Recruiting Board Updated

Update 5/14: Consistent and repeated pessimism at BP re: OH TE Kevin Koger has caused me to bump him up to blue. (There is also a poster who has to be a high school classmate of IL OL/DT Garrett Goebel ranting about woo OSU in that recruitment; don't know how seriously to take it.) Also downgraded PA OL Lucas Nix to red; seems the Pitt lean is for real. Moved Christian Wilson from LB to RB; he's been offered as a FB/H-back. Linked to articles on OH OL Zebrie Sanders, IL OL Graham Pocic, KS LB Arthur Brown, AZ OL Zach Schlink, GA DT Omar Hunter. Added AR WR Joe Adams.

Much rejiggering of DTs, much of it based on one of those GBW summary articles: MI DT Mike Martin has an offer and is widely presumed to be a lock; he's upgraded to blue. NV DT Lawrence Guy now has an offer and has Michigan in his top three; green. MS DT Cameron Wagner is downgraded to gray with the new offers out. KY DT Brandon Newman goes down to red; there has been much talk of him and Notre Dame.

Linked to articles on AZ RB Covaughn Deboskie (visit coming up), NJ S Will Hill (he speaks!), another on IL OL Graham Pocic, PA WR Jonathan Baldwin (amongst other PA recruits). Also here is another combine article. Removed OH LB Mike Zordich.

Linked to Jim Stefani's early Michigan top 25.

Editorial Opinion: Dios mio, man. There is much to get to.

Combines. Various scouting combines happened over the weekend, including a NIKE camp at Penn State. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has an article of interest on the camp. Items follow.

PA WR recruit Jonathan Baldwin may be a five star, which is much higher than I thought he'd be rated:

Aliquippa tight end Jonathan Baldwin, Jeannette quarterback Terrelle Pryor and Hale, all considered five-star recruits, according to Rivals.com, did not attend. ... "This is a rare year in Western Pa.," Farrell said. "The (top players) obviously are out there, then it's completely loaded. Arguably, you have the top quarterback (Pryor) in the country. Arguably you have the top linebacker in the country in Hale and, arguably, the top tight end in the country in Baldwin. From one area, it's really rare."

(Though the article and Farrell continually refer to Baldwin as a tight end, Michigan is recruiting him at wide receiver.)

Return specialist Cameron Saddler is going to try to drag the aforementioned Hale along wherever he goes:

Gateway running back Cameron Saddler had a busy offseason, after picking up 12 offers and looking for more. The speedy Saddler, who said he and Hale are a guaranteed package deal, worked out with the wide receivers because he is being recruited as a receiver/return specialist.

Saddler, who was one of eight Gateway players to showcase their skills for college coaches from around the country, said he's not affected by the attention.

"No, no, no, pressure don't do nothing but bust pipes," Saddler said. "There's no need to stress over pressure because it isn't going to do anything. It's about how you perform when you step on the field."

Those never work out, but it can't hurt that Michigan has offers out to both and a pretty glaring need at kick returner.

Defensive tackles. Though the position doesn't seem like a huge priority going into the year, Michigan didn't pick up any last year and will probably be looking for a couple. A good bet to be one of them is instater Mike Martin, who just received an offer. Short, fast, and immensely powerful, Martin seems like a replica of Terrance Taylor, albeit one who will end up less highly ranked when things are all said and done. Also, Michigan has an offer out to Nevadan Lawrence Guy and features in his top three. GA DT Omar Hunter broke his leg, unfortunately, and may see his senior year threatened.

Offensive linemen. Graham Pocic is a tackle and former teammate of incoming center recruit David Molk who now holds a Michigan offer, but it sounds like Urban Meyer's been in his ear:

"The best football is played in the South, and I want to check it out,'' Pocic said. ''I've heard the mentality of the fans in the SEC is different from the Big Ten and other conferences. I want to see for myself.''

In another article he drops this quote:

"I grew up watching Notre Dame," he said. "I loved watching them on TV because they were always on and they have great tradition. But just because they are a school that I used to watch doesn't mean that I'm going to go there. That's not going to affect my decision at all."

The Michigan positives:

Pocic's former teammate, (offensive center) Dave Molk, signed with Michigan in February. "He's going there and is really excited about them," he said. "I love their o-line tradition and the Big House is one of the biggest stadiums in the Big Ten."

Color me skeptical when a player we're recruiting says Michigan Stadium is "one of" the largest stadiums in the freakin' conference. Pocic gets a Nefarious Eduardo.

Will Hill is, according to some, the top prospect in the country and he's been extremely hard for recruiting sites to get ahold of. The local newspaper managed to track him down after a meeting with Reggie Bush. (Note for NCAA violation spelunkers:

"He didn't talk to me about USC," Hill said. "He just told me to go to the place that I feel the best. He wasn't going to sell me and I respected that."

) The article gives the first indication that the internet rumors of genuine Michigan interest are legit:

"I have to see if I like the school," Hill said. "I have to talk to other players at the school."

While Florida and Michigan remain high on Hill's list, he is also fielding offers from Florida State, USC, Notre Dame, Miami and Virginia, where former teammates Mike Brown (the 2005 Hudson Reporter Male Athlete of the Year) and Rashawn Jackson are.

"It would be great to play with those two guys again and I have a lot of relatives in Virginia," Hill said.

That's vague but likely to be all we'll get for a bit on Hill.

Deboskie! Personal interest in getting this Deboskie kid is rising given the schools in hot pursuit, his combine performances, and his kickass name. There's another copious Scout article on him that has a bunch of rehashed material. Of note to Michigan fans is an upcoming visit for him:

"I am going to Stanford for their junior day on Saturday," said Covaughn. "I am going to Michigan in June. In July my father and I are going to fly to Georgia Tech. From there we are going to visit Clemson and South Carolina. After that we are going to Florida for their Friday Night Lights camp."

So there you go. With Deboskie intending to enroll early and get his decision over by summer's end, that list plus UCLA would appear to comprise the list of serious contenders.

In-state rankings. I'm not exactly sure how much credence to lend Jim Stefani's rankings, but they do seem to correspond pretty well to those given out by the big recruiting sites so his Michigan Top 25 is an interesting first look at the instate talent. Relevant section for Michigan fans:

1 Boubacar Cissoko [commit]
2 Dan O'Neill [commit]
3 Jonas Gray
4 Fred Smith
5 Nick Perry
6 Michael Martin
7 Tyler Hoover
8 Corey Johnson
9 Charles Burrell [MSU]
10 Kenny Demens

For those scoring at home, Michigan has commits from the top two, is bizarrely holding off offering #3 but should have a good shot if it decides to send one, and is the presumed leader for the next four, all of whom have offers. Last year's instate fiasco appears to be a one-year aberration.