Five-Star Back Enjoys Visit
2016 five-star NJ RB Kareem Walker visited Michigan last Wednesday; he told 247's Steve Lorenz afterward that he enjoyed the trip ($):
"It was a great day," Walker said. "They have a nice campus and I like the coaches. I met a lot of the coaches and got to talk to Jabrill (Peppers) and spent some time with him as well."
With Mike Weber committing that evening, Steve asked Walker whether having a highly touted back in the class ahead of his would affect how he viewed Michigan, and Walker said he's "not really worried about competition." In fact, he said he "wouldn't mind" playing with another top back.
Walker also visited Ohio State during the week and told Sam Webb that he felt comfortable at both schools. His recruitment should stay in a holding pattern for a while now; he doesn't plan to take any more trips until after his upcoming junior season.
Another 2016 ball-carrier, four-star Southfield (MI) RB Matt Falcon, visited U-M last week and liked the intensity of the practice he watched, per Scout's Allen Trieu ($):
"When I went to Michigan, everything was good up there," he said. "I saw the practice. They were just in shells, shoulder pads and shorts, but there is a different kind of intensity up there at Michigan. I like it."
Falcon also visited Michigan State last week; he told Trieu that both in-state schools are showing high interest in him. Neither have come through with an offer yet, but that may just be a matter of time—Ohio State has already put one forth, and a couple other big-name programs are considering him, as well.
Yet another top 2016 back, NC four-star and former UNC commit Antonio Williams, came up with an interesting way to announce his top six schools—stadium photos:
This is a top 6 for now, no order, nothing official. Things could change #Blessedpic.twitter.com/77KwrhNjLu
— Antonio Williams (@A_B_Williams34) August 6, 2014
The tweet itself is self-explanatory.
[Hit THE JUMP for a new blip on the 2015 recruiting radar, how not to handle a commit tweeting word of a new offer, and more.]
New Name On The Board
Scout's Bryan Munson reports that four-star 2015 OK S Will Sunderland has Michigan among the schools he plans to see on official visits ($):
”I am going to take official visits during the season. I will take an official visit to Ohio State and Michigan. I am taking an official visit to Oklahoma the weekend that they play Tennessee.
”That’s all that I know right now. I am considering visiting Nebraska. I have to see how they do this year. Those are all of the schools that I have talked about with my family and coaching staff.”
None of the recruiting services list Sunderland as holding a Michigan offer; in fact, only Scout lists his as having Michigan interest, so this is coming from a bit off the radar. 247 lists Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State as the schools with a high level of interest from Sunderland, with the Sooners the prohibitive favorite to land him.
Don't Do This, Vol. [I Lost Count]
2015 TE commit Chris Clarktweeted last week that he received an offer from Alabama. Nothing more, nothing less. Apparently, this was taken as a sign that he was looking around, and Twitter did what Twitter does, so Clark spoke to Sam Webb to reassure Michigan fans that there's no need for panic:
“It was just that I officially got the l letter,” Clark explained. “It’s Alabama so it’s an honor, but it has nothing to do with my recruitment. I’m 100% Michigan. It’s was just one of those things where it was kind of cool to have it in writing.”
In fact, Clark's been openly recruiting Marcus Lewis and Darian Roseboro on Twitter. Getting a scholarship offer from a program with three national titles in five years just happens to be pretty cool. This is your semi-regular reminder that reading between the lines of tweets by high school students and jumping to grand conclusions is perilous to your mental health.
Happy Trails
Happy trails to four-star 2015 PA CB John Reid, who committed to Penn State on Friday night. He'd looked like a lock to the Nittany Lions for a while now.