Wolverine Wednesday: Recruiting Blitz

It's been awhile since we have focused an entire post on recruiting, so I thought I would give you guys an update on what I have been hearing regarding some of the recruits still left on the board.

Waiting to long to be Wolverines:
There is something to be said for kids that make a decision earlier rather then later regarding the 2012 class.  One example is MSU commit Se'von Pittman who reportedly wanted to commit to Michigan but they were full at DE.  My next two examples are Jordan Diamond and Danny O'Brien.   Both guys have been interested in Michigan for a long time.  Jordan has been taking trips to Ann Arbor for over a year and Danny's recruitment really started to heat up this summer.  

The word on the street is that the Wolverines has turned their focus away from Danny's position and will be looking for others to fill one of those few spots left.   So I expect Danny to announce for Tennessee on Friday (unless there is a Big Will switch-a-roo going on here).  

Jordan's high school program prefers that their kids announce later rather then sooner so the program and recruit can continue to get more press.   Recruiting services focus more on kids that haven't picked a school yet vs. the ones that have.  So the longer a recruitment plays out, the more stories about the kid are published.    This tactic by Jordan's high school program could cause another player to jump in Jordan's spot if he wants to be a Michigan Wolverine.  I still believe Jordan has a spot if he wants it, he just can't wait too much longer.  

Wide Receivers

There are two kids that the Wolverines are clearly targeting; Jordan Payton and Amara Darboh.  Jordan has Michigan as his leader and is considering taking a few more visits before he decides.   A few of his teammates were planning a visit to South Bend and Jordan has been considering going.  The latest is he might cancel that visit.   I think Jordan's commitment could come at anytime. 

Amara has made an un-official visit to Ann Arbor already and he wants to do an official with his family for a game in November.  Amara wants to make his last official visit to be in Ann Arbor.    Which is good news for Michigan but then again, I hope he doesn't wait too long. 

Big Names
With OSU imploding on the field and off  the needle is starting to move towards Michigan for Bri'onte Dunn.   The issue with this young man is he is good friends with Kyle Kalis and is concerned what type of reaction he will receive from Ohio fans if he changes his mind. Kyle got a bunch of terrible messages on social media from the Ohio fans when he switched to Michigan.  BTW: Nice work Buckeye fans, way to badger a 18 year old kid.   Don't forget Bri'onte cousin is coming in 2013 and he and Kyle are pretty tight.  I also wanted to mention that Bri'onte no longer plans on enrolling early in Columbus which is another sign he might be considering Ann Arbor and not 100% sold on the Buckeyes.

Zach Banner is still very high on Michigan but his recruiting process is really just getting started.  He has a number of visits to go on before making a decision.   A good analogy here is; Michigan is leading right out of the gate, will they still be the leader at the finish line?   Zach says distance won't play a factor in his recruitment but he does have a lot of west coach options closer to Seattle.

Yuri Wright is still planning a visit to Ann Arbor for a game in November.  I still think the Wolverines are high on Yuri but there is a chance for another guy to take his spot if his recruitment plays out too long. 

Don't hold your breathe on these guys:

Cincinnati Stanford and Washington and 5 star WR Stefon Diggs.  I don't see these guys being in Michigan's 2012 class.

Michigan has 22 kids in this class and I think they will take 26-28  and might have some flexibility with kids enrolling in January which could drive that number closer to 28.