ESPN Recruiting Nation Football

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- ESPN 150 offensive lineman David Dawson (Detroit/Cass Tech) was committed to Michigan for several months before an October trip to the University of Florida violated Wolverines coach Brady Hoke's no-visit policy, causing the prospect and Michigan to part ways. The Wolverines then re-offered the No. 1 offensive guard in the nation a month ago.

“I was going to abide by their rules and I did not want to disrespect Coach [Brady] Hoke, but I had some family issues at the time with my father passing away, so I felt like football was a chance to get away,” Dawson said. “So I felt I had five free visits, so why not take them?”

After his official visit to Florida, Dawson sent out a message.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Offensive tackle Cameron Hunt (Corona, Calif./Centennial), committed to Cal since July, is about to get busy again with recruiting.

Hunt plans to visit Michigan on Jan. 11 after he returns home from the Under Armour All-America Game, Oregon on Jan. 18 and Cal on Jan. 25.

He’s also considering Ohio State, though he has yet to set a visit. It has been a long road for Hunt, who drew little recruiting interest before a breakout camp circuit last spring.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- ESPN 150 safety Leon McQuay III (Seffner, Fla./Armwood) will be making his college decision at the Under Armour All-America Game on Friday.

The four-star athlete has a top five of USC, Michigan, Oregon, Vanderbilt and FSU, but McQuay said he won't have all five hats for his selection on Friday.

"Yeah ... I don't know [if Michigan still in consideration]. I don't know how many hats I'll have up there," he said. "My dad said he wasn't paying for five hats. I'll probably only have three hats up there.

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Malcolm Cook (Fork Union, Va./Fork Union) hasn't officially decommitted from Virginia following the firing of four assistants, but the safety said he's re-opening his recruitment.

In the last 48 hours, the prospect has received 11 offers and entertained visits and phone calls from the likes of Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and USC. He planned to speak with the Trojans after basketball practice Wednesday, and he chatted in-person with Penn State assistant Charles London on Tuesday.

"It doesn't really matter to me about other schools looking at me," he said, when asked whether this new attention was a consolation. "The reason I committed to Virginia was because of the defensive coordinator, Coach [Jim] Reid. So I was really hurt by Coach Reid not being there.

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The recruiting process is nothing new for junior athlete Nate Hall (Sylvania, Ohio/Southview) since both his brother Jimmy, now a sophomore at Northwestern, and friend Allen Gant went through the process.

Hall had seen what his brother and Gant, now at Michigan, went through and how they conducted themselves. That has helped him in the early stages of his recruitment.

“I went through some of these things with my brother, so I had a head-start on everything,” he said. “I already know what to expect and how everything will happen. Based off my brother’s recruitment, he didn’t get his first offers until around the spring, so I’ll just wait for then to see what happens.”

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In another exciting finish at home, Michigan put on an excellent show for visiting prospects with an overtime win against Northwestern on Saturday. It took a little while for the crowd and game to get going, but the Big House was as loud as ever towards the end of the game.

Luckily for Michigan there were some big-time prospects on hand sitting front row to watch the thrilling win. The biggest was 2013 defensive back Leon McQuay (Seffner, Fla./Armwood), who was on campus for the second time.

The No. 32 ranked player in the country and his family came away very impressed with what Michigan had to offer. Despite still having a USC visit left to take, Michigan might have made his decision that much more difficult.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan will need a big, athletic receiver next season, especially if Devin Gardner winds up at quarterback.

One of the bigger names remaining on Michigan's 2013 recruiting board would fit the bill perfectly.

Laquon Treadwell (Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee) has kept track of recruiting classes as well as shifts in depth charts. The 6-foot-3 four-star receiver wants to play early, so both will likely affect his decision. He's also looking at how teams are playing, and while the Wolverines are running a quasi-spread offense with Denard Robinson, he's well aware of their plans to move to a pro-style offense, so he has read up on that.

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Derrick Green is planning to take an official visit to Ole Miss for the Auburn game Oct. 13, the four-star tailback told ESPN via text message Sunday.

