The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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football recruiting Michigan's Fast Start Has Recruiting Fans Eying Country's Best Class W pects based on their post-season performances. Fourteen current Michigan commitments will take part in national all-star games, including four in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, six in the Under Armour All-America Game and four in the Semper Fidelis All-America Game. Should those players excel, they can move up one more time. By Tim Sullivan hen Michigan picked up eight commitments in the span of two days in late February (then added two more pledges before the month was through), it seemed the Wolverines would have an upper hand on finishing first in the Rivals.com team rankings — a feat they have never accomplished (see sidebar). Though there have been many twists and turns, U-M was still within striking distance of the No. 1 spot in mid-December. Michigan was ranked fifth behind USC, Florida, Notre Dame and Alabama as of Dec. 17. Since only the top 20 commitments in each class count toward the team rankings, only the Trojans, with 16 commits, can add to their point total without losing some points on the low end of the class. The enormous groups of fellow top-10 programs Georgia (No. 9, 30 commits) and Texas A&M (No. 7, 33 commits) do not help them outstrip Michigan. The margins at the top are very thin, as well. U-M's point total of 2,592 was only 139 points below the Trojans' 2,731. If the Wolverines were to land the nation's top prospect, Grayson (Ga.) defensive end Robert Nkemdiche, they would pick up 250 points, while losing 90 since the value would replace one of the three-star commitments in the team rankings. Although U-M isn't in the running for Nkemdiche, it illustrates that a single commitment could be the difference between first and fifth. Since USC can only sign 18 prospects due to NCAA sanctions against the program, the road to the top — while still difficult — is not impossible to travel. One More Rankings Update Each time the Rivals.com prospect rankings are updated, teams have the potential to move slightly up and down in the team ledger, as well. In the most recent rankings update, players currently committed to Michigan netted 18 additional points from 48 the wolverine January 2013 Closing Strong The Wolverines could make a major move up in Rivals.com's team recruiting rankings if they are able to land Richmond (Va.) Hermitage five-star running back Derrick Green. photo courtesy rivals.com the previous set of rankings. That update came based on the senior year performances of the class of 2013. Slight slides by a few U-M commitments, such as Mike McCray and Kyle Bosch, are on account of prospects moving past them in the rankings, bumping their point totals slightly. A more precipitous drop came from Novi (Mich.) Detroit Catholic Central athlete Wyatt Shallman, whose overall athletic ability no longer kept him in the top 250 players nationally, since he lacks a true position in college, according to Rivals.com (and in fact, hardly played running back — the position he's slated for in college — at all as a senior). Those drops were balanced by rises from the likes of offensive lineman Patrick Kugler, who led Wexford (Pa.) North Allegheny to a state championship with a dominating performance on the front line (in fact, his move is one that cost McCray a spot or two in the rankings). Detroit Cass Tech teammates Jourdan Lewis and David Dawson — both of who excelled for a state champion Technicians team — also moved up. There is one more set of ranking updates, this time re-evaluating pros- The other way that Michigan can continue to pass teams in the rankings is by picking up more talent. They did just that Dec. 15, adding four-star Detroit Cass Tech duo David Dawson and Delano Hill, passing LSU to take over the No. 5 spot. U-M's class currently boasts 24 commitments, but due to recent attrition, could have as many as four more openings. The player still on the table who would provide the biggest boost is Richmond (Va.) Hermitage five-star running back Derrick Green. The top runner and No. 13 overall prospect in the country carries a team rankings value of 217 points. Should he choose Michigan, he would replace a 90-point three-star player in the overall total, netting 126 points for the Wolverines — and moving them within 13 points of the top spot. Fortunately for U-M, Green recently named Michigan his favorite, and he could realistically add to an already strong class. The country's No. 2 safety, Seffner (Fla.) Armwood five-star Leon McQuay III isn't far behind Green. His net value of 121 points would be a huge boost as well. Although he's less likely than Green to end up at Michigan, he's a real possibility. The Wolverines' sliding status with Crete (Ill.) Monee five-star wideout Laquon Treadwell hurts the chance to get a major boost from signing him. The No. 10 overall player and No. 1 wide receiver in the country once favored the Wolverines, but his focus has shifted to Ole Miss and Oklahoma, and it seems unlikely he