The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN RECRUITING tablished a strict no visits policy for commits, letting them know that any trips to other schools' campuses will be seen as an intention to decommit from Michigan. In that instance, the staff will look to replace that player in the class. Dawson's visit plans to Gaines- ville, Fla., were scuttled shortly after speaking with the Michigan coaches. "I'm a Michigan Man," he said at the time on his Twitter account. "Go Blue." Dawson's reaffirmation of his commitment to the Wolverines al- lowed a collective sigh of relief from fans. Commitments wavering will always be the downside of bringing in most of the class so early, but thus far Michigan hasn't had any serious decommitment scares in 2013. been a slow period in the world of football, but the rise of elite seven- on-seven tournaments and football camps has given recruiting fans a little more to follow. Four Michigan commitments par- The summer has traditionally COMMITS IMPRESS AT ELITE CAMPS ticipated in the Rivals Five Star Chal- lenge in Atlanta June 22-24. Detroit Cass Tech teammates Jourdan Lewis and David Dawson (a cornerback and offensive lineman, respectively) represented the Wolverines along with future teammates Chris Fox, an offensive lineman from Parker (Colo.) Ponderosa, and Trotwood (Ohio) Madison linebacker Mike Mc- Cray. Although McCray was injured — he suffered a minor ankle sprain — the other three players upheld the Michigan name well, most notably the Cass Tech duo. "Lewis started off very well with one of the best interceptions you'll see when he showed off his closing speed and undercut a pass," Rivals. com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said. "He flashed that speed and took on bigger receivers well at times. "Dawson had arguably the best offseason event, Morris managed to outplay even his lofty ranking as the No. 22 player in the country. "Morris has a big-time arm and can zip the ball into tight windows," Rivals.com West Coast recruiting analyst Adam Gorney said. "One of the concerns about Morris was that he's not as accurate as other elite quarterbacks, but that didn't seem to be a problem during seven-on-seven play. He was a good decision-maker, rarely made the wrong read and then zipped the ball down the field to a cadre of capable receivers." Charlton alternated strong play punch among linemen in the event. He showed a great punch off the snap, and when he got his hands on opponents, he dominated them." The Rivals Challenge wasn't the with struggles, but nearly all of the Michigan commits improved their recruiting stock over the course of the weekend. only elite camp with a healthy Michi- gan contingent during the summer months. Nike's The Opening took place July 13-15 in Beaverton, Ore. Dawson, Lewis, and McCray were one again participants, but this time were joined by several future team- mates. Pickerington, Ohio, was rep- resented by future Wolverines defen- sive end Taco Charlton (Central) and tight end Jake Butt (North). Wheaton (Ill.) St. Francis offensive lineman Kyle Bosch and Warren (Mich.) De La Salle quarterback Shane Morris were also present. As he's done at seemingly every for the services of Crete (Ill.) Monee four-star wide receiver Laquon Treadwell. The 6-3, 185-pounder is ranked as the No. 39 player in the country, and he has favored the Wolverines so long that some fans question not whether he'll end up at Michigan, but rather when he'll commit. That date seemed to take a leap LAQUON TREADWELL COULD BE CLOSE TO A COMMITMENT Michigan has long been the leader ILLINOIS WIDEOUT forward on the calendar in recent weeks. Although he has planned to take at least a couple of his five al- lowed official visits this fall, he ad- mitted going into The Opening that his timetable is still variable. "While Laquon has definitely been thinking about the situation at Mich- igan with scholarships and how it relates to his recruitment, the move towards making a commitment in the near future has really just begun to take hold in the last days, if not hours," Rivals.com Midwest recruit- ing analyst Josh Helmholdt said. "He is pretty serious about it. My guess is that after things settle down, he will end up waiting until he gets back home, but that's just a prediction at this point." The Opening came and went with- out Treadwell offering a commit- ment, but he did state that he's one step closer to ending the process. "It's probably going to happen ran- July 13-15 in Beaverton, Ore., and impressed onlookers with his performance. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Warren (Mich.) De La Salle quarterback Shane Morris took part in Nike's The Opening domly," Treadwell said. "I'm going to go home and think about it. [The limited space in Michigan's class] AUGUST 2012 THE WOLVERINE 67