National Signing Day is less than a week away, and Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh is pulling plenty of aces out of his sleeve with one of the biggest days in the program's recent history fast approaching.
With that in mind, we're here to get you up to speed with everything fit to print about the end of the 2015 recruiting trail for the Wolverines with our Michigan Football Recruiting: MASSIVE End Of January Rumors Roundup.
Van Jefferson a Michigan man at heart?
Four-star Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood wide receiver and Ole Miss commit Van Jefferson is no stranger to the great state of Michigan. He lived in the state for a large portion of his childhood when his dad, Shawn, was the Detroit Lions' wide receivers coach.
So, an offer to Michigan is likely to mean a great deal to the 6-foot-1, 166-pound wideout, making his visit to Ann Arbor this weekend a perfect opportunity to flip him to the Wolverines.
Van Jefferson is familiar with the Great Lakes State - he lived in it for much of his childhood while dad, Shawn, was the Detroit Lions' wide receivers coach - and a late pursuit by Michigan could be meaningful to his heart as much as to his mind. The 6-1, 166-pounder was offered by Michigan Wednesday, and plans to take a visit this weekend. Brentwood (Tenn.) Ravenwood head coach Will Hester filled us in on the details.
"He has been in contact with [wide receivers coach Jedd] Fisch, and they were setting everything up," Ravenwood head coach Will Hester said. "As long as the flights work out, he'll be in Ann Arbor this weekend."
Jefferson was scheduled to fly out at noon after his morning classes, meaning that Michigan's full-court press to land him is probably already underway. Ranked as the #13 wide receiver and #138 overall prospect by Rivals.com, Jefferson committed to Georgia before flipping to Ole Miss just recently. With history and the marketability of Jim Harbaugh in their corner, the Wolverines stand a good shot to flip him one final time before Wednesday.
Flip in the works for OSU commit Mike Weber?
The Michigan Wolverines and Jim Harbaugh worked unbelievably hard just to have a sitdown with four-star Detroit (MI) Cass Tech running back and Ohio State Buckeyes commit Michael Weber, but from all accounts, the struggle was well worth it.
"He said Harbaugh came in with everything he's got," a Rivals.com source close to Weber said. "He was really not considering Michigan other than just to be polite, and to keep them on the backburner.
"Now, he's saying he has a lot to think about in this final week. I still think he might commit [to Michigan]. He really does want to stay close to home. I know they told him all the right stuff that he needed to hear."
Weber originally cited his choice to commit to Ohio State back in December as a pure "business decision," but his heart could very well be leading him to Ann Arbor - that is, if Michigan coaches' pessimism about flipping him proves misguided.
The 17-year-old has friends in Ann Arbor such as David Dawson and Jourdan Lewis, along with strong connections to Joshua Alabi (2015 commit) and Damon Webb (freshman) at Ohio State, so this could be a toss-up.
Whatever the case may be, Michigan coaches are doing everything in their power to get this flip to happen, and the defending national champs in Columbus are sweating things a bit.
"I asked a coach earlier this week, and he said on a scale of 1-10, he was at maybe a three," an Ohio State insider told Rivals.com. "If I asked him today, it would be probably a five or six. There are definitely other kids [that they're worried about losing from the class] more than that, but he's become one who's on that list."
Stay tuned.
(Unsent) postcards from Florida
Three-star Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Damon Arnette, has been MIA since his official visit to Ann Arbor back on January 16th.
The South Carolina commit is reportedly seriously mulling over the prospects of flipping to Michigan or Ohio State (he visit Columbus this weekend). The #51 cornerback in the nation likely won't give up where he's leaning until he's fully processed his visit to the Bucks, so Michigan coaches will likely be left to wonder for at least a couple days - especially with the recent decommittal of four-star DB Carlton Davis from OSU likely to scream "opportunity" to Arnette at this juncture.
The scoop at tight end
Four-star Avon (Conn.) Old Farms senior Chris Clark, ranked as the #1 tight end in the country in the Class of 2015, will make his decision between Michigan and UCLA on National Signing Day. Clark is keeping a very close eye on Jim Harbaugh's recruiting efforts, even sending TheWolverine.com a simple "Wow" via text after four-star QB Zach Gentry flipped to UM last weekend.
Since that text, Jim Harbaugh and passing game coordinator Jedd Fisch have visited Clark in home, with a picture circulating of the meeting featuring Clark in a UM shirt joined with arms around the shoulders of Harbaugh and Fisch.
Regardless, Clark is still at least publicly torn over his decision heading into Wednesday.
"Honestly, I have no idea who I'm going to pick," he said.
A handful of UCLA Bruins assistants were slated to visit Clark on Friday, sans head coach Jim Mora Jr. who used his in-home visit last week.
San Ramon (CA) tight end (and Harbaugh target) Matt Snyder reaffirmed his commitment to Nebraska last night, so it's likely Clark or nothing when it comes to top tight ends in this class.
