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“Even the linemen are fast”

Michigan landed a fast and athletic group of recruits on National Signing Day. “Even the linemen are fast,” Tom Lemming said. “Devin [Gardner] is the future but there’s talent everywhere. This is the class that will define Michigan over the next few years. The talent is there.”

Rich Rodriguez announced that they have signed 27 recruits. 16 of the recruits are defensive players. Rodriguez noted that last year Michigan only had 25 scholarship players on defense and that number is usually up around 40. “Immediately the competition has risen on the defensive side of the football,” Rodriguez said. The Wolverines also signed 10 offensive players and the top punter in the nation.

Where does Michigan’s class rank nationally and in the Big Ten?

• scout.com likes Michigan’s class the best ranking them 12th nationally and 2nd in the conference
• Scouts, Inc/ESPNU ranks Michigan’s class 19th nationally and 3rd in the conference.
• rivals.com ranks Michigan’s class 20th nationally and 2nd in the conference.

Michigan signed 11 players from Ohio and 3 each from Florida and Pennsylvania.

In-State Recruiting

Some folks like to claim that Michigan State dominates in-state recruiting. I don’t think that is true. Michigan had 4 of the top 10 players on the Detroit News Blue Chip list: Devin Gardner (2), Ricardo Miller (4), Jeremy Jackson (8), and Austin White (10). No other school has more than 2 players off this list.

Early Enrollees

Michigan had 7 players enroll in January and they are listed below:

Devin Gardner (Inkster, Michigan), Quarterback: Gardner is a 6-foot-5 205 pound dual-threat QB. He is considered the top dual threat QB in the country. He has often been said to have Vince Young type skills. Gardner was a Parade Magazine All-American and considered the top recruit from the State of Michigan by rivals.com. His status as an early enrollee will allow him a chance to seriously compete for the starting QB job. “He’s a big, strong guy, a guy we think can have a lot of success in our type of system,” Rodriguez said. “He’s very eager to learn, and he’s very, very competitive. He’s a guy that has a lot of skills.”

Rankings: 5 star prospect according to Scout.com, 4 star prospect according to rivals.com and Scouts, Inc. Ranked 128th on the ESPNU 150.

Stephen Hopkins (Double Oak, Texas), Running Back: Hopkins is a 6-foot, 225 pound power runner out of Texas. A three year starter at Marcus High School, Hopkins tallied 5,010 yards and 61 TDs in his career. “Stephen Hopkins is a big back out of Texas, the kind we’d like to have in our offense,” Rodriguez said. ”We can play two tailbacks at a time, and there are times when we like to have one big back in there in certain situations. We think Stephen fits that bill. He’s enrolled already here, of course, and he’s been working hard. I think he’s going to fill an immediate need for us.”

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to rivals.com, scout.com, and Scouts, Inc.

Jeremy Jackson (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Wide Receiver: The 6-foot-4, 195 pound Jackson is the son of Michigan’s running backs coach Fred Jackson. As a senior, he led Washtenaw County with 47 receptions for 691 yards and 7 TDs. “He’s a very good football player, a very hard worker, and I think he’s a great fit for our offense,” Rodriguez said. “We need some big, strong receivers, guys who can go get the ball and can make plays downfield. Jeremy fits that bill.”

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to Scouts, Inc. 3 star prospect according to rivals.com and scout.com

Ricardo Miller (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Wide Receiver: The 6-foot-2, 208 pound Miller is originally from Orlando, Florida. Miller moved to Ann Arbor with his family for his senior season of high school. He is a National Honor Society Member and was the 2008 Student Athlete of the Year at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando. As a senior at Ann Arbor Pioneer, Miller caught 35 passes for 669 yards and 10 TDs. “He’s a big, strong, physical guy, kind of like Jeremy,” said Rodriguez.  ”He’s got a great personality. You guys that have met him know he’s got a great personality.”

