The latest edition of INSIDE THE FORT, including plenty of football recruiting, football, hoops and recruiting.
Starting with football recruiting, and five-star Quavaris Crouch’s upcoming announcement …
From sources close to Tennessee … the Vols remain the team to beat for the four-star athlete following the final in-home visit and unofficial trip to Knoxville last weekend, somewhat of a covert op. Crouch had wanted to sign and then announce at the All-America Game Jan. 5, but now he’s going to make it official and announce on a local television station tonight.
Clemson was the heavy favorite before then. According to the sources close to the Tigers’ camp, the Clemson coaches had several discussions this week with Crouch and his camp. He signed papers with all three potential suitors (Michigan, Tennessee and Clemson) to position himself to apply for enrollment wherever he ends up.
Yesterday, Michigan accidentally tweeted out an edit of Crouch as a “signee” wearing U-M gear. It was deleted immediately, but some believed it meant Crouch was going to sign with the Wolverines.
It didn’t. Clemson is probably out, according to the sources on that end, and some suggest the Tigers’ staff made the decision to part ways. They also said the “leading voice” within the Crouch camp has this as a Tennessee vs. Michigan battle, but they don’t believe U-M is in the race as much as “the intent is to frame Clemson as being out.”
“We expressed many months ago that the Tigers would be in this competition only so long as certain influences didn’t carry weight on his decision,” the Tigers’ source said. “Well, we appear to have nailed that one.”
More recruiting now …
With the news of Phoenix Pinnacle three-star pro-style quarterback JD Johnson’s commitment to Michigan, it’s time to start thinking about the skill players that will surround him.
Last week we posted an update with Folsom (Calif.) High four-star running back Daniyel Ngata and he again called Michigan his “dream school” just like he did when he was offered. As the No. 8 running back and No. 64 overall prospect nationally, Ngata is talented and coveted. The 5-9, 185-pounder is feeling the love from U-M and is giving it right back.
"I would say Michigan is recruiting me at a good 8 out of 10,” Ngata said. “As for my interest in them, I’d give it a real good 9.”
The talented back plans to visit as soon as possible in 2019 and even said that it would be the first school visit he takes. It’ll likely be an unofficial visit and he also said that he’d probably return for an official visit at a later date.
Michigan signed 25 prospects on Wednesday and eight of them will be in Ann Arbor in just a couple of weeks as early enrollees. One that the coaches are particularly excited about is Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy three-star strong side defensive end David Ojabo.
The 6-5, 252-pounder has only been playing football for two years after being born in Nigeria and growing up in Scotland. Now, the freak athlete is ready to explode as a football and a lot of people are excited about his potential. Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman kept Ojabo at three-star status but actually expects him to outplay that rating and strongly considered giving him that fourth star.
“I was mulling it over,” Friedman said. “He didn’t fall far off from that four-star status — he is one of the highest ranked players at his position. The fact that he hasn’t come very far when it comes to technique makes it tough. He’s still very much a work in progress but I do expect him to grow by leaps and bounds once he’s at Michigan. He’s going to be fine physically but it’s all about how he can develop from a technical standpoint.”
Ojabo ran a 10.93 in the 100-meter dash this spring at more than 240 pounds. That’s a crazy number and a testament to the kind of athleticism he possesses. Just to put it in perspective, Daxton Hill, largely viewed as one of the fastest players in the country, ran an 11.01 in the 100 as a sophomore. Former Michigan wide receiver Jehu Chesson was often described as the fastest player on the roster during his playing days and has a personal best of 10.70 in the 100-meter dash.
Ambry Thomas’ personal best of 11.52 as a junior is more than a half second slower than Ojabo.
Putting it bluntly, the kid can absolutely fly for a player his size.
Ojabo really has a chance to be special at Michigan, and that journey will start in a little over two weeks.
More recruiting …
Of Michigan’s 27-man recruiting class, Akron (Ohio) Hoban four-star offensive guard Nolan Rumler has been committed for the second longest amount of time of the bunch. Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More three-star linebacker Charles Thomas is the longest — he pledged on June 24, 2017, while Rumler did on July 29, 2017.
The four-star offensive guard revealed that he didn’t have a big ceremony or anything of that nature at his school on Wednesday when he signed, but is glad to have the process over with nonetheless.
