Michigan Football: Coach Hoke Challenging Dantonio, Tressel for Midwest Recruits

Just after Brady Hoke arrived on the Michigan campus, the Wolverines' recruiting philosophy changed.

To anyone who would listen, Hoke said he was recruiting Michigan first, then branching out to Ohio, the Midwest and nationally. It was a warning to Mark Dantonio and Jim Tressel that young Michigan men would be playing for Michigan.

It was also a welcome sign to all the Michigan high school coaches that the Wolverines wanted to reestablish the partnership which existed in the past.

To help, Hoke brought in some 300 former Michigan players to mend a divide that had fractured the Michigan family in recent years.

It’s amazing how ex-players like Thomas Wilcher can benefit the program. Wilcher, who’s been the head coach at Detroit Cass Tech since 1997, sends a steady stream of ballplayers to Ann Arbor.

Michigan already has eight (non-binding) verbal commitments for 2012, four from Michigan and four from Ohio.

With the help of our recruiting gurus, let’s take a quick look at some of the more interesting commits and prospects.

Joel Greer is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. The lists referenced in this slide show have been compiled by michigan.scout.com,michigan.rivals.com,  MaxPreps.com and espn.go.com.

MLB James Ross, Orchard Lake, MI (Verbal)

James Ross

Michigan’s most recent commitment (5-2-11), Orchard Lake's James Ross, becomes the fourth linebacker in the 2012 class, along with Joe Bolden, Royce Jenkins-Stone and Kaleb Ringer.

Ross was a huge catch for Coach Hoke, since the 6'1", 210-pounder was also offered by Michigan State, Ohio State and Southern Cal.

Scout.com rates Ross as the No. 2 middle linebacker in the country.

OLB Joe Bolden, Cincinnati, OH (Verbal)

Joe Bolden

Another Ohio recruit, Colerain High’s Joe Bolden,  passed up several SEC offers to join the Wolverines. 

Bolden, who might also play college baseball, comes from an athletic-minded family.  His dad is the school’s athletic director while his uncle coaches the football team. 

He’s rated four stars by Scout.com. 

TE Devin Funchess, Farmington Hills, MI (Verbal)

Devin Funchess

It's rare that a high school has three legitimate Division I prospects.

Michigan state champion Farmington Harrison has three such stars: Devin Funchess, Aaron Burbridge and Mario Ojemudia.

It's not rare that high school teammates enroll at the same university.

Tight End Devin Finchess has already committed to Michigan while it's entirely possible that Burbridge and Ojemudia will follow.

"I'll work hard to recruit my teammates to U-M," Funchess told Scout.com.

Right now, Funchess could play either wide receiver or tight end.  At 6'5", 205,  he'll be a huge target at either position.  

WR Aaron Burbridge, Farmington Hills, MI (Prospect)

Aaron Burbridge helped lead Farmington Harrison to the Division II State Championship as a junior in 2011.

The 6'1" 180-pound wide receiver caught a pair of touchdown passes in the 38-28 win over Lowell.

Burbridge could be the next domino to fall Michigan's way. The competition is tough, however, with Michigan State, Ohio State and Notre Dame also offering the versatile star.

Burbridge also returns punts, kickoffs and plays defense. Scout.com has him down for a 4.4 in the 40.  

DL Mario Ojemudia, Farmington Hills, MI (Prospect)

The action, they say, is heating up. Michigan, Michigan State and Iowa are among several schools competing for Farmington Harrison’s DL-LB Mario Ojemudia.

The wild card, as we’ve previously mentioned, is that teammate Devin Funchess has already committed to Michigan.

Things have changed a lot since February, when Ojemudia wasn’t including Michigan in the mix. "I haven't really talked to Michigan, and it would be hard to choose them over Michigan State," Ojemudia admitted to mlive.com.

Recently, the game has changed.  Michigan is now in the top three, reports Scout.com.

Ojemudia was credited with 127 tackles and 12 sacks during the 2010 championship season, 

QB Maty Mauk, Kenton, Ohio (Prospect)

Maty Mauk threw 69 touchdown passes and passed for 5,670 yards as his team averaged 51 points per game last fall. He did it at a small Ohio school in a small Ohio town.

You’d think those numbers would be cast away as certainly suspect.

But the recruiters think those numbers are for real. In fact, Scout.com has Mauk rated as the No. 5 quarterback in the nation. It also doesn’t hurt that his dad is the football coach. Mauk, at 6'2" and 190 pounds, runs primarily out of an empty set and has actually shown some decent rushing ability.

So here is Michigan looking long and hard at a signal-caller who isn’t exactly suited for the new Wolverine offense. But with an arm like that…      

MLB Royce Jenkins-Stone, Detroit, MI (Verbal)

Royce Jenkins-Stone joins a long list of Cass Technicians who have played at Michigan. The MLB may be the highest-ranked player from the Detroit school to join the Wolverines in quite some time.

Scout.com  has him listed as the No. 3 rated MLB in the nation.  The 6’3”, 215-pounder made 90 tackles last year for Cass Tech, which finished the tough Detroit Public School League undefeated,  before bowing out in the state semifinals.

Blessed with good speed for his size, Jenkins-Stone turned down SEC schools Florida, Alabama and Tennessee.

Already on the Michigan roster from Cass Tech are DL William Campbell, S Thomas Gordon and RB Teric Jones. CB Delonte Hollowell enrolls in the fall.

MLB Kaleb Ringer, Clayton, OH (Verbal)

Someday soon, you'll probably see Jenkins-Stone and Kaleb Ringer patrolling the linebacking corps at the same time.

Ringer was a surprise addition to the Wolverines.  His uncle, Javon Ringer, also played at Dayton Northmont High before escaping Ohio and becoming a running back for the Michigan State Spartans. Javon now plays for the Tennessee Titans.

Buckeye backers were also disappointed the 215-pound middle linebacker is going to Michigan. Years ago, it was a common occurrence for Ohio preps to attend Michigan. Elvis Grbac, Desmond Howard and, Charles Woodson all left Ohio for Michigan. .

The Dayton Daily News reports that Ringer will probably move to outside linebacker this fall; that's where he'll most likely play at Michigan.  

QB Gunner Kiel, Columbus, IN, (Prospect)

Either Brady Hoke (who's from Indiana) or Brian Kelly (who coaches in Indiana), will be disappointed in the outcome of this battle. Both can envision Gunner Kiel, the 6'4" quarterback from Indiana, joining their respective teams.

But Kiel, the top-rated quarterback in the nation (Scout.com), has already received 21 offers.     

"He is very accurate, sees the field well and makes excellent decisions," says Allen Trieu of Scout.com. In his junior year, Kiel threw for 2,200 yards and 25 touchdowns. 

This fight is definitely worth watching.    

DE Matt Godin, Novi, MI (Prospect)

For several years, Detroit Catholic Central has been one of the top five programs in Michigan. The Shamrocks have won 11 state titles, the last in 2009.

Michigan nose tackle Mike Martin is a former Shamrock, as was star DL Mark Messner several years back.

The Wolverines are currently looking at CC's DL Matt Godin. The 6'5", 265-pounder was credited for  60 tackles as a junior, including 28  for loss.  

A better pipeline to Catholic Central, and, for that matter, the entire Detroit Catholic League, would do wonders for the Wolverines.