2011 Projected Class

Demetrius Hart could be a key element in Michigan's 2011 class.

Michigan is expected to sign anywhere from 14-17 prospects in the 2011 class. Of course, normal attrition always occurs and must be factored into any projected class. I'm assuming here that Michigan will sign around 18 or so players (depending on injuries, transfers, or players not being asked back for 5th years).

This is my first projected class, and it will be added to and changed every month or so.
(Scout/rivals rankings after player name)

2011 Projected Class:
QB- Kevin Sousa 6"2, 215 lbs - Orlando, FL ★★★ / ★★★
RB- Demetrius Hart 5"8, 180 lbs - Orlando, FL ★★★★ / ★★★★
WR- Shaun Conway 6"4, 185 lbs - Birmingham, MI ★★★ / ★★★
WR - A.J. Jordan 6"2, 170 lbs - Trotwood, OH ★★★★ . ★★★
OT- Jake Fisher 6"7, 260 lbs - Traverse City, MI ★★★★ / ★★★
OT- Tony Posada 6"6, 315 lbs - Tampa, FL ★★★ / NR
OG- Chris Bryant 6"5, 330 lbs - Chicago, IL ★★★ / ★★★
OG- Jordan Walsh 6"3, 275 lbs - Glen Ellyn, IL ★★★★ / ★★★★
OG/C - Jack Miller 6"4, 265 lbs - Toledo, OH ★★★ / ★★★

DE- Chris Rock 6"4, 250 lbs - Columbus, OH ★★★ / ★★★
DT- Darian Cooper 6"2, 280 lbs - Hyattsville, MD ★★★★ / ★★★
DE- Brennan Beyer 6"4, 220 lbs - Plymouth, MI ★★★★ / ★★★★
DE- Anthony Zettel 6"4, 250 lbs - West Branch, MI ★★★★ / ★★★★
LB- Kris Frost 6"2, 210 lbs- Matthews, NC ★★★ / ★★★★
LB- Kellen Jones 6"1, 210 lbs - Houston, TX ★★★★ / ★★★
CB- Delonte Hollowell 5"8, 165 lbs - Detroit, MI ★★★ / ★★★★
CB- Greg Brown 5"10, 185 lbs - Freemont, OH ★★★ / ★★★
S- Avery Walls 5"11, 185 lbs - McDonough, GA ★★★★ / ★★★★

Total Commitments: 18

As I mentioned before, recruiting is very fluid and high school players change their minds all the time. Michigan could end up with many of these aforementioned players, or, as usual, new names will emerge and others will fade. This class is projected if and only if Michigan has a strong 7 or 8 win season. Another bowl-less season will likely mean a coaching transition, and recruiting is much harder to project when a team loses it's coaching staff.

Michigan should be hitting it's thinnest positions in the next recruiting ('11) cycle, which continue to be offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, and defensive back. Many will wonder why Michigan would take two receivers after taking 4 last year, but with Junior Hemingway and Daryll Stonum being seniors when this class reaches campus, it is important that more depth/skill is added.

Demetrius Hart may be one of the only "make or break" players in this class. Michigan has not been able to recruit a true home-run threat at running back in recent years, which is surprising considering Michigan's past RB's (Wheatley, Tim B, Hart) and Rich Rodriguez's great success with Noel Devine and Steve Slaton. Hart can be shifty, he has speed, but also possesses a power element to his game and is very dangerous out of the backfield.

I do not expect Michigan to sign a big-name defensive tackle like Timmy Jernigan, but I would not be surprised to see the Wolverines sign a player who is more of a project down the line. Also, I do believe Michigan will sign at least 2 linebackers, maybe 3.

Michigan secures #8

Michigan picked up it's 8th commitment of the 2011 class today when Traverse City OL Jake Fisher chose the maize and blue. Fisher also had offers from Central Michigan, Michigan State, and Cincinnati amongst others.

Fisher is a massive tackle prospect similar to 2009 signee Taylor Lewan. Fisher is listed at 6"7, 265 lbs right now, and though he plays Tight End for his high school, Jake will play offensive tackle at Michigan.

Many Michigan fans may be skeptical of this commitment, as Fisher is only a 3-star prospect to rivals, though he is rated the 25th best tackle in the nation (good for 4-stars) over at scout. As I mentioned before, Fisher does not play tackle in high school. But he is a terrific athlete with good feet and that ever present "mean streak" that we've been hearing about in recent offensive line recruits. He's going to be a great fit in Michigan's zone blocking scheme as well.

With Michigan losing two tackles after this season, it is paramount that the coaches add at least another tackle or two to the roster. Taylor Lewan and Michael Schoefield are both only redshirt freshmen at the moment, so by the time the 2011 class reaches campus they will be redshirt juniors.

Like any other offensive linemen, Fisher will take a year to redshirt and add some quality weight. But he should be pressed into service (at least backup/mop-up duty) by his redshirt freshman season.

