Recruiting Board Updated

Update 5/11: Removed MI CB Cedric Everson (not listed in his top five) and PA QB Pat Bostick (Pitt), asserted that Michigan leads for IN S/LB Jerimy Finch based on straightforward "Solid Wolverine Lead" head on latest Superprep article. Linked to Scout interview with IL RB Robert Hughes.

Editorial Opinion: Everson's lack of interest in Michigan seems disappointing since the articles about him claim offers from everyone from USC on down and return touchdowns in every game as a junior, but there's a lot of speculation out there that Everson's father is engaging in a snow job of epic proportions. Insiders are claiming that the reported Michigan offer is dubious and his reported stats are even goofier... so it's hard to tell exactly what Michigan is missing out on.

Speculation that Michigan leads for Jerimy Finch has turned into solid evidence thereof. Witness the article above($) link. The Wolverine's latest article on him is headlined "UM closing in on verbal No. 6?" Hopefully the answer to that is "yes," as Finch is supposed to be the #1 prospect in Indiana and a top 100 lock. He'll play either safety or WLB at Michigan.

Robert Hughes is tougher to read. The GBW article has a smattering of encouraging quotes...

“I have eight offers so far," he said. "I’ve got offers from Illinois, Virginia, Purdue, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Michigan -- most definitely Michigan -- and Minnesota.

"I’m very open to the recruiting process, but Michigan will most definitely be at the top of my list when I start taking visits.”

...but they seem of the "let's tell this guy what he wants to hear" variety. I doubt anyone on Hughes' current offer list is a serious threat to Michigan, but ND and OSU are also involved. Contrast the sunny optimism of the GBW update to this from Rivals' Mike Farrell:

Chicago running back Robert Hughes has been rumored to be favoring Illinois and Notre Dame, but he mentioned that his dream school is Miami and an offer from the Hurricanes might send him packing down south. Hughes and good friend Martez Wilson could be a package deal. If that were to be the case, Illinois would be the team to beat because of academic restrictions at Notre Dame. Wilson just received an offer from Southern Cal the night before the combine so the Trojans could also be in the mix.

No Michigan mention whatsoever(!). I'm not sure who the academic concerns are aimed at, but it seems like it's Wilson. If that's the case you can take heart in the fact that Farrell doesn't seem to know what he's talking about, as Wilson was just offered by both Michigan and Notre Dame among a number of other schools. He's been wrong in the past. That article has one other bit of interesting information, a name (and what a name it is) of a Cass Tech corner likely to be the #1 prospect in Michigan in 2008:

There was quite a buzz surrounding 2008 cornerback Boubacar Cissko, a teammate of Barksdale, during drills and one-on-ones amongst college coaches. The 5-foot-9, 175-pounder isn't huge, but he has great hips and feet and is a shutdown corner who still has an inch or two left to grow.

A must get on name alone. We need to work on some sort of fake punt package involving him, Zoltan Mesko, and Mister Simpson. It's not Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance: it's better.