I will be posting a photo gallery of pictures from the BBQ later on this week and hopefully a few more updates from other prospects in attendance.
Big House BBQ Update
No need for an introduction into how big and important this event was for Michigan recruiting. If you forgot what it's all about or who was being targeted, don't worry, here's a reminder. But there is one storyline I've got to recap. That is the recruitment of RB Derrick Green. Green has stated all along he wants to be apart of a pro-style offense and last week, he and the Ohio staff parted ways because of the spread offense they were converting to. There was a lot of excitement when hearing this news and it couldn't have come at a perfect time. Green spent the whole weekend in AA as a result and everyone in attendance was doing everything they could to get him to commit including Denard Robinson, who has become somewhat of a closer in the recruiting game.
Image via here
Derrick Green seems to be happy about the thought of running behind OL Chris Fox and Kyle Bosch
While Derrick never did pull the trigger and become member #24 of this class, he did caption the above picture himself as "Only two of the big dogs I might be running behind." Key words: might be. If anything, this weekend was a major success in helping Michigan's chances of landing this 5 star talent and the #1 RB in the country (Rivals). Green was able to have a one on one with Coach Hoke and it went "great" according to Derrick himself.
Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports was able to catch up with '13 commit OL Kyle Bosch, who was quoted saying, "Derrick Green was impressed with the size of the Wolverine's O-Line class." This has got to be a major factor (and selling point) to take into consideration, as a RB, when deciding where you want to play for the next four years. Having a top notch O-Line will do wonders and only gives you a fast track to the NFL. I may be getting ahead of myself but just sayin', it'll help.
Saying no is something that Green uses a lot when people ask him if he is going to commit. But when Rivals Mike Farrell asked that question, he got some different feedback:
Derrick has always said no when asked if he's thinking about committing. First time I got an "idk" answer -- #Michigan impressing clearlyThis was the moment when I started to believe (and went against my hunch of us not landing him) that we may see Derrick commit on the spot. I unfortunately was right all along and Green did not end his recruitment. That said, this visit was monumental in getting Green to come on board and we can thank the '13 OL commits mainly for this. It looked and seemed as though they were in his ear all day long and were constantly around him saying anything and everything to get the chance to block for him in the future. Here's what the top RB had to say to Matt Pargoff of Maizeandbluenews.com regarding the special day and what the atmosphere of the University of Michigan was all about.
— Mike Farrell (@rivalsmike) July 29, 2012
Visiting for the first time, Michigan and its campus really opened the eyes of '13 speedy WR Devon Allen.
'14 Detroit Cass Tech DB Damon Webb came away from the visit with a Family type of feel.
'14 LB Michael Ferns, who has Michigan in his top 3 (seems UM leads), mentioned to 247Sports "that the people at Michigan is why committing crossed my mind today." Penn. St. and Notre Dame rounded out his top 3 and although he says he is still considering the Nittany Lions, kind of figured it is just down to UM and ND. Because of this, and this being his second trip up to UM, he was one guy I thought may have been the select few, who already had an offer that is, to be on commit watch this weekend. Almost got it right...guess this isn't horseshoes or hand grenades though.
'14 OL Mason Cole was very impressed with his visit to the BBQ yesterday and has named Michigan as his leader according to Wolverine 247. This doesn't come as a surprise after seeing what Cole had to say shortly after proclaiming the Wolverines as his #1:
sad leavin this beautiful campus and stadium! i will be back #GoBlueThis comment was preceded by a few earlier remarks Cole mentioned via Twitter. He said that he was "lovin' this town and school,"and that "Ann Arbor is sweet."
