1. Getting Back On Track
I'm sorry I didn't have a 10 Thoughts column up last Sunday. I had the underclassmen 7v7 finals then the All-American Game then I flew standby so I could get back to Chicago that same day, so it just didn't work out. Instead of just missing a week and writing one this Sunday, I'm just going to make this a special jam-packed Friday edition. To give you an idea of what's on the docket for our recruiting coverage, I'm going to be out at West Bloomfield vs. Belleville this weekend, while Clayton will be at Traverse City Central vs. Moana Shores. We will both be at the Sound Mind Sound Body Camp on Monday, which will feature several targets, so we'll have a ton of notes on in-state recruiting. Next weekend, I will be heading to Florida for Pylon Orlando. Don't have a target list yet, but I'll be flying out of Chicago along with Boom, so I'll get yet another look at Tyler Morris and Kaleb Brown. Obviously busy week coming up!
2. Donovan Edwards
A promise made is a promise kept. As you guys know, I'm pretty close to Rivals100 Michigan running back signee Donovan Edwards. I told him if he played again I would definitely be out there to cover him. While last week didn't work due to the All-American Game, I'm locked in to see him this weekend in a massive clash against Belleville. I actually saw this game last year, but I was still new to the beat, so y'all didn't care that much about my reports lol. Anyway, Edwards had a tough time running against Damon Payne and company, but I expect him to get some revenge. As I've mentioned, Edwards looks more explosive this season and has been on a tear throughout the playoffs. It should be a close game, but I'm picking West Bloomfield. Aside from Edwards, I'm really excited to see Rivals250 athlete Dillon Tatum again. Belleville airs the ball out, so this should be a great game to fully evaluate him. I'm leaving Chicago at 6 a.m. sharp and will have full coverage here at The Wolverine. By the way, kudos to Edwards for playing. The dude could have just packed and moved in but is competing with his high school team instead. You have to love that.
3. The All-American Game
A lot of you guys had questions about the Pylon 7v7 All-American Game and exactly what it was. Pylon has been around for several years but really became an offseason mainstay around 2016. That year, I saw Heisman winner Devonta Smith light it up for the Louisiana Bootleggers in the finals at AT&T Stadium. Since then, more and more elite players have begun to play 7v7, and it's only getting bigger as club teams are popping up all across the country. We'll get to more 7v7 in a bit. Anyway, Pylon is the premier club 7v7 circuit nationally, and with both major All-American games cancelled, they wanted to give kids a chance to have one last experience before going on to the next level. I've know Pylon director Baron Flenory for a long time. He used to be a national analyst and Scout. He called me about his idea for the game a couple of months ago, and I was all for it. I actually helped him put together the roster hence the heavy Michigan presence. Remember, Xavier Worthy was supposed to be there too, and I was trying to get Ja'Den McBurrows onboard as well. Overall, it was a terrific event, and all three of Michigan's participants — JJ McCarthy, Cristian Dixon and Junior Colson — had a blast bonding and playing in it.
4. Club 7v7
As mentioned, club 7v7 is now an offseason staple. It doesn't appear to get much coverage up here in the Midwest, but if you're a recruiting reporter in the South and not covering 7v7 in the winter/spring, you'll fall way behind your competition. I plan on getting to as many 7v7 tournaments as possible this offseason. Honestly, club 7v7 is becoming a lot like AAU for basketball as a ton of club teams are popping up all over the country. Almost every big-time quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back has a club 7v7 team. Just look at this coming cycle. Will Johnson plays for Detroit's Max Ex. Domani Jackson plays for Los Angeles' Ground Zero. Tyler Morris and Kaleb Brown play for Chicago's Midwest Boom. Honestly 7v7 is my favorite season of the year because it give me an opportunity to get to know kids in a relaxed, fun environment and see them compete against kids they normally wouldn't play against during the normal football season. I would love to do a club 7v7 overview for you guys if y'all would be interested — just the rules, who plays on what teams, key tournaments, etc.
