Michigan's Recruiting Class 2010: The Final Spots

I wrote a post last week talking about the players still left on the board for the Wolverines.

Since then we have had players commit elsewhere and Josh Furman commit to the Maize and Blue.

Let's do a quick recap of the past week and then discuss the remaining few that will fight for the final spots on Michigan's 2010 roster.

It's OK they went with OK

Two top San Diego prospects, Kenny Stills, WR and Tony Jefferson, LB, decided last week to play their college football for Bob Stoops. Kenny would have been nice to have for the Wolverines, but Tony at LB was the much bigger need.

Welcome to Ann Arbor

In the past week, Michigan has gotten two solid commitments from Richard Ash, a defensive end from Florida, and Josh Furman, an athlete/linebacker from Maryland. Both of these players fill important depth positions for the Wolverines in the 2010 class.

Who is looking good to be Blue?

The combo package of Florida teammates: Tony Grimes, CB and Clarence Murphy, DE. Both want to play for the same college and have Michigan as their leader. Tony, though, is planning some trips/visits to SEC schools in January. They are both planning to announce on Feb. 3, signing day.

If you consider Murphy and Grimes to be "silent" commits, that would leave one more spot for Michigan's 2010 class. Many recruiting insiders have said they are silent, just so  that they don't lose their spots by waiting until signing day to announce.

Who is on the fence?

Michigan has two important prospects still on the fence for maybe the last spot in the class. Both are highly ranked players: Sean Parker, a four-star safety from California who has Michigan, Cal, and USC in his final three, and Johnathon Hankins, a defensive tackle from Detroit who has Michigan, OSU, and Florida in his final three.

I like both players, and they fill needs for the Wolverine defense. If you asked me to choose, I would pick Parker, who could be a real game-changer on defense and has the skills to play early as a freshman. Parker plans on announcing on signing day, and most expect Hankins to make his final decision sometime during the holiday season.

Who is a longer shot?

Torrian Wilson, offensive lineman from Miami, is still committed to Stanford after having Michigan as his leader early on in the process. He will take another visit to A2 in January. It would be nice to have another offensive lineman in this class, but I think he will play for Jim Harbaugh next year.

Rashard Knight, DB Florida has always had Michigan high on his radar but missed his flight for the Ohio State game. I think he is still a candidate to commit to the Wolverines but might need to do it fast.

Jatashun "Big Tex" Beachum: A defensive tackle that was real excited about Michigan after his visit but still is committed to Arkansas. I think "Big Tex" will stay close to home and get to know Ryan Mallett.

So here is the deal: Michigan most likely has one more spot in this class if they don't get any de-commits or pull an offer due to a player not being eligible academically. The rumor mill says there are two players that are borderline on not being eligible.

Michigan needs to fill all the spots in the class and most likely will have to go in another direction if a kid isn't on track after his first semester grades or with his latest test scores.

If you remove the recruiting silent period/holiday season, there really is only the month of January left in the recruiting race for the 2010 class. Time is ticking, and decisions need to be made quickly. It might be cold in Ann Arbor these days, but recruiting will be a hot topic in January.