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University of Michigan Football

Unofficial Recruiting Page

News, Rumors, and Commentary


Previous News
12/16/95-12/30/95

1/15/96
  • Some services are reporting that Damione Lewis has committed to Michigan. According to Lewis, however, these reports are premature. He does continue to list Michigan as his top choice currently.
  • Russell Shaw, the WR from El Camino JC who committed to Michigan yesterday, is rated as the number 1 junior college WR in the nation by several recruiting "experts". He has the ability to step in immediately and fill the void left by the departures of Amani Toomer and Mercury Hayes.
  • At last report, Tommy Hendricks was still planning to complete his official visits (Notre Dame, Texas A&M), although he does confirm that he has committed to Michigan. A little nervousness still about this commitment.
  • Cedric Woodard (DL, Texas) has apparently dropped interest in Michigan. I do not believe he visited this weekend, although I am not absolutely sure about this.
  • Mike Gandy (TE, Texas), a Notre Dame commitment, reportedly had an excellent visit to Michigan. He is visiting Notre Dame next weekend. Keep your ears open - if his ND visit isn't great, he could change his mind.
  • Dwayne Goodrich, the All-American CB from Illinois, is supposedly wavering on his commitment to Tennessee. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound as if he is considering Michigan at this point, but is thinking about Notre Dame, Northwestern, and possibly OSU. I haven't heard if Michigan is still actively recruiting Goodrich.
  • Daymonn Carroll, a top RB prospect from Pennsylvania, has narrowed his choices to Michigan, Florida, Nebraska, and Penn State. He is visiting Michigan next weekend. PSU and Florida are his current leaders.
  • LeAundre Brown visited LSU this weekend, but after his visit still had Michigan as a slight leader over Texas A&M, where he is visiting next weekend.
  • I have updated the commitments page to add info on several players and have provided a list at the top of the page for easy navigation (the text is getting a bit long). Sorry if I'm getting a bit table happy - it really is the easiest way to align lists on Web pages.
1/14/96 (update #2)
  • Thanks to everyone who has been e-mailing me with updates - it is very helpful and makes my life much easier. A couple of things that have come my way today...
  • Michigan has received another verbal commitment from Russell Shaw, a 6'0, 180 lb. receiver from El Camino Junior College in California. Shaw runs a 4.5 40, and had 65 catches for 1100 yards and 18 TD's this season. He is academically qualified, but will not enroll in Michigan until the fall. (JC prospects often enroll in spring term so that they can be counted against the previous year's scholarship limit and can participate in spring practice).
  • Gary Berry has upgraded his opinion of Michigan, and now rates them about the same as Ohio State, the leader for his services prior to this weekend. He is still planning to visit Florida and possibly USC.
  • Michigan has offered scholarships to Stanley Guyness and Jay Vickers, but both plan on completing their official visits prior to making final decisions. Guyness has yet to visit USC, his current leader, and Vickers will visit Florida State and South Carolina.
  • Cory Sargent is a 6'3", 196 lb. punter and defensive back from South Lyon (not far from Ann Arbor). He was one of four kickers in to make the Bluechip Illustrated midwest blue chip list. He is considered the top kicker in Michigan. He averaged 42.5 yards per punt in 1994. Michigan really needs a kicker - the lack of consistent punting was one of the major reasons for the Alamo Bowl loss.
  • Kenneth Davis, the top WR prospect from Houston, has apparently not been offered an official visit because he has still not come close to qualifying academically. Unless he goes the prep school or JC route, don't expect to see him in the Maize and Blue.
  • The Detroit News Blue Chip list was published today. Michigan recruits on the list include John Anes (#1), Eric Wilson (#3), Dave Brandt (#4), Dion Grubbs (#6), Ian Gold (#8), and Cory Sargent (#17). John Anes is the third consecutive top blue chipper to attend Michigan, following David Bowens and Chris Floyd. It doesn't look like Michigan will sign any of the remaining prospects on the list, although they are recruiting Mateen Cleaves (#2, QB/DB from Flint Northern) to play basketball, where he is considered by some to be the top point guard prospect in the nation.
1/14/96 (update #1)
  • Well, the big weekend is almost over, and there is a lot of news. I will update this page again tonight as I expect more information by the time the prospects have all left.
  • Let's start with some great news: Tommy Hendricks, the All-American DB from Texas, has committed to Michigan. Both he and his father have confirmed this news. Check out the link provided for more information about Hendricks. He is a big recruit as Michigan lost out on Dwayne Goodrich. If LeAundre Brown also elects to come to Michigan, the defensive backfield will be an area of strength for the near future. Hendricks has not yet decided if he will cancel his other visits. Michigan won out over Notre Dame on this one. Interestingly, I had heard a rumor yesterday that Michigan was out of the running. Shows you how much rumors mean.
