Hey: Joe
Four-star FL QB Joe Milton's commitment (Hello post here) has been followed by the usual post-pledge scouting reports. Scout:
Milton also does a good job of transferring weight and stepping into his throws. He has packed on solid mass over the past year, and measures in at roughly 6-foot-5 when lacing up the cleats. He can continue to work on his accuracy on some of his intermediate throws, but flashes great ball placement when extending the field with the deep ball.
The Central Florida native is also comfortable when throwing on the run. Milton's fleet-footed style allows him to dissect defenses with his legs, but he also does a nice job of keeping his eyes locked down the field in hopes of utilizing his arm first.
After completing just 46% of his passes as a junior, unfortunately the stigma of being inaccurate is going to be there for Milton. Farrell agrees that it’s something that needs to be dealt with but doesn’t believe it will be a long-term issue for the big QB.
“He’s going to have to be a little bit more less reliant on his arm,” Farrell explained. “His teams throws the ball down field a lot because that’s what he’s comfortable doing. On short and intermediate passes after seeing him in camps this spring and watching him on film, he’s not as comfortable with touch. He loves slinging the ball down the field and he loves showing off that big arm.
Via a Freep interview with Milton's high school coach, Pep Hamilton provides a player comp:
“He got in contact with and me and said, ‘Coach, tell me about this kid, I love him,’” Hayes recalled. “He always talks about how he reminds him of Steve McNair. I thought that was pretty big. Coach Hamilton may have had the job one week and we’ve been in constant contact since he’s had the job.”
Milton's commitment gives Michigan a connection to one of the top prospects in the 2019 class. As TMI's Brice Marich notes, he's a cousin of Palm Beach Central cornerback Akeem Dent, who's ranked as the #6 overall player in the 2019 class by 247 and boasts an offer sheet to match. Incidentally, Michigan offered Dent on Friday.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Next Man Up?
There are a few possibilities for Michigan's next commitment, which should come in the near future. Three-star AZ QB Tyler Shough is still set to visit this weekend. 100% of his crystal ball picks are for Michigan, and he's stated he has no issue competing against another QB in the class. Shough would be a heck of a second quarterback for one class; he holds offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, and Louisville, and his film (above) doesn't look like a three-star's to me. He plays at one of Arizona's powerhouse schools and has stats that indicate his floor is higher than Milton's (his ceiling is lower, but you might be able to say that about every other QB in the class).
A pair of in-state linemen are set to pull the trigger soon. Four-star Grand Rapids Catholic Cental OT Jalen Mayfield has a decision date set for May 23rd. 247's Steve Wiltfong reports Mayfield has a final group of Michigan, MSU, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska; everyone expects him to wind up in Ann Arbor.
Steve Lorenz says as much in his latest Inside Michigan Recruiting post, which mentions another in-state tackle who could join the class soon: four-star Traverse City West OT Ryan Hayes.
Traverse City (MI) West four-star Ryan Hayes is still expected to decide sometime in the near future, although a concrete date hasn't been set. This is another recruitment that Michigan is in full control of at this point.
In a board post, Lorenz mentioned increased optimism regarding Michigan's chances at landing four-star NJ OLB Shayne Simon:
Hearing some even stronger rumblings regarding Simon and Michigan.
At this point, I think it would be a surprise if he committed elsewhere. Remember, mom and aunt attended Michigan.
If the spring progresses at this pace, Michigan could have the majority of its class locked up well before the season, allowing them to narrow their focus to select group of top targets.
In-State Guys Headed Elsewhere
Four-star Oak Park OG Marquan McCallcommitted to Kentucky yesterday, not long after visiting Lexington for their spring game. While there's been consternation about Michigan allowing the top-ranked recruit in the state to head elsewhere, the lack of a major push from any of the regional powers should tell you how much Michigan was interested; with the projected small class, they're not going to take in-state recruits for the sake of taking them, especially in a weak year for top-tier talent in Michigan.
In that vein, Michigan hasn't pursued four-star Cass Tech cornerback Kalon Gervin even after his recent decommitment from Notre Dame:
Early on in his recruitment, being from Cass Tech, most assumed he’d end up staying in-state and playing for the University of Michigan. However, despite offering early, the Wolverines weren’t showing a great deal of interest when it came time for him to make a decision. It looks like that is still the case.
“They didn’t hit me up at all,” said Gervin of the in-state Wolverines, following his decision to open things up.
The Wolverines already have three defensive backs in the class and Gervin is smaller than this staff's ideal corner prospect. He looks likely to end up out of state; I put in a speculative Virginia Tech pick based on his visit plans.
DACOACHO GONNA PROTECT THUH HOMETURF
Tulane's football team was set to host a summer camp in New Orleans that featured Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff.
That caught the ear of many LSU fans in Louisiana, with most curious as to why the Green Wave would match up with Harbaugh and Co. and not the LSU program.
Then came Monday evening's news.
Tulane has announced that they will put on a camp on June 16 in New Orleans that will feature LSU head coach Ed Orgeron and his staff. Tulane has also cancelled their planned camp with Harbaugh and Michigan.
That was one of nine satellite camps Michigan was set to participate in during the new NCAA-mandated ten-day window. It shouldn't be long before they come up with a replacement.
Ready the Finger-Nubs: NCAA Green-Lights Early Signing Period
Early signing period is a go. Collegiate Commissioners Association has voted to enact a 72-hour period starting on Dec. 20, 2017
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) May 8, 2017
Those 72 hours are going to be insaaaaaaaaaaane.
Grudging 2019 Update: All of the Offers
Here'sanoffer. There'sanoffer. Here's some more. Andmore. There's probably a few I missed but you get the picture: Michigan has done a recent wave of evaluations and is sending out offers accordingly, many of them to top-tier 2019 prospects in the South. Steve's Inside Michigan Recruiting post began with a section on Michigan's push for underclassman Georgia prospects:
The Wolverines' pursuits in Georgia are not a joke; they now have more offers out in the state than any other in the country in both the 2019 and 2020 cycles.
While it's early, I'd argue Michigan will be in and remain in contention for the following 2019s (too early w/2020s): DE Chris Hinton, RB Steele Chambers, DE/LB King Mwikuta, TE Ryland Goede and OLB/DE Kevin Harris. This list could be and probably is bigger, but those are the names I'm watching early on. The Grayson group is supposed to make a big visit up north in June; this would bring five-star Owen Pappoe and Top100 OL (FSU verbal) Wanya Morris to Ann Arbor along with Harris and others.
Not capitalizing STEELE CHAMBERS was an oversight, surely.
Etc.
Steve's IMR post also contains the obligatory Daniel Faalele update:
Michigan continues to be a factor for 2018 three-star behemoth Daniel Faalele, who is still in the early stages of his recruitment. This is one that will likely go the distance, with Miami (FL) and others starting to push.
There you go.
Running back commit Christian Turnermoved up in Scout's rankings, though not enough to push him into four-star territory:
Buford (Ga.) running back and Michigan commit Christian Turner made substantial jump in the rankings, moving from No. 72 to 49 at his position. Turner had a strong junior campaign and continues to perform at a high level this spring. He has good vision, runs with good balance and is very quick. The Buford standout is also very instinctive, shows good anticipation and can make people miss.
Four-star Notre Dame RB commit Markese Stepp tells Scout that Michigan is still in hot pursuit. It looks like M wants one more back in the class if they can get the right guy. Stepp is high school teammates with Michigan commit Emil Ekiyor.
Michigan made the top ten for four-star IMG-by-way-of-Chicago OG Verdis Brown.