Oh, Cool, We Get To Root For The Blue Guys Again

It's a very odd experience to have Cass Tech playing a marquee game and not have several Michigan commits/targets to root for wearing green and white, but that was the case on Friday night when the Technicians—featuring OSU commit Damon Webb and MSU commit Jayru Campbell—took on a Southfield squad starring Michigan pledge Lawrence Marshall and top Wolverine target Malik McDowell. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend due to a family matter (all is well, don't worry), but there was plenty of coverage to round up from Cass Tech's 18-14 victory.

Maize & Blue News has cut-ups of McDowell (#67 in white), who finished with five TFLs in a very impressive performance in his first game for Southfield—an especially good sign given the greatly increased level of competition compared to what he faced in his first three years of high school:

M&BN also posted clips of Marshall (#12 in white), who finished with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks, per Steve Lorenz:

This was Marshall's first game after tragically losing both his father (complications from diabetes) and grandfather (heart attack) within the last two months; TomVH has the full story of Marshall using football as his refuge while going through such a difficult time. Despite those trying circumstances, Marshall had a very impressive game; here's Lorenz on his performance ($):

Marshall was another player who impressed consistently. He still has difficulty disengaging blocks at points, but was very impressive physically and did not look even the slightest bit slower after putting on about 30 pounds since this time last season. He never quits on a play, and made a couple backside pursuit tackles that may have prevented Cass Tech touchdowns. He looked great.

McDowell, meanwhile, earned the nod as top defensive performer of the entire Prep Kickoff Classic from Rivals's Josh Helmholdt ($):

McDowell was named by Rivals.com as one of 10 class of 2014 players who needed to step it up in his senior season, and in the first game he did just that. Detroit Cass Tech fields one of the biggest offensive lines Southfield will see all season and it sent double teams at the 6-foot-7, 290-pound defensive lineman all night long, but it didn't matter.McDowell lived in the Cass Tech backfield, registering five tackles for loss. He was making plays sideline to sideline, showing a great motor.

The major questions surrounding McDowell after three years at Detroit Loyola centered on his motor and whether he could dominate against high-level competition; the early returns on both fronts are obviously quite good. His ability to play both inside and outside on the line could be very valuable if he ends up at Michigan given Greg Mattison's proclivity for moving players around depending on the situation.

Cass Tech's major standout was 2015 RB Mike Weber, who scored two touchdowns and had another brought back due to a penalty. While it's unclear if Michigan will have room for him in their class with Damien Harris already on board, Weber told Scout's Josh Newkirk that he's still got U-M under consideration ($):

While Michigan already has a running back Damien Harris committed in its 2015 class, Weber said he’s still looking at U-M as an option and he isn’t afraid of a little competition in Ann Arbor.

“I’ll go compete anywhere,” Weber said. “If I want to go there and it’s a good fit for me, I don’t care how many running backs go there -- I’m going to try to beat them all out.”

Weber visited for the Central Michigan game and enjoyed seeing several of his former high school teammates on the field, per Steve Lorenz ($). Michigan, Michigan State, and Tennessee are the three schools currently standing out for him; there's a large overlap between his top schools and those of 2015 teammate Joshua Alabi, who told Scout's Mike Wilson that he and Weber share a top two ($):

“Me and Mike, we liked Tennessee,” he said. “That’s our number one, but our number two is both Michigan State, so it’s kind of like even. … We were planning on going to Tennessee’s first night game, so whenever that is.”

Alabi's quotes about the rest of his top five—Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin—indicate that the Wolverines are still under consideration, and may in fact have a good shot if they seriously pursue him:

Michigan: Michigan, that’s a home school. Who wouldn’t want to play for Michigan? If I wind up there, it would be a blessing.”

Michigan State:“With Jayru Campbell, he just committed there so I wouldn’t mind going there with me, Mike and Jayru. We were planning on all going to one school, so that could work out.”

