M Offers Jamal Cain
Today's roundup starts not with football, but with some long-anticipated hoops news, courtesy of MLive's Brendan Quinn—Michigan has offered three-star 2017 MI F Jamal Cain:
Jamal Cain made the short trip from Pontiac to Ann Arbor for an unofficial visit to Michigan on Wednesday afternoon. He made the drive back with a scholarship offer in tow.
Cain, a three-star small forward from Detroit Cornerstone Prep, added the Wolverines to his list of committable offers as U-M joined the likes of Xavier, Georgia, Marquette, Florida State and others as his biggest suitors.
Cain's outstanding play over the last season has raised his profile considerably, and Michigan should be a strong contender to land him. M has three open spots in the 2017 class in addition to a commitment from four-star SG Jordan Poole; that number could dwindle to two if John Beilein decides to fill the current open scholarship with a 2016 recruit, but either way Cain will be a top target moving forward.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Kaindoh Decision Tomorrow
Five-star IMG Academy DE Joshua Kaindoh will announce his commitment tomorrow, per 247's Steve Wiltfong:
Five-star defensive end Joshua Kaindoh will announce his college decision Saturday on Twitter, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy spokesperson Johnny Esfeller confirmed with 247Sports.
The finalists are Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State.
While Michigan is among the finalists, it'd be a huge surprise if he picked them; Kaindoh's recent visits have been to Maryland, Notre Dame, and Penn State, with the Terps and Irish getting all of the recent action on his Crystal Ball. Wiltfong expects him to pick Maryland and continue to take visits before his early enrollment.
DPJ Moves Up His Timeline
The Freep's Perry Farrell (NTPF) caught up with five-star Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones to discuss the satellite camp ban reversal, CT's upcoming season, and his recruitment. While DJP still plans to visit the schools comprising his top 11 before his decision, he's going to have to do so in a short period of time:
A freakish athlete at receiver or cornerback, Peoples-Jones wants to make a quick college decision.
“I’ll be enrolling in a school in January so it’ll have to hit me before then,” he said. “I won’t quite make it to national signing day, but I’ll have to figure it out so I can be an early enrollee.”
That should be good news for Michigan; Peoples-Jones is already quite familiar with the campus and program after several unofficial visits spanning the last couple years. He certainly seemed to like M's most recent fire-emoji edit sent his way.
Second For Now
Michigan's isn't quite in ideal position for a pair of blue-chip offensive linemen, but they're close. Five-star FL OG Tedarrell Slaton, who'd previously had the Wolverines on top, told Scout's Corey Bender that Clemson now leads for him. Michigan was the first school he mentioned when asked about other programs in the running.
As part of an update on several New Jersey prospects, 247's Ryan Bartow dropped this tidbit on four-star NJ OT Micah Clark, who recently committed to Rutgers:
Clark, a four-star recruit, said he’s talked to Michigan, Tennessee, Clemson and Penn State since making his pledge to the Scarlet Knights.
Clark said he plans to visit all of those programs, Rutgers and Virginia Tech this summer.
He said Michigan is two and Tennessee three behind Rutgers.
Even though Slaton is the uncommitted of the two, at this point I like Michigan's chances with Clark better.
ESPN300 Updated
ESPN updated their top 300 for 2017, and it was generally good for Michigan commits, with Dylan McCaffrey rocketing up to very high four-star territory (ESPN is stingy handing out fifth stars, especially early in the process), Ja'Raymond Hall jumping nearly 60 spots, and two commits making their debuts on the list. Via Touch The Banner, which has a full rundown of Michigan targets:
- Dylan McCaffrey jumped from #186 to #19
- Ja’Raymond Hall jumped from #229 to #161
- Joshua Ross fell from #153 to #219
- O’Maury Samuels appeared at #222
- J’Marick Woods appeared at #263
In other commit updates, MLive's Matt Wenzel has an extensive feature on Phil Paea that includes a nice scouting report from his high school coach:
"The No. 1 thing is the explosive nature," Berrien Springs coach Tony Scaccia said of Paea. "Phillip has the innate ability to extend his hips and get great leverage and power out of his lower body. He is as strong as you can be with his lower body and he's got some things that he can do better too.
"He can use his hands better, he can play with better leverage in terms of his pad level, but in terms of unlocking the hips and playing with great force, he is as strong as I've ever seen and I've been coaching high school football for 10 years now."
Also of note: Paea plans to enroll early.
Etc.
According to Scout's Jacquie Franciulli, Michigan is in the "unofficial" top five for four-star FL ATH CJ Cotman:
Although Cotman, does not have any favorites, the speedy playmaker does have an "unofficial" top five or at least five schools that are on his mind more regularly: Florida, UNC, Michigan, Ohio State and Tennessee.
Cotman could be an all-purpose back, slot receiver, or defensive back at the next level.
Michigan will receive an official visit from four-star GA OLB Jaden Hunter, a Georgia commit.