Everyone knew Michigan was going to struggle this year. Maybe nobody thought the Wolverines would fall to Toledo, but everyone except the most fanatically-blind Michigan supporters knew that a Big Ten title was likely out of the question, and a bowl game might be a reasonable goal. There was always the future to look forward to. A year of learning under the spread system. A year of Barwis. A good 2009 recruiting class. The future was looking bright, because Michigan fans certainly weren't planning to bail after one trying year under Rich Rodriguez. The members of that 2009 recruiting class, on the other hand? Some may not stick around to help clean up the carnage.
There are competing schools of thought on the link between winning and success on the recruiting trail. On one hand, you have the fans who hope prospects see the opportunity to come in and compete right away (and, realistically, some recruits do follow this train of thought). On the other side, one can find those who think a recruit will want to stay as far away as possible from anything that could be perceived as a "sinking ship" (again, some recruits think this, as well).
I personally think, from my trials and tribulations in following recruiting, that there is something of a hybrid between these two schools of thought. We'll start when a recruit is young. If a child grows up watching a program succeed regularly, he might become something of a fan of that program. More likely, however, it may become "familiar" to him, if only on the most shallow name-recognition basis. Actual wins and losses (of course, except in the case where a recruit grows up a diehard fan of a certain program) probably don't really become a factor until a high schooler becomes something of a potential recruit. Once a young man realizes that he might have an opportunity to play division 1 football (brother), the attention becomes a little more focused on the programs who might be potential destinations. This typically happens around a prospect's junior year.
Senior year, however, is not likely a time for recruits to radically alter their perceptions of a program. If a team struggles during the 2008 season (this is completely hypothetical, of course), a young quarterback from San Diego or Wichita Falls (again, completely hypothetical, and I randomly selected those cities) will see that as an opportunity to come in and compete for a starting position right away. This is especially true of those hypothetical recruits who intend to hypothetically enroll early hypothetically. Hypothetically. Only the more loosely-committed players, or those who look at depth charts and realize that, although there is playing time up for grabs, it is not at their position, are the ones who might be swayed from the 2009 class.
So, who might fall into the category for this class? Bryce McNeal (who of course has already decommitted), Brandin Hawthorne, Anthony Fera, and DeWayne Peace have taken or plan to take visits elsewhere, along with former commitment William Campbell. DeQuinta Jones has been heard from very little since he committed, and his status is a virtual mystery to Michigan fans - though this Scout headline is far from promising. As long as Michigan's coaches continue to do a good job recruiting these players, they should retain those that they really want.
So, let's bring this back to the 2010 recruiting class. If high school juniors see a program lose, and form their perception from that, it means Michigan's 2010 class could be pretty bad, right? Well, yes and no. Michigan already has 2 commits, both of whom are likely to be 4-star or 5-star prospects. A third is presumably on the way, another 4-star or better player. All three of these players have Michigan ties from long before their junior years of high school, and their perception of the Wolverines isn't bound to change radically. Joining a class of highly-ranked prospects is one of the antidotes to a less-than-stellar year. Jeremy Jackson, Ricardo Miller, and hopefully Marvin Robinson all will be an incentive for other good recruits to join the class.
This may be one of the factors in some of the more inexplicably-good recruiting classes in recent memory. Notre Dame can sell its tradition, but one would think a 3-9 year would deter top prospects from joining the class of 2008 in South Bend. At the end of the day, however, the Irish finished with the #2 class in the nation. The only team that finished ahead of the Irish? Alabama, a team that had a recent history of mediocrity, despite its history. Nick Saban, in his second year in Tuscaloosa, and coming off a 7-6 record that didn't exactly scream "WOO PROGRAM ON THE RISE" pulled in a stellar group of players to help turn the Tide's fortunes around.
So, can Michigan, with its young, exciting coach pull in top classes in 2009 and 2010, despite a 2008 season that will likely end well below .500? The recruits aren't stuck with Michigan, but we fans are hoping that Rich Rod can keep the snake oil flowing.
