became one of his favorite schools. He took his visit to Ann Arbor this fall, and went home raving about his time there, particularly the academic support. Graves's stock has been rising lately, with several programs offering him scholarships recently. He picked Michigan over Oklahoma State and others.

Graves is rated a 4 star prospect from Rivals.

Michigan's 2009 "great names" recruiting class includes:

• Shavodrick Beaver


• Fitzgerald Toussaint


• DeQuinta Jones


• Pearlie Graves

Michigan Basketball Off and Running.............

I'm sure most of you might have missed that the Michigan Basketball team won their first two games of the season the last two nights. They started with a win over D2 Michigan Tech and beat a decent Northeastern team last night with 5 returning starters by 20 points 76-56.

Michigan two early wins equals 20% of their entire win total from last year. From watching most of the first two games, the team looks young, athletic, can shoot the 3, and plays a pretty mean 1-3-1 zone on defense.

As a Michigan basketball fan we haven't had much to cheer about since the days of Robert Traylor and haven't even sniffed the NCAA tournament in what seems like 20 years. But this team is worth watching and supporting. They won't be great, but they will be competitive and fun to watch. You can really see Coach Beilein's system starting to work with open 3's and lay ups on the offense and a suffocating zone on the defensive side. Manny Harris is on the verge of becoming a super star with 30 points against Michigan Tech and following that performance up with nearly a triple double by scoring 26, getting 10 boards, with 8 assists against Northeastern.

Michigan now earns a trip to Madison Square Garden in the Coaches vs Cancer tournament to play UCLA with the winner potentially meeting Duke in the final. So, Yes the win streak will be short lived but this is a team is starting to come together. They most likely won't make the tournament, but they are close to being something special in a year or two.

Also, don't forget that LL Perry a highly recruited player from Flint who transferred to Michigan from Arizona last year will be eligible to play in a couple of weeks and still has all of his Freshmen eligibility left.

There are some good things brewing in Crisler Arena these days. Head over there and take a whiff.

Recruiting Update: Wednesday was an all around good day for the Michigan Basketball Program. They earned their second win of the season and had 4 recruits sign their National Letter of Intent to join the Wolverines next year. The four Michigan signees include: point guard Darius Morris, shooting guard Matt Vogrich, power forward Blake McLimans, and center Jordan Morgan.

Update from UMHoops.com on the class of 4: Overall it’s a solid and balanced class that will fit in nicely with the current squad. Darius Morris is hopefully the difference maker that Michigan needs at point guard. Vogrich has been called one of the best shooters in the country by numerous publications and gives Michigan yet another weapon from long range. Blake McLimans is a versatile and skilled big man who picked up lots of late interest. And finally Jordan Morgan is a guy who can bang and adds depth to the post.

Update from Rivals on the class:

• Morgan, a Detroit Free Press Class A All-State honorable mention selection last year, has been a three-year starter at Detroit Jesuit High School. Morgan has earned All-Catholic honors each of the past two seasons and is a McDonald's All-American team nominee. He averaged 13.0 points and 10.0 rebounds as a junior and was invited to the 2008 NBA Players Top 100 Camp.


• McLimans, now at Worcester (Mass.) Academy after three years at Hamburg, averaged 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 3.0 assists per game.


• Morris, a three-year starter at Windward High School in Los Angeles will begin his senior season averaging 20.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He was named to the 2008 All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division 3AA first team.


• Vogrich, a 2008 all-state honorable mention selection, has averaged 16.7 points and 6.5 rebounds during his career. He has twice earned All-North Suburban Conference first team honors while playing at Lake Forest High School.
  

Darius Morris is the highest rated commit of the class with 4 stars, 14th point guard in the nation, and overall the 71st player in Rivals top 150.

Did Michigan win off the field on Saturday?

