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08-02-2007, 04:02 AM
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A Look at Michigan's 2008 recruiting class...
 Michigan Wolverines The In-Staters: Different year, same story for the Michigan Wolverines when it comes to recruiting. One thing is certain in recruiting, and that is that Michigan will get their share. Any fans that were jumping off the cliff after the debacle of the in-state 2007 recruiting class can rest easy in 2008, as Michigan has gotten off to a great start in-state and locked up the top two prospects in the state of Michigan, cornerback Boubacar Cissoko (5'9", 174) and offensive tackle Dann O'Neil (6'8", 291). Thus far Michigan has lost out on Tyler Hoover, a great looking defensive line prospect who has committed to Michigan State, and they are most definitely all but out of it for running back Jonas Gray, who is announcing at a press conference at his school this Friday, August, 3rd. Michigan also has verbals from in-staters defensive tackle Mike Martin and offensive lineman Rocko Khoury. The Michigan vibes are very strong for defensive end Nick Perry who was blown away on his recent visit to Michigan, and wide reciever Fred Smith, who is going to be announcing his decision this coming Sunday, and all signs are pointing to the University of Michigan. That isn't set in stone though, and things could change, as we all know recruiting is a very fluid situation. This leaves two other in-state prospects that have Michigan offers, offensive tackle Deon'tae Pannell and outside linebacker Kenny Demens. Pannell was supposed to announce his college decision on Tuesday decided against it and has pushed it back. Michigan made a very late strong push, but all signs are pointing to Michigan State or Penn State. The recent offer to Demens was somewhat surprising, but not shocking if you look at it more closely. Michigan desperately needs help at linebacker, especially with Shawn Crable and Chris Graham graduating after this season, and the sudden offer to Demens was a clear indication of this. Demens recently returned from a trip to Nebraska that blew him away. Immediately after the trip to Nebraska, Demens named a top 3 of Nebraska, Michigan State, and Michigan with Nebraska being his clear leader. Michigan has gotten Demens to agree to take a visit and they will get their crack at swaying him this Friday when he takes a visit to Ann Arbor for the day. One thing is certain in the Demens recruitment though, and that is that Michigan is running 3rd in this race at this point in time. Players to keep an eye-on: There are three in-state players to keep on eye on, and that with great senior campaigns and a little bit of luck could wind up getting a Michigan offer. Those players are; cornerback Anthony Hollis, running back or linebacker/safety Glenn Winston, and defensive back Troy Tidwell. An out of state prospect to watch is Arizona linebacker Kurt Mangum. Mangum is a transplant from Detroit who recently moved out west to Arizona. Mangum has exploded on the combine/summer camp and has drawn attention from schools all-over, but none have offered him yet because he has no film of himself playing linebacker, last season at his old school he was a defensive lineman. Scholarship count: With Justin Schifano quitting football, Michigan should have 19 scholarships to give in the 2008 class. Mario Manningham is likely leaving, and there are defections/surprise NFL entries almost every year, so that number should rise to 20+. Expect a 2008 class of 20 or more but less than 25. Without further ado, Below is a breakdown of known official offers for the 2008 class on both sides of the ball, starting with the defense: DEFENSE Defensive Tackle'08 MI DT Mike Martin (Michigan Verbal) Analysis: This was not a position of need with the past couple classes that Michigan has had, but nonetheless it is a great pick-up for the Wolverines. Martin is only 16 years old and still growing but his strength is already something to behold. Martin is the reigning state heavy-weight wrestling champ and reportedly already benches over 425 pounds. Martin brings back memories of Terrance Taylor bullying kids on the prep fields at Muskegon, only Martin is 2-inches taller and about 40 pounds lighter than Taylor was at the same stage. Needles to say, unless a super is just dying to sign with Michigan you can bet that Lloyd Carr and Co. are done at DT. Grade: A- Defensive End '08 MI DE Nick Perry '08 WA DE Kavario Middleton '08 TX DE Damion Square '08 NC DE Quinton Coples '08 CA DE Jamar Jarrett '08 NJ DE Jack Crawford '08 FL DE Corey Liguet '08 D.C. DL Reggie Ellis Analysis: Michigan is in very good shape with Perry and in good shape