The latest edition of INSIDE THE FORT, starting this week’s edition with football recruiting …
Michigan hosted a trio of official visitors from California for the Michigan state game and seems to be at three different levels with the talented prospects. There are also two big timers in the 2019 class from Cali that could very well end up at U-M.
Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei five-star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had a good time at Michigan, but there are just other schools ahead of U-M at this time and that won’t change. USC, Stanford and Notre Dame are all outpacing the Wolverines but it didn’t have anything to do with the visit or the loss to Michigan State.
The No. 1 receiver in the country has been high on the other three programs for reasons that have nothing to do with Michigan. St. Brown has a brother at both Stanford and Notre Dame and his good friend and five-star quarterback J.T. Daniels is committed to the Trojans. Sometimes, other schools just have more things working in their favor.
Michigan is in much better shape with Anaheim (Calif.) Servite four-star safety Julius Irvin. The No. 26 safety in the country loved everything about Michigan and sincerely saw himself playing football and going to school in Ann Arbor.
Unfortunately, the distance from home may be a hurdle too big to overcome. Anaheim is more than 2,000 miles from Ann Arbor, and that gives Irvin some pause. It hasn’t been described as a deal breaker, but it’s definitely something that Irvin wishes was a little different. He was heard saying, “The only thing I don’t really like about the school is that it’s in Michigan.”
That obviously isn’t idea, but there are a few Cali kids on the roster that could convince him that it’s not that bad.
Finally, Michigan is in the best shape with Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra four-star athlete Bryan Addison. The 6-5, 175-pounder dropped his top five after returning home from Ann Arbor and put Michigan in with Arizona, Arizona State, Nebraska and UCLA. It feels like the Bruins have the best chance to keep him close to home with Nebraska giving a good run as well.
Michigan will be a serious player for the nation’s No. 3 athlete, and might be considered an early front-runner for his services. Addison had a lot of good things to say about U-M and doesn’t seem to have any issues with playing away from home.
In the 2019 class, Michigan remains in fantastic shape with a couple of other California natives. Orange (Calif.) Lutheran four-star wide receiver Kyle Ford has been high on Michigan since picking up his offer back in July, and that has not changed. The 6-3, 195-pounder has a loose top two of USC and Michigan with an interesting twist. The No. 15 wide receiver in the country doesn’t love the idea of playing behind St. Brown, who feels like a Trojan lean at this time.
If St. Brown ends up picking USC, consider that a big boost for Michigan in the eyes of Ford. He’s just a junior, so there’s a lot of time to let things play out, but U-M is doing very well so far.
Ford recently went up against Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco four-star cornerback Chris Steele and the two of them were joking about playing together in college. Steele reportedly said to Ford, “So where are we going, Kyle? USC or Michigan?”
Steele, the No. 2 cornerback and No. 26 overall prospect nationally, consistently tweets about Michigan and has emerged as one of U-M’s top overall targets in the 2019 class. It seems as if Michigan will be involved until the end and may end up battling USC for his services as well.
It’s clear that Michigan would like to nab another running back in the 2018 class and, while things are in a good spot with Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes three-star athlete Michael Barrett, it’s always good to have several options. Last night the staff offered Eureka (Mo.) High two-star Hassan Haskins and it immediately put U-M in contention for him. Rivals.com analyst Josh Helmholdt has chimed in and said that Haskins will pick up another star but stargazers are still a bit underwhelmed.
Director of recruiting Matt Dudek and director of player personnel Sean Magee both took to Twitter last night to defend their decision of offering Haskins (not specifically, of course, since they can’t talk about recruits by name). The staff has evaluated over 200 running backs in the 2018 class and felt that Haskins checked many boxes and decided to offer him.
He’s listed at 195 pounds but is closer to 200-lus and has great balance and vision and never goes down on first contact. That’s the kind of back U-M wants, and the staff doesn’t care what recruiting websites think of him. Period.
****
To football now, and the fallout from Michigan State week.
