Inside the Fish Bowl: Early October Recruiting Update

Posted onAuthorGarrett Fishaw

The Bad

So long, Roseboro

With the turmoil surrounding the Michigan football program, it was obvious that there would be some significant ripple effects. Well, before the Dave Brandon petition and rally, the 2015 recruiting class took a big blow when defensive end Darian Roseboro decided to decommit to look at other schools. It is very unlikely that he ends up back in the class with his high interest in his hometown NC State Wolfpack, as well as new comers like Oklahoma and Alabama.

Commits Looking to Take Visits

To make things worse, two of the other top players in the class, TE Chris Clark and CB Garrett Taylor, are looking to take visits to other schools. Both are just trying to protect themselves in case of a coaching change, which makes sense. Not many recruits, especially out of state recruits, will want to sign with a school when they don\’t have much of a relationship with the coaching staff. However,  both are still committed and I doubt Hoke will pull their status as such.

Out of the two, Clark is the most likely to decommit (IMO), especially after 247Sports\’ Steve Lorenz ($) reported that he reached out to the Texas staff, which turned into an offer. He was also offered by USC.

As for Taylor, he was one of the most solid commits to the class before the talk of Hoke being fired took place. I still think he ends up in the Maize and Blue as long as Hoke is retained or a new coach is able to build a relationship with him prior to National Signing Day.

The Good

Auden Tate \”10,000%\” taking official visit to Michigan

Steve Lorenz spoke with the Florida State wide receiver commit and he let him know that he will definitely be taking an official visit to Michigan this fall. However, he will not be visiting for the Penn State game like originally planned but he is targeting the Maryland game on November 22nd.

This is big news since Tate grew up loving the Wolverines and was seen as a very possible addition to the class. However, he was not able to visit over the summer and ended up committing to the Seminoles. With him still clearly interested in Michigan after the rough start to the season, you have to think there\’s a very small shot in the dark here.

Hayes a Target Again

Back in May, 2016 OLB/DE Daelin Hayes looked to be a lock to commit to Michigan. However, he decided to hold off on that commit and take some visits. And when he made the trip out to USC, he landed an offer and committed soon after. It was a big blow to the class since Hayes was the best player in the state for 2016. But that didn\’t look like as bad of a blow when he transferred from St. Mary\’s Prep (Michigan) to St. Bonaventure (California).

Oh how things have changed in a short time frame. Hayes has moved back to Michigan and is going to Detroit powerhouse, Cass Tech.

Obviously, that is a big deal since Cass Tech is the biggest Michigan pipeline and being back in the state gives the staff a chance to see him much more. And it turns out the recruitment has already started as The Wolverine\’s Brandon Brown ($) reported that Hayes visited Ann Arbor this past weekend for the Minnesota game. He\’s still committed to USC but it is still very early and it looks like Michigan may be back in the race.

Name to Remember: 2017 RB Eno Benjamin

I briefly chatted with Benjamin and he let me know about how his latest game where he put up 228 yards on 28 carries, 48 yards on 1 reception and 5 touchdowns total against McKinney North (TX). It is still very early in the process for the talented Lone Star State tailback but he is clearly a name to remember going forward.

Here are the highlights of his performance vs McKinney North.

 

Garrett Fishaw
Latest posts by Garrett Fishaw (see all)