The latest edition of INSIDE THE FORT, including plenty of football recruiting, football and basketball information …
Starting this edition with football recruiting …
Michigan is involved with two seniors from Mission Viejo (Calif.) High who are currently committed to other programs, but the U-M staff is going to have a chance with both.
Three-star offensive tackle Jarrett Patterson is committed to Arizona State but was ecstatic when he picked up an offer from the Wolverines in late October. The 6-5, 275-pounder pretty much guaranteed that he’ll be taking an official visit to Ann Arbor after the season. The staff likes Patterson’s versatility and would consider him a great addition to the class late in the cycle.
Patterson’s teammate, four-star cornerback Olaijah Griffin, has been committed to UCLA since July, but the Michigan staff is still recruiting him. The hope is that he’ll come on an official visit with Patterson some time in December. As the No. 12 cornerback and No. 93 prospect overall nationally, Griffin would be a very solid addition to Michigan’s already stellar cornerback haul after being committed to the Bruins for so long.
Michigan offered Lorton (Va.) South County three-star wide receiver Dillon Spalding while he was in town for the Air Force game, and now the 6-2, 210-pounder is down a top two of U-M and West Virginia. The Michigan staff likes his versatility and ability as a big-bodied wideout, but may have some other prospects on the board ahead of him.
One of those players is Metairie (La.) Rummel four-star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. The 6-2, 185-pounder was recently committed to Florida but opened things back up after being offered by U-M and also after Jim McElwain was fired. The Michigan staff still has a lot of work to do with the No. 10 wide receiver and No. 50 prospect overall nationally, but they already feel liked they’ve cleared some big hurdles.
A couple of weeks ago, no one thought that Chase would give the Wolverines much of a look and now he’s going to be on campus next weekend for an official visit for the Ohio State game. The star receiver wants to develop into an NFL-ready wide receiver and the Michigan staff is pitching that angle in a big way. After sending Amara Darboh to the Seahawks and Jehu Chesson to the Chiefs, their pitch is working.
Chase is not a Michigan lean by any stretch of the imagination, but the staff feels really good about where things stand. The staff is fully prepared to put a lot of effort into recruiting him and is hoping he falls in love with everything Michigan during his visit. Chase is making a “business decision” and sees the NFL in his future and believes that Jim Harbaugh and his staff are the guys to see that through. Next weekend’s visit is going to be huge for him.
The staff is also high on San Marcos (Calif.) Mission Hills three-star wide receiver Chris Olave. The 6-1, 170-pound speedster will also be on campus next weekend for an official visit, and the staff is excited to impress him. He recently took an official visit to Columbus so he’ll be seeing Ohio State again as well. The U-M staff hopes to make him realize that his future would be better in Ann Arbor than it could be in Columbus. Utah and USC are the other two major players in his recruitment and he’s expected to take official visits to both of those programs as well.
The Michigan staff also likes where things stand with Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy four-star strongside defensive end Jayson Oweh. The 6-5, 235-pounder was originally supposed to be in Gainesville next weekend for an official visit but cancelled that in order to check out Ann Arbor after being offered by U-M in late October.
The U-M staff feels great about how things have progressed with the No. 9 strongside defensive end and New Jersey product, and No. 179 overall prospect nationally. Some have wondered why he wasn’t offered earlier, but there are always reasons. Oweh has only been playing football for a couple of years, and the staff has now seen what they were looking for in him as a player. His size and athleticism were always obvious but he was raw and it was tough to see how good he could be. He has gotten a lot better over the last two seasons so the U-M staff decided to pull the trigger on him.
He’s from an area that Michigan has recruited very well and is a high academic kid. He should be blown away
on his official visit to Michigan and could very well end up in the class. Ohio State and Penn State have been recruiting him for long but he’s a perfect fit in Ann Arbor. The Michigan staff is going to make sure he realizes that next weekend.
Michigan has landed just two offensive linemen and no wide receivers in the 2018 class. A lot is going on behind the scenes at those two positions and things are going to start clearing up in the next couple of weeks because of more evaluations, potentially new offers, and several official visits for the Ohio State game and beyond.
Patterson, along with Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep four-star offensive tackle Nick Petit-Frere and Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes three-star offensive tackle Jalen Goss are all being recruited aggressively. Also, Apopka (Fla.) High four-star offensive guard William Barnes is worth keeping an eye on. The 6-4, 289-pounder once seemed like a Florida lock but the coaching staff shakeup in Gainesville is also going to shake up Barnes’ recruitment. He was high on Michigan earlier in the process and is friends with U-M commit Joe Milton.
