Hoke-us Pocus: The Magic of Recruiting

Well Hoke has been on fire the past week. He has gotten 6 commits and 3 KEY recommits from 4 star DB Blake Countess, 3 star OT Tony Posada and stud 3 star LB Kellen Jones. (these were HUGE) Looks as though he actually has two more silent commits with two more possible commits announcing Thursday and Friday (one possible, the other probable). If he can land a few more on top of the silents and get Fisher to recommit (Hoke visiting him in home Thursday night) that would be a monster finish in the limited time he has had. Hoke and staff, especially new DC Greg Mattison, have been doing an incredible job of selling Michigan to recruits and creating a buzz around the program. It has been nothing short of magical. There is finally that feeling of Michigan being a special place again.

STILL, the proof is in the pudding and results on the field are going to be the deciding factor on whether Hoke is answer. I have no doubt that we will see it there as well.

If you haven’t been following… new commits are as follows.

Tamani Carter 6’0” 175, 3 star DB from just outside Columbus, Buckeye writers say UM got a steal, Former Minnesota commit

Keith Heitzman 3 star DE could grow into a DT 6’3” 237, also from near Columbus, Former Vanderbilt commit

Raymon Taylor 5’10” 167, 4 star # 14 athlete in the country from Highland Park, MI, #6 player in MI, #5 best ‘ball skills’ of the “athletes” on rivals, Former Indiana commit

Matt Wile 6’2” 210, 2 star K, US ARMY All American and was the best in the game, will be primarily focusing on FG and PAT at UM, 5^th generation Michigan man, his dad, grandpa, great and great-great grandpa were all doctors who graduated from Michigan. Pretty cool.

Russell Bellomy 6’3” 187 3 star QB from TX, watched his highlights and interview and kid has it together. Runs a 4.6 40 and has great mechanics. Former Purdue commit (from Hope to Hoke!)

Antonio Poole 6’2” 210 3 star LB from Cincinnati, another great LB from Ohio who the Buckeyes ran out of room for. Great size and potential. #26 OLB in country, #17 player in OH

Silents are rumored to be…

Leilon Willingham 6’2” 240 4 star LB from Denver Mullen High in Colorado, great pipeline (has one of the top QBs for 2012 class), Texas A&M decommit, #13 OLB in the country, #2 player in CO

Frank Clark 6’2” 210 3 star TE/OLB from Cleveland Glenville in OH where Ted Ginn Sr coaches and send all his studs to OSU. Very rare to get a kid from this school and is a great pipeline, would be great to see Brady continue nabbing kids from there. Frank is a kid who likes to talk and may end up being a great addition if only for his help recruiting kids from Glenville in the future.

Announcing this week…

Stefan McClure 5’11” 170 4 star DB, US ARMY All American who had a breakout performance in the game, earned a game ball from Rivals. Hoke was in home Monday night and had been recruiting the kid at SDSU, CA kid and rumored to most likely stay closer to home and go with UCLA or Cal but never discount the power of Hoke visiting. McClure is the #9 CB in the country, #118 overall and #11 in CA.

Chris Bryant 6’5” 330 4 star OL. Better chance with Bryant who is from Chicago and has consistently listed UM at the top of his list. Was an RR recruit and Hoke and staff picked up where RR & Co. left off. Visited UM on the way back from Pitt where some former UM assts now reside (Magee, Dews and Gibson). Main competition is Pitt, Arizona and Illinois. Most people like our chances. Bryant is the #19 OT in the country, # 203 overall and #6 in IL.

Jake Fisher should be deciding after a trip to Oregon this weekend. This could go any direction. Cross your fingers because he is a big time prospect. TONS of potential at 6’7” 270. The next Jake Long?? There is a backup plan for Fisher and the kid is actually higher rated on Rivals but I would prefer the instate kid, plus I think Fisher has more potential. Current PSU commit 3 star OL Ryan Nowicki 6’5” 272 from AZ (#31 OT and #9 in AZ) received an in home visit from Hoke and came away very impressed. Hoke is definitely taking advantage of his time and is very organized. After he visited McClure in CA he zips down to see Nowicki in AZ, gotta love it! 3 star OL Pat Flavin 6’7” 260 from IL has also been contacted by Michigan but no offer has been extended. Nowicki was offered and was asked to visit this weekend but no trip has been scheduled as of yet. Sounds like Flavin is the backup plan to the backup plan. Currently an Illinois commit Flavin is the #29 OT in the country and #10 player in IL. Fisher is the #49 OT in the country and #12 in MI according to Rivals but many have him rated much higher and Sparty wants him very badly for obvious reasons. If he stays in MI my gut tells me he sticks with UM but I have no real read on this, I just believe in Hoke and staff. They visit on Thursday.

Lots of guys visiting this weekend including….

Chris Barnett 6’6” 245 from TX 4 star Tight End who is currently committed to Arkansas. #14 TE, #224 overall and #32 in TX. I’d expect one more RB in this class, either 3 star Thomas Rawls 5’10” 215 from Flint (visiting this weekend) if he gets the test score he needs or a 3 star FB from Cincinnati, Ohio named Trayion Durham #2 fullback in the country and #53 player in OH. 6’1” 230 4.56 40 and has a 3.5 GPA. Good to have smart fullbacks! Commits Heitzman and Poole will be visiting this weekend and hopefully which helps when new guys are there like Barnett. Hopefully with help from them and current players Barnett will be Blue on signing day.

One more player of interest that we have a VERY outside shot at is Darian Cooper 6’1” 275 DT from MD. 3 star turned 4 star turned 3 star player who is now ranked the #33 DT in the country, played in the US ARMY All American game but seemed undesized to some, hence the drop in the rankings. Smart kid with a great motor though and we desperately need DTs. Darian dropped us from consideration after RR was fired, said the whole coaching fiasco turned him off. If you ask me, Sparty got in his ear there. Sparty has his teammate committed and is one of three competitors for his services. Georgia Tech and Iowa are also under consideration. PSU was thought to be the favorite until they pulled his offer so it is anyone’s game at this point. Greg Mattison has been calling Cooper and has gotten an in home with him this week. They want him to visit badly and if they get that visit all bets are off. I like our chances if Mattison can work his magic.

New names may still pop up in the next week at the TE and DT positions if we cannot get Barnett and Cooper on board but those scholarships could also be banked for 2012. Don’t expect Hoke to take kids just to fill a position of need. He will only offer Michigan caliber kids and that’s what he has done so far.

Signing day is a week from today and there will be a lot more to report in the week ahead. I for one am excited for the programs future and the direction Hoke is leading us. 2012 is a monster class with even more talent, especially in the state of MI as well as OH and IL, where Hoke and staff have strong connections. I look for a top 25 class this year and top 10 in 2012.

GO BLUE!!