New Information: FL RB Jakhari Gore. He was on academic suspension from playing football last week. Might Michigan try to avoid an academic liability? He;s probably a lock to Tha U anyway. MI TE Colin Voss. At this time, it appears he is more of a basketball prospect than football. FL OL Jose Jose. Fluff about his being slightly less massive. VA DT Derrick Hopkins. VT is likely his early leader. His older brother is committed to their class of 2009. PA DE Darius Frantz. Has been playing with a broken hand his junior year. PA LB Mike Hull. Something I had not previously realized: his dad went to PSU, and is something of a big deal. He would get a frowny face if I were into the MGoBlog smiley face thing. FL S Marvin Robinson. Michigan is still considered the favorite. "Scout.com: Will Robinson be #3 in 2010?" This is the sort of headline that is almost always answered "yes" (with as much certainty as possible) within the article. TX CB Adrian White. He has a Texas offer. Usually the Longhorns snatch up whomever they want in-state, so take this as a sign that he'll probably end up in burnt orange.
Removed: MI LB Max Bullough. In the shocker of the century, he commits to MSU. FL S/Ath Matt Elam. The state's #1 junior has committed to Florida. This article on the matter implies that Chris Dunkley and De'Joshua Johnson are likely to end up gators as well.
Etc.: Frequent commenter "i know nothing" helped me find a set of 2010 in-state rankings for Florida. I've taken it into account, (along with SoFlaFootball's 2010 rankings for the tri-county area), and when I re-configure somewhat, several of the prospects' star ratings will be adjusted, and I'll also add a bit of player information about them. Biggest surprise: Ricardo Miller is now looking like a lock to get 5 stars, save for the requisite hatred from being an early commit to an out-of-state school.
Alex Shelton also wrote in to correct me on the name of Michael Dyer's school. It is "Little Rock Christian," not "Walnut Valley Christian" as it had previously been on the board. It shall be fixed soon.
Analysis: Bullough and Elam aren't surprises to their respective schools. A lot of guys are on the board for the sake of being all-encompassing, rather than who is actually highly likely to end up committing to Michigan. They will be weeded out by their commitments to other schools.
As I've mentioned before, I wasn't planning on debuting the 2010 recruiting board until after the 2008 season, so I could focus on both this season and the 2009 recruiting class before I started worrying about recruiting for next year. However, with two commits already dropping, and a third likely to drop soon (I won't say who, but it should be pretty obvious), I thought it might be about time to release our mewling babe into the wild.
The 2010 class if off to a great start, with two players already committed who project to 4-stars-plus, and at least one of whom (Ricardo Miller) has thrown himself headfirst into assisting with the recruiting effort for 2010. Another top recruit is expected to drop soon (I won't say names, but it should be obvious), which means great things for the future of Michigan football.
On to the board. This started as an accumulation of names that I thought might be likely Michigan targets, continued with a very early top 100 for the class of 2010, and was expanded with the help of Allen Trieu of GoBlueWolverine, the always-exceptional Jim Stefani, and Luke Stampini of SoFlaFootball. As more potential recruits emerged, they were added to the board.
In case you aren't familiar with how the Varsity Blue recruiting boards operate, let me spell it out for you. Once you reach the board, I encourage everyone to register for a login at the bottom of the page (if you've already made one for the 2009 recruiting board, you can use the same information), and you can comment on prospects, and even share articles about certain players in that individual's comments section. Users who prove themselves to be reliable are eligible to be promoted to moderator status, in which they can add videos and information to the main body of a recruit's page.
In case you were wondering how expansive the effort was, this board started with slightly more than 100 names, and has gone through several expansions. Its recent peak was a grand total of 274 prospects. Using my judgment and the information that has been available thus far, the board has been trimmed to 202 juniors of interest. It is these juniors that currently grace the board, though additions and subtractions are undoubtedly on the way.
Stay tuned to Varsity Blue for updates on the 2010 recruiting class, and remember that you can always check back for the 2009 recruiting class as well. Thanks, and Go Blue!
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. Bill Kurelic words his article in a weird way:
Although Jenkins prefers not to name any particular schools of interest, some thought to be in the running include: Penn State, USC, Stanford, Miami, Notre Dame, Florida, LSU and Virginia. However when asked about the Big Ten, Jenkins also mentioned Michigan and Michigan State -- and Illinois can't be ruled out.
