2013 Recruiting Reset

MI QB Shane Morris and OH S Dymonte Thomas

Now that the 2012 class is in the bag and on their way to being legends or busts—there is no middle ground—eyes turn towards the 2013 class. This is because football is still a goddamn long way off. Michigan's needs, available slots, and current commits below:

Attrition is a fact of life, etc etc etc, expect at least five more slots, etc. But right now Michigan graduates the following players after 2012:

• QB: Denard Robinson (sniff)
• RB: Mike Cox, Vincent Smith
• WR: Roy Roundtree, Terrance Robinson
• TE: Brandon Moore
• OL: Patrick Omameh, Ricky Barnum, Elliot Mealer, Rocko Khoury
• DL: Will Campbell, Craig Roh
• LB: Kenny Demens, Brandin Hawthorne
• DB: JT Floyd, Jordan Kovacs

Michigan's late whiffs on a variety of folk have paved the way for fifth years for Cox and Robinson. This leaves Michigan with 16 graduating seniors and zero to two open slots depending on what Alex Kozan and Jordan Diamond do.

If you're starting with 16-18 in February, you'll be signing at least 20-22 a year after. Expect yet another basically full class as Michigan tries to work off the Rodriguez instability.

Michigan kicks off the 2013 recruiting year with two already in the bag. Instate QB Shane Morris is in the running for five stars and OH S Dymonte Thomas seems like he'll be prominent on everyone's initial top 100 lists.

You can also see the full docket of Michigan offerees on wlubd's diary, soon to be upgrade to a wiki page.

Quarterback: 1 (filled). Filled with Morris. Slight possibility they'll pursue a second guy, a three-star type, after going without this year.

Running back/fullback: 2 RBs, preferably blue chip. Fullback is probably off the table after Sione Houma signed this year. Running back is the same old story: Michigan has many bodies but no blue-chips. 2013 recruits will be freshmen when Toussaint is a senior, so this is the year to pull in a big-timer. In the midwest, Illinois has Ty Isaac (right) and Indiana has Jaylon Smith. Michigan is after both already; stiff competition will come from Notre Dame and Ohio State, respectively.

Michigan would like at least two. Right now they're relying entirely on Fred Jackson scouting reports for post-Toussaint production. Scary thought.

Wide receiver: 3. It's unclear how many guys Michigan is going to want going forward. When 2013 arrives they'll have four outside types plus senior slots Gallon and Dileo. They'll also have Morris in any blue-chip WR's ear they care to. This might be a year to load up.

Q: will Michigan pursue a slot guy? They might already have one on the roster in Justice Hayes or Dennis Norfleet. Long-term, it seems like a teams can make good use out of a quick little bastard even if they're dedicated pro-style guys. Marquise Maze was Alabama's leading receiver this year, and Keshawn Martin was a hugely effective part of Michigan State's offense and special teams the past four years.

Tight end: 2. Still a thin spot and seemingly one that is becoming vogue in college football. Expect at least one and probably two.

Offensive line: 5. Michigan wanted six but with late defections and whiffs came in with only four or five. Four exit this year, so the line remains just as big of a priority in this class as it was in 2012. Expect four to six OL. One will be a center prospect.

SDE/3-Tech: 2. I'm lumping these together since it's become clear that it's hard to tell which rangy, large, unthrilling pass rushers are strongside defensive ends and which are three-technique defensive tackles. Michigan got a load of these dudes last year: Strobel, Wormley, Godin, and Henry are all ticketed for one spot or the other. This year they can skimp a little but will probably want one or two.

NT: 1. This is the domain of Pipkins. Michigan will want a backup/platoon-mate.

SLB/WDE: 2. Again, these positions have seen Beyer and Clark flip between them and seem largely interchangeable when it comes to projecting high school recruits to a position. Michigan picked up Mario Ojemudia as a WDE and momentarily had Pharaoh Brown in the fold; the other four LBs in the class all seem to be MLB/WLB types. Maybe Jenkins-Stone or Bolden will end up sliding down to SLB eventually.

MLB/WLB: 1. Not a high priority with Ross, Ringer, Bolden, and Jenkins-Stone all seemingly destined for one spot or the other and Antonio Poole coming off a redshirt. Wise to take at least one guy here, maybe two. Numbers not a priority.

CB: 2. You cannot litter your roster with sufficient cornerbacks. Realistically you have to look at this position as a three-man unit with the nickelback at least as important as whoever you yank off the field when he gets in. Michigan will have six guys for those three spots and should look to add two or three more.

Cass Tech corner Jourdan Lewis (right) has a Michigan offer and seems like to hop on it in the near future. He's like a Cass Tech corner except he's taller than TomVH.

S: 1 (filled). Thomas fills a spot and Michigan acquired three in the previous class (Gant, Wilson, Clark). They can probably get by with just Thomas; if the right player comes around they'd likely take a second.

K: 0. Michigan does not need a kicker or punter.

Wildcards: 0-3. The above numbers add up to 22. If the class expands towards 25 they will be able to fill in thin spots with additional players. I'd say another OL, safety, RB, and SLB/WDE are the likely places to see spare scholarships deployed.

Original Story: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mgoblo...