5. Behind The Scenes
I arrived at the Pylon All-American Game in Dallas last Friday night. As soon as I made my way to the hotel lobby for check in, I was greeted by Christian Dixon, mother of Cristian Dixon, and she immediately brought me a menu and demanded that I order food and join her for dinner. Of course, I said yes. Christian is such an awesome mom and will be a great ambassador for parents of Michigan recruits moving forward. She was all in with Michigan after Cristian committed and was a vocal supporter during tough times for the Wolverines this offseason. While the food was getting ready, I took JJ, Junior and Cristian into the VIP room for a photo shoot. It was cool to just see them hanging out as kids. While the pandemic has been tough to deal with, this Michigan class found a way to bond and really get to know each other. I'll tell you this, they really believe they can turn this program around. Day 2 and 3 of the event were more football related. I did get to spend some down time with Randy Jackson, father of Domani Jackson, as well as Jim McCarthy, father of JJ McCarthy. But overall, it was a super busy event, so I didn't get to do a ton away from the underclassmen tournament, practice and game.
6. The All-Americans
It was tough saying good bye to these guys. I was in the hotel elevator with Junior after media availability on Day 2, and he asked me how often I would talk to him after this weekend. I told him probably never. He told me to just move up and cover the team. I just laughed and told him I love recruiting too much. And it's true. I love getting to know new kids and their families every cycle. Everyday it's something different. I can't imagine just doing team stuff. Anyway, starting off with Dixon. This guy is a big weirdo — in a good way Cristian, just in case you read this. Some of his theories about the world are, well, interesting, but he's super talented away from the field and very creative. On it, I've compared him to Keenan Allen. Big-bodied wide out that builds his game around finesse. Junior, the Haitian Kind himself. Nobody has a better story in recruiting this year than Junior. To be adopted from Haiti and turn into the kid/player he is today is a testament to his parents, Melanie and Steve. You won't find a better person than Junior. He also happens to be my top ranked guy in the class, and his upside is limitless. He's only been playing LB for three years! JJ is the man. I've written so much about him that there isn't much left to say. He's going to compete for the starting job as a true freshman, and I wouldn't be surprised if he wins it.
7. JJ
I'll give you one last JJ story before he enrolls this weekend. Actually two. I said this one on my podcast a few weeks back, but if you didn't hear it I'll tell it again. Texas brought in JJ for a junior day visit before he committed to Michigan. Texas allows reporters on campus for junior days and lets them interact freely with prospects (the south!). I knew UT offensive coordinator Tim Beck loved him, but I just kind of laughed off JJ's visit. At the time, I was still stuck in my Texan ways. I told my co-worker something along the lines of 'you can handle this Chicago kid. Football up there in the snow probably sucks.' Funny how life works out sometimes. Of course, I ended up seeing JJ like 37 times this cycle, and he's now the 'savior' of the program i cover. My favorite JJ story from the weekend was the last play of the All-American game. His team scored a touchdown as time expired and were still losing, so there was no need to try a conversation. Players started walking off the field when JJ yelled and demanded for them to run the conversion, which they did successfully. I just love his competitiveness and moxie.
8. Coaching Moves
There has obviously been a lot of staff movement since my last column, so here are some recruiting thoughts. The Jim Harbaugh extension definitely helps. The process did hurt as it took forever, but now recruits know there is stability — or at lease a sense of it — in Ann Arbor. The offensive staff is mostly the same. While JJ liked him, Ben McDaniels wasn't really a good recruiter, so I think cutting him helps on the trail. Mike Hart was a home run hire. I've heard recruits really like him, and he has a lot to sell as Michigan considering he's a program legend. He'll hit the ground running with Jay Harbaugh on running back. Yes, I still expect Jay to be involved with RBs and more recruitments in general. He does a great job of keeping in contact with kids — look at the difference in my reports on running back recruits and other positions — and could be a great secondary recruiter across all positions. Mike Macdonald is a wildcard on the recruiting front. He has no real experience doing it and doesn't have a lot of ties on the trail. He's young and can connect well, so we'll see how he does. Dismissing Don Brown likely means less of a presence in the Northeast. I still think Michigan can have some success in Jersey and New England, though. Kids up there really gravitate towards U-M. We're still figuring out the Christian Robinson/BJM situation, so I'll leave this for next week. Obviously, it looks like Michael Zordich won't be around. No way around it, moving on from him hurts with Will and Domani. They've been in contact with him weekly for almost an entire year.