After recently speaking with a 1978 Michigan grad who served as a counselor to football players under Bo Schembechler, he explained why he feels this year’s group of Wolverines is going to be just fine going forward. He said Schembechler had a special way of connecting with kids when they were down, and made sure they remained confident and focused on the goals ahead. He also explained how Jim Harbaugh is cut from the same cloth, and that he has a similar ability to keep his players motivated.
Harbaugh refers to it as “putting steel in your spine,” and we saw it in 2015 after the loss to Michigan State on the botched punt, when the team rebounded and went 5-1 the rest of the way.
The former counselor said it’s crazy to think this year’s team won’t improve, and he believes strongly they’ll finish the year strong.
That said … they know they dropped the ball last week, literally and figuratively. For all the talk about “lack of accountability,” too much loyalty, etc., that’s simply not the case with Harbaugh. His loyalties lie with Michigan first, and those close to him say he hasn’t lost his resolve to reach the summit with this program.
If that means making changes … well, he’s going to make them.
Their first priority has been to change the approach on offense to fit their skills a bit better. Much of what they practiced last week, with different looks, etc. we never saw against Michigan State. We’re not sure why, other than maybe the weather came into play. Regardless, it wasn’t good enough.
There remains confidence, though, that while the offense isn’t a juggernaut and won’t be, it can be adequate enough to complement a dominant defense and compete with every team left on the schedule.
Penn State insiders, for one, are not bullish on the matchup of Penn State’s offensive line vs. Michigan’s defensive line.
“That’s an area they are really concerned about,” one said. “They feel like Michigan has a big advantage there.”
That’s a week away, of course. This week’s task is Indiana, and the understanding that they simply can’t afford to lose. Practices were intense, to say the least, and some say they could still afford to be even more physical. Some close to it have the opinion that they aren’t hitting enough in practice, and that that’s something that might yet be addressed.
On the injury front, we expect redshirt junior quarterback Wilton Speight back in November. He is walking fine, etc., and the injury (three broken vertebrae) sounds worse than it is.
He’s been in for constant treatment, and his goal is to pull a Jake Butt and shock the world with an earlier than expected return, which to him would mean cutting his expected time off in half.
Don’t be surprised if he’s back sooner than later.
The offensive line got added attention this week, as it should have. Our analysts have said it’s not ability that’s holding some of the young guys back, and that the mistakes can be corrected with coaching.
Why they aren’t being fixed, then, becomes the big question mark to the same guys. And they don't’ have the answer. But don’t be shocked to see some different rotations this week.
This is No. 1 and 1a on Jim Harbaugh’s fix list, in their opinion.
Finally, several key players are questionable for Indiana. Husky (hybrid LB/S) Marcelino Ball, WR Donovan Hale, DB A’Shon Riggins, DT Nate Hoff, TE Ian Thomas are all on that list, though Thomas and Hoff are expected to suit up. Rigging and Ball are expected to be out, while Hale is a coin flip.
****
Finishing with basketball and recruiting now, and first some notes on the 2018 class, which is now complete. “What a class” has been the reaction down at the William Davidson Player Development Center. They absolutely love this group and feel great about where things stand for the next several years.
Dayton Beach (Fla.) big man Colin Castleton was the big surprise of the group … first, that they went after him, and then that they were able to land him after arriving late to the party. They sold him on being their ‘next Moe Wagner’ and see him having the same skill set.
So why did they recruit him when they have three centers already slated to return in 2018-19? One, they expect the junior Wagner to go to the NBA. No surprise, though Wagner isn’t 100 percent sold on it yet (though he’ll certainly go if he has the type of year he expects). He loves Ann Arbor and, like Mitch McGary used to, enjoys the experience of being a student/athlete (in McGary’s case, a bit too much).