— Mason Cole (@MasonCole52) July 29, 2012
I was also able to have a chat with Cole's teammate WR Artavis Scott, who should be the among the top WR's in Florida; I mean just check out his offer list ^^^. He said, "Every time I leave the state (of Florida) I think about how raw it would be to leave the state and play college football." Then I mentioned that he had not received an offer from the Wolverines, but he was attending the BBQ this weekend. Scott said, "ya when I get to Michigan I hope they offer but we will see." Seems as though Scott has a good amount of interest and is really looking for an offer from Brady Hoke and this staff. Cole and Scott have mentioned in the past that they would love to attend the same school and could be a package deal. Cole, as you can see above, is very high on Michigan, so I see a 100% chance of Scott getting offered in the near future.
'14 OL Nathaniel Devers said "Michigan was great as always. #goblue" Devers is one prospect I am surprised didn't have an offer extended his way. Have to think one will be coming soon.
'14 OL Tommy Doles was a part of the annual summer camp in Ann Arbor a few months ago and was able to take in the scenery once again this weekend. But he was already impressed enough the first time to have the Wolverines very high on his list as he told Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports:
Doles himself earned his first scholarship at Michigan’s camp back in June. He has yet to make a list of true favorites, however there’s no question the Wolverines are one of the programs at the top of his list. “Just the tradition of the football team,” Doles said. He'll return for the Barbecue at the Big House on Sunday. “That’s one of the big things there. The o-lineman and the Big House, that was just amazing. Also, I know how great a school it is academically. Just a lot of good things going on at that school, just good people there. Good coaches, great instruction. The camp was run well.” Fellows told 247Sports that “Tommy wants to go to Notre Dame or Michigan.”
Man, we could be in line for another great haul of offensive lineman to follow up the impressive '13 class. These 3 OL prospects, among others, will be highly regarded prospects once the rankings are finalized and form the sound of it, Michigan is in great position to land all three.
Michigan remains in great shape for '14 DB Parker Westphal, who is very, very talented. A very similar type, physically and talent wise, of a player to Damon Webb. Seeing these two on the field across from each other would not be a good sight for opposing offenses in the future.
These are just some of the prospects in attendance who were able to give updates and reactions on the same day as the event. However, there wasn't one bad thing said by anyone who visited, that I saw at least. Even the ones not mentioned, I'm sure still came away very impressed and it helped Michigan's chances, big or small.
Two top targets in OL Jamarco Jones and OL Orlando Brown wished they had made to it to the BBQ. I'm almost positive we will see a visit from both of them in the future, but definitely for next years BBQ.
Gridiron Kings
Image via here
Kipp Adams of ESPN put together an overview of the competition and was able to get former Georgia QB D.J. Shockley opinion on the top prospects in attendance. Shane Morris was noted and he had good things to say about the talented signal caller:
A quarterback on another team also caught the eye of the former All-SEC selection." Shane Morris (Warren, Mich./De La Salle) throws a really good ball and fires it downfield really well," Shockley said. "He is a guy that I saw make a lot of plays, and he is a big catch for Michigan."My take on his performance this summer from what I saw: It's crazy how quick Morris can get the ball out without affecting his delivery. He's able to get it out of his hands faster than anyone in the '13 class. He also releases the ball at a very high arm angle, something that is uncommon for south-paw QB's. Deep ball is definitely his strength where he shows great touch and can place the ball into a small window displaying pin point accuracy. And Morris still has a year until he enrolls at Michigan...plenty of time to improve these already fine tuned mechanics. Could be scary!!
Treadwell was also a stand-out this weekend and Morris' main target throughout the competition. It seemed every time Morris was out of options, he would throw it in the direction of Treadwell and he didn't come up with an incompletion often. Fitting, considering this description of his play-making ability made by Gerry Hamilton of 247Sports in his Dandy Dozen:
4- Laquon Treadwell, WR, Crete (Ill.) Crete-MoneeGotta love that last sentence and recruiting analyst's Newburg/Biggins of Scout.com also feel the same way and found out that he came close to ending his recruiting process not to long ago:
Treadwell backed up an impressive showing at The Opening earlier this month on Saturday here. He made tough catches look easy whether it be on a “go” route or over the middle in traffic. His understanding of how to use his body and create separation without drawing a flag is impressive every time we see him. Michigan is the team to beat here.
