*** Rivals250 Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton quarterback Nicco Marchiol is gearing up to release his Top 4 very soon. Expect Marchiol to make a decision shortly after that. It will be interesting to see if Michigan makes the final four. The Wolverines were in a position to land Marchiol early before he slowed down his recruitment and started trending towards Florida State. Now, Marchiol seems pretty open. He had a strong relationship with former Michigan quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels, so it will be interesting to see how that affects his recruitment. Marchiol has visited Michigan on multiple occasions and trained with the same quarterback guru as JJ McCarthy in Phoenix this summer. He is also a family friend of former Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson.
*** Three-star Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith safety Sherrod Covil is also nearing the release of his top schools list. I do expect Michigan to make the cut here, but I'm not very optimistic about the Wolverines' chances. Covil spoke highly of Michigan when I saw him this offseason, and he's been wanting to make his way to Ann Arbor for a while. But it appears Notre Dame and Virginia Tech have risen up as the two teams to beat for Covil. With Michigan lacking a safeties coach and not having a defensive coordinator that can currently recruit, it's going to be tough for the Wolverines to do well with safety targets.
*** Rivals250 Winter Park (Fla.) High running back Terrance Gibbs released his Top 12 today, and Michigan made the cut. Gibbs isn't a prospect we've talked about much, but Jay Harbaugh has quietly kept in contact and kept the Wolverines under consideration. Of course, Michigan demoted Harbaugh and hired Mike Hart today, so it will be interesting to see how things shake out with running back recruiting. Right now, it looks likely that Gibbs will stay south. Florida appears to be the early favorite.
*** Michigan did not make the Top 8 for five-star Manassas (Va.) Unity Reed linebacker Shawn Murphy. Ohio State is the heavy favorite there. Michigan was also left out of the Top 13 for Rivals100 Frisco (Texas) Liberty wide receiver Evan Stewart. He is likely to stay south. Lastly, Michigan did not make the Top 10 for Rivals250 Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy running back Kaytron Allen. However, he has a preexisting relationship with Hart, who recruited him at Indiana, and played with McCarthy this season, so things could change.
*** Three-star Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith safety Sherrod Covil is also nearing the release of his top schools list. I do expect Michigan to make the cut here, but I'm not very optimistic about the Wolverines' chances. Covil spoke highly of Michigan when I saw him this offseason, and he's been wanting to make his way to Ann Arbor for a while. But it appears Notre Dame and Virginia Tech have risen up as the two teams to beat for Covil. With Michigan lacking a safeties coach and not having a defensive coordinator that can currently recruit, it's going to be tough for the Wolverines to do well with safety targets.
*** Rivals250 Winter Park (Fla.) High running back Terrance Gibbs released his Top 12 today, and Michigan made the cut. Gibbs isn't a prospect we've talked about much, but Jay Harbaugh has quietly kept in contact and kept the Wolverines under consideration. Of course, Michigan demoted Harbaugh and hired Mike Hart today, so it will be interesting to see how things shake out with running back recruiting. Right now, it looks likely that Gibbs will stay south. Florida appears to be the early favorite.
*** Michigan did not make the Top 8 for five-star Manassas (Va.) Unity Reed linebacker Shawn Murphy. Ohio State is the heavy favorite there. Michigan was also left out of the Top 13 for Rivals100 Frisco (Texas) Liberty wide receiver Evan Stewart. He is likely to stay south. Lastly, Michigan did not make the Top 10 for Rivals250 Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy running back Kaytron Allen. However, he has a preexisting relationship with Hart, who recruited him at Indiana, and played with McCarthy this season, so things could change.
