The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN RECRUITING Summer All-Stars A some of its members have one more step before they reach the "delivered" phase of the process. The national all-star games such as the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and the Under Armour All-America Game are gen- erally played in January, but there are regional all-star games throughout the winter, spring and summer. Some of the more notable contests will include players bound for Michigan. In the Annual Big 33 Classic, pitting lthough Michigan's recruiting class of 2012 is signed and sealed, all-star teams from Ohio and Pennsyl- vania against each other, one Michi- gan commitment — 6-6, 270-pound tight end A.J. Williams — will be play- ing for Team Ohio June 16 in Hershey, Pa. The product of Sycamore High School (the No. 22 tight end in the nation, according to Rivals.com) will play alongside another Cincinnati- area player, former Michigan commit- ment Caleb Stacey of Oak Hills High School, who decommitted from the Wolverines to play on the offensive line at hometown Cincinnati. Williams is also participating in the A.J. Williams, Rivals.com's No. 22 tight end in the land, is among a handful of U-M sign- ees who will be participating in regional high school all-star games during the spring and summer. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM back and No. 236 player overall in the nation. Michigan's class of 2012 is expected Ohio North-South Classic April 20 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. He will play on the offensive line for the South team. His future teammate, Mentor defensive end Tom Stro- bel, will play for the North. The 6-6, 245-pound Strobel is ranked as the No. 16 strongside defensive end in the country. A little closer to home, the Michigan High School Football Coaches' As- sociation will host its senior all-star game June 30 at Kelly Shorts Stadium on the campus of Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. Novi Detroit Catholic Central defensive end Matt Godin — a 6-6, 270-pounder ranked as the No. 26 strongside de- fensive end in the nation by Rivals. com —will suit up for the East team. When his team is on offense, two Texas — are well known for filling their recruiting classes very early in the process, Michigan has not tradi- tionally followed that model. That's not the case with the 2013 recruiting class, which had 17 commitments through mid-April. Since 2004 — the first year that Ri- Although some schools — namely RECORD PACE vals.com has commitment dates avail- able for recruits — the largest class by the end of spring practice was seven 17 commitments faster than ever before. The Wolverines have reached RACE TO 17 of his future teammates will get their chances to tote the rock. Drake Johnson — a 6-1, 200-pound, three-star running back and the No. 21 prospect in Michi- gan according to Rivals.com — will share carries with Detroit King product Dennis Norfleet, a 5-7, 170-pounder who is ranked as the No. 5 all-purpose 46 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2012 Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Date of 17th Commitment Jan. 23, 2004 Jan. 19, 2005 Jan. 31, 2006 Jan. 6, 2007 Jan. 31, 2008 Dec. 14, 2008 Aug. 15, 2009 Jan. 28, 2011 July 10, 2011 April 10, 2012 players in 2010. Four of the players who had committed by that time — quarterback Devin Gardner, running back Stephen Hopkins, and wide receivers Ricardo Miller and Jerald Robinson — ultimately enrolled early at Michigan. As of mid-April, Michigan has more recruits committed than any other school in the country. Florida and Georgia each had 15 commits to tie for second. Texas A&M had 14 commitments, Texas 13, Alabama 11 and Notre Dame 10. No other school has reached double digits yet. Michigan's early commitments to start reporting to Ann Arbor around June 23. bring the star power as well. Thirteen of the 17 commitments are four-star prospects, led by the nation's No. 16 overall player according to Rivals.com, Warren (Mich.) De La Salle quarter- back Shane Morris. Michigan brought in 17 recruits ranked four stars or bet- ter in the 2008 class, and 14 such pros- pects in the 2009 group (led by five-star defensive tackle William Campbell). The 2003 and 2004 classes each had 13 players ranked four-stars or better, in- cluding five-stars Prescott Burgess and Lamarr Woodley in 2003 and Chad Henne in 2004. Michigan's class still doesn't have a five-star prospect. However, Morris' ranking as the No. 16 prospect in the nation puts him in good position to land that coveted fifth star in the fu- ture. There have never been fewer than 25 five-star prospects in Rivals.com's final rankings. restrict Football Bowl Subdivision teams to 85 total scholarship players on the roster and a maximum of 25 in each recruiting class (with the option to count mid-year enrollees against the previous year's signing class if it did not reach the maximum). The Wolverines' roster consisted The NCAA's scholarship limits SCHOLARSHIP NUMBERS of 79 scholarship athletes, includ- ing incoming freshmen, through the April 14 spring game. That leaves six scholarships unused — they will likely be granted to walk-ons on a one-year basis. Thirteen of the schol- arship athletes are in their final year of eligibility. Those scholarships will be available after the 2012 season, mean- ing there are 19 slots available for the 2013 recruiting class. Michigan's coaching staff is ex- pected to sign a recruiting class of