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Monday Michigan Football Recruiting Roundup Slings It Around

MRR updates you on the very latest Michigan football recruiting rumblings. How are Michigan's commits and targets performing on the field and in their class rankings? Is the Midwest down in 2015? That and more.

By Anthony Mammel
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

I apologize for the tardiness of my material in recent days. Come back tomorrow morning to see the article that has been keeping me from my usual work. You won't be disappointed.

Speight Impressive Through 5 Weeks

Damien Harris takes the cake for best statistics on a weekly basis, but Wilton Speight is doing more to make Wolverine fans and recruiting gurus into believers. The young passer has been throwing it past defenses for five straight weeks now:

Speight makes college-level throws throughout the highlights, standing tall in the pocket to find targets down the field. His statistics are solid:

Yes, Speight's completion percentage wasn't anything special this week, but an 18/4 TD/INT ratio on the season is very impressive. Speight will have a fighter's chance against Shane Morris whenever Devin Gardner leaves the program, which looks like it might not be for another year.

Commitments Dominant

Michigan commitments have been working hard on the field:

Cass Tech – Michigan's biggest pipeline school in recent years – won its game by 69 points behind the efforts of Michigan targets Mike Weber and Joshua Alabi, among others.

Who gets the Gold Star of the Week? Let's just say that I'm going to rename it the Who Was Close to Damien Harris Star of the Week. Shaun Crawford earns this week's WWCtDHSotW.

New 247 2015 Rankings Out

247 Sports released its new class of 2015 rankings this past week. Outside linebacker target Justin Hilliard got his fifth star, as did running back Damien Harris. Shaun Crawford jumped into the top 80, and WR target and All-Name team member Equanimeous St. Brown sits just behind him at 82nd overall.

The company also released a few notes on the rankings, noting that the Midwest might be down a bit in the class:

While the Midwest has several outstanding prospects, including recently-minted five-star Justin Hilliard and elite athlete/safety defensive back Brian Cole, it's not as deep of a cycle in Ohio or Illinois at this point. Those states are somewhat top-heavy with elite prospects like Hilliard and Jerome Baker in Ohio and defensive lineman Terry Beckner Jr. in Illinois. Perhaps there are prospects who will emerge, but it's not like 2014 in either of place. Good news is that there are plenty of 2016 prospects in the Buckeye State and Land of Lincoln that seem to be popping up daily, so this is more than likely an aberration rather than a trend.

Sure, there might not be as much depth in general in the Midwest for the class of 2015, but it won't have any effects on Michigan or Ohio State, who will both get plenty enough talent from the region. Michigan's class will also be smaller and could have much more of a national feel to it than recent classes, so don't fret about the region's lack of insane talent

General Notes and Multimedia Items

Michigan DT commitment Bryan Mone received his Under Armour All-American jersey at his high school on Friday. Mone has a chance to shine on national television and prove to many that he really is an explosive, underrated defender.

Commitments Jabrill Peppers and Juwann Bushell-Beatty plan on seeing Michigan in December, but the OSU game remains a possibility. I would prefer to get Peppers to campus when OSU comes to town, as this would give the Wolverines another elite recruiting presence in the stands during what should be Michigan's second-biggest recruiting weekend of the year.

Quarterback prospect Alex Malzone is one of many being looked at for the second QB offer in the class of 2015. He visited Michigan for the Minnesota game and liked what he saw:

Tom VH also reported that Malzone is invited back for the coming home games. I don't see him getting the next offer when Michigan is in perfect position for Kevin Dillman, but this wouldn't be the first time Borges offered a QB who wasn't necessarily the most talented on his board.

Da'Shawn Hand's team continues its season without one of its team members, as shown in this emotional episode of First and 17.

Finally, four-star receiver Desean Holmes is a name to keep an eye on in 2015. Michigan has been in touch($) and could offer somewhere down the road.

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