Fisher is another in-state prospect that Michigan has added to their class.. continuing to defeat the notion that a certain school in East Lansing has a stronger in-state presence than Michigan.

Michigan picks up two commitments

After securing the commitment of Ohio Defensive End Chris Rock in May, Michigan fans have been anticipating more commitments in the 2011 class for some time. Today, the month-long wait was over, as Michigan's coaching staff gained the commitments of not one, but two players.

First, Lake Nona, Florida Quarterback Kevin Sousa pledged his services to the Wolverines after an official visit to Michigan today. Sousa, a 6"3, 225 lb dual-threat quarterback, has only been playing football for two years. He's got an excellent arm though, and good wheels, being timed at a 4.48 40-yard dash at a recent Nike Camp.

Josh Helmholdt of rivals.com had this to say about him.

"In the end, what impresses me most about Sousa is that this kid has the quintessential attitude for a football player. He went everywhere this off-season to work out for everyone and anyone. No fear, he just went out and competed. Michael Langston was telling me a story today about how Sousa showed up the day after injuring his leg (think it was a pulled hamstring) and he could not even push off his back leg, yet he still went out and threw. He is being strongly considered for the Elite 11 and if he gets it the one thing that will have put him over the edge is his work ethic and willingness to compete. Sousa attended more Elite 11 workouts than anyone else I can remember. Kid's a competitor, he's very coachable, loves to listen, soaks things up like a sponge and rarely makes the same mistake twice."

Basically, Sousa is a guy with a tremendous upside, great coachability, and unlike recent quarterback's in Michigan's recruiting classes, he has time to sit. A year to redshirt and at least another year or two before he has to see the field. Sousa may not be ranked highly by any recruiting services, but Michigan fans should feel good about this one.

The second commitment of the day came in Jack Miller of Perrysburg, Ohio. Miller is an interesting prospect that, like Sousa, had been waiting on a Michigan offer for some time. Most of the recruiting services have Miller tagged as a defensive line prospect, but the 6"4, 265-pounder will be playing either guard or center at Michigan.

Many Michigan fans question Miller's commitment because there is little information out there on him. But along with his Michigan offer Miller had scholarship offers from North Carolina, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Northwestern, Stanford, and West Virgina among others, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. Miller should have a year to redshirt and at least a year of sitting on the bench and gaining weight and muscle before he contributes on Michigan's offensive line.

2011 recruiting

Michigan is only a few months into it's 2011 recruiting phase, with 5 commitments so far. The coaches are expecting to sign a class numbering anywhere from 14 to 17 prospects, so spots in the class are limited. To start, I'll run through my thoughts on the currently committed players, and then players that are considering Michigan and/or close to deciding as well.

Current Commitments:
Brennen Beyer (DE) - Plymouth, MI
Delonte Hollowell (CB) - Detroit, MI
Shawn Conway (WR) - Birmingham, MI
Greg Brown (CB) - Freemont, OH
Chris Rock - (DE) - Columbus, OH

While Michigan is a school that is always able to recruit nationally, right now the Wolverines have taken commitments from fairly local players, including mostly east-side players in Hollowell, Beyer, and Conway. Chris Rock's home is located in the heart of enemy territory in Columbus, and Greg Brown isn't far either, living near Toledo.

First off, Michigan gained early commitments from Greg Brown and Delonte Hollowell, both cornerbacks at the college level. Greg Brown is an excellent athlete who still has some things to work on defensively. He's a bit bigger than Hollowell (listed around 5"10/11) range, and has solid speed. Hollowell, at least at this point in time, is a much more refined prospect. But like I said before, he has limited size, standing around 5"7 or 5"8 and only weighing 165 lbs or so.

With that being said, Hollowell has done very well recently in camps, and I think he could be a guy that plays on special teams as a freshmen. By the time both of these guys reach campus, Michigan will have more depth built up in the defensive backfield, so one or both of them will probably redshirt. In the short term Hollowell will be the most productive, but Greg Brown has all the physical tools to be a very solid player.

Continuing the defensive trend, Michigan gained commitments from defensive end prospects Brennen Beyer and Chris Rock. Beyer was a kid that was a no-name until after his junior year, and since then he's blown up, finding a place in the rivals 250 and being a well-known midwest recruit. Rock is a similar prospect, with 20+ scholarship offers. Beyer is a better athlete, similar to 2009 signee Craig Roh. Beyer will play the same position as Roh when he reaches campus at strongside LB/DE, while Rock will probably play one of the 3-tech defensive end/tackle positions.

I like both players upside. Beyer really has a solid frame to grow and add some weight on, and even though Rock is around 250 lbs many have said he could add another 20-25 lbs and play inside. In a normal recruiting cycle, Rock probably would have been offered by in-state school Ohio State. He was dominant at times, but his biggest criticism is his inconsistency.