Time will tell, but most of the feedback has been positive from Michigan's big recruiting weekend:

• “My favorite part was the game, the stadium and the fans,” said Pahokee, Fla., running back and verbal commit Vincent Smith who was one of the eight official visitors. “When I was walking down the tunnel and the team came out, that really rattled me. It was more than I expected.”
• (many have wondered if Texas QB commit Shavodrick Beaver has been looking around) “The record doesn’t bother me because I know what the potential is for this team,” Beaver commented. “The future looks real bright right now.”
• For Travis Bond, a 6-foot-7, 330-pound offensive tackle from North Carolina, what stood out most during his official visit was learning about Michigan’s academics and how players juggle their practice schedule with studies.
• Titusville, Fla., wide receiver Willie Haulstead said the opportunity for early playing time was what caught his attention the most.
• Lauderhill (Fla.) Plantation teammates Vladimir Emilien and Josh Robinson were hosted by Brandon Smith and Kenny Demens. “They were pretty cool because they were 18 and 19 years old, and it was just fun to be around them,” said Emilien, a 6-foot-1, 186-pound safety prospect. “Brandon Smith, he's real cool. I had a blast with him. He's hilarious, so we got along real well," added the 6-0, 180-pound Robinson, a wide receiver recruit.
• The rumor mill is saying that top 10 recruit for the 2010 class 5 Star Safety Marvin Robinson made a silent commitment this weekend. That same rumor mill thinking is that the Michigan coaches don't want to discourage Vladimir Emilien from signing with Michigan in the 2009 Class.
• Michigan verbal WR/CB commit Dewayne Peace from Texas, said it was cold in Michigan.

____________

• Even John Beilein earned a basketball commitment over the weekend from Big Man Blake McLimans. Blake is 6"10 power forward and needs to put on some weight.

  “He’s a very intriguing kid,” Worcester coach Ed Riley told Scout.com. “He’s 6-foot-10 ½ and he weighs about 212. He’s a little on the thin side. He’s not your typical high school or AAU product. He was a 3-sport athlete in a small high school. He’s fundamentally sound, knows how to play basketball. He can do lefty-righty, runs and has a high motor. He plays at a guard pace.”
  

Is Saturday's Game More Important on the Field or Off?

In what could end up being one of the most important weekends for Michigan in the next 7 years, Michigan has a unique opportunity to succeed this Saturday.

As we know, Michigan and Michigan State are playing their version of "Big Brother" in Ann Arbor at 3:30. As the game is important for all the regular reasons like; bragging rights, which coach will get their first win against their in-state rival, does Michigan have a shot at the Motor City Bowl, has MSU started their predictable October slide, etc.

What could be more important then the Motor City Bowl you ask? Well..........

Michigan is hosting somewhere in the area of 20+ recruits this weekend. There are high school Seniors, Juniors, and even Sophomores coming to Ann Arbor this weekend to meet and greet the new staff and watch Michigan take on Michigan State.

Thanks to MGOBLOG here are visitors that are planning on attending this weekend:

Tate Forcier ’09 QB Commit
Shavodrick Beaver ’09 QB Commit (Injury, might not come)
Vlad Emilien ’09 DB
Travis Bond ’09 OL
Nu’Keese Richardson ’09 WR
Willie Haulstead ’09 WR
Anthony LaLota ’09 Commit DE
DeWayne Peace ’09 Commit WR
Josh Robinson ’09 ATH
Vincent Smith ’09 RB Commit
Donavan Tate ’09 ATH
Christian Lombard ’10 OL
Brennan Clay ’10 RB
Demetrius Hart ’09 RB
Jeremy Jackson ’10 WR Commit
Ricardo Miller ’10 WR Commit
Marvin Robinson ’10 S/ATH
Lo Wood ’10 CB

(Scouts is saying there will be 25 visitors, so there are probably a few more attending)

As you can see with this amount of kids coming in this really could have a big effect on The Class of 2009, 2010, and even 2011. There is even a strong possibility that 5 Star Marvin Robinson for the class of 2010 might verbal commit on the spot.

Some of these visits are official and some are not "official" but it really doesn't matter. Michigan needs to lock the 09 class (as locked as verbals can be) and really keep the momentum going on the OSU like start they have had with the 2010 class.

Since we are in a re-building process these classes will give us the talent for the future which we all are planning on being golden with a number of National Championship runs.

A win on the field will help but maybe the more important win will come in the minds and hearts of these gentlemen and parents.

