Gary To Take Official This Weekend
Five-star NJ DT Rashan Gary's recruitment has trended towards the SEC lately but that doesn't mean Michigan is out of the picture by any stretch. The Wolverines will get their best chance to vault back to the forefront this weekend when Gary, accompanied by his mother, will take his first official visit for the BYU game, per Sam Webb:
The Wolverines appeared to have helped their cause significantly during Gary’s two prior unofficial visits, especially when it came to connecting with his mother. That is a crucial element in his recruitment considering what the talented youngster has cited as the significant factor in his decision-making process.
“Make sure my mom is comfortable with the decision and my family coming to see me play games,” Gary said. “If that’s alright I’m good.”
Gary's reaction to the visit should be telling. If it's similar to his first two visits to campus, M should be in decent position, though they'll have to sweat out four more officials. If he's not singing M's praises next week we can probably move on from being emotionally invested in this.
Also taking an official this weekend is four-star CO OLB/DE Carlo Kemp, who could be the guy to fill that open spot at BUCK. Three-star 2017 GA RB Kurt Taylor should also make it in after flight delays forced him to reschedule a planned unofficial for the Oregon State game. Brian would kill me dead if I didn't mention one more unofficial visitor, per TMI's Brice Marich ($):
Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snider 2017 wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer will be visiting Michigan this weekend. He said that he is excited for the trip this weekend and feels it going to be a good game with a great atmosphere.
MAC HIPPENHAMMER. Clearly a must-get.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
More Visit Reactions
Scout's Greg Biggins caught up with five-star CA OLB Caleb Kelly after last weekend's official visit. Kelly talked up Michigan's gameday atmosphere, the defensive scheme, Jim Harbaugh, and more:
"She liked Coach Durkin as well and feels Michigan has a very bright future ahead of them. We both even loved the weather, the fans and just how supportive every one is there. The players were great and showed me around. Jared Wangler was my host and he was great. Overall, it was a great visit and I definitely have a strong comfort level at Michigan. I'm going to take the rest of my trips and I'm still planning to wait until Signing Day to make my decision."
Oregon is the next visit for Kelly followed by trips to Oklahoma and Notre Dame. Texas is set as well but is tentative right now.
Oklahoma still looks like the favorite but Michigan put their best foot forward here.
Three-star Detroit King ATH Armani Posey, who could play a role in landing Donnie Corley should Michigan extend an offer his way, told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown about his unofficial visit last weekend, which gave Soup Campbell a chance to tell him where he's being recruited ($):
"They definitely like me somewhere on defense. They think I could play somewhere in their system like how [Jabrill] Peppers is used. It's sort of like a hybrid position. Kind of like a safety and kind of like a linebacker helping in the run game."
Posey said the trip was "really good."
BREAKING: Brandon Peters' Coach Is Fan Of Brandon Peters
Allen Trieu's latest Detroit News piece features a couple quotes from Brandon Peters' high school coach, who explained why Peters is so lights-out this year:
"He is so much more in command of our offense," Orioles head coach Mark Bless said. "He is handling things well. We run RPO, run-pass option, and it's basically his read on an inside or outside linebacker, and he is handling everything very well with that. He takes care of the ball. He's always been good at taking care of the ball and not being reckless, but he's been excellent with his game management."
Not that this was a worry, but Bless added that Peters is completely committed to Michigan—if other schools are reaching out to him, he's not reciprocating.
In other Indiana commit news, Chris Evans is fast:
Why I think Chris Evans can play early at #Michigan. Brings needed speed/big play ability: http://t.co/ohFZUhSAMupic.twitter.com/sDhHCmlcUd
— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) September 22, 2015
Like, really fast.
New Offers
The Wolverine reported a trio of new offers out to 2017 prospects this week. FL RB Adarius Lemons already had an impressive offer sheet—including Florida and Louisville—before Michigan added their name to the list this week, and he told Brandon Brown he's got serious interest ($):
"Man, Jim Harbaugh," he said. "I'm supposed to get on the phone with him soon actually. I'm looking forward to that and building a relationship with him. He's a great coach and that'll be good to have that with him. Once I get a chance to talk to him and get to know him I'll be set. After that I'll feel like I have a good thing going on with Michigan."
He added that Michigan is "right at the top" along with Florida and Louisville. While he's currently unranked by all but 247 (three stars) that doesn't seem likely to last.
Michigan also offered three-star TN RB Chase Hayden, a Tennessee legacy holding a Vols offer. Despite that fact he told Tim Sullivan he's open to everyone and not in a hurry to make a decision ($):
"It's most definitely possible that I go somewhere else," he said of Tennessee. "I'm wide open right now. I'm not leaning towards anybody. I'm just trying to find the best fit for me, so I'm wide open."
"Right now, I'm not close to narrowing it down any time soon. I probably want to commit sometime before my senior season in this upcoming summer. I'm just looking for a strong relationship with the coaches at the school. I'm trying to find the best place for me that I can fit in with. Then I'm trying to go to a school with great academics."
The Wolverines also offered four-star TX WR Tylan Wallace, per Sullivan.
Etc.
Four-star CA CB and Stanford commit David Long is still looking around, per 247's Ryan Bartow ($):
Stanford cornerback commit David Long (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) said he will "definitely" take official visits to Nebraska, Notre Dame and Michigan.
Long maintains that he's "100-percent firm with Stanford," so we'll see how that goes.
While this seems like a longshot at best, M will also get an official visit from top-100 ATH and recent Alabama decommit Shyheim Carter, per 247's Kipp Adams ($):
Carter, who visited Georgia in July for Dawg Night and in August to watch the Bulldogs practice, says the only official visits he is sure he will take are to Michigan, Oregon and USC. Alabama, Georgia, and Ole Miss might not get Carter on campus for an official.
"I have seen those schools enough," Carter said. "I basically know everything about them, so I just want to get out to other schools, because I may like something different."
Carter seems ticketed for Georgia even if he makes the trip to Ann Arbor.
Related to the above, this is a fun stat from Steve Lorenz:
Under Hoke, #Michigan hosted 9 Top150 UNCOMMITTED kids on officials in 4 years. Harbaugh hosted 5 in 2015 class alone, could have 15+ in '16
— Steve Lorenz (@TremendousUM) September 23, 2015
While Harbaugh may not be landing a ton of huge names yet, that'll change as Michigan keeps getting blue chip players on campus.