  • Dion Grubbs, as expected, has also committed to Michigan. The coaches did offer him a scholarship, which suggests that they expect him to qualify academically (he needs to improve his ACT score by 1 point, but has the core GPA necessary). He may play DB, but expects to be given a shot at the RB position, especially with the departure of Tshimanga Biakabutuka.
  • Cory Sargent, a punter from South Lyon, MI, has also committed to Michigan. I don't have much information on him, so please e-mail me if you have stats, etc.
  • No other commitments, but some good chances for the near future, as many of the visitors this weekend had great visits. How about that - warm, sunny weather on a prime recruiting weekend in January! Anyways, the biggest name on the list is Damione Lewis, who says that he had a great visit, and Michigan now leads for his services. Rod Payne hosted him, and Rod's an entertaining and funny person who loves Michigan. Lewis has yet to visit Texas A&M, and still likes FSU and Miami, just not as much as he did prior to his visit to Ann Arbor.
  • Other players who now have Michigan leading include Russell Shaw, a WR prospect from El Camino J.C. in California, and Jeremy McDaniel, another WR from Fort Scott CC in Kansas. They may commit before they leave, although they haven't completed all of their official visits.
  • Jerry Dioron, a WR from Louisiana, also enjoyed his visit. He was a little tentative about Michigan coming in, but enjoyed it much more than he expected. He will still visit Tennessee and LSU before making his decision.
  • Jay Vickers, the RB/DB from Florida, moved his visit up to this weekend, and also enjoyed himself. However, he will still take his remaining visits to FSU and South Carolina before choosing among these and Notre Dame, Michigan, and Northwestern.
  • Other players who visited and say they like Michigan but have yet to make a decision include Gary Berry, Jason Ching, and Kwaesi Palmer. Palmer had FSU in the lead prior to his visit, but now ranks Michigan up with FSU at the top of his list of schools. He is also still considering Texas A&M and Miami.
  • Well, enough for now. I'll be back sometime this evening with more updates...so far, so good. Michigan's commitment list is now at 12, and will most likely be higher by tonight, if even a few of the rumors are true.
1/11/96
  • As expected, Mike Gandy, the tight end prospect from Texas, has committed to Notre Dame. I don't know if he is still planning to visit Michigan.
  • Will Snowden, a FB/RB from Boulder, Colorado, has rescheduled his visit to the weekend of January 19th. He is rated as one of the top 100 prospects nationally. Most reports state that he is currently favoring BYU. Snowden played DB as a junior, and was supposedly outstanding, but played only RB this year.
  • Michigan is still recruiting Reggie Hunt, a RB/DB from Texas. No official visit date has been scheduled as his football season ran late due to the Texas state playoffs. He is wide open as far as visits, but is considering Michigan, Texas, LSU, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma.
  • Jermale Kelly, a WR from South Carolina, will not be visiting Michigan. He sounds as if he plans to stay in the south/southeast.
1/10/96
  • For those of you who haven't heard by now, Tshimanga Biakabutuka has decided to forego his senior year and enter the NFL draft. Mel Kuiper (who I can't stand) initially projected him as a mid 1st rounder, but yesterday said he would be the number 8 pick by the Carolina Panthers. If this is true, Tshimanga probably made the right decision considering his family's circumstances.
  • Biakabutuka's decision to leave Michigan creates some interesting possibilities. Clarence Williams and Chris Howard are certain to get more playing time. Michigan had not been recruiting many nationally ranked RB's, but it is possible that the opening may cause some players to add Michigan to their list of schools. One player that has supposedly become more interested in Michigan is Gary Berry. He wants to play RB in college, but most teams have him slated at DB. OSU has limited scholarships remaining, and has a commitment from one of the top RB's in California and probably will get Nick Goings as well. Penn State wants Berry as a DB as well. Michigan had been third on Berry's list, but that may change. Stay tuned.
  • Good news. A top WR's name has resurfaced for Michigan. Kenneth Davis, from Houston, Texas, has scheduled an official visit for the weekend of January 19th. He had mentioned Michigan among his list of schools initially, but many recruiting services had removed Michigan from schools he was considering. He is ranked among the top 3 WR's in the nation by most scouting reports. He will also be visiting Florida and Colorado. Academics are a concern as he has not received a qualifying test score yet, although he is awaiting results from his latest attempt at the SAT.