Wideout Laquon Treadwell (Crete,Ill./Crete-Monee) said he nearly committed to Michigan at The Opening but just wasn’t ready. He’ll visit Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in August and is also looking at Auburn and Notre Dame...Michigan still sounds like the team to beat as Treadwell added his only holdup with the Wolverines is wanting to see what their offense looks like this fall. “I want to see the pro-style run under Coach [Brady] Hoke,” Treadwell said. “I want to make sure the school I choose is a school where I can showcase my ability. Once I see the offense and with Shane (Morris) coming in, Michigan will be right at the top.”His last quote is very interesting and kind of gives you the heeby geebies about landing Treadwell. If he wants to see a pro-style offense from the Wolverines this fall, he may be looking in the wrong direction. Borges tried to use a mostly pro-style offense in the beginning of the year last year and it wasn't super successful. Borges had to transform to fit the strengths of Denard Robinson and the offense was spread heavy for the rest of the season. Let's hope it's more of a 50-50 this year (for this sake) and Treadwell comes away impressed because it does not seem as though Treadwell is in any hurry to commit unfortunately as Keith Niebuhr of 247Sports points out.
2013 News
FL DB Leon Mcquay made a splash in the recruiting world when he dropped Michigan from his top three. I've heard from multiply places that Michigan was putting pressure on McQuay to make his commitment to them, but he wasn't comfortable enough yet and wanted to take the rest of his visits. It kind of stinks that Michigan is getting to this point in the recruiting process (not that I'm complaining that we have 23 very talented commits so far, but McQuay is special in my eyes). You always want to allow these kids to take there time and make sure they make the right decision, and you can't blame McQuay for not committing with the strict no visit policy Hoke follows (this may be the only downfall of this policy). McQuay replaced UM with FSU in his top 3, but his dad believes Michigan's top recruiter these days isn't done recruiting him, even if it is in an unsung, unorthodox way:
I'm convinced Shane Morris is using picks to L3 as a recruiting tool...gotta watch him he's a slick one ...lolI hope he's right. We'll have to get Shane's take on this one though. In the end, if the Wolverines have an extra spot open due to a de-commitment or missing out on someone come closer to signing day, and McQuay is still available, I see him bringing Michigan back into the picture because his staff won't let up on him until it's all over with.
— Leon McQuay Jr. (@Quaydiddy2206) July 29, 2012
Surprise of the Week: Top WR prospect Robert Foster still has interest in the Wolverines (!!!) and gave Jeff Sentell of the Birmingham News a look at who will "definitely" be in his top 5:
“Alabama, Oregon, Michigan, Michigan State and USC are definitely (in).”I haven't heard this kids name and Michigan in the same sentence in a very, very long time. But with Michigan filling it's class so quickly, it seems as though the '13 class is almost on campus or something. We gotta remember that we still have over 5 months until National Signing Day so there's plenty of time for some crazy twists and turns to happen in the recruiting world. This would definitely be at the top if the Wolverines were able to pull in this top 20, #2 rated WR (Scout). His ranking makes sense after you watch the highlights below:
Offers
'14 DE Connor Sheehy was the lone prospect to pick up an offer during the BBQ. Surprised that there wasn't anymore offers to come out during the day's festivities but maybe the coaches just needed a day or two to analyze everything before making anymore offers. I'll keep you posted if this changes, which I am sure it will.
Sayonara Suckas
'13 top 5 DB Kendall Fuller committed to Virginia Tech. He had a final 3 including Clemson and Michigan as well, but really was just a final two between V-Tech and Clemson. Seemed as though V-Tech was the team to beat because he has a brother who plays there now and having a chance to play along side each other, I'm sure has been a life long dream.
'13 KY DE Jason Hatcher committed to USC. USC was considered the team to beat for quite some time now, but Michigan was in the mix late into his recruitment. He is now part of what is being called the best D-Line class in some time nationwide.
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