It's a bit of a slow time in terms of recruiting right now with college programs deep into fall camp and high schools starting up and teams playing their season openers. Visits aren't taking place, coaches aren't stopping by schools and kids are generally quite focused on their on-field play rather than what's going on in their recruitment. With that being said, there are a couple of Michigan commits who are always asked about, at least recently, because of some buzz involving other schools.
Indianapolis Cathedral four-star offensive guard Emil Ekiyor has been discussed a lot because other schools will not stop recruiting him. The 6-4, 339-pounder appears to be solid to Michigan these days but whenever Alabama is consistently knocking on the door, nothing is certain. While in Indianapolis I was able to talk with a few people close to Ekiyor and their opinion should calm the nerves of Michigan fans a bit more.
"I think things are fine with Emil," one person said. "I know he's been getting a lot of attention from Alabama but I believe he'll be good."
Another person cited Ekiyor's relationship with fellow Indianapolis native Cameron McGrone.
"He's pretty close with McGrone," they said. "I think McGrone is going to work hard to make sure that Emil doesn't look around and ends up at Michigan with him. I think it's something that they both want."
Things still appear quite solid with Ekiyor but progress may be moving in the opposite direction with Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County four-star outside linebacker Otis Reese. The 6-2, 195-pounder is getting a ton of attention from the in-state Bulldogs and Reese appears to be listening. Someone very close to the situation down in Athens gave his opinion on where things stand right now.
"The kid isn’t saying anything so it’s really just gathering information and aggregating it from people around the process," our source said. "I definitely think there’s something to it. I think that Georgia really wants him and they’ve upped their pursuit of him for sure. Obviously they may be feeling a little iffy about their chances in Lee County after what happened with Aubrey Solomon last year but they're trying hard with Reese."
The effort isn't all on Georgia's end either.
"Otis is a kid who has visited Georgia several times sort of under the radar. None of his trips have been very publicized. He’s not doing anything with the media so no one really knows," our source said. "Honestly, it would surprise me if anything happened before the end of his season though because he really doesn’t want the attention. If he does anything he’ll probably wait on it. He’s probably, right now, Georgia’s top target at inside linebacker. I think that he’s the guy that they’re pushing all in on. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him at Athens a few times this fall for sure. I do know that the interest is very serious on Georgia’s end and everything that I’ve heard is that it’s being reciprocated."
With Solomon already at Michigan and Reese's brother Da'Quan Jamison at Central Michigan, there are a couple of things working in U-M's favor when it comes to holding on to Reese's pledge but some other things have changed that might work against the Wolverines.
"I haven’t really heard a lot about the Solomon/brother aspect which is interesting," our source said. "The guy who was very involved with both Solomon and Reese’s recruitments, especially involving Michigan, at Lee County, Kevin Pych, is now at Toombs County. He’s kind of out of the picture to some degree. He’s keeping up with Otis and he’s still in play with him a little bit but it won’t be as profound as it was with Aubrey."
This isn't necessarily anything new. Reese has been aggressively pursued by both Georgia and LSU since he committed to Michigan but Reese appears to be paying a little more attention to it lately. It's recruiting, it's fluid and it can always change. On-field performances could go a long way with Reese so it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Indianapolis Cathedral four-star offensive guard Emil Ekiyor has been discussed a lot because other schools will not stop recruiting him. The 6-4, 339-pounder appears to be solid to Michigan these days but whenever Alabama is consistently knocking on the door, nothing is certain. While in Indianapolis I was able to talk with a few people close to Ekiyor and their opinion should calm the nerves of Michigan fans a bit more.
"I think things are fine with Emil," one person said. "I know he's been getting a lot of attention from Alabama but I believe he'll be good."
Another person cited Ekiyor's relationship with fellow Indianapolis native Cameron McGrone.
"He's pretty close with McGrone," they said. "I think McGrone is going to work hard to make sure that Emil doesn't look around and ends up at Michigan with him. I think it's something that they both want."
Things still appear quite solid with Ekiyor but progress may be moving in the opposite direction with Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County four-star outside linebacker Otis Reese. The 6-2, 195-pounder is getting a ton of attention from the in-state Bulldogs and Reese appears to be listening. Someone very close to the situation down in Athens gave his opinion on where things stand right now.
"The kid isn’t saying anything so it’s really just gathering information and aggregating it from people around the process," our source said. "I definitely think there’s something to it. I think that Georgia really wants him and they’ve upped their pursuit of him for sure. Obviously they may be feeling a little iffy about their chances in Lee County after what happened with Aubrey Solomon last year but they're trying hard with Reese."
The effort isn't all on Georgia's end either.
"Otis is a kid who has visited Georgia several times sort of under the radar. None of his trips have been very publicized. He’s not doing anything with the media so no one really knows," our source said. "Honestly, it would surprise me if anything happened before the end of his season though because he really doesn’t want the attention. If he does anything he’ll probably wait on it. He’s probably, right now, Georgia’s top target at inside linebacker. I think that he’s the guy that they’re pushing all in on. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him at Athens a few times this fall for sure. I do know that the interest is very serious on Georgia’s end and everything that I’ve heard is that it’s being reciprocated."
With Solomon already at Michigan and Reese's brother Da'Quan Jamison at Central Michigan, there are a couple of things working in U-M's favor when it comes to holding on to Reese's pledge but some other things have changed that might work against the Wolverines.
"I haven’t really heard a lot about the Solomon/brother aspect which is interesting," our source said. "The guy who was very involved with both Solomon and Reese’s recruitments, especially involving Michigan, at Lee County, Kevin Pych, is now at Toombs County. He’s kind of out of the picture to some degree. He’s keeping up with Otis and he’s still in play with him a little bit but it won’t be as profound as it was with Aubrey."
This isn't necessarily anything new. Reese has been aggressively pursued by both Georgia and LSU since he committed to Michigan but Reese appears to be paying a little more attention to it lately. It's recruiting, it's fluid and it can always change. On-field performances could go a long way with Reese so it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