The ESPN 150 prospect from Richmond (Va.) Hermitage has expressed strong interest in both schools. Green has said helping build a program at Ole Miss is appealing. He has also expressed strong interest in Auburn. He has raved about two visits there and cited a close relationship with its coaching staff as a strong factor in his recruitment.

Green took an official visit to Tennessee for the Florida game Sept. 15. He has an official visit planned for the Michigan-Michigan State game Oct. 20, and he has said he'll definitely take an official visit to Auburn. He is also considering an official visit to Oregon and Virginia Tech.

On Friday, Green ran for 147 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries as Hermitage beat Richmond (Va.) Varina 20-17.

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Most high school seniors who have committed to Division I programs look forward to their freshman seasons in hopes of seeing what college life is all about.

Patrick Kugler (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) is already thinking past that.

The 6-foot-4, 275-pound offensive tackle for the Tigers will move over to guard or center for Michigan and is already thinking about playing in front of 2013 quarterback Shane Morris (Warren, Mich./De La Salle) down the line.

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Recruiting is moving quickly for four-star running back Derrick Green (Richmond, Va./Hermitage) -- almost as quickly as the ESPN 150 prospect picks up yardage.

The nation's No. 53 prospect said during ESPN's RecruitingNation podcast that he plans to announce his final decision in October. He's still considering Auburn, Georgia, Michigan, Ole Miss, Oregon and Tennessee. Green said he'll again cut down his list before he announces his commitment.

Auburn, Michigan and Tennessee seem to be in the best position. The prospect has said he'll take official visits to all three schools and has planned an Oct. 20 visit to Ann Arbor for the Michigan State game. He has yet to set dates for Auburn and Tennessee. His last two official visits will be to two of his last three other finalists: Georgia, Ole Miss or Oregon. Green will travel this weekend to Atlanta to see Auburn play Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.

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The Trotwood-Madison (Ohio) roster is headlined by two ESPN 150 seniors, but the Rams’ 2014 class is a strong one, too. And star running back Ashton Jackson is one of Trotwood-Madison’s best players -- regardless of class.

The 5-foot-10, 182-pound junior had a breakout sophomore season, and he said he only got better this offseason.

“Catching the ball, I just had to work on focus because that’s the key,” Jackson said, “and my footwork, I practiced doing speed drills.”

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ESPN 150 wide receiver Alvin Bailey (Seffner, Fla./Armwood) was offered by Florida on Wednesday afternoon and would like to make a final decision soon, according to Armwood head coach Sean Callahan.

The 2013 Under Armour All-America Game invitee has narrowed his list to South Carolina, UCF, Michigan and Florida State, but the Gators' offer does add a new wrinkle to the mix.

"Alvin was offered by Florida today, and no he's not committing tonight and he's not going to commit tomorrow, either," Callahan said. "He said he'd like to make his decision before Sept. 1, and I expect he'll be a man of his word and get it done before then."

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Under Armour All-American quarterback Shane Morris (Warren Mich./De La Salle) has been committed to Michigan for more than a year. And while Morris is disappointed in seeing prospects back out of early commitments during the 2013 recruiting cycle, the ESPN 150 prospect has enjoyed getting his recruitment out of the way before his junior season.

“I do not think it is good to see a lot of decommitments,” Morris said. “If you commit to a school, then that should be where you want to be so you should not break your promise. For me, committing early made everything easy as I can focus on my high school and helping recruit for Michigan. We have a great class in terms of quality and quantity, so that is really exciting.”

Morris is taking advantage of this weekend’s Champion Gridiron Kings event to do some additional recruiting for the Wolverines.

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Derrick Green is weighing his options -- all of his options. The ESPN 150 running back has already visited nine schools this summer, and he made a trip south over the weekend to check out three more.

The trip began with a stop in Tuscaloosa to visit the University of Alabama. It was the first time the Richmond, Va., resident had been on the Crimson Tide’s campus.

“It was really nice,” Green said. “I got there, spoke to my position coach, spoke to Coach [Nick] Saban, toured the campus. I had a good time seeing the facilities. I got to speak with the strength and conditioning coach. I really like him a lot. It was overall a good trip.”

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