PWO Hello: Michael Shuster
Jim Harbaugh will stockpile quarterbacks in whatever way he can; this week he went the preferred walk-on route, adding prolific PA QB Michael Shuster to the 2016 class, per The Wolverine's Brandon Brown ($):
"I want to compete at the highest level," he said. "I've been a starter since my freshmen year and I played three sports, football, basketball, and baseball, so competition has always been a part of my life. Being able to compete at a place like Michigan is something that really interested me. The fact that the academics are just as good as the Ivy League is just an added bonus."
Shuster, an unranked prospect, chose walking on at Michigan over Ivy League offers. He's put up really impressive numbers at the high school level; after throwing for over 3500 yards and 42 touchdowns as a junior, he's passed for 26 TDs against only three interceptions while averaging 10.2 yards per attempt so far during his senior season, per MaxPreps.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Class Outlook: Good
We don't really stump for recruiting sites here, but allow me this: Wolverine247 is free until the end of the year, Steve Lorenz is a great source of info (and, of course, a friend of the blog and an MGoRadio regular), and that price of literally nothing is more than worth it for content like Steve's outlook on how the 2016 class will finish up ($). Steve breaks down how the coaches see the current commits position-wise and Michigan's odds with their current targets; the overall outlook is very bright. A small sampling:
Michigan already has two commitments at cornerback, and we see two more in their future, with Top100 prospects David Long (Stanford) and Lavert Hill (Penn State) a pair of players the staff currently feels great about eventually reeling in. It's also not a spot we anticipate many (if any) more targets to emerge, as a mix of current commitments and athlete-types that are being pursued could fit the bill.
Two top-100 corners would be quite nice.
Elsewhere on the site, Steve caught up with three-star FL WR Pie Young, who still has the Wolverines out in front ($):
"I want to decide before Christmas and still take some officials afterwards to Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia," he noted. "Michigan is my top right now and I still am talking to Alabama quite a bit. I talk to Coach Cristobal and he's a cool guy. I like his style."
Young would not dimiss the possibility he could commit when taking his official visit for The Game; that's currently the only official he has set up.
Another top prospect with an official set for Ohio State is four-star MD OG Terrance Davis, who told Scout's Brian Dohn that Michigan still leads for him, too ($). He also has officials planned for Alabama, Georgia, and UCLA, and is deciding between Florida and Maryland for his final visit.
Four-star CO WDE Carlo Kemp is making his decision soon:
Four-star DE Carlo Kemp is deciding next week. He's down to Colorado, Michigan and Notre Dame.
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) October 29, 2015
This is almost certainly a Michigan-ND battle, but it's tough to get a read on which one it'll be.
MCDOOM
While Michigan has mostly narrowed their 2016 recruiting focus to a handful of top targets, they continue to evaluate prospects as they progress through their senior seasons, and this week the coaches decided to put forth an offer to three-star FL WR Eddie McDoom. I repeat: EDDIE MCDOOM. His coach gave the current recruiting outlook to The Wolverine's Brandon Brown ($):
"Right now Eddie wants to get up to Michigan and see it," Head said. "He's been to Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Kentucky. He has a trip scheduled to Oregon but he's very interested in Michigan. His conversation with the coaches and the way they said they'd like to use him as a big play guy really got his attention. They told him that he could really help them in the kicking game and be a dynamic player for them and he likes that. He's very interested."
If McDoom sets up a trip, Michigan should have a puncher's chance.
Etc.
Rashan Gary is writing about his recruitment for USA Today. He is a big fan of food.
Gary's 2017 teammate, four-star linebacker Drew Singleton, told Sam Webb his close bond with Jabrill Peppers makes Michigan feel "home-like" after taking a couple visits ($).
Four-star Detroit King WR Donnie Corleywill announce his decision on December 8th.