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10:50 am
March 9, 2016
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Michigan Makes Darnay Holmes’ Top Seven
Here’s some late breaking news: Jim Harbaugh does interesting and creative things. In Chapter 237 of that, Michigan seems to be moving ahead swiftly for five-star California corner Darnay Holmes, thanks in small part to a cousin of his who might also be headed to Ann Arbor ($) – more on that in a second. Holmes released his top seven to Maize ‘n’ Brew.
“Michigan will get a hard look especially because of David Long, my brother pretty much, is going there,” Holmes said. “Harbaugh is doing great things up there and the academics are stellar.” On Harbaugh, Holmes went on to add, “I know that he would know my skill set and how successful I can be, so I will just believe in his layout because God does not bless too many coaches to coach in the NFL and have a great resume.”
Another advantage for Michigan in the race for Darnay – as if the ones already listed weren’t enough – could come in the form of Desean Holmes, Darnay’s cousin and a four-star receiver from the 2015 cycle. Desean was ranked as the #17 receiver in the country that year, and had offers from USC, UCLA, Cal, and others. He signed with San Diego State that year, but left campus after less than a week and has not played any college football since then. However…
“I want to play at Michigan,” Desean said to Rivals ($). “The coaches love my film. They are just talking about me right now. They are seeing what we need to do to make it happen.”
It’s not clear whether Desean could play the 2016 season or if he’d need to sit out a season as a transfer. But either way, this would be fortuitous for Michigan, which could use another option behind veteran starters Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh. Desean doesn’t exactly have experience of his own, but he is an older guy with a lot of talent who could work as a segue to Michigan’s 2016 and 2017 classes.
Crystal Balls Fall For Michigan Targets
The guru, Steve Lorenz, has put in Crystal Balls for both Ambry Thomas ($) and James Hudson ($) going to Michigan. He now has Crystal Balls for all of the top six in-state targets going to UM – including Corey Malone-Hatcher, who may be committing in the very near future.
Quick Updates On Michigan Commits
Michigan commit O’Maury Samuels shared a few words with Rivals ($) this weekend, and he downplayed the removal of Michigan-related stuff from his Twitter bio.
“Feelings are the same as the day I committed,” Samuels said. “I’m just going through the process to make sure I’m making the right decision for myself.”
Meanwhile, Carter Dunaway told Rivals ($) that he’s up to six offers, and the Michigan staff still recruits him.
“I talk with them fairly often,” he said. “I’m always receiving mail from Michigan, almost daily, and sometimes I’ll have a little conversation on Twitter with Coach Jay [Harbaugh] here and there.
“Coach [Jedd] Fisch actually came to the school this past week. I wasn’t really able to speak with him much but he told my coach and my mom, who works in the front office, that they were really excited to see me at camp and become part of the program.”
Michigan Sits In Second For Sione Lund
This may or may not be very relevant, as the four-star running back out of Salt Lake City, Utah is currently committed to Stanford. Rivals’ Brandon Brown elaborates ($):
Lund is committed to Stanford but is being recruiting by Michigan very aggressively. The versatile four-star says that Michigan is all alone at No. 2 behind only the Cardinal. There are no real signs that Lund may open things up but if he does, Michigan sits in a very strong position.
Lund is a bigger back at 6’0″, 220 pounds, and he could conceivably move to H-back, fullback or linebacker. Wherever he plays, though, it’s easy to see why Harbaugh likes him.
#Scout300 4-Star ATH Sione Lund (@LundSione) makes the LB miss https://t.co/u5XdJpdSbr pic.twitter.com/PgGkRHCUiC
— Kevin Wade (@KevinWade_) May 28, 2016
An Expanding Pool of Offensive Line Targets
Going by position group, no unit has gotten more attention from Michigan’s coaches than the wide receiver position: all told, 36 offers have gone out in this class. Right after that, however, is offensive tackle: 33 players have gotten an offer to come and play like Jake Long.
One of those gentlemen is Kai-Leon Herbert, who unveiled his top six this week.
Top 6 Schools : Blessings & Opportunities pic.twitter.com/scypE9sFMs
— Kai-Leon Herbert (@KHerb17) May 27, 2016
Herbert, a four-star tackle out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and a former teammate of Nick Eubanks, plans to visit Michigan on June 18th and will visit officially. As has been the case with many recruits, Michigan’s pitch for how they can help with all things after football was very persuasive. Another big positive for Michigan has been communication ($).
“I’m talking with a coach every day basically, and it’s great. Coach Drev stresses how they need O-line and I feel they are making me a priority and it’s great.”
Herbert isn’t nearly the only target, however. 247Sports reported that Tim Drevno went out to New Jersey ($) recently to see three-star tackle Carter Warren. Apparently, Drevno was impressed, and Warren could be moving up their board.
To try and recap this position a little bit, Michigan has one offensive tackle already committed in JaRaymond Hall, and they are also one of the favorites for five-star Isaiah Wilson. They are also in the mix ($) for Robert Hainsey of IMG Academy, Ohio native Joel Honigford, the aforementioned Kai-Leon Herbert and Obinna Eze, among many others. Oregon native Alex Forsyth has called Michigan “a dream offer.” Alijah Vera-Tucker and Henry Bainivalu have made comments about how hard Michigan is recruiting them.
Realistically, this position will only start to make more sense once Michigan gets another commitment or two along the offensive line. It’s likely Harbaugh takes five offensive linemen this cycle, though making predictions about Harbaugh is a profession that died very quickly. He might take four or six, as well, and seems like he’d accept commitments from three offensive tackles.
Michigan Makes Top 6 For Elite Defender
Four-star 2017 defensive tackle Greg Rogers (Las Vegas, NV) has released his top schools, and Michigan made the cut.
Bless Up.
My Top 6 Schools.
Thank you again everybody. #TAOS pic.twitter.com/jyFPjl4flo— Greg Rogers (@CityBoyGreg) May 30, 2016
All schools are pretty equal in this race, and distance will not be a factor for the Nevadan. However, in an interview with Bleacher Report a couple days before his list was released, Rogers said Michigan is pursuing him hard.
“Michigan is coming at me hard,” Rogers said. “Oklahoma is coming at me hard. USC, UCLA and Notre Dame are also coming pretty hard. A lot of schools, really. I’m just enjoying it and having fun with it right now. I’m enjoying the recruiting process how it’s supposed to be.”
This one is going to be a long con; Rogers won’t decide any time soon.
Other News & Notes
Only 30 seconds long, but this video from Tony Tuioti’s Twitter page is on point.
Michigan made the top 12 for four-star defensive end Ryan Johnson (Mobile, AL), though this might end up being an in-state battle.
Michigan extended an offer to four-star 2018 running back T.J. Pledger (West Hills, CA), who calls Jim Harbaugh “a players’ coach” and is buddies with David Long.
An article from the Free Press on satellite camps.
Here’s Donovan Peoples-Jones getting gold in the 100 meters.
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