Michigan Commits and Targets At The Opening

The much anticipated Nike Camp, The Opening, was this past weekend in Beaverton, Oregon. Loaded with talent, it has been said to be one of the best camps of the year, if not the best. On hand were the best high school players from all over the country, including 7 Michigan Commits and several Michigan targets.  Representing the Maize and Blue were QB Shane Morris, DB Jourdan Lewis, TE Jake Butt, OG David Dawson, DE Taco Charlton, OL Kyle Bosch, LB Mike McCray.  All of these players were there, but Kyle Bosch did leave early due to personal reasons so I won't really have much to say about him, but he did show up the first day so he deserves to be mentioned. 


Two of Team 134's members made the all-tournament team. TE Jake Butt and DB Jourdan Lewis.  Both of these guys showed up big time in 7-on-7 play and were definitely deserving of the honors.  If you pay any attention to the recruiting sites, then you will know that people are saying Jourdan Lewis's rankings should skyrocket.  I said before the tournament that he would prove he's one of the best DB's in the country and he showed it this past weekend.  Making big time plays and even an interception in the finals to gave his team a shot at the championship late in the game.  Jake Butt came up big for his team and he quickly became one of his quarterback's favorite targets.  I watched some video and he made some great plays, including a nice grab on the sideline, where he got both feet in and maintained possession.  

Top Priorities for 2013 Class

Photographed are current commits QB Shane Morris (left) and DB Jourdan Lewis (right).  They are just two members of the current top recruiting class in the country for the Michigan Wolverines.  But the real question that's on my mind and pretty much all Michigan fans that really follow recruiting is how does Coach Hoke close this class out.  With commit #22 coming in with Channing Stribling this week, many have the opinion that Michigan will only take 2 more recruits for this class.  


I say they take 3.  Some people don't like the commitment of Stribling, mostly because they were wanting the coaches to hold out for guys such as Kendall Fuller, Leon McQuay, etc., which makes sense, but maybe the coaches know something that we don't.  There seems to be a concensus that Fuller has Va. Tech and Clemson as his leaders and Michigan will lose out on him.  McQuay, I'm not too sure, but he seems far from making a decision.  In my opinion...trust the coaches, they know what they are doing.  So I'm going to put out a few names that I think may close the class out.

Michigan's Options at Cornerback

The 2013 class already has 1 cornerback commit in 4* Jourdan Lewis out of Detroit, MI. This means the coaches will probably try to get one more CB commit, if not 2. Michigan has offered more than 15 cornerbacks, with more offers going out. They are very serious about landing at least one more. 

My wish? Priest Willis. He fits the big frame that the Michigan coaches want and he is a top prospect for the class of 2013. Obviously if someone like Fuller wanted to commit, we would take him, but the prospect who I most want to commit who I believe we have a legitimate shot at is Mr. Priest Willis.

Here are the options (who have not yet committed)...

5* Kendall Fuller out of Olney, MD

The next Charles Woodson. Yeah, I said it. Read all about him here. 

Update: It’s just come out that Fuller’s friend and teammate, 4* LB Dorian O’Daniel has Michigan at the top of his list. This could help. Both are confirmed visitors for the Spring Game in April. 

5* Vernon Hargreaves III out of Tampa, FL

Hargreaves is a 5* cornerback who Rivals ranks as 10th overall in the nation. This kid is a playmaker. He stands 5’11” and 181 pounds. He has more than 20 offers from schools such as Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and USC. Amazing. In his junior season, Hargreaves had 2 interceptions on defense and 11 touchdowns on offense. He says that distance won’t play a factor in his recruitment, although who really knows. The good news is he is eyeing a Michigan visit and has been in consistent contact with Coach Montgomery. One interesting comment from Hargreaves is that he’s looking for a “stable program with a coach that is going to be there.” This tells me the kid is smart. I would also think that takes Notre Dame out of the running, doesn’t it? I kid, I kid. Hargreaves plans on taking his time with his recruitment. 