9. Worthy Situation
The Xavier Worthy situation has been extremely difficult to report on. It's a sensitive topic, and obviously, I grew very close to the Worthy family during the process. I checked in with a source familiar with the situation, and he told me there has been nothing new on Worthy's status. Michigan is still working to get him in as an early enrollee, but I'm not overly optimistic. Remember, the guys move in tomorrow, and classes start on Tuesday. We should know more in coming days. I'm doing my best to give you guys information while also not doing anything to hurt anyone. I'm obligated to you as subscribers to give you the latest on what's going on in a manner I see fit. Please try to understand that if you feel I'm being too vague. On the flip side of the coin, anybody criticizing me for reporting Xavier's situation to begin with should also be upset with me breaking the Tommy Doman news. If a player is no longer enrolling early, it's news, and I have to do my job for you guys.
10. Tomfoolery
This last month has been filled with so much drama. During this weekend's events, Cristian was actually joking about reporters in the LA market not liking each other. I told him it was the same on the Michigan beat. I was like 'think about it, man. Do you like teams you play against? It's all the same.' And that's true. Just because we all cover Michigan doesn't mean we should all like each other. I'm hyper competitive. If you're not on my team, chances are I hate you — not in a personal way; it's just business. I can't even tell y'all about the latest incident lol. But from buzzing bees and everything in between recently, we're still going to do what we do here at The Wolverine. And that's work hard, have fun with it and talk a little trash. My wife is a scientist. I'll leave the serious stuff to her. This is supposed to be fun. Also, I try to live by this: people can say whatever they want about me, but they can't say I'm not working harder than I am. If someone is working harder in the same role as me, then I've failed myself, the recruits and you as subscribers. And that's not going to happen any time soon.
I'm sorry I didn't have a 10 Thoughts column up last Sunday. I had the underclassmen 7v7 finals then the All-American Game then I flew standby so I could get back to Chicago that same day, so it just didn't work out. Instead of just missing a week and writing one this Sunday, I'm just going to make this a special jam-packed Friday edition. To give you an idea of what's on the docket for our recruiting coverage, I'm going to be out at West Bloomfield vs. Belleville this weekend, while Clayton will be at Traverse City Central vs. Moana Shores. We will both be at the Sound Mind Sound Body Camp on Monday, which will feature several targets, so we'll have a ton of notes on in-state recruiting. Next weekend, I will be heading to Florida for Pylon Orlando. Don't have a target list yet, but I'll be flying out of Chicago along with Boom, so I'll get yet another look at Tyler Morris and Kaleb Brown. Obviously busy week coming up!
2. Donovan Edwards
A promise made is a promise kept. As you guys know, I'm pretty close to Rivals100 Michigan running back signee Donovan Edwards. I told him if he played again I would definitely be out there to cover him. While last week didn't work due to the All-American Game, I'm locked in to see him this weekend in a massive clash against Belleville. I actually saw this game last year, but I was still new to the beat, so y'all didn't care that much about my reports lol. Anyway, Edwards had a tough time running against Damon Payne and company, but I expect him to get some revenge. As I've mentioned, Edwards looks more explosive this season and has been on a tear throughout the playoffs. It should be a close game, but I'm picking West Bloomfield. Aside from Edwards, I'm really excited to see Rivals250 athlete Dillon Tatum again. Belleville airs the ball out, so this should be a great game to fully evaluate him. I'm leaving Chicago at 6 a.m. sharp and will have full coverage here at The Wolverine. By the way, kudos to Edwards for playing. The dude could have just packed and moved in but is competing with his high school team instead. You have to love that.
