Chris Clark. (via YouTube.com)

Inside the Fish Bowl: September 14th Recruiting Update

Posted onAuthorGarrett Fishaw

Harbaugh is on the board after his first win as the head coach of the Wolverines and put on a very good show while doing so. Michigan hosted multiple official visitors and top 2017 targets, as well as several names to watch as possible preferred walk-ons down the road, and from all account, things went great for most:

More Visitor Reactions

Michigan hosted two official visitors, including current commit QB/ATH Victor Viramontes. However, he wasn’t the name to watch the most. That was Oregon commit CB Jared Mayden as he made his way up from Texas to take in the Big House, and man did he have a cool experience:

He also spoke with Scout’s Greg Powers about his visit and it looks like Michigan impressed but didn’t knock his socks off ($). I’d probably say he’s more than likely to end up elsewhere.

As for a big visitor that is looking pretty good to end up in the Maize and Blue, 2017 Cass Tech (MI) WR Donovan Peoples-Jones spoke with 247Sports Steve Wiltfong about his Saturday trips which included visits to both Michigan and Michigan State. And from his comments, it sounds pretty positive for the Wolverines as he’s already looking to visit again ($):

Very good,” he said of his latest visit. “Enjoyed the game and am excited to visit again.”

While there is a very long time to go in his recruitment, my gut tells me that if he stays in the Midwest, he’ll end up in Ann Arbor.

Basketball Visitor

Most people were paying attention to the football visitors while John Beilein hosted Holt (MI) C/PF Jaron Faulds for the football game:

2017 Michigan basketball recruiting is clearly starting to pick up with the 2016 class all but wrapped up. So make sure to stay tuned as the offers should be going out and more visits will be set up for this fall.

3rd Time’s the Charm?

If you have yet to hear, former Michigan commit and 2015’s #1 tight end in the country, Chris Clark, has left UCLA and may be on the market.

Rumor has it that Clark was feeling homesick after battling mono during the summer. And before anyone calls him a baby or bags on him for his decision, just pump the breaks a bit. It’s hard to adjust to living far away from home for the first time. I had a problem with it when I was 17 in my first fall training camp. It’s tough on a kid so I completely understand why he made the decision to leave, if that was the real reason.

Annnyyyywaayyys, of course everyone wants to know, will the Wolverines pursue him for the 3rd time?

There isn’t anything out there at on that front as it has yet to be officially announced by the university or Jim Mora. However, Harbaugh went after him really hard once he decommitted from UM when Hoke was fired and if they miss out on both Isaac Nauta and Jacob Mathis in 2016, it wouldn’t shock me to see them kick the tires on Clark to check if there’s interest.

Do I think it will happen? No, but I’m not ruling it out either.

Still the Favorite

Ever since naming Michigan his leader back at the start of the summer, DeMatha (MD) OG Terrance Davis has been pretty quiet about the Wolverines. He also made several visits to top programs and it started to look a little bit like he could end up not being a member of the 2016 class because of his timeframe.

If he sticks to making his decision later in the process, that spot could very well be gone as the staff has multiple top offensive line targets left on the board, most of which are tackles (Davis is a pure guard). But if that spot is available when he make his choice, he is still a safe bet to be in the class as he told Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz that “Michigan is still #1,” before he takes his five official visits ($).

Climbing the List for Corley

While Davis has Michigan out front in his recruitment, the Wolverines are still trying to make up ground on Detroit King (MI) WR Donnie Corley. But from just about every report since August, it looks like the staff is not only making up ground but is looking more and more like a legit option to choose Michigan.

Corley spoke with The Wolverine’s Brandon Brown and he wasn’t hiding his interest in UM ($):

I love what Michigan is doing,” Corley said. “They’ve got to get the quarterback and the turnover thing right. Once they do that, I think they’re going to be a great team. They’ll start making some of those big plays and they’ll be good.”

This was before his official visit to Michigan State on Saturday night where Spartan fans were hoping to land a commitment. However, he let Brown know before hand that he wouldn’t commit and that’s great news for Michigan fans. MSU has been the favorite for awhile now so the longer he goes without making a decision after his official, the better chance UM has to try and take the lead in his recruitment.

If I had to put money on it right now, I’d still go with Michigan State but I am much less confident now than a month ago.

Quick Hitters

  • 2017 RB Kurt Taylor let me know that he was unable to make it to Ann Arbor this weekend because his flight was delayed but let me know he’ll be there in two weeks for the BYU game.
  • 2016 WR Simeon Smith is a name to watch closely. With so many top targets left on the receiver board, he may not receive an offer early on but without a D-1 offer yet, he could be looked at for a preferred walk-on spot.
  • According to The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich, North Carolina commit ATH Korey Banks is setting up an official visit to Michigan ($).
Garrett Fishaw
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