Wednesday, September 10, 2008

2010 Recruiting Update

New (9/10): RB Corey Brown offer; OL Matt James; OL Seantrel Henderson; LB Jewone Snow; CB Dior Mathis offer.

QUARTERBACKS
PlayerHometownHigh SchoolOffer?
CompetitionLinks
Robert Bolden
Orchard Lake, MI
St. Mary's Prep
No
MSU, CMU, Vandy, OSU, ND
MSU offer
Devin Gardner
Inkster, MI
Inkster
Yes
MSU, OSU, Cincinnati, ND
MSU offer; UM offer ($); GW 40-yd TD in season opener
Cornelius Jones
Spartanburg, SC
Spartanburg
Yes
None yet
UM offer

Editorial: With Shavodrick Beaver and one other duel-threat QB coming in with the 2009 class (likely Tate Forcier), the need for a top flight scrambler is diminished. But both Gardner and Bolden are big-time instate prospects for 2010, and both fit the spread 'n' shred to a tee. Bolden receiving an offer is a foregone conclusion, and it would be quite a downer if Michigan failed to snag either of the instate guys.

RUNNING BACKS
PlayerHometownHigh SchoolOffer?
CompetitionLinks
Austin White
Livonia, MI
Stevenson
Yes
MSU, ND, Wisconsin
Camped at ND; UM and MSU offers ($)
Nick Hill
Chelsea, MI
Chelsea
No
MSU, EMU, CMU, Stanford, ND

Corey Brown
Springfield, PA
Cardinal O'Hara
Yes
PSU, OSU, Pitt, Maryland, Illinois, Rutgers
Offers galore; Michigan offer

Editorial: Early opinion on White has him as possibly the best player in the state next year. Bad news: he has deep, deep Spartan lineage, and is probably going there. Not much non-premium info is available on Hill yet. 2010 RB Corey Brown is not to be confused with 2009 WR/CB Corey Brown from Gateway HS, who has already committed to Ohio State.

WIDE RECEIVERS
PlayerHometownHigh SchoolOffer?
CompetitionLinks
Ricardo Miller
Orlando, FL
Dr. Phillips
*Yes
OSU, USF, Tennessee, PSU, others
UM leads ($); Offer coming soon/mom loves UM (and went there!)
Jeremy Jackson
Ann Arbor, MI
Huron
Yes
Florida, Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, etc.
RB coach Fred Jackson's son; Recruiting Planet links

Editorial: Miller is expected to be a bigtime recruit from Florida for 2010, the high 4-star kind. Early buzz on Jackson is that he has top 100 potential. Jackson is also one of the most frequent visitors at Michigan practices, which is natural since his dad is a coach there. In the latest story from the Recruiting Planet link, it gives meat of a Rivals article in which Jackson says he won't pick a school simply because his dad coaches there, and he may want to go out of state after living in Michigan all his life. This is somewhat concerning, but since Jackson's timetable has him deciding on a school after his junior season, nothing is in stone yet.


OFFENSIVE LINE
PlayerHometownHigh SchoolOffer?
CompetitionLinks
Christian Lombard
Barrington, IL
Fremd
Yes
ND, Illinois, Iowa
Camped at UM ($); Camped at ND ($); 2007 Lemming fluff; Recruiting Planet
Matt James
Cincinnati, OH
St. Xavier
Yes
Cinci, OSU, Tennessee, Illinois, Duke
Michigan offer
Seantrel Henderson
St. Paul, MN
Cretin-Durham Hall
Yes
Everyone(!)
Michigan offer (along with the rest of the free world)

Editorial: Obviously there are many, many more OL prospects that can and will be added here, but there isn't a lot of news out on many (or at least many that involve Michigan) yet. Even if Michigan pulls a coup and somehow steals Marcus Hall from Glenville this year (they won't), with the numbers on the 2009 recruiting board thin at OL, it will be a priority for 2010. Lombard is on the fast track for the 2010 Rivals 100. The bad news: if UM's going up against ND for him, the football gods dictate that Michigan loses that battle.

Seantrel Henderson is wanted by the entire country. This indicates that he'll be a 5-star, top 5 nationally ranked player. Plus, his name is Seantrel. That's cool enough.

DEFENSIVE END
PlayerHometownHigh SchoolOffer?
CompetitionLinks
William Gholston
Detroit, MI
Southeastern
No
OSU, MSU
Camped at OSU ($); Camped at MSU
Joseph Okafor
Bellaire, TX
Bellaire
No
Texas, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, etc.