****
To football now, starting with this week’s game at Wisconsin …
This is a winnable game, according to those close to it (and please don't shoot the messenger if they don’t). As we’ve said, redshirt junior Wilton Speight had hoped to play this week, but he still hasn’t been cleared to do much. He took limited snaps on a non-contact basis and will not be ready Saturday.
Redshirt freshman Brandon Peters “really threw the ball well” this week. Asked if he’d say that anyway, our source said, ‘”no … he was really good.”
But he/she and everyone else knows Saturday is the biggest challenge he will have faced this year. They are devising a game plan to build his confidence and protect him … at the same time, they know they are going to have to hit some plays to win.
It will be interesting to see what they come up with. The last time we heard “there are going to be some wrinkles,” with specific plays mentioned, we didn’t see those plays (MSU) … we did see a couple of them the following few weeks, including the shovel pass to Khalid Hill against Indiana that would have worked if not for a delay of game penalty.
The Wolverines will probably be a bit shorthanded in the secondary Saturday. We don't expect sophomore Lavert Hill to play, still going through concussion protocol. This isn’t a Wisconsin team that’s going to carve a team up through the air, but having another playmaker on the field always helps. Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson had two pick sixes against the Badgers on athletic plays, and Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook has had trouble with interceptions this year.
Badgers insiders say the Wisconsin coaches will play this one close to the vest. They don’t think Michigan can score much on this defense, and to expect a field position/play to the defense kind of game … and that they will win that way.
Wisconsin safety D’Cota Dixon is questionable but likely to play, and starting center Tyler Biadasz has not been ruled out. One insider said they expect him to give it a try before the game (he suffered a knee injury against Iowa), even though backup Jason Erdmann has gotten the majority of the reps this week in practice.
This is a potentially big development. Biadasz (pronounced bad-ASS … no, not really) has started all 10 games this year and has been a big part of the Badgers’ success on the ground. Either one is lining up against Michigan fifth-year senior nose tackle Maurice Hurst, who could be a game changer here.
On the future, Michigan coaches are still bullish on this receiving corps, even though this year’s hasn’t had much success. Losing freshman Tarik Black was a blow, bigger than expected given that the sophomores have yet to take that next step, and they believe he’s a slam dunk all-conference guy (if not more), sooner than later.
We’ve seen frosh Donovan Peoples-Jones get separation at times, though a quarterback has yet to hit him in stride, and they’re still really high on frosh Oliver Martin, who has been sidelined most of the year by an upper-body injury, and Nico Collins.
There’s talent here … it’s just young talent.
****
Finishing with basketball now …
With some young guys and new faces playing roles on the basketball team so far this year, senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman admitted that some lineups are working better than others at this point.
He made the statement when asked what led to U-M’s 20-1 run in the second half of Thursday’s victory over Southern Miss. Interestingly enough, the Wolverines did their damage with fifth-year senior point guard Jaaron Simmons in the game, not sophomore Zavier Simpson.
Speaking of Simmons, head coach John Beilein didn’t mince words when talking about the veteran’s defensive play afterward.
“We’re not going to play guys if they’re not going to really guard the ball and buy into all of it,” he said, clearly referring to Simmons.
Coming from Ohio University, has probably endured a bit of a culture shock when it comes to defensive intensity requirements, but Beilein also added that he was happier with the effort on that side of the ball after Thursday night’s win over Southern Miss.
Expect to see more of Jon Teske, meanwhile. While we were speaking to head coach John Beilein at the end of last year, Teske walked by.
“Don’t forget about this kid,” Beilein said, noting he’d spoken at length about frosh Austin Davis’ improvement, but that he hadn’t forgotten about Teske. “When the light goes on for him …”
It was similar to a talk we had in his office about Jordan Morgan during the former Wolverine’s freshman year.
“That kid is going to be good for us,” he said.
Morgan progressed into a solid player as he gained more confidence, and he’s still getting better overseas.
About three weeks ago, those close to it say, the light went on. Teske started to realize it wasn’t just good enough to be there, that there were high expectations of him to be a key contributor rather than ‘just a guy,’ and he started playing … well, like a 7-1 center with confidence.
“There was an, ‘I’ve got this’ look in his eye when he was challenged,” someone close to him said. “It was the first time I had seen it. He started to realize that he could be more than just ‘a guy’ with his size, and he started to play with confidence.”
The thought for Teske was always that he’d be a rim protector and rebounder, but that it might take a while for him to develop the toughness to be a great rebounder. He’s starting to get there. He’s also proven to be better than even thought as a passer (and that’s one aspect of his game Beilein loved) and a finisher.