Also, the jury’s still out on redshirt freshman big man Austin Davis and sophomore Jon Teske. Both have potential, but as head coach John Beilein has said, Teske is far too deferential at this point and doesn’t look to score. David made huge strides at the end of spring and is in great shape, is still U-M’s best catch and finisher (and he’s outstanding), but he, too, isn’t aggressive enough offensively. He has plateaued a bit.
Castleton is slight, but he’s very aggressive and plays with no fear. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’s your starting center next year, though it wouldn’t be ideal. And it’s always possible that Davis/Teske takes a huge leap forward this year, and/or takes such a challenge from a new face personally.
Right now, though, both of the bigs needs to heed Beilein’s call for aggressiveness (which he relays by saying “be a player”). Landing Castleton, meanwhile, essentially pushed Clarkston (Mich.) High’s Taylor Currie back to 2019 if he wanted to remain committed (strong opinion here), which caused him to de-commit. U-M did not initiate his initial move to 2018.
On the current team, one who has responded to a challenge — sophomore point guard Zavier (the point guard formerly known as ‘X’) Simpson. Most assumed grad transfer Jaaron Simmons would start, and he’s been good, but Simpson had a great summer and has played very, very well.
“He’s not giving that up without a fight,” one person with knowledge of the situation shared with a laugh. “If the season started today, I think he’d be the first guy on the floor at point guard.”
Simpson has been relentless defensively, bringing a bulldog mentality every time he’s on the court. But he’s also much more confident offensively, and that combination has all but guaranteed him playing time this year.
The same can be said for freshman forward Isaiah Livers, who has given fifth-year senior Duncan Robinson all he can handle in the fight to start at power forward. Livers has great feel for the game and work ethic, can shoot the ball and has been very, very impressive in the early going.
As Beilein has noted, his athleticism is off the charts. He’ll play a lot whether or not he starts.
This team plays with an edge, and they like it a lot.
Finally, a note on 2019 recruiting.
Top 70 point guard target Mark “Rocket” Watts out of Detroit was in for the Michigan State game, and he enjoyed his visit. He is the priority in the 2019 class, and while MSU is also high on his list, Beilein is going after him hard.
We’ll have an update on him later this week.
Michigan hosted a trio of official visitors from California for the Michigan state game and seems to be at three different levels with the talented prospects. There are also two big timers in the 2019 class from Cali that could very well end up at U-M.
Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei five-star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had a good time at Michigan, but there are just other schools ahead of U-M at this time and that won’t change. USC, Stanford and Notre Dame are all outpacing the Wolverines but it didn’t have anything to do with the visit or the loss to Michigan State.
The No. 1 receiver in the country has been high on the other three programs for reasons that have nothing to do with Michigan. St. Brown has a brother at both Stanford and Notre Dame and his good friend and five-star quarterback J.T. Daniels is committed to the Trojans. Sometimes, other schools just have more things working in their favor.
Michigan is in much better shape with Anaheim (Calif.) Servite four-star safety Julius Irvin. The No. 26 safety in the country loved everything about Michigan and sincerely saw himself playing football and going to school in Ann Arbor.
Unfortunately, the distance from home may be a hurdle too big to overcome. Anaheim is more than 2,000 miles from Ann Arbor, and that gives Irvin some pause. It hasn’t been described as a deal breaker, but it’s definitely something that Irvin wishes was a little different. He was heard saying, “The only thing I don’t really like about the school is that it’s in Michigan.”
That obviously isn’t idea, but there are a few Cali kids on the roster that could convince him that it’s not that bad.
Finally, Michigan is in the best shape with Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra four-star athlete Bryan Addison. The 6-5, 175-pounder dropped his top five after returning home from Ann Arbor and put Michigan in with Arizona, Arizona State, Nebraska and UCLA. It feels like the Bruins have the best chance to keep him close to home with Nebraska giving a good run as well.
Michigan will be a serious player for the nation’s No. 3 athlete, and might be considered an early front-runner for his services. Addison had a lot of good things to say about U-M and doesn’t seem to have any issues with playing away from home.
