Chris Clark Scouting Report
Late last week, Michigan got a commitment from one of its top offensive prospects in the class of 2015 when four-star tight end Chris Clark (Avon, CT) decided to pledge to the Wolverines.
Clark is very polished at this point in his career, which is impressive considering he is only entering his senior year of high school. He just does everything well. He can catch, block, run, you name it. Clark is a Swiss-army knife that coaches covet at the tight end position.
I believe that Clark will find his way onto the field early and often in his Michigan career. Pairing him with Jake Butt and Ian Bunting will give the Wolverines one of the best tight end position groups in all of college football, and he has the chance to come out and produce in year one.
Our own DGDestroys broke down the commitment and skill set that Clark brings to the table, as well as getting two cents in from our former recruiting writer, Anthony Mammel. You can check that piece out here. (FREE)
Here is an except of what Mammel had to say about Clark:
Michigan now has Jake Butt, Ian Bunting and Chris Clark lined up at the tight end position, giving them two all-around, athletic tight ends and another capable of becoming a poor man's Jimmy Graham. Teams lacking athletic linebackers or long defensive backs are really going to struggle to keep all of Michigan's weapons in check. On top of that, linebackers capable of keeping up with Butt and Clark in coverage often won't be able to defeat them in the running game, opening up a plethora of options for Doug Nussmeier, who better start thinking of ways to incorporate the many tight ends at his disposal.
The tight end spot looks to be a position of great strength for this team going forward.
Michigan Hosts Imatorbhebhe For a Visit
Early this week, Michigan hosted one of their top 2016 wide receiver targets on campus in four-star Josh Imatorbhebhe (Suwannee, GA) and it looks like he came away very impressed with what both the athletic and academic programs had to offer.
247's Steve Lorenz spoke with Imatorbhebhe about the visit and everything he was able to encounter while in Ann Arbor. ($)
It is always cool to see a visit that goes successfully like his be predicated on what a player sees with the academic side of things of the school they're looking at. Not to get on a soapbox or anything, but we've lost the true meaning of "student-athlete" over the years, and when a recruit walks out more blown away by classes than sports, that's awesome.
Imatorbhebhe seems like a smart kid and good football player. It's always a positive to add players with a good head on their shoulders first and foremost.
As of now, the 247 Crystal Ball has him headed to Missouri, where his brother Daniel is currently committed. It is still way early in the process for him, though. As he visits more schools and begins to narrow down his list, Michigan should be included in his top group.
Yarbrough Gets Michigan Offer During Visit
Class of 2016 offensive tackle Clark Yarbrough (Woodbury Forest, VA) was on campus at the University of Michigan this past weekend, where he was able to learn about the program alongside his family and also picked up a scholarship offer.
Scout's Sam Webb has the full details of the visit from Yarbrough himself, which can be found here. ($)
Yarbrough's recruitment has started to blow up a bit as of late, receiving offers from the likes of Florida and Tennessee. While there are many schools starting to notice him, Michigan looks to be sitting pretty will with him early on.
He does have the ties to suggest that Virginia could be the team to beat for his services, being an in-state kid and having family play in the program. With that being said, it appears that Yarbrough will wait this out and find the school that is the best fit for him, not his family's legacy.
An Early Look at 2016 Running Backs
While the 2015 recruitment of running backs has been the one that has received all of the attention to this point, things are starting to fall in place at the position for the 2016 class, as well.
247's Steve Lorenz took a look at Michigan's 2016 running back "mini-board" to this point, which highlights their early targets at the position. That can be found here. ($)
The most noticeable thing about their top prospects is the ties they have to the other schools recruiting them. There are no clear-cut favorites at this point, which is to be expected early on in the recruiting cycle. We will have to wait and see what happens.
That's it for the Wednesday roundup. Check back in with us Friday for the latest Michigan football recruiting news and notes.
Be sure to follow Maize N Brew's Anthony Broome on Twitter, @anthonytbroome.