The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN RECRUITING class is down to 22 commitments, in a group that is expected to reach 25-28 players. The current number of scholarships available is 18, but attrition — through early NFL entry, transfer or injury — should allow Jim Harbaugh and his assistants to reach that goal. St-Juste moving to 2017 opens another spot that the coaches can use to land top 2016 targets without losing any commit- ments or current players. St-Juste becomes the second class of 2017 commitment to Michigan, joining Bloomfield Hills (Mich.) Brother Rice tight end Carter Dun- away. Both are three-star prospects. The early number of available schol- arships for that class is 18, though, like with the 2016 group, it should swell by National Signing Day. NFL SCOUT APPROVES OF BRANDON PETERS Avon (Ind.) High School four-star quarterback Brandon Peters isn't one of Michigan's highest-ranked com- mits just yet. The 6-4, 195-pounder is ranked by Rivals as the No. 3 se- nior in Indiana, and the No. 8 pro- style passer and No. 242 overall prospect nationally. According to an NFL Scout, however, there's a good chance that Peters' best football is ahead of him. "Peters showed the scout on film that he can buy time and create," Ri- vals national recruiting analyst Bar- ton Simmons wrote. "Compared to the other quarterbacks he watched, Peters was more purposeful and de- liberate in the pocket. You can tell he has a good feel for the game accord- ing to the scout and he also felt as if Peters had the best combination of athleticism and mechanics." With five-star prospects Jacob Ea- son, a Georgia commit from Lake Stevens, Wash., and Shea Patterson, pledged to Ole Miss, out of Braden- ton (Fla.) IMG Academy by way of Shreveport, La., also on the list of quarterbacks the scout broke down for Simmons, that's high praise. The scout felt, based on the film, that Peters had received a high level of coaching, though that's something Simmons took issue with. "On film, the scout felt that Peters looked polished and looked like he's been coached up," Simmons wrote. "In reality, Peters has had limited QB coaching relative to some of the other quarterbacks that the scout watched and that could be a great sign for the development trajectory for Peters." Perhaps the most exciting aspect for Michigan fans is not just the num- ber of positives that the scout ob- served on Peters' film. "There weren't a lot of negatives that the scout saw," Simmons wrote. "Athletically, he considered Peters above average, but only called him a 6 on a scale from 1 to 10 as an ath- lete." Peters has led his Avon team to an early 2-2 record, including a nation- ally televised 56-21 win over Browns- burg (Ind.) High School and five-star 2017 quarterback Hunter Johnson, a Tennessee commit. He has completed 74 of 120 passes (61.7 percent) for 1,154 yards (9.6 yards per attempt)