“It really wasn’t much of a process, because I knew where I wanted to go ever since Michigan offered me as a freshman,” he laughed. “Signing was one of those big moments I’d been waiting for my whole life. Knowing I’m officially going to be a Wolverine is a great feeling. We had four Division 1 kids sign from my school on Wednesday, so we just did it in front of some families and friends — we’ll have a big ceremony in February when more guys do it.”
Rumler has been in close contact with both U-M’s other signees and the coaching staff since Wednesday. He said all the commits have a group text they’re a part of, but that he’s built an especially tight bond with the fellow linemen in the class.
“I have a great relationship with all the offensive line commits, and all the other guys too because of our group chat we all talk in,” he noted. “I’m closest with the five other offensive linemen, specifically [Paw Paw (Mich.) High four-star offensive tackle] Karsen Barnhart and [Cincinnati Moeller three-star offensive guard] Zach Carpenter. I know [New Canaan (Conn.) High three-star offensive tackle] Jack [Stewart], [Loganville (Ga.) Grayson four-star offensive guard] Trente [Jones] and [Crystal Lake (Ill.) South four-star offensive tackle] Trevor [Keegan] very well too, along with [Kentwood (Mich.) East four-star defensive tackle] Mazi Smith, [Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian four-star defensive end] Chris Hinton and [Reno (Nev.) Damonte Ranch four-star quarterback] Cade McNamara.
“I’ve also texted a little bit with Coach [Ed] Warinner, and he told me he’s going to train me at both guard and center. I talked with Coach Harbaugh on the phone for a few minutes after I signed too, and he was just officially welcoming my family and I, and explained how great of a day it was, and how blessed he was to have this class coming in.
“It’s great to have this over with, but it wasn’t stressful or anything like that, because I had every offer you could possibly get. Some may see that as stressful, but I found it awesome. I always knew I wanted to go to Michigan and got it over with fast by committing so early. Most teams stopped contacting me after I committed, but a few programs like Ohio State and Notre Dame kept coming after me. After a while, I just told them I wasn’t going to their schools.”
Another Ohioan — Clayton Northmont three-star defensive end Gabe Newburg — spoke last week about how he can’t wait to get out of the Buckeye state and start preparing to beat OSU on the field, and Rumler shared a similar sentiment.
“I don’t have twitter, so I didn’t get any hate messages or anything [from Ohio State fans],” he laughed. “You’ll get comments living in Ohio, but there wasn’t anything big. I have the same mindset Gabe does — I’ve always wanted to play in that game and be the winner of it, because I can’t imagine a much better feeling.”
So what’s the next step for Rumler? Harbaugh revealed on Wednesday night there will be eight early enrollees, but the four-star guard will not be one of them.
“I’ll be there in June,” he said. “I’m playing in the Under Armor game in two weeks, and then I’ll be lifting and getting ready for college. I want to do whatever I can to help the team as a freshman — I know I’ll be physically ready to play if they need me to, but they have a veteran group in front of me. I’ll have to learn the plays and get adjusted to the speed, but my expectation is to come in and help in any way possible.”
Finally, one more note on new quarterback pledge JD Johnson from poster phillysam, well worth the read (thanks, sam).
https://michigan.forums.rivals.com/threads/a-little-insight-on-jd-johnson.270220/
****
To football now …
As we told you in a recent ITF EXTRA, there are new contracts being worked on for some Michigan coaches, including offensive line coach Ed Warinner. Warinner is going to get a hefty raise, and while he was involved in some game planning last year, we expect him to be much more of a factor this coming season.
We also believe head coach Jim Harbaugh is still talking to familiar names (to him) about joining his staff. We’ll see where that goes and what the staff looks like this spring, but there are still some wheels in motion here.
Michigan will be without two of its captains for the Peach Bowl, of course, since senior running back Karan Higdon and junior linebacker Devin Bush will be sitting out. We expect fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich to represent the defense as a captain in the game, and probably one other to get the nod on offense (perhaps junior quarterback Shea Patterson).
Patterson is rumored to be on the verge of announcing his plan to return to Michigan for his senior season as soon as today. We’re not sure if today will be the day, but as we’ve said for several weeks now, we expect him to return.
Practices are going well, and some of the underclassmen have impressed. Freshman safety Sammy Faustin is one who has opened eyes. There were some rumblings this fall that he might be homesick, but he’s adjusted nicely and has a nice future.
For the “this Bowl game means nothing” crowd … well, it means a lot to many of the players. Patterson, junior Ben Bredeson and Winovich are leading the charge that 11 wins and a potential top five finish are pretty damn important to them, and they’d expect others to follow their lead.
