Monday Recruitin'

Update 6/4: Linked to articles on MO TE Spencer Ladner, PA RB Cameron Saddler, TX S Keanon Cooper, NJ LB Marcus Witherspoon, TX DE Kapron Lewis-Moore (downgraded to red; no M mention), TX CB Adrian Bushell, OH OL Zebrie Sanders, MI RB Jonas Gray, OR DE Ethan Johnson, OH LB Brandon Beachum. Added AZ RB Ray Polk, CA DE (DT?) Jamaar Jarrett, LA CB Robby Green. Linked to a trio of articles on some PA recruits: WR Jonathan Baldwin, LB Shayne Hale, and QB Terrelle Pryor, OL Lucas Nix, RB/WR/KR Cameron Saddler.

Removed PA LB Shariff Blake (no M interest), CA OL Khaled Holmes, PA OL RJ Dill, TX LB Joseph Ibiloye (dropped us). Linked to the Pittsburgh Sports Report's PA Top 50. OH RB Michael Shaw now has an offer. Linked to articles on WA DE Kavario Middleton, MI OL Rocko Koury, LA CB Robby Green. Moved NJ LB Marcus Witherspoon to committed.

Editorial Opinion: Bad news first: OH OL Zebrie Sanders has four official visits set and Michigan isn't one of them. They are: FSU, Clemson, Georgia, and USC (if he gets offered... questionable). Now, sometimes local guys who have been to nearby schools will schedule visits to places they haven't been just to get out and see the world, but instances of players taking official visits and then committing to a school they haven't officially visited are rare. He keeps naming top threes that have Clemson and UGA in them; half of the time Michigan is the third team and half the time it isn't. I am not optimistic.

High profile OR DE Ethan Johnson appears to be favoring USC and Notre Dame. Michigan gets some mention, but that ain't good.

We put out an offer to a Louisiana cornerback, Robby Green, who says we're in his "top seven" but not his top five. Specific! There is also a Scout article in which Green says we will get an unofficial this summer, but as per usual getting kids out of the south is tough.

...and, surprisingly, the buzz on GA DT Omar Hunter is that he's going to pick Notre Dame, not Michigan, after visiting both campuses. Obviously this is not so good. Evidently Hunter's longtime fandom was not particularly deep. Though losing a guy who Michigan was supposed to lead heavily for is a downer, it doesn't have much in the way of long term implications with Carr likely on the way out. If Michigan picks up a commit from instater Mike Martin, who's being ranked at about the same level as Hunter, the net impact on the final class won't be much. Still: frowns.

Anyway, on to other stuff: I'm beginning to develop a distinct fondness for atom-sized PA RB/WR/KR/PR Cameron Saddler. Part of it is the same reason I was more excited about last year's unfortunately unconsummated Marquis Maze commitment than would normally be warranted by his rankings and offers. I love tiny, electric kick return guys and love them even more when it signals that Michigan has been awakened by the Steve Breaston experience and is actively seeking anti-Walter Cross types to return various special teams thingies. Saddler doesn't quite have the awesome name potential of a guy named "Maze" -- the multifariousness of it all! -- but, yeah, I'd still be happy to get the little bugger. Especially when said little bugger announces to anyone and everyone stuff like this:

GSN: Are you and your cousin still thinking of going as a package deal?
Saddler: We’re going to have to make the best choice for each of us, but, with the situation we’re in right now, it looks like the best situation will be at the same school.

The default skepticism about package deals goes here, especially when the higher-rated player (Hale, by, like, a lot) hasn't said anything about one, but Saddler is really pushing this thing. Both have announced initial top ten lists. This is the intersection of the two: Michigan, Virginia, and WVU. Come on package deal... Daddy needs a new pair of recruits. (It should be noted that Saddler made an allowance for the Florida schools entering his top ten should they offer, which would add Florida and Miami to the set union and make the climb more difficult.)

