WR McNeal to Michigan?

MGoBlog is reporting that UM has added another top player to its Class of 2009. Minnesota WR target Bryce McNeal, who is a 4-star recruit on Rivals and currently the #70 player overall in the country, apparently has fashioned his Myspace page in maize and blue and has told several people he's already committed to the Wolverines. While this is less than concrete because no major media outlets are reporting yet, I think it's a pretty solid indication following McNeal's comments in the latest article regarding McNeal on Rivals. While apparently still considering 8 schools at the time of print, he had this to say about Michigan:

"Michigan is up there," he said. "They have nothing to worry about."

McNeal, at 6'2" and 170, will probably add 10-15 pounds and play at the outside receiver. McNeal would be the first outside-receiver commitment Michigan has for this class, being that Rodzilla and the staff have focused on the jitterbug-types to date. McNeal is the 11th-rated WR in the Class of 2009 according to Rivals, whereas Scout has him as #15 (Scout must have bumped him recently as Brian at MGoBlog said he was 3-star and #70 on there). In any event, this seems to be another solid pickup for the Wolverines.

If this indeed comes through, Michigan now stands at 8 commitments for the Class of 2009, four of which are currently ranked in the Rivals Top 100 (DT William Campbell, DB Justin Turner, QB Kevin Newsome, and McNeal) and a fifth (QB Shavodrick Beaver) that falls in the Rivals Top 250. The 3 other UM commitments (RB Teric Jones, RB Fitzgerald Toussaint, and DB Isaiah Bell) have yet to be fully evaluated by most major recruiting services, but have some serious buzz around them. Jones, who was mostly a reserve as a Junior, clocked the fastest 40 time and was named honorable mention at the Army All-American Junior Combine, which attracts some of the top talent in the country.

This is all good news considering the absolutely sickening class that Ohio State has put together thus far in 2009. The Buckeyes currently stand at a class of 14 commits, 7 of which are in the Rivals Top 100, with an additional 3 falling in the Rival Top 250, and another 3 who have yet to be fully evaluated. Yikes.

Michigan Adds QB #2

The Class of 2009 took further shape today with the commitment of 4-Star dual-threat QB from Texas, Shavodrick Beaver. Beaver was recently named to the Rivals 250 and currently sits at #176 and is about the 15th QB on the list. Beaver is rated behind other QBs that Michigan has a fancy for Eugene Smith and Tate Forcier (brother of former UM/current Stanford QB Jason). This would seem to end Michigan's pursuit of those two, but you never know.

Michigan was a late-comer for Beaver, who was all but signed with TCU in early April. You might think "Great job, Rodzilla, you took a kid TCU wanted", but Beaver is a solid 4-star kid with offers from Nebraska, Texas Tech, Clemson and Arizona too. I'm a little skeptical that any commitment this early without a visit is solid, but his interest seems genuine and high in the articles I've read thus far.

There's been no indications that he will be an early enrollee, so he'll probably start '09 behind Threet, Feagin, and Newsome (who is going to attempt to enroll early), but again it's way too early to project these things. I'm not going to even attempt to sound knowledgeable about what Beaver brings to the table that could be different from Newsome. Here's a newsflash though, he can run, he can throw, he can throw while running, and ..BONUS... he does all these well against the competition he's facing. But, from what I've seen, Beaver will definitely need to add some mass to be able to take the pounding, he's got more of a slender build than the near linebacker-type build of Newsome. He's probably a good candidate to redshirt and learn the ways of Barwis prior to emerging as a serious candidate for QB in 2010.

All in all it seems to be another good get and another step in the right direction of filling out the roster with guys who fit the system.

Newsome to Michigan

Rivals is reporting that 4-Star QB Kevin Newsome out of Virginia has officially committed to Michigan. Newsome is currently #39 in the Rivals Hot 100 and is the 4th-rated QB on the list. Newsome visited UM at the spring game and came away impressed, obviously. MGoBlog had news Tuesday that commitment was imminent based on Newsome's myspace page. I was skeptical at the time figuring it was someone's fraudulent attempt to get our hopes up.

Newsome fancies himself more of a pro-style QB and stated in interviews that a pro-style offense was going to be a major sticking point for his college of choice, so I downplayed UM's chances, but apparently the lure of playing early at UM was a big draw for him.

Newsome is 6'3", 210 lb and reminds many of Vince Young. He looks somewhat unpolished throwing the ball, but can most definitely tuck and run when necessary. Clips of Newsome can be found here and on youtube. (I'd love to link to some, but the IT nazis at my place of employment forbid me.).

The clips are very impressive, but I wouldn't hand him the keys to the ship for 2009 just yet. If he were to graduate early and come in for Spring Ball next year, I would say he would have a much better chance of unseeding Threet/Sheridan/Feagin for a majority of the playing time.

