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Next Generation of Three-Loss Superstars Coming to Town


Photo courtesy of Rivals.com


The recruits are coming! The recruits are coming!

If you haven't yet heard, the middle-aged men of the Michigan football coaching staff will be down on all fours this weekend getting it hard from Jim Tressel catering to the needs and whims of nine high-schoolers as Michigan tries to seduce the next crop of kids who can be coached up toward the glass-ceiling of three-loss seasons or maybe, if they're lucky, fall off the precipice of legitimacy and land with a sickening thud somewhere in San Antonio.

If Michigan were Colorado, it would be a good weekend for Campus Corner (every weekend is a good one for Campus Corner, the best place to find the classic combination of Boone's, cigars, and gummi bears), petty-cash businesses (they handle lots of one-dollar bills, right?), and the rape industry. But since it's not, the Chop House and the Subway in the Michigan Union should be getting their finest meats prepared.

Here are the visitors:

  • Steve Schilling, Bellevue (WA) - The 6'4", 290-lb. OG (and not in the hip-hop sense) is a five-star prospect according to both services. Michigan is thought to be in the top-three and is likely going to get itself in position to finish second, something common when UM goes for out-of-region kids and tries to wow them with the tradition of blowing road openers and always coming up a little short.

  • Daron Rose, Jefferson (Tampa, FL) High School - 6'5", 290. A four-star offensive tackle whose visit was moved up by UM so that Rose didn't die of hypothermia in January. I don't think this is happening.

  • Perry Dorrestein, Plainfield (IL) Central - A three-star OT prospect with a big frame (dude's 6'7"). Seemingly UM's best chance to land a needed offensive tackle of any regard. Michigan is the probable leader.

  • Greg Banks, Denver (CO) Montebello - Somewhere between 6'2" and 6'5" (depends which recruiting service you believe) and a consensus 260 pounds, Banks is a DE with 4.7 speed. Michigan might be the leader, so perhaps this visit just solidifies things. There are other DE options still out there if things fall through.

  • Obi Ezeh, Catholic (Grand Rapids, MI) Central - 6'1", 220 lbs., runs a 4.6 forty. Three-star potential LB/FB. Michigan will get this kid. Let's hope he's of the Mike Hart variety.

  • Brandon Graham, Detroit (MI) Crockett - 6'1", 235-lb LB who runs a 4.4. Consider one of the twenty-best recruits in the country. Already committed.

  • Justin Boren, Pickerington (OH) North - 6'3", 319, OG/OC. A four-star legacy recruit. Already committed. Hopefully will work on the offensive-line prospects, filling their ears with tales of yore, when Michigan had dominating offensive lines.

  • Cobrani Mixon, Cincinnatah (OH) Colerain - Already committed. Four-star linebacker with good measurables (6'2", 220, 4.6).

  • Quintin Patilla, Flint (MI) Carman-Ainsworth - Some sort of hybrid player listed as everything from RB to LB to WR. Three-star kid who played his ass off at OLB during the Michigan summer camp. Already committed.

That's it; that's the list. Michigan is still in the market for a S, a DE, some OLs, another linebacker, and then some odds and ends depending upon who's available. This weekend could go a long way toward filling out the class with players who address some needs. A year that started out with the promise of disappointment has not, um, disappointed, and lots of highly touted players have looked to warmer, closer, more-winning elsewheres. But that said, this can still be a fine class--fine as in no need to freak out--if UM gets the bodies it needs and again recruits like Michigan has in the past beginning after signing day.

We shall see...