Recruitaholics recruiting

Recruitaholics: Get a Degree!

This Week's Dose:  Brady Hoke On Recruiting, A New Member of Team 134, A Couple Surprises, Visits and Visitors, The Highlights Never Stop, and a few Last Remarks.


Brady Hoke On Recruiting

Saw this little nugget from the Coaches Banquet that occurred last week and I just couldn't pass up including it in this week's update.  We've never really seen how Coach Hoke recruits or what he says to sell kids on the program.  Below we get a little glimpse of what Brady sells to recruits and my is it a powerful message...
 


A New Member of Team 134
Image via here
On Friday, K JJ McGrath decided to attend Michigan, accepting a preferred walk-on offer.  He's got a big frame at 6'2" 215 and comes from in-state Lutheran North HS.  There are no ratings on the major sites, but make no mistake...JJ is one of the top kickers in the country and possesses a big, powerful leg; He kicked a 57 yarder during his season in live game action.  For those who don't know, that's only 6 yards off the NFL record so yes, the kid can boot it a long way.  More from his coach on this matter via Maizenbrew.com:
“He’s got three of the longest field goals in Michigan history,” noted Wesley. “He’s the only one that’s on that list more than once. He’s got a 52-yarder, a 54-yarder and a 57-yarder. The 57-yarder was in the fourth quarter to win the game against Yale this past year. It could have been good from a good deal further, but 57 was all we needed."
And some evidence of McGrath's powerful leg that his coach and I mentioned:

This is a huge pickup that locks up a bright future for the kicking game (along with Matt Wile), that we all know is important after seeing the kicking woes that Michigan experienced under ex-headman Rich Rodriguez (sorry to bring that era up).  My favorite part of the whole thing...McGrath grew up (and still was) a big Spartan fan, so stealing another in-state prospect from "Little Brother" always gives me a warm tingly feeling inside (I won't elaborate any further than that, don't worry).



A Couple Surprises

I mentioned last week that the top prospect of the '14 class, DL Da'Shawn Hand, narrowed his list down to five and our Wolverines were among that group.  A new development has risen this week, and it's something we all can be excited about.  Dave Hooker of ESPN.com caught up with Hand ($) after his recent visit to Maryland.  Hand also talked about his leaders as of right now and who he is impressed with.  And guess who Hand chose as his favorite coaching staff...yup, you guessed it, (you guys/gals get smarter every week!) Hoke and co take the cake.  Lot's of positive feedback regarding Michigan and their chances in landing Hand, which says a whole heck of a lot since he's never even seen AA before.  Get him on campus, and I believe Michigan's chances will increase dramatically. 

A recent development has come about in regards to a talented '13 TE out of TX.  Durham Smythe is a big target (6'5" 235) who committed to Mack Brown at Texas in early March.  But about a month ago, he re-opened his recruitment and named a top 3 of Stanford, Michigan, and ND (Surprise, surprise).  I for one hadn't heard much of the kid, but he is a 4-star across the board and would be a great addition to the already stellar '13 class.  He had a visit setup for this coming weekend, but had to reschedule to Feb. 1st ($) according to 247Sport's Clint Brewster.  Hopefully he just wanted to save the best for last...or he needed more time to prepare for this:



Visits and Visitors (and new offers)

-New OL commit Dan Samuelson
-Commit DT Maurice Hurst Jr.
-Commit DB Channing Stribling - also visited 3 teammates; Butler (NC) is always a national powerhouse year in and year out.  
-'14 OL Tommy Doles - offered - making his 5th visit in six months; a commitment wouldn't surprise me this weekend.
-'14 ATH Jabril Peppers - offered
-'14 WR Drake Harris - offered - recently re-opened his recruiting while staying committed to MSU.  He seems to be looking more into football and not pursuing basketball in college. Could def. help Michigan's chances.  Junior season highlights
-'14 DB Parrker Westphal - offered
-'14 OL Jamarco Jones - has offer
-'14 DT Malik McDowell - has offer
-'14 RB Joe Mixon - has offer - jr. highlights below


-'14 DB Nick Watkins - offered
-'14 RB/LB Elijah Hood - offered
-'14 QB Travis Smith
-'14 ATH Kalen Ballage
-'14 DE Vontae Diggs
-'14 LB Dorian Hendrix
-'14 LB Nile Sykes

-New offer has gone out to '14 TE Daniel Helm.  He is an under the radar prospect, but has great size (6'5" 220) and could blow up with a good senior campaign. 

-'14 LB Kyle Berger also received an offer during a visit from the coaching staff last week.  Berger play's at St. Ignatius (OH), the former HS of Jake Ryan.



The Highlights Never Stop

'14 S Quinn Blanding - junior season highlights - 5-star and has offer
 

'14 WR Corey Holmes - junior season highlights - has offer




Last Remarks

Scout's Greg Biggins reported that Michigan coaches have informed OL Cameron Hunt that they are indeed finished recruiting offensive lineman for the '13 class.  

The Rivals staff has been working for a week now, and has released it's final Rivals100 for the '13 class.  DL Henri Poggi took over as the top recruit for Michigan's '13 class climbing to the #70, surpassing QB Shane Morris, who dropped to #81, losing his 5th star.  Right behind Morris at #82, is OL Patrick Kugler.  And RB Derrick Green solidified his spot as the #1 back in the country.  He's certainly excited about it, as he should be:
Everyone don't forget about the big announcement coming up on Saturday when Derrick Green, Scout.com's #1 running back in the country, (I swear without thinking I wrote commits to Michigan...a sign to come?!) decides between Michigan, Auburn, and Tennessee.  Michigan has a great shot here and he will really complete this class. Cheers to good news come Saturday!


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