Monday Michigan Football Recruiting Roundup Makes A Tough Decision

Hand's Decision Looms Large

Five-star defensive end Da'Shawn Hand will make his college decision this Thursday at his high school only days after seeing Florida get pummeled by Vanderbilt. It's a tough decision for him to make:

It's sucks that all 3 schools are great. Hardest decision of my life!! Can't wait til Thursday!

— Da'shawn Hand (@TheHand54) November 10, 2013

Rest assured, Hand knows where he's going and can't wait to get the process over with. I remain confident in my pick of Hand to Michigan despite the program's latest struggles. Michigan's one true weakness on defense is at defensive end, where the unit lacks a true pass rusher – Hand is an intelligent kid who will act on the opportunity for immediate playing time and an elite degree.

Da'Shawn's entire high school will be shuffled around for his decision:

It's definitely worth watching the entire video if you're interested in the recruiting process in general. Hand is a big-name recruit who gets the red carpet treatment everywhere he goes, but his teammates often struggle to find any athletic scholarships at all.

Coming Up from Detroit

Tom VanHaaren of ESPN wrote a fantastic piece about poverty-stricken recruits from Detroit who go on to become college football players, and he made an appearance on the ESPN network to talk about it:

Detroit MLK assistant coach Terel Patrick talks about breaking the chain of poverty in the area:

"The way you break the chain of poverty is once you become successful and self-sufficient to help others, it's your duty to come back to the same neighborhood and help one kid," Patrick said. "If we can get one successful kid from the program to come back and help, it will help us break the chain of poverty and break the chain of not being educated. That's the only thing they owe us, is to come back and help."

I highly recommend reading the rest of the article, which is centered around Cass Tech QB and Michigan State commitment Jayru Campbell.

Clearing Up the Mone Situation

The same Tom VH answered a question that many had been asking this week:

Yes, opposite of NLI RT @PHE_E16: @TomVH so with the mid-year agreement can recruits still decommit if they have a change of heart?

— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) November 7, 2013

Michigan commitment Bryan Mone did indeed fax in his early enrollment paperwork, but that doesn't lock him into being a Wolverine. Mone's college decision will be etched in stone the second he steps into a Michigan football activity or attends a class on campus. He's not going to end up anywhere else.

General Notes and Multimedia Items

Sixteen-year-old DT prospect Daron Payne reps 225 pounds 20 times on camera:

Video of @247Sports top 2015 DT Daron Payne (@RETROLIVIN_) benching 225 20x. He's 16 years old. http://t.co/cfY7WfWPjZ

— Charles Power (@CharlesGPower) November 9, 2013

That wouldn't be a terrible number of repetitions at the NFL combine. He's sixteen. Wow.

Future four-star linebacker Joshua Ross is only a freshman in high school, but he already holds offers from Oklahoma and Michigan State. A Michigan offer would put the Wolverines in a good spot:

"Michigan, they're always, that's a great school to go to," Ross said. "To know they're looking at me, it's very humbling and exciting to think about. It's a good school and if they jump in and offer me quick, they're going to be a real contender for me committing eventually."

Ross is obviously years ahead of the curve and could outdo his brother at the next level. Michigan State, Oklahoma, Alabama and others could all give Michigan a run for its money.

Finally, here's your weekly yea-only-Jabrill-Peppers-can-do-that play:

I'm definitely running a hitch–PSYCH MY FEET ARE THREE TIMES FASTER THAN YOURS AND OH CRAP THAT BALL IS OVERTHROWN BUT OH WELL I'LL CATCH UP TO IT AND MAKE A HIGHLIGHT CATCH. Another day in the life.