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Monday Michigan Football Recruiting Roundup Earns MVP

The MRR updates you on the very latest regarding Michigan football recruiting. Tyree Kinnel had a day, Michigan is named a leader for a 2015 TE and Jashon Cornell is discussed.

By Joshua Henschke
Mike Carter-US PRESSWIRE

Rivals Camp Odds and Ends

The Columbus Rivals Camp Series was held over the weekend which saw many of the local and out-of-state talent attending to showcase their talent on a larger scale.

One of the more notable pieces of news that came out of the camp was from 2015 defensive back commit Tyree Kinnel:

Rivals' Tim Sullivan dropped a note on Kinnel  in The Fort ($).

"Kinnel acting as a leader-by-example for the DBs. Probably one of the best here - but definitely a safety."

Sullivan also has a video interview and highlights posted (behind a pay-wall) with Kinnel as well.

Adam Friedman also had more ($) on Kinnel from the camp:

"There were a lot of players in contention for defensive back MVP, but Kinnel's play during one-on-ones sealed the deal. He was very physical with the wide receivers and had very good instincts. Kinnel wasn't tricked by head fakes and knew when to sit on a route. He bumped many receivers off their route in the open field and was deceptively explosive when breaking on the ball."

As for Kinnel, this is a huge personal award for him and also allows him to get in touch with the local talent and recruit for Michigan. This could lead him to earning a five-star ranking in the near future.

Darrin Kirkland Jr., who was rated number one on Friedman's list, has also let it be known that he no longer wants to commit at the end of May and wants to commit now in August. I believe that bodes well for Michigan and it should give them another shot to get him on campus.

Michigan in the drivers seat for Clark?

247's Steve Wiltfong caught up with 2015 4-star TE Chris Clark over the weekend to discuss his recruitment and upcoming visits. The biggest take-away from the interview is that Michigan is now Clark's leader. Clark, who has had an up and down recruitment as of late, adds to the current whirlwind of speculation.

"The visits went really well," Clark said. "I met some great people at both schools. I think the Michigan one went better than the Ohio State one to be honest. I felt a little more comfortable with the players at Michigan. Both Coach Hoke and Coach Meyer have a good idea of what they want to do at the tight end position. I think I would say that Michigan is the favorite right now though."

Take that with a grain of salt right now. Clark is the type of kid to flip-flop between schools after visits. He fell in love with North Carolina and quickly decommitted a few weeks later. But honestly, can you blame the kid? A kid just about to be finished with his junior year of high school traveling to see college campuses around the nation, I would be enamored as well.

At any rate, Clark plans on being finished with his recruitment before his senior year starts. If Michigan is the place he wants to go, I wouldn't be excited until pen meets paper on NSD.

Also, I feel like Notre Dame can make a definite push here. Especially with the comments he gave Wiltfong, you can see why Notre Dame would be an attractive destination for Clark.

"I'm actually going to the invite-only Irish camp on June 26th," Clark said. "Notre Dame is definitely TE U. The last seven players at the position they've had at tight end have gone on to the NFL. They even run three tight end sets. That stuff is a plus for me but there are other things I'm looking at with them too. My mom is crazy about Notre Dame."

Things will start to become more clear once the summer rolls around.

Also, Clark confirmed on Sunday that he had been invited to Nike's The Opening.

Spartans the team to beat for Cornell?

2015 5-star DE Jashon Cornell plans on announcing his college decision in August on his first day of school of his senior year. Although there hasn't been an exact leader for his services, things got a bit more interesting over the weekend when Cornell spoke to Wiltfong ($) about his recent visit to Michigan State:

"It felt like home there," Cornell said. He was joined by his mother.

"They didn’t throw everything at me at once. They brought me in and showed me the campus. I hung out with (Michigan State sophomore-to-be defensive end) Demetrius Cooper. I saw a big difference there. Last time I saw him he was 205 and now he’s 245. He said when you come here, you improve, and the way he played, I saw a big difference in his game.

"Everything was so smooth and nice."

In case Michigan fans were hoping the Spartan defense will see a significant drop-off, Cornell thinks otherwise:

"I noticed that defense is all world and I see myself playing in that defense in the future," Cornell said.

That's quite an impressive quote. Michigan State obviously knocked it out of the ballpark with Cornell. Also, what winning does for recruiting helps tenfold. Would Michigan State be landing high profile recruits if it had a season like Michigan did last year? Maybe, but with less certainty. Michigan State won the Rose Bowl and the interest from recruits comes around.

There's a long way to go until August but I am not sure if the momentum will stay in Michigan State's favor. Notre Dame has always dominated the area that Cornell is from, but it may seem like that chokehold is slipping away.

Other Stuff

Here is a video from recent Michigan offer 2015 4-star OT Matthew Burrell, who discusses the Wolverines and other schools during his D.C. Nike Football Training Camp session:


Also, in case you missed it, it appears Michigan is out of the running with 2015 4-star OL Sterling Jenkins. From Sullivan himself:

"Jenkins is not considering anyone other than Penn State and Ohio State."

I like Penn State's chances here. An in-state kid heading to an in-state school who has been killing it on the recruiting trail as of late makes sense.

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