Three's A Crowd?
Newest commit Matt Falcon has a ton of upside. [Nasternak]
Michigan's 2016 class went from two to six commits in less than a week, capped by four-star Southfield RB Matt Falcon's pledge last night. Tyrone Wheatley is proving to be a very impactful recruiter, as expected; he was the primary recruiter for Falcon, Kingston Davis, and David Reese. Falcon, who played youth football with the Washtenaw Wolverines, told Scout's Allen Trieu he's "been a Wolverine my whole life," and discussed Wheatley's role in his decision ($):
You mentioned Coach Wheatley, he's going to be your position coach. What made you feel like he was the right one to guide you for the next few years?
We could talk everything besides football. We would talk on the phone for a long time. He's known about me since 8th grade and he's been there for me. He's been loyal, and I trust him and wanted to come play for him.You have some guys that you know, in-state guys, guys from your conference that are considering Michigan. Are you going to be a recruiter now?
Yeah, I'm trying to get everybody down to Michigan. Michigan is where it's at, so I'll talk to all of them and see where their minds are at.
With the recent wave of commits, Michigan moved up 25 spots to #20 overall on the 247 Composite team rankings. The Wolverines should be set at running back with Davis and Falcon, and Sam Webb mentioned on The Victors Board($) that's the case—unless four-star NC RB Robert Washington wants to join the class. Washington is set to announce his decision on April 25th, and prior to Falcon's commitment he told GBW's Josh Newkirk that Michigan was very much in the mix ($):
"They really want me, I'm their guy," Washington said. "Coach Wheatley is saying he would 'love' to coach me. He's been wanting to coach for me a long time. And Coach Harbaugh said I'm a 'special' player for him. So that was their message to me.
"My next step after I talked with Coach Harbaugh was he told me to put [Michigan] in my top-six. Michigan is a big school for me. I have always favored Michigan. So it's a big school for me, it's a no brainer to put Michigan in my top six."
The rest of Washington's top six is Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Syracuse, and TCU. We'll see if Falcon's decision impacts Washington's thoughts on Michigan; if it doesn't, the backfield could get quite crowded.
In other commitment-related news, four-star IN QB Brandon Peters will enroll early at Michigan, per 247's Steve Wiltfong.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
More Visit Reactions
While much of the focus in the aftermath of the spring game has been on local recruits, it's clear Michigan also made major headway with some key national prospects, as well. Four-star MD OG Terrance Davis made the weekend trip with his grandmother and mother, who was reportedly blown away by the academic presentation; he told 247's Steve Lorenz that he's already planning a return visit ($):
This spring/summer, Davis plans on visiting Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, UCLA, Florida and Florida State. He has already seen Penn State, Maryland and others as well. Despite having a long list of visits lined up, Michigan has put themselves in good position at this point.
"The family feeling I got there will be tough to top," he said. "I've already decided that I am going to take my official visit up there for the game against Ohio State in November. It's going to be an awesome atmosphere, and I can't wait to get up there. Overall, I'm planning on taking my five official visits and going from there. Michigan's definitely going to be in it until the end though."
Wiltfong and 247 national analyst Barton Simmons put in Crystal Ball picks to Michigan after the visit; I followed suit.
Houston (TX) Alief Elsik teammates Dontavious Jackson (top-100 LB) and Chris Brown (three-star S) took a three-day trip to Ann Arbor and also swung by East Lansing, and they told Wiltfong that both schools are under consideration ($):
“I don’t know how to put it into words,” Jackson started. “I don’t know who’s my one, two, who’s my 15 right now. I’m taking my time but I know they’re going to be in the discussion I have with my parents when I narrow down my list.”
“Both schools will definitely be in my discussion,” Brown said. “I’m not really narrowing schools right now early in my process. I’m waiting for my spring ball to arrive and work hard and ball in the spring and handle my recruiting process from there.”