As we’ve reported over the last week, cornerbacks David Long and Lavert Hill are both practicing, and we expect them to play against Florida.
As we’ve also reported, expect Michigan to look for some defensive tackles while closing out this recruiting class. There are others already on the team, too, that could get looks on the d-line to shore up depth now that Aubrey Solomon has transferred to Tennessee … and it’s possible they’ll come from the offensive side.
At the very least, some are going to get a look.
****
Finishing with basketball and recruiting …
We expect to see more of freshman forward Brandon Johns tomorrow against Air Force. Johns has been practicing well, and he probably would have played more last week against Western Michigan had the Broncos been smaller up front or had U-M pulled away.
Johns is going to get some run at center, and Air Force would be the team to get it against. They’re smaller. But Johns is earning some time, and he’ll get it.
On the recruiting front, we really like where Michigan stands with Butler (Pa.) four-star guard Ethan Morton. Morton likes Pitt and Ohio State, as well, and Indiana is in there, too. But head coach John Beilein watched him the other night, and he noticed the Michigan coach.
Morton told us he plans to decide around the end of summer next year, and he understands completely how he’d fit even with point guard Zeb Jackson in the fold. U-M wants one more multi-positional player, and he and Jackson both qualify.
And a little hockey ...
Recent Michigan hockey commit Eric Ciccolini was named this week as a participant in the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) Prospects game to be held on January 22 in Okotoks, Alberta. Ciccolini, a 6-0 170 pound right wing out of Vaughan, Ontario, also performed for the Canada West squad in the just-concluded World Junior A Challenge.
Currently a member of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) Toronto Jr. Canadiens, Ciccolini has scored 18 goals and added 22 assists in 29 games to date this season.
While not as strong a league as the United States Junior League (USHL) or Canadian Major Junior, the OJHL sends many quality prospects to US college hockey each season.
Ciccolini possesses an advanced ability to handle the puck, even in traffic and tight spaces. He also benefits from the ability to quickly accelerate and his skating acumen is a plus.
A class of 2020 commit, Ciccolini will likely start out as a third or fourth line forward with Michigan with a chance to advance to second line as he fills out and adds strength over time. He's ranked as a 3.75 star (out of five) prospect by respected scouting service, Neutral Zone.
Starting with football recruiting, and five-star Quavaris Crouch’s upcoming announcement …
From sources close to Tennessee … the Vols remain the team to beat for the four-star athlete following the final in-home visit and unofficial trip to Knoxville last weekend, somewhat of a covert op. Crouch had wanted to sign and then announce at the All-America Game Jan. 5, but now he’s going to make it official and announce on a local television station tonight.
Clemson was the heavy favorite before then. According to the sources close to the Tigers’ camp, the Clemson coaches had several discussions this week with Crouch and his camp. He signed papers with all three potential suitors (Michigan, Tennessee and Clemson) to position himself to apply for enrollment wherever he ends up.
Yesterday, Michigan accidentally tweeted out an edit of Crouch as a “signee” wearing U-M gear. It was deleted immediately, but some believed it meant Crouch was going to sign with the Wolverines.
It didn’t. Clemson is probably out, according to the sources on that end, and some suggest the Tigers’ staff made the decision to part ways. They also said the “leading voice” within the Crouch camp has this as a Tennessee vs. Michigan battle, but they don’t believe U-M is in the race as much as “the intent is to frame Clemson as being out.”
“We expressed many months ago that the Tigers would be in this competition only so long as certain influences didn’t carry weight on his decision,” the Tigers’ source said. “Well, we appear to have nailed that one.”
More recruiting now …
With the news of Phoenix Pinnacle three-star pro-style quarterback JD Johnson’s commitment to Michigan, it’s time to start thinking about the skill players that will surround him.
Last week we posted an update with Folsom (Calif.) High four-star running back Daniyel Ngata and he again called Michigan his “dream school” just like he did when he was offered. As the No. 8 running back and No. 64 overall prospect nationally, Ngata is talented and coveted. The 5-9, 185-pounder is feeling the love from U-M and is giving it right back.
"I would say Michigan is recruiting me at a good 8 out of 10,” Ngata said. “As for my interest in them, I’d give it a real good 9.”
The talented back plans to visit as soon as possible in 2019 and even said that it would be the first school visit he takes. It’ll likely be an unofficial visit and he also said that he’d probably return for an official visit at a later date.
