Category: Recruiting

Michigan makes Top 10 for highly-coveted 2021 safety

The Wolverines made the cut of 10 out of the highly-touted prospects reported 50 offers.

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One of Michigan’s top targets in 2021 is Canonsburg (PA) Peters Twp. four-star safety Donovan McMillon.

Rated by 247Sports as the No. 200 prospect, regardless of position, it’s not just the Wolverines in hot pursuit. The No. 8 safety in the class has an astounding 50 reported offers, including from the likes of Oklahoma, LSU, Penn State and Florida.

However, he released a Top 10 on Friday, and Michigan made the cut, along with the aforementioned as well as Georgia, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Oregon and Arizona State.

Earlier this year, WolverinesWire spoke to 247Sports’ Steve Lorenz, who shared his thoughts on Michigan’s chances with McMillon back before he got his fourth-star.

Lorenz’s take:

“They really like Donovan McMillon, the three-star out of Eastern Pennsylvania. He’s another kid who had a great winter period. I think Michigan and Notre Dame both offered there. Penn State did, too. It would not surprise me if those three schools came to the forefront of his recruitment. Again, Pennsylvania kid, so you have to assume that Penn State’s got a shot. But Bob Shoop being Pennsylvania native may help them in that race a little bit.

“A guy like McMillon, I think very, very high ceiling. Very athletic. Maybe just needs to learn the game a little bit. A great type of prospect to take in 2021 to complement who you’ve taken the last couple cycles.”

Watch his film below:

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Michigan State Football offers 2021 4-star Florida prospect Dink Jackson

The Spartans are offering Dink Jackson, 4-star athlete out of Eau Gallie High School.

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Michigan State Football has taken another big swing in the recruiting front, this time offering 2021 4-star athlete Dink Jackson out of Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Florida. Jackson is currently projected by 247sports to go to Florida State.

While Jackson is projected to go to his local school in Florida State, it is very important to note that Michigan State’s new Defensive Backs coach Harlon Barnett was the Defensive Coordinator for the Seminoles until Mel Tucker joined MSU as head coach.

Here is the offer announcement for Jackson, which was publicized by his high school football coach:

Jackson is listed as an “athlete” on 247sports, meaning that he is a versatile player who hasn’t locked into one role yet, although one of their affiliated scouts Andrew Ivins noted that he feels Jackson is best suited as an edge rusher. Jackson is the No. 33 ranked player in the state of Florida per 247sports.

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Four-star defensive end commits to Texas

Texas has added a four-star defensive end to their 2021 recruiting class.

Texas head coach Tom Herman and Co. have made it a top priority to strengthen the defensive line, it looks like the plans have started to come to fruition. Continue reading “Four-star defensive end commits to Texas”

Miami Palmetto RB decommits from Florida

The Florida Gators 2021 recruiting class took a dip when three-star Miami Palmetto running back Brashard Smith decommitted.

The Florida Gators 2021 recruiting class took a dip when three-star running back Brashard Smith decommitted. Smith plays football at Miami Palmetto High School.

Smith originally committed to Florida back in January. He announced his decommitment via Twitter:

Smith has received offers from numerous big-time schools throughout the country including: Alabama, LSU, Penn State, Tennessee, and more. Despite interest from several SEC schools, the Georgia Bulldogs haven’t offered Brashard Smith a scholarship.

Smith is a versatile player who can play both running back and wide receiver. He’s 5-9 and weighs 180 pounds. Not a bad size for a running back.

Smith’s recruitment will be one to monitor moving forward. If Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs don’t offer him, then they’ll probably end up playing against him in the SEC.

Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators will still be contenders to land his versatile talents:

We’ll continue to follow Smith’s recruitment and other SEC recruiting news. The Tennessee Volunteers have had a recent surge in recruiting and are now a top three class in the nation. They’re a team to watch with Smith.

Florida and Tennessee are both putting together formidable classes of 2021. Is the SEC East beginning to gain ground on the SEC West?

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Georgia football recruiting: UGA trending for 4-star OLB Chaz Chambliss

Recruiting expert Rusty Mansell has submitted his 247Sports crystal ball prediction for 2021 4-star outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss. Mansell predicts Chambliss to commit to Georgia when all is said and done, giving UGA five out of the six possible …

Recruiting expert Rusty Mansell has submitted his 247Sports crystal ball prediction for 2021 4-star outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss.

Mansell predicts Chambliss to commit to Georgia when all is said and done, giving UGA five out of the six possible votes on his 247 player profile page.

Chambliss, out of Carrolton High School in Carrolton, Georgia, ranks as the nation’s No. 251 overall player in the 2021 class. Per the 247 composite rankings, he is the No. 18 ranked outride linebacker and 24th player in Georgia.

At 6-3, 220-pounds, Chambliss has recorded 164 tackles, 48 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, 4 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles over the last seasons at Carrolton.

He took an unofficial visit to Georgia on January 18, and holds plenty of offers from collegiate powerhouses including Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Florida, Clemson, FSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Tennessee.

 

Tennessee basketball in top 5 for elite in-state point guard

Tennessee basketball in top 5 for elite in-state point guard.

Tennessee basketball is coming off the No. 4 ranked recruiting class in the 2020 cycle, and is looking to follow it up by landing some of the top prospects in 2021.

The Vols have a chance to continue that effort in regard to Kennedy Chandler, a 5-star point guard prospect from Memphis that included UT in his top 5 on Thursday.

Chandler is a 6-foot-1, 160-pound guard at Briarcrest Christian who is rated a 5-star, the No. 2 point guard in the country and the No. 15 overall player in his class by the 247Sports Composite.

Chandler is an explosive point guard who is an excellent passer and exhibits extraordinary effort on defense.

