Muse Gets Michigan Offer
Class of 2015 outside linebacker prospect Tanner Muse has received an offer from Michigan. The composite four-star prospect now wants to come up($) to Ann Arbor:
Tanner: "(Getting the offer) means that I have to get up to Ann Arbor as soon as I can to check it out."
Michigan now has three offers out to SAM linebackers, according to our 2015 board.
I like the offer to Muse. He has speed and athleticism to burn, and he has great on-field awareness as well. He'll need time to add muscle and learn to play with better pad level while in the box – he plays safety for his high school – but the physical tools are all there for him to be a great outside linebacker at the next level.
QB Highlights All Over
Class of 2015 QB target Kevin Dillman has a mid-season highlight tape out:
Big arm? Check. Size? Check. Speed and athleticism? Check and check. Offer him.
Messiah DeWeaver is a candidate for name of the year in 2016, and he too has a mid-season highlight tape up. He's a heavy favorite for the first 2016 QB offer, but that's way down the line in Michigan time.
Da'Shawn Hand and the Perils of Being a Recruit
I highly recommend the latest episode of the Washington Post's series on the recruitment of Da'Shawn Hand and his teammates. Both Michigan commitment Jabrill Peppers and Hand himself talk about about their dislike for certain parts of the recruiting process, including fans constantly badgering them about where they're going and how blessed they are.
It's also interesting to hear his coaching staff and teammates talk about being players who are on the cusp of being offered but aren't quite there yet. We're so used to covering elite athletes with long lists of offers that we forget how much it means to low-end recruits when a school finally comes knocking.
Michigan likely to top OSU in ESPN Class Rankings
Tom VH of ESPN sees Michigan topping Ohio State in ESPN's class rankings:
@HammerJr5: Simple, but still important, does Ohio State or Michigan finish with a higher ranked class? And is it because of numbers or talent?
Tom VanHaaren: That's a good question. Both programs are in on some top prospects and both already have some big commits.
If you look at where they're at right now, Michigan is ranked ahead of Ohio State and has nine ESPN 300 commits to Ohio State's seven.
Michigan has a realistic shot of landing Da'Shawn Hand (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) and Malik McDowell (Southfield, Mich./Southfield), which would then give Michigan 11 ESPN 300 commits and two commitments in the top-five overall, with Hand and Jabrill Peppers (Paramus, N.J./Paramus Catholic).
That would be pretty tough for Ohio State to overtake, despite the fact the Buckeyes still have a shot with a few ESPN 300 prospects themselves. So I would have to go with Michigan if Hand and McDowell jump on board. If they don't, then it could be close.
At least the Wolverines will win one of the battles.
General Notes and Multimedia Items
Michigan linebacker target Justin Hilliard has a brother at Iowa and is likely to play on the inside if he ends up at Michigan or Notre Dame:
"I'm kind of open on my position," he said. "I'm looking at different schemes. Like at Notre Dame, maybe middle linebacker would be what I'm looking at. The same goes for Michigan. But other schools are looking at me as an outside linebacker. I'm open to move anywhere."
He also touched on the visits he has taken:
* On Iowa - "I've been to Iowa once. C.J. went there on his official visit last week. I haven't been out there in almost a year now. I will take that into some consideration. I talk to the Iowa coaches somewhat. It would be pretty cool to play with my brother. I am looking at every single school."
* On Ohio State - "The atmosphere was really good. I like how the coaches interact with the players there. There is a lot of excitement there with everybody."
* On Michigan - "That game was crazy. They had like a Super Bowl halftime show. The fans were showing their love. I got to talk to one of their coaches."
* On Notre Dame - "I like their academics and campus life and a lot of things there."
Hilliard's recruitment is hard to track and predict. He could easily end up at any of those schools.