In the 2019 class, Michigan remains in fantastic shape with a couple of other California natives. Orange (Calif.) Lutheran four-star wide receiver Kyle Ford has been high on Michigan since picking up his offer back in July, and that has not changed. The 6-3, 195-pounder has a loose top two of USC and Michigan with an interesting twist. The No. 15 wide receiver in the country doesn’t love the idea of playing behind St. Brown, who feels like a Trojan lean at this time.
If St. Brown ends up picking USC, consider that a big boost for Michigan in the eyes of Ford. He’s just a junior, so there’s a lot of time to let things play out, but U-M is doing very well so far.
Ford recently went up against Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco four-star cornerback Chris Steele and the two of them were joking about playing together in college. Steele reportedly said to Ford, “So where are we going, Kyle? USC or Michigan?”
Steele, the No. 2 cornerback and No. 26 overall prospect nationally, consistently tweets about Michigan and has emerged as one of U-M’s top overall targets in the 2019 class. It seems as if Michigan will be involved until the end and may end up battling USC for his services as well.
It’s clear that Michigan would like to nab another running back in the 2018 class and, while things are in a good spot with Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes three-star athlete Michael Barrett, it’s always good to have several options. Last night the staff offered Eureka (Mo.) High two-star Hassan Haskins and it immediately put U-M in contention for him. Rivals.com analyst Josh Helmholdt has chimed in and said that Haskins will pick up another star but stargazers are still a bit underwhelmed.
Director of recruiting Matt Dudek and director of player personnel Sean Magee both took to Twitter last night to defend their decision of offering Haskins (not specifically, of course, since they can’t talk about recruits by name). The staff has evaluated over 200 running backs in the 2018 class and felt that Haskins checked many boxes and decided to offer him.
He’s listed at 195 pounds but is closer to 200-lus and has great balance and vision and never goes down on first contact. That’s the kind of back U-M wants, and the staff doesn’t care what recruiting websites think of him. Period.
****
To football now, and the fallout from Michigan State week.
After recently speaking with a 1978 Michigan grad who served as a counselor to football players under Bo Schembechler, he explained why he feels this year’s group of Wolverines is going to be just fine going forward. He said Schembechler had a special way of connecting with kids when they were down, and made sure they remained confident and focused on the goals ahead. He also explained how Jim Harbaugh is cut from the same cloth, and that he has a similar ability to keep his players motivated.
Harbaugh refers to it as “putting steel in your spine,” and we saw it in 2015 after the loss to Michigan State on the botched punt, when the team rebounded and went 5-1 the rest of the way.
The former counselor said it’s crazy to think this year’s team won’t improve, and he believes strongly they’ll finish the year strong.
That said … they know they dropped the ball last week, literally and figuratively. For all the talk about “lack of accountability,” too much loyalty, etc., that’s simply not the case with Harbaugh. His loyalties lie with Michigan first, and those close to him say he hasn’t lost his resolve to reach the summit with this program.
If that means making changes … well, he’s going to make them.
Their first priority has been to change the approach on offense to fit their skills a bit better. Much of what they practiced last week, with different looks, etc. we never saw against Michigan State. We’re not sure why, other than maybe the weather came into play. Regardless, it wasn’t good enough.
There remains confidence, though, that while the offense isn’t a juggernaut and won’t be, it can be adequate enough to complement a dominant defense and compete with every team left on the schedule.
Penn State insiders, for one, are not bullish on the matchup of Penn State’s offensive line vs. Michigan’s defensive line.
“That’s an area they are really concerned about,” one said. “They feel like Michigan has a big advantage there.”
That’s a week away, of course. This week’s task is Indiana, and the understanding that they simply can’t afford to lose. Practices were intense, to say the least, and some say they could still afford to be even more physical. Some close to it have the opinion that they aren’t hitting enough in practice, and that that’s something that might yet be addressed.
On the injury front, we expect redshirt junior quarterback Wilton Speight back in November. He is walking fine, etc., and the injury (three broken vertebrae) sounds worse than it is.
