Michigan Thursday: Checks in on Rivals Top Players in Ohio List

Rivals just released their top players in Ohio list for 2012.  It seems Michigan has some quality commits but not as high as you might expect for some players. 

Take a look:

#1:  Kyle Kalis
#5:  Adolphus Washington
#7:  Dwayne Stanford
#8:  Bri'onte Dunn
#11:  Joe Bolden
#14:  Tom Strobel
#16: Jarrod Wilson
#17:  Pharaoh Brown
#21: Chris Wormley
#22: Caleb Stacey
#25: Kaleb Ringer
#28: AJ Williams
#29: Allen Grant

Players in Blue are Michigan commits. 

My first thought is, Ohio has more then 60 division 1 players in the state, which is pretty incredible.   My second thought is that I wonder how many times Michigan has taken the 29th ranked player in a state?  I would think not very often. 

Dunn is considered a 5 star RB to Scouts Recruiting Service and is ranked the 7th best player in the state on Rivals.   I heard on ESPN that they didn't consider Ohio a very deep state this year for talent.  I have to really question Tom Luginbill's take on that.   It seems to me that Ohio is loaded with talent and mostly on the defensive side of the ball.   Ohio has some very good DE's in 2012 with the names like: Washington, Odenigbo, Pittman, McMullen, Strobel, Brown and Wormley.   

Believe it or not but the rumor was the Michgian turned down the potential commitment of Pittman who a week later picked MSU.  Rivals ranks him the #3 player in the state.

Looking at this list, I think most Michigan fans would agree with Kalis ranking but feel that Wormley, Washington and Wilson are ranked way to low.  Maybe it's a "W" thing.  It doesn't really matter because when they commit to Michigan they will create a bunch of W's between 2012 and 2016. 

I would have to agree with Mr. Kalis, the border between Ohio and Michigan are open for business!

...Terrelle Pryor

Well it seems like all of the unwanted and negative attention and possible future NCAA sanctions, along with the leaving of his head coach, have gotten to Terrelle Pryor, so much so that he has decided to leave Ohio State and forfeit his senior year. In a statement released by his lawyer he said, “In the best interests of my teammates, I’ve made the decision to forgo my senior year of football at The Ohio State University.” Many people think this is best for him and for the school. The distraction would have been too great on the team. Fellow students were already turning against Terrelle and some of the other players after their coach Jim Tressel resigned last week. Most likely he will go into some NFL type system within the next few months. This works out well for him since the NFL is still under its lockout he will have time to workout and prepare for his future. If he were to stay at Ohio State he would have possibly faced more suspensions and whatnot. Even with him leaving there are 4 other players suspended and the school can still face further sanctions, though I doubt it will be as harsh as anything USC faced. From his 1st day at school Pryor has had pressure from everyone to do great things and get Ohio State a championship. He came close last year, but there was a really good chance he could have done it this year...until he was suspended. Now he is gone and he really probably would not have had anything to play for anyway, just pride and experience. With Pryor no longer a college football player, he is no longer obligated to meet with the NCAA. He can do whatever he wants with whomever he wants and I am sure he is beyond happy to do so. I am giving him a Digit Up for leaving because although it was for the team, we all know that he is 21 and he really did it for himself and his future. He needed to remove himself from the school and give the next QB a sure shot at leading this team to some sort of bowl. Now going into the pros he will have a new set of rules and he can all but shake off all of his college past and start all over again.

...Jim Tressel

So as you may know Jim Tressel resigned as head football coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes. This comes after months of lies, scandals and cover-ups stemming from an incident that in which players received cash and discounted tattoos from the owner of a local tattoo parlor who was the subject of a federal drug-trafficking case. Tressel said that the ongoing investigations were a distraction for himself and the team. I assume he though tit would be best if he resigned. He and 5 other players were already suspened the 1st 5 games of the upcoming season. Tressel signed a NCAA compliance form in September stating he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing by athletes. His contract, in addition to NCAA rules, specified that he had to tell his superiors or compliance department about any potential NCAA rules violations. Instead he chose to forward emails to Ted Sarniak, reportedly a mentor for Pryor back in his hometown of Jeannette, Pa. I am going to end that there and talk about how sad and stupid this is. Tattoos!!!! Seriously? You did this over tattoos and cash. It is well known that many student athletes are broke and hungry. A lot of them receive illegal cash payments from boosters and outsiders looking to get a piece of their future pie or to just do whatever it takes to get a championship and money for their school. Whatever the case is do student athletes need to be paid for their participation? Possibly. This has been an issue for years and some say yes and others say no. How much would they be paid? What sports deserve the most money for their athletes? Many other questions come up but so far no solution. A lot of fans are going to be upset with Pryor for what they see as getting their football coach fired. This is understandable and he should accept it. While I agree with their anger I would like them to eventually get over it. While he is a man, he is a young man, and he will make many more mistakes, though this may be the biggest one. I am giving Jim Tressel a Digit Up for owning his mistake and not taking anyone down with him. He was willing to impose a 5 game suspension on himself, and now he is will to lose his job to try his best to take the heat off of Ohio State before the season starts.

