Elite 11 Finals: Shough Makes, Milton Misses Cut
Ah, it's that time of year when I try to remember how the Elite 11 works. Bear with me. The Elite 11 Finals, which went down over the weekend, featured 24 participants competing for 12 spots in the final finals, which will occur at The Opening finals.
Michigan commit Joe Milton had a solid first day but didn't show the consistency in 7-on-7 drills to make the final cut. SBNation's Bud Elliott sums up what he needs to work on, which falls in line with his commitment profile:
Michigan QB Joe Milton has the strongest arm at the event. It's one of the biggest I've seen in covering this event since 2012. The next step for him is shortening his delivery, and dialing up the appropriate amount of touch and speed on each throw. Not every pitch is a fastball. Not dropping the ball so low will allow him to become more consistent.
While he wasn't selected for the Opening, Milton told 247 he was relatively happy with his performance:
Milton, as usual, flashed major upside all weekend and has the strongest pure arm of any quarterback in the class. He felt good about his performance for the most part, but knows some work on the mechanics is still a necessity.
"I should have been keeping my shoulder up a little bit more," he said. "I came into the weekend knowing I needed to work on my footwork and learn more about when I'm standing tall in the pocket. I scored high though and I was mostly satisfied with how I played."
Top target Tyler Shough, meanwhile, continues to rise in the eyes of scouts; he was selected for the finals after displaying an advanced ability to read defenses:
Tyler Shough, good arm & accuracy but what was great was his eye discipline, not cheating drill to make sure he saw S & got thru progression
— Michael Felder (@InTheBleachers) June 3, 2017
Shough told Scout's Blair Angulo that he's hoping to make a decision in June or July; the sooner he pulls the trigger, the better it looks for Michigan.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Satellite Camp Season Is Here
Need a coach to serve as QB in WR drills? @CoachJim4UM was the obvious choice... pic.twitter.com/eZjQMrs86N
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) June 5, 2017
While there's yet to be any viral hijinks, Michigan's satellite camp season is underway. There hasn't been too much in the way of recruiting news yet, either, as most of the notable 2018 prospects to attend the camps didn't participate in works.
One such player was four-star OH DE Tyreke Smith, who chatted with Jim Harbaugh and Greg Mattison at Friday's "Light Up The Land" camp in the Cleveland area. Michigan looks to be a contender, per Scout's Bill Greene:
Four-star defensive end Tyreke Smith did not work out, but was on hand with his parents to speak with Harbaugh and assistant coach Greg Mattison. Although I would have the Wolverines running behind both Penn State and Ohio State for Smith, it was obvious both the player and his parents have a great relationship with Mattison. The fact that Smith and his parents made the effort to meet with the Michigan staff on a Friday night for over an hour shows interest, and I expect Harbaugh to remain in the chase for Smith.
The camp's top performer was three-star OH LB Chase Kline, who could be in line for an offer if he continues to impress at one of Michigan's on-campus camps.
In the first of multiple stops in Georgia, four-star GA S Trey Dean met Harbaugh for the first team, and he told TMI's Josh Newkirk that he'll be in Ann Arbor on June 12th. Dean is friends and workout partners with commit Myles Sims, who's been pushing for Dean to check out Michigan.
At the Washington DC camp, recently offered four-star RB Mychale Salahuddin told 247's Isaiah Hole that Michigan is a "dream school," and he working on getting to campus soon:
"I'll definitely get down there," Salahuddin said. "I just was [made] aware that the drive is about eight hours. I thought it was going to be further than that. But since it's just eight hours, it's not that far. I'll definitely get down there soon.
"It should be soon. Probably early June or early July."
Top-100 DE Eyabi Anoma also told Isaiah that he plans to visit this month.
At the Valdosta State portion of the Georgia camp tour, three-star ATH Michael Barrett, a high school quarterback who projects to running back, got the Peppers pitch from the coaching staff:
“That’s really who they compare me to, they were saying I can do different things like him,” Barrett said. “They were saying I got the same type of body coming out of high school that he has. They were saying I could lineup at running back and get some swing passes out of the backfield. I could line up at quarterback for wildcat package. Or I could come in my first year and probably get a shot at special teams catching returns.”
Barrett is considering a visit and said Michigan will make his upcoming top ten.
Joe Miltonshowed up to yesterday's FAU camp right after wrapping up the Elite 11, which definitely earns him some Harbaugh points.
IMPORTANT
Recently offered three-star FL WR Shocky Jacques-Louis, a Kentucky commit, has a twin brother:
Rocky Jacques-Louis
Out of Ft. Myers (Fla.) Dunbar, Jacques-Louis broke Lee County’s single-season sack record, previously held by a player named Jevon Kearse. His twin brother, Shocky, a receiver, is committed to Kentucky.
If Michigan doesn't go after him then he should definitely go to Kansas.
Etc.
Four-star NC DT Alim McNeill, whose highlight tape you still shouldn't watch, has visits set to Michigan and Penn State this month, and his coach had high praise for M's staff when talking to Sam Webb:
"Some of the stuff he's doing is cutting edge stuff, just with the staff, with the kids, and everything else,” Kolstad said. “They're recruiting some of the kids that are down here. I've been here for 15 years now and I've never seen them down here. I've never had a kid this highly recruited, but just in the area there was a linebacker that was offered. They're all over the place. Coach Mattison is top notch, the defensive coordinator is top notch, so it's just hard not to keep them on the list."
Don't watch it. Don't you dare.
Further good signs from 2019 five-star DE Chris Hinton, who told TMI's Brice Marich that M's academics are "second to none."
The Wolverine's Brandon Brown relays a quote from Emil Ekiyor that should allay concerns about his commitment status:
"Coach [Tim] Drevno stopped by and it was great," Ekiyor said. "I'm feeling so much better about my commitment. Coach Drev was just saying how they loved me and that he is looking forward to coaching me and not to let other schools talk me out of my commitment."
Michigan made the top ten for top-100 OR ATH Tulanoa Hufanga, a top defensive back prosect.
The top receiver in the class, California five-star Amon-Ra St. Brown, told 247's Tom Loy that he's considering Michigan for one of his official visits.