Michigan Friday: Former Wolverine Zips Over To The MAC

I hate not knowing the entire story when kids transfer.   Is there is an issue with the position coach?  Is there an issue with the Coordinator or maybe even Jimmy?  Is it playing time?  What's the deal?

Jaylen Kelly-Powell was a 4 star Safety out of Cass Tech in Detroit.  He enrolled early and got his degree in 3 years.  In that time he only played in 7 games and made a total of 4 tackles for the Wolverines.  

Injuries and position changes didn't seem to help JK-P.  He was at safety, nickel, and then CB.  Michigan clearly needs depth at CB and it seems Jaylen didn't have a path to playing time in the next two years, so he jumped in the portal.  

He announced this week that he was going to play the next two years at Akron.  I know everyone wants to play, but being a backup DB the next 2 years and possibly getting a graduate degree from Michigan vs. playing in Akron has to be a tough decision.   There was also a possibility that Jaylen wouldn't be offered a 5th year in Ann Arbor as well. 

Either way, good luck to him and hopefully he finds a new home in Akron and maybe gets to meet LeBron someday.

• Looks like most of the Big Ten Football programs are starting to open their doors starting on 6/15 on a limited basis.  

• There is some buzz that a Michigan - LSU home and home might be in the works. I hope Warde has someone else negotiating the contract with LSU.  

Michigan Thursday: Is Michigan Losing Momentum with 4 Star WR?

Xavier Worthy is a California WR that is very high on Michigan's 2021 board.   He is 6'1 and a light 160 pounds but can fly.   He ran the 100 meters in 10.55, which is considered elite speed.

He has a ton of offers from the likes of USC, PSU, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Auburn, Wash, Oregon, and of course Michigan.   Many believe its a Michigan - Oregon battle for this west coast speedster.

Xavier seems to be set with his decision and has made an announcement date of 6/27.   The issue is for Wolverine fans is that all the crystal balls are trending to Oregon with high confidence.   Michigan still has a couple of weeks to change his mind but its not looking great right now.

• A quiet piece of news happened for an ASU punter.  Michael Turk left ASU early and declared for the NFL Draft (which is very strange for a punter) and signed with an agent.  He preformed poorly at the NFL combine and didn't get drafted or even sign a free agent contract.   So due to the COVID-19 virus and not being able to showcase his skills, he summitted a waiver to be re-instated by the NCAA.  The NCAA granted that waiver and gave him 2 years of eligibility back.   It's important to note that Turk did not receive any money from his agent.  

• Don't watch ESPN tonight as they are replaying the Kordell Stewart Hail Mary game.  Was in the Big House that day and don't want to re-live that feeling.  I will never forget looking around a 110,000 people and seeing nothing but a stunned reaction on each one of their faces. 

Wolverine Wednesday: Welcomes Freshman on 6/15

Michigan freshman football players are being asked to report to Ann Arbor on June 15th.  Michigan signed 23 players in the 2020 class but 8 of them (Braiden McGregor, Blake Corum, Andre Seldon, Makari Paige, Zak Zinter, Nikhai Hill-Green, William Mohan and Aaron Lewis) enrolled in January and had a very unique first semester at U of M to say the least. 

Michigan has yet to release a date for voluntary workouts for the rest of the roster.  All players will be tested and all the social distancing rules will apply to those workouts when they happen.   

I still don't know if there is a ruling for the two weeks of Spring Practice that most teams missed.  Only Coastal Carolina and UConn finished their full spring practices as the national average was 2 practices completed prior to the shut down.   As you know, Michigan never got started and still has all that practice time in the bank, which I'm hoping they can recoup in July.   It would be great if all the new freshman could participate which usually doesn't happen in March of course.

• Jimmy and many other football coaches and players participated in a peaceful march in Ann Arbor yesterday. 

Michigan Tuesday: Leaps and Bounds

Michigan Football picked up a very large commitment last night.   When I mean large, I actually mean 6'8 and 280 pounds large.    That is the size of CT 3 star OT Tristian Bounds who picked Michigan last night.   

I would love to make a joke that this guy has a high ceiling, but he is 6'8 and pretty close to most ceilings.  Tristian does seem like a kid with a huge upside with that frame and offers from major football programs like Texas, UCLA, ND, BC, Nebraska, VT, and many more.   Bounds seems under rated in the rankings, as you don't see the 56th OT in the nation with so many top tier offers. 

He also took a chance and took a visit to Ann Arbor last month and got to see the campus by himself.   It wasn't a guided tour in a golf cart, it was just him and his family seeing the campus and town on their own.   Personally, I love that story and would have preferred to have done it that way if I was a sought after athlete. 

“It was huge for me,” he said. “For me, that was a big check off the box for me because I got to Ann Arbor, and even though no one was there, I could see myself going to school there."

"It was how the campus was laid out and how far is it from the dorms to the football facilities," Bounds said. "It was stuff like that. It was trying to get there and get a feel. I feel like it is hard to make a gut call if you have never been there."

He also has very good remote relationship with Ed Warinner:  

“My relationship with coach Warinner is excellent,” Bounds said. “I really think he’s going to be someone who will be able to develop me and give me every chance to play at the next level. That is my goal.”

Welcome Big Man! 

This is Michigan's 17th commitment to the '21 class and the Wolverines will continue to look for a RB, top tier OL or 2, DT, DE, and CB maybe the highest priority at this point. 

• Josh Gattis tweeted some very good information on how the Harbaugh's have helped African American QB's and Coaches.   It's worth a read. 

• Coach Harbaugh and Coach Howard have both spoken on the death of George Floyd.

• Xavier Worthy and Omarion Cooper put Michigan on their final list of schools on Monday.  PA Safety Donovan McMillon did not.  

• 4 star Scottsdale, AZ DE Quintin Somerville calls Coach Nua  'the GOAT'.