Michigan Tuesday: How I Hate Ohio State - Except When It Comes to Recruiting

Michigan and Ohio State Universities have a rivalry that only can be matched by Auburn vs Alabama in college football.  (That entire tree killing thing, went way too far.  Way too far).   Rich Rodriguez sort of got it but he really didn't.  Brady Hoke really gets it and won't use the word "State" when referring to that school in Columbus.  This is something the team has adopted as well.  During Spring Drills, "Beat Ohio" can be heard from inside the Glick Field House. 

People in Ohio can't stand Michigan and even though the Wolverines haven't put a team on the field in the last 3 years they can't imagine losing to the Wolverines and having to live with that feeling for an entire year.

So why has Michigan been so good recruiting the State of Ohio? 
The Wolverines last two Heisman Trophy winners, Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson are from Ohio.   I remember a statement from former Michigan DB Markus Ray who visited OSU and saw a sign that said, "Beat Michigan" and thought to himself:  "I want to go there".  Ray was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio.

So how does a state that hates the State of Michigan so much send so much talent to Ann Arbor?  Well it starts with Michigan coaches that were born in Ohio.  You might have heard of Bo Schemblecler who was born in Barberton and Brady Hoke who was born in Dayton, Ohio. 

People from Ohio trusted Bo and they seem to trust Brady Hoke as well.  Even Ted Ginn, Sr. who seems to hate the Wolverines sent a player to Brady last year.  Ted even sent his kids to play for Coach Hoke at Ball State as well.  Michigan signed 7 players from Ohio in the 2011 class and already has one commit in 3 star OL Caleb Stacey from Cincinnati. 

So what about this year?  Who are we looking at from Ohio?

It's well known is recruiting circles that the State of Ohio is loaded with talent for the 2012 class.  It's also known that OSU will have limited number of scholarships and there might be some backlash from Tattoo Gate. 

These Ohio players are looking good to commit to Michigan:

• 4 Star LB Kaleb Ringer - who is announcing on 4/15
• 4 Star LB Joe Bolden - visited A2 two weeks ago and will be back on 4/12 with his parents

Michigan has a great shot with these guys:

• 4 Star DE Chris Wormley from Toledo
• 4 Star OL Kyle Dodson from Cleveland

Has a Michigan Offer and seems interested in the Maize and Blue:

• 4 Star QB Maty Mauk from Kenton
• 5 Star RB Bri'Onte Dunn who has committed to OSU but seems to be interested in Michigan and is expected to make a visit to Ann Arbor at some point.
• 4 Star WR Dwayne Stanford from Cincinnati
• 3 Star TE Sam Grant, Lakewood
• 3 Star OL Kyle Kalis, Lakewood
• 5 star DE Adolphus Washington, Cincinnati
• 4 Star DE Ifeadi Odenigbo, Centerville
• 4 Star DE Tom Strobel, Concord
• 4 Star DE Se'Von Pittman, Canton
• 4 Star DE Greg McMullen, Akron
• 3 Star DE LaTroy Lewis, Akron
• 3 Star DE Pharaoh Brown, Lyndhurst
• 4 Star S Jarrod Wilson, Arkron

Can you believe the DE talent in Ohio this year?  It's crazy good.  Just with Michigan offers: 1 Five Star, 5 Four Stars and 2 Three Stars.

Recruiting will be a fun ride this year and like I mentioned yesterday Michigan could be set up for a huge year with a ton of talent. 

Wolverine Wednesday: Recruiting Keeps Rolling

I have to tip my hat to this new Michigan football staff.  Most of them are just arriving to Ann Arbor and had to be on the road non-stop for two weeks in trying to save the 2011 class.  I'm guessing they haven't even found a place to live in A2 yet.

After signing day and before Spring Practice, I thought maybe the guys would take a couple of weeks off to get their lives in order and take a breath.  That's not happening.  This staff is recruiting the 2012 class hard and I mean hard.  Most of the activity is in the Midwest as well.

• Pharaoh Brown is a Ohio 6'6 220 pound DE just received a Michigan offer yesterday. 
• Coach Hoke has been out to see Chris Wormley in Toledo recently.
• Greg Mattison is expected to meet with 2012 CB Terry Richardson today at Cass Tech.
• Mega 2012 Offensive Line recruit Jordan Diamond from Chicago (Chris Bryant's school) is going to be doing a visit to Ann Arbor on 2/19.
• Mentioned here yesterday, 2012 Ohio DE Ifeadi Odenigbo also got an offer from the Wolverines.
• 2011 OL recruit Graham Glasgow from IL is expected to visit Ann Arbor this weekend.

I'm looking forward to a Top 10 class in 2012.

Spring is in the Air!  Not really, but we hope its on the way 

• Michigan will start Spring Practice on 3/19
• Michigan's Spring Game will be on 4/16
• Michigan's Spring Roster has been updated.  No surprises, just a couple of number of changes.  Ricardo Miller is now #80.

-Scout's Michigan 2012 Top Prospects by Allen Trieu.

-Peter King captured Charles Woodson's Super Bowl emotion.