With the recent commitment of Cass Tech's Thomas Gordon, it appears that the 2009 recruiting class is nearly full. Assuming William Campbell recommits to Michigan (which appears likely but certainly not set in stone), Michigan may save a couple slots for surprises from top prospects.

Several of Michigan's commits have mentioned the possibility that they might enroll early. Curious? let's run through the list:

• CA QB Tate Forcier
• TX QB Shavodrick Beaver
• FL RB Vincent Smith
• FL LB Brandin Hawthorne

Campbell, if he recommits, has also mentioned that he is on track to graduate early, and that he would like to enroll in the winter. Of course, he has also mentioned that he won't commit until the Army All-American game, clearly unaware that he would have to register for classes before said game, which would give just a teeny hint where he was leaning.

Forcier and Beaver are obviously the most important early enrollers on this list. With the shaky situation at quarterback throughout the 2008 season, Michigan needs a signal-caller that can help ASAP. With Tate Forcier's polished game coming out of college, and early enrollment would allow him to use spring practice to adjust to the speed and physical nature of the college game, in preparation for contributing during the 2009 year.

Since early-enrollees don't count against the 2009 class, but rather against the group from 2008, I'm curious about whether Michigan's 2008 class size, full save for the defections f Marcus Witherspoon and Taylor hill, will violate NCAA recruiting rules if too many of these players enroll in the winter. If anyone has particular insight into the regulations, let's hear about it. My suspicion is that early-enrollees can count towards either class.

Ratings
for those worried about lower-ranked guys in the class, you can take heart in the following:

• Anthony Fera may only have 3 stars, but he is considered the #2 kicker in the country. Kickers are rarely given anything higher than that by the recruiting services.
  
• Jordan Barnes has been mentioned by others as a guy who may see a ratings bump.
  
• Michael Schofield is a four-star to Rivals (three on Scout).
• Brandin Hawthorne is an athletic prospect who may be a bit of a project, but has high upside.
• Jeremy Gallon has four stars to Rivals (three on Scout), and has been running up tons of yards (in several different ways) in his senior season.
• Teric Jones started the year lowly-rated because he didn't start last year, as he was stuck behind another Division-1 prospect, Indiana's Cortez Smith. He has been having a solid season thus far in 2008.
• Isaiah Bell doesn't really impress either Scout or Rivals, but ESPN loves the kid.
• Fitzgerald Toussaint was already a four-star to Rivals (three on Scout), but he has been absolutely killing it this year. He has averaged well over 200 yards and a few touchdowns so far this season. If that production continues, he might even be able to make a case for five-star status.
• Mike Jones was lowly rated because he was injured his entire junior year. He is healthy this year, and is playing linebacker in HS (where he will likely play in college; he had been playing safety in high school to this point). His ranking could improve (though that isn't always the case with early-committed players).
• DeQuinta Jones may be overshadowed by the fact that he plays on a very talented defensive line. If nothing else, he helps Michigan start a pipeline to a very strong program.
• Vincent Smith doesn't have the height to be considered a top-top prospect by the recruiting services, but he perfectly fits the mold of Rodriguez slotback.
• DeWayne Peace was only offered after he impressed the coaches at summer camp. He is a good example of a "trust the coaches" case.

So who, aside from Campbell, might still end up in this class? The most likely prospects include another offensive lineman or two (Craig Roh's teammate Taylor Lewan, or one of the Carolina duo of Quinton Washington and Travis Bond), possibly another defensive end, another linebacker (Jelani Jenkins plz), and perhaps even another DB. 

Labels: football, recruiting

This entry was posted by Tim, on Tuesday, September 30, 2008. You can leave your response.

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