... Or Not
Well, it was reported that 2016 LB/RB Daelin Hayes was prepared to make his college announcement on the 27th during a Rivals Camp, but...
2016 ATH Daelin Hayes has decided to postpone a planned April 27 commitment announcement. Will slow down his process http://t.co/0o4VCgK8Lc
— Josh Helmholdt (@JoshHelmholdt) April 16, 2014
The news broke that he was planning on reconsidering shortly after receiving an offer from Wisconsin. Now, are these two events related in any way? Maybe yes, and also no. While that doesn't make much sense reading it, I will explain my thought process behind it:
Hayes is only a sophomore in high school right now. He has about two years until he needs to make his college choice. For a high school kid, that is an eternity. Trying to expect a kid to hold his word for two years isn't exactly the best thing to do. Yes, it's been done before, but most kids want to look around and experience new things. To be honest, I applaud his parents for stepping in and telling him to pump the brakes a bit. It's always good to be 100% sure you know where you're going before you decide. The flip-flop recruitments some kids go through isn't much fun.
Now, to the Wisconsin offer.
Is it a game-changing offer that made Hayes stop in his tracks and reconsider the college he was going to? Yes, but not in the way you might be thinking. This offer, to me, felt like Hayes opened his eyes that other programs are out there. Considering his parents did most of the convincing, the Wisconsin offer may have contributed to the reconsideration of the announcement date. The best fit for him might not be in the state of Michigan, so it's best for him to look around and take things slow. Like I said previously, two years is an eternity for a young kid to make up his mind.
Do I expect Wisconsin to be in the top group when all is said and done? Yes. Do I see him leaving the state of Michigan? Absolutely not.
I still like Michigan's chances here and strongly believe Michigan would've been the choice if everything went as planned. However, I still think he is blue when all is said and done.
Weekend Visitors
With the weekend quickly approaching (Yay!) Rivals' Tim Sullivan is on his game ($) and has released a list featuring this weeks visitors on campus. Which include:
- '15 TE Chris Clark (Offered)
- '15 DE Clelin Ferrell (Offered)
- '15 OL Grant Newsome (Offered)
- '16 OL Ben Bredeson (Offered)
Top 247 Released for 2016
Can't believe we are discussing the "meat and potatoes" of recruiting for the 2016 class already. At any rate, 247Sports released their top 247 prospects today for the 2016 class. Steve Lorenz wrote up a nice article ($) on how the new rankings relate to Michigan.
Let's get to it.
For starters, current 2016 OL commit Erik Swenson is ranked 233rd in the country. For those who are familiar with Swenson's game and ability, most will find this criminally underrated.
Other targets of interest include OL Thiyo Lukusa (227), Daelin Hayes (126) and Lawrence Gordon (146).
The reason why I add Gordon to the list is because if Michigan offers (and most certainly believe they will) that the talented 4-star will commit on the spot. Michigan is in on a lot of 5-stars in the 2016 class, including the number one recruit in the nation (according to 247) in OL Gregory Little. Little has a connection to a coach in the local area and also has plans to visit Michigan in the near future.
Now, whether Michigan can start to land these 5-stars remain to be seen.