AAAAAAnd......We're BACK!

After a couple months of exile, I've returned to start spewing some thoughts and hopefully put together some informative posts a couple times a week until Football season kicks into high gear. Why come back now? I've heard/read so much stuff that borders on panic and dissension lately that I felt I needed to comment.

What's happened while I've been away?

- National Signing Day came and went, with some triumphs and failures. Michigan struck out on high priority targets Nick Perry and some QB from PA, but hit late with OL Ricky Barnum, WR Roy Roundtree, slotback Michael Shaw, and WR Martavious Odoms. Overall, a gallant effort by RodZilla and the staff to hold onto all but one of the Carr-era commitments (Iowa QB-signee John Wienke) and pick up 9 commitments from guys that weren't on Michigan's radar previously. How will they fare? That obviously remains to be seen, but from the looks of it (more on this later) several are going to be asked to see the field sooner than we might have expected.

- Justin Boren left the program. On his way out the door, Boren and his family thought it best to lob a couple of parting shots, citing a lack of "family values" for Justin's departure. All this, a week or so after hinting to some that he was not adjusting well to the training regimen and the pace of practice. Coupled with the loss of Alex Mitchell and Jeremy Ciulla, who left the program shortly after Rodriguez officially took over, and the panic button was officially hit for many. Michigan now will field an offensive line next year that will feature only one guy with any notable experience, Steve Schilling. Schilling, a redshirt Sophomore who struggled mightily late in the year, will most likely be joined by redshirt Juniors Mark Ortmann, Tim McAvoy, Cory Zirbel, and David Moosman. Rodriguez has said several times this spring that a couple of the incoming Freshman will probably be needed in the two deep. Just guessing, but I would assume with injuries will be seeing some of Dann O'Neill and Ricky Barnum at some point this season.

- Spring Practice came and the press was given alarming access. I talked about this early in the year, but I'm still shocked at the access and rate of information being doled out by this staff. Between seemingly daily Rodriguez press conferences, we also got pictures and video on several websites of practice, not to mention daily reports from practice by mainstream media and the like. Being that Lloyd Carr football is the only experience I have, I have no basis of comparison, but damn, I think this is refreshing? What have we learned? Of note, the following:

• Short of Justin Feagin setting the world on fire this summer, Steve Threet is most likely your starting QB come August 30. This also is causing many to hit the panic button.
• Carlos Brown is injured again and missed valuable spring practice time with a finger injury after a "freak weightlifting accident".
• Brandon Minor and Kevin Grady took advantage of Brown's absence by impressing the staff with their skill and leadership. Apparently, several formations in the final scrimmage featured both in the backfield flanking Threet in the shotgun.
• UM is extremely thin at WR. With Junior Hemingway injured, Greg Mathews, Toney Clemons, and Daryl Stonum saw extensive action in the final scrimmage, with Avery Horn running out of the slot. Very little news about other receivers is out there. UM was so thin that DB James Rogers was running at receiver, but may go back to defense in the fall. I believe I also read that WR-recruit/turned DB Zion Babb was also running at WR, but was struggling. This is also an area where Freshman are most likely to contribute in the fall. Between Shaw, McGuffie, Robinson, and Odoms, I expect 1 or 2 of that group to see the field, potentially extensively, out of the slot with Horn and Carlos Brown being the only candidates currently on the roster to fill that Noel Devine/Darius Reynaud role.
• The defense is svelte. Outside of Rodriguez, no person in the state of Michigan has received more ink lately than strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis. To the extent, that I feel more ripped just for reading all of his press. Will this translate into better play? You might expect the defensive line to literally decapitate QBs with hits this fall with the amount of praise that the workout regimen is getting, but if not, at least some will be able to clean-and-jerk the opposing QB.

That's the major happenings anyway. All in all, exciting stuff, depending on your perspective.

It's most definitely going to be an interesting year, I hope that everyone can just be rational with their expectations. I'm not crazy, I don't think there aren't going to be any bumps in the road, but to get upset at this point with talking heads predicting 6-6, struggles, and possibly no bowl game at this point seems a little much. It's a new regime. It's a totally new offensive and defensive philosophy. This was probably going to be a rebuilding year even with Coach Carr at the helm. Arrington and Manningham were gone anyway. Yeah, Mallett and Boren would probably still be here, but the jury was still out on whether or not Mallett was the type of leader UM wanted. So Michigan returns 1 starter on offense instead of 3. Whoopty-freaking-do. All in all, I've heard/read waaaay too much dissension already. Let's give the players and coaches a chance to fail before we write their epitaph.

