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Posted on Tue, May 29, 2012 : 12:04 p.m.

QB Shane Morris among 6 Michigan football recruits whose stock slipped in latest Rivals ranking

By Kyle Meinke

The Michigan football team landed six players on Rivals' latest top 100 ranking, more than anyone else in the Big Ten. It trails only Texas nationally.

But each of those commits took a hit in the release.

Warren DeLaSalle quarterback Shane Morris remains the Wolverines' top 2013 pledge, a four-star quarterback who comes in at No. 22. However, that's down from his No. 16 ranking on the initial list, which was released in early February.

Morris was joined on the top 100 list by five other Michigan commits, each of whom slipped in the re-release.

Linebacker Mike McCray dropped from 44th to 55th; offensive lineman Chris Fox from 46th to 57th; offensive lineman Patrick Kugler from 54th to 73rd; offensive lineman Kyle Bosch from 60th to 77th; and safety Dymonte Thomas from 77th to 95th.

Most movement on Rivals' list is correlated to play on the camp circuit because no games have been played since February. That could help explain a slip for someone such as Thomas, who is not camping.

It could explain Morris' drop as well. The big-armed pocket quarterback, who seems fit to run the pro-style offense that is preferred by Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges, struggled early on the camp circuit this spring.

He acknowledged as much after a Dallas recruiting event in March, where he was widely criticized for lacking touch on his passes. He did not finish among the top-six quarterbacks at the event.

Morris looked much better last month at a camp in Columbus, Ohio, where he beat out some of the nation's top QBs to earn MVP honors. He also punched his ticket to the Elite 11 finals in California, one of the nation's premier quarterback camps.

"I definitely came in with a chip on my shoulder," Morris told ESPN.com. "Down in Dallas, I was disappointed. I obviously felt a lot better today. I had a great time and ripped it."

Although many of Michigan's players slipped in Rivals' latest ranking, it's notable so many of its recruits made it at all.

The Wolverines paced the Big Ten with six top-100 players. Ohio State followed at four commits and Penn State had two.

Impressively, three of the 10 offensive linemen among Rivals' top 100 overall players are Michigan commits.

Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.

Comments

7718

Thu, May 31, 2012 : 2:03 a.m.

It's all good as long as they stay academically eligible. I think they will, not sure the same can be said for some of the other schools.

Bruce Kennedy

Wed, May 30, 2012 : 7:07 p.m.

Please who gives a hoot. How these recruits perfom on the field is all that matters. I certainly hope they all perform well in this system. And that will be the telling sign, did Hoke and company recruit players who fit their system?

tim

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 11:13 p.m.

Bla bla bla time will tell who is great----Tom Brady wasn't the hottest recruit in the country. He had to send a video of himself to Michigan to even spark their interest.

BornInA2

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 10:47 p.m.

How many more days of 'news' like this do we have to endure before kickoff in Dallas, and the subsequent availability new information that is actually meaningful? Nothing against Kyle, he's just trying to pick off what little bits of meat are left on this bone. I don't want to wish my summer away, but I'm so very ready for kickoff, LiveChat, and the answer to last year's big cliffhanger: Did Rich Rezler get a new battery for his MacBook?

Hailmary

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 9:55 p.m.

Lot's of fun and all this gabbing is just part of the hype. In the old days we had to settle for local radio talk shows and sports magazines to quench our Mich. football fix. Now we can all gab nonsense and project our vast knowledge of the game. If these kids have even a slim chance to squeeze into the pros. it won't be because of the numbers on the Rival's ranking. It will happen because of their god given talents and what they can learn and retain from one of the best coaching staffs in college football.

Terry Star21

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 8:31 p.m.

Doesn't matter who, how or what they're ranked.....they're coming to Michigan with the best coaching staff in America....they'll stay and become champions.... MgoBlueForTiM......come to Michigan, be the best...

ThoseWhoStayUofM

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 8:11 p.m.

Considering a lot of the top talent in the country was unranked by rivals, it's statistically impossible for much recruits not to drop a little in the rankings. This is a non story.

MRunner73

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 6:40 p.m.

Let's not forget, they have yet to play a snap in this upcoming season, their senior year. That means that these rankings are not final and will change for frequently than the weather. Shane Morris is not going downhill, he's likely to improve over last year and he'll have lots of chanes to prove it. Rankings, smankings...

Heidi Koester

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 6:39 p.m.

"Camp circuit??" I may be wrong, but I'm picturing these camps as some sort of quasi-optional activity that gives adults additional opportunities to over-scrutinize and over-analyze the performance of teen football players. Can't these kids just enjoy their senior spring without traveling all over the country to do football drills? Might help them keep up with their studies, too.

MRunner73

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 6:48 p.m.

I wish you were right but this has turned into big business amongst the elite of the High School level. Think about this, not only do these players have their eye on the collegiate career but the real goal is the pros. This is no longer 1970s or 1980s way of thinking. These kids actually feed off of these rankings, they inbelish them...sad to say.

SEC Fan

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 6:29 p.m.

Still a great recruiting class!

Milqueman

Wed, May 30, 2012 : 12:01 a.m.

Thank you

GoBigBlue

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 5:58 p.m.

That's just great! I think I speak for Ted and the rest of Wolverine nation when I say let's drop these kids! If we sign 24 kids for this class then they should be ranked 1-24 with at least 7 stars each!

hail2thevict0r

Tue, May 29, 2012 : 5:02 p.m.

Oh well, I guess we'll have to just settle for 6 players ranked in the top 100 and not 7........