Commence Exodus
Happy trails.
Even before Saturday's debacle, Michigan's 11-member recruiting class of 2015 was beginning to fall apart. Four-star NC DE Darian Roseboro, who committed to M at the very end of August, took an official visit to NC State over the weekend, per Tim Sullivan ($):
Now, however, Roseboro is on an official visit across the state to Raleigh, and Michigan's grip on him may be slipping.
"How much he liked NC State, and if that was enough to beat Michigan, wasn't the same before his commitment," Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Analyst Adam Friedman said. "This is clearly a reaction to the way Michigan's season is going and the reported instability of the coaching staff."
Rosoboro added an offer from Oklahoma today, and 247's Steve Lorenz reports that he's telling other coaching staffs he's no longer committed to Michigan ($).
In that same article, Lorenz mentions two other commits are looking around. The first is four-star TE Chris Clark, which comes as little surprise considering he'd already considered taking other official visits in recent weeks. The second is four-star CB Garrett Taylor, who says that he's "going to take my five official visits and see what happens," and won't even confirm whether or not Michigan will receive one of those visits.
A couple commits have reaffirmed their commitments, at least. The headline regarding S Tyree Kinnel on The Wolverines says it all—he "committed to a program." OT Grant Newsomekept it simple in talking to Rivals' Adam Friedman: "I committed to the University of Michigan, not the University of Brady Hoke."
This is inevitable when there's this much turmoil surrounding a program: the recruits are looking around, and even if Brady Hoke keeps his job, he's either going to have to make some serious compromises about how he handles commits taking visits to other schools or risk losing a large portion of this class.
[Hit THE JUMP for updates on Tyrone Wheatley Jr., Daelin Hayes, and more.]
Wheatley "Hasn't Talked" To Michigan Much
If Michigan is hoping Tyrone Wheatley Jr. is going to replace Clark in the class at tight end should Clark eventually decommit, they might want to get on the phone:
“I haven’t talked to (Michigan) a lot. Coach Mallory is hitting me up daily on Facebook and stuff like that. I haven’t really talked to Coach Hoke, Ferrigno or any of them that much lately.”
“I’m sure they’ll call me soon, send me a letter. I’ll call them. I’ve got to figure out when I’m going to get out there.”
Meanwhile, Wheatley mentioned that Alabama, Oregon, USC, and UCLA are all making a lot of effort in recruiting him.
Yesterday, Sam Webb caught up with the elder Tyrone Wheatley, who said the talk of Hoke being on the hot seat "makes absolutely no difference because we’re not paying attention to it," in regard to his son's recruitment.
Etc.
In a bit of a surprise, four-star 2016 LB Daelin Hayes, who played for Orchard Lake St. Mary's before committing to USC this summer and moving to the Los Angeles area, visited for the game on Saturday, even getting a chance to chat with former Trojan Ty Isaac. As it turns out, Hayes is moving back to Michigan because of a custody issue. This might give M a chance to get back into his recruitment, but... well, you know, the whole program in turmoil thing.
Michigan offered three-star 2016 CA WR Theo Howard last week, per GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz ($):
“Michigan has always been my favorite and it’s been a dream since I was a little kid so a lot of relief and joy,” Howard said. “My parents were happy.
“Basically, I just like how they’re explosive and stuff like that and they like my speed and loved my tape. I’ll probably go and take an unofficial visit there at the end of the season.”
Let's end on an uplifting note: you're strongly encouraged to read TomVH's excellent feature on Cleveland native and Florida commit Jerome Baker doing great work to coordinate with other top Ohio athletes and speak out against domestic violence.