Diamond Is.... A War Eagle??

Aaaand Jordan Diamond picks Auburn. That makes him a war eagle or a Cam Newton or what?  As we talked about in the previous weeks, this was one of Michigan's most important prospects for making this into one of the "elite" classes Michigan had ever signed.  Now, this doesn't ruin what is already a great signing class, but it does take a little wind out of the sails.

Diamond was a 4* recruit by Rivals and a 5* from Scout and would have been a significant help in solidifying what is already an outstanding group of offensive line recruits for Michigan.  The team already has some great ones, but because of the team's current lack of depth, getting some great talent on both lines is key for long term success.  In most cases one offensive lineman wouldn't have been that big of an issue, but because Michigan already struck out on Joshua Garnett it made this one extremely important.

However, if you've been following the recruitment of Alex Kozan, you know Michigan still has a chance to sign one more great offensive lineman for this class.  Kozan is also rated as a 4* recruit by Rivals and there is a chance Michigan can still land him.  What is even better is that there's been talk that he can play multiple positions on the line, which would be great for the future since Michigan has some great incoming players at guard and tackle.  This would allow him to move to center and make some big-time contributions playing alongside other great players.

Regardless of whether Kozan picks the Wolverines in the next few days, this is a great recruiting class for Michigan and should have some players that make great contributions for the next few seasons.  Getting Jordan Diamond would have been great, but he can do great things at Auburn as well and of course, Michigan really doesn't have to worry about playing against him at least.

Diamond's decision also leaves us with what is probably the last decision that impacts Michigan's 2012 signing class.  Kozan is expected to decide in the next few days.  There's a good chance he goes blue, but is also interested in Iowa and Auburn as well.  I don't see Auburn as that likely a place because of guys like Diamond who have already committed there, but we'll see.

Photo Credit: iSportsWeb

Willie Henry Commits To Michigan

Finally!  Michigan has some good news on the recruiting front.  After what had seemed like the longest "dry" stretch for recruiting in recent Wolverines' history, they finally have a new commitment.  Although he is new to the scene and was only offered a scholarship recently, he should be a solid addition to this year's class.  Willie Henry, a defensive tackle from Cleveland, is rated as a 3* recruit and has been praised by many in the recruiting world.

Last week, I talked about how I believed Caleb Stacey's de-commitment made Jordan Diamond the most important recruit for the 2012 recruiting class.  Although I still believe that, it does nothing to decrease the significance of Henry's decision.  Obviously, Ondre Pipkins is the recruit on the defensive line that will get the most attention, but bringing in a player like Henry is crucial for building a strong program.

Why is Henry a great addition?  Right now, there are several places on the team that lack significant depth.  The biggest areas are offensive and defensive line.  Although there are some great players and some solid incoming recruits for these areas, they still don't have great depth.  The cause of these problems is debatable, but they do exist and recruits like Henry will help to fill that void and ensure success for Michigan in the long term.

Another important factor is that Greg Mattison and Brady Hoke both seem awfully high on what is a standard 3* defensive lineman.  Nothing against Henry or any other 3*, but he didn't receive a lot of attention until late in the recruiting process.  One can debate the reason for this, but, to me, it shows that Hoke and Mattison really believe this kid can play and after what they've done with last year's defense, I have pretty high confidence that they can turn almost any defensive recruit into a great player (not saying Henry isn't good).

Henry is rated as 6'2" and weighing 270 lbs.  He will probably have to bulk up a little more if he really wants to compete against the big offensive lines, but there's no reason to believe he won't.  This is even supported by Scout's online rankings of Henry, which cite his only area for improvement as "size."  Frankly, if a player is an incoming freshman and their only problem is size, a fan or coach can't complain.  Along with this, he will probably red-shirt during his freshman year, which means he'll be a lot bigger when he actually sees the field in 2013.

There's certainly going to be a lot of drama and action over the next few days, but I'm very excited at what Henry brings to this class.  Sure, I would have loved to get guys like Joshua Garnett or Armani Reeves, but that doesn't take anything away from what Henry will bring to the field.  This class is sure to finish great and among the elite in the nation.


Photo Credit: Bill

Joshua Garnett Picks Stanford

It had been a while since a recruit's college decision entranced Michigan fans like Joshua Garnett's has done over the past weeks and months.  Garnett is an offensive lineman out of Washington who has been rated as one of the elite players in the 2012 class.  Most scouting agencies have not only listed him as a 4* recruit, but also as one of the top five players at his position in the nation.

The hype had been building up all week as Garnett announced he would make his decision on Thursday, January 27th @ 6pm.  In fact, one Michigan recruiting site launched a live-blog that had over 4000 viewers at the time of the decision (pretty impressive for a high school kid's recruiting decision).  The last recruit I can remember getting this type of hype from Michigan fans was Mitch McGary, Michigan's 2012 basketball commit who was rated #2 in the nation.

