Michigan Wolverines Football: Breaking Down the 2009 Class

FL Brandin Hawthorne & IN Jordan Barnes.  Rod, or whoever does the defensive recruiting, seems to like these smaller, quick linebackers.

Hawthorne has received rave reviews for his intensity, hustle and speed.  Obvious issues of him being englufed are a problem, but those will be addressed in due time I'm sure. Ditto for Barnes.

I'd like to see one more added here, but we could potentially have four linebacker types in the class, depending what happens with safeties Mike Jones and Isaiah Bell. Not terrible, considering Obi Ezeh and just about everyone else is back next year.

This is probably it, though I wouldn't be surprised to see another addition here.  Hawthorne is the potential impact player of the group, though redshirts are imminent.

Edit: Michigan is said to be a favorite for 5-star MD LB Jelani Jenkins.  He has a visit planned and hopefully, once on campus, Rich Rod will sell him hard on snake oil, over-powering Jelani's mind with his wizard hat.

Defensive Back

OH JT Turner, OH Isaiah Bell & FL Mike Jones. Commence with lame references to famous rappers.

Turner is a potential standout corner and appears to be the only "sure thing" of the group. Universal four-star and top 100 player on the rankings sites. Expect spot duty next year before seizing a starting spot in 2010.

Bell and Jones are both LB/S hybrids and could end up in either spot. I expect at least one to be bulked up and moved to linebacker. Hopefully Bell will make noise like his Liberty teammate, Fitzgerald Touissant, has already this year.

Probably set for the '09 class, but one more solid addition will no doubt be welcomed. Unless it's a four or five-star, I expect this to be closed off.

Special Teams

TX K Anthony Fera. He keek ball far.

One of the few kickers to get a third star from the services, he earned an offer the hard way. Expect him to take over by 2010 and keek teh ball far.

Obviously, no way in hell does another K/P/Long Snapper/Water Boy get offered here, rendering this one closed.

So what does this mean overall?  Lots of quick little buggers, for one. Two, end has been shored up and the defensive line can potentially have continued dominance through 2012 if the cards fall correctly.

Linebacker is something I'd like to see addressed with a bit more than small guys who run fast. Offensive line is a pretty big concern still, though no one we bring in is going to make the kind of impact that will affect the current line.

Michigan only has a few more scholarships to go around. Hopefully, Evans (mentioned above) is one of those who commits late and we can add an offensive lineman or two. Overall, tremendous class with lots of talent.  Once Barwis works his magic, we could see great results.

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