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to scout.com and Scouts, Inc. 3 star prospect according to rivals.com

Christian Pace (Avon Lake, Ohio), Offensive Lineman: Rich Rodriguez plans to use the 6-foot-3 265 pound Pace at center and guard. He graded out at 90% blocking efficiency and did not allow a sack his senior season. “We have a need at center and at guard, and Christian is a very athletic, tough individual – a good student,” Rodriguez said.

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to rivals.com, scout.com, and Scouts, Inc.

Jerald Robinson (Canton, Ohio), Wide Receiver: The 6-foot-2, 180 pound Robinson was a three year starter at Wide Receiver and Saftey for South High School. As a senior he caught 31 passes for 488 yards and 3 TDs. “He can help us at receiver. He’s got great ball skills, and he’s an outstanding athlete,” said Rodriguez.

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to scout.com. 3 star prospect according to rivals.com and Scouts, Inc.

Austin White (Livonia, Michigan), Running Back: The 6-foot, 190 pound White ran the 40 yard dash in 4.44 seconds. As a senior, he rushed for 1,494 yards and 21 TDs. He has twin brothers, Myles and Mitchell who play for Michigan State. “I think he has all the kinds of skill sets we need in our running back position,” said Rodriguez.

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to scout.com. 3 star prospect according to rivals.com and Scouts, Inc.

Those are the 7 early enrollees who will all benefit from being able to participate in winter conditioning and spring practice. The rest of the class will arrive in the summer and they are listed below.

Richard Ash (Pahokee, Florida), Defensive Tackle: Ash is a 6-foot-3, 275 beast who has never lifted weights. One has to wonder how impressive he will be after he begins training at Michigan. Ash is from the same high school as Brandin Hawthorne, Martavious Odoms, and Vincent Smith. “He’s athletic enough to play defensive end, but big enough to play defensive tackle,” Rodriguez said. “He played at an outstanding high school program. We’re very excited to have big Richard up here.”

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to rivals.com. 3 star prospect according to scout.com and Scouts, Inc.

Courtney Avery (Mansfield, Ohio), Cornerback: The 5-foot-11, 175 pound Avery was a 4 year starter at QB and a 2 year starter at cornerback for Lexington High School. He will play cornerback at Michigan. “He’s a defensive back, and athlete out of Mansfield, Ohio, who has had an outstanding career,” Rodriguez said. “He played quarterback on offense, cornerback on defense, was a 1,000-point scorer in basketball, an outstanding student – just a great young man.”

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to rivals.com and scout.com. 2 star prospect according to Scouts, Inc.

Jibreel Black (Wyoming, Ohio), Defensive Lineman: The 6-foot-2, 250 pound Black tallied 77 tackles and 10 sacks as a senior at Wyoming High School. His brother Larry plays on the defensive line at Indiana. “He’s very explosive,” said Rodriguez. “He can play end, and can play tackle. He’s got a great motor, and we’re very excited to have Jibreel in our program.”

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to scout.com. 3 star prospect according to rivals.com and Scouts, Inc.

Cullen Christian (Verona, Pennsylvania), Cornerback: The 6-foot, 170 pound Christian was a US Army All-American and goes by the nickname “Buck”. “Cullen is a defensive back, and that’s a position of need,” said Rodriguez. “He’s got long arms, and is a very good athlete – very coachable.”

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to rivals.com, scout.com, and Scouts Inc.

Drew Dileo (Greenwell Springs, Louisiana), Wide Receiver: Dileo is a 5-foot-10, 175 pound slot receiver who is also an excellent kick and punt returner. He was also a 2 years starter at second base for Parkview Baptist’s state Championship team.  ”We always want guys who want to prove themselves every day, and Drew proved himself this year,” said Rodriguez. “He had a great senior year. He’ll play slot receiver for us, in addition to returning punts and returning kicks.”

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to rivals.com, scout.com, and Scouts, Inc.

