UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[WM Wolverine]

Agree a lot of people are getting ahead of themselves about Morris though he camped against a lot of the midwests top QB's [Kiel, Mauk, etc] last off-season and held his own. The real evaluation for him was going to be during this summers camps, not sure if the recruiting services will get to see him hit the camps and evaluate him accordingly... For hype purposes, I'd like him to be rated as high as possible as receivers draw themselves to elite QB's...

IMO you still need a QB in this class as you want to be able to redshirt Morris... Robinson is an '09 recruit, Gardner '10, Bellomy '11, Morris '13; Denard didn't redshirt when he needed too and hopefully Gardner's redshirt goes through as expected; if so that would allow Morris to start as a redshirt sophomore and potentially start 3 seasons.

[Jeff Buchanan]

According to a Rivals thread this AM, The word is that Hoke told Morris after he gave his pledge that they are going to take another QB in the 2012 class and Morris is fine with that.

As well, posters are in general agreement that while Morris is a good prospect, he has two more years of HS ball to develop. He has not really been evaluated but will in forthcoming camps. So, we need to wait a while before he is labeled elite.

[lineygoblue]

My excuse for the giddiness last night was that I like the way Shane Morris plays, and I like the fact that the kid knows what he wants, and settled the whole thing early on, rather than make some sort of recruiting war out of it. He's always been a Michigan fan, and has always wanted to play for Michigan. He made the commitment, and that ends it. Hoke will not have to recruit a QB in his 2013 class. He can focus on other areas.

As for Shane Morris' potential, lets look at it like this. He came along as a sophomore, and took over for an injured senior QB. He led DeLasalle to a conference championship, and I believe, a second round appearance in the state playoffs. This, from a kid who was 15 years old at the time.

I agree that he has a long way to go. He wouldn't be able to walk onto the practice field at Michigan and compete for a job right now. But, he's shown a lot of the skills necessary, at a very young age. This is a very good get for Michigan.

[Hannibal]

According to a Rivals thread this AM, The word is that Hoke told Morris after he gave his pledge that they are going to take another QB in the 2012 class and Morris is fine with that.

Hoke supposedly mentioned the Drew Henson situation too. Wise man, learning from a past mistake.

[Chuck Mallory]

Brown has been added to the 4 star list. Gives Michigan four 4 stars so far.

[Hannibal]

What I like about this class is that even some of our three stars have pretty good offer lists. There aren't any Desmond Morgans, Jake Ryans, Jeremy Gallons, Greg Browns or Antonio Kinards in this class, and there almost certainly won't be. Unlike the Rodriguez years, we're outrecruiting our rivals, and the sites other than rivals are much higher on some of our commits and leans than rivals.

[Hannibal]

Matt Godin just made it official on WTKA. The in-state recruiting beatdown continues.

[lineygoblue]

Wow. I am absolutely pumped about this defensive class. Godin comes from Detroit Catholic Central, which is another of the top football factories in Michigan.

The Shamrocks are always tough, and Tom Mach is (in my opinion) the best HS football coach in the state. When you get a top player from that program, he's going to be a good one. Not too many "whiffs" coming out of Novi.

And this is also likely to get Danny O'Brien (Flint Powers) to fall to Michigan as well. Powers is the last football power in the Flint area.

Keep this up, and there won't be a lot of recruiting going on during the season, because all the schollys are going to be filled.

[lineygoblue]

And of course, the in-state beatdown that MSU is taking (as noted by Hanni) is fun to watch as well.

They were getting pretty cocky during the Rodriguez years. I think that with each commitment, they realize their door of opportunity is closing.

[Hannibal]

Rumblings that Michigan has cooled somewhat on O'Brien and that he's probably headed to Tennessee.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Word from Josh Helmoholdt at Rivals is that CB Terry Richardson (Cass Tech) is going to drop this week or early next. He has LSU and Alabama offers among others.

Also "encouraging vibes" from QB Gunner Kiel. I suspect he is the "other QB" that will be signed by Hoke that was mentioned in the Morris commit news earlier this week.

[lineygoblue]

Yeah. The Vals are probably leading for O'Brien right now.

But what O'Brien needs to do, as noted by one poster on Rivals is, to take his official visit during the first couple of weeks in September, when its still 95 degrees and 90% humidity in Knoxville. Playing in that rain forest isn't going to be fun. And, I think Tennessee has more of a rebuilding job ahead of them than Michigan has.

I still think that the Godin commit has got to sway O'Brien at least a bit.

[SeattleLionsFan]

I'm happy with the instate battles, but I'm a bit concerned that the class is filling up with 3 star types...

[lineygoblue]

I think this is a year where the "stars level" of the recruiting services can be thrown out the window. Rivals and Scout are horribly biased against the midwest anyway.

If Greg Mattison is "excited" about a player's commitment, (as he has been about most of these recently) then I'd value his opinion over Rivals, Scout, ESPN, or any other recruiting gurus.

[SeattleLionsFan]

I've heard the same for the past several years Liney, and it hasn't really borne itself out.