4* Priest Willis out of Tempe, AZ

Willis is a special prospect. He is a 4* cornerback who Rivals ranks as 84th overall in the nation. He stands 6’2” and 200 pounds. He has a ton of offers including Michigan, Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and USC. Willis plans on visiting Michigan (unofficially) in the Spring, which is actually impressive considering how far Arizona is. Hopefully this means his interest in Michigan is legitimate. He would be an amazing get. Willis is my favorite cornerback prospect in the class of 2013. 

4* Tim Harris out of Richmond, VA

Harris is an excellent 4* cornerback with surprisingly few offers. Rivals ranks him 161st in the nation and he has excellent height and weight for a cornerback. He stands 6’2” and 173 pounds and he also runs a 4.48 second 40. He holds 6 offers, Michigan, Ohio State, Rutgers, Tennessee, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. It’s very interesting to me that his only two Big Ten offers come from Michigan and Ohio State. Harris, however, has said multiple times that the school to beat is Virginia. It was his first offer and he is intrigued by the idea of staying close to home. He does not plan on deciding any time soon. We’ll see if that changes if he does indeed visit this weekend.

4* Chris Hawkins out of Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Hawkins is a 4* cornerback who Rivals ranks 159th overall in the nation. He stands 6’0” and 170 pounds. He holds over 20 offers including Michigan, Florida, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Stanford. Interestingly enough, Rivals has him highly interested in Cal, Sanford, and UCLA. Scout has him highly interested in Cal and Stanford. That might seem like Michigan isn’t even in the picture, but as of just earlier this week, Hawkins said Michigan, Notre Dame, and Stanford are the schools to beat. He’s looking for a great education and great football tradition, hence his top options. His idol? Charles Woodson. Smart, smart man. 

4* Cole Luke out of Chandler, AZ

Luke is a 4* cornerback who Rivals ranks 198th overall in the nation. He stands 6’0” and 165 pounds. He holds offers from schools such as Michigan, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma. His junior season, Luke made 63 tackles and 6 interceptions, earning all-state honors. Luke is eyeing a Michigan visit along with Notre Dame in the Spring. It will be interesting to see if it’s still easy to pluck top prospects out of Arizona with Rich Rod and Todd Graham at the helm now. Chandler joins Willis as the second cornerback from Arizona we’ve offered. 

4* Antwaun Davis out of Bastrop, TX

Davis is a 4* cornerback who Rivals ranks 171st overall in the nation. Davis stands 6’0” and 180 pounds. He has an impressive offer list with schools such as Michigan, Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma. Surprisingly, Texas hasn’t offered the in-state star yet, but I am assuming they will. Davis has expressed that Michigan would be one school he’d like to visit, but he hasn’t narrowed down his list nor is he planning on making a decision any time soon. Davis was plagued with a back injury throughout his junior season and was only able to play 5 games, but he has since recovered. He also runs track, a tribute to his athleticism. 

4* Cameron Walker out of Los Angeles, CA

Walker has 2 offers: Michigan and San Diego State. Coincidence? I think not. Coach Hoke clearly likes something he sees (and saw) in this player from California. He stands 5’10” and 180 pounds. He is unranked on Rivals but a 4* on 247 Sports so we’ll see where he ends up in a few months. As a junior, Walker had 69 tackles and two pass break-ups. I doubt he would take an unofficial all the way to Michigan, but we’ll see as his recruitment goes on. 

3* Devin Butler out of Washington, DC

Butler stands 6’1” and 170 pounds. He holds double digit offers including ones from Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Wisconsin. He is unranked on Rivals but a 3* on 247 Sports so we’ll see where he ends up too. Considering his offer list, he’s likely to move up in the rankings. He is actually considered one of the top cornerback prospects in the country. The coaching staff seems to really like Butler. He fits the mold of a bigger cornerback, which is what the coaching staff wants. Butler wants to decide before his senior season so he can focus on football. He is planning on deciding whenever it feels right. 