Demar Dorsey (Lauderdale Lakes, Florida), Defensive Back: Dorsey is a 6-foot 175 speedster, who ran the 40 yard dash in 4.25 seconds. Dorsey is rated as the 12th best player in the nation according to Scouts, Inc. He is the cousin of Denard Robinson. Dorsey can play cornerback and safety. Rich Rodriguez said they would start him out at corner. “Demar is a very athletic guy, very fast,” said Rodriguez. “He may run track as well,  it would be good news for our track program – he’s a fast guy.”
This excerpt is from a SI.com article: If the practices for the Under Armour All-America Game in December are any indication, the Wolverines have nabbed an excellent player who will certainly keep his teammates entertained.
Dorsey was always around the ball during the all-star workouts, and if you couldn’t see him, you could always hear him. It’s always a good sign that a defensive back is a fantastic trash-talker when the receiver he covers finishes the play doubled over in laughter. That happened a few times during the Under Armour workouts.

Rankings: 5 star prospect according to Scouts, Inc. 4 star prospect according to rivals.com and scout.com

Josh Furman (Millersville, Maryland), Athlete: Furman (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) will play the spinner position on Michigan’s defense. He was a tremendous running back in high school. As a senior he led Old Mill High School to the State Championship. He rushed for 2,071 yards and 29 TDs as a senior. He is a freakish athlete who runs the 40 in 4.36 seconds and has a 40 inch vertical leap.

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to scout.com. 3 star prospect according to rivals.com and Scouts, Inc.

Will Hagerup (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Punter: The 6-foot-4, 210 pound Hagerup was a Sporting News All-American and a US Army All-American. He is considered the top punter in the 2010 class. His brother Chris is the punter at Indiana. “I told him, we’re not signing him to come here and redshirt,” said Rodriguez “He’s going to come here and try to compete for the job right away. He’s one of those guys, like specialists are, that works on his craft every day.

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to Scouts, Inc. 3 star prospect according to rivals.com and scout.com

Carvin Johnson (Metairie, Louisiana), Safety: Johnson (6-foot, 197 pounds) was the team captain at Archbishop Rummel High School and led his team to the State Championship game. “He’s got great ball skills, said Rodriguez. “He’s very intelligent and is a tough, physical guy. He fills a big need for us at safety, and I’m very excited about Carvin Johnson.”

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to scout.com, rivals.com, and Scouts, Inc.

Cornelius Jones (Spartanburg, South Carolina), Quarterback: Jones (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) is a dual-threat QB who passed for 1,603 and 8 TDs and rushed for 771 yards and 17 TDs as a senior at Spartanburg High School. “He had a great senior year. “He can throw the football, and he can run,” said Rodriguez “Again, at the quarterback position, we know what happened a couple of years ago – you can’t have too many quarterbacks. You’ve got to have quarterbacks competing, and he’ll compete there, and if it looks like he can help us at another position, he’s willing to do that.”

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to scout.com, rivals.com, and Scouts, Inc.

Antonio Kinard (Youngstown, Ohio), Linebacker: Kinard (6-foot-4, 195 pounds) was a 3 year starter at Liberty High School. Rodriguez said there is a chance he may not qualify academically and if that happened they would help place him in a prep school. “He’s a big, tall linebacker,” said Rodriguez . “He’s another good athlete who has got a great future ahead of him.”

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to rivals.com, scout.com, and Scouts, Inc.

Jordan Paskorz (Gibsonia, Pennsylvania), Defensive End: Paskorz (6-foot-3, 235 pounds) played both defensive end and tight end at Hampton High School. “He’s probably a guy who is going to wind up being 255, 260 pounds, and has got a big motor,” Rodriguez said. “He had a great high school career, and we’re very excited about Jordan. Again, he’s filling a position of need.”

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to scout.com, rivals.com, and Scouts, Inc.

Marvin Robinson (Winter Haven, Florida), Safety: The 6-foot-2, 195 pound Robinson is a highly regarded safety. “Marvin is a very athletic safety. He runs well and has got great size,” said Rodriguez.

