Michigan Wolverines: Florida Gators
Spend enough time on the high school basketball circuit and you’ll find there are certain players you gravitate toward because you know exactly what you’re getting when you go watch them. ESPN 60 forward Kevon Looney (Milwaukee/Hamilton) is one of those guys.
Duke, Michigan State, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Kansas are among a big pack of programs that will vie for his signature.
Duke, Michigan State, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Kansas are among a big pack of programs that will vie for his signature.
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Holding more than 40 offers, running back Joe Mixon (Oakley, Calif./Freedom) is arguably the most sought-after recruit in the West region. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound, four-star back is the top running back in the West and the No. 135 player in the country. His offer sheet has seemingly grown by the minute this spring, but he isn't in any hurry to narrow it down.
Despite tweeting out a list of 16 programs several weeks ago, Mixon said Sunday that he only did that to highlight the schools recruiting him the hardest, not anything to be taken as a group of finalists.
"I'm still talking to a lot of people," Mixon said. "The recruiting thing has been crazy the past couple of weeks. I've pretty much been taking it well. I talk to them before school, during lunch and after school. I'm not to the stressful part yet, but the hard part has been staying in contact with everybody."
Despite tweeting out a list of 16 programs several weeks ago, Mixon said Sunday that he only did that to highlight the schools recruiting him the hardest, not anything to be taken as a group of finalists.
"I'm still talking to a lot of people," Mixon said. "The recruiting thing has been crazy the past couple of weeks. I've pretty much been taking it well. I talk to them before school, during lunch and after school. I'm not to the stressful part yet, but the hard part has been staying in contact with everybody."
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ESPN 150 OL Bushell-Beatty has top three 
April, 24, 2013
Apr 24
8:03
PM ET
By
Jared Shanker | ESPN.com
Paramus (N.J.) Catholic lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty was not guaranteed a starting spot entering his junior season. His football career began only two years prior, and there was only hope from the coaching staff he would lock down the left tackle spot during preseason camp.
A breakout junior campaign followed, and the ESPN 150 lineman now has double-digit offers.
A breakout junior campaign followed, and the ESPN 150 lineman now has double-digit offers.
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Peppers should know future school soon
April, 24, 2013
Apr 24
6:15
PM ET
By
Jared Shanker | ESPN.com
By mid-July, one of the top players in the country will have a pretty good idea as to where he will be playing his college football in 2014.
Paramus (N.J.) Catholic cornerback Jabrill Peppers, No. 2 in the ESPN 150, will visit Stanford in July. Following that trip, he will have his future program in mind.
“Definitely after I visit Stanford I should have it pretty clear where I want to go,” Peppers said.
The five-star cornerback is coming off April trips to LSU, Michigan and Ohio State, and while Peppers did not tip his hand, people close to the dynamic two-way athlete say Michigan has a sizeable lead of those three. He has listed Stanford as his No. 1 for several months and will visit Palo Alto before officially dropping them from the top of his list.
Paramus (N.J.) Catholic cornerback Jabrill Peppers, No. 2 in the ESPN 150, will visit Stanford in July. Following that trip, he will have his future program in mind.
“Definitely after I visit Stanford I should have it pretty clear where I want to go,” Peppers said.
The five-star cornerback is coming off April trips to LSU, Michigan and Ohio State, and while Peppers did not tip his hand, people close to the dynamic two-way athlete say Michigan has a sizeable lead of those three. He has listed Stanford as his No. 1 for several months and will visit Palo Alto before officially dropping them from the top of his list.
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BRADENTON, Fla. -- On the fields of the IMG Academy Southeast Regional 7-on-7 Tournament, George Campbell (Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake) stood off to the side with a sling hanging off his shoulder and covering his broken wrist.
That injury, suffered a few weeks back, will keep him out of East Lake's spring practices starting at the beginning of May. But fortunately for him, he's already got a ton of offers to begin with and won't be reliant on coaches coming by for the evaluation period.
That doesn't mean he isn't frustrated, though.
That injury, suffered a few weeks back, will keep him out of East Lake's spring practices starting at the beginning of May. But fortunately for him, he's already got a ton of offers to begin with and won't be reliant on coaches coming by for the evaluation period.
That doesn't mean he isn't frustrated, though.
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BRADENTON, Fla. -- For the 2015 cycle, there isn't another prospect with more FBS offers than Jacques Patrick (Orlando, Fla./Timber Creek). And Florida State was fortunate enough to have him on campus again recently.
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ASHBURN, Va. -- Cornerback Jalen Tabor (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate), the No. 19 overall player in the ESPN 150, is in no rush to commit.
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BRADENTON, Fla. -- ESPN 150 wide receiver Artavis Scott (Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake), as expected, was one of the top wideouts in attendance at the IMG 7v7 Southeast regional championships over the weekend.
The four-star wide receiver visited Michigan recently and said he enjoyed his experience in Ann Arbor.
