Fridays Future Huddle Looks at Who Was Offered This Week

The recruiting dead period is officially over and the Michigan coaching staff hit the recruiting trail to hand out several offers. Which recruits were on the receiving end of the offers? ESPN released their final 2015 recruiting rankings on Thursday. Where did the Michigan commits and targets land? Find out in this Fridays version of “The Future Huddle.”

Newly Offered
The coaching staff hit the recruiting trail in full force this week, offering several 2015 and 2016 recruits. Several recruits were contacted by various members of the coaching staff, and it seems like most recruits were pleased to be contacted. 

Received phone calls or visited by a coach:

2015 5* Defensive End Keisean Lucier-South *committed to UCLA
2015 4* Wide Receiver Auden Tate *committed to Florida State
2016 4* Wide Receiver Desmond Fitzpatrick *committed to Lousiville
2017 4* Athlete Jaymest Williams
2017 Quarterback Todd Centeio *committed to Miami

While some recruits only received phone calls or visits, the coaching staff extended scholarship offers towards numerous recruits. Although Jim Harbaugh and his new coaching staff have only been together for a short period of time, they spread out across the country to offer several prospects.  The new coaching staff's recruiting map is a little different from the Hoke regime, as the new staff is trying to lay out a national footprint.

2015 DE Reuben Jones
On Monday night, Michigan extended an offer towards 2015 Defensive End Reuben Jones (Lakeland, FL)
Reuben committed to Nebraska in November, and has since seen multiple offers come his way. Ranked as a 3* prospect according to 24/7, Reuben has a very impressive highlight tape.  A little undersized at 6’3 and 225 pounds, Reuben relies on his instincts and high motor to make plays on the defensive line.  Has a good burst off the line of scrimmage and can beat his man on either the inside or outside.  Does an excellent job of getting low and wrapping up on his tackles. Reuben has no problem either putting pressure on the quarterback or stopping the run game. He has the ability to win 1on1 battles at the line of scrimmage even though the offensive lineman are usually quite bigger than him.  Once he reaches the college level and adds weight onto his frame, Reuben will have a lot more upper body strength, allowing him to gain leverage on the offensive line. Does a good job of keeping his feet moving while being blocked, allowing him to be able to twist the offensive line and get around them into the backfield.



Although Reuben is committed to Nebraska, he told 24/7’s Steve Lorenz on Wednesday that he will possibly be taking an official visit to Michigan later this month.  If Michigan wants to flip the 3* recruit, they will have to fight off Nebraska, Louisville, and Michigan State. 

2015 ATH Chris Williamson
The coaching staff handed out another offer on Tuesday, this time 2015 Athlete Chris Williamson (Gainesville, FL) was on the receiving end.

Chris is a very intriguing prospect. While playing for Gainesville High School, Chris played both offence and defense. In my opinion, Chris would be a very good receiver at the next level. He has really good speed and is able to outrun most defensive backs in one on one coverage. Has really good hands and is able to jump up and grab the jump ball.. He's a little on the short side, but what Chris lacks in height, he makes up with his explosiveness. He does an excellent job of catching the ball with both hands and bringing it into his body.  Has extremely good body control and can twist almost any way to catch a ball. On deep passes, he's able to turn on the burners and outrun most defensive backs. Needs to add weight to his frame once he reaches the college level, but has all the tools to become a very effective play-maker.



Williamson is rated as a 3* recruit on Rivals and has a decent scholarship offer list including; Florida, Georgia, Cal and Notre Dame. On Thursday while speaking with 24/7's Ryan Bartow, Chris told him that he'd be taking an official visit to Michigan on January 23rd.

2016 DE Khalid Kareem
Khalid is an in-state recruit whose recruitment has exploded over the past few months. Rated as a 4* prospect according to Rivals, Michigan becomes the 18th scholarship offer for the Farmington product.



Standing at 6'4 and weighing 240, Khalid has good size and could almost play as a hybrid linebacker. He’s got a decent burst off the line of scrimmage and does a good job of using his size to get past blockers.  Khalid is very strong for only being a high school junior.  Very agile and can chase down the ball carrier. Kareem usually has no problem getting into the backfield to cause pressure on the quarterback. Can shed blocks very well.  Has a very high motor and does not give up on plays.  On most tackles, he does a good job of getting low and making contact with ball carrier. Needs to work on wrapping up on his tackles, but has ample time to adjust since he is only a high school junior.

2015 WR Ryan Davis
On Wednesday night 2015 WR Ryan Davis (St. Petersburg,FL) was visited by the coaching staff at his school, and walked away with a scholarship offer.

Ryan is an electrifying player and his highlight film proves it. During his high school career, Ryan lined up mostly as a quarterback and a little bit at running back. Although this is where he played during high school, it will not be where he ends up playing in college. With his skill set, Ryan will end up as a Wide Receiver/Slotback in college. He is extremely fast and has a very high top end speed. He's very agile and can make a cut as good as some running backs. He's very elusive and isn't easily brought down with tackles. Once he gets a little bit of space, he's gone. Once he puts in reps as a receiver, Ryan could be extremely dangerous. If it's running on the outside or in the slot, if the ball is in Ryan's hands, it will end up as a first down. 



Ryan is rated as a 4* recruit according to Rivals, and has already taken visits to Auburn and Maryland. If Michigan is going to land Davis, it will take a lot of work as he has scholarship offers from almost every major program and is being pursued by almost every SEC team

2015 DE Shelton Johnson
On Thursday, the coaching staff offered 2015 DE Shelton Johnson (Delray Beach, FL).
Gets off the line very quick and does a good job of using his hands to break past the line of scrimmage. Has the ability to lineup on the inside or outside. Standing at 6'5 has the ideal frame to play defensive end at the college level, but will have to add on more muscle as he only weighs 225 pounds. A very good pass rusher but will have to work on stopping the run. Does a good job of tackling and often brings the ball carrier to the ground without help of teammates. 



