Source: www.mgoblue.com
Michigan Inks 22 Student-Athletes to Letters of Intent
February 4, 2009
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan head football coach Rich Rodriguez announced today (Wednesday, Feb. 4) the signing of 22 individuals to binding Letters of Intent during the first day of the signing period. The announcement was made during a press conference held in the Junge Family Champions Center at 3 p.m. EST.
The Wolverines' recruiting class consists of players from nine states, including eight student-athletes from Florida, four from Michigan and three from Ohio. U-M gained at least one player at every single position group.
2009 University of Michigan Football Recruiting Class
(As of Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 3 p.m. EST)
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Coach
Isaiah Bell DB 6-2 205 Youngstown, Ohio (Liberty High School) Jeff Whittaker
William Campbell DL 6-5 317 Detroit, Mich. (Cass Technical) Thomas Wilcher
Vladimir Emilien DB 6-0 186 Lauderhill, Fla. (Plantation) Steve Davis
Tate Forcier QB 6-1 185 San Diego, Calif. (Scripps Ranch) Sergio Diaz
Jeremy Gallon RB/SR 5-8 165 Apopka, Fla. (Apopka High School) Rick Darlington
Brendan Gibbons K 6-0 215 West Palm Beach, Fla. (Cardinal Newman High School) Don Dicus
Cameron Gordon WR 6-2 210 Inkster, Mich. (Inkster High School) Greg Carter
Thomas Gordon DB 5-11 200 Detroit, Mich. (Cass Technical High School) Thomas Wilcher
Brandin Hawthorne LB 6-0 197 Pahokee, Fla. (Pahokee) Blaze Thompson
Mike Jones DB 6-2 200 Orlando, Fla. (Edgewater) Bill Gierke
Teric Jones RB/SR 5-9 191 Detroit, Mich. (Cass Technical High School) Thomas Wilcher
Anthony LaLota DE 6-6 260 Princeton, N.J. (The Hun School) Dave Dudeck
Taylor Lewan OL 6-6 270 Scottsdale, Ariz. (Chaparral High School) Charlie Ragle
Denard Robinson QB 6-0 180 Deerfield Beach, Fla. (Deerfield Beach High School) Art Taylor
Craig Roh DE 6-4 230 Scottsdale, Ariz. (Chaparral High School) Charlie Ragle
Michael Schofield OL 6-6 270 Orland Park, Ill. (Carl Sandburg High School) Dave Wierzal
Vincent Smith RB 5-6 159 Pahokee, Fla. (Pahokee) Blaze Thompson
Je'Ron Stokes WR 6-1 178 Philadelphia, Pa. (Northeast) Mel Hinton
Fitzgerald Toussaint RB 5-10 185 Youngstown, Ohio (Liberty High School) Jeff Whittaker
J.T. Turner DB 6-2 185 Massillon, Ohio (Washington High School) Jason Hall
Quinton Washington OL 6-3 315 St. Stephen, S.C. (Timberland High School) Art Craig
Adrian Witty DB 5-11 170 Deerfield Beach, Fla. (Deerfield Beach High School) Art Taylor
PLAYERS BY POSITION
Defensive Back: Isaiah Bell, Vladimir Emilien, Thomas Gordon, Mike Jones, J.T. Turner, Adrian Witty
Defensive End: Anthony LaLota, Craig Roh
Defensive Line: William Campbell
Linebacker: Brandin Hawthorne
Offensive Line: Taylor Lewan, Michael Schofield, Quinton Washington
Placekicker: Brendan Gibbons
Quarterback: Tate Forcier, Denard Robinson
Running Back: Vincent Smith, Fitzgerald Toussaint
Running Back/Slot Receiver: Teric Jones, Jeremy Gallon
Wide Receiver: Cameron Gordon, Je'Ron Stokes
PLAYERS BY STATE
Arizona: Taylor Lewan, Craig Roh
California: Tate Forcier
Florida: Vladimir Emilien, Jeremy Gallon, Brendan Gibbons, Brandin Hawthorne, Mike Jones, Denard Robinson, Vincent Smith, Adrian Witty
Illinois: Michael Schofield
Michigan: William Campbell, Cameron Gordon, Thomas Gordon, Teric Jones
New Jersey: Anthony LaLota
Ohio: Isaiah Bell, Fitzgerald Toussaint, J.T. Turner
Pennsylvania: Je'Ron Stokes
South Carolina: Quinton Washington
N O T E S
• William Campbell and J.T. Turner earned five-star rankings from scout.com and Campbell added a five-star listing from Rivals.com.
• Campbell garnered PARADE Magazine All-American honors and was named to the EA Sports All-American first team squad.
• Defensive end Craig Roh was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Arizona.
• Campbell and Turner are the top-rated players in the state of Michigan and Ohio, respectively. This is the first time that the Wolverines had the top-ranked athletes from both states since 2002: Prescott Burgess (Ohio) and LaMarr Woodley (Michigan).
• Tate Forcier was rated the nation's most accurate quarterback according to Rivals.com.
• Forcier's brother, Jason, played at Michigan during the 2005 and 2006 seasons before transferring to Stanford. Both of Tate's brothers play in the Pac-10: Jason (Stanford) and Chris (UCLA).
• J.T. Turner is ranked the No. 3 cornerback nationally according to scout.com and Rivals.com. William Campbell is rated the No. 4 defensive tackle and Tate Forcier is graded the fifth-best dual threat quarterback nationally by Rivals.com.
• Defensive end Anthony LaLota was the No. 2 prospect in the state of New Jersey.
• High school teammates Taylor Lewan and Craig Roh are listed as the fifth- and fourth-ranked players in the state of Arizona, respectively.
• Six recruits played in the U.S. Army All-American game: William Campbell, Jeremy Gallon, Brendan Gibbons, Anthony LaLota, Je'Ron Stokes and J.T. Turner.
• Isaiah Bell, Taylor Lewan, Craig Roh and Quinton Washington participated in the 2009 Under Armour All-American game.
• The Wolverines had 13 signees land among the Rivals250 rankings: William Campbell (26), J.T. Turner (35), Je'Ron Stokes (104), Jeremy Gallon (151), Craig Roh (156), Tate Forcier (164), Denard Robinson (188), Taylor Lewan (194), Quinton Washington (213), Anthony LaLota (215), Michael Schofield (221), Cameron Gordon (233) and Fitzgerald Toussaint (239)
• Six recruits are ranked among the ESPNU 150: Craig Roh (48), Quinton Washington (82), Isaiah Bell (92), Denard Robinson (102), Tate Forcier (145) and Taylor Lewan (149).
• A total of six recruits attended the Michigan Summer Football Camp: William Campbell, Brendan Gibbons, Cameron Gordon, Thomas Gordon, Teric Jones and J.T. Turner.
Big Ten Network Special
The Big Ten Network will air a Football Signing Day Special at 4:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday. The 90-minute program will feature video highlights, press conferences, interviews coaches and expert recruiting analysis. The show will re-air Wednesday at 11:30 p.m. EST.