On the offensive side of the ball, Michigan has one commitment in receiver Shawn Conway. At 6"4, Conway is a fantastic red zone target and good vertical threat. He really needs to work on his frame, because the only way corners have figured out how to stop him is by jamming him at the line of scrimmage. Since Michigan took 3 outside receivers in the 2010 class, I expect Conway to redshirt. But after that.. he has a terrific ceiling. With a few years of strength and conditioning under his belt and his ability to get the ball in traffic, Shawn Conway could be a very good player at Michigan.

We'll look at some uncommited prospects tomorrow.

A losing battle

When Michigan pulled Boyd Lakes (FL) cornerback Demar Dorsey out of the clutches of USC and Florida State this past February, fans were estatic at the possibility of the athletic speedster being on the field for the Wolverines in the fall.

There were of course, numerous warning signs that came with Demar's Letter of Intent. He was arrested twice early in his high school career, and though he was never convicted, Rich Rodriguez was lambasted by the local media for accepting such a deliquent criminal. And there were also the academic qualifying issues that often come with blue-chip recruits.

Still, Dorsey shocked the recruiting world and signed with Michigan.. and was expected to compete (and maybe start) at cornerback for the wolverines. Well, there's been doubts about it, but that's not going to happen. According to multiple sources (including Demar himself), Dorsey qualified for Michigan, but was ultimately refused by the admissions department. This is not a huge surprise considering Demar's past, but ultimately, I think this is going to come back and hurt Michigan.

For one, I understand the Admission's Department decision and their reservations about Demar. He barely qualified (2.5 GPA, 18 ACT score), and has a criminal record. With that being said, one of the main reasons he signed with Michigan was to get out of Florida and to make a new name for himself. His cousin, sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson is on the team, and Dorsey would have had every chance to be successful in Ann Arbor.

Not only does this make it more difficult for Rich Rodriguez to recruit players in situations similar to Demar's, but it also really hurts the team this year. Dorsey is an exceptional athletic talent who could play cornerback or safety, two of Michigan's weakest positions on defense. He was expected to come in and either compete for a starting spot or even take one, and now Michigan will be forced to rely on Cullen Christian, Carvin Johnson, or any other number of the incoming freshmen to help save a dreadful defense....

Good luck to Demar Dorsey, wherever he may end up.

At the end of the day..

Today, the University of Michigan formally responded to the "Major Infractions" that they were accused of by a local media outlet and the NCAA.

If you asked me to sum up my thoughts on the matter in one word.. well, sad. That's right. This entire ordeal, this, "stretch-gate", has been one massive joke from the start. It started with men inside the very athletic department at Michigan, who, after Lloyd Carr's retirement tried to do everything they could to get the "dumb hillybilly" out of town. It continued with an ignorant, biased reporter who tried his damn best to bring the football program, and ultimately it's coach, to his knees.

Well ladies and gentlemen. Here we are. 130 practice hours gone, without two interns, and with a few others banned from practices and meetings later, we're right back where we should be. Back concentrating on football, not whether our coach understands Michigan, or is a "Michigan man", or if he's a cheater or not.

2010 is going to be a huge year for Rich Rodriguez. It's going to be a huge year for Tate Forcier, or Denard Robinson, or Michael Shaw, Roy Roundtree, David Molk, Obi Ezeh, Troy Woofolk, and everyone else inside Schembechler hall. But for now, the witchhunt is over, and it's time to focus on what's important, the wins and losses. As for Michael Rosenberg and fellow his punk-ass correspondents that try to trash Rich Rodriguez and his coaching staff at every turn, I laugh in your general direction.

We'll see you in the fall, go blue.

Spring Game Thoughts

I had a very busy and somewhat productive weekend, so I didn't get to catch the entire spring game yet. That's alright though, because there isn't a whole lot that we can glean from it, aside from a few things.

To start, I'm not selling out Forcier in the QB competition just yet. Yes, Denard Robinson looks like the real deal right now, but we need to see him in actual game action first. I love the potential of both players, and I think both will see the field against UConn. If Denard's arm is really more legitimate this year, teams will definitely have to respect him, and that's going to help Michigan in a huge way.

Also, on the 3-3-5; I really like what Greg Robinson is doing with the defense. It's going to be a work in progress, but the defensive staff has really tweaked the scheme to fit the players. Once the freshman get in the fall, I think the defense will get bigger as well. Hopefully a guy like Vlad or even Cameron Gordon will be moved closer to the line, and that's really going to help them in the running game.

I thought the linebackers played fairly well. The schemes were very vanilla, and I'm still withholding my judgment, but I felt a little better about Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton. Kenny Demens also looked like we've heard for much of the spring as well. I like what they're doing with Roh, but he's got to get the mental part down and really focus on playing better against the run.

With that being said, I think this defense can be better. Will they give up 300 yards a game and less than 20 points? Probably not. But if some of the freshmen (and this is asking a lot) can come in and provide some depth and a few can play, this defense can be solid enough for Michigan to win 6-7 games. The offense will be fine, and I will talk a little more about that tomorrow.

Overall, it looked like a fun event for both the players and the fans. Now the true battles will began, after summer workouts and in fall camp.

Go Blue!