National Signing Eve...

I apologize for the lack of updates, it's definitely not for the lack of news. Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to fire off any further updates tonight. If you missed it, since my last update, UM has signed JT Floyd (DB), Terrence Robinson (WR), and Patrick Omameh (OT) and officially lost Christian Wilson (FB/LB), Jaron Brown (WR), BJ Daniels (QB), and TJ Lawrence (DB).

My quick predictions, outside of the 20 we already know about, who will sign with Michigan....

Michael Shaw (RB)
Justin Feagin (QB)
Nick Perry (DE)

As for Pryor, there is so much BS floating around on message boards and in the print that there's just no just no way to tell for sure. Some are growing confident that it's Michigan (see: MGoBlog), while the Detroit News has an article today that took the wind right out of my sails. Apparently, we'll find out tomorrow at 12:05 PM. My gut is telling me he's a Buckeye though. Let's hope I'm wrong.

Recruiting Roundup - 1/29/08

One week till signing day and the Wolverines sit at ~17 commitments.

MGoBlog shows a total committed of 16 players, but isn't counting long snapper George Morales, which does seem like an odd commitment for RichRod and the staff to honor; however, there was a rumor floating that one of the stipulations of accepting the Michigan job was honoring all previous commitments. Some part of me doesn't think that holding onto Morales was Bill or Mary Sue's intention when that stipulation was put in place, if it ever was.

Varsity Blue shows a total of 18 commits, as he is still counting Christian Wilson, the 4-star H-Back/LB from PA who we have recently heard "will not be attending UM under any circumstances" and who's mother sounds awfully skeptical about Rodzilla and crew.

Based on the Marcus Witherspoon recommitment and Mike Martin cancelling his visit to Notre Dame, we'll go on the assumption that it's 17. Coach Rod has said several times that they want to sign a full class of 25. I only count 24 available scholarships to this point (see below), but Chad Henne talked recently about 2 of the current QBs "staying around for spring practice to see what happens". I would think that Cone would be the most likely to make it 25 available, only because Threet has already transferred once.

Expired Eligibility (9)
Chad Henne, Mike Hart, Jake Long, Adam Kraus, Shawn Crable, Jamar Adams, Brandent Englemon, Anton Campbell, Chris Graham
Transfer (4)
Jason Forcier, Cobrani Mixon, James McKinney, Ryan Mallett
Early Entry (2)
Mario Manningham, Adrian Arrington
Medical (2)
Alex Mitchell, Jeremy Ciulla
Unrenewed Fifth Years (2)
DeBenedictis, Gallimore
Others Who Have Left(4)
Eugene Germany, Chris Richards, Johnny Sears, Justin Schifano
Unused (1)
TOTAL: 24

Where do we go from here? The updates are flying fast and furious, so let's take a look at all of the prospects we have heard about to this point and pick out the 7-8 most likely to commit. As you may have noticed the focus of Rodzilla's efforts seem to be on 3 positions, QB, WR, and CB, no coincidence they occupy the top 5 spots here. Assuming UM only gets 5-6 of these kids, that would still leave Coach Rod 3 short of his goal of 25. Sure will be an interesting final week of recruiting.

1. JT Floyd, 3-Star DB, South Carolina. Has said that Michigan fans will be happy with his decision. Floyd, who committed to Tennessee early in his Junior year, has visited UM three times in the last 7 months.

2. Terrence Robinson, 4-star RB/WR, Texas. Robinson played QB in high school, is listed as the #9 all-purpose back on the Rivals list, but is being recruited to UM as a slot receiver. Robinson is scheduled to make his decision on Sunday night. Choosing between UM, Wake Forest, and Boston College. Varsity Blue says that his decision is coming tonight, but not sure what his source is.

3. ???, Quarterback. Unless Steve Threet is the second coming of Joe Montana, Folks, meet your starting QB in 2008. I really feel that UM is going to get one of BJ Daniels or Terrelle Pryor, but definitely not both. Daniels has hinted that he will be interested in what Pryor does, but, as MGoBlog hinted at earlier, it wouldn't surprise me if he were to give a silent verbal contingent upon Pryor's decision. Daniels was also told he could play basketball by UM, which he liked. I'm not sure what kind of basketball prospect he is, as he's not listed on the Rivals basketball board. As for Pryor, well, some good news came today in that he's not planning to visit Oregon OR LSU in the coming weeks, so it's down to UM and OSU. I refuse to get excited about it.

From here, it gets tough, but the next most likely might be:

4. Jaron Brown, 3-Star WR, South Carolina. Brown has listed South Carolina and Clemson as leaders in recent weeks, but seemed rather impressed with UM on his visit last weekend. I would put the odds at about 50% he commits.

