Extremely Good Drew Singleton Update
Last week's roundup covered an apparent split in intel on top-100 NJ OLB Drew Singleton; while insiders at Scout and 247 believe Michigan is out in front by a considerable margin, Rivals said Clemson is a "safe leader."
Over the weekend, Sam Webb published a two-part interview with Singleton's father, and what's on the record looks quite good for Michigan. The first part is free and features Mr. Singleton discussing the recent visits to Ann Arbor and Clemson. Compare what he had to say about Clemson's academics...
(Dabo Sweeney) graduates a lot of his kids. A lot of people may not know his record, he knows how many seniors he has. If I'm not mistaken (out of) 135 seniors, he's graduated 129. That's pretty impressive to me. He's getting kids graduating and not with just any type of degree… (they’re) graduating where they can be a functional adult with a good education and doing something other than football if that's the case. Of course, it's a great football program and he's got a lot of guys playing at the next level or going to the next level. It's awesome. It was just impressive.
...to what he said about Michigan's:
It is what they say it is and more. Once you get there, they just took it to a whole different level academically. I met with (Ross School of Business Director of Outreach Programs) Rhonda Todd. She handles a lot of things and helps incoming freshmen with how to prepare for and apply to the Ross Business School, which is one of the top business schools in the country. It was awesome. That stuff really stood out for my wife and I. We know football is going to be good. You've got Jim Harbaugh, Don Brown, Tyrone Wheatley… (football) is going to take care of itself. But the other part, the other intangibles, I was just blown away along with my wife. That really stuck with us and we're still talking about it now. Very good. Extremely good.
That seems good. Very good. Extremely good, even. In part two of the interview, the elder Singleton said that while the tentative plan is to commit to a school on October 25th, "it may not go that far." Even though Singleton plans to take more visits, Michigan looks like they're in great shape.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Harbaugh Guys Visit Harbaugh, Enjoy The Experience
Michigan hosted a couple 2017 prospects over the last week who seem very much like Harbaugh guys. The first was Connecticut three-star Ben Mason, who is a linebacker/fullback prospect who could potentially bulk up to play defensive end. That might be the most Harbaugh combination of positions possible. Mason picked up an offer on the visit, and while he didn't commit on the spot, he told TMI's Brice Marich that Michigan made a big impression on him:
“I’m extremely interested,” said Mason. “I’d love to play for Coach Brown. Coach Brown runs an impressive attack styled defense. My game is about attack. I love his fiery style of coaching.”
While no commitment was made on his visit to Michigan, it's clear he has a lot to think about.
Michigan appears to be the favorite, though it should be noted Mason visited Wisconsin and added a Badgers offer a couple days after his stop in Ann Arbor.
Four-star OH TE Matt Dodson told 247's Steve Lorenz that his visit was "one of the best" he's been on after Jim and Jay Harbaugh not only compared him to Jake Butt, but had him spend time with Michigan's star tight end:
"Coach said my game really reminds him a lot of what Jake did and does for them," he said. "We sat down and talked a lot of football today and I really enjoyed that part of the visit. We watched film of how they use Jake in the offense and then they turned on my film and showed me why they believe I am a lot like him. It was a really convincing conversation and it effectively showed me how they would want me to fit in for them offensively. Getting to spend time with Jake was great. He was a really down to earth and real guy for someone who has accomplished as much as he has. He talked a lot about what Michigan offers you as a person and as a player."
Dodson plans to decide within the next couple months; he's focused on Michigan, MSU, OSU, PSU, and Tennessee, and there's no consensus on where he's likely to land.
Taylor Visits OSU
As expected, five-star 2018 OH DE/TE Leonard Taylor's recruitment is shaping up to be an ongoing battle despite his surprising commitment to Michigan after the spring game. Taylor visited Ohio State for their spring game; good luck figuring out where this is headed after reading the quotes he gave to Scout's Bill Greene:
"I told [Urban Meyer] I committed because of the program and the education, and he said he was still going to recruit me because there's a long way to Signing Day," he added. "He was real cool and said he respected my decision, but he still wants me at Ohio State."
"My family loved it up there, and I have an uncle that played for Ohio State," he continued. "I haven't really given much thought to what the visit might do to me, because I'm still all about Michigan. I will go back to Ohio State this summer for camp, and then again next fall for a game."
Michigan has the advantage of having Taylor's teammate, four-star LB Antwuan Johnson, in the class—and, notably, Johnson didn't accompany Taylor to Columbus—but this should be a fight all the way to the end.
Rutgers Strikes! (Seriously)
The top-ranked recruit in New Jersey, top-100 OT Micah Clark, looked like he had narrowed his focus to Ohio State and Penn State earlier in his recruitment, but he shook that up in surprising fashion when he released an ordered top five last week:
— Micah Clark (@MicahClark17) April 14, 2016
Your eyes do not deceive you: Rutgers leads for a top New Jersey prospect. This is great news for Michigan.
Or, perhaps, not as great as one would think given Michigan's (and Rutgers') recent track record with top New Jersey recruits. Chris Ash appears to be better at his job than Kyle Flood—stunning, I know. On Friday, Ash secured the commitment of the #6 player in the state, WR Bo Melton, who holds offers from the traditional Midwest powers as well as Oregon and Virginia Tech. While Melton is a Rutgers legacy, this still came as a surprise, and Rutgers fans are remarkably excited:
This should help Chris Ash open the floodgates for New Jersey recruits and this commitment comes at a huge time, given Rutgers was just named the leader for NJ's top player, Micah Clark. In 5-6 years of following Rutgers recruiting, this is the most excited I've been since Savon Huggins committed all the way back in 2011.
This is truly a new day in Rutgers Football.
Ash is off to an impressive start; we'll see if it sticks once these kids watch Rutgers play football this fall. If Melton changes his mind, RU's graphics department may feel particularly regretful.
Five-Stars Who Probably Won't Commit To Michigan Plan Visits
Five-star FL CB Stanford Samuels is a Florida State legacy who's expected to follow in his father's footsteps, but he does have Michigan in his top four, and the Wolverines have an in—Samuels goes to Flanagan, so his old coach (Devin Bush) and a few former teammates are now in Ann Arbor. Michigan is the only school in his top four he's yet to visit, and he told 247 he'll make that trip "soon."
The #1 player in the country, five-star RB Najee Harris, is committed to Alabama but still looking around, and he told Scout that he could visit Michigan in the spring or summer.
It's great to get five-stars on campus even if they don't produce commitments; it'd be a big upset if Michigan managed to pull in either of these guys.
Etc.
Michigan joined Baylor among high-profile schools to offer three-star TX OT Matthew Huhn, who has a tremendous Twitter handle. Huhn told TMI's Brice Marich he was "practically speechless" when he got the offer, and he's more likely than most Texas prospects to consider heading north—he used to live in Wisconsin.
M also offered the #4 back in the 2018 class, Fabian Franklin, though they'll face the near-insurmountable task of pulling him out of the black hole that is Mississippi.
The Wolverines are in the top five for three-star FL CB Randall Haynie, per Sam Webb:
"My top five is Michigan, Wisconsin, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Rutgers," said Haynie. "I'm going to try to get to all of them (this summer). I know I'm going to Michigan, Duke and Vanderbilt because I already talked to my coach about it and he said he was going to take me up there for those three. I'm going to try to fit Wisconsin and Rutgers in there, but my dad and I haven't really talked about that yet."
Haynie's Crystal Ball has one prediction each for Michigan and Wisconsin.
For those looking for hoops updates, I'll have a separate hoops recruiting post tomorrow.