Laquon Treadwell Will Commit Earlier Than Expected: Why Michigan Will Land Him

Crete Monee High School star wide receiver Laquon Treadwell (Crete, IL) has changed his recruitment timeline several times since last fall—when he was thought to be close to verbally committing to either Michigan or Notre Dame—but barring any surprises, his latest timetable is unlikely to be altered and as it stands right now, the Michigan Wolverines appear to be the team to beat for his services. 

Sam Webb of GoBlueWolverine.com and The Detroit News caught up with Treadwell this month for an interview and reported on Thursday the 4-star wideout will likely end the recruitment process during his senior season of high school football. 

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I think a decision is going to come faster now," Treadwell said. "I'm anxious to make a decision. I've been going through it for the longest. It's probably going to happen sooner than later. Like once football gets kicked off, I'll see where things are going and everything. 

"

Treadwell's mother has very much been a part of his recruitment and the two-sport star—Treadwell plays on Crete's varsity basketball team—has his mother's approval and support to attend whichever university his heart desires. 

"I've been in this recruiting process for a long time and my mom said she thinks she's seen enough schools to be comfortable with making a decision," Treadwell told Josh Helmholdt of Rivals.com last Tuesday.  

"It will probably be late summer or during the season. It depends how I am feeling at the time - if I feel the right school." 

Even though the 6'3", 185-pound wideout has decided to end his recruitment sooner that does not mean he is signed, sealed and delivered to the Wolverines. Treadwell still plans on visiting Michigan again along with potential stops at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State among others before making a final decision. 

The Michigan coaching staff has already told Treadwell he has a spot in their 2013 class no matter what happens between now and whenever he decides to end his recruitment. 

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(Michigan) said there's one spot left and they're going to wait on me to see what decision I'm going to make," the Rivals.com's No. 5 receiver and No. 31 overall prospect told Webb. "They''ll hold the spot. I haven't really told the coaches I was coming up (for a return visit). 

I've just been talking to Shane (Morris) and all those guys (about coming up) and just trying to get up to hang with them. Khalid (Hill) is talking about playing basketball with some of the other recruits...just getting used to hanging around them and everything. 

"

At this point, it is hard to say Michigan is not leading for Treadwell and even though the Wolverines have come up short in their recent pursuits of highly coveted prospects E.J. Levenberry Jr. (Woodbridge, VA) and Ty Isaac (Joliet, IL), this has an altogether different feel to it.  

With Levenberry Jr., the Wolverines were already set at linebacker with a sophomore locked in at one outside linebacker spot going into 2012, true freshman Joe Bolden primed to lock down the middle linebacking job and five other highly touted linebacker commits in the 2012 and 2013 recruiting classes. 

Michigan did not need another linebacker but decided a talent like Levenberry Jr. would be too good to pass up if he wanted to commit. So, the staff saved him a spot if he wished to become a Wolverine. 

In a not-so-surprising move, Levenberry Jr. chose Florida State where he could get on the field much earlier than he would have at Michigan, and also, where they had his desired major, computer forensics. 

In Isaac's case, the Wolverines were in dire need of a speedy running back with enough size to withstand the punishment of being an every-down back in the Big Ten conference. However, the depth chart likely betrayed Michigan again. 

Redshirt junior running back Fitzgerald Toussaint will be leading Michigan's stable of running backs until the end of the 2013 campaign and will likely turn the reigns over to the up-and-coming sophomore tailback Thomas Rawls, in addition to a host of change-of-pace backs like incoming freshmen Dennis Norfleet and Drake Johnson along with redshirt freshman Justice Hayes.  

On the other hand, USC's starting tailback Curtis McNeal is out of eligibility at the end of the upcoming season. Former highly ranked prospects Dillon Baxter and Amir Carlisle both transferred out of the program and sophomore George Farmer is moving back to wide receiver. Javorious Allen and D.J. Morgan both have a lot to prove, and the Trojans did not sign a running back in the 2012 class. 

At the time of his commitment, Isaac was the only running back committed to USC in the class of 2013. Since then, the Trojans received a verbal commitment from 4-star running back Justin Davis (Stockton, CA). 

To make a long story short, the stable of running backs Isaac will have to compete with as a true freshman at USC is not nearly as deep as what he would face at Michigan.  

Where the depth chart has been a disadvantage for Michigan in their past two national battles, it is very much in their favor in Treadwell's case, if they are up against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. 

Oklahoma signed arguably the best group of wide receivers in the country in 2012 headlined by 5-star recruit Trey Metoyer (Chatham, VA) and supported by four, 4-star wideouts. 

Since Sooners head coach Bob Stoops suspended three of his top wide receivers indefinitely on May 10, these highly touted incoming freshmen receivers will likely be called upon to play early and often for however long the starters remain on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, the Sooners' in-state rival Oklahoma State signed four wide receivers in both their 2011 and 2012 classes and have two 4-star receivers committed in their 2013 class. 

Although none of the wideouts in the previous two classes were as highly sought after or coveted by other schools like Treadwell, neither was Oklahoma State's latest NFL first-round draft pick wide receiver Justin Blackmon. 

In fact, outside of Oklahoma State, the only other offers the 3-star prospect had were from Missouri, Colorado and Northern Iowa. Not exactly a group of heavyweights. 

The Cowboys two-deep will be loaded with several of these recruits and a couple of other members of the 2010 class when Treadwell would arrive on campus. 

Compare that against the Michigan Wolverines, who are recruiting taller wide receivers for their transition from the spread to a pro-style offense, where the players he will have to compete against are 2012 signees Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson.

In addition to the two receivers, Michigan has verbals from the 2013 class C'Sonte York (Harper Woods, MI) and Jaron Dukes (Columbus, OH). 

If Ohio State and Illinois were to enter the mix for Treadwell, the teams would be about even in terms of depth, but Michigan appears to be well out in front of those two programs at this point. 

College football recruiting is one of the toughest things to predict due to how quickly things can change.

There is still plenty of time for new wrinkles in Treadwell's recruitment to come about, however, the Wolverines appear to be in the best shape to receive a verbal pledge from the Rivals100 recruit.

Zach Dirlam is the Lead Editor of the College Basketball section as well as Big Ten columnist for the FOX Sports/MSN/YardBarker affiliate website Sports at Work. Check out his blog, Dirlam’s Dirty Dugout Sports Blog, which features this story, along with other articles and video reports on major sports.

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