He’s been in for constant treatment, and his goal is to pull a Jake Butt and shock the world with an earlier than expected return, which to him would mean cutting his expected time off in half.
Don’t be surprised if he’s back sooner than later.
The offensive line got added attention this week, as it should have. Our analysts have said it’s not ability that’s holding some of the young guys back, and that the mistakes can be corrected with coaching.
Why they aren’t being fixed, then, becomes the big question mark to the same guys. And they don't’ have the answer. But don’t be shocked to see some different rotations this week.
This is No. 1 and 1a on Jim Harbaugh’s fix list, in their opinion.
Finally, several key players are questionable for Indiana. Husky (hybrid LB/S) Marcelino Ball, WR Donovan Hale, DB A’Shon Riggins, DT Nate Hoff, TE Ian Thomas are all on that list, though Thomas and Hoff are expected to suit up. Rigging and Ball are expected to be out, while Hale is a coin flip.
****
Finishing with basketball and recruiting now, and first some notes on the 2018 class, which is now complete. “What a class” has been the reaction down at the William Davidson Player Development Center. They absolutely love this group and feel great about where things stand for the next several years.
Dayton Beach (Fla.) big man Colin Castleton was the big surprise of the group … first, that they went after him, and then that they were able to land him after arriving late to the party. They sold him on being their ‘next Moe Wagner’ and see him having the same skill set.
So why did they recruit him when they have three centers already slated to return in 2018-19? One, they expect the junior Wagner to go to the NBA. No surprise, though Wagner isn’t 100 percent sold on it yet (though he’ll certainly go if he has the type of year he expects). He loves Ann Arbor and, like Mitch McGary used to, enjoys the experience of being a student/athlete (in McGary’s case, a bit too much).
Also, the jury’s still out on redshirt freshman big man Austin Davis and sophomore Jon Teske. Both have potential, but as head coach John Beilein has said, Teske is far too deferential at this point and doesn’t look to score. David made huge strides at the end of spring and is in great shape, is still U-M’s best catch and finisher (and he’s outstanding), but he, too, isn’t aggressive enough offensively. He has plateaued a bit.
Castleton is slight, but he’s very aggressive and plays with no fear. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’s your starting center next year, though it wouldn’t be ideal. And it’s always possible that Davis/Teske takes a huge leap forward this year, and/or takes such a challenge from a new face personally.
Right now, though, both of the bigs needs to heed Beilein’s call for aggressiveness (which he relays by saying “be a player”). Landing Castleton, meanwhile, essentially pushed Clarkston (Mich.) High’s Taylor Currie back to 2019 if he wanted to remain committed (strong opinion here), which caused him to de-commit. U-M did not initiate his initial move to 2018.
On the current team, one who has responded to a challenge — sophomore point guard Zavier (the point guard formerly known as ‘X’) Simpson. Most assumed grad transfer Jaaron Simmons would start, and he’s been good, but Simpson had a great summer and has played very, very well.
“He’s not giving that up without a fight,” one person with knowledge of the situation shared with a laugh. “If the season started today, I think he’d be the first guy on the floor at point guard.”
Simpson has been relentless defensively, bringing a bulldog mentality every time he’s on the court. But he’s also much more confident offensively, and that combination has all but guaranteed him playing time this year.
The same can be said for freshman forward Isaiah Livers, who has given fifth-year senior Duncan Robinson all he can handle in the fight to start at power forward. Livers has great feel for the game and work ethic, can shoot the ball and has been very, very impressive in the early going.
As Beilein has noted, his athleticism is off the charts. He’ll play a lot whether or not he starts.
This team plays with an edge, and they like it a lot.
Finally, a note on 2019 recruiting.
Top 70 point guard target Mark “Rocket” Watts out of Detroit was in for the Michigan State game, and he enjoyed his visit. He is the priority in the 2019 class, and while MSU is also high on his list, Beilein is going after him hard.
We’ll have an update on him later this week.