Easy Come, Easy Go: Recruitng News

• Bryce McNeal, a 4 star WR from Minnesota has decided to de-commit from his verbal and take some visits and consider some other schools including; Minnesota, Colorado, Florida, and Cal. So what does this mean for the Wolverines? not much at this point. McNeal is a highly rated recruit and Michigan fans would love to have him in the fold next year but there is a ton of time before signing day and he could either re-commit or Michigan can go find another WR to replace him. We also have two very "committed" WR' s coming in 2010. Look for Bryce to get a lot of pressure to stay in-state for the new and improved Gophers.
• Michigan are long shots for highly touted WR's: Shaquelle Evans and Rueben Randle. Long shots yes, but we still have a shot!
• Rumors were circling that maybe Clemson was interested in Coach Rod for their head coaching position. Like Clemson is a better job then Michigan? Ridiculous. BTW: He is still paying to get out of his WVU contract.
• Tajh Boyd a 5 star QB just recently de-committed from WVU. There are currently no plans for him to take a trip to Michigan, but it could be interesting. Would it be possible for Michigan to have 4 different dual threat QB's verbally committed at one time or another this year?
• Lots of positing going on in the 2009 class at many schools. With poor play and coaches being let go or fired on a weekly basis. We will see a ton of kids de-commit and look at other schools.
• The rumor wire is saying that USC was interested in "Big Will" Campbell but believe he is going to Michigan. That is some good news!
• Sam Montgomery, a 4-star DE out of Greenwood HS (SC) has Michigan on his final list of schools.

___________________

• For those of you that follow the NFL: Steve Breaston is playing some good football for the Cardinals and just scored his first receiving NFL touchdown against the Cowboys on Sunday. I watched the game and Stevie made some nice catches. Well done!
• Seems Braylon Edwards might have lost a bet. If I'm not mistaken he had on a Penn State shirt last night doing an interview for MNF. BTW: Braylon had a pretty good game as well!

Basketball News (are you kidding me?)

Nope! After a week of flying high by beating an over rated Wisconsin team, Michigan got pulled back to earth after a too healthy serving of "Juice" on Saturday. I guess Mom was right, when she said, "If you drink too much Juice, you will get sick".

Is it basketball season yet? No this isn't Indiana, Kentucky, or even Iowa. It's Michigan and there is another important rebuilding process going on in Ann Arbor and it starts with John Beilein's ability to recruit, which by the way was one of the question marks when Michigan hired him.

This weekend Michigan picked up it's 3rd verbal commit for the class of 2009 from Matt Vogrich. Matt is 6"3 shooting guard from Lake Forrest, Illinois. He is rated the #131 player in the nation with 3 stars from Rivals, and #100 with 4 stars from Scout. He picked Michigan over Stanford, Notre Dame, UCLA and others. (Yes, I said UCLA).

This is a very good pick up for Michigan and it's basketball staff. Matt joins the 2009 class with point guard Darius Morris and center/forward Jordan Morgan. All 3 recruits are highly rated by both recruiting services.

Matt on why he picked Michigan: (for more on Matt check out umhoops)

“I really love the Beilein family. He is a family oriented guy, and when he took me to his house to have dinner with his family I told him (that I wanted to commit),” Vogrich said. “His wife and kids were there, and the whole team was there too. After dinner he brought me aside and asked me how I felt. I told him I was coming to Michigan. He was really excited and he just stood up and shook my hand.”

Old News: Thomas Gordon picks Wolverines over Spartans

Athlete Thomas Gordon from Cass Tech picked Michigan as his college of choice and has become the 19th verbal commit for the class of 2009 this past Friday. Thomas is currently Cass Tech's QB but will most likely play Safety at Michigan. The important side note to this commit is now two of William Campbell's teammates are committed to the Wolverines (Jones and Gordon). I think there is a high probability that William re-commits to Michigan later this Fall.

As always here is the write up on Thomas from VB:

Recruiting Notes: Gordon made it no secret from the get-go that the Wolverines were his favorite school, and spent much of the recruiting cycle waiting for his offer. He attended Michigan's camp with his teammates Teric Jones and Will Campbell this summer, but his performance did not earn him that coveted offer. Gordon became a more serious prospect for Michigan later, as more schools began to offer. Thomas attended Michigan State's game last weekend on a visit, where the Spartans gave him an offer. Shortly thereafter, Michigan followed suit, but Gordon chose to not immediately end his recruitment, giving respect to those that had offered him earlier. Gordon scheduled his announcement for September 26th, and despite a few changes to that schedule, he went with his heart on that date, picking the Wolverines.