Jamel Turner
Youngstown, OH
Ursuline
No
OSU, MSU, Illinois


Editorial: Defensive end remains a dire need for Michigan. Tim Jamison is a senior in 2008, Brandon Graham is a junior, and there's very little after that. The 2009 recruiting scene could not have been worse for UM and DEs, as nearly all of the quality ones are outside the midwest. Among those remaining on that board are Anthony Lalota from New Jersey, Craig Roh from Arizona (who is visiting for the Utah game), and the mysterious Cornelius Carradine from Cincinnati, whose film is 4-5 star material, but he seems to have SOME kind of off-field issue, although there honestly is no confirmation on that. Regardless, unless Michigan sweeps up all three of those aforementioned, DE will remain a pressing issue into 2010 recruiting.

Okafor and Turner are linkless because the only mention of Michigan when it comes to them recently is the fact that Rivals lists UM on their college choices list. Okafor will be a top player in Texas next year, and will probably go to Texas, LSU or Oklahoma. Turner could very well be Ohio's best player in 2010, which of course means Ohio State will not let him escape.

As for Gholston, having a highly regarded prospect at a position of need in your own backyard is almost always an excellent thing. Except in this case. Gholston is the cousin of Vernon Gholston, certified Michigan QB Killer. Oh, and Mark Dantonio was the one who recruited him to Ohio State, and is now doing the same at MSU (with the added bonus of possibly playing for Izzo, as William Gholston plays hoops too). The odds of Michigan overcoming all of the above and snatching him away from OSU or MSU seems slim at this point.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE
PlayerHometownHigh SchoolOffer?
CompetitionLinks
Anthony Render
Trotwood, OH
Trotwood-Madison
No
USC, ND, Florida, others
Calls USC his dream school

Editorial: Another position at which there is little data available right now. Render does not mention Michigan in any article I can find, premium or otherwise, and yet Scout lists Michigan in his profile. I cannot imagine why, other than the fact that Michigan got commitments from three Trotwood-Madison players in the 2008 class and is recruiting offensive lineman Chris Freeman in the 09 class. If Render is as impressive as his early "offer" list indicates, you can bet Michigan will give him a ring, since there is a mini-pipeline, and DT is another position of moderate need.

LINEBACKER
PlayerHometownHigh SchoolOffer?
CompetitionLinks
Sam Bergen
East Stroudsburg, PA
East Stroudsburg
No
ND, PSU, Pitt, Illinois, BC, Stanford
Camped at ND and UM; scored 75-yard TD at FB in season opener
Zac Rosenbauer
Lima, OH
Shawnee
No
Akron, MSU, OSU, others
Recruiting Planet - hearing from UM, grew up OSU, etc.
Jewone Snow
Canton, OH
McKinley
No
OSU, MSU
Dad played at UM, uncles played at MSU; top 3 of M, MSU, OSU

Editorial: Linebacker may actually be a position that Michigan is set at, for the most part. They're already young at linebacker, JB Fitzgerald and Kenny Demens are freshmen, they have commitments from Jordan Barnes and Brandin Hawthorne this year, along with "safeties" Mike Jones and Isaiah Bell, who will almost certainly play outside linebacker. They remain in the hunt for Jelani Jenkins, but that's a while off.

CORNERBACK
PlayerHometownHigh SchoolOffer?
CompetitionLinks
Dior Mathis
Detroit, MI
Cass Tech
Yes
Miami, Cincinnati, others
All that needs to be said; UM offer/Miami commitment on hold?
Lo Wood
Apopka, FL
Apopka
No
Florida, others most likely
Lots of connections to UF

Editorial: Morgan Trent has one year left, Donovan Warren has three and may only take two. Boubacar Cissoko was Michigan's prize recruit on the defensive side last year, and will see lots of nickel time in 2008 before probably starting once Trent leaves. After that it's sketchy. Justin Turner is a highly touted 2009 recruit who may or may not move to corner from safety. Michigan once sat pretty for 5-star 2009 corner Darius Winston, but that ship has sailed.

Dior Mathis seems like a Cissoko clone: Pint-sized, fast, and very feisty. The Cass Tech connection would seem to work out in UM's favor, but it won't. Mathis grew up a Miami fan, and as the link says, he will almost certainly commit to them in early September when official offers go out.

Wood will probably be a Gator, but he's listed because his teammate is Jeremy Gallon, a 2009 commitment to Michigan.

SAFETY
PlayerHometownHigh SchoolOffer?
CompetitionLinks
Marvin Robinson
Eagle Lake, FL
Lake Region
Yes
UM leads OSU, Georgia, USC, UCLA
Recruiting Planet link dump
Sean Parker
Harbor City, CA
Narbonne
No
USC, UCLA, Georgia Tech, Florida
Likes Michigan

Editorial: At this point many (most?) Michigan fans are already including Marvin Robinson in the 2010 class, and are giddy about it. Robinson was offered by Michigan as a sophomore and dominated the Top Gun camp in Florida in July. He's getting bigger, too. Rivals lists him at 6'1, 190, but the camp reported him at 6'2, 205. If he stays at safety (where Michigan is recruiting him), he could become a predator-like assassin in the mold of Sean Taylor or Taylor Mays.

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