I know that almost every single Michigan Football fan has been absolutely ecstatic with Hoke and Co.'s recruiting efforts thus far. After Richard was escorted out of town, he left us a roster without any semblance of depth in the trenches. In every one of Hoke's complete recruiting classes (2012 and on), Michigan has added HS All-American after HS All-American in order to help Michigan control the line of scrimmage in the future. After signing four OL and six DL in 2012, including 5-Stars Kyle Kalis and Ondre Pipkins, Hoke proceeded to add 6 more OL and 3 more DL in 2013. With seemingly indisputable success on the recruiting trail, many naysayers and rival fans began grasping at straws and out of some form of insecurity/idiocy/crystal meth addiction, the perception that Hoke couldn't attract premier skill position players was born. Sane Michigan fans insisted that although Michigan did not seem to have groundbreaking success at the skill positions, Hoke and Co. were still adding versatile skill players on both sides of the ball. These suggestions were sometimes then responded with "LOL IS HOKE GONNA LINE UP HIS 23 OL AT WR AND RB AND TE AND CB AND S TOO?!, LOL."
I guess the point of this post is to demonstrate that, no, toothless Ohio State fan, Al Borges will not be handing the ball off to David Dawson this season. And, no swagtastic MSU bro, Greg Mattison will not be lining up Henry Poggi against the self proclaimed 'Wide Receiver U's' next superstar....However, if you really are curious and you'd like to read this post, you may be able to realize the amazing level of talent that Hoke has been able to attract to all of the skill positions.
ANDDDD, since I know 'STAR RANKINGS DON'T MATTER' (especially when you only get 2/3 stars), I will include the prospects Top Offers as a justification for how good they could be....
Offense
Quarterback
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| Wilton Speight |
- Shane Morris, 2013- 247 Composite 4* (72 OVR, 3 PRO QB)...Top Offers- Bama, Aub, MSU
- Wilton Speight, 2014- 247 Composite 3* (370 OVR, 21 PRO QB)...Top Offers- MiamiFL, NCSt.
Overall, the coaches received a commitment from All-American Shane Morris, who reached the cusp of consensus 5 Star status before having his Senior HS season cut short by illness, and All-American Recruiter, Wilton Speight. Speight may not have the same accolades as Morris yet, but the coaches offered only one QB in this class, so they obviously think Speight is the best QB in the nation for what they are trying to build in AA.
Position Grade- A-... The coaches have gotten exactly who they wanted at the position, but maybe another body could help depth?
Average Star Ranking- 3.5
Running Back
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| 5* Derrick Green |
- Drake Johnson, 2012- 247 Composite 3* (52 RB)... Top Offer- EMU
- Dennis Norfleet, 2012- 247 Composite 4* (195 OVR, 7 APB)... Top Offers- MSU, PITT, Cinci
- De'Veon Smith, 2013- 247 Composite 4* (207 OVR, 15 RB)... Top Offers- OSU, PSU, WVU
- Derrick Green, 2013- 247 Composite 5* (26 OVR, 4 RB)... Top Offers- OSU, Bama, UGA (everyone else who matters)
Position Grade- A...Averaging 4 stars per player, the RB position includes super-recruit Derrick Green that could contribute as early as the first game of the season. De'Veon Smith is sometimes forgot about due to Green's stardom, but he is no slouch and has the size and vision to be an extremely effective player. Also, I did not bother to include the FB position which includes Sione Houma and 247 Composite 4*, Wyatt Shallman.