Tennessee joins North Carolina, Duke, Memphis and Kentucky in the running for Chandler’s signature. Chandler’s top 5 somewhat mirrors 5-star power forward Paolo Banchero’s list, who also included Tennessee, Duke and Kentucky as well.

Tennessee assistant coach Kim English is Chandler’s primary recruiter, and the Vols do not yet have a commit in the 2021 recruiting class.

Tennessee offers in-state 2021 wide receiver Kaydin Pope

Tennessee offers in-state 2021 wide receiver Kaydin Pope.

After an incredible week on the recruiting trail that vaunted Tennessee’s 2021 class to the No. 3 spot in the country per the 247Sports rating, the Vols are still working on building for the future.

Tennessee offered in-state wide receiver Kaydin Pope from Savannah to be a part of its 2022 recruiting class.

Pope is a speedy wideout that is also deployed as a defensive back, and return specialist for the Hardin County Tigers, a 4A program in Tennessee that reached the state quarterfinals in 2019.

At 6-foot, and 165-pounds, Pope has yet to receive a 247Sports rating and has plenty of room to add weight, but has potential that intrigues Tennessee’s staff. UT is Pope’s first SEC offer, as only Memphis and Eastern Kentucky join the Vols on the list.

Pope has plenty of connections to the Vols besides simply being an in-state prospect. His high school teammate, tight end Hudson Wolfe, is a 4-star prospect in the 2021 class that has received significant attention from Tennessee. Another relation is Hardin County running back BB Bumphus – another one of Pope’s teammates – who is the younger cousin of current Tennessee defensive end Latrell Bumphus.

UT offensive line coach Will Friend is Pope’s primary recruiter, and the Vols do not yet have a prospect committed to the 2022 recruiting class.

NEXT: Vols’ 2021 football commitment tracker

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2022 S Myles Rowser re-opens recruitment (story with update)

The Wolverines lost one of its two members of the 2022 class, but one person told WolverinesWire there’s a reason to still think he returns.

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We’re a little late to this, but Michigan got some not so good news in the 2022 class, with four-star safety Myles Rowser backing off of his firm commitment from the Wolverines.

The younger brother of current Michigan cornerback Andre Seldon Jr., Rowser was the second verbal commit of the 2022 class, as well as another legacy like Alex VanSumeren — the younger brother of linebacker Ben and the first to commit in Dec. 2019.

However, as first reported by Rivals.com’s Ohio State and Rutgers recruiting reporter, the recent transfer from Belleville (MI) to Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy has chosen to re-open his recruitment, thus backing off from his verbal commitment to play football in Ann Arbor.

Rowser spoke to Rivals recruiting guru Josh Helmholdt to explain his decision yesterday.

Questions about Michigan class of 2022 commit Myles Rowser and his recruiting status started to arise Thursday night, so the four-star defensive back clarified exactly where things stand.

“I have fully opened my recruitment, but I am still very interested in Michigan,” Rowser explained. “Nothing really changed. I still love the coaches there, I love how they run the defense. My brother is at Michigan now, so he can tell me more stuff about Michigan and it just boosted my interest.”

As noted, Michigan is still firmly in the chase, it just can’t count at the moment on him ending up in the class.

While that’s usually the death knell in recruiting, it’s not unheard of a prospect to back off his commitment and eventually end up back in the class. It happened years ago with William Campbell of Detroit (MI) Cass Tech fame. And it happened this past recruiting cycle with 2020 Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy safety Lejond Cavazos, who decommitted from Ohio State before rejoining the class months later.

We spoke to one person close to the situation who requested anonymity who shared Michigan’s chances at still securing Rowser’s commitment once again.

“Definitely — it’s a great chance he does (re-commit to Michigan),” that person told WolverinesWire. “But he’s a 15-year old kid that just wants to explore and make sure he makes the right decision for him and no one else.”

Rowser currently has a reported 20 offers, including the likes of Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Nebraska and Penn State.

Now that he’s ranked as a four-star and getting more attention at IMG Academy, it makes sense that he takes his time to make sure he makes the right choice. Naturally, as a more visible player than he was at the time of his Jan. 2020 commitment, he’ll have to make sure that wherever he ends up, it’s the right place for him.

Michigan sits in a good spot. He’s visited many times and has a brother already on campus as an early-enrollee. Now it’ll be up to him to see if there’s somewhere else that’s a better fit, or if he was right the first time around.

Georgia football offers Marietta freshman CB Jace Arnold

Georgia football has offered class of 2023 CB Jace Arnold out of Marietta High School in Marietta, GA.

Kirby Smart and Georgia football have offered class of 2023 cornerback Jace Arnold out of Marietta High School in Georgia.

Arnold’s national rankings are not available for his class yet, but he is a young, raw prospect, standing at 5-foot-10, 168 pounds.

Arnold is going into his sophomore year at Marietta and still has a lot of time to develop before making his decision of where to play.  He has offers from SEC divisional rivals Florida and Tennessee on top of the offer from the Dawgs he announced on Twitter Thursday.

Arnold was teammates with Tennessee freshman quarterback Harrison Bailey on its 7A Georgia state championship team in 2019. Georgia outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari also attended Marietta, but was not teammates with Arnold.

 

Three star offensive tackle from Connecticut puts Texas in top eight

2021 three-star OT Tristan Bounds has announced his top eight, with the Longhorns making the cut. Bounds was offered on April 22.

2021 three-star offensive tackle Tristan Bounds has announced his top eight, with the Longhorns making the cut. A top-ranked player from the state of Connecticut, Bounds could be looking at leaving the northeast.

Continue reading “Three star offensive tackle from Connecticut puts Texas in top eight”