Awwwwww
Brandon and Chris Evans together in the 4th grade. AAU bball pic.twitter.com/R4mmm2feLI
— David peters (@Davidpe12248404) August 26, 2015
Well, that's adorable. Dave and I are on the road to Indianapolis at this very moment to watch Brandon Peters' Avon High play at Ben Davis High School, home of Chris Evans. We'll also be taking in Orchard Lake St. Mary's vs. Detroit Loyola, Detroit King vs. Warren De La Salle, and Detroit Cass Tech vs. Southfield at Wayne State on Saturday. That should provide plenty of material for next week's Future Blue Originals.
Since it's apparently Cute Pictures of Recruits week, Brandon Brown posted this photo of a young four-star King WR Donnie Corley at the Hall of Fame camp with Lloyd Carr, sent to him by Corley's father ($):
Corley's father also talked about his son's recruitment, saying Donnie "is building a great relationship" with the Michigan staff, and they're waiting to see how Harbaugh will utilize his wide receivers. While Michigan is gaining ground, they still have work to do; this week, Corley set his first official to Michigan State.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Kelly Sets Official
5 officials., Blessed for these opportunities s/o @Claywill3_ for pic edits and @valkel19 for setting up visits! pic.twitter.com/rutHtuzsWV
— KANAI™ (@calebkkelly) August 26, 2015
Michigan will get the first crack at impressing five-star CA OLB Caleb Kelly when he takes his official visit for the UNLV game. Oklahoma is generally regarded as the favorite for Kelly, but their lead doesn't seem insurmountable.
Although his recruitment continues to drag on, three-star FL OLB Jonathan Jones maintains Michigan is ahead of his other top schools—Notre Dame, Stanford, UCF, and Duke—and for their part the Wolverines don't seem to be backing off at all, per 247's Steve Lorenz ($):
"I talk to Michigan almost every day between Coach Durkin, Coach Harbaugh and Coach Partridge. I have been talking to them a lot. They ask me about how I've developed and are always asking me about how I've been playing and how I feel on the field. There are a lot of factors with Michigan. They got in before I started to get more offers. They signed with the Jordan Brand. Michigan is a train that's about to take off with their new staff and it's one that I wouldn't mind jumping on."
Jones plans to make a decision in late January or on Signing Day.
New Rivals250 Released
Rivals updated their rankings this week. Here's the movement for Michigan's commits:
- WI OG Ben Bredeson dropped from #49 to #60 overall
- MI OG Michael Onwenu moved up from #191 to #83
- NJ WR Ahmir Mitchell dropped from #51 to #102
- IL OT Erik Swenson dropped from #93 to #115
- NJ DE Ron Johnson dropped from #109 to #222
- NJ WR Brad Hawkins dropped from #206 to #224
- IN QB Brandon Peters dropped from #229 to #242
Outside of their assessment of Michael Onwenu, it's clear Rivals has lost their touch.
Commit Updates: Enis To Start At RB, Reese "100%" LB
If you missed Chris Evans' four-carry, three-touchdown performance from the season opener, the highlights are above. He may not have had to do much work to find the holes in the defense, but he sure ran through them fast.
After a monster first game, IN ATH Kiante Enis updated TMI's Josh Newkirk on his future position at Michigan:
"I know first of all I am coming in as a running back," he said. "They are going to play me in the backfield coming in. There has been talks of going out to wide receiver, going out deep. There has also been talks of me playing in the secondary at safety. I'm a two-way player, so I'm comfortable playing either way. Just looking forward to getting up (there) to do anything I can to help the team win."
I like Evans best as a college safety, but it's admittedly difficult to judge his potential as a running back because of the low level of competition he faces in high school.
Farmington ILB David Reese, who looked around a little when it seemed like he'd end up at fullback, is "100%" coming in as a linebacker after talking with DJ Durkin at the BBQ, his father told Sam Webb. That leaves one last hurdle to clear before Reese suits up for the Maize and Blue:
“The only thing now is we did not get our direct answer on the (midyear enrollment) piece,” said Mr. Reese.
...
“What’s happening is Notre Dame is like two seconds away (from offering),” said Mr. Reese.
Even if they do the home team will definitely still be the team to beat.
“Everything else we feel comfortable with,” Mr. Reese said. “It’s the midyear piece that’s important to us. I told (Harbaugh) when we met with him… (David) doesn’t even have classes the second semester.”
Michigan shouldn't have any issue getting Reese enrolled early; unless something strange happens, Reese should be a Wolverine.
Etc.: A little basketball: NJ PG Bryce Aiken has tenatively scheduled an official visit for October. It's tentative because Cassius Winston has a couple more trips to the in-state schools to make before he comes to a decision; if Winston goes with M Aiken would no longer have a spot.