He is making it sound like Michigan, Michigan State, and Illinois are afterthoughts. Is he being intentionally misleading (he is a Buckeye, after all), or just stupid (he is a Buckeye, after all)? Fluff regarding his family support in the recruiting process. We have video from his ESPN2 game, but we'll save it for the next recruiting update.
Removed: OK RB David Oku. Apparently, he has committed to Tennessee. With our RB numbers filling up, we weren't likely to land him anyway.
NJ DB Nyshier Oliver. Notre Dame commit.
FL TE Orson Charles. Enjoyed a Georgia visit so much, they are now his co-leader with Miami. Florida and Florida State are his second tier. It appears as though those are his final group, so he is removed.
Etc.:
Allen Trieu/Sam Webb bring a new set of instate 2009 rankings. Big Will #1, Teric #6. State QB commit Andrew Maxwell is somehow #4, though I've seen him play this year and he was terrible.
Other 2010 News: FL S Marvin Robinson. Michigan is the favorite (perhaps prohibitive?) for the bigtime safety. Duh. A question for all: once the 2010 board debuts, should 2010 recruiting updates be rolled in with the standard 2009 updates, or have their own dedicated posts?
No podcast this week, because the Sports Editor of [STUDENT MEDIA OUTLET REDACTED] is too important to answer his e-mail. This is unfortunate, because I've really been enjoying the podcasts, as well as the process of making them. Such is life, however, and we will move on.
Inside The Play for this week will be published this afternoon. It will focus on the Kevin Koger touchdown that helped spark the Michigan comeback against Wisconsin.
I hadn't been planning on posting the 201o recruiting board until after the season, and even when Ricardo Miller committed, I had hoped I would be able to delay. I figured the next commitment would come over the MSU recruiting weekend (a biggie, where I also originally expected Ricardo Miller to drop), and I would still be fairly timely by waiting until December. However, with two commits already in the class, I would be remiss to not publish what I've already been working on. I'll finish polishing it up this week and over the weekend, and you can expect to see the 2010 recruiting board sometime early next week. If you're dying for info before that, head over to Genuinely Sarcastic, whom I helped a bit with adding prospects to their board.
That said, don't expect to see 2010 recruiting updates with any frequency until after the 2008 football season ends. Once the 2009 class is signed, the assumptions (scholarship numbers, needs, etc.) for the 2010 class will be much more concrete, and the updates will come fast and furious (though at this pace, the 2010 class might be full by then).
After Ricardo Miller gave his pledge to Michigan a couple days ago, fans were understandably surprised that a 2010 prospect would be giving a commitment so soon. However, Ricardo is on pace to be one of the top 2010 prospects, and the great start to a recruiting class.
Allow me to disclaim that I flatly refuse to stalk prospects on social networking websites, but when a lot of people bring something to my attention, I will post about it if I find the information to be relevant.
The Myspace page for Florida's Marvin Robinson indicates that he is soon to commit to the Michigan Wolverines. His older brother (sorry the name escapes me right now. James something? Scott maybe?), who plays for a JuCo in Iowa, has a message on his page stating that when his brother goes to Michigan, he will end up a Wolverine as well. Things look good on the Marvin Robinson front, even if they don't happen as soon as the Myspace postings make it seem. On Buckeye Planet, unionfutura (an established OSU insider of some sort) has the following to say about Marvin:
per his request we've stopped recruiting him.
This is a good thing, indicating that he is soon to commit (Ohio state was among his top teams as well).
In other news, several people have let me know that Jeremy Jackson (son of Fred Jackson) has put a message on his Facebook page indicating that he has committed to the Michigan Wolverines. Again, take this for what it's worth.
Social networking sites are not foolproof indicators of recruiting news, but there is certainly something to be said for hearing information directly from the horse's mouth. Take this all for what it's worth. If nothing else, it certainly means Michigan is in good shape for these guys.
MD LB Jelani Jenkins. Some recruiting fluff from the Freep. Sam Webb will see that and raise it in the News. Michigan grades out well in The Matrix (I'm not joking, click the link). By the way, Good Counsel will be on ESPN2 this Thursday.
AL CB Dre Kirkpatrick. It appears he's only taking visits to SEC country. Word on the street is that Georgia conceded him to Alabama Saturday night, and pretty much gave up recruiting him (though the Bama coaches were recruiting him - at their away game).