3. The All-American Game
A lot of you guys had questions about the Pylon 7v7 All-American Game and exactly what it was. Pylon has been around for several years but really became an offseason mainstay around 2016. That year, I saw Heisman winner Devonta Smith light it up for the Louisiana Bootleggers in the finals at AT&T Stadium. Since then, more and more elite players have begun to play 7v7, and it's only getting bigger as club teams are popping up all across the country. We'll get to more 7v7 in a bit. Anyway, Pylon is the premier club 7v7 circuit nationally, and with both major All-American games cancelled, they wanted to give kids a chance to have one last experience before going on to the next level. I've know Pylon director Baron Flenory for a long time. He used to be a national analyst and Scout. He called me about his idea for the game a couple of months ago, and I was all for it. I actually helped him put together the roster hence the heavy Michigan presence. Remember, Xavier Worthy was supposed to be there too, and I was trying to get Ja'Den McBurrows onboard as well. Overall, it was a terrific event, and all three of Michigan's participants — JJ McCarthy, Cristian Dixon and Junior Colson — had a blast bonding and playing in it.
4. Club 7v7
As mentioned, club 7v7 is now an offseason staple. It doesn't appear to get much coverage up here in the Midwest, but if you're a recruiting reporter in the South and not covering 7v7 in the winter/spring, you'll fall way behind your competition. I plan on getting to as many 7v7 tournaments as possible this offseason. Honestly, club 7v7 is becoming a lot like AAU for basketball as a ton of club teams are popping up all over the country. Almost every big-time quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back has a club 7v7 team. Just look at this coming cycle. Will Johnson plays for Detroit's Max Ex. Domani Jackson plays for Los Angeles' Ground Zero. Tyler Morris and Kaleb Brown play for Chicago's Midwest Boom. Honestly 7v7 is my favorite season of the year because it give me an opportunity to get to know kids in a relaxed, fun environment and see them compete against kids they normally wouldn't play against during the normal football season. I would love to do a club 7v7 overview for you guys if y'all would be interested — just the rules, who plays on what teams, key tournaments, etc.
5. Behind The Scenes
I arrived at the Pylon All-American Game in Dallas last Friday night. As soon as I made my way to the hotel lobby for check in, I was greeted by Christian Dixon, mother of Cristian Dixon, and she immediately brought me a menu and demanded that I order food and join her for dinner. Of course, I said yes. Christian is such an awesome mom and will be a great ambassador for parents of Michigan recruits moving forward. She was all in with Michigan after Cristian committed and was a vocal supporter during tough times for the Wolverines this offseason. While the food was getting ready, I took JJ, Junior and Cristian into the VIP room for a photo shoot. It was cool to just see them hanging out as kids. While the pandemic has been tough to deal with, this Michigan class found a way to bond and really get to know each other. I'll tell you this, they really believe they can turn this program around. Day 2 and 3 of the event were more football related. I did get to spend some down time with Randy Jackson, father of Domani Jackson, as well as Jim McCarthy, father of JJ McCarthy. But overall, it was a super busy event, so I didn't get to do a ton away from the underclassmen tournament, practice and game.
6. The All-Americans
It was tough saying good bye to these guys. I was in the hotel elevator with Junior after media availability on Day 2, and he asked me how often I would talk to him after this weekend. I told him probably never. He told me to just move up and cover the team. I just laughed and told him I love recruiting too much. And it's true. I love getting to know new kids and their families every cycle. Everyday it's something different. I can't imagine just doing team stuff. Anyway, starting off with Dixon. This guy is a big weirdo — in a good way Cristian, just in case you read this. Some of his theories about the world are, well, interesting, but he's super talented away from the field and very creative. On it, I've compared him to Keenan Allen. Big-bodied wide out that builds his game around finesse. Junior, the Haitian Kind himself. Nobody has a better story in recruiting this year than Junior. To be adopted from Haiti and turn into the kid/player he is today is a testament to his parents, Melanie and Steve. You won't find a better person than Junior. He also happens to be my top ranked guy in the class, and his upside is limitless. He's only been playing LB for three years! JJ is the man. I've written so much about him that there isn't much left to say. He's going to compete for the starting job as a true freshman, and I wouldn't be surprised if he wins it.
