Harrison Speaks on Michigan Interest
Class of 2016 athlete Malik Harrison (Columbus, OH) has started to receive some interest from the Michigan Wolverines, as defensive line coach Mark Smith was in Ohio on Friday to visit him.
Harrison truly is a "Swiss army knife" type of player, as had over 1400 total yards on offense last season both passing and running.
At 6-3, 205 pounds, Harrison thinks he can play on the defensive side of the ball, as well. It is unclear to what his role will be at the college level as of now, but he has been tight with the Wolverines over the last few weeks. He has been visited a few times recently by coach Smith and it seems there is definite mutual interest there.
Harrison is also receiving attention as a basketball prospect. He has visited Michigan already a few times, but hasn't really checked out the football program yet. He told 247 Sports' Mark Zakrajsek that he is planning on checking them out soon. ($)
"I've seen the basketball facility, but I would like to see the football facility. I'm planing on visiting soon, but I don't know when at the moment."
In addition to Michigan, Harrison is receiving interest from Akron, Toledo, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, and Michigan State.
Harrison is not currently rated as a prospect, but that will change soon. When you have a player that showcases his talents at different positions as he does, programs would be hard-pressed to not take a chance on the guy.
Time will tell where he decides to go and what he will be at the next level, but Harrison is definitely a player to keep an eye on in the 2016 recruiting cycle.
Thompson Says He's Seen What He Needs To See
2015 linebacker Tyriq Thompson (Detroit, MI) is a local product that continues to receive attention from all across the country.
He is a three-star prosect and the 26th-ranked outside linebacker in the class, according to the 247 Composite. The Wolverines look to be in a good spot to get a commitment out of Thompson, but it appears that he does not want to decide until the season is over, so things can change.
Michigan and Michigan State seem to be the two teams to beat right now, but you never can be certain in the world of recruiting.
Thompson spoke to Tim Sullivan of Rivals about what he's looking for in a school and if he plans to visit any more this summer. ($)
"I don't have anything [visits] planned, really," he said. "I've pretty much seen everything that I want to see. What I'm looking for is the academics number one. It's important just if I fit into their defense, too."
It looks pretty likely that Thompson does not make it out of the state of Michigan. The challenge for the Wolverines will be to see if they can keep him away from East Lansing, which is becoming more and more of a problem as the two programs have trended in opposite directions over the last few seasons.
A Sleeper 2014 Commit
People always ask who a potential sleeper is with Michigan's 2014 class that will hit campus shortly and begin work for the upcoming season. It's a smaller class with a lot of depth guys, but I have a few personal favorites of my own, but none more than wide receiver Freddy Canteen.
While he's not much of a sleeper in terms of what he's shown on campus already as an early enrollee, I have always been intrigued by what Canteen could potentially bring to the table.
I did a profile of Canteen shortly before Spring practices began for The Big House Report (FREE), where I broke down what he can do as a player and what he brings to the table at Michigan.
The thing that sold me on Canteen was that he went out and earned his scholarship offer, along with his high school teammate Brandon Watson, from Brady Hoke and staff in a camp held at Michigan. In a world of YouTube and social media that can build buzz for a player, these two guys did it the hard way but busting their rear ends in camp
Canteen and Watson were three-star and two-star prospects, respectively, going into the camp where they earned their offers. It just backs up the statement that hard work beats out stars and accolades when it comes down to it.
While they may have been two of the lower rated players in their recruiting class, both have had good off-seasons as early enrollees and appear to be in the mix to play early.
Alex Malzone Prospect Profile
One of the biggest topics in the Michigan football recruiting world right now has to do with who will be the quarterback the Wolverines take in the 2015 class.
We've touched on this a little bit in the first few roundups I've done, but to dig a little deeper, I figured I would share another profile I did for TBHR on Alex Malzone (Bloomfield Hills, MI), who looks to be the likely candidate to be the 2015 signal caller the Wolverines turn to.
You can check out that profile here. (FREE)
Malzone is still waiting on that scholarship offer from the Wolverines, but it really is just a matter of time. Michigan has really turned up the heat on him recently, and if offered, he should end up being a part of this class pretty quickly.
He was recruited by former offensive coordinator Al Borges to start out, so Doug Nussmeier has had to swoop in and build a relationship with Malzone before they decide if he is a player they'd like to move forward with.
Malzone currently holds offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, Toledo, Wake Forest, and Western Michigan.
Thanks for reading. We'll be back Wednesday with more Michigan recruiting news from around the web.
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