Hale, for his part:

Where Hale and teammate Cameron Saddler had discussed going to college together, their respective lists include only a handful of the same schools.

“We still have Michigan and Virginia and West Virginia,” Hale said. “We’re definitely going to keep those ones around. We’ll see what’s best and what we should do.”

Saddler may be favoring a panting UVA team...

Virginia appears to be the leader, as the Cavaliers are recruiting Saddler the hardest. Every member of UVa’s staff send Saddler a handwritten letter and the coaches followed him around at the Nike Training Camp.

...FWIW.

You can throw Brandon Beachum on the Inexplicable Lack Of Offer pile along with Jonas Gray:

One offer Beachum is still yet to receive is from Michigan. “I don’t know why they haven’t offered,” he said. “I know they’re interested. I talk to them a lot and they tell me how much they like me and want me to come to their camp coming up this summer.

“I like Michigan because they are a big program that is close to me. I have offers from big-time schools that are eight, ten hours away, but Michigan is just three hours from me. I don’t think I’m going to their camp though. I'm pretty much done with that. I think I’ve done enough.

Beachum's lack may be even more inexplicable than Gray's, as he is both a top-100 prospect to the recruiting services and in possession of a wide array of impressive offers: FSU, LSU, Oklahoma, and 22 others. He also plays linebacker, a position at which depth chart concerns are much less important than running back because there are three starting positions. It sounds like Beachum would seriously consider Michigan if he got an offer, but he's not going to beg for one. (This is another situation in which Ohio State and, apparently, Michigan have overlooked a highly touted local prospect. I wonder what's the deal.)

Speaking of Gray, he will camp in an effort to get offered:

In addition to Notre Dame, Gray wants offers from Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

"I'd like to camp for a day at those schools too," Gray said. "I think for sure I'll go to Minnesota and Colorado. I've got to see how recruiting plays out for everybody else. I might commit in October if my schools start filling up."

That ship has not quite sailed yet, but if he doesn't get offered at camp he's very probably gone.

New people of serious interest. A couple Texans are looking northward with Michigan in mind. Safety Keanon Cooper "favors Wisconsin slightly" over a bunch of midlevel schools and Michigan -- his dad lives in the Cheese State:

The other school that Cooper says he always liked is Michigan. "My favorite player was Charles Woodson," he said. "My brother is also an Ohio State fan, so it was always fun to watch the big rivalry game. They have great players every year and get great exposure. They are always on TV and I like the coaches a lot too. They know what they are doing."

Cooper's probably a three star given his offers and preliminary rankings. I think I mentioned CB/S Adrian Bushell last week, but he has Texas Tech -- a school '07 LB signee Brandon Herron described as "a box surrounded by dirt" -- offering-everyone Florida, and Michigan as a seemingly solid top three:

Although Bushell is still trying to determine his summer workout schedule, he is planning on visiting Michigan, Florida, and Texas Tech. “I want to be patient and take some official visits to some of the schools for their big games. I want to tour the campus and see the game day environment for the Notre Dame or Ohio State games.”

Missouri TE Spencer Ladner has a top three of Cal, Wisconsin, and Michigan. No idea if he's leaning anywhere, but his offer is obvious proof Michigan's looking for a second tight end in the class.

Tailbacks? Michigan now has offers out to two more runningbacks, Arizonan Ray Polk and Ohioan Michael Shaw. It's possible Michigan's recruiting one or both as athletes with a possible role in the secondary; if not it's more indication that Gray is way down the list.

Back from the dead. Big time Washington prospect Kavorio Middleton was downgraded to red after a Scout article in which he said he really wanted to stay close to home. He is now back to yellow with this GBW article in which Middleton's coach addresses the earlier piece:

"As far as location goes, Kavario is going to realize that he needs to go to the best school that can develop him as a player and get him to where he needs to be."

There are more positive quotes. They're trying to set up an early October visit and M is "definitely" in their top five.

Board here.