with Middleton, Ellis, Jarrett, and Square. Liguet and Coples are longshots but nonetheless both have Michigan offers and are listing Michigan. The need at this position is only two, so the first two that decide to Go Blue will be all she wrote for the position in the class of 2008. Grade: INCOMPLETE Outside Linebacker '08 NJ LB Marcus Witherspoon (Michigan Verbal) '08 CO LB Jon Major '08 MI LB Kenny Demens '08 CT Jonathan Meyers Analysis: The Witherspoon verbal is a solid one, but Michigan needs at least one more verbal from an outside linebacker, and are in the top 3 or 5 of the three uncommitted prospects, but they aren't in the lead for any of them. Grade: INCOMPLETE Inside Linebacker '08 NJ LB J.B. Fitzgerald '08 PA LB Shayne Hale Analysis: The need is just one and while both project as inside linebackers they just as easily project as outside linebackers. Hale is the more flexible of the two, as he could wind up at OLB, ILB, or even defensive end. Michigan is in the top 3 for both prospects, but are they in the lead for either one at this point in time? Fitzgerald- probably. Hale- they are trailing OSU a bit, but he's not even close to making a final decision yet. Grade: INCOMPLETE Cornerback '08 MI CB Boubacar Cissoko (Michigan Verbal) '08 AZ CB Marc Anthony '08 LA CB Robby Green '08 PA CB Jarred Holley '08 TX CB Adrian Bushell Analysis: The Cissoko verbal is a very strong one that should help shore up Michigan's secondary in the future, but the need is still there for another corner, possibly even two. Anthony is listing Michigan in his top 3, Green in his Top 5, Bushell in his top 5, and as far as Holley goes I'm not so sure that Michigan is even recruiting him anymore. My personal preference of the four would be Green, but it'll be awfully hard to pull him away from LSU. Grade: INCOMPLETE Safety '08 NJ S Brandon Smith '08 NJ S Will Hill '08 NC S Spencer Adams '08 CA S Vaughn Telemaque '08 AZ ATH Jarrell Barbour '08 PA ATH Vaughn Carraway '08 CA S Rahim Moore (UCLA Verbal) '08 TX S Keanon Cooper Analysis: Safety is one of the biggest needs for Michigan in this class, and look for them to take two. Brandon Smith was at one point considered a heavy Michigan lean, but he has opened things up a bit. Michigan is still in good position with him. Hill is a heavy Florida lean at this point in time, and Michigan is running a distant 3rd in that race behind Florida (heavy favorite) and FSU. Moore is a UCLA verbal but he will be taking an official visit to Michigan, and well you never know on officials, but it's safe to say he's a bit of a longshot. Barbour and Carraway are both excellent athletes that could also project at other positions, and both have claimed that Michigan was their leader in the not so distant past month or so. Telemaque was recently offered and put the Wolverines in his top 3 immediately. Adams has Michigan in his top 5, but how good of a shot Michigan really has is yet to be determined. There are quite a bit of options here, and Michigan only needs two of them, and only time will tell which two they are. If I had to guess two though, it'd be Brandon Smith and one of Telemaque, Adams, Barbour, or Carraway. Grade: INCOMPLETE OFFENSE Quarterback '08 IL QB John Wienke (Michigan Verbal) '07 MI QB Steven Threet (transfer from Georgia Tech) Analysis: Michigan is most definitely done recruiting the QB position. Wienke and Threet, a pair of Elite 11 QB's, gives Michigan a solid group of four young but very talented QB's on scholarship beginning in 2008. Wienke is a 6'4", 200-pound lefty from Illinois that has blown up over the summer and parlayed his performances at the Boulder NIKE camp, Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan summer camps into a host of offers. Threet is very much like Ryan Mallett in that he's the prototypical drop-back Michigan QB with a cannon arm. Threet is 6'6", 230-pounds with a howitzer of a right arm. Grade: A Runningback '08 TX RB Sam McGuffie (Michigan verbal) '08 CT RB Mike Cox (Michigan Verbal) '08 PA ATH Christian Wilson '08 OH RB Michael Shaw '08 MI RB Jonas Gray '08 CA RB Darrell Scott '08 AZ RB Ray Polk Analysis: Michigan got their number 1 target at the position in Sam McGuffie. McGuffie is an explosive playmaker with lightning speed and agility, and he should bring big plays to the Michigan offense in the future. The commitment of Mike Cox came out of left-field a little bit, but he does compliment McGuffie very well and is a tad bit bigger at 6'1", 203-pounds and he is more of a north-south runner. Shaw, Gray, Scott, and Polk are all longshots, and my guess is that the only one of the four that Michigan is still actively recruiting is Scott. Not a knock on the other kids, it's just that Scott