Michigan signed 25 prospects on Wednesday and eight of them will be in Ann Arbor in just a couple of weeks as early enrollees. One that the coaches are particularly excited about is Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy three-star strong side defensive end David Ojabo.
The 6-5, 252-pounder has only been playing football for two years after being born in Nigeria and growing up in Scotland. Now, the freak athlete is ready to explode as a football and a lot of people are excited about his potential. Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman kept Ojabo at three-star status but actually expects him to outplay that rating and strongly considered giving him that fourth star.
“I was mulling it over,” Friedman said. “He didn’t fall far off from that four-star status — he is one of the highest ranked players at his position. The fact that he hasn’t come very far when it comes to technique makes it tough. He’s still very much a work in progress but I do expect him to grow by leaps and bounds once he’s at Michigan. He’s going to be fine physically but it’s all about how he can develop from a technical standpoint.”
Ojabo ran a 10.93 in the 100-meter dash this spring at more than 240 pounds. That’s a crazy number and a testament to the kind of athleticism he possesses. Just to put it in perspective, Daxton Hill, largely viewed as one of the fastest players in the country, ran an 11.01 in the 100 as a sophomore. Former Michigan wide receiver Jehu Chesson was often described as the fastest player on the roster during his playing days and has a personal best of 10.70 in the 100-meter dash.
Ambry Thomas’ personal best of 11.52 as a junior is more than a half second slower than Ojabo.
Putting it bluntly, the kid can absolutely fly for a player his size.
Ojabo really has a chance to be special at Michigan, and that journey will start in a little over two weeks.
More recruiting …
Of Michigan’s 27-man recruiting class, Akron (Ohio) Hoban four-star offensive guard Nolan Rumler has been committed for the second longest amount of time of the bunch. Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More three-star linebacker Charles Thomas is the longest — he pledged on June 24, 2017, while Rumler did on July 29, 2017.
The four-star offensive guard revealed that he didn’t have a big ceremony or anything of that nature at his school on Wednesday when he signed, but is glad to have the process over with nonetheless.
“It really wasn’t much of a process, because I knew where I wanted to go ever since Michigan offered me as a freshman,” he laughed. “Signing was one of those big moments I’d been waiting for my whole life. Knowing I’m officially going to be a Wolverine is a great feeling. We had four Division 1 kids sign from my school on Wednesday, so we just did it in front of some families and friends — we’ll have a big ceremony in February when more guys do it.”
Rumler has been in close contact with both U-M’s other signees and the coaching staff since Wednesday. He said all the commits have a group text they’re a part of, but that he’s built an especially tight bond with the fellow linemen in the class.
“I have a great relationship with all the offensive line commits, and all the other guys too because of our group chat we all talk in,” he noted. “I’m closest with the five other offensive linemen, specifically [Paw Paw (Mich.) High four-star offensive tackle] Karsen Barnhart and [Cincinnati Moeller three-star offensive guard] Zach Carpenter. I know [New Canaan (Conn.) High three-star offensive tackle] Jack [Stewart], [Loganville (Ga.) Grayson four-star offensive guard] Trente [Jones] and [Crystal Lake (Ill.) South four-star offensive tackle] Trevor [Keegan] very well too, along with [Kentwood (Mich.) East four-star defensive tackle] Mazi Smith, [Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian four-star defensive end] Chris Hinton and [Reno (Nev.) Damonte Ranch four-star quarterback] Cade McNamara.
“I’ve also texted a little bit with Coach [Ed] Warinner, and he told me he’s going to train me at both guard and center. I talked with Coach Harbaugh on the phone for a few minutes after I signed too, and he was just officially welcoming my family and I, and explained how great of a day it was, and how blessed he was to have this class coming in.
“It’s great to have this over with, but it wasn’t stressful or anything like that, because I had every offer you could possibly get. Some may see that as stressful, but I found it awesome. I always knew I wanted to go to Michigan and got it over with fast by committing so early. Most teams stopped contacting me after I committed, but a few programs like Ohio State and Notre Dame kept coming after me. After a while, I just told them I wasn’t going to their schools.”
Another Ohioan — Clayton Northmont three-star defensive end Gabe Newburg — spoke last week about how he can’t wait to get out of the Buckeye state and start preparing to beat OSU on the field, and Rumler shared a similar sentiment.
“I don’t have twitter, so I didn’t get any hate messages or anything [from Ohio State fans],” he laughed. “You’ll get comments living in Ohio, but there wasn’t anything big. I have the same mindset Gabe does — I’ve always wanted to play in that game and be the winner of it, because I can’t imagine a much better feeling.”