5. Justin Feagin, 3-star QB/WR, Florida. Feagin is also considering Syracuse and Rutgers, sounds like he's most interested in going to a school where he can play QB. Michigan will definitely give him that shot, but he's most likely going to be behind Pryor or Daniels unless he goes to WR.

6. Nick Perry, 4-star DE, Michigan. This is tough. I really don't have a good feeling about him. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, next to Pryor, no other commit on signing day will pump me up more. He visited last weekend and seemed happy, but I just don't have faith in an 18-year old kid choosing cold Michigan when sunny Southern Cal and Miami are coming so hard for him. Rumors were that he wanted to stay close to home early in the process and it would be a decision between UM and MSU, but MSU is now apparently in 4th, so distance may not be a consideration any longer. I like when I read quotes like "...I think they'll be able to put me in a lot of positions to use me" though.

7. Patrick Omameh, 2-Star Offensive Lineman, Ohio. Omameh is a Cincy commit that Michigan got involved with late. There hasn't been much word since his visit last weekend.

Long-Range Shots:

Michael Shaw, 4-star, RB, Ohio. Teammate of UM TE commit Brandon Moore, visited UM with Moore recently. Moore sounded positive, but we haven't heard anything from Shaw. I think he'll honor his Penn State commitment especially considering all that would be in front of him on UM's depth chart and UM's other RB commitments.

TJ Lawrence, 4-star, WR, Florida. Visited last weekend, but we haven't heard any reaction yet. Had a "perfect" visit to South Carolina the weekend before, following which he named South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Florida, and Michigan as the contenders.

Martavious Odoms, 3-star, WR, Florida. Tiny (5'8", 164lbs), speedster would be an interesting add. Visiting this weekend. Deciding between WVU, South Florida, Miami, and Michigan.

Charles Mitchell, 4-star, S, Mississippi. Michigan got involved late. Edged out Ole Miss for his final official visit this weekend. Deciding between Mississippi State, Nebraska, Southern Miss, and Michigan. Likes Nebraska thus far.

Who's Not Coming:

Desmond Johnson, 3-star, RB, Mississippi. Recently committed to Southern Miss. Said Michigan was too cold. Duh.

Rhonne Sanderson, 2-star, OL, Florida. Recently committed to Florida State. Has cancelled his visit to UM this weekend.

Leonard Johnson, 3-star, CB, Florida. Taking his final visit to WVU this weekend. Once said, "if Michigan offers 'lookout'", Michigan apparently offered, but maybe the offer was conditional.

Recruiting Roundup - 1/24/08

Some more updates as we head into another weekend of visits. Lots of action in Florida, mostly 2nd tier guys, but these are the same types of recruits Rodzilla used to turn WVU into a top program, so I'm all for it.

--BJ Daniels, 4-star QB out of Florida, has begun to pick up some interest from Michigan. Daniels has interest from many big name schools, but very few as a QB. His options from schools that want him as a QB seems to be limited to Memphis, South Florida....and now apparently Michigan.

Michigan has also shown some interest in Justin Feagin, a 3-star QB from Fla. Feagin is visiting Rutgers this weekend, and holds offers from many schools, including MSU, Illinois, and Indiana.

It's obvious that the Pryor situation is going to play a major factor in any other QB commits. Let's hope that Pryor give UM some sort of indication prior to Feb 6. Otherwise, UM will be all Threet, all the time next year.

--According to Mike Farrell on Rivals, Christian Wilson "will not be attending Michigan under any circumstances". Apparently, he's not feeling the love and is now considering UNC, BC, and MSU.

--If Wilson was projected as a LB, then UM stands to lose 3 LBs from it's once committed total of 17. JB Fitzgerald and Marcus Witherspoon, both 4-star recruits, are visiting Rutgers this weekend. Fitzgerald has seemed more solid than Spoon, but obviously both should not be considered locks at this point.

--Michigan has also shown some interest in several new prospects, among them:

Leonard Johnson, a 3-star DB/QB from Florida. Johnson is currently an Iowa State commit, but if Michigan offers "watch out".

TJ Lawrence, a 4-star WR from Florida. Lawrence, who recently had a 'perfect' visit to South Carolina, is visiting Michigan this weekend. Decision will be between South Carolina, Va Tech, Florida, and Michigan. Doesn't sound promising.

Patrick Omameh, 2-star DE/OT from Columbus, OH. Omameh, currently a Cincinnati commit sounds sold on Cincy at the moment, but is visiting UM this weekend.

--Lastly, Jaron Brown, a 3-star WR from South Carolina, is excited about his visit to UM this weekend. He has claimed a South Carolina lead, but is looking forward to learning more about UM.