The Wolverine

December 2012

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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FOOTBALL RECRUITING Player 2007 Rivals.com Rank: No. 5 Nationally, No. 1 Big Ten Ryan Mallett Five-star, No. 4 player nationally Donovan Warren Pos. QB Five-star, No. 25 player nationally Toney Clemons Four-Star, No. 91 player nationally Michael Williams Four-star Zion Babb Three-star Artis Chambers Three-Star Avery Horn Three-star Vince Helmuth Three-star Marell Evans* Two-star DB WR DB WR DB RB RB LB * Evans transferred to Hampton University, but returned for his final year of eligibility in Ann Arbor. 2008 Class Rank: No. 10 Nationally, No. 2 Big Ten Player Darryl Stonum Four-star, No. 41 player nationally Boubacar Cissoko Four-star, No. 44 player nationally Dann O'Neill Four-star, No. 49 player nationally Brandon Smith Four-star, No. 166 player nationally WR DB OL DB Marcus Witherspoon LB Four-star, No. 219 player nationally Taylor Hill Four-star, No. 245 player nationally Sam McGuffie Four-star Terrence Robinson Four-star Mike Cox Three-star Justin Feagin LB RB RB RB Three-star Rocko Khoury Three-star Kurt Wermers Three-star Player Chris Barnett Three-star careers, however, accounted for only 1,241 (45.9 percent) of those points. The 2009 class was another that Ath OL OL Player Four-star, No. 224 player nationally Kellen Jones TE LB Chris Rock Three-star Three-star Gregg Brown racked up a lot of points in the team rankings formula, notching a total of 2,457 on National Signing Day. The at- trition rate was slightly lower as well, with only eight of 22 departing early or never making it to campus (though players who have redshirted and are still on the roster could depart before next season). The remaining players account for 1,549 points, the first Michi- gan class since 2006 in which more than half the points on National Signing Day (63.0 percent) came from players who would stick out their Michigan careers. Circumstances would not remain rosy for long. Rodriguez's coaching staff picked up a number of recruits in the 2010 class who would not even make it to campus (Dorsey, South Car- olina quarterback Conelius Jones, and Ohio linebackers Antonio Kinard and Rogers). On National Signing Day, the class was worth 2,314 points. Twelve of the 27 signees are no longer on campus just over two years later, and the class' remaining players represent only 1,286 of those points (55.6 percent). The 2011 class saw several players lost in the transition between coaching staffs, most notably Michigan offensive lineman Jake Fisher, who started for Oregon as a true freshman. On Na- tional Signing Day, the commits to- taled 1,684 points in the current team rankings formula — by far the lowest in this six-year period. Six have de- parted so far, and the remaining value is 1,226 (72.8 percent of the original). Hoke and his coaching staff have demonstrated — even among those players they didn't recruit and that do THE FUTURE Pos. DE DB Attrition, 2007-11 Pos. Justin Turner 2009 Original Rank: No. 8 Nationally, No. 2 Big Ten Player Four-star, No. 35 player nationally Je'Ron Stokes Pos. DB Four-star, No. 104 player nationally Tate Forcier Four-star, No. 164 player nationally Anthony LaLota Four-star, No. 215 player nationally Vladimir Emilien Four-star Isaiah Bell Three-star Teric Jones Two-star Three-star Adrian Witty WR QB DE DB LB RB DB Player 2010 Original Rank: No. 20 Nationally, No. 2 Big Ten Cullen Christian Four-star, No. 99 player nationally Demar Dorsey Pos. DB Four-star, No. 162 player nationally Carvin Johnson Three-star Christian Pace Three-star Terry Talbott Three-star Davion Rogers Three-star Austin White Three-star Conelius Jones Three-star D.J. Williamson 2011 Original Rank: No. 21 Nationally, No. 2 Big Ten Pos. Two-star Player Tamani Carter Three-star Tony Posada Three-star Three-star Ray Vinopal DB DB OL LB DT RB Three-star Antonio Kinard Three-star Terrence Talbott Ath LB WR DB DB Pos. DB OL not fit in their system, such as Robin- son — that they're more capable than the previous coaching staff of holding onto their student-athletes. The U-M coaches have bounced back with excellent recruiting classes in 2012 (No. 7 nationally, no attrition to date) and 2013 (currently No. 5 na- tionally, with 2-3 spaces remaining), and the results on the field have borne out that they're capable of developing young players into integral pieces of a Big Ten championship team. As long as they can hold onto the talent that they're stockpiling in Ann Arbor, the Michigan coaching staff has bright days ahead. ❑ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan football re- cruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. DECEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 61

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