Player Notes: Gordon is the starting QB for Cass Tech High School, but wasn't deemed worthy of an offer at that position. When he attended college summer camps in 2008, several coaching staffs requested that he work out at the safety position. Though his performance didn't garner any big-time offers, it did pique the interest of Rich Rodriguez and company. 2 games into the 2008 Cass Tech season, the coaches were convinced he could contribute at safety. He will be a DB at Michigan, though he would also be capable of playing QB in an emergency. Gordon is given two stars by Scout, though Rivals deems him worthy of the third star. He is a high-upside guy who might see his ranking increase, since he has only been playing safety for a half season.

State of the Union: Recuiting Class 2009

When Michigan started recruiting this class they had less then 20 spots available for the 2009 class. Michigan is currently at 18 spots which hits that number. Michigan has lost two high profile freshman linebackers to being homesick and a clearing house issue. So the number should be somewhere above 20 at this point.

Since we are close to being closed out with verbal commitments for this class, I thought this was a good time to check on if the Michigan coaching staff filled needs and how quickly these guys can contribute to Michigan's success in 2009. Let's take a look position by position:

Defensive Line: DE was a major need for this class. Michigan has whiffed on this spot in the last two classes. Michigan has had a wonderful week getting commitments from two high profile 4* guys: Anthony LaLota and Craig Roh. DeQuinta Jones another 4* is also verbally committed to the Wolverines from La. William Campbell de-committed to the Wolverines a few weeks ago because, he wanted to take trips across the US to LSU, Miami, and USC. The buzz is that he is still a soft verbal to Michigan and will end up Blue. If he does, this area has been a huge success for this class. Expect: William to play right away, Craig , DeQuinta, and Anthony needs some Barwis love but most likely will see some time in the rotation.

Offensive Line: Is a minor need for this class, with the loss of Boren and it became a little more major. Michigan only has one commit on the offense line for this class 4* Michael Schofield. I would expect Michael to redshirt for 09 unless there is a ton of injuries. Michigan could also use one more O lineman with the few spots remaining. Hopefully it's a highly rated one.

Line Backer: LB was not at all a position of need with 5 highly rated LB's in the 2008 class and then "poof" we lose two in one month. So it's becoming a higher need and we have two 3* guy on the board right now. Jordan Barnes and Brandin Hawthorne are speed guys that RR likes on his defense and for sure won't see time in 09 unless something really goes wrong. We could use another LB in this class but would would prefer we get the higher priority positions first. Look for another commit this year only if the LB is very highly rated, if not they seem to be done at LB.

DB's: Every year (like the OL) we need to recruit a few good DB's. A this year is no exception to that rule. The highest rated recruit is 4* Justin Turner out of Ohio who is predicted to play safety, I expect Justin to play in 09 with the troubles we have seen at that position in 08. Mike Jones and Isaiah Bell are 3* guys who look to be special team'ers in 09 while they learn the position or redshirters. Bell is in ESPN's top 100 even though the other services consider him 3*. I expect one more DB in this class and it's most likely Athlete/Safety Thomas Gordon from Cass Tech a team mate of Teric Jones and William Campbell.

Running Backs: The buzz around this class (until lately) was that RR and staff were only recruiting 3* fast little buggers. Sure, Michigan needs them but what about the Dline and the Oline? We the Dline should be set and we could use one more on the Oline. But we need these fast RB/Slot guys as well. Here is a list of all the fast RB/Slot guys in this class:

Jeremy Gallon 5'8 165 4*
Teric Jones 5'8 185 3*
Fitzgerald Toussaint 5'10 185 4*
Vincent Smith 5'6 159 3*

Wow! 4 fast guys under 6"0 in this class. With the line up currently at RB and Slot we really don't need anymore running backs in this class. We will have to see if these guys can make an impact in practice, if they do they will play. If they don't they will sit. Best guess 1/2 will see time the others will see Red.

QB: The largest need for the Wolverines in 09 was a couple of dual threat guys that could run RR's offense and Run in RR's offense. Michigan has actually had 3 top QB's commit with Kevin Newsome de-committing. Both Tate Forcier and Shavodrick Beaver are top 4* QB's with a ton of upside potential. Tate is a bit more polished with his QB skills due to his private QB coach etc and The Beaver is more of an athlete that can make plays with his feet. If I was a beating man, I would think Tate see's more snaps in 09 with his high accuracy and QB skills, while The Beaver meets Barwis and adds some weight to his frame. They both might see action if Threet goes in the tank this year.