However, as time got closer, Michigan's chances with Garnett seemed to fade and ultimately he decided to attend Stanford instead of Michigan.  Obviously, Stanford is one of the nation's finest schools and has assembled a respectable football program, at least as of late, so nobody can fault his decision.  I think he will do good things at Stanford and wish him the best.  The obvious factors appeared to be location (Garnett's from Washington) and academics. The University of Michigan has some great academics, but Stanford is...well...Stanford.

So, why am I writing a story about a kid who decided to attend Stanford?  Well, the obvious reason is that a lot of Michigan fans cared about this decision, but also because this is a significant development for Michigan's recruiting this year.  As most people know, most recruits have decided or will be deciding in the short future about their college destinations.  With only a few weeks remaining until virtually every major recruit is committed, this development is pretty substantial.

The biggest implication falls with the recruitment of Jordan Diamond, a 4* offensive lineman from Chicago, who will be announcing his decision on February 3rd.  Michigan is in good position to gain a commitment from Diamond, but with Caleb Stacey's de-commitment and Garnett's decision to attend Stanford, this announcement will be crucial.  If Diamond decides to attend Michigan, the team should have some outstanding offensive lineman and depth in a few years.  However, if he chooses to attend somewhere else (likely Arkansas), Michigan's "epic" class could start to fade into just a good class.

Now, I'm personally not one that gets into predicting where a recruit will choose, but I don't think there's anybody out there who doesn't think Michigan has at least a chance with him.  However, with Stacey and Garnett's moves, I believe Diamond has become the most important remaining recruit to this 2012 class.  Certainly, there are players who are probably more talented than Diamond, but if Michigan loses out on another "big time" offensive lineman, it could spell trouble in a few seasons.  Michigan's 2012 recruiting class will be solid, whether Diamond commits or not, but if this team truly wants to stay in that elite status, getting top talent from guys like these will be crucial.

Let's hope he goes Blue.


Photo Credit: CBSSports

Caleb Stacey De-commits From Michigan

Since Brady Hoke has taken over the helm at the University of Michigan, fans haven't had to experience many recruiting problems in the last year.  Not only did Hoke and staff add several significant players to the 2011 recruiting class, but they have done a tremendous job in assembling a 2012 class that may be one of Michigan's best, ever.  However, less than 3 hours ago, offensive lineman recruit Caleb Stacey announced his decision to de-commit from Michigan and take his talents to the University of Cincinnati.

Now, obviously this is a hit for Michigan's class.  Stacey was listed as a three star prospect by Rivals and 17th in his position group.  He would have almost certainly been a "development" player for Michigan, most likely playing as an upperclassman, but there is no doubt he brought a lot of potential to Michigan's football team.  As of late, Michigan has lacked significant depth on offensive line and every recruit like Stacey can help to alleviate that problem.

Are Michigan's chances at having solid offensive line depth ruined by Stacey's de-commitment?  No way.  In fact, Michigan's 2012 class currently has four offensive line recruits  already committed (excluding Stacey) including a five star, two four stars, and a three star commit.  Basically, if one simply looks at these rankings, Stacey would have been the fourth best lineman recruited in this class alone.  Obviously, recruiting rankings don't guarantee success, but these types of rankings do play a role in recruiting.

These rankings show that Stacey's departure may not have a profound impact on Michigan.  With four offensive line commitments already and other potential five star recruits, I highly doubt this will be something that haunts Michigan in the future.  In fact, I've seen speculation from some that this de-commitment could actually be a positive for both Stacey and Michigan.  Stacey will have a much better chance at playing at Cincinnati (no other Cincinnati offensive lineman is rated above Stacey) and Michigan will have more room in this year's class to go after a players like Jordan Diamond who are more highly touted.

So, this decision may be a tad disappointing right now, but I truly believe that in the long run, both sides will be happy.  Stacey has a pretty respectable reason for playing there, he wants to stay closer to home, and Michigan is trying to secure a class that could not only vault Michigan to Big Ten championships, but maybe national aspirations as well.  Basically, nobody should be massively disappointed about this recruiting development.

Is it something Michigan fans should be happy about?  Obviously not.  Stacey was recruited by Michigan for a reason.  If Hoke and the staff really thought he couldn't play, he wouldn't have been offered a scholarship to begin with.  Having said that, I don't think it's a horrible development for Michigan either.  Michigan already has some great offensive line recruits and has potential for more.  Michigan fans should respect Stacey's decision and be satisfied that this has been one of the first negative recruiting developments under Hoke's leadership.


Photo Credit: MLive