Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Fish Bowl is Full of Ups and Downs

Posted onAuthorGarrett Fishaw

Crazy week, huh? Though Michigan suffered a devastating loss this past weekend the positivity that is flowing through the recruiting trails for the Wolverines almost makes up for it. All three California official visitors from the MSU game have gone from long shots to realistic options for the 2016 class while Michigan also made a big move for the #1 tight end in the country.

On top of that, it looks like there is some pretty huge transfer rumors running amuck, including one (if healthy) gigantic possible addition for 2016.

Trojans Coming Over the Hill? (I’m sorry for that one)

First hinted at by The Wolverine crew ($), rumors are now running wild of oft-injured BYU QB Taysom Hill possibly transferring to Michigan for his final year of eligibility in 2016.

SBNation’s BYU site, Vanquish the Foe, put together an article on possible landing spots for Hill and came to the conclusion that Michigan was the perfect fit.

Thanks to Hill once being committed to Jim Harbaugh at Stanford (though he was unable to enrollee early and end up in Palo Alto), looking to go to a top flight business school for his graduate degree and the questions still surrounding the QB situation in 2016, it looks like a good idea.

There’s also this story about Harbaugh and Hill still talking from USA Today’s Dan Wolken:

Debilitated to the point he couldn’t walk for weeks and inspired by a 45-minute phone conversation with current Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who once recruited him to Stanford, Hill, a finance major at BYU’s Marriott School of Management, threw himself into his studies and landed an internship at a venture capital firm that specializes in funding early-stage technology companies before they go public or even generate revenue and — hopefully — deliver a massive return on investment.

To join in on the fun and really get the conversation started around the Twittersphere, MGoBlog’s Brian Cook and Ace Anbender discussed the rumors of Hill transferring to UM themselves. And while they’ve also seen the rumors on the sites, they’ve heard things about the possibility as well (their conversation starts at the 4 minute mark).

Will this happen? It’s unclear, especially with the tight scholarship numbers. But with all of the ties to Harbaugh and his ability, when healthy, Hill could really change the outlook of Michigan’s 2016 season. He could either help Team 137 have a very successful season or push the current UM quarterbacks to be even better. Something we like to call a “win-win”.

I mean, when healthy (I’ll always say that), Taysom Hill is a really good quarterback and could be a big time addition, if a spot is available:

As for another possible big time transfer, The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb is hearing good things about Michigan’s chances at bringing in a future graduate transfer from USC ($). So let the fun begin running through the USC roster to try and guess who it could be.

While there has been a ton of positivity for Michigan recruiting recently, there’s also been some tough news that has come out this week as well…

Falcon’s Medical Offer

Earlier this week, news finally broke of Southfield (MI) RB Matt Falcon‘s future with the University of Michigan. Reported by just about everyone, Michigan had to break tough news to the now-former UM commit that if he took a scholarship to Michigan it would be a full academic scholarship and he would not be able to play football for the Wolverines.

Obviously, this was very tough for Falcon to hear and released this heartfelt message to Michigan fans:

After this, some fans and analysts are looking at this decision by Jim Harbaugh as him dumping Falcon to make room for RB Kareem Walker. I don’t believe that to be true at all and even Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz, as well as others, are reporting that they have known about the medical offer for quite some time ($).

So, while some are taking shots at Michigan for “pulling” his offer, I believe it says a lot about Harbaugh and the staff to give an unsigned recruit the option to accept a full scholarship to the best public university in the country. But that’s just me.

Either way, here’s to hoping Matt is able to return to 100% and play in college.

More Losses Coming?

For quite some time, there have been rumors that Michigan was going to move on from the previous staff’s offer and accepted commitment to Eastern Christian Academy (MD) LB Dele Harding. According to The Wolverine’s Tim Sullivan, things have been a little awkward for all parties involved as the staff “doesn’t have a spot in this class” for him but are unable to relay the message ($).

Once again, some fans aren’t fans of this move but need to remember that when coaching changes happen, it’s rare that the new staff accepts every single previous commitment. Luckily for Harding, the sooner this is official, the quicker he’ll be able to find the perfect college fit for him before NSD.

As for a commit that could be making his own decision to leave the 2016 UM class, according to 247Sports’ EJ Holland, Farmington (MI) LB David Reese is “wavering” in his commitment to Michigan ($). This is coming after Reese recently landed early enrollee offers from Texas and Nebraska, something he wanted from Michigan, though they don’t have enough EE spots for him, per TheMichiganInsider’s Sam Webb ($).

It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Reese. While I included him in my latest 2016 class prediction, it’s looking like there’s a real chance he may end up elsewhere but it isn’t a foregone conclusion, like some may think.

Lets end this on a bit of a high note and watch ESPN’s Michael Smith absolutely rip apart MSU alum Jamele Hill about her “inferiority complex”. Sorry for bringing this up again but this is just too good not to show:

Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Garrett Fishaw
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