Peters Camps In Cinci
Camp season is underway, which means we're getting our first round of fresh information on the members of the 2016 class since they made their initial commitment. Quarterback commit Brandon Peters participated in last weekend's Rivals Quarterback Challenge in Cincinnati, and The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan provided an in-depth scouting report ($):
Peters showed off one of the strongest arms in attendance. In the long-throw drill, he was one of just a few who were able to get the distance on their passes to hit the target 50 yards away. That drill was into a heavy wind, and while his passes weren't quite accurate enough to land in the basket, most couldn't even get it to the goal line (40 yards away), much less all the way to the target.
Peters has solid arm mechanics, as well. He gets his shoulder around on rollouts in either direction, and sets his feet. He can revert to a bit of a long windup - or go in the other direction, slinging the ball rather than passing it - but has the kinetics down, and will be more consistent with additional reps.
On a windy day, Sullivan said Peters was one of the more accurate quarterbacks, especially among those who were actually throwing with something close to college-level velocity. His areas for improvement are fixable mechanical issues.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
I Refuse To Create A "2019 Recruiting" Tag
So, this happened:
Middle-school phenom Blake Hinson's star continues to rise in the eyes of college recruiters.
The eighth grader Monday claimed a football scholarship offer from Michigan. He also has football offers from Florida, Miami and North Carolina and hoops offers from Florida State and Miami.
Hinson (6-foot-5, 205 pounds) had 24 catches for 518 yards and four touchdowns last season for Warner Christian's varsity football team. He followed that by averaging 22.5 points and 9.1 rebounds on the court for the Eagles.
There's a justifiable reason for this offer beyond Michigan getting in (very) early on a remarkably large and athletic middle-schooler; the Wolverines also offered Hinson's older brother, three-star 2016 FL WDE Evan Hinson, a Miami (YTM) commit who knows DJ Durkin from Durkin's days at Florida.
The cradle-robbing offering didn't stop there. Per 247's Steve Lorenz, Michigan offered 2018 FL QB Joey Gatewood on Monday night. Despite coming off his freshman year of high school, Gatewood is already considered a Florida State lean and may make a decision—for whatever that's worth at this stage—within the next couple months.
Other New Offers To More Reasonably Aged Prospects
Michigan also offered several prospects of late who may actually be able to drive. Top-100 2016 TX OT Jean Delance decommitted from Oklahoma in the wake of their fraternity racism scandal, and he told Rivals' Jason Howell earlier this week that he coveted a Michigan offer ($). Tim Sullivan reports Michigan came through with one yesterday. If they can get Delance on campus, they should have a shot.
The offensive line offers didn't stop there. Michigan also extended scholarships to four-star HI OT Michael Eletise, per Sullivan, and three-star UNC OT commit Jay Jay McCargo, per 247's Ryan Bartow. Eletise is expected to end up on the West Coast, while McCargo committed to the Tar Heels within the last week.
Michigan offered 2016 three-star LA S Chanse Sylvie, who may be leaning towards Tennessee, per Brandon Brown. They also sent out a couple offers to 2017 prospects, becoming the first program to offer OH TE Charles Reeves, and also entering the fray for NJ OT Micah Clark, who also picked up an Alabama offer.
BBQ To Continue?
An article on 2016 commit Erik Swenson by Rivals outlet EdgyTim indicates that the BBQ at the Big House tradition will live on under Jim Harbaugh ($):
Will he visit Michigan again anytime soon?
"I visited Michigan the week before the spring game and that was great. I'm also planning to go back in August for the big barbeque."
Swenson, who received an Alabama offer earlier this year and swung by Tuscaloosa on his spring break, also reaffirmed his commitment, saying 'Bama "is not the school for me."
Etc.
Michigan recently offered three-star NJ OT Will Fries, and while he's considered a Penn State lean, he'll check out Ann Arbor to see how the Wolverines measure up before making a decision, per Tim Sullivan ($):
"I'm definitely really high on [Michigan] right now, it's just can I get down there and see the campus and see it for myself," he said. "That's where I am with that, but I'm definitely high on them right now.
"I'm not sure right now about when I'll make a decision. We'll hopefully see after I take the visit to Michigan and maybe one or two other places."
Fries will be one to keep an eye on when he sets that visit.
Top-100 WI OT Ben Bredeson, whose recruitment is reportedly becoming a Michigan/Notre Dame battle, according to one of Steve Lorenz's sources($), was slated to take an unofficial visit tomorrow. He's rescheduled the visit to May 30th, per Lorenz, in order to avoid this weekend's graduation mayhem. I don't blame him one bit.
Michigan leads for 2017 Paramus (NJ) Catholic four-star DT Corey Bolds, per 247's Clint Brewster ($). The Chris Partridge connection continues to pay dividends.