UM a healthy second in the Iman sweepstakes
Five-star cornerback Long Beach (CA) has all the makings of a USC lock, but the Michigan Wolverines have left a true impression on the coveted defensive back. If he decides to say no to USC, Michigan is a favorite to land him over fellow contenders Florida State and Notre Dame (his first official visit).
Wisconsin ready to say goodbye to Pickard
Three-star Millburn (NJ) defensive end Jake Pickard remains a Wisconsin commit, but don't fret Michigan fans - Wisconsin officials are reportedly resigned to the notion that Pickard will flip to UM, and they are already making alternate plans as if he won't be a part of their 2015 class.
A father/son connection in the works?
Buffalo (NY) Canisius tight end/athlete Tyrone Wheatley Jr.'s surprise visit to Ann Arbor has brought Michigan back to the table in the race for his services, despite his father, running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley, doing his very best not to influence his son one way or the other.
"He's intentionally staying detached from T.J.'s recruitment," a source said. "He doesn't want to interfere as dad and [recruiting] coach. He probably doesn't even know exactly which position his own staff is recruiting his son to play, because he just doesn't want his dual roles to interfere with each other."
Alabama appears to have the momentum in their favor to land the younger Wheatley, so be cautiously optimistic about this one. However, anything is possible, as has already been proven in the first month of the Harbaugh era.
Michigan lost a commit Wednesday - a phrase that's become all-too familiar, but less so since the Wolverines moved on from Brady Hoke and hired Jim Harbaugh - one from the 2016 class. Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne quarterback Messiah deWeaver (the No. 219 overall player and No. 7 pro-style quarterback in the class) opened his recruitment.
The story on Messiah deWeaver
2016 QB Messiah deWeaver made the well-publicized decision to reopen his recruiting process this weekend, decommitting from the Wolverines. The Huber Heights (OH) Wayne signal caller was likely influenced by Zach Gentry's flip, but it's mostly a case of the wandering eye and a question of loyalty that's likely to be at play here.
"Tyree [Kinnel] was worried for a bit, but once they got a great coach, he was as solid as a rock," Wayne head coach Jay Minton said. "With Messiah, it's a different position which is a little less adaptable. He wants to make sure they want him, and that he wants them. He's impressed by Harbaugh and stuff, but he feels like maybe he jumped the gun a little bit. He just wants to make sure they'll still recruit him the same way."
deWeaver has visits at Kentucky and Michigan State under his belt, and he is already hearing from several other programs. Minton told deWeaver that he was welcome to survey other programs, but it wouldn't work to string Michigan along while doing it.
"I said, 'if you talk to other coaches, you should do the right thing and de-commit if you want to talk to other people,'" the coach explained. "If you're committed, you should have already done the homework. There can be extenuating circumstances with a coaching change, but I let him know that Michigan shouldn't have to wait on that."
The Wolverines are reportedly listening if deWeaver wants to consider recommitting (which may not be in play with two 2015 QBs in the fold for Harbaugh), but the hefty deWeaver would face for playing time means that there's a solid probability he'll look to get his education in elsewhere.
If not deWeaver in 2016...
The 2016 class will have its share of options for Harbaugh regardless of deWeaver's 'will he, won't he' recrutiment, as four-star Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Santa Margarita Catholic signal caller K.J. Costello could visit Ann Arbor as soon as February, potentially joined by teammate Dylan Crawford and fellow receiver Theo Howard who are tentatively considering a visit at the same time.
USC and Stanford have pulled ahead in the race for Costello, but a visit to the new staff at Michigan could be just what they need to sway him back into the fold. He was reportedly on the verge of committing to the Wolverines last summer following a visit, but talks died down after the teams offered and accepted deWeaver's commitment.
Miscommunication with Omenihu?
Rowlett (TX) High School strongside defensive end Charles Omenihu is a solid commit to Texas, but did receive an offer from Michigan two weeks ago.
However, shortly after the offer, both sides seemed to come to the realization that Ann Arbor wouldn't be a fit for the three-star 6-5, 232-pounder. Michigan coaches didn't follow up the offer with a visit of any sorts, and Omenihu never reached out to the coaching staff about taking the next step with a visit.
In fact, Omenihu was apparently put off by the program's decision not to visit him first.
"I can't take a visit to a school if they haven't visited me," Omenihu said. "Until they come to the school I'm not going anywhere. They never visited so I'm not considering them anymore."
Debunking the Daishon Neal rumors
All the talk of Michigan assistant Greg Mattison disrepecting Omaha (Neb.) three-star Daishon Neal's family on a recent visit appears to be a complete fabrication. Rivals.com sources debunked the claims of Neal's dad, saying that his father has "been looking for a way to do what he did. He was always hellbent on him being at Nebraska when the mom in Houston always wanted him at Oklahoma."
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