Requisite Gordon-Will Campbell good feelings exist. Miller's commitment is a good way to keep recruiting mojo working when the 2009 class is mostly full.
GoBluewolverine is reporting that Ricardo Miller, a Wide Receiver/Tight End from Orlando's Dr. Phillips High School has given his word to become Michigan's first commitment in the class of 2010. Miller is a big receiver at 6-2 and over 200 pounds.
Recruiting Notes Miller has always been aware of Michigan, as his mom is an alumna (who favored Michigan as a destination for Ricardo). However, Michigan fans first became aware of him when he attended the summer 2008 Rich Rodriguez Football Camp for the entire week. He also attended the Friday Night Lights camp at the University of Florida, but still seemed to be favoring Michigan. Through these events, Miller formed friendships with Michigan 2010 targets Marvin Robinson (who also appears to favor Michigan early in the process) and Jeremy Jackson (the son of RB coach Fred Jackson). In August, Miller went on the record saying that Michigan was his leader (info in header), and made plans for a fall visit to Ann Arbor for the Michigan State game. However, it didn't take Miller that long to pull the trigger, and he became Michigan's first 2010 commit tonight.
Player Notes As previously noted, Miller is a big wideout, who may find his home at Michigan as an athletic pass-catching TE. In fact, tight end is where he spends most of his time on offense for Dr. Phillips, and he even has enough size to play defensive end on the other side of the ball. However, without a growth spurt, I would expect him to stay at WR on offense, being a big red zone threat. He has very good speed for a TE (decent for a WR), and is even known to take a tight end-around or two for his high schol team. He also has a big body, allowing him to overpower defenders, and he has decent hands. As a blocker, he is good on the high school level, but would need to improve his strength to block D-I defensive linemen.
As you can see, when I purport to give comprehensive stats, it looks dumb when the stats are anything less than comprehensive. If you know of an article that can help out, let me know. I'll fill in the remaining game articles/stats as I find the articles.
CA QB Tate Forcier This Week: Scripps Ranch v. Morse. Scripps wins 47-7.
Season Totals: Scripps Ranch 2-1.
Tate Forcier 2008
Game
Comp
Att
%
Yds
TD
Int
Yds/Att
Rush
Yds
Yds/Att
TD
Poway
19
32
59.38
269
1
0
8.41
8
81
10.13
2
West Hills
16
29
55.17
234
1
0
8.07
-
-
-
-
Morse
10
12
83.33
267
5
0
22.25
-
-
-
-
Totals
45
73
61.64
770
7
0
10.55
8
81
10.13
2
Forciers rushing stats are unfortunately not included in the box scores.
FL RB Vincent Smith This Week: Pahokee v. Jupiter. Pahokee wins 34-10. Another article (remember the name De'Joshua Johnson). Season Totals: Pahokee 4-1.
Vincent Smith 2008
Game
Rush
Yds
Yds/Att
TD
Olive Branch
17
135
7.94
2
PB Gardens
12
73
6.08
2
King's
(100+)
PB Lakes
19
241
12.68
3
Jupiter
156
2
Totals
48
449
9.35
9
MN WR Bryce McNeal This Week: Breck v. St. Croix. Season Totals: Breck 3-1 (plus)
Bryce McNeal 2008
Game
Rec
Yds
Yds/Rec
TD
KORet
Yds
TD
Concordia
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Brooklyn Center
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
St. Bernard's
-
-
-
-
1
85
1
Blake
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
St. Croix
Totals
19
32
59.38
1
0
8.41
8
FL Slot Jeremy Gallon This Week: Apopka v. Ocoee. Apopka wins 49-7. Season Totals: Apopka 3-1.
Jeremy Gallon 2008
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Game
Comp
Att
%
Yds
TD
Int
Yds/Att
Rush
Yds
Yds/Att
TD
Rec
Yds
Yds/Rec
TD
Lake Brantley
1
1
100.00
60
1
0
60
?
226
?
0
1
27
27.00
1
Freedom
1
3
33.00
5
0
?
54
?