Reading into quotes from high schoolers is a dangerous exercise, but that sure looks to me like Alabi is hoping for a spot to open up. At this point (even with an offer out) I think the coaches are in wait-and-see mode, and Alabi reportedly didn't impress with his play on Friday.

[Hit THE JUMP for the full roundup of Michigan commits in action, including Damien Harris posting mind-blowing numbers, a look at the Rivals250 Watch List for 2015, and more.]

24.2 Yards Per Carry. There Is No Joke.

Mah goodness, Damien Harris:

@GerdOzone Damien Harris 2nite: 13 carries, 352 yards, 5 TDs, out of game 2 mins into the 3rd quarter. Avg 1 TD per 3 carries n 2 games

— Gameday Sports (@gamedaysports08) August 31, 2013

Highlights have yet to surface on YouTube, but you can see clips from the game on his Hudl page. They are as impressive as you'd expect, and the competition is as overmatched as you'd expect.

247 has a free roundup of stat lines of Michigan commits. The non-Harris highlights:

• Wilton Speight: 15-19; 342 yards, four passing TDs, one rushing TD
• Chase Winovich: 8 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble; 80 yard TD run; 40 yard TD pass(!)
• Jared Wangler: 13 tackles, three receptions
• George Campbell: One catch, 70 yards, six tackles, one sack—in one half of pla
• Shaun Crawford: 7 tackles; 2 carries, 23 yards; 1 PAT block, 1 Punt block

Then there was Moe Ways, who tore up Zeeland West to the tune of five catches for 164 yards and a touchdown; Scout's Allen Trieu was there to provide the scouting report ($):

Big and physical, he had a good night, finishing with five grabs for 164 yards and a score. He uses his body and size well. He actually still has room to fill out and should turn into a nice, big target at the next level. He was also good as a blocker.

Highlights from Trieu can't be embedded; follow the link to freedom.

Underclass Rankin'

Rivals is the last of the four services to release a top list for 2015 prospects, though for now it's in alphabetical order with the only differential being whether prospects got four or five stars. We learned last week that Damien Harris is a five-star; fellow commits George Campbell, Shaun Crawford, and Tyree Kinnel all make the list as four-stars.

The odds-on favorite for first Michigan commit of 2016, IL OL Erik Swenson, was named by Rivals as one of ten players to watch for the 2016 class:

College coaches started getting excited about Swenson immediately after his freshman season, and he has already picked up offers from Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State. Measuring 6-foot-5 and 289 pounds at the Chicago Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour last May, Swenson has all the tools of a dominant future left tackle. He plays light on his feet, can locate in space and is already showing the patience to not overextend. That is not to say Swenson is a finished product, but physically he has nothing limiting him from being an elite left tackle prospect.

In related news, TomVH reports that Swenson will be at the Notre Dame game this weekend. I'll have the full list of visitors on Thursday; it's safe to say it'll be the biggest recrutiing weekend of the year for Michigan.

Etc.

The Lewan-Denard tradition lives on in East Lake—coming soon to a college town near you:

That's how we do it #GoBlue@GeorgeCampbell0pic.twitter.com/MEo0cvRIZ0

— Mason Cole (@MasonCole52) September 1, 2013

2014 CA LB Dwight Williams planned to attend the Notre Dame game can't make it due to scheduling issues, per Scout's Greg Biggins ($). He didn't mention rescheduling the visit, and given that Michigan is full at linebacker I doubt he does so.

The Jabrill Peppers touchdown run makes it all the way to an Argentinian paper. The Google translation is phenomenal:

A touchdown "to pure dribble" that shook the college football

Jabrill Peppers, Michigan and identified as one of the great promises, signed a play that went around the world

Clicking through and reading the translated comments is highly recommended.

2014 Ohio State linebacker commit Kyle Berger, who chose the Buckeyes over Michigan, unfortunately suffered an ACL tear last weekend. He tweeted that Greg Mattison sent him a letter of support, a very classy gesture from Michigan's DC.