So what’s the next step for Rumler? Harbaugh revealed on Wednesday night there will be eight early enrollees, but the four-star guard will not be one of them.
“I’ll be there in June,” he said. “I’m playing in the Under Armor game in two weeks, and then I’ll be lifting and getting ready for college. I want to do whatever I can to help the team as a freshman — I know I’ll be physically ready to play if they need me to, but they have a veteran group in front of me. I’ll have to learn the plays and get adjusted to the speed, but my expectation is to come in and help in any way possible.”
Finally, one more note on new quarterback pledge JD Johnson from poster phillysam, well worth the read (thanks, sam).
https://michigan.forums.rivals.com/threads/a-little-insight-on-jd-johnson.270220/
****
To football now …
As we told you in a recent ITF EXTRA, there are new contracts being worked on for some Michigan coaches, including offensive line coach Ed Warinner. Warinner is going to get a hefty raise, and while he was involved in some game planning last year, we expect him to be much more of a factor this coming season.
We also believe head coach Jim Harbaugh is still talking to familiar names (to him) about joining his staff. We’ll see where that goes and what the staff looks like this spring, but there are still some wheels in motion here.
Michigan will be without two of its captains for the Peach Bowl, of course, since senior running back Karan Higdon and junior linebacker Devin Bush will be sitting out. We expect fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich to represent the defense as a captain in the game, and probably one other to get the nod on offense (perhaps junior quarterback Shea Patterson).
Patterson is rumored to be on the verge of announcing his plan to return to Michigan for his senior season as soon as today. We’re not sure if today will be the day, but as we’ve said for several weeks now, we expect him to return.
Practices are going well, and some of the underclassmen have impressed. Freshman safety Sammy Faustin is one who has opened eyes. There were some rumblings this fall that he might be homesick, but he’s adjusted nicely and has a nice future.
For the “this Bowl game means nothing” crowd … well, it means a lot to many of the players. Patterson, junior Ben Bredeson and Winovich are leading the charge that 11 wins and a potential top five finish are pretty damn important to them, and they’d expect others to follow their lead.
As we’ve reported over the last week, cornerbacks David Long and Lavert Hill are both practicing, and we expect them to play against Florida.
As we’ve also reported, expect Michigan to look for some defensive tackles while closing out this recruiting class. There are others already on the team, too, that could get looks on the d-line to shore up depth now that Aubrey Solomon has transferred to Tennessee … and it’s possible they’ll come from the offensive side.
At the very least, some are going to get a look.
****
Finishing with basketball and recruiting …
We expect to see more of freshman forward Brandon Johns tomorrow against Air Force. Johns has been practicing well, and he probably would have played more last week against Western Michigan had the Broncos been smaller up front or had U-M pulled away.
Johns is going to get some run at center, and Air Force would be the team to get it against. They’re smaller. But Johns is earning some time, and he’ll get it.
On the recruiting front, we really like where Michigan stands with Butler (Pa.) four-star guard Ethan Morton. Morton likes Pitt and Ohio State, as well, and Indiana is in there, too. But head coach John Beilein watched him the other night, and he noticed the Michigan coach.
Morton told us he plans to decide around the end of summer next year, and he understands completely how he’d fit even with point guard Zeb Jackson in the fold. U-M wants one more multi-positional player, and he and Jackson both qualify.
And a little hockey ...
Recent Michigan hockey commit Eric Ciccolini was named this week as a participant in the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) Prospects game to be held on January 22 in Okotoks, Alberta. Ciccolini, a 6-0 170 pound right wing out of Vaughan, Ontario, also performed for the Canada West squad in the just-concluded World Junior A Challenge.
Currently a member of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) Toronto Jr. Canadiens, Ciccolini has scored 18 goals and added 22 assists in 29 games to date this season.
While not as strong a league as the United States Junior League (USHL) or Canadian Major Junior, the OJHL sends many quality prospects to US college hockey each season.
Ciccolini possesses an advanced ability to handle the puck, even in traffic and tight spaces. He also benefits from the ability to quickly accelerate and his skating acumen is a plus.
A class of 2020 commit, Ciccolini will likely start out as a third or fourth line forward with Michigan with a chance to advance to second line as he fills out and adds strength over time. He's ranked as a 3.75 star (out of five) prospect by respected scouting service, Neutral Zone.
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