Michigan also impressed a couple of mid-week visitors, four-star CA OLB Camilo Eifler and three-star NC CB Mark Gilbert. Eifler told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown that both prospects could see themselves playing together after a visit highlighted by throwing the ball around in the Big House ($):
"Me and Mark talked about coming to Michigan and even though we are on opposite ends of the country we have no problem getting away from home because Michigan would be home.
"I had a smile on my face the whole time I was walking around campus. People were turning their heads and noticing us and you could just tell that everyone loves Michigan football. They just welcome you with open arms and it was just a great experience all around. There is such a rich history there and you can feel that. It's something I'll definitely be thinking about when it comes to making my final decision."
Eifler is likely to take an official visit to Michigan in the fall, per Brown. Gilbert told 247's Clint Brewster he "loved the coaches, the facilities, and the atmosphere," and mentioned one way that Michigan stood out ($):
West Virginia, Duke, Penn State, Pittsburgh, and Michigan appear to be in a great spots for Gilbert at this time.
"Michigan is a great program with a lot of history and all the schools I've been to are great programs. But with Michigan being in the Big Ten I just think it's a higher level of football than most of the other schools I've seen."
Michigan also made a signifcant move for a top 2017 target. Akron (OH) RB Todd Sibley said the Wolverines pulled even with his favorite, Ohio State, after he visited for the spring game, per Scout's Bill Greene:
"This visit put me right back to square-one, and both schools are even now," he admitted. "After Thursday's spring practice to Ohio State, I was fully ready to commit to Ohio State, but now Michigan is right there for me."
"I loved the place, and I loved the environment they have up there," Sibley said. "The staff was great to me, and now I'm right back even again in my recruitment. I want to get back to Michigan, and they want me to come back when there aren't so many recruits around, so they can spend more time with me."
Sibley is slated to visit Columbus for OSU's spring game in a couple weeks, which should give us a good idea whether this is a knee-jerk reaction or Michigan has a real shot.
New Offers
Michigan offered four-star 2016 WI OT Cole Van Lanen on Tuesday; he told Scout's Allen Trieu that he plans to see campus in the summer. He also holds offers from Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, among others.
An offer also went out to 2017 Oak Park (MI) OT JaRaymond Hall, who gave his reaction to 247's Steve Lorenz:
"Getting an offer from Michigan is really big," Hall said. "I couldn't believe it. I really like the new coaching staff and the atmosphere I got to experience (at the spring game). I loved Coach Harbaugh and loved talking to him when I visited."
Michigan is Hall's second offer, following Miami (NTM).
The coaches also extended an offer to the #1 running back in the 2017 class, Dematha (MD) Catholic's Anthony McFarland. He's well on his way to boasting a five-star level offer sheet.
Etc.
This quote from four-star NJ SDE Ron Johnson is quite encouraging, especially since he also mentioned four-star WR teammate Brad Hawkins enjoyed their trip to Michigan and they want to play together, per Sam Webb ($):
“I really haven’t had any visits like Michigan, so right now since I haven’t visited anywhere, been there for days, and really looked into a program like I did Michigan I can’t just commit. That was a good opportunity but I want to look at some other schools the same way. But they’re pretty high because what I saw at Michigan I don’t know if I can see anywhere else.”
Johnson gives the impression that he at least considered committing; Michigan should be a major factor with him—and likely Hawkins, too—until the end.
Michigan made the top five for four-star CA S CJ Pollard, along with USC, Arizona State, Utah, and Oregon, per Rivals' Adam Gorney ($). USC is the presumed favorite.
Rockford (MI) K Quinn Nordin, who added an offer over the weekend, updated his top teams for Rivals' Josh Helmholdt ($):
"I have some great offers right now," Nordin said. "Penn State andIowa are, in my opinion, two of the most valuable offers you can have. Then, Michigan and Arizona State come in and I'm thankful.
"My No. 1 school is probably tied with Penn State and Michigan. Then, my twos are tied with Arizona State and Iowa, and Arizona State is a close two."
Nordin is the #1 kicker prospect in the country according to Brandon Kornblue's rankings.