The four-star wide receiver visited Michigan recently and said he enjoyed his experience in Ann Arbor.
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The RN Top 10 will appear throughout the camp and combine season and rank prospects based strictly on their on-field performance at that particular event. It does not reflect their overall prospect ranking.
ASHBURN, Va. – The East Coast and mid-Atlantic states represented well on Sunday as eight players earned invites to The Opening at the Nike Football Training Camp outside of Washington, D.C. Defense ruled the day, led by two five-star prospects from Virginia.
10. Nick Scott
Fairfax (Va.) Fairfax |RB| 5-11, 180
Scott stood out among a field of backs who were overshadowed by the prospects at nearly every other position. He earned the attention of coaches for his strong play and versatility but missed the MVP award, which went to Vincent Lowe (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield), who also posted the top SPARQ score.
Scott committed to Penn State in February over an offer from Boston College.
ESPN national recruiting analyst Craig Haubert’s take: “He’s got a great frame, and what I like about him as a Penn State verbal, he’s a versatile player. He may not run by you, but he does a good job in route-running.”
ASHBURN, Va. – The East Coast and mid-Atlantic states represented well on Sunday as eight players earned invites to The Opening at the Nike Football Training Camp outside of Washington, D.C. Defense ruled the day, led by two five-star prospects from Virginia.
10. Nick Scott
Fairfax (Va.) Fairfax |RB| 5-11, 180
Scott stood out among a field of backs who were overshadowed by the prospects at nearly every other position. He earned the attention of coaches for his strong play and versatility but missed the MVP award, which went to Vincent Lowe (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield), who also posted the top SPARQ score.
Scott committed to Penn State in February over an offer from Boston College.
ESPN national recruiting analyst Craig Haubert’s take: “He’s got a great frame, and what I like about him as a Penn State verbal, he’s a versatile player. He may not run by you, but he does a good job in route-running.”
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BRADENTON, Fla. -- Linebacker Richard Yeargin III (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./University School) has seen his stock continue to rise in recruiting circles. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound athlete was recently surprised, however, by three new offers.
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#BlueChipBattles: ESPN 150 release edition
April, 19, 2013
Apr 19
12:49
PM ET
By RecruitingNation | ESPN.com
Student Sports, ESPN, ESPNSpeedy Noil, Adoree Jackson and Da'Shawn Hand are three of the most coveted recruits in the Class of 2014.
: RecruitingNation summoned its writers from around the country to outline the recruiting battles for the ESPN 150's top 10 prospects.
Plus, rank the battles in SportsNation.
#TopFBMixtapes: Athlete mixtapes are all the rage in this highlight-crazed era of sports. We reached out to our Twitter followers to find out which 2014 football stars had the best highlight reels on YouTube, then had our staff rank and comment on the top submissions.
Tom Luginbill writes
: After talking to many coaches across the country and hearing their frustrations, here are their five biggest complaints about homemade highlight videos.
Daniel Helm (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood) spent his spring break in Florida. He went to all of the typical vacation spots in Orlando and the Disney theme parks. For most teenagers, especially from the Midwest, that would have been the highlight of his spring break. But for a top football prospect, it was actually a visit to a college that left the lasting impression.
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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Michigan is headed to the Final Four for the first time in nearly 20 years following Sunday's 79-59 annihilation of Florida in the Elite Eight at Cowboys Stadium.
Freshman Nik Stauskas scored 19 of his game-high 22 points in the first half to spark the Wolverines, the No. 4 seed in the South Region. Trey Burke added 15 points and seven assists. Will Yeguete and Kenny Boynton led Florida with 13 points each.
Michigan hardly looked fatigued from Friday's 87-85 overtime win against No. 1 seed Kansas in the Sweet 16. John Beilein's squad rallied from a 14-point deficit to win that game, but it certainly didn't need any second-half heroics to get by the Gators.
The Wolverines led by as many as 24 points before taking a 47-30 lead into intermission. Stauskas made all six of his field goal attempts in the opening stanza. Five of them were from 3-point range. It'd be inaccurate to say that Michigan caught Florida on an off night or that it built its big lead mainly because its opponent played poorly.
The Gators were simply out-classed in terms of talent.
By losing, No. 3 seed Florida became the first team in NCAA tournament history to fall in the Elite Eight three consecutive seasons. Michigan, meanwhile, advances to play Syracuse in the national semifinals Saturday in Atlanta.
Turning point: Florida, which trailed by scores of 23-5 and 41-17 in the opening half, put a bit of a scare into Michigan after intermission. A jump shot by Boynton shaved the Wolverines' lead to 50-38, but Michigan was quick to respond with a layup from Mitch McGary. Seconds after McGary's basket, Spike Albrecht stole Florida's inbounds pass and scored on a hanging layup to make it 54-38. It was never a game after that.