WR: We always need good WR and have allot of young guys on the team right now, so not a huge need but really need to see some guys with size that can cause some miss matches with the DB's in the Big Ten. We got two of those guys in this class with the highest rated being 4* Bryce McNeal out of Minnesota and a camp offer DeWayne Peace out of Texas. Both guys are over 6 foot and should be nice additions, I see Bryce getting some snaps in 09.

A Kicker? I love that we went out and found a good kicker and put him on scholarship. I never like how Carr recruited or didn't recruit this position. Anthony Fera will be a Wolverine and if he can kick it through the uprights, he should get some time.


Overall: I really like this class and think it's top 10 worthy. If William comes back and we get a surprise highly ranked guy it could easily be a top 5 class. Michigan filled it's need positions very well on the DLine and at QB. With the few spots left, I would like to see a 4* Offensive Lineman, DB, WR, or LB. That would round off the class very nicely. I'm guessing if you include William and Thomas Gordon, Michigan may have one or two spots left open for 09.


Here is my projected playing time scale:

Blue is he will see the field in 09
Orange is he could see time in 09 if he impresses in camp
Red means most likely a redshirt

Craig Roh is a Wolverine

Highly touted Defensive End Craig Roh (6-5, 230) has become Michigan's 18th commitment for the class of 2009. This is the second DE in a week to commit to the Wolverines.

As always here are the particulars from VB:

Player Notes:

Roh has great measurements for the defensive end position, though he will likely need to add weight with Mike Barwis to become a fixture along the defensive front. Roh is a high-energy player with excellent speed for a lineman. He was on Jim Stefani's early list of prospects that Michigan should pursue. He is a tweener-type, though not the bad kind: he can play either a pass-rushing or run-stopping role from the defensive end spot, though if he specializes in one or the other, he could become a more intimidating player. It is expected that he will stay at the weakside (pass-rushing) end position. Roh has been selected for the ESPNU All-Star game, which certainly puts him among the top prospects in the country. He is considered a 4-star to both Rivals and Scout.

Recruiting Notes: Roh is originally from Michigan, and still has family in the Mitten. Roh's family takes vacations in West Michigan each summer, so he is familiar with the area. He was extended a scholarship offer early in the recruiting cycle (though perhaps not early enough for some who follow recruiting to be satisfied), and expressed a lot of interest in Michigan. He visited Ann Arbor multiple times in a single week around the Fourth of July, the second visit to ensure he could meet with headman Rich Rodriguez. The visit did not result in a commitment, but not too long after, he narrowed to a top five list of several West Coast schools and Michigan. Roh then set up an official visit to Ann Arbor for the Wolverines' opening tilt against Utah. Following the visit, Craig gave the standard "I was blown away" lip service, but indicated that he would not commit to Michigan until after giving the USC Trojans a chance. His official visit to the Coliseum for Southern Cal's win against Ohio State never came to fruition, and instead he took an unofficial visit to Arizona State last weekend. On Tuesday, he announced that he would make his college choice on Tom Luginbill's ESPNU show Thursday night. When it came time to reveal his decision, Craig picked the Michigan Wolverines.

Thursday Big House News and Notes

• Hopefully good news coming: Tonight at 6:30 on ESPN U another top DE is announcing his decision. Phoenix DE Craig Roh rated #67 player in the nation will make his choice known.
• Offensive lineman Matt Couch (Camp Hill, Pa./East Pennsboro) 6-foot-2, 265-pound center is hoping for a Michigan offer. He is hearing from Penn State, PITT, BC, Vandy and Sanford, but only has an offer from Navy. Matt visited Michigan for the Utah game.
• Dion Simms a TE and maybe a basketball recruit will attend this weeks, MSU - ND game. Dion is one of the highest rated instate recruits still on the board. He prefers basketball but is a better football player. Right now I don't think Michigan has a huge interest even though they have a offer out to him.
• Barkevious Mingo (6-5, 210, 4.55) Safety, says he is sporting a Michigan offer. He most likely will play for a Southern school.
• Zoltan is on the Ray Guy watch list

Yes! We Finally got a Defensive End

Michigan's biggest needs in the 2009 recruiting class are QB (we have two verbally committed) and Defensive End. As we all know there has been allot of traction on the QB recruitment, but not so much on the DE side of things. Until last night, when 4 star by Rivals and 5 Star by Scout Defensive End/Offensive Tackle Anthony LaLota verbally committed to becoming a Wolverine. Anthony is Michigan's 17th verbal commitment for the 2009 class.