Average Star Ranking- 4.0
Wide Receiver
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| 5* George Campbell |
- Jehu Chesson, 2012- 247 Composite 3* (74 WR)... Top Offers- Iowa, UCLA, NW
- Amara Darboh, 2012- 247 Composite 4* (222 OVR, 28 WR)... Top Offers- ND, UF, Wiscy
- Csont'e York, 2013- 247 Composite 3* (74 WR)... Top Offers- Cinci, Cuse, Toledo
- Da'Mario Jones, 2013- 247 Composite 3* (99 WR)... Top Offers- BGSU, CMU, Toledo
- Jaron Dukes, 2013- 247 Composite 3* (47 WR)... Top Offers- ILL, Toledo
- Freddy Canteen, 2014- 247 Composite 3* (69 WR)... Top Offers- Tenn, Rutgers, UConn
- Moe Ways, 2014- 247 Composite 3* (61 WR)... Top Offers- Iowa, Kansas, Rutgers
- Drake Harris, 2014- 247 Composite 4* (42 OVR, 3 WR)... Top Offers- Bama, UF, OSU (Everyone)
- George Campbell, 2015- 247 Composite 5* (8 OVR, 1 WR)... Top Offers- UF, LSU, OSU
Position Grade- A... After 2012/13, Michigan pulled in 5 WR commits, but outside of Amara Darboh, none of them were very highly touted. The WR position was not necessarily a concern, but it did seem to be lagging behind the level of talent at almost every other position. Then, BOOM... Drake Harris, a record-breaking bonafide stud, decided to take football a little more seriously, so he spurned the Fighting Dark Mantonio's for Michigan. In even better news, George Campbell decided at the BBQ this weekend that he wanted to be Michigan's first ever 5* WR. In my opinion, George Campbell compares to former UGA and current Bengals star pass-catcher, AJ Green. Campbell has blistering (4.37 Electronic 40) speed, and NFL size at 6'5. If there was ever a concern about gambreakers and/or depth at the WR position, it should be completely erased from your mind. Also at 6'2, 6'3, 6'3, 6'2, 6'4, 6'1, 6'4, 6'4, 6'5, our WR should dwarf the opposing defensive backs. FEELSOGOODMAN.
Average Star Ranking- 3.44
Bonus- Twitter CEO Dick Costolo's opinion on Michigan's WR weapons moving forward in a Tweet to Speight and Campbell....
dick costolo
Defense
Cornerback
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| 5* Peppers |
- Terry Richardson, 2012- 247 Composite 4* (141 OVR, 11CB)... Top Offers- Bama, LSU, OSU
- Ross Douglas, 2013- 247 Composite 3* (28CB)... Top Offers- PSU, NEB, Wiscy
- Jourdan Lewis, 2013- 247 Composite 4* (115 OVR, 10CB)... Top Offer- Toledo
- Channing Stribling, 2013- 247 Composite 3* (36 ATH)... Top Offers- Camp Offer
- Reon Dawson, 2013- 247 Composite 3* (62 CB)... Top Offers- ILL, AZ, PITT
- Brandon Watson, 2014- 247 Composite 3* (110 CB)... Top Offers- BC, Rutgers, UConn
- Jabrill Peppers, 2014- 247 Composite 5* (3 OVR, 1ATH)... Top Offers- Bama, UF, LSU (everyone)
Position Grade- A... Once again, the CB position was being recruited fairly well, and most of the fan-base was excited about the versatility and size of some of the prospects, but the position overall did not have the shimmer of others. Once again, BOOM, Jabrill Peppers decides to commit to his childhood favorite Wolverines. Simply put, Jabrill Peppers is a freakshow. He is widely considered the best CB recruit in the Rivals Era outside of maybe NFL star Patrick Peterson. He brings the ability to change a game from almost any place in the defensive backfield and will look to make an immediate impact. I thought Derrick Green was the most exciting recruit in the Hoke era until the Peppers commitment, and I think Peppers has the physical ability to be go down in Michigan football history when it is all said and done.
Average Star Ranking- 3.57
Safety
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| Dymonte Thomas |
-Jarrod Wilson, 2012- 247 Composite 4* (238 OVR, 14S)... Top Offers- ND, PSU, MSU
- Jeremy Clark, 2012- 247 Composite 3* (35S)... Top Offers- ILL, NcSt., Toledo
- Dymonte Thomas, 2013- 247 Composite 4* (71 OVR, 9S)... Top Offers- OSU, ND, MSU
- Delano Hill, 2013- 247 Composite 4* (298 OVR, 26S)... Top Offers- Iowa, ILL, PITT
Position Grade- B+... Michigan still may look to add another Safety prospect in the 2014 class to bolster this position as high as the others, but with the future of the position in the hands of Dymonte (5* according to Scout) and Jarrod Wilson, there is not a drastic immediate need. Note- Allen Gant was also recruited for the SS position but has since been moved to SAM LB.
Overall
Michigan has really established an era of recruiting dominance under Brady Hoke, and that does not start and end with linemen, LBs, and TEs. Each of the offensive and defensive skill positions includes at least one player that is considered a 5 Star by at least one of the major recruiting sites. (Morris, Green, Harris, Campbell, Peppers, Thomas).
For a Coach and program that was being mocked for having All-Americans everywhere else, the skill positions look alright to me.
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