Key player: Stauskas was the main reason Michigan was able to separate itself from Florida in the first half. But freshman forward McGary was the player who set the tone early by scoring eight of his team's first 11 points in game-opening 11-0 run. McGary finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Burke had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals.
Key stat: Michigan went 10-of-19 from 3-point range.
Telep's Top 10: Sweet 16 recruiting stories
March, 27, 2013
Mar 27
11:00
AM ET
By
Dave Telep | ESPN.com
This year’s NCAA tournament has been full of great stories, from Florida Gulf Coast’s Cinderella run to La Salle going from First Four to Sweet 16 to the Big Ten placing four teams in the final 16.
But what about the stories behind the stories -- the tales of how some of this year’s March Madness stars ended up at their eventual schools and helped shape this year’s tourney? To delve into those, this week’s top 10 looks at the 10 best recruiting stories from players and teams in the Sweet 16.
1. Trey Burke, Michigan
Mick Cronin is not going to want to hear this again, but it’s true. Burke was going to Cincinnati. It was nearly a done deal. But one last call to Michigan’s staff changed the fate of two programs. According to recruiting lore, Burke’s father called a final time asking Michigan if it was interested in Burke. If the answer was no, then Burke was going to Cincinnati. This was in late July of Burke’s pre-senior summer. Remember, it wasn’t like the now All-American was hot stuff then. He was good -- a late top-100 player -- but he wasn’t the player then that he has become. Ultimately, Michigan said it wanted Burke and the Wolverines landed him a few days later.
But what about the stories behind the stories -- the tales of how some of this year’s March Madness stars ended up at their eventual schools and helped shape this year’s tourney? To delve into those, this week’s top 10 looks at the 10 best recruiting stories from players and teams in the Sweet 16.
Top 10 Recruiting Stories From the Sweet 16
1. Trey Burke, Michigan
Mick Cronin is not going to want to hear this again, but it’s true. Burke was going to Cincinnati. It was nearly a done deal. But one last call to Michigan’s staff changed the fate of two programs. According to recruiting lore, Burke’s father called a final time asking Michigan if it was interested in Burke. If the answer was no, then Burke was going to Cincinnati. This was in late July of Burke’s pre-senior summer. Remember, it wasn’t like the now All-American was hot stuff then. He was good -- a late top-100 player -- but he wasn’t the player then that he has become. Ultimately, Michigan said it wanted Burke and the Wolverines landed him a few days later.
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Watch List OL feels the spotlight early
March, 13, 2013
Mar 13
10:00
AM ET
By
Chantel Jennings | ESPN.com
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A lot of athletes don’t hit the public eye until they get onto a college campus and play on Saturdays. But for football players at high-profile programs throughout the country, that spotlight comes a bit early.
Watch List offensive guard Sam Mustipher (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) is in that position. He knows that anytime he wears a football shirt or his varsity jacket, he’s representing more than himself.
“Pretty much anywhere in Maryland,” Mustipher said, regarding where Good Counsel gets recognized. “It’s pretty cool and a humbling experience. With that, you know you have a spotlight on your back at all times. If I’m wearing something with Good Counsel on it, people are going to look to me to set the example.”
And considering his 20-plus offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State and Notre Dame, coaches have noticed a lot more than a shirt. Recently, his game film has him being recognized further west at schools such as Oregon, USC and Stanford -- all of which he hopes to get offers from soon.
Watch List offensive guard Sam Mustipher (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) is in that position. He knows that anytime he wears a football shirt or his varsity jacket, he’s representing more than himself.
“Pretty much anywhere in Maryland,” Mustipher said, regarding where Good Counsel gets recognized. “It’s pretty cool and a humbling experience. With that, you know you have a spotlight on your back at all times. If I’m wearing something with Good Counsel on it, people are going to look to me to set the example.”
And considering his 20-plus offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State and Notre Dame, coaches have noticed a lot more than a shirt. Recently, his game film has him being recognized further west at schools such as Oregon, USC and Stanford -- all of which he hopes to get offers from soon.
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ABOUT WOLVERINE NATION
Michael Rothstein
Michael Rothstein joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering the University of Michigan for AnnArbor.com, Notre Dame for the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette and a host of colleges for the Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, Va.). A Syracuse graduate and an East Meadow, N.Y., native, he lives in Ann Arbor, Mich. He can be reached at michaelrothsteinespn@gmail.com.
Tom VanHaaren
Tom VanHaaren joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering the University of Michigan for three years at MGoBlog.com. VanHaaren and his wife currently reside in Royal Oak, Mich. He can be reached at TomVHESPN@gmail.com.
Chantel Jennings
Chantel Jennings joined ESPN.com in 2011 after covering University of Michigan athletics for three years at The Michigan Daily. Chantel graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in English and Spanish and lives in Ann Arbor. She can be reached at jenningsespn@gmail.com.