247, Scout Update 2017 Rankings
The spring/summer camp season culminated with The Opening finals, and as prospects turn their attention to the upcoming season, the recruiting sites are updating their rankings. Scout and 247 both released new rankings over the last week, and while Michigan lost their only composite five-star, there were quite a few positive developments.
QB Dylan McCaffrey was good, but not great, at The Opening, and that was enough to drop him from #39 to #101 overall on Scout and from #30 to #54 on 247. He's now the #39 overall player on the 247 Composite, 12 spots away from regaining five-star status.
DE Luiji Vilain moved up nine spots to #85 on 247 and held steady at #138 on Scout. Making incremental gains—and avoiding small drops—is tougher the higher a player is ranked, especially when there's significant movement like there is in the post-camp re-ranks; Vilain inching up the composite (to #96) is impressive in that context.
The same principle applies to DT Aubrey Solomon, who dropped nine spots to #216 on 247 and two spots to #129 on Scout. LB Josh Ross had a more significant fall, moving down 16 spots to #193 on 247 and an even hundred spots to #228 on Scout.
The most significant split is over CB Benjamin St-Juste, whose star turn at The Opening earned him a massive jump from three stars all the way to #92 overall on 247; Scout, meanwhile, kept him as a three-star, only giving him a four-spot bump to #32 in their cornerback position rankings. The point of contention doesn't seem to be the quality of his camp performances—those were praised by both sites—but the dearth of other information on the Canadian prospect; if he played his high school ball in, say, Florida, I don't think there's much doubt he'd be a solid four-star.
There's a similar difference of opinion on RB AJ Dillon, who vaulted 112 spots to #99 overall on 247 while remaining a three-star on Scout. Again, weighing camp performances against quality of high school competition could be an issue here—Dillon doesn't face high-level foes in Massachusetts.
DE Corey Malone-Hatcher and OT JaRaymond Hall both dropped out of the Top247; Malone-Hatcher is still a four-star at #260 overall, while Hall lost a star in dropping down to #370. Both took less drastic tumbles on Scout, landing at #248 (Hall) and #296 (CMH).
OT Kai-Leon Herbert stayed at #180 on Scout and didn't crack the Top247. 247 still hasn't updated Herbert's ranking, but Barton Simmons indicated on their board that Herbert is in line to move up from his outdated, middling three-star ranking:
Good player. Size/Strength keeps him out of the Top247 for now. He's athletic. Will be a guy to monitor.
He should get a bump once 247 updates rankings of guys beyond the Top247.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Solomon To Take Visits
Aubrey Solomon's commitment last month took everyone by surprise, and we assumed at the time that Michigan would have to fight to hold onto him. The bad news is he plans to take all five of his official visits, as well as an unofficial to LSU this weekend. The good news is Michigan is getting one of his officials, and he doesn't sound over the moon about the other schools on the list, per 247's Ryan Bartow:
USC: "I hear from them sometimes. Not too much. I was born in Fresno, California so that's my 'dream team' growing up."
Oregon: "That's one of my favorites growing up. I like their swagger."
Florida: "I feel like I owe them one. They were my leader at one point."
Clemson: "They really turned their program around."
We should get a better idea of how firm Solomon's commitment is after his LSU visit; for now, I'm not seeing too much reason for concern.
Five-Star Updates: M Gaining Ground For Browning
Steve Lorenz's latest Inside Michigan Recruiting post contained an encouraging update on five-star TX OLB Baron Browning:
"Michigan's in his very, very top group," the source said. "At worst they are running third right now. He had a great visit to Michigan and his brother's connection to Coach Harbaugh remains strong and has helped them."
Overall, it appears Michigan is trending upwards with the player most believe is the best linebacker prospect in the country. UCLA, Texas and Ohio State are among those that remain serious contenders at this point.
Steve had previously downplayed Michigan's chances with Browning, so this looks significant.
NY OT Isaiah Wilson, who dropped two spots away from composite five-star status after the latest updates, has Michigan in his top five and set an offical to Ann Arbor, per 247's Alex Gleitman:
"As of right now I have three [official visits] scheduled and I still need to schedule two more," he told 247Sports. "My three I have scheduled are to Michigan, Alabama, and Georgia. The other two, I don't know. It could be [LSU and USC], but there's still one other school that could come in that could make those other two more questionable."
Wilson has visited Georgia on an unofficial this summer and will do the same to Alabama this weekend; he's looking to come to Michigan for the BBQ in August if he can arrange transportation.
Etc.
Four-star CT WR Tarik Black has Michigan among the six schools he's considering for his five official visits, per Scout's Brian Dohn. He could get back-burnered by Michigan, which is shooting for Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins and recently offered Oliver Martin, who climbed all the way to #67 overall on 247 after his breakout camp season.
Four-star VA S Jonathan Sunderlandwill decide on Saturday between Boston College, Michigan, Penn State, and Syracuse. He doesn't appear to be a take for the staff right now and Penn State has emerged as the favorite to land him.
Four-star 2018 (soft) commit Leonard Taylorwill be at Ohio State's Friday Night Lights camp tomorrow.