T-Minus Six Days
As we reach the last week before Signing Day, Jim Harbaugh and Co. don't seem to be sleeping, and they're being sustained by meals eaten on in-home visits. (Sorry, guys, but Bryan Mone is already on the roster.) Steve Lorenz published a free rundown of everything that happened just in the last 24 hours, and it was necessary.
I'll start with the latest round of offers. Michigan went after a trio of committed running backs, and while two—Texas Tech pledge Corey Dauphine and future Arizona Wildcat Orlando Bradford—politely declined to take official visits, Wisconsin commit Titus Booker will be on campus this weekend. Booker is one of the few prospects whose 40 time contains no FAKEs; he ran a 10.68 100-meter dash to finish second in the state of Illinois last year. He's a solid all-around athlete, as well—the Badgers recruited him as a cornerback.
Michigan also convinced two committed receivers to take officials this weekend. Four-star TN WR Van Jefferson received interest from the previous staff, and while he's an Ole Miss commit now, the Wolverines aren't as unlikely of a choice as one might expect from a recruit with his profile—Jefferson is a Detroit native who didn't leave the area until his junior year, per Lorenz. The coaches also offered CA WR Deontay Burnett, a Washington State commit. Given what he told Rivals' Adam Gorney, Burnett may be harder to convince to flip than Jefferson ($):
It could be tough to pull Burnett away from Washington State especially since he likes the pass-happy offense so much and that he's been committed for months. The three-star sees a lot of opportunities in Pullman so a late push even by Michigan might not be enough.
"I love the offense there," Burnett said. "As a receiver it's pretty attractive that their offense throws the ball a lot."
Finally, M also offered three-star AL CB Keith Washington, who committed to Cal just four days ago. I haven't seen any indication regarding whether he'll visit.
[Hit THE JUMP for news on Ty Wheatley Jr. Chris Clark, Iman Marshall, Mike Weber, and more.]
Other Visitors, Past And Future
L to R: Tim Drevno, Jay Harbaugh, Moe Ways, and Ty Wheatley Jr. [Fuller]
Tyrone Wheatley Jr. has been very quiet about his intentions with Michigan, so it was both surprising and not that he appeared on campus Tuesday for an official visit that lasted all the way until this morning. I can confirm that, from a distance, he appeared to be having a good time at the Nebraska game Tuesday night with player host Moe Ways. There should be a lot more optimism on this front now that Wheatley has made it to Ann Arbor.
Michigan will host three-star FL CB Jarius Adams for an official this weekend. Adams took an official to Rutgers, where he's currently committed, last weekend, and while he told NJ.com that "as of now" he plans to sign there, he also admitted that Michigan has long been a school he'd like to go to:
"I just wanted to check [Michigan] out since it was pretty much a dream school growing up," Adams said. "I just want to check out the stuff that I've never seen. That's pretty much it."
We'll see if that's enough to overcome his current commitment.
The coaches are still making the rounds for in-home visits, too. Michigan's top two remaining targets on the board, Chris Clark and Iman Marshall, bothmet with Harbaugh this week. Clark told TomVH he's still very much up in the air after officials to both Michigan and UCLA ($):
“I guess I’m just going to follow my heart and go where it wants me to be,” he said. “Either school would be a good decision, so that will give me peace with my decision. I can’t really tell you what it will take to sway me, but I have to decide soon.”
Marshall, who's expected by just about everyone to ultimately choose USC, cleared an important hurdle for a surprise commitment to Michigan, per Lorenz ($):
"The visit with Michigan went great," [Marshall's father] said. "It was very informative and enlightening. I do feel comfortable with them as a staff now. You can tell they're first class coaches, but more importantly they're first class men and fathers. I would have no issues sending my son to Michigan and attending that program because I know they have his best interest both on and off the field."
Marshall still has one more official visit left; he'll see Oregon this weekend.
Back In It With Weber?
I buried the lede a bit here, as arguably the biggest recruiting news this week is that Jim Harbaugh met with Cass Tech RB Mike Weber and his HS coach, Thomas Wilcher, on Wednesday, per GBW's Sam Webb ($). While Weber has stopped talking to reporters about his recruitment, both Webb and Lorenz are cautiously optimistic about Michigan's chances to pluck Weber away from Ohio State. A visit would be a very good sign; even if he doesn't take one, he's seen campus enough times that the bigger key was getting him face-to-face with the new coaching staff.
More Official Visit Reactions
GBW has a couple more reactions from last weekend's slew of official visits that didn't make it into Monday's roundup. Three-star DE Jake Pickard's dad told Webb that the visit got the best of his emotions ($):
Harbaugh laughed because he saw me walking on the sideline. He said, ‘what’s wrong Pickard?’ And I turned around and I had tears streaming down my eyes. He goes, ‘what’s wrong with you?’ I said, I just can’t believe that my son is going to have a chance to play on this field and maybe one day help Michigan win a championship. It’s a true story. You can’t make that (stuff) up.
Pickard held off on a commitment until he hosted Syracuse and Wisconsin—where he's committed, but looking around in the wake of Gary Andersen's departure—earlier this week for in-home visits; now we wait, though things certainly look promising.
Three-star CA TE Matt Snyder, a Nebraska commit, is weighing his options, per GBW's Josh Newkirk ($):
“I could see myself attending [Michigan],” Snyder admitted. “It’s just a matter of figuring it out and talking it over with my parents. And will talk with coach [Jim] Harbaugh again [Monday]. We’ll see, I’m interested.”
Snyder said he's like to get his decision over with "as soon as possible," so we should get word any day now.
Michigan did miss out on one visitor from last weekend: OH FB Reagan Williamsreaffirmed his commitment to Stanford.
2016 Updates
For those that missed yesterday's mailbag, 2016 four-star OH QB Messiah deWeaver decommitted from Michigan late Tuesday night. There's more on his prospective replacements in the mailbag. DeWeaver didn't indicate what prompted the decommitment—though it may have to do with Harbaugh's continued pursuit of other quarterbacks—or whether he'll consider Michigan down the road.
Michigan offered three-star CA ATH David Long, a CB/WR prospect whose offer sheet indicates he's due for a bump in the rankings. Long told Scout's Eric Rutter that he may see Michigan soon—and he may be accompanied by some highly ranked friends ($):
Now that Michigan has come forth with a scholarship offer, Long is looking at scheduling an official visit to Ann Arbor. Joining Long on his trip would be two other members of his passing league—four-star quarterback K.J. Costello and four-star wide receiver Dylan Crawford.
“Actually I could potentially take a visit within the next month with another ’16 guy, Dylan Crawford,” says Long. “I’m really good friends with Dylan Crawford.”
Long says that both Crawford and Costello are “really big” on Michigan.
Finally, Michigan is running second for top-100 GA OT EJ Price:
This is the final TOP 10...in order!!!! pic.twitter.com/lCvAzDUBgp
— Ej Price (@Ej_Price77) January 27, 2015
As Lorenz notes, this is especially good news for Michigan given how much they've contacted Price compared to Auburn; Price has been to Auburn three times already, while he's yet to see Ann Arbor ($). That could put the Wolverines in position to jump to the top of his list.