He could be a big-time ‘X’ factor on a team that’s still trying to find an identity early in the season.
Starting this edition with football recruiting …
Michigan is involved with two seniors from Mission Viejo (Calif.) High who are currently committed to other programs, but the U-M staff is going to have a chance with both.
Three-star offensive tackle Jarrett Patterson is committed to Arizona State but was ecstatic when he picked up an offer from the Wolverines in late October. The 6-5, 275-pounder pretty much guaranteed that he’ll be taking an official visit to Ann Arbor after the season. The staff likes Patterson’s versatility and would consider him a great addition to the class late in the cycle.
Patterson’s teammate, four-star cornerback Olaijah Griffin, has been committed to UCLA since July, but the Michigan staff is still recruiting him. The hope is that he’ll come on an official visit with Patterson some time in December. As the No. 12 cornerback and No. 93 prospect overall nationally, Griffin would be a very solid addition to Michigan’s already stellar cornerback haul after being committed to the Bruins for so long.
Michigan offered Lorton (Va.) South County three-star wide receiver Dillon Spalding while he was in town for the Air Force game, and now the 6-2, 210-pounder is down a top two of U-M and West Virginia. The Michigan staff likes his versatility and ability as a big-bodied wideout, but may have some other prospects on the board ahead of him.
One of those players is Metairie (La.) Rummel four-star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. The 6-2, 185-pounder was recently committed to Florida but opened things back up after being offered by U-M and also after Jim McElwain was fired. The Michigan staff still has a lot of work to do with the No. 10 wide receiver and No. 50 prospect overall nationally, but they already feel liked they’ve cleared some big hurdles.
A couple of weeks ago, no one thought that Chase would give the Wolverines much of a look and now he’s going to be on campus next weekend for an official visit for the Ohio State game. The star receiver wants to develop into an NFL-ready wide receiver and the Michigan staff is pitching that angle in a big way. After sending Amara Darboh to the Seahawks and Jehu Chesson to the Chiefs, their pitch is working.
Chase is not a Michigan lean by any stretch of the imagination, but the staff feels really good about where things stand. The staff is fully prepared to put a lot of effort into recruiting him and is hoping he falls in love with everything Michigan during his visit. Chase is making a “business decision” and sees the NFL in his future and believes that Jim Harbaugh and his staff are the guys to see that through. Next weekend’s visit is going to be huge for him.
The staff is also high on San Marcos (Calif.) Mission Hills three-star wide receiver Chris Olave. The 6-1, 170-pound speedster will also be on campus next weekend for an official visit, and the staff is excited to impress him. He recently took an official visit to Columbus so he’ll be seeing Ohio State again as well. The U-M staff hopes to make him realize that his future would be better in Ann Arbor than it could be in Columbus. Utah and USC are the other two major players in his recruitment and he’s expected to take official visits to both of those programs as well.
The Michigan staff also likes where things stand with Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy four-star strongside defensive end Jayson Oweh. The 6-5, 235-pounder was originally supposed to be in Gainesville next weekend for an official visit but cancelled that in order to check out Ann Arbor after being offered by U-M in late October.
The U-M staff feels great about how things have progressed with the No. 9 strongside defensive end and New Jersey product, and No. 179 overall prospect nationally. Some have wondered why he wasn’t offered earlier, but there are always reasons. Oweh has only been playing football for a couple of years, and the staff has now seen what they were looking for in him as a player. His size and athleticism were always obvious but he was raw and it was tough to see how good he could be. He has gotten a lot better over the last two seasons so the U-M staff decided to pull the trigger on him.
He’s from an area that Michigan has recruited very well and is a high academic kid. He should be blown away
on his official visit to Michigan and could very well end up in the class. Ohio State and Penn State have been recruiting him for long but he’s a perfect fit in Ann Arbor. The Michigan staff is going to make sure he realizes that next weekend.
Michigan has landed just two offensive linemen and no wide receivers in the 2018 class. A lot is going on behind the scenes at those two positions and things are going to start clearing up in the next couple of weeks because of more evaluations, potentially new offers, and several official visits for the Ohio State game and beyond.
Patterson, along with Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep four-star offensive tackle Nick Petit-Frere and Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes three-star offensive tackle Jalen Goss are all being recruited aggressively. Also, Apopka (Fla.) High four-star offensive guard William Barnes is worth keeping an eye on. The 6-4, 289-pounder once seemed like a Florida lock but the coaching staff shakeup in Gainesville is also going to shake up Barnes’ recruitment. He was high on Michigan earlier in the process and is friends with U-M commit Joe Milton.
