Commits #3 and #4

Michigan held their annual Spring Game over the past weekend and while I was not impressed with the product out on the field, I was impressed with the result on the recruiting front.  Coach Hoke and his staff received two verbal commitments, both from highly regarded linebackers, to get things moving on the defensive side of recruiting.

The first to announce (even though an asshole reporter from a newspaper in Ohio leaked the info a week earlier when he was specifically asked NOT to) was four star linebacker Kaleb Ringer from Clayton, OH (Northmont HS).  Rival profile.  Junior film.  Ringer is an inside LB with decent size at 6'0" 219, although I prefer my MIKE LB to be a bit taller, and he is well received by the recruiting services.  Although Rivals hasn't ranked him yet (or anyone else for that matter), he is expected to get the same four star rating Scout gave him.

The second commit, also from an inside linebacker, was a bit more surprising.  Not necessarily that he committed but I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon and it kind of seemed spur of the moment.  Not that I'm complaining!  This one came from in-state star Royce Jenkins-Stone (Detroit, Cass Tech HS).  Rivals profile.  Junior film.  RJS is a little taller at 6'2" and is listed at 215, although pictures from Saturday show him looking closer to 225 IMO.  He also gets four stars from Scout and should get the same from Rivals.  As long as I'm giving my opinion here, I like RJS a bit more than Ringer, though I think both will be good for Michigan down the line.  Solid pick ups and I'm pleased with both.

Now comes the tricky part.  Michigan is still heavily involved with a few more LB prospects, most notably James Ross and Joe Bolden, but how many more will they take?  Conventional wisdom says there is only room for one more and that it needs to be an OLB.  Well, it can get a little stickier still.  All of these guys can probably play either inside or outside so what it comes down to is, who do they like more?  I would go with Ross.  Not that I would say no to Bolden because that kid can play, I would just pick Ross if I had the choice.  As it is, it looks like it may come down to whichever decides to pull the trigger first (assuming one or both wants to).

Bonus:  Big time QB recruit Zeke Pike is announcing his college decision tomorrow and the internet is abuzz with speculation.  WOTS is that it is down to Michigan, Auburn, and Purdue.  Purdue?  Yes Purdue.  Unfortunately, most of the scuttlebutt is that the choice will be Auburn.  I hope the scuttlebutt is wrong because this kid is my #1 choice at QB.  Not the end of the world if he does pick Auburn, jut would like to have him in this class.