3* Gareon Conley out of Massilion, OH

Conley stands 6’2” and 170 pounds. I believe he fits the frame of the kind of cornerback we’re going after: tall. He holds offers from Michigan and Northwestern although I’m sure he’s going to be getting many more offers soon. He is unranked on Rivals but a 3* on 247 Sports so we’ll see where he ends up too. Scout recently came out with a list of the top 2013 prospects from Ohio and Conley ranks 16th, ahead of Jaron Dukes, Jacob Matuska, Kevin Gladney, Shane Jones, and Taco Charlton...just to name a few names you may be more familiar with. As a junior, Conley had 4 interceptions, 1 of which was returned for a touchdown. He also led the team with 9 pass break-ups. Tom Greene of Scout calls Conley “one of the top sleeper prospects in Ohio for the class of 2013.” Clearly, Hoke knows what he’s doing. Conley will visit campus March 10th. 

Get to Know Kendall Fuller

Kendall Fuller

Kendall Fuller, an excellent cornerback out of Olney, MD (Our Lady of Good Counsel High School), is one of the top overall prospects in the 2013 class. He is a 5* prospect who Rivals ranks as 4th overall in the nation. He has offers from over 20 schools, including Michigan, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. He is listed at 6’0” and 185 pounds and also runs a 4.5 second 40. Fantastic all-around for a cornerback. Interesting tidbit: Rivals says Kendall Fuller reminds them of Charles Woodson. 

If you thought his high school sounded familiar, you were right. Fuller comes from the same school Michigan sophomore CB Blake Countess comes from. Although this may seem like fantastic news for Wolverine Nation, it might not be enough to lure him to Ann Arbor. Fuller’s two older brothers, Kyle and Corey, are currently at Virginia Tech. His third brother, the oldest, also played at Virginia Tech before spending 6 seasons with the Tennessee Titans. Lots of people say he’s a lock to Virginia Tech and he is theirs to lose. I am not of this philosophy. I have three reasons as to why. 

1. My first reason is the power of Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison. Defenders love to play for Coach Mattison. All he has to do is show them some Ravens tape. And it's not like Hoke's recent crazy recruiting haul is going to hurt...

Blake Countess

2. My second reason is Blake Countess. Now, Blake is a fantastic player, but I would never have imagined the year he’d have as a freshman. Cornerback is an especially difficult position to play as a freshman, but Countess excelled. Why did he excel? Because he played under Greg Mattison. But more important for recruits is how early he played in his career. Countess started and got plenty of time as a true freshman. And he was great at it! Granted we had injuries (Troy Woolfolk) and aren’t very deep at the position, but it’s still a great sign for incoming recruits...especially ones from Blake’s high school. Blake’s best game came against Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl (registering 8 tackles), showcasing his improvement throughout the season and also Mattison’s coaching ability.

3. My third reason is Dorian O’Daniel. Dorian O’Daniel is a 6’1” and 205-pound 4* LB from Good Counsel HS and is a great friend and teammate of Fuller. He will actually be visiting Michigan the same weekend as Fuller. More importantly, he’s a prospect Michigan is going after hard and he has Michigan near the top of his list at the moment. Rivals ranks him 37th in the nation and he has just as many offers as Fuller (more than 20). Package deal? We could only hope! 

Dorian O'Daniel

If we could lure Fuller to Michigan, it would be an incredible feat. Fuller is the third Good Counsel player since 2009 to earn 5* status, the others being linebacker Jelani Jenkins (2009) and wide receiver Stefon Diggs (2012). If we were to snatch him, future Good Counsel players could see what we do with players like him and Blake Countess and Michigan could put a stamp on the impressive football school.

At the end of the day, I do unfortunately believe that Fuller is a long-shot for Michigan. His familial ties at Virginia Tech might just be too much to overcome (see Armani Reeves from 2012). I still don’t think he’s a VT lock though. Michigan is looking to get one more cornerback commit. We received 4* CB Jourdan Lewis’s verbal commit on February 18th, and like I’ve said multiple times before, anything can happen if we get a recruit on campus. Luckily for us, he plans on visiting April 14th weekend, the weekend of the Spring Game. 

Fuller has clearly been to Virginia Tech multiple times, whether that’s to visit his brothers or visit the campus, he’s very familiar with the university. However he recently came out with a “top-8” and it consists of Virginia Tech, Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Maryland, Michigan, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Like I said, we need to get him to campus. I think we’ll learn a lot after the Spring Game. He has no timeline for his decision date. Here's to hoping he goes Blue!