****
To football now, starting with this week’s game at Wisconsin …
This is a winnable game, according to those close to it (and please don't shoot the messenger if they don’t). As we’ve said, redshirt junior Wilton Speight had hoped to play this week, but he still hasn’t been cleared to do much. He took limited snaps on a non-contact basis and will not be ready Saturday.
Redshirt freshman Brandon Peters “really threw the ball well” this week. Asked if he’d say that anyway, our source said, ‘”no … he was really good.”
But he/she and everyone else knows Saturday is the biggest challenge he will have faced this year. They are devising a game plan to build his confidence and protect him … at the same time, they know they are going to have to hit some plays to win.
It will be interesting to see what they come up with. The last time we heard “there are going to be some wrinkles,” with specific plays mentioned, we didn’t see those plays (MSU) … we did see a couple of them the following few weeks, including the shovel pass to Khalid Hill against Indiana that would have worked if not for a delay of game penalty.
The Wolverines will probably be a bit shorthanded in the secondary Saturday. We don't expect sophomore Lavert Hill to play, still going through concussion protocol. This isn’t a Wisconsin team that’s going to carve a team up through the air, but having another playmaker on the field always helps. Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson had two pick sixes against the Badgers on athletic plays, and Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook has had trouble with interceptions this year.
Badgers insiders say the Wisconsin coaches will play this one close to the vest. They don’t think Michigan can score much on this defense, and to expect a field position/play to the defense kind of game … and that they will win that way.
Wisconsin safety D’Cota Dixon is questionable but likely to play, and starting center Tyler Biadasz has not been ruled out. One insider said they expect him to give it a try before the game (he suffered a knee injury against Iowa), even though backup Jason Erdmann has gotten the majority of the reps this week in practice.
This is a potentially big development. Biadasz (pronounced bad-ASS … no, not really) has started all 10 games this year and has been a big part of the Badgers’ success on the ground. Either one is lining up against Michigan fifth-year senior nose tackle Maurice Hurst, who could be a game changer here.
On the future, Michigan coaches are still bullish on this receiving corps, even though this year’s hasn’t had much success. Losing freshman Tarik Black was a blow, bigger than expected given that the sophomores have yet to take that next step, and they believe he’s a slam dunk all-conference guy (if not more), sooner than later.
We’ve seen frosh Donovan Peoples-Jones get separation at times, though a quarterback has yet to hit him in stride, and they’re still really high on frosh Oliver Martin, who has been sidelined most of the year by an upper-body injury, and Nico Collins.
There’s talent here … it’s just young talent.
****
Finishing with basketball now …
With some young guys and new faces playing roles on the basketball team so far this year, senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman admitted that some lineups are working better than others at this point.
He made the statement when asked what led to U-M’s 20-1 run in the second half of Thursday’s victory over Southern Miss. Interestingly enough, the Wolverines did their damage with fifth-year senior point guard Jaaron Simmons in the game, not sophomore Zavier Simpson.
Speaking of Simmons, head coach John Beilein didn’t mince words when talking about the veteran’s defensive play afterward.
“We’re not going to play guys if they’re not going to really guard the ball and buy into all of it,” he said, clearly referring to Simmons.
Coming from Ohio University, has probably endured a bit of a culture shock when it comes to defensive intensity requirements, but Beilein also added that he was happier with the effort on that side of the ball after Thursday night’s win over Southern Miss.
Expect to see more of Jon Teske, meanwhile. While we were speaking to head coach John Beilein at the end of last year, Teske walked by.
“Don’t forget about this kid,” Beilein said, noting he’d spoken at length about frosh Austin Davis’ improvement, but that he hadn’t forgotten about Teske. “When the light goes on for him …”
It was similar to a talk we had in his office about Jordan Morgan during the former Wolverine’s freshman year.
“That kid is going to be good for us,” he said.
Morgan progressed into a solid player as he gained more confidence, and he’s still getting better overseas.
About three weeks ago, those close to it say, the light went on. Teske started to realize it wasn’t just good enough to be there, that there were high expectations of him to be a key contributor rather than ‘just a guy,’ and he started playing … well, like a 7-1 center with confidence.
“There was an, ‘I’ve got this’ look in his eye when he was challenged,” someone close to him said. “It was the first time I had seen it. He started to realize that he could be more than just ‘a guy’ with his size, and he started to play with confidence.”
The thought for Teske was always that he’d be a rim protector and rebounder, but that it might take a while for him to develop the toughness to be a great rebounder. He’s starting to get there. He’s also proven to be better than even thought as a passer (and that’s one aspect of his game Beilein loved) and a finisher.
He could be a big-time ‘X’ factor on a team that’s still trying to find an identity early in the season.
