Hello: Darian Roseboro
You'd be excused if you missed four-star NC DL Darian Roseboro's commitment post as Friday's content avalanche swept posts off the front page at an alarming rate; if you're among that number, click here for the full post. Scout's Michael Clark caught up with Roseboro's coach in the wake of the commitment:
According to the Lincolnton coach, Roseboro’s relationship with [Roy] Manning played pivotal role in his commitment.
”I feel like coach Manning really connected with Darian,” Cloninger said. “Darian felt very comfortable with him. And I know Darian and his family went up there a few times, and they all felt very comfortable and enjoyed the coaching staff. If anything, coach Manning was the connector for Michigan and that was a big part of it.”
Manning has been Michigan's best recruiter on the road, and on this staff that's quite the accomplishment.
While U-M isn't going to compete for a team recruiting "title" due to the small size of the class, they're now second in star average behind only Alabama on the 247 Composite. Only two of the 11 commits aren't composite four-stars, and one of those is a kicker; the 2015 class may not have a lot of quantity, but it sure has quality.
Weekday Warriors: Week One
I'll have a lot more on a one Michigan commit and several current and potential targets in the grand return of Future Blue Originals, as I was at Wayne State—along with our helpful right-hand man Dave, who handled camera duties—to take in Southfield/OLSM and Cass Tech/Oak Park. Scouting and video will be up on those games tomorrow.
247's Steve Lorenz posted a comprehensive, free roundup of Michigan's commit stats from last week, which makes my life a whole lot easier. The standout is Brian Cole, who you can see doing hilarious things to Saginaw Arthur Hill in the above video. Cole carried the ball 11 times for 91 yards and a long touchdown after fielding a low snap at punter (yes, he punts), caught three passes for 71 yards and a TD, and brought back an interception to the house to account for all three TDs in a 24-6 Heritage victory.
Mike Weber rushed for 142 yards and three TDs on 22 carries for Cass Tech, breaking a 70-yarder up the gut with impressive burst to open the scoring for the Technicians. Again, much more on his performance coming tomorrow.
Alex Malzone connected on 20 of 34 passes for 363 yards and four TDs in Brother Rice's season opener against... Brother Rice (Chicago). The top defensive standouts among U-M commits were Darrin Kirkland Jr., who had 17 tackles, four TFLs, a fumble recovery, and a pick, and Roseboro, who added 100 yards rushing and two TDs to his ten-tackle effort on the other side of the ball (highlights here). Hit the link above for the rest of the commit stats.
[Hit THE JUMP for a hopefully irrelevant update on Chris Clark, a quick overview of last weekend's visitors, and more.]
Maybe Something, Hopefully Nothing
In the waning moments of Michigan's win over Appalachian State, I noticed a tweet from TE commit Chris Clark go across my feed. While Clark later deleted it, the internet doesn't miss much:
2015 #Michigan TE commit RT @Clark8Chris I'm gonna be taking two officials
— Kyle Bogenschutz (@KyleBogie) August 30, 2014
Taking official visits to Not Michigan would obviously throw Clark's commitment status into question, so we'll see if anything develops here. Just the day before he was tweeting about winning championships at Michigan with Roseboro, so there's a good chance nothing comes of this. However you decide to react to this news, please don't express that reaction to Clark.
ASU Visitors
The Wolverine's Brandon Brown compiled a list of the recruits who made it to Saturday's game. Some notable visitors from a relatively light recruiting weekend:
- 2016 QB commit Messiah deWeaver
- 2016 four-star Cass Tech CB Lavert Hill—making his fourth visit in a month
- 2016 four-star Plymouth OL Michael Jordan—holds an offer, and he's just down the road so I'll be sure to check out one of his games soon
- 2017 OLSM WR Kahlee (KJ) Hamler—looked great on Friday, potentially offer-quality if he grows a bit (again, more on him tomorrow)
- 2017 Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones
- 2017 OLSM LB Josh Ross—offered
A bit more on Hamler; he told Lorenz after his visit that he's got a strong bond with Devin Funchess:
"I've known Devin my whole life," he said. "I've been training with him since I was eight years old because I've always tried to train with the older guys to make myself better. I look at him as a big brother. He's always giving me tips and helping me out and I have a lot of love for him. I think his success at Michigan will mean something to me (in his recruitment). I love to see someone that I've known for a long time do well at a big school. We haven't talked specifically about his experience at Michigan, but I'm sure we will at some point."
Hamler hadn't played a varsity snap until last week; despite that, he already holds early offers from Michigan State, Cincinnati, and Toledo after an excellent summer on the camp circuit.
Etc.
2015 four-star IN LB Asmar Bilal expects to take official visits to both Michigan and Notre Dame before deciding between the two, per 247's Steve Wiltfong ($):
The Irish and Wolverines have been at the top of the U.S. Army All-American’s list for months.
“Exactly, I think I’m going to try and make officials to both of the colleges and see how it goes,” Bilal said shortly after helping Ben Davis roll past Avon 57-27.
Bilal hasn't pinned down dates yet; he's "not sure" if he'll be at the game on Saturday.
Five-star 2016 OH OT Liam Eichenberg told Wiltfong that Michigan is discussing early playing time with him:
Michigan was another school that really impressed Eichenberg when he visited.
“I love Michigan a lot,” he said. “It’s pretty much like Ignatius.
“I know I can probably play early at Michigan. I’ve heard coaches tell me that. It will just come down to my family, how far they want to go stuff like that.”
Michigan is in an early top three for Eichenberg alongside Notre Dame and Ohio State.