Michigan Offers Sills, Settle
Michigan offered two 2015 prospects over the weekend; one came as no surprise at all, while the other was somewhat unexpected.
The former is five-star VA DT Tim Settle, who had rave reviews of Michigan after he visited for the Notre Dame game; with Hjalte Froholdt going off the board to Arkansas last week, Settle was at the top of the board for available DTs. Settle will have his choice of just about any program in the country, and while the Wolverines made a strong early impression, they likely have some catching up to do now that the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and USC have come through with offers of their own.
The latter is Eastern Christian Academy QB David Sills, whose name should be familiar to you for two reasons: first, he notably committed to USC—then coached by Lane Kiffin—at the age of 13; second, he's teammates with U-M commits Freddy Canteen and Brandon Watson at ECA, the football-centric school founded by Sills' father. TomVH notes that there's another Michigan connection here:
On the David Sills offer, he trains with Steve Clarkson who also trains Wilton Speight. Clarkson and Borges have known each other for years
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 6, 2013
Five-star CA prospect Josh Rosen is the only other 2015 quarterback with an offer; while he's recently expressed some interest in a visit to Ann Arbor after previously saying that wouldn't happen, he's very much a longshot. Although Sills hadn't been talked about as a prospect under serious consideration for the next offer, it's clear he's the #2 guy on the board, and per TomVH the coaches will have to wait and see if he's willing to open up his recruitment after the coaching change at USC ($):
According to his father, Sills wants to wait and talk with [USC head coach Steve] Sarkisian before making any decisions or commenting on his status. Sills' father believes it is too early to comment or respond to anything just yet without giving the new Trojans coaches an opportunity to speak with their son.
We'll see where this goes; there's little-to-no precedent for a prospect committing to a program before he's in high school, only for that program to fire the head coach he committed to when the prospect is in the midst of his junior year. Add in Michigan's multiple connections to Sills and this could get interesting.
[Hit THE JUMP for the latest on two cornerback commits and their potential visit plans, how Michigan's commits fared in the state playoffs, and more.]
Commits Taking Visits: The Only Certainty Is Uncertainty
Michigan's already dealing with the whole Jabrill Peppers situation, and now a similar deal is shaping up in the 2015 class, as 247's Bill Kurelic reported on Friday that Shaun Crawford will take an as-of-yet unscheduled visit to Ohio State ($). The Buckeyes, of course, offered the Ohio native just a couple of weeks ago.
Scout's Bill Greene posted an article on Saturday that indicated Crawford was still committed to Michigan and planning to visit Columbus ($):
"I've talked with my family about this entire deal, and we are all 100% sold on Michigan," he stressed. "We want to see how the coaching situation turns out, but we want to respect all the coaches from every school. I'm sure after I speak more with Urban (Meyer) and Coach (Stan) Drayton in the future, that we will go down there for a visit."
Crawford added that the Michigan coaches hadn't "come out and said don't visit Ohio State."
Then came Sunday, and despite not talking to the coaches yet it appeared Crawford was rethinking matters, given the quote he gave to TomVH ($):
"I'm unsure if I will visit Ohio State," Crawford said. "I have not talked to the [Michigan] coaches about it, but I will be in Ann Arbor on Friday and Saturday so we will see."
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Four For Four
Speaking of Jabrill Peppers, he wrapped up his fourth state title in four years—two with Don Bosco Prep, two with Paramus Catholic—in a 13-6 championship win over St. Peter's Prep, a program featuring Rutgers RB commit Jonathan Hilliman and 2015 Michigan target CB Minkah Fitzpatrick. Peppers rushed for 68 yards on eight carries behind fellow commit Juwann Bushell-Beatty.
After the game, Peppers clarified his current recruiting situation with Scout's Brian Dohn ($):
“My only planned official visit is Michigan right now. That might be my only visit.”
Penn State, UCLA, and Alabama ("a little bit," in the case of the Tide) are under consideration for other visits; the overwhelming sense right now, however, is that Peppers will stick with Michigan.
East Lake's dream season came to a halt in the state semifinals, meanwhile, as Mason Cole and George Campbell's squad came back from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter only to lose to Dwyer in overtime, 31-24. Campbell hauled in a 65-yard touchdown pass from Artavis Scott during the comeback effort, but it ultimately wasn't enough.
Etc.
The 2015 Rivals100 was updated today. Michigan has all three of the Big Ten's commits to make the cut: Damien Harris (#5 overall, #1 RB), George Campbell (#7 overall, #1 WR), and Shaun Crawford (#96 overall).
Harris mentioned that enrolling early is "definitely something [he wants] to do" in an interview with Sam Webb ($). He's already spoken to Al Borges about that process.
Webb's latest Detroit News article focuses on 2015 MI ATH Brian Cole, who says that the Wolverines are recruiting him for either wide receiver or running back—this is the first I've heard him mention the latter possibility.
Wilton Speight has senior highlights on his Hudl page. He also hosted Brady Hoke for an in-home visit; this is clearly a good time of year to be Brady Hoke.