Anthony is from Princeton, NJ and is 6"5 260 and rated as the top prospect out of NJ this year. Anthony had offers from all the big programs including Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, etc. His top choices including Penn State and Michigan.

Not sure if Anthony prefers "tony" or not, but I know of one famous "Tony" from NJ!

Tony is a top prospect as an Offensive Tackle and Defensive End, which are two spots Michigan has large holes in. RR has made it clear to Tony that he has been recruited at DE, where Terry Bowden compared him to Chris Long after watching his recruiting video. (that is pretty good praise).

I expect Tony to get with Mr. Barwis as soon as he hits campus and competes for at least a backup role at DE next year. Michigan now has one DE and needs at least on more, the recruiting vibe on AZ DE Craig Roh remains good and former Michigan recruit DE Nick Perry who signed with USC may now be available after having a ClearingHouse issue.

Update: Nick Perry was cleared by the ClearingHouse and will join USC on Tuesday.

Recruits and Misc info..........

*programing note: the ND preview will be posted this afternoon.

I watched some of the Texas High School game last night`on ESPN 2 mostly because it featured Michigan recruit and 4 Star QB Shavodrick Beaver. I was impressed by his size, looks to have a good arm, and has nice escape-ability skills. He looks a little thin and needs to meet Mike Barwis as soon as he gets to campus. With the non-transfer of Mike Cox the Beaver - Cox backfield in future years at Michigan looks like a strong possibility.

Seems Michigan may get some news on the recruiting trail regarding one of their top position needs with a few DE's announcing soon. Five-star defensive end Anthony LaLota will make his college announcement tonight at 8:00. Michigan is in the running and hopefully he chooses to Go Blue.

Phoenix area defensive end Craig Roh has Michigan on his short list but will be visiting USC this weekend for the Crash in Compton.

Also in an interesting side note, Nick Perry's future at USC maybe decided today. It seems Nick had a clearing house issue and was not admitted to USC this fall. If you remember, Nick Perry was a highly touted DE from Detroit that choose USC over Michigan on signing day.

USC recruit Nick Perry is appealing a course grade to the NCAA Clearinghouse for approval but must be certified by Friday or he will be unable to enroll this semester. Perry, a highly regarded defensive end from Detroit, would need to be cleared and fly out to Los Angeles on Friday for any chance to be on the football team this season. Venice tailback Curtis McNeal is in a similar situation. USC officials are trying to get the pair cleared by but uncertain over the prospects. USC hopes Perry and McNeal will try to enroll in the spring semester if they are not cleared but they would be free to go to other colleges

My take on William Campbell

Many of you that follow the Wolverines know that this weekend 5 star recruit William Campbell de-committed. William is a 5 star defensive tackle and rated #17 by Rivals overall. William plays at Detroit Cass Tech and is 6-foot, 5-inch, 317-pounds.

This news does not come as a big surprise since he has always said he wanted to take a few trips and see what is out there. His top 3 schools show Michigan, USC, and Miami. He already has an official set up with Miami and he took an un-official to Michigan on Saturday for the game against the Redhawks.

A reason to worry: All 17 year old kids second guess themselves and wonder what it might be like to play for USC or Miami in a warm climate. It's never good to give Pete Carroll at shot at your recruits. Nick Perry from last year is a perfect example. Except Nick didn't qualify and his spot at USC is now very much in question. (Nick wouldn't have qualified at Michigan either)

Reasons not to worry:

• Cass Tech is coached by former Wolverine running back Thomas Wilcher


• William's teammate from last year Boubacar Cissoko is on Michigan's roster


• William's current teammate Teric Jones has verbally committed to Michigan next year


• This just in: Thomas Gordon from Cass Tech (athlete - most likely will play Safety or CB in college), who has publicly said he wanted a Michigan offer, just received one.


• William has always said he was going to take some official visits but will end up at Michigan

So to net it out, I think this is a kid that would like to see Miami Beach and LA before he makes his official commitment. He also plans on graduating early and enrolling in January. Like I said, it's never good to give Pete a shot at one of your recruits, but I believe William will want his family to see him play every home game in Ann Arbor.