  • Tommy Hendricks has not committed to Texas. He continues to list Texas, Notre Dame, UNC, and Michigan (in no particular order) as his top schools. Texas may now hold a slight lead, but Hendricks says he would be hard pressed to make a decision until he takes all of his official visits.
  • Some interesting developments in Texas. Several top Texas players have spurned history and are leaning or committing to Baylor and Texas Tech. On this list are Odell James, one of the top QB's in the nation, Chris Thierry, an excellent LB, and supposedly Darrell Bush and Elijah Burkins, two of the top RB's in Texas. This means that Texas A&M is going to push harder for some players that Michigan wants, including Grady Brooks and Kwaesi Palmer. The next two weeks will be telling as Michigan's big weekend is the 12th and A&M's is the 19th.
1/8/96
  • Glynn Johnson, the speedy RB from Cincinnati, committed to Indiana. This apparently happened a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't get any confirmation until last night.
  • Texas linebacker Grady Brooks has tentatively scheduled a visit to Michigan over the weekend of January 19th. He has been prone to change his mind about his choice of schools, so this may change; at last word, however, he was planning to visit Ann Arbor.
  • Michigan is reportedly trying to get an official visit from Marvin Minnis, the top WR prospect in Florida (he has one visit remaining). Michigan is bringing in quite a few WR prospects over the next couple of weeks, as they need help at this position immediately. However, last year, they needed a true FB, and were unable to land one, even with the promise of playing time. Let's hope that isn't the case with WR this year.
1/7/96
  • Well, the BIG weekend is a week away. This is where Michigan needs to make an impact if they are to land a top 5 recruiting class this year.
  • Some good news...Damione Lewis has again changed his mind and will indeed visit Michigan next weekend, along with his teammate Kwaesi Palmer. I don't know where Michigan ranks in his mind right now, but I'm not too optimistic considering his changes of heart.
  • There have been rumors that Tommy Hendricks III has committed to Texas. These are unconfirmed. If they are true, LeAundre Brown will be even more important. However, it would be much worse for Notre Dame than for Michigan, as U of M landed 4 excellent DB's last year, and has pretty much the entire defensive backfield returning. However, they do want to land at least one true DB and some athletes who could play the position if needed.
  • Jeremy McDaniel, the junior college WR from Kansas, will visit Michigan on January 12th. He is also visiting Houston, N.C. State, and Arizona.
  • According to the Detroit News, Dion Grubbs is likely to commit to U of M when he visits. They also report that he has a 3.0 GPA, but needs to improve his ACT to qualify (he scored a 16, needs a 17). He was timed at 4.3 in the 40 this year and has tied Tyrone Wheatley's state record in the 55 meter dash (6.2 seconds).
  • I have had several requests for Michigan's schedules. Here is a link that provides them: Schedules
  • Well, as I'm sure many of you have heard, John Runyan has declared himself eligible for the NFL draft. There are several people in line to take his job, but this may give a tackle prospect such as Paul Tannous a chance to get some playing time next year.
1/3/96
  • Dion Grubbs, the top rated RB in Michigan, continues to lean heavily towards the Wolverines. He has scheduled an official visit for the weekend of January 12th, and will be visiting Indiana this weekend. I have not heard anything further regarding his academic status.
  • Jay Vickers, a RB/DB from Tallahassee, FL, is visiting Michigan over the January 26th weekend. He is also considering Florida State, South Carolina, Notre Dame, and Auburn.
1/2/96
  • Happy New Year! Let's hope that 1996 brings 4 fewer losses to the Michigan football team, although the schedule isn't exactly easy.
  • As expected, not much new has happened over the holiday/bowl weekend. Things will begin to pick up in the next week or two as official visits resume.
  • Aaron Wright, the brother of NFL speedster Alexander Wright, has narrowed his choices to Tennessee, Michigan, and Notre Dame. He has no favorite among these three, and may only visit these schools before making his final decision. According to the scouting report, he has amazing speed but doesn't have great hands. He caught 45 passes for over 1300 yards this year, averaging almost 30 yards a catch. He could help immediately with Michigan's kick returns, which were pathetic this year.
  • USC is probably the leader for Stan Guyness, the WR prospect from Los Alamitos, California. After watching Keyshawn Johnson in the Rose Bowl, it's hard to argue. He is visiting Oregon this weekend.
  • Michigan continues to be a slight leader over Texas A&M for LeAundre Brown, even after the Alamo Bowl. However, he has yet to visit Texas A&M, and also will be visiting Ohio State and LSU.
Updated: 1/15/96

Feel free (and encouraged) to e-mail me with any updated information
svijan@umich.edu

go blue!

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