I hope everyone enjoyed the article that I wrote on the Michigan football team yesterday where I broke the news that QB Devin Gardner has been caught in the depth chart by RS frosh Russ Bellamy, but has a better chance of prolonged playing time at WR. It feels good to be back and delivering you the latest Michigan football rumors after a prolonged absence! Ace is back, baby.
During my absence, the 2013 recruiting class has basically filled up, with 16 commitments, 12 of whom are considered 4-star, top 200 players by most recruiting service . . . UNBELIEVABLE!! Before I go into the latest rumblings on who is next to commit, I want to touch on the progress that has been made by Brady Hoke and staff in 14+ months on the job.
When Lloyd Carr neared retirement, Michigan was a tad lazy at relationship building with influential high school coaches and recruitniks that influence players at many top schools. MSU coach Mark Dantonio started in 2007 and instantly focused on being the best friends of nearly every head coach in the state that produces quality athletes on a yearly basis. When Rich Rod started in December 2007, he went about recruiting an early targeting in a
terrible manner. Instead of focusing on building a relationship with top coaches in Michigan and Ohio, Rich went south and focused on picking up scraps from Florida that the big 3 didn't want (minus Denard). Rodriguez's first full class had a few stars, but he was crushed by MSU, ND and OSU for the top talent in the midwest the remaining 2 recruiting cycles.
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When Hoke and staff started in January 2011, I would say that Michigan was #6 school in the midwest when factoring in the main factors in recruiting: pipeline schools, relationships with HS coaches, early prospect targeting, official visit atmosphere and organized junior days. 15 months ago Michigan was behind: OSU, ND, MSU, PSU and Illinois. My, how things have changed!
Hoke and staff are working with recruiting services to identify school and prospects as early as the prospects freshman in order to have the Michigan presence felt on campus for a prospects entire high school career. The majority of the current 2013 commit had heard from Michigan by this time LAST year, their sophomore year in high school. The ability to be so far ahead of the game in targeting the top talent that they want will lead to a waterfall of recruiting success for succeeding classes.
Make no mistake, Hoke and staff are carbon-copying the success on the recruiting trail
that Texas has enjoyed for the majority of the last 15 years. Good times and amazing players are headed out way for the foreseeable future.
Now, on the the juicy details of this class . . . there are three potential 5-star players that I feel VERY strongly about Michigan landing in the near future, and they are not names that will shock you.
E.J Levenberry, widely considered to be a sure-fire college superstar, has given every indication to the Michigan staff that he will in fact commit to Michigan, potentially as early as April's spring game. The positive vibes from Levenberry have led to the staff turning down VISITS from two players that most schools would kill for, Dorian O'Daniel and Alex Anzalone. Levenberry has long indicated that he would take multiple visits and wait until early 2013 to make a choice but he has told Michigan enough, as has his father, to be considered a lock for Michigan. If Levenberry leaves the spring game without publicly commiting, I will be surprised. Don't blink on the possibility of a silent commitment from Levenberry either. The Michigan coaches are open to silents, as we have seen in the past with Kyle Kalis, Chris Wormley and Jarrod Wilson.
The other two 5-star recruits expected to land in Ann Arbor are RB Ty Isaac and WR Laquon Treadwell. I tweeted a couple weeks back that Treadwell is one that Michigan fully expects to land based on some chatter he has had with his fellow recruits. He visited for the ND and OSU games this fall, then returned last month with his mother. His mom apparently left the visit blown away and gave Laquon approval to commit to Michigan when he was ready. Prior to that visit, 'Quon had made it clear to numerous 2013 recruits, and several Michigan coaches, that he would commit "sometime soon" to Michigan if his mother liked here visit. This one should be announced soon.....
RB Ty Isaac heads to USC this weekend for a visit. I have been told by a Chicago based recruiting guru that unless Isaac is compelled to commit to USC for some reason while visiting, that he is expected to announce for Michigan sometime within the next 6 weeks, potentially even at the spring game. The way things are going now, I could see Michigan having it's entire 2013 class filled as early as May 1.
One other note on 'Quon, Ty and super QB Shane Morris: Michigan has compared them openly to the 3-some of stars that came to Michigan in 1998 class: Henson, Terrell and Fargas.