Commit #14

Trotwood-Madison (OH) LB Mike McCray made it public yesterday that he had chosen Michigan to play his college ball.  McCray is a 6'4" 230 pounder that Rivals has tabbed as the 44th best player in the country.  He is the first LB to commit in this class and continues the hot streak the Wolverines have been on overall, but especially with LBs over the last two classes.  If memory serves, McCray is the first player from Trotwood-Madison to come to Ann Arbor since the trio of Roy Roundtree (Happy Bday to him today btw), Mike Shaw, and Brandon Moore in 2008.  I have heard some rumblings about his potential, at his size, to grow into a DE but I think he is going to fit nicely into the SAM LB spot and be the heir to Jake Ryan.  McCray committed over offers from Arizona, BC, Illinois, Ole Miss, Nebraska, NC State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and a handful of others.

The writing was pretty much on the wall for this commitment over the last couple of weeks.  McCray announced he would be visiting U-M on March 6th and then announcing his decision on the 8th.  Guys don't generally visit someplace and then turn around and commit somewhere else two days later, so this was generally expected to be a Michigan decision.  Having said all that, this is still a very exciting commitment for several reasons.  First off, this kid can flat out play.  What I see on the film I've looked at (including the above reel) is a kid that has a great feel for the game and instinctively knows where to be on the field to make plays.  He shows pretty good speed for a kid his size and he can bring the lumber when he gets to the football.

Secondly, I love the position Michigan is in for very high caliber LBs in this class.  Some of my more specific thoughts can be found here.  With two more spots and at least the trio of Gedeon, O'Daniel, and Levenberry listing M as their leader, things get interesting.  I read somewhere (I can't find it now, sorry) that Gedeon recently said he may have to alter his decision timeline to make sure he has a spot if he decides he wants to be a Wolverine.  All of these guys (and the handful of other LBs that are also high on U-M) know that there won't be room for everyone.  Things may start to heat up soon and the possibilities are exciting.  Levenberry has maintained that he will not decide until the All American games, but he is the one I would expect the coaches to hold a spot for.  What that tells me is that the next LB that wants to commit will get the only other spot that's not reserved.  Who will it be?  My guess is Gedeon.

And the thing about this commit that I just love to death, is that OSU will not get this kid.  They didn't even offer.  This article in the Dayton Daily News (HT to mgoblog) has some great quotes from McCray's head coach in which he all but says that the Buckeyes screwed this one up and he doesn't sound real happy about it.  My favorite is when he said:

They sent him a letter last Thursday telling him to hold on, that they were still evaluating linebackers.

Well, take your time Urban.  No rush.  Coach Hoke and Coach Mattison and the rest of the boys from 'That School Up North' don't mind you taking as long as you want in your evaluations.  They'll just keep bringing in big time recruits while you finish up.  Oh, and thanks.  Did I mention that McCray's dad (who is also the LB coach at Trotwood) played at OSU when Meyer was there as an assistant in the late 80's and was even a team captain in 1988?  Ha, I just love it too much!

Going Forward

I don't really have much to add here since the piece I did a couple days ago.  As I said above, I think Gedeon takes the next LB spot and the last one will be reserved for Levenberry if he wants it.  Where does that leave O'Daniel who is supposed to visit for the Spring Game with his five star teammate CB Kendall Fuller?  I don't have an answer for that.  It's possible they could take him as a SS if they want him bad enough and don't have room for him at LB.  That's probably a stretch though.

Weekend Visitors

This weekend is shaping up to be a big one with the talent expected to be in town.  Don't expect an eight commit blowout like we saw a few weeks ago, but there could be a couple more names on the commit list sooner than later.  Shane Morris and David Dawson are the only two commits that will be in town.  Morris has already been talking a lot to Ty Isaac about hanging out with him this weekend and you can bet he will be in his ear about coming on board.

Here is the list of uncommitted kids I have heard will be on campus this weekend:

Illinois RB Ty Isaac
Illinois OT Colin McGovern
Ohio LB Shane Jones
Ohio CB Gareon Conley
Ohio CB Jaleel Hytchye - I don't know a thing about this kid other than what you see on his profile
Maryland WR Zach Bradshaw

All of these kids except Hytchye have offers.  Isaac is the big fish.  There are also a number of commits and prospects that have said they might come, as well as some 2014 kids too.  I'll update as these things get more concrete.