Friday Recruiting Roundup Likes Seafood

Drake Harris Says Goodbye To Spartans

Four-star wide receiver Drake Harris has long been committed to Michigan State, but many wondered how long that commitment would last now that he's focused on being a college football player. Answer: not long. He has decommitted from the Spartans, leaving many Wolverine fans to wonder if he'll become a Wolverine. Harris will definitely look around at his fair share of schools. He holds offers from schools nationwide, including Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, and many others, so landing him won't be a walk in the park.

Michigan remains solidly in the picture for Harris. He visited Ann Arbor for three straight weeks and is becoming close friends with a handful of Michigan commitments. The Wolverines will be in this until the end, but don't expect the end to come soon.

On a side note, I think it's sad that recruits even have to take to Twitter to apologize to fan bases:

Gotta do what's best for me... Sorry if I'm disappointing some people but like I said I gotta do whats best for me

— Drake Harris™ (@drizzygetbusy01) March 12, 2013

People really need to step back and quit going after recruits for doing what they think is right for them. Especially people like this:

@drizzygetbusy01 With your lack of integrity you'd fit in perfectly with scUM.

— Keith Zastrow (@KeithZastrow) March 13, 2013

Really? Really? You're a grown man -- physically, at least -- and you're attacking a high school kid via Twitter? It's not a good look, and it doesn't matter if it's Drake Harris or Gareon Conley: leave them alone.

Oh, and Harris might be in town for the fourth week in a row to visit "scUM". Good one!

Another Big Visit Weekend Ahead

These past few weekends have all been solid in terms of recruiting for Michigan. This weekend won't be any different, as five-star defensive end Da'Shawn Hand will be on campus with four-star tight end Nic Weishar and four-star linebacker Kyle Berger. It's all about quality over quantity this weekend. A quick rundown of each player:

DE Da'Shawn Hand - There's no need to describe Hand's game: it's freakin' awesome. Virginia Tech is your tentative leader as of now, although Michigan and Alabama seem to be right on their heels. This is going to be a dogfight, but Hand is an extremely intelligent recruit who could see Michigan's academics as a huge advantage over VT and Alabama.

TE Nic Weishar - Speaking of intelligent recruits, Weishar has a sparkling high school GPA and takes academics very seriously. He's looking hard at Notre Dame and a host of other schools. I'll have a visit reaction from him this Sunday; you can check out my interview with him here.

OLB Kyle Berger - Berger is a lanky outside linebacker who needs to put on quite a bit of muscle. He has offers from a decent amount of schools, but this looks to be a classic battle between Michigan and Ohio State.

Michael Ferns will be in town to recruit these three to Ann Arbor. Drake Harris is also a possibility, as previously stated, but I haven't seen a solid confirmation of that yet.

General Notes and Multimedia Items

Michigan has offered 2014 tight end Ian Bunting. He's a four-star tower, standing at 6'6" and holding offers from Ohio State, Oregon, Notre Dame and many others. Michigan should be a factor in his recruitment, although Notre Dame is strongly in the picture as well.

Brady Hoke comes in as the fifth-best recruiting head coach in college football according to the National Football Post. The Devil himself and Urban Meyer take up the first two spots.

I touched on Da'Shawn Hand's recruitment earlier, but Sam Webb caught up with him to talk about his upcoming visit. He's looking for the right atmosphere and the right food:

Hand doesn't expect to fully assess his comfort level during what will be his first trip to the state. He plans to visit Ann Arbor again officially in the fall, and will do the same for his four other favorites. During every stop he will ask himself a few key questions.

Said Hand: "Can I live there for five years (and) do I get along with the people there? (Other factors will be) coaching staff, academics, teammates, the environment, my family, and food. I'm an eater. I like seafood, but you can't eat everybody's seafood . I've learned that. The place has to have good food. If you don't have good food, then I don't know why you're a college."

Maybe just get hammered and go to BTB? I kid, I kid.

Phil Steele released his list of top incoming quarterbacks and running backs. Shane Morris comes in at #3 in the QB rankings, while Derrick Green and Wyatt Shallman come in at the #2 and #34 running back spots respectively.

Bud Elliott of SB Nation Recruiting gives you a scouting report of offensive tackle target Braden Smith.

Rivals tells us what we learned about recruits during the camps at Phoenix and Los Angeles. Included is information on Michigan targets Kalen Ballage and Joe Mixon. Mixon stood out in the individual and one-on-one drills:

He has a big frame at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, but he runs fluidly and has excellent hands.

Mixon started inside and blew away linebackers trying to keep up with him, and then the four-star moved outside and had cornerbacks covering him. Either way, Mixon basically did what he wanted in the one-on-one drills, dominating on almost every rep and making impressive catches.

The Oakley (Calif.) Freedom running back is closing in on 40 offers, with UCLA, Washington, Georgia, Texas A&M, Wisconsin and Ohio State as standouts, and he's planning to narrow the list soon.

After this showing, Mixon might have to wait a while because some other major programs could be getting involved. He reminds us of Ty Isaac from last recruiting class, although Mixon is slightly more athletic.

Wow, sounds exactly like what I said about Mixon.

Michigan defensive end target Lorenzo Featherston has committed to play in the Army All-American game. He needs to put on a solid forty pounds of muscle, but if he does he's going to be a force.

You can check out highlights of offensive line prospect Jamarco Jones' performance at the Core 6 Showcase here.

Class of 2015 defensive back Tyree Kinnel is a name to remember. Check out his highlights:

He'll get a four-star rating when his time comes.