Fridays Future Huddle Has an Official Visitor

The Michigan coaching staff handed out a pair of offers to two 2016 recruits this week. Who was on the receiving end? ESPN updated their Junior300 player rankings on Wednesday. Where did Michigan’s top targets land? Find out in this Fridays version of “The Future Huddle.”

Photo Courtesy: Karsen Welch King

Offer Time!

The Michigan coaching staff continued to roll out the scholarship offers this week, with a 2015 and 2016 recruit landing the offers.  

Colin Samuel

On Sunday the coaching staff extended an offer to 2016 Cornerback Colin Samuel.

Proud to say I've just received an offer from Michigan #Big10 #11 pic.twitter.com/jLQO4TvXEr
— Colin Samuel (@Colinsamuel9) November 17, 2014

Colin plays for Long Beach Poly, which is home to another Michigan target in Iman Marshall. Colin has flew under the radar for quite a while now, and is starting to pick up momentum in his recruitment, landing offers from Mississippi State, UCLA, Washington State, Oklahoma, and Purude all within the last week.

Colin has excellent size (6’2, 186 lbs) to play any defensive back position in college. He does an excellent job of keeping the play in front of him, and when a pass is thrown his way, has excellent break on the ball. Doesn’t necessarily have “blazing” speed, but can match up with almost anyone on the field.  He has above average ball skills and on numerous occasions is able to challenge the receiver for the ball. He rarely is beat on routes, and seemingly always knows where the ball is heading.

At this point in his recruitment, I would say that Michigan is likely in the top schools for his services, and a chance for a visit is very possible. Long Beach Poly is still in their state playoffs, so getting a visit during the regular season is very unlikely.

Colin is currently ranked as a 3* prospect and the #34 cornerback in 2015 according to 24/7 sports.

Workout/Practice film  is below:

Darrian Franklin

2016 Linebacker Darrian Franklin also recieved a scholarship offer on Sunday. 

S/O to @DarrianFranklin on Michigan offer! #GoBlue #D1Bound pic.twitter.com/xHlf5mEID1
— #D1Bound Nation. (@SportsRecruits) November 16, 2014

Darrian is an absolute beast for his Downey High school team. He possesses excellent instincts on the field. Whether it's run defense or pass defense, Darrian is able to do it all. Standing at 6'0, and weighing only 200 pounds, Darrian is a lot quicker than most linebackers. He closes in on the ball extremely quick and does a good job of making contact with the ball carrier. Like most linebackers his age, I would like to see a better job of wrapping the ball carrier up while making a hit. While he does make "hard hits", sometimes the ball carrier is able to elude Darrian. He does a decent job of shedding blocks on the line of scrimmage, but I would like to see him use his hands a little more.  He possesses good lateral movements, and is able to keep up with receivers or running backs. Darrian also saw playing time at wide receiver earlier in his high school career.

Michigan becomes the 8th team to offer the highly touted linebacker, joining; Arizona State, California, Miami (FL), UCLA, USC, Utah, and Washington.

Darrian is currently ranked as the 9th best linebacker and #103 overall in 2016 according to Rivals.

Sophomore Highlights are below.

ESPN Updates Their 2016 Player Rankings

ESPN updated their 2016 player rankings on Wednesday and the list is filled with recruits that Michigan will be targeting. Also, two of the three current 2016 commits made the list.

Currently Committed:

#183 OL Erik Swenson

#194 QB Messiah DeWeaver

Targets:

#4 RB Kareem Walker

#7 DT Rashan Gary

#14 S Brandon Jones

#19 CB Levonta Taylor

#28 OT Willie Allen

#29 TE Isaac Nauta

#34 OT Jauan Williams

#38 DE Prince Sammons

#39 DT Dexter Lawerence

#54 OT Liam Eichenberg

#58 OT Richard Merritt

#65 TE Jake Hausmann

#68 WR Dylan Crawford

#68 DE Josh King

#73 OT Ben Bredeson

#80 OT Michal Menet

#81 WR Justin Layne

#85 OT E.J Price

#86 LB Brendan Ferns

#98 WR Steven Smothers

#113 RB Robert Washington

#116 WR Josh Imatorbhebhe

#120 DE Auston Robertson

#125 WR Tavares Chase

#141 OT J.P. Urquidez

#160 OT Clark Yarbrough

#172 RB Elijah Holyfield

#175 WR Austin Mack

#188 WR Brad Hawkins

#199 DT Kyree Campbell

#204 DE Joseph Jackson

#207 ATH Ahmir Mitchell

#211 RB Kentrail Moran

#225 LB Jaquan Yulee

#231 WR Donnie Corley

#237 Michael Onwenu

#258 CB Lavert Hill

#265 WR Binjimen Victor

Weekend Visitors

With Michigan playing their final home game of the season this weekend, this is the last chance the coaching staff will have to show off their game day experience in front of recruits.  The biggest recruit this weekend visiting has to be 2015 Wide Receiver Auden Tate. Tate, who is currently committed to Florida State grew up a Wolverines fan, and has long be adamant of visiting Ann Arbor for an official visit. While getting Auden to flip his commitment from Florida State to Michigan looks pretty bleak at this moment, you can’t count out the chance since he grew up cheering on the Maize and Blue.  Other recruits visiting this weekend include;

2015 Safety John Kelly

2016 Cornerback Abdullaah Yaseen

2016 Offensive Lineman Devery Hamilton

2016 Offensive Lineman Stephen Spannellis

2015 Offensive Lineman commit Grant Newsome

2015 Preferred Walk-on Offensive Lineman Jack Dunaway

2015 Wide Receiver Grant Perry, Dorian Maddox

2016 Wide Receiver John Fitzgerald

2016 Defensive Tackle Ellison Jordan      

2017 Quarterback Kasim Hill

2017 TE Carter Dunaway (Brother of Walk-on Jack Dunaway)

2017 Defensive Tackle Camaron Spence

Other Notes:

2016 Safety Brandon Jones tweeted out on Wednesday that he will be releasing his Top 10 on December 1^st. Michigan offered Brandon in June and has yet to visit Ann Arbor. Texas A&M is his presumed leader at this point in his recruitment.

2015 Quarterback commit Alex Malzone released his senior season highlights earlier this week, and they are impressive. Alex finished his senior season with 38 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions.

2015 ATH Brian Cole will be visiting Nebraska for an official visit this weekend.

2016 WR target Donnie Corley will be in East Lansing visiting the Spartans this weekend.

For up to the minute recruitment news, you can follow Travis Cooper on Twitter @MaizenBlueCoop. You can also follow Maize & Blue Nation on Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.