7. JJ
I'll give you one last JJ story before he enrolls this weekend. Actually two. I said this one on my podcast a few weeks back, but if you didn't hear it I'll tell it again. Texas brought in JJ for a junior day visit before he committed to Michigan. Texas allows reporters on campus for junior days and lets them interact freely with prospects (the south!). I knew UT offensive coordinator Tim Beck loved him, but I just kind of laughed off JJ's visit. At the time, I was still stuck in my Texan ways. I told my co-worker something along the lines of 'you can handle this Chicago kid. Football up there in the snow probably sucks.' Funny how life works out sometimes. Of course, I ended up seeing JJ like 37 times this cycle, and he's now the 'savior' of the program i cover. My favorite JJ story from the weekend was the last play of the All-American game. His team scored a touchdown as time expired and were still losing, so there was no need to try a conversation. Players started walking off the field when JJ yelled and demanded for them to run the conversion, which they did successfully. I just love his competitiveness and moxie.
8. Coaching Moves
There has obviously been a lot of staff movement since my last column, so here are some recruiting thoughts. The Jim Harbaugh extension definitely helps. The process did hurt as it took forever, but now recruits know there is stability — or at lease a sense of it — in Ann Arbor. The offensive staff is mostly the same. While JJ liked him, Ben McDaniels wasn't really a good recruiter, so I think cutting him helps on the trail. Mike Hart was a home run hire. I've heard recruits really like him, and he has a lot to sell as Michigan considering he's a program legend. He'll hit the ground running with Jay Harbaugh on running back. Yes, I still expect Jay to be involved with RBs and more recruitments in general. He does a great job of keeping in contact with kids — look at the difference in my reports on running back recruits and other positions — and could be a great secondary recruiter across all positions. Mike Macdonald is a wildcard on the recruiting front. He has no real experience doing it and doesn't have a lot of ties on the trail. He's young and can connect well, so we'll see how he does. Dismissing Don Brown likely means less of a presence in the Northeast. I still think Michigan can have some success in Jersey and New England, though. Kids up there really gravitate towards U-M. We're still figuring out the Christian Robinson/BJM situation, so I'll leave this for next week. Obviously, it looks like Michael Zordich won't be around. No way around it, moving on from him hurts with Will and Domani. They've been in contact with him weekly for almost an entire year.
9. Worthy Situation
The Xavier Worthy situation has been extremely difficult to report on. It's a sensitive topic, and obviously, I grew very close to the Worthy family during the process. I checked in with a source familiar with the situation, and he told me there has been nothing new on Worthy's status. Michigan is still working to get him in as an early enrollee, but I'm not overly optimistic. Remember, the guys move in tomorrow, and classes start on Tuesday. We should know more in coming days. I'm doing my best to give you guys information while also not doing anything to hurt anyone. I'm obligated to you as subscribers to give you the latest on what's going on in a manner I see fit. Please try to understand that if you feel I'm being too vague. On the flip side of the coin, anybody criticizing me for reporting Xavier's situation to begin with should also be upset with me breaking the Tommy Doman news. If a player is no longer enrolling early, it's news, and I have to do my job for you guys.
10. Tomfoolery
This last month has been filled with so much drama. During this weekend's events, Cristian was actually joking about reporters in the LA market not liking each other. I told him it was the same on the Michigan beat. I was like 'think about it, man. Do you like teams you play against? It's all the same.' And that's true. Just because we all cover Michigan doesn't mean we should all like each other. I'm hyper competitive. If you're not on my team, chances are I hate you — not in a personal way; it's just business. I can't even tell y'all about the latest incident lol. But from buzzing bees and everything in between recently, we're still going to do what we do here at The Wolverine. And that's work hard, have fun with it and talk a little trash. My wife is a scientist. I'll leave the serious stuff to her. This is supposed to be fun. Also, I try to live by this: people can say whatever they want about me, but they can't say I'm not working harder than I am. If someone is working harder in the same role as me, then I've failed myself, the recruits and you as subscribers. And that's not going to happen any time soon.
