Michigan Football Recruiting: Can Michigan Profit from Jim Tressel's Demise?

So anything in the news lately that you guys want to talk about? Wow, what a couple of days down in Columbus. I’m not going to get into that too much here other than how it will affect recruiting for the Brady Hoke and the Michigan Wolverines. And it will.

Jim Tressel’s departure will affect the recruitment of several Buckeye targets and current commitments. For example, 5Q Top 100 RB Bri’onte Dunn is a player that we have been tracking for quite some time now. I’ve stated several times that Dunn would remain a Buckeye unless something drastic happened. Well, something drastic has happened, and Michigan is in a great spot. He hasn’t decomitted yet, but things are likely heading that way and Penn State will get a visit very soon. I would bet that Dunn ends up a Wolverine, and fans will swear that the A-train is back in Ann Arbor.

Another current Ohio State commitment 5Q Top OT is Kyle Kalis, who called Interim Head Coach Luke Fickell to inform him that he would be decommitting yesterday. Fickell seems to have been able to convince him otherwise…for now.

Although Kalis has stated that he will remain a Buckeye as long as Fickell is the Head Coach, Fickell really cannot assure him of this. Eventually, Kalis will realize that he has no idea who his head coach is going to be, and the sanctions that come out of this mess will certainly give pause to anyone thinking of committing to any Ohio State coach for a couple of years. Michigan and Kalis definitely have mutual interest, and so this is something to watch as the situation continues to develop in Columbus.

Several other Ohio State targets who will certainly be affected by that school in Ohio’s demise:

• WR Dwayne Stanford
• DE Adolphus Washington
• DE Se’von Pittman
• CB De’van Bogard
• DE Tom Strobel

I suppose a player like Chris Wormley could be placed on the list as well, but I omitted him because I think he would be blue regardless of anything Ohio State does. It also affects the commitments of guys like DT Ondre Pipkins and OT Jordan Diamond, but similarly, I don’t think Ohio State was going to get them either way.

In other recruiting news, Michigan has picked its 13th commitment from Allen Gant, son of former Michigan Wolverine safety Tony Gant. Though he is the son of a former player, this is not a recruit to sleep on. Gant can play, and at 6'2", 210 lbs., he is slotted to play strong safety in Greg Mattison’s defense, even though he is listed as a wide receiver by most recruiting services.

Gant was originally expected to wait a little longer to make his announcement, and to weigh his Michigan offer against those from schools like Boston College, Stanford, West Virginia and Illinois. Although he had not yet received an offer from Ohio State he admitted that he would ultimately decide between Michigan and the Buckeyes. He now feels that he is ready to become a Wolverine.

DB Wayne Morgan is the next prospect on the Michigan radar set to announce, and he will do so on June 2. Morgan would be an outstanding addition to this class, as he can play either safety or corner; a very nice luxury with open scholarships filling up fast. Thus, Wolverines fans should have even more to celebrate this weekend when all is said and done.

In addition to the possibility that Wayne Morgan ends up a Wolverine, there are several other positive updates to pass along, starting with 5Q Top 100 OT, Erik Magnuson from Carlsbad, CA. Magnuson has previous connections to Hoke and the staff from his San Diego State days. Magnuson was impressed with what they were able to do with a smaller program, loves the coaches and is very excited about what is going on at the University of Michigan.

Magnuson will be in Ann Arbor on an visit June 10th and I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that he commits. We've heard nothing but positive things about Michigan coming out of his camp; he's saying everything that kids usually say before a commitment. Definitely keep a close eye on this one.

Cornerback Anthony Standifer is another player to watch. He has listed Michigan as his leader a few times in the process and looked likely to commit to the Wolverines over a month ago, but he has since received several more offers and is up to 22 right now. The Illinois product is one of the fastest rising prospects in the nation and has offers from Big 10 programs Minnesota and Iowa along with Notre Dame.

It looks more and more like Michigan will take 5 DB’s in this class, so Standifer has some—but not much—more time to decide. Standifer is on campus as we speak, and it would not surprise me if he ended up beating Wayne Morgan to the punch, though Standifer is rumored to have plans to visit Notre Dame tomorrow. Hoke and Mattison are two of the best closers in the business, and the facilities and campus in Ann Arbor are not to be taken lightly, so anything could happen.