very well maybe the best player in America, and well when the best player in America has reached out to your program and shown valid interest in your program you recruit him. Period. Christian Wilson could be the next verbal to drop for Michigan, and my prediction is that he verbals to Michigan sooner rather then later. If Christian does verbal to Michigan very soon then my grade for the position probably goes from B to B+, maybe even A-. Grade: B Wide Receiver '08 TX WR Darryl Stonum (Michigan Verbal) '08 MI WR Fred Smith '08 PA WR Jonathan Baldwin '08 TX WR Jeffrey Fuller '08 MD WR Kenny Tate '08 MN WR Michael Floyd '08 VA WR Deion Walker '08 PA ATH Cameron Saddler '08 AZ ATH Jarrell Barbour '08 PA ATH Vaughn Carraway '08 AZ ATH Dion Jordan '08 TX WR Omarius Hines '08 GA WR Devonta Bolton Analysis: Stonum was a great commit for the Maize N' Blue, but the need for 2-3 more is still there. Fred Smith is deciding this Sunday, and if he picks Michigan (which seems to be the prevailing thought) then the need is for only 1 more player, 2 more players MAX- and Jonathan Baldwin might find himself out in the cold and without a spot if he were to decide that he wanted to play at Michigan. Grade: INCOMPLETE Tight End '08 OH TE Brandon Moore (Michigan Verbal) '08 OH TE Kevin Koger (Michigan Verbal) Analysis: Michigan is done recruiting the position, and I honestly couldn't fathom the position getting any stronger. Koger is an athletic freak that will give Michigan a very speedy option at TE. Moore is a bigger body at 6'6", 243-pounds, but he brings the skills and hands of a receiver to the position. Grade: A Offensive Tackle '08 MI OT Deon'tae Pannell '08 TN OT Preston Bailey '08 OH OT Zebrie Sanders '08 AL OT Antoine McClain Analysis: O'Neil is by far UM's best line recruit, but point-blank Michigan needs more than 1 tackle. Two in this class was what they were shooting for, but they've had no luck thus far. Pannell looks like he's all but heading to Penn State. Zerbie Sanders is a longshot. It looks like Michigan is going to have to rely on Southerners for another offensive tackle, and that quite frankly is never a good thing. So far it's been a disappointing run on offensive tackles for Michigan. O'Neil is a great looking prospect, but like I said Michigan needed more then just him at tackle and it appears as if they will strike out on OOS offensive tackles in 2008. Grade: C+ Offensive Guard '08 IN OL Kurt Wermers (Michigan Verbal) '08 NB OL Trevor Robinson '08 AZ OL Zach Schlink Analysis: Mealer and Wermers are a solid pair of guard commits. Michigan needed two at the position, but with the news that Justin Schifano has given up football, they might take three. Robinson has opened up his recruitment and Michigan is in his top 3, but that's all he is giving out publicly. There is strong word though that Notre Dame is the team he's leaning to. Schlink is originally from Michigan and has declared a desire to be recruited harder by the Wolverines, and with Schifano quitting football he just may get what he asked for. The need here with Schifano out is now 3, and I've got a strong feeling that if UM pushes hard enough they can land Schlink. IF they land the kid they'll get bumped up to an A on my grading scale. Grade: B Center Analysis: The need at the position was only one player, and Michigan grabbed by far the top center prospect in the state and one of the most underrated in the nation in my mind. Khoury is built very well, is lean and muscular with a phenomenal frame at 6'6", 282-pounds, but what really impresses me is this kids quick feet. At the Chicago Nike trainning camp this past spring Khoury ran a 4.16 pro shuttle, which to me is just mind-blowing for a player of his size. Khoury showed up at Michigan's camp, did his thing and left the camp with an offer in hand. Grade: B Michigan Verbal commits (13) 1) Boubacar Cissoko, CB, 5-foot-9, 174-pounds, Detroit, MI 2) Dann O'Neil, OT, 6-foot-8, 291-pounds, Grand Haven, MI 3) Mike Martin, DT, 6-foot-2, 278-pounds, Novi, MI 4) Rocko Khoury, OL, 6-foot-6, 282-pounds, Traverse City, MI 5) Mike Cox, RB, 6-foot-1, 203-pounds, Avon, CT 6) John Weinke, QB, 6-foot-4, 196-pounds, Tuscola, IL 7) Kurt Wermers, OL, 6-foot-3, 278-pounds, Crown Point, IN 8) Marcus Witherspoon, LB, 6-foot-2, 215-pounds, Abescon, NJ 9) Kevin Koger, TE, 6-foot-4, 235-pounds, Toledo, OH 10) Brandon Moore, TE, 6-foot-6, 243-pounds, Trotwood, OH 11) Elliot Mealer, OL, 6-foot-6, 280-pounds, Wauseon, OH 12) Sam McGuffie, RB, 6-foot, 188-pounds, Cypress, TX 13) Darryl Stonum, WR, 6-foot-2, 180-pounds, Sugar Land, TX Hope you enjoyed, and GO BLUE! Last edited by OSwho? : 08-02-2007 at 04:41 AM.         
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