Closing the 2012 Class

Participating in Tremendous' Michigan Recruiting Roundtable last week kicked off what should be a pretty exciting week as we approach National Signing Day. The Michigan recruiting world is abuzz with guys like OL Joshua Garnett, CB Armani Reeves, TE Sam Grant, OL Jordan Diamond, WR Jordan Payton among others. Furthermore, it seems every year Michigan seems to pull a fairly big name off everybody's radar on NSD. It's still very much an open field.

Two weeks ago, when Gunner Kiel switched his commitment from LSU to ND literally while packing to leave for Baton Rouge AND immediately enrolled at Notre Dame shows that anything's game. Schools in session mow so nobody's flipping and enrolling early at this point, but the tides are certainly turning for many of our targets. While Michigan lost OG Caleb Stacey over the weekend after a change of heart to play closer to home in Cincinnati, we also "gained" the decommits of TE Sam Grant (from BC), CB Armani Reeves (from PSU) and WR Jordan Payton (from Cal) -- all of whom are strongly considering Michigan.

With the departure of Stacey, Michigan currently sits at 23 recruits leaving 4-5 spots open. Here are some quick thoughts on a few targets in order of confidence (after the jump):


TE Sam Grant. Recently decommitted from BC. Teammate of Kyle Kalis. Many recruiting sites putting Michigan on commit watch this weekend for him. Grant doesn't leak that much to the public but we know Michigan's been recruiting him harder over the last few weeks to join as our 3rd TE. Arkansas and Oklahoma, who is loaded with TEs after McNamara, are technically still on the radar but I'd be shocked if Grant goes anywhere else. 90%.

OG Joshua Garnett. The big one. Announcement is tomorrow, January 26, at his high school gym around 6:00pm ET. Very close friends with Erik Magnuson; they tweet back and forth constantly. Magnuson, who's very in-tune with Michigan's fan base and social media culture, talked about being at Garnett's presser "in spirit". Recruiting analysts have this a little bit more split with Stanford than Michigan fans would like but all-and-all, Hoke has put us in a great position here. In terms of need on the offensive line, Michigan was already prepared to take 2 more--up to 7 OL--had Stacey stayed. Now that we're at 4, it makes the want/need for Garnett slightly more urgent to be #5. Garnett would also be a big piece in making sure Michigan finishes with the best recruiting class in the Big Ten because Urban's, let's be honest, has been on a tear lately. 65%.

OL Jordan Diamond. Very much back on the radar over the last few weeks and Michigan fans couldn't be happier. The funny thing is, however, Diamond never dropped us and was always high on Michigan while he went on all his officials. He's just very thorough and careful about the process. Now we're down to 2: Michigan and Arkansas, as Diamond dropped OSU and Wisconsin seems to have turned their attention elsewhere. Again, because of the Stacey effect, even though I feel like 7 OL would have been fine, Diamond being #6 (assuming Garnett) slightly nudges the urgency dial up. In talking with Mike, he believes Diamond will come full circle and go Blue. The momentum, even if by default, is certainly swinging our way but it's still close. Decision: February 3rd, 2 days after NSD. 55%.

CB Armani Reeves. Formerly committed to PSU with his close high school friend and teammate Cam Williams, who recently switched to Ohio. Urban also recently landed 5-star CB Cam Burrows too, FWIW. Michigan has a long recruiting history with Reeves though; if you recall, he was on our radar as far back as the summer before he committed to PSU. Outside of Dunn, this is one of the few Hoke vs. Meyer recruiting battles out there as his last in-home visits just this week went: Hoke, Meyer, Mattison. Nothing like a Buckeye sandwich. Mattison closed his recruitment last night after visiting with his family after Reeves' basketball game. Take-with-a-grain-of-salt rumorville believes the Meyer visit didn't go that well and Reeves isn't the type that MUST play ball with his boy. No timeline on his decision but it's between Ohio and Michigan. And it will be close. Not even 51-49 for me. Even split. 50%.

Ryan Watson. Juuust throwing it out there...

You-Don't-Know-Me-But-You-Will-Convince-Yourself-That-I'm-Good-When-You-Find-Out-I'm-Coming-To-Michigan. The random. Out of the last 3 I just mentioned--Garnett, Diamond, Reeves--it's hard to imagine, or at least bank on, a clean sweep. It can happen, but I'd rank a random in here higher than the rest of the targets on the radar. Every year, it seems to happen and I see 2012 no differently. Hoke and Mattison have shown all year how strong they are on the recruiting trail. It wouldn't surprise me the least if they pulled a last-minute switch on or very close to NSD. Monty Madaris? I'm feeling DL for some reason. Maybe Ryan Watson? Hi Purdue. 40%.


WR Jordan Payton. Decommited to Cal, which helped put Michigan back on the map. Only problem is that instead of the coaches visiting him last week, he took an official to Washington where his main recruiter at Cal, DL coach Tosh Lupo, took a new job. Payton maintains Michigan is still in the game but it seems like he committed to the coach, not the school. I'm sure Michigan is still very much in contact but we haven't heard much out of Payton since his visit in Washington. With the departure of Stonum, Michigan certainly has the room for a 3rd WR. Payton would provide some nice depth but we don't look like we're in great shape. No decision timeline that I know of. 20%.