Friday Michigan Recruiting Roundup: Satellite Camp Season Begins

Satellite Camp Season Underway

It all started with a late announcement that Michigan would be camping in Illinois on May 31st. From there, Michigan went to Indianapolis, and then Springfield, and then Atlanta and Leesburg, Ga., with six members of the staff heading to the American Samoa. Kirby Smart tried impressing recruits by showing up to the Atlanta camp in a helicopter, but it didn't work very well. Mark Snyder has more coverage on that.

And this is only the beginning of the marathon. Today's stops: Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, and Australia. Tomorrow and Sunday: Tampa, Florida; Cheshire, Connecticut; Norfolk, Virginia; and Easton, Pennsylvania.

Corey Malone-Hatcher Commits To U-M

One of the top players in Michigan, four-star defensive end Corey Malone-Hatcher (Saint Joseph, MI) has committed to play for the Wolverines. He's been called a tweener between a linebacker and a defensive end, but the simplest way I can describe his game is that he's a truck with horsepower. He's built so solidly he could probably play in a rugby game, but he also has the speed and quick feet to get a lot of tackles. Randy Gregory, he is not. But he'll be a phenomenal run defender and a very fine pass defender, as well.

Steve Lorenz has some very interesting VIP Notes about his recruitment ($), and while I'll keep most of them under wraps (and encourage you to sign up for 247, which is some of the best coverage available and is free until football season arrives), this part was too good not to take out of the wrapping.

"We're going to be getting some more guys soon. I've already had some conversations with some guys like Najee Harris and Isaiah Wilson. They both have offers from ... a lot of the same schools I did, so I can talk to them about why I chose Michigan over the programs I did. We're going to win a national championship at Michigan, and we're going to get some of the best talent in the country here."

If you're looking for a single play that shows Corey's style in a nutshell, you'll want to fast-forward to 2:10.

Update On 5* CB Darnay Holmes

Things are still looking good with the #1 corner in the country, and in a move that could be viewed as very good for the Wolverines, Darnay has postponed his decision date.

Darnay Holmes, a 2017 5⭐️ CB/WR, has told @MaizenBrew that he will commit before the end of his high school football season, not on June 23.

— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) May 30, 2016

This will give him some time to rethink everything in light of Michigan's good impression. Darnay also spoke to Rivals ($) this week, and he confirmed that his cousin Desean and he are trying to go to the same football program.

Darnay has been feeling Michigan a lot lately and developed close relationships.

....

"Secondary coach Mike Zordich came by last week. My dad and him go way back when they were both playing in the NFL," he said. "He's got my father's trust to put my career in his hands."

We'll see how this unfolds, but it looks very good for Michigan.

Wyatt Davis Will Visit Mid-June

You probably know of five-star offensive lineman Wyatt Davis (Bellflower, CA), a 6'5", 310-pound behemoth out of Bellflower, California. (And as an aside, his film is some of the best I've seen from an offensive lineman in a long time.) Davis will be visiting two Midwest powers in mid-June - first Notre Dame, and then Michigan ($). He had positive things to say about Harbaugh and Michigan.

"I would say they are up there with everyone else," said the 6-5, 310-pounder about the Wolverines. "The only thing holding them back and Notre Dame back, is the fact that I haven't been there for a visit yet. That's why I'm looking forward to the trip."

Davis is equally impressive on the field and off. He played 8th grade football as a 6th grader, and has an interest in pursuing broadcasting after football is done.

Kenneth Murray Talks Harbaugh, Michigan

Kenneth Murray, a three-star linebacker out of Missouri City, Texas, spoke to Sam Webb in an interview for Scout. He had a lot of general positive stuff to say about Michigan, but it didn't seem like his recruitment was winding down any time soon. This part was interesting ($):

"Actually I text him all the time, probably a weekly thing," he said of Harbaugh. "I have his number and stuff like that. ... It's a lot of non-football stuff, just stuff that you need in day to day life. Motivational stuff you can do everyday."

Murray said he'll try to make a satellite camp later this month in his area. I like the thought of Harbaugh the motivational texter, making you feel more motivated periodically.

Notes On Some 2018 Linemen

I'm going to try to go light here, because there's already enough 2017 guys to keep track of. But three guys are worth mentioning briefly.

The most immediately relevant person is unranked Georgia native Jalil Irvin, who is listed as likely to commit to Michigan on 247Sports. In fact, rumor has spread that he committed yesterday and will announce that decision today. Irvin has offers from Michigan, Illinois, and Tulane. Here's an interview he gave this week with MnB.

Another player to note is Emil Ekiyor, a four-star guard out of Indianapolis, Indiana. Ekiyor is "very interested in Michigan because they were my first offer," and he got some one-on-one coaching from Tim Drevno on Wednesday ($).

"It showed me how interested he is in me because he was calling me out a lot," Ekiyor said with a laugh. "I think it just helped me brush up on some skills. It gave me a feel for Coach Drevno's coaching style."

Both players are projected to play offensive guard at the next level, but Irvin will certainly have some bulking up to do.

And finally, on the other side of the ball, I'll mention four-star defensive tackle Robert Cooper (Snellville, GA), who said this week that Michigan is near the top ($) in his recruitment.

"I grew up watching Michigan, I like Desmond Howard. ... I've never visited Michigan before but I plan on visiting in the future," he said. "I'll probably visit in the fall or next year in the summer. I haven't really talked to the coaches about it yet but I will."

Cooper's top six features U-M, MSU, Florida State, South Carolina, North Carolina State and Kentucky.

Other News & Notes

• One of the guests at the Atlanta satellite camp was Hank Aaron, the long-time home run leader and still the current all-time RBI leader. Matt Hasselbeck visited the Indianapolis camp.
• Dylan McCaffrey made a watch list for next year's High School Football Player of the Year.
• Brandon Justice spoke to Jim Harbaugh at Springfield High School this week ($), and there was a good quote I had to share. Harbaugh had a chance to meet some friends of a boy named Barrett who's been spending a lot of time in the hospital lately, similar to Chad Carr.
  "I met some friends of Barrett and they told me a story," said Harbaugh. "We exchanged some things. I gave them my hat and whistle, they gave me the [Barrett Strong] shirt. Seemed like a good deal to me."
• Also, here's a transcript of a Harbaugh interview at Bishop Chatard. A few of these quotes made headlines, but the whole thing is interesting.
• 247Sports has a handy compilation ($) of some of the major players attending Michigan's satellite camps, and MLive has a slideshow.
• Les Miles said something ridiculous and Milesian about satellite camps.
• And finally, Scout caught up to 2018 linebacker Kolin Demens, whose recruitment has continued to rise. Still, Demens sounds like a Michigan Man.
  "I like the tradition, that is one of the biggest things," said Demens. "Just being around Michigan football my whole life and something I could go see every weekend was awesome."