Michigan Wolverines

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- On Monday, the ESPN 300 was released, as was an updated ESPN 150. The majority of Michigan’s class was largely unaffected, only experiencing minor moves throughout, though most of Michigan’s commits’ moves were down rather than up.

However, the Wolverines continue to have nine of their 11 commits in the ESPN 150, and many of their top targets remained in the top 100.

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SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- The Sound Mind Sound Body camp ran Friday and Saturday in Michigan and plenty of talent turned out for the big event. College coaches were strewn about and players took hold of opportunities to shine.

Recruiting writers Chantel Jennings and Tom VanHaaren were at the event and here is what they learned:

Cleveland Glenville has depth

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Quick Hits is a look at the must-know facts for each region in regards to Michigan and its football recruiting efforts. It will give you an idea of the Wolverines’ history in that region, as well as what one can expect from that region over the next few seasons.

SOUTHEAST

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. Quick Hits is a look at the must-know facts for each region in regard to Michigan and its football recruiting efforts. It will give you an idea of the Wolverines’ history in that region, as well as what one can expect from that region over the next few seasons.

EAST

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Now is a time when kids who are sports fans will need explanations for conference names.

They’ll want to know that at one point the “Pac” in Pac-12 (then eight) stands for the Pacific Ocean and that the conference held teams that were near that body of water, and that Arizona and Arizona State, being in deserts, isn’t just irony for the sake of conference humor. Or that the “East” in Big East didn’t initially imply “east of the Mississippi.” Or that something as simple as the Big Ten once truly had 10 teams.

But it’s a sign of the times, and conference realignment is a constant reality for today’s athletes. While the “Ten” in Big Ten is now a misnomer, it still lives up to the “Big” part, and the conference’s territory keeps growing bigger and bigger.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Quick Hits is a look at the must-know facts for each region in regard to Michigan and its football recruiting efforts. It will give you an idea of the Wolverines’ history in that region, as well as what one can expect from that region over the next few seasons.

MIDWEST

1. How many players on Michigan’s roster are from the region?

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Brady Hoke has proven there’s something to the mantra about getting out to a fast start, especially when it comes to recruiting. He and his staff don’t like signing day surprises and really don’t like any kind of surprises even in the months leading up to signing day, either.

This opinion -- like much between the programs -- stands in strong opposition to Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, who’s a notoriously strong closer and whose 2014 recruiting class currently ranks 12 spots behind Michigan at this point in the game.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- We’re less than a week away from Michigan’s high school camp, which is always a fun time. I, for one, will likely forget sunscreen and be a tomato by the end of the week. And Tom, well, he’ll bring the snacks. And Mike will make fun of us for being overly prepared for the football and underprepared for everything else. It’s always a party at WolverineNation.

But with such an exciting offseason so far, there’s so much more to talk about than snacks and sunscreen, so let’s get to it. Next week Mike will take questions, so get those to him (michaelrothsteinespn@gmail.com or @mikerothstein).

Jimmy, Maynard Street, Ann Arbor: Do you think Jabrill Peppers (Paramus, N.J./Paramus Catholic) will play immediately and if so, will he be an impact player?

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Every Thursday our writers sit down and discuss a few topics surrounding Michigan athletics. However, with the summer upon us, vacations are here and Mike is relaxing this week so with this roundtable we invited in WolverineNation editor Bob McClellan.

1. The Big Ten released its 2015 conference schedule on Monday. What struck you initially about the match ups?

Bob McClellan: The opener at Maryland. It’s the first opportunity for Michigan ever to play in College Park, and the Baltimore/D.C. area is an important one in which to recruit. Current Wolverines Blake Countess (Our Lady of Good Counsel) and Henry Poggi (The Gilman School) are from the area, and Michigan offered two of Countess’ former teammates who were members of the ESPN 150 in 2013. It’s reasonable to believe playing at Maryland every other year could pay recruiting dividends.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- John Brogan stood at the front of his history classroom attempting to do what every good teacher does: make his class interesting and unique. He surveyed the class, which held several of the school’s athletes, and a thought came across his mind.

“Consider every battle through history like a football game,” he said to his AP U.S. history class before physically moving his students from the classroom to the football field.

“It was about who had more men and more powerful weapons would win,” Brogan said. “And they’d have to learn that teams that weren’t as big up front would have to get to outside and use speed and quickness. Well, no different than military strategy. A smaller army couldn’t fight a bigger army head on.”

This was something offensive tackle Jamarco Jones (Chicago/De La Salle Institute) understood. His varsity team had gone 4-5 the season before, losing to schools that had bigger arsenals of weaponry and players.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 1 recruiting class in the country just keeps getting bigger and better. On Sunday Michigan picked up its 11th commitment for the already impressive class.

Three-star outside linebacker Chase Winovich (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Jefferson Hills) chose the Wolverines over Ohio State and Pitt, which he confirmed to ESPN.com via text.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Can a true freshman really contribute at the college level? Is it easier at one position than another? Over the next two months WolverineNation will be breaking down the probabilities of playing time and projections of the Wolverines’ freshmen, position-by-position.

What it takes for a true freshman QB to play: Even if a true freshman quarterback enrolls early and is physically and mentally ready for the speed of the game at the college level, several other chips need to fall into place in order to get that player on the field. First, the freshman needs to beat out the players in front of him, or the players in front of him need to struggle/get injured. Second, the coach has to have a heck of a lot of trust in that player. Stepping on the field in front of 110,000 screaming fans requires a large amount of confidence, not only from the quarterback himself, but also his coach.

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Every Thursday our writers sit down to discuss a few issues surrounding Michigan sports. With the commitment of Jabrill Peppers (Paramus, NJ/Paramus Catholic) still fresh, we figured we’d stick to three questions surrounding the No. 1 cornerback in the country.

1. With a guy like Peppers committing, which DB on Michigan's roster do you think could get left out when he arrives?

Tom VanHaaren: That's tough to answer because it's going to change. We don't know if he will start at corner when he gets there, or how he will initially contribute. We can assume that Blake Countess will have his spot locked down and will only be a redshirt junior when Peppers arrives. The other wrench in this scenario is the number of defensive backs Michigan brought in for the 2013 class. It seems as though Raymon Taylor would be the guy that would be moved if Peppers gets playing time immediately, but with Greg Mattison's defense and that many weapons they might just be able to move a few guys around and roll out different packages.

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