National Signing Day draws near

Just a few of the 2010 offensive recruits.

With national signing day less than two weeks away, the staff will be putting the final touches on the class, with the last spots being filled on national signing day itself. I think now, more than ever, is a great time to look back and to try and objectively judge how they've done.

I'm not going to go into real detail on prospects they've missed out on or dropped the ball on, but to try and focus on how well the staff has addressed the team's (many) needs.

The first part is the offensive recruiting.

At quarterback, Michigan got it's QB of the future in Devin Garder. Built like Vince Young, he is the true dual-threat quarterback that Rich Rodriguez covets, with a strong arm and great running skills. But the staff didn't stop there. They also received a commitment from a talented athlete by the name of Conelius Jones. The South Carolina native has only been playing football for 3 years now, but has an excellent arm, great wheels, and of course a great GPA.

Overall, the staff did just fine adding great depth and talent to the quarterbacks group, with Forcier and Robinson only being freshman this past season.

At running back, the staff needed to get at least 2-3 players with different skill sets. And that's exactly what they did. Texas RB Stephen Hopkins became the first true "big-back" recruited by Rich Rodriguez, weighing in around 220-230 lbs. Austin White committed later on, adding a versatile slasher with good hands out of the backfield. While neither are particularly highly ranked, both are solid players who are already enrolled and could possibly see the field in the fall.

On the outside at the receiver position, there was a need for both depth with Greg Mathews and LaTerryal Savoy graduating, as well as an overall upgrade to a group that has underperformed the last two years. Ricardo Miller and Jeremy Jackson quickly became two of Michigan's earliest recruits and commitments. Miller, who was hailed as one of the best players in Florida, was highly ranked but once he commited dropped significantly. Jackson, who also had some good offers, isn't know for his speed, but has good size (6-3, 195 lbs), and has great hands and route-running abilities. Jerald Robinson and DJ Williamson came along later, with Williamson being the real speedster in the group.

Robinson, Miller, and Jackson are all enrolled early, and WR Coach Tony Dews said he'll play two of them. None of them have great speed and the ability to stretch the field, but Miller, Robinson, and Jackson all have good size (6"2+).

With Kevin Koger just a sophomore and Martell Webb a junior, the staff pursued a few TE prospects, but had no returns.

On the offensive line, many expected Michigan to grab a few out of a very good crop of Midwest players. In the end, only a few came to visit campus, though Michigan grabbed the services of Ohio OL Christian Pace. Pace will remind many of current Wolverine David Molk, an undersized center with good feet and a real nastiness that seemed to be missing from the Wolverines line. As the only recruit in the class on the offensive line, Pace will play center.

This is perhaps the greatest area the staff missed out on. Though they took 3 quality offensive lineman last season, lineman do not always pan out as expected, and it is better to get numbers rather than just quality players. Still, there may be a surprise before signing day, but offensive line should be a HUGE need in the smaller 2011 class.

Next up, defensive recruiting!