Now that the 2019 draft is over, I took a look back at the recruiting classes for 2014 and 2015.
The 2014 class was Brady’s last “full” class as every member committed prior to Harbaugh’s hiring. There were 16 commits which made it the 2nd smallest class in UM’s history (or at least the history since Rivals started tracking this stuff). The 2015 class, which was a mix between Brady and Jim, is the smallest in history with only 14 commits.
Overall, the 2014 class was ranked 31st however when ranked on an average rating, we came in 15th. Not bad for what was going on at the time regarding the program. The 3 highest ranked players included Peppers, Harris and Mason Cole.
Of the 16 commits, 9 were either drafted or went the UDFA route to the NFL:
- Peppers was selected 25th in the 1st Round of the 2017 draft by the Browns.
- Cole was the 95th pick in the 2018 draft going to Arizona.
- Five players stayed for 4 years and then went to the NFL in 2019:
o Winovich – 77th pick; Patriots
o Marshall – UDFA; Chicago Bears
o Watson – UDFA; Jags
o JBB – UDAF; Redskins
o Mone – UDFA; Seahawks
Two commits graduated early, transferred from UM and then went UDFA after the 2019 draft:
o Ian Bunting – transferred to Cal; 2019 UDFA Chicago Bears
o Wilton Speight – transferred to UCLA; 2019 UDFA San Francisco 49ers
Noah Furbush and Jared Wangler exhausted their eligibility. Furbush graduated with a Masters in Aerospace Engineering.
That leaves the following 5 guys who all left the program prior to the expiration of their eligibility:
- Brady Pallante – He was the last commit to sign in that class. He didn’t see the field very much. Graduated UM in May 2018 and never played football again. He was the last commit to sign in that class.
- Freddy Canteen – initially transferred to Notre Dame, played 3 games and got hurt. In November 2017, he announced he was transferring to Tulane. Sat out last season with injury. Not sure if he’s even still with Tulane. Clearly injuries have derailed his football dreams.
- Maurice Ways – grad transferred to Cal; does not appear to have landed as an UDFA
- Drake Harris – transferred to WMU; graduated and does not appear to have landed as an UDFA
- Michael Ferns – an Ohio kid, he was the first commit in the class. He transferred to WVU. It appears he had no real impact there. LinkedIn says he graduated in 2018 with a degree in Computer Science.
The 2015 class was small with only 14 commits and many left the program early. Here’s a rundown on the class:
· Newsome had to medically retire; that really hurt given his talent. It’s great to see that he’s still helping the program.
· Perry exhausted his eligibility; I don’t believe he has received a UDFA offer
3 players went to the NFL in 2019:
o Gentry – 5th round draft choice by Pittsburgh
o Higdon – UDFA, Texans
o Kinnel – UDFA, Bengals
Eight players transferred to other colleges to continue their career:
o Brian Cole – Cole was an Under Armor All-American, rated the No. 2 recruit in state of Michigan and the fourth-best athlete in the country coming out of high school in 2015. Dismissed from UM in 2016 and ended up at Mississippi State after a stint at a community college
o Andrew David - TCU
o Shelton Johnson – dismissed in 2016; no news since
o Reuben Jones – 2019 grad transfer; destination unknown
o Malzone – graduated; transferred to Miami of Ohio with 2 years of eligibility left; played 1 season and is in the portal again.
o Ulizio – grad transfer to Pitt
o Keith Washington – WVU
o Wheatly – Stoney Brook
This means John Runyan finds himself the last man standing from the 2015 class!
Since 2015, we’ve averaged 26 commits per class.
The 2014 class was Brady’s last “full” class as every member committed prior to Harbaugh’s hiring. There were 16 commits which made it the 2nd smallest class in UM’s history (or at least the history since Rivals started tracking this stuff). The 2015 class, which was a mix between Brady and Jim, is the smallest in history with only 14 commits.
Overall, the 2014 class was ranked 31st however when ranked on an average rating, we came in 15th. Not bad for what was going on at the time regarding the program. The 3 highest ranked players included Peppers, Harris and Mason Cole.
Of the 16 commits, 9 were either drafted or went the UDFA route to the NFL:
- Peppers was selected 25th in the 1st Round of the 2017 draft by the Browns.
- Cole was the 95th pick in the 2018 draft going to Arizona.
- Five players stayed for 4 years and then went to the NFL in 2019:
o Winovich – 77th pick; Patriots
o Marshall – UDFA; Chicago Bears
o Watson – UDFA; Jags
o JBB – UDAF; Redskins
o Mone – UDFA; Seahawks
Two commits graduated early, transferred from UM and then went UDFA after the 2019 draft:
o Ian Bunting – transferred to Cal; 2019 UDFA Chicago Bears
o Wilton Speight – transferred to UCLA; 2019 UDFA San Francisco 49ers
Noah Furbush and Jared Wangler exhausted their eligibility. Furbush graduated with a Masters in Aerospace Engineering.
That leaves the following 5 guys who all left the program prior to the expiration of their eligibility:
- Brady Pallante – He was the last commit to sign in that class. He didn’t see the field very much. Graduated UM in May 2018 and never played football again. He was the last commit to sign in that class.
- Freddy Canteen – initially transferred to Notre Dame, played 3 games and got hurt. In November 2017, he announced he was transferring to Tulane. Sat out last season with injury. Not sure if he’s even still with Tulane. Clearly injuries have derailed his football dreams.
- Maurice Ways – grad transferred to Cal; does not appear to have landed as an UDFA
- Drake Harris – transferred to WMU; graduated and does not appear to have landed as an UDFA
- Michael Ferns – an Ohio kid, he was the first commit in the class. He transferred to WVU. It appears he had no real impact there. LinkedIn says he graduated in 2018 with a degree in Computer Science.
The 2015 class was small with only 14 commits and many left the program early. Here’s a rundown on the class:
· Newsome had to medically retire; that really hurt given his talent. It’s great to see that he’s still helping the program.
· Perry exhausted his eligibility; I don’t believe he has received a UDFA offer
3 players went to the NFL in 2019:
o Gentry – 5th round draft choice by Pittsburgh
o Higdon – UDFA, Texans
o Kinnel – UDFA, Bengals
Eight players transferred to other colleges to continue their career:
o Brian Cole – Cole was an Under Armor All-American, rated the No. 2 recruit in state of Michigan and the fourth-best athlete in the country coming out of high school in 2015. Dismissed from UM in 2016 and ended up at Mississippi State after a stint at a community college
o Andrew David - TCU
o Shelton Johnson – dismissed in 2016; no news since
o Reuben Jones – 2019 grad transfer; destination unknown
o Malzone – graduated; transferred to Miami of Ohio with 2 years of eligibility left; played 1 season and is in the portal again.
o Ulizio – grad transfer to Pitt
o Keith Washington – WVU
o Wheatly – Stoney Brook
This means John Runyan finds himself the last man standing from the 2015 class!
Since 2015, we’ve averaged 26 commits per class.
