King Me?
Two Detroit King prospects who once looked long gone are taking a hard look at Michigan. The turnaround with four-star WR Donnie Corley has been dramatic. Corley told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown this week that two recent unofficials—and a bit of apparel news—have really helped Michigan's cause ($):
"Michigan is doing great [with me]. They got that Jordan thing, that was really sweet," Corley said through a big grin. "That's definitely big. That would be sweet, with Jordan cleats, and the shoes and everything. It's a big deal. They are doing real good right now."
Corley added his mom "loved everything about the visit" when they were in town for the BBQ and they also came away with a lot of helpful answers when they took an academics-centric visit. While it's early yet to say if Michigan has caught up to their two chief rivals in Corley's recruitment, they've made a ton of recent progress.
That could help them reel in four-star King CB Lavert Hill. The Penn State commit told TMI's Josh Newkirk his relationship with Michigan is "developing" and mentioned a desire to play college ball with Corley ($):
“Me and Donnie would like to play with each other in college,” Hill said of Corley. “Me and him talk about it mostly everyday.”
Package deals are fickle beasts, of course, but it's worth noting Corley isn't taking a hard look at Penn State. Michigan State is also pushing hard for the pair, but Hill seems more likely to end up in Ann Arbor, especially with his brother Delano Hill in line for major playing time this year.
Another in-stater to keep an eye on: four-star Farmington Hills Harrison DE Khalid Kareem, who told Brown that "Michigan is still in a lot of contact" with him ($). While his only planned official at the moment is to Alabama, the school he committed to over M in a very tight race, he's considering using another to see Ann Arbor again.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Welp, Welp, Welpadelphia
Four-star Philly TE Naseir Upshur strongly considered committing to Michigan last month but the landscape shifted when Isaac Nauta decommitted from Florida State. The Seminoles made a hard push for Upshur, got him on campus, and now look on the verge of landing his commitment.
not doing anymore interviews ... making my decision very soon
— 8/23 (@NaseirUpshur) August 20, 2015
Got us 2 silent commits #NoleNation can't wait until they make it nationally known
— Levonta Taylor (@iamlevonta) August 20, 2015
A flood of Crystal Ball selections, including Steve Lorenz's, have gone to the 'Noles in recent days. Tim Sullivan posted on The Fort($) that Michigan is "trending down" with Upshur and he expects him to end up at FSU.
With Upshur presumably landing in Tallahassee, Michigan's top targets to join Sean McKeon in the class at TE would be Nauta (a longshot), four-star CA TE Devin Asiasi (ditto), and three-star FL TE Jacob Mathis (the best bet among those currently holding offers).
Three-star OH CB Tony Butler is also in the Happy Trails category after cutting his list down to a final three that doesn't include Michigan:
Tony Butler has trimmed his list to 3. Arizona State. Clemson. West Virginia. Will decide in late September.
— Bill Greene (@BillBankGreene) August 20, 2015
My sense of his recruitment, especially since Michigan turned up the heat on Hill, is this has as much to do with M's pursuit of Butler as anything else.
Commit Fluff
Four-star MD OL commit Devery Hamilton got the Scout spotlight treatment; the video above features Hamilton discussing his on- and off-field goals and a quick scouting report from Allen Trieu.
With football season just around the corner, three-star CA QB Victor Viramontes got a short feature in the LA Times:
"Victor is the ultimate leader. When it comes to competition, he leads by example," Coach Chuck Chastain said.
Four-star OL commit Ben Bredeson was the subject of a much longer article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
It's one of the lessons he takes from his father, Mike. Mike Bredeson played at Grafton in the early 1980s and went on to play center at Illinois State. He later served as an offensive line coach at Arrowhead under former coach Tom Taraska for a couple of years in the early 2000s and currently coaches his youngest son's seventh-grade team.
So while he wants to be sure people know his son really isn't a mean guy — "He's a good kid. He's the type of kid that will knock you down and lift you back up," Mike Bredeson said — he understands what coaches mean when they speak of his son's approach to the game.
"The killer instinct," Mike Bredeson said. "I've coached so many kids and either you're born with it or you're not. You have to have that as an offensive lineman, and Ben has always had that."
Like Ben Braden and James Ross before him, Bredeson cites a youth hockey career as something that helped his development.
Etc.
Four-star 2017 De La Salle RB Allen Stritzinger isn't hiding the fact that Michigan is in great shape to land him, per Brandon Brown ($):
Whatever position Stritzinger settles on he could end up playing it at Michigan pretty easily. Bloomfield Hills (Mich.) Brother Rice tight end Carter Dunaway, the lone 2017 Michigan commit, told TheWolverine.com in an earlier interview that he believes Stritzinger and his father both love Michigan and that could lead to an eventual commitment.
"He's very accurate when he says that," Stritzinger said with a laugh. "I love Michigan. Every time I go up there I get a great vibe. There's always something for me to take in and I like it a lot."
Stritzinger is being recruited as a running back; he could also potentially play corner.
Four-star 2017 AL S J'Marick Woods, who visited earlier this month for the BBQ, told TMI's Brice Marich he plans to be back in Ann Arbor for a game this fall ($).
Garrett Fishaw (aka MGoFish) covers a couple targets at DT who could rise to the top of the board if Rashan Gary goes elsewhere.