Things Fall Apart
Is Darrin Kirkland the next to go?
Since last week's roundup, Darian Roseboroofficially decommitted from Michigan, bringing the 2015 class down to just ten players. In distressing, but by no means surprising, news, that class is likely to get smaller before it gets any bigger, as several other commits are now looking around.
Four-star LB Darrin Kirkland Jr. took an official visit to Notre Dame over the weekend, and he told TomVH that Michigan's coaching staff is now taking a different approach to commits taking visits ($):
In the past, the Michigan coaches have held a no-visit policy, but Kirkland had a different conversation when he told the staff of his intentions.
"They said take the time that you need to make the best decision," he said.
If the coaches hope to keep any semblance of a class together, I don't think they have a choice here. So, Kirkland visited Notre Dame with Hoke's approval, and in a rather painful twist took in the game with former M commit Shaun Crawford; Kirkland told Rivals' Josh Helmholdt he came away impressed with ND ($):
Saturday's visit to Notre Dame has given Kirkland plenty to think about as he enters the final four months of his recruitment.
"I'm just taking it one day at a time," Kirkland said. "I'm staying close with my family and hopefully we can make the best decision for me. At the end of the day I'll sign my letter of intent where I feel most comfortable at."
Kirkland remains committed to Michigan and is not sure what schools he could visit in the future, but he is keeping his options open.
I'd be surprised if M held on to Kirkland through a coaching change.
Of course, Kirkland isn't the only one looking around. 247's Steve Lorenz posted an overview of where the commits stand at the moment, and only four appear to be locks to stay committed ($):
- Quarterback Alex Malzone, who's still been recruiting other prospects like Marcus Lewis and Auden Tate, per Sam Webb ($). Malzone is also working hard to try to keep the class together.
- Offensive tackle Grant Newsome, who doubled down on his "I didn't not commit to the University of Brady Hoke" statement from last week by telling GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz he's "fully committed" to Michigan.
- Offensive guard Jon Runyan Jr.—as a legacy commit, it'd be quite surprising if he even looked around.
- Kicker Andrew David, who received a scholarship as a kicker at an early juncture, so he's also quite solid in all likelihood.
Everyone else—including RB Mike Weber, per The Wolverine's Brandon Brown($)—is at least considering other options, and among that group of six only Tyree Kinnel seems like he's still leaning heavily towards remaining in the class. As TE commit Chris Clark told MLive last week, coaches from around the country know an opportunity when they see one:
"I think they see an opening," Clark said. "They smell the blood in the water."
Clark recently added a USC offer and is fielding heavy interest from Alabama and UNC, among many others. He also seems like a longshot to stay in the class for much longer.
Meanwhile, in the 2016 class, four-star QB Messiah deWeaver maintains he's still "100 percent to Michigan," per Helmholdt ($). I haven't seen word on M's other 2016 commit, four-star OT Erik Swenson, but his commitment seemed rock-solid; hopefully that doesn't change.
[Hit THE JUMP for the latest on this weekend's visitors, Keisean Lucier-South, Auden Tate, Thiyo Lukusa, and more.]
Visit Weekend Falling Apart?
This weekend's Penn State game was supposed to be a huge one from a recruiting standpoint, but given the current state of the program it's not going as initially hoped. Two players who had planned official visits for this weekend, four-star CA OT Zach Robertson and three-star FL ATH Javarius Davis, have already cancelled, per Lorenz (Robertson link here; Davis here, both $).
As of last week, at least Michigan's most-hyped visitor—five-star CA WDE Keisean Lucier-South—still planned to take his official for the PSU game, but he also told Rivals' Adam Gorney that an in-state school had made a big move in his recruitment ($):
The Orange (Calif.) Lutheran five-star outside linebacker settled on UCLA, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon and Florida but the USC coaching staff did not give up recruiting him.
That was an incredibly wise move from the Trojans because Lucier-South said Monday night that he really appreciates their efforts and now USC is back on his list.
"They kept recruiting me even when I took them off the list and I respect that a lot and I love what they're doing over there," Lucier-South said.
I don't believe tea leaves are necessary to decipher that this isn't trending well for Michigan.
Etc.
Also from last week and hopefully still relevant: four-star WR and Florida State commit Auden Tate told Lorenz he still "10000%" plans to take an official visit to Ann Arbor, most likely for the Maryland game ($).
Four-star 2016 in-state OT Thiyo Lukusa, who planned to make a decison by December 1st, told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown that the situation at Michigan might delay that timeline ($):
"I love the guys at Michigan now and for [the coaches] to be gone would be huge," he admitted. "It's just a big deal to me. I've built a strong relationship with a lot of them. I've heard for a while now that they might not be there and other things like that. If they were to go I'd probably have to postpone my decision and see what's going on with Michigan. It's a crazy thing."
At least he's willing to wait? Regardless, this isn't looking nearly as good for M as it did a couple months ago.
Happy trails to 2016 five-star OT Tommy Kraemer, who committed to Notre Dame over the weekend.