Shelton is currently ranked as a 3* recruit according to Rivals and holds 8 other scholarship offers including; Florida State, Miami, and South Carolina. Shelton will take an official visit to Michigan this upcoming weekend according to Steve Lorenz . 

2015 DB Jarius Adams
While still in the state of Florida, coach Durkin called 2015 CB/FS Jarius Adams (Palm Bay Gardens, FL) to tell him that he had a scholarship offer to the University of Michigan. 

After watching Jarius's highlight film, it's easy to see that he's one of the best players on the field.  He has excellent speed and can close in on the ball extremely quick. He's able to go one on one with receivers on the outside and often guards the best receiver on the opposing team. Back pedal speed isn't his strong point and almost needs to be running forward to be most effective. He does a good job of sticking on his man in pass coverage. He's constantly in the thick of the play, whether it's breaking up passes on deep throws or staying near the line of scrimmage to make a tackle on short completions. Has decent size and won't have to add on much weight once arriving in college. Plays smart and does a good job reading the play when playing deep.
 


Jarius, who is currently rated as a 3* recruit according to 24/7, committed to Rutgers last July.  Although he's committed elsewhere, Michigan's offer instantly becomes his most attractive scholarship offer, and his crystal ball on 24/7 already favors Michigan at 80%.  Jarius and his family also plan on visiting Michigan on January 30th according to Steve Lorenz. 

2016 LB Jeffrey McCulloch
On Thursday, Jim Harbaugh offered his first 2016 recruit in LB Jeffrey McCulloch (Houston,TX)
Jeffrey is a very talented linebacker. He has excellent field vision and lets the play develop in front of him. He’s very strong and can push the line of scrimmage back when blitzing.  He has good speed for someone his size (6’2-225.) Equally as good in pass coverage as he is defending the run.  Does an excellent job of using his strong upper half to shed blocks and get into the backfield.  Has a very good football IQ and knows when to break off his man to defend the pass.  A very hard hitter and uses his size to bring down the ball carrier. Jeffrey does an excellent job of getting low and wrapping up when making tackles.  Watching his highlight film, I was amazed by how hard he hits.  Has all the talent in the world to become a good defensive player at the next level.

Rated as a 3* prospect from both Rivals and 24/7, Jeffrey is very underrated in my mind. He does a lot of good things on the field and that should translate at the college level. He currently holds a short but impressive scholarship offer list featuring a lot of Big 12 schools including; Baylor, Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M.  His 24/7 crystal ball reading favors Texas at 67%.

You can view Jeffrey's Hudl highlights by clicking here.

2016 Dontavious Jackson
While still in Texas, the coaching staff offered 2016 LB Dontavious Jackson (Houston,TX).
Dontavious is as physical of a linebacker as I've watched on film. He’s a bruiser, who never shys away from contact. Like fellow LB target, Jeffrey McCulloch, Dontavious’s highlight film just jumps off the screen.  He’s extremely strong and agile.  Dontavious will stand in the box and wait for the play to develop before breaking off into pass coverage or rushing the ball carrier. He has good speed for his size, and can get into the backfield with relative ease.  Has the prototypical frame to play outside linebacker at the college level.  Does an excellent job of getting low and extending his legs to take down the ball carrier.



Dontavious is ranked as a 4* recruit according to Rivals and is ranked as the #216 overall player.  His offer sheet isn't the longest, but it does have some high quality schools in it including; Arizona St, Michigan St, and Louisville.

ESPN Updates Their Recruiting Rankings
On Thursday, ESPN released their final 2015 recruiting player rankings. Three of Michigan’s seven commits made the list and several remaining targets are also included. 

Michigan commits:
ATH Brian Cole #148
S Tyree Kinnel #196
OT Grant Newsome #253

Remaining Targets:
CB Iman Marshall #4
DE Keisean Lucier-South #22
DE Arden Key #24
OLB Roquan Smith #29
WR Damarkus Lodge #57
WR Equanimeous St. Brown #63
TE Chris Clark #111
WR Cordell Broadus #131
RB Mike Weber #140
ATH Kirk Merritt #146
DB Marcus Lewis #159
OL Kendrick Norton #168
OL Pat Allen #210
OL Isaiah Prince #223
ATH Ryan Davis #242

Other Notes:
2016 WR target Josh Imatorbhebhe received his 18th scholarship offer from South Carolina on Thursday.

2015 TE Alize Jones flipped his commitment from UCLA to Notre Dame on Thursday afternoon.  Although the flip doesn't affect Michigan entirely, it does make the chances of pulling in 2015 TE Chris Clark a little more difficult. Clark’s remaining top schools are UCLA and Michigan, and since UCLA just lost a TE commit, they will surely pursue Chris harder now.

2015 DT Target Kendrick Norton will visit Auburn this weekend for an official visit. Michigan was included in Norton’s Top 5 schools, which was released last week.  

2015 ATH John Kelly will take an official visit to Tennessee this weekend. 

2016 RB Kareem Walker committed to Ohio State on Monday night. Kareem is rated as the #1 RB in 2016 according to 24/7 and visited Michigan last summer.


That’s all for this week, folks! Check back early next week, when I’ll have more updates on players that were offered scholarships over the weekend!

For up to the minute recruitment news, you can follow Travis Cooper on Twitter @MaizenBlueCoop. You can also follow Maize & Blue Nation on TwitterFacebook, and Flickr


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