2
1
6
6.00
0
South Panola
5
8
62.50
132
2
0
16.5
22
160
7.27
1
-
-
-
-
Ocoee
Totals
7
12
59.38
195
3
0
8.41
63
440
6.98
3
2
33
16.50
1
Also, 1 KO return TD
IL OL Michael Schofield This Week: Sandburg v. Lockport. Sandburg wins 10-0. Season Totals: Sandburg 4-1.
LA DT DeQuinta Jones This Week: Bastrop v. East St. John. Bastrop wins 22-18.
Season Totals: Bastrop 4-0. Jones: 6 tackles against RichWood
NJ DE Anthony LaLota This Week: Hun v. Penn Charter. Hun wins 17-6. Season Totals: Hun 2-1.
Anthony LaLota 2008
Defense
Offense
Game
Tackle
Sack
Team Rush
Wyoming Seminary
-
-
-
Mercersburg
5
2
406
Penn Charter
Totals
19
32
59.38
AZ DE Craig Roh This Week: Chaparral v. Apache Junction. Chaparral wins 31-12. Season Totals: Chaparral 5-0.
Craig Roh 2008
Game
Tackle
Sack
Safety
Int
Yds
Def TD
Rec
Yds
2Pt
Marana
13
1.0
0
0
0
0
1
3
1
Cienega
13
2.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Prescott
6
2.5
1
0
0
0
1
3
1
Copper Canyon
7
2
0
1
60
1
0
0
0
Apache Junction
Totals
39
5.5
1
1
60
1
2
6
2
IN LB Jordan Barnes This Week: Homestead v. DeKalb. Homestead wins 42-35. Season Totals: Homestead 5-1.
FL LB Mike Jones This Week: Edgewater v. Evans. Edgewater wins 28-0. Season Totals: Edgewater 1-2. Jones: 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 blocked FG.
FL LB Brandin Hawthorne This Week: Pahokee v. Jupiter. Pahokee wins 34-10. Season Totals: Pahokee 4-1.
Season Totals: Liberty 6-0. Since we can't fins stats on Bell, enjoy his highlights package from the game against Niles (second of the year).
OH CB/S Justin Turner This Week: Washington v. St. Ignatius. Massillon loses 49-7.
Justin Turner scored Massillon's touchdown on an interception return.
Justin Turner 2008
Game
Rush
Yds
Yds/Att
TD
Rec
Yds
Yds/Rec
TD
Int
Yds
TD
Buchtel
22
140
6.36
-
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Jordan
23
128
5.57
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Normandy
?
156
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Ursuline
-
-
-
-
1
13
13.00
1
-
-
-
Garfield
22
192
8.73
2
-
-
-
-
1
41
1
St. Ignatius
1
1
Totals
69
460
6.67
6
1
13
13.00
1
2
41
2
TX CB/WR DeWayne Peace This Week: South Grand Prairie v. Nimitz. South wins 28-0.
Season Totals: SGP 4-1.
DeWayne Peace 2008
Game
Rec
Yds
Yds/Rec
TD
Rush
Yds
Yds/Rush
TD
Yds
Yds/Att
TD
Berkner
Martin
Summit
Northwest
5
70
14.00
2
2
65
32.5
1
-
-
-
Nimitz
Totals
22
363
16.5
7
1
0
8.41
8
81
10.13
2
TX K Anthony Fera This Week: Pius v. Sealy. Pius wins 14-7.
Season Totals: Pius 2-1
Anthony Fera 2008
Game
XPM
XPA
%
FGM
FGA
%
Long
Westbury
5
5
100
1
1
100
39
Columbia
1
1
100
0
0
-
-
Morse
2
2
100
0
0
-
-
Totals
8
8
100
1
1
100
39
MI S Thomas Gordon This Week: Cass Tech v. King. Cass wins 17-0. Season Totals: Cass Tech 5-0.
Thomas Gordon 2008
Game
Comp
Att
%
Yds
TD
Int
Yds/Att
Rush
Yds
Yds/Att
TD
Central
Pershing
Crockett
Denby
10
16
62.50
163
3
0
10.19
King
1
1
100
3
(2pt)
0
3.00
14
98
7.00
0
Totals
Since this is Gordon's first week in FNL, I stuck him at the bottom, and his stats are really incomplete. He'll move in with the safeties (and hopefully with a more complete stats section) next week.
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