Darrin Kirkland Jr. has two official visits planned
Well, things certainly look like they are going to get worse before they get better both on and off the field for the Michigan Wolverines football program.
The 2015 class is in a state of flux right now, with many players choosing to look elsewhere in the wake of a poor season and what now appears to be a probably coaching change coming down the line. It's not too difficult to understand why.
Yes, players commit to schools and what programs have to offer, but they build relationships with the coaches that guide them through the process and introduce them to what their team has to offer. Brady Hoke is a guy that is beloved by many of the players he talks to and the possibility of him losing his job is a huge factor whether we would like to admit it or not.
Anyways, one of the players that is starting to see what is going on at other schools is four-star linebacker commit Darrin Kirkland Jr. (Indianapolis, Indiana), who has set official visits to a pair of schools other than Michigan in the next two weekends.
This weekend, Kirkland will be in Oxford, Missisippi for the game between Ole Miss and Auburn, according to ESPN's Tom VanHaaren.
#ESPN300 Michigan LB commit Darrin Kirkland @_KIRKjunior will take his 1st official visit to Ole Miss this weekend. pic.twitter.com/XULZL0Kxm7
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) October 30, 2014
Next Saturday, he will be traveling to Oklahoma for their match-up against the Baylor Bears.
I touched briefly on what this all means for the Wolverines yesterday, but to sum it up, it's not good news by any means. Kirkland was a player planning on enrolling early and barring a miraculous turnaround where Hoke saves his job, I do not see him sticking with the 2015 class, but we shall see what happens.
Tyree Kinnel visiting WVU this weekend
Heading back to the "Commits taking other visits" update desk, it looks like yet another one of Michigan's 2015 commits will be checking out another school this weekend.
Four-star safety commit Tyree Kinnel (Dayton, Ohio) will be visiting West Virginia University this weekend unofficially for their game against TCU with his coach and a teammate, according to Steve Lorenz of 247 Sports.
Regardless of the visit this weekend, he told Lorenz that he still considers himself committed to the University of Michigan as of right now.
"I'm still committed to Michigan, and Michigan is where I want to be," Kinnel told Lorenz. "I just want to survey options and have a back-up plan in case something was to happen. I am going to go to West Virginia this weekend with my coach and one of my teammates who is committed there. It's just an unofficial visit."
I've talked to Kinnel a few times and he seems like a kid that is committed to the program, not just the coaching staff, but it is easy to see how their status going forward could affect his recruitment. Nobody quite expected Michigan to be as bad as they have been this year, so it has caught many recruits off guard.
At the end of the day, Michigan could be able to salvage their chances with Kinnel, but I would not rule him out of ending up elsewhere, either.
Duke offers 2016 QB commit Messiah deWeaver
Michigan found its quarterback for the 2016 class a lot sooner in the process than they did in the previous cycle. Many scratched their heads when they saw that four-star prospect Messiah deWeaver (Dayton, Ohio) was their guy, but he has seemed like a prospect destined to break out and get more offers for awhile and that has certainly happened.
On Wednesday, deWeaver was offered by the Duke Blue Devils, according to Steve Wiltfong of 247 Sports.
When he committed to Michigan earlier in the summer, he held mostly MAC level offers, but he has received interest from schools like Michigan State, Notre Dame, Texas, Georgia, Stanford and Tennessee, though he has not been offered by them just yet.
He has had a strong junior season, and with another offseason of improvements and his senior year, he could be one of the more sought after quarterbacks in the 2016 class.
That's it for Friday. Enjoy your Halloween weekend and join us Monday for the latest in Michigan football recruiting.