Michigan Football Off-Season Recruiting Analysis
Wolverines looking for new prospects for Rodriguez's system
Rodriguez seemingly knew that 2008 was going to be a rough year once he got a good look at his two QB's, Nick Sheridan and Steven Threet, and realized just how poorly they fit his system and how lacking in talent they were.
The 2008 Michigan football recruiting class will be a big key for the team moving forward as they try to climb into the upper half of the Big Ten.
Michigan Football Recruiting Analysis
The Wolverines' biggest needs are quarterback, linebacker, and secondary going into the off-season.
The offensive line has a ton of young guys coming up who could be stars like Dann O'Neill and Ricky Barnum as well as Patrick Omameh, so that unit should be much better in 2009.
Michigan Quarterback Recruits for 2009
The Wolverines are already set for the 2008-2009 recruiting class at QB with the commitments of dual four-star prospects Tate Forcier of California and Shavodrick Beaver of Texas.
Forcier is a very accurate passer who's a bit undersized but also is a very good runner. He reminds some of former UM QB Rick Leach or maybe even Jim Harbaugh and he will be a threat to start from day 1.
Beaver on the other hand is an even better runner, a true threat to take it to the house on any play from the QB spot. He reminds some Michigan observers of former Oregon QB Dennis Dixon. If he can be anywhere near as good as Dixon for Rodriguez then he will have a great chance to start.
But he is a little more raw than Forcier and Forcier has a better shot to start.
If either Sheridan or Threet start next year, consider it a major upset.
Michigan Recruiting's Biggest Need
Young linebackers Jonas Mouton and Obi Ezeh made a lot of mistakes in 2008 but both have a lot of talent and should be starters for a while.
If Michigan can get Jelani Jenkins out of Maryland, they will suddenly have the makings of a dynamite linebacking corps. Jenkins is a do-it-all prospect with great speed who can clean up a lot of mistakes at his linebacker spot and probably play early.
Michigan Secondary Recruiting
Vladimir Emelien, a 4-star prospect according to rivals.com, just committed to Michigan and is a big catch. UM also has guys like J.T. Turner and Isiah Bell coming in at the safety spot. They can't possibly be worse than incumbents Brandon Harrison and Stevie Brown so the safety position should be better soon.
It is definitely in good hands with these incoming Michigan recruits.
Campbell Commitment a Huge Deal for Michigan
William Campbell is a 5-star defensive tackle from Detroit Cass Tech High School in Michigan, a school that has become a Wolverine pipeline.
Campbell could dominate at either DT or OT like he did at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl combine and now he is considering other schools like Alabama and USC after retracting his verbal commitment to Michigan.
But many insiders believe he will come back to the Wolverines and join their 2008-2009 recruiting class.
If he does it could be the capper on a brilliant class for Rodriguez and it would go a long way toward turning things around quickly in Ann Arbor.
Top Michigan Recruiting Targets
Jenkins is probably the most important target left while Campbell is a close second. Other than that, Michigan is in on several guys from different positions and is looking to add quality depth and speed on defense.
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