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to rivals.com, scout.com, and Scouts, Inc

Davion Rogers (Warren, Ohio), Linebacker: Rogers (6-foot-6, 205 pounds) is a big, fast athlete. “He had an outstanding senior year,” Rodriguez said. “At the high school, they all speak glowingly of him and his work ethic.”

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to Scouts, Inc, rivals.com and scout.com

Jake Ryan (Westlake, Ohio), Linebacker: Ryan (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) played at St. Ignatius High School and was a member of the State Championship team as a junior. He was a bit under the radar heading into his senior season. Thanks to a growth spurt that saw him add 2 inches and about 20 pounds he morphed into a prototypical middle linebacker and had a great senior season.

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to rivals.com and scout.com

Terrence Talbott (Huber Heights, Ohio), Cornerback: Talbott (5-foot-11, 190 pounds) is the brother of Terry Talbott (see below). He ran the 40 yard dash in 4.47 seconds, posted a 39 inch vertical leap, bench pressed 300 pounds, and squatted 405 pounds.

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to rivals.com, scout.com, and Scouts, Inc.

Terry Talbott (Huber Heights, Ohio), Defensive Line: Talbott (6-foot-3, 265 pounds) is another big, fast, athletic kid. He runs the 40 in 4.8 seconds and bench presses over 400 pounds.

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to scout.com, rivals.com, and Scouts, Inc.

Ray Vinopal (Youngstown, Ohio), Safety: The 5-foot-10 180 pound Vinopal led Cardinal Mooney High School to a State Championship his senior season. He was also an All-State sprinter in high school. “He was probably the leader on their team,” Rodriguez said. “He just fits everything you want in a football player. He’s smart and he’s tough. He was a team leader. He did anything and everything for that football team.”

Rankings: 2 star prospect according to scout.com and rivals.com

Ken Wilkins (Washington, Pennsylvania), Defensive End: Wilkins is a 6-foot-3, 240 pound wrecking ball. “Kenny has got a big motor, and he’s a great young man. I’m very excited about him and his ability to contribute,” said Rodriguez.

Rankings: 4 star prospect according to rivals.com. 3 star prospect according to scout.com and Scouts, Inc.

DJ Williamson (Warren, Ohio), Wide Receiver: Williamson (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) is from the same high school as Davion Rogers and former Michigan standouts, Mario Manningham, Prescott Burgess, and Carl Diggs. Rodriguez said Williamson was one of the fastest guys in Michigan’s class.

Rankings: 3 star prospect according to rivals.com and Scouts, Inc. 2 star prospect according to scout.com

Notes

• The last player to become a part of this class was Demar Dorsey (Lauderdale Lakes, Florida). He became the subject of an agenda driven reporter at Michigan’s signing day press conference. Rodriguez was asked about rumors regarding one of their recruits (Dorsey) having been arrested at some point in his past. Rodriguez, who by now is used to this kind of nonsense, answered the question politely and professionally by saying, “Look at the whole story before you pass judgment on a young man.” That answer apparently wasn’t good enough so the reporter prodded him again on the same topic. Rodriguez handled the situation perfectly and again urged that people should look at the whole story before trying to sling mud. I find the entire inquisition into this matter despicable. For one Dorsey was charged with a crime as a juvenile and never convicted, as the case was dismissed. Secondly, the same people who will try to use this as some kind of anti-Rodriguez fuel would be bashing him had he not signed Dorsey and lost him to (USC or Florida State). I don’t know why some folks feel the need to continue with this agenda-driven reporting.
• Michigan signed 2 players from the ESPNU 150 (Dorsey and Gardner)
• Four recruits were listed among the top seven at their respective positions by scout.com: Cullen Christian (No. 3 cornerback), Will Hagerup (No.4 punter), Devin Gardner (No. 5 quarterback), and Josh Furman (No. 7 safety).

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