Allen Gant is the son of former Michigan great, Tony Gant. Gant was widely considered as the top prospect in the state of Ohio prior to him suffering a knee injury at the start of his junior campaign. Gant plays both safety and wide receiver for South View High in Ohio. Gant is a three-star recruit according to Rivals, Scout, and 24/7 Sports. Gant has a 77* rating on ESPN, which is wrong on so many levels that it's borderline crazy that he's ranked so low.

Allen Gant in coverage.

I was able to get in contact with Allen to catch up with him and discuss his senior season and what lies ahead for him in the future.

SimplyComplex: What are some things that you think you have improved on from last year compared to this year?

Allen Gant: I think that I have improved on my speed and quickness by a large margin and I have also gotten a lot stronger. I think that it has helped me out in run support and has made me a better tackler.

SC: Hows your high school team doing so far and what are some of your strengths and weaknesses?

AG: Our high school team won the league and we lost in the first round of the playoffs. My strengths are I'm a very good tackler and I know exactly what's going on and every one's job. My weaknesses are my speed and quickness.

SC: Some people say that you might grow into a linebacker once you reach college. Do you agree or do you think your better suited at safety?

AG: I feel that I can improve on my skills at safety but you never know. I could end up like and outside linebacker and it doesn't matter to me because I want to help the team in any way I can.

SC: Do you like what you've seen from the Michigan defense so far in the season? Are you excited to play for Greg Mattison?

AG: I am extremely happy about how well the defense played this year and I cannot wait to play for coach Mattison and the other defensive coaches.

SC: Do you ever talk with any other michigan commitments?

AG: I do sometimes talk to other commits, but not on a daily basis. I especially talk with Chris Wormley however, since we are from the same area and we have always been close. We even talk about being roomates at Michigan.

SC: What were your stats this season? 

AG: I'm not sure about my offensive stats but for defense I had 67 tackles, 12 tackles for los, 1 interception, 3 forces fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 5 touchdowns.

SC: Do you feel like you could live up to your dads reputation? Do you and him ever talk about Michigan?

AG: I do feel like I can live up to my dads reputation. I am hoping that once my career is over at Michigan, that I will have a better reputation than my father, though. We also talk about Michigan all the time.

SC: How many times did you visit Michigan last year? How were your experiences?

AG: I went to 6 Michigan games this season. And they were the Western Michigan, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, Purdue, Nebraska and Ohio State. My experiences were all great. The fans showed me all kinds of love and it was just an amazing atmosphere. I can''t wait until I can be a part of that.

SC: What are you looking forward to, when you enroll at Michigan?

AG: I am looking forward to being a part of the great tradition of Michigan and of course graduating with a degree at Michigan.

SC: What do you plan on doing after college? What are you planning on majoring in at Michigan?

AG: After college I want to go pro but if that doesn't work out then I would want to be a sports agent and I am majoring in sports management.

SC: What did you and the michigan coaches talk about when you got offered? Do they still keep in touch with you?

AG: When I got offered the coaches basically just talked about how I will fit in with the system and just how they are excited about me coming to Michigan. Yes, we all still keep in touch often.

Allen Gant Film:


After his senior season, Gant stands at 6'1 and 208 pounds and runs a 4.5 forty. Gant is another high character athlete that will fit in nicely at Michigan. Hopefully he lives up to his fathers name and can make everybody in the Michigan community proud.

Devin Funchess is the second commit in Michigans 2012 class that hails from Farmington Hills High School in Michigan. The other being his teammate Mario Ojemudia. Funchess stands at 6'5 215 pounds and has the athleticism to play either wide receiver or tight end. Most recruiting sites(and the Michigan coaches) think that he has more upside at the tight end position. Funchess is a four-star recruit to ESPN, Scout and 24/7 Sports, while being a three-star to Rivals.

Devin Funchess showing off his athleticism.

I had the honor of talking with Devin about his senior season and his excitement about attending Michigan.

SimplyComplex: What was it about Michigan that made you want to commit to them?

Devin Funchess: The atmosphere and how involved the coaches were with the players. The education was a big factor in my decision as well.

SC: What was the atmosphere and experience like when you visited Michigan?

DF: It was very live . Everybody was very friendly and it seemed very family oriented, which made me feel very comfortable with the university.

SC: How often do you talk with other Michigan commits/prospects?

DF: I speak to the instate commits often, but I rarely speak with the others. Although, I do communicate with some out-of-state commits over twitter a little bit.

SC: With Michigan having depth problems at the TE position, do you feel like you could see early playing time?

DF: I think I could come in and play right away if the coaches needed me to contribute right away in an emergency or just to evaluate my performance. The coaches also tell me that I can, but I just have to come in and be ready for action.

SC:What would you say are your strengths and weaknesses at the tight end position?

DF: My main weakness is my size. I'm a little on the slim size for a TE, so I definitely need to bulk up and let my body develop properly. My biggest strength is that I have a great match up with the linebackers. I'm usually faster than them, so it's a huge advantage for me.

SC: What kind of stats did you accumulate during your senior season?

DF: I caught 21 passes for 433 yards and 6 touchdowns.

SC:What do you think is the hardest part about being a tight end? Are you looking forward to the challenges of playing the position at the college level?

DF: The hardest part for me would be learning the different and more difficult blocking schemes. The different footwork is also a bit of a challenge for me. Yes because I think it's the most underestimated position and I want to show people what I'm capable of.

SC: You're a teammate with Michigan commit Mario Ojemudia. How would you describe his game on the defensive side of the ball? Do you like going up against him in practice?

DF: He's just a complete monster. He is the type of player that just never gives up. He has a motor that just keeps going and going. We didn't really go up against each other in practice because we both played both ways.

SC: I did an interview with another teammate of yours, Gairus Coleman. How good of a player do you think he is? Have you been recruiting him towards Michigan at all?

DF: "G"(Gairus Coleman) is a fantastic player. He is the total package at wide receiver. The only thing he needs to work on is his speed. If he gets his speed up, then he will be great. We talk about Michigan all the time.

SC: How do you feel about Ohio State,uh, I mean "Ohio"?

DF: I don't care for them personally.

Devin Finchess Junior Film:


Devin is just one of the many top-notch athletes that Hoke and company are bringing in to restore Michigan to what it once was. Be on the look out for many other football prospects to come out of Farmington Hills in the coming years that may end up wearing the Maize and Blue.

Midnight Maize was the first to learn that All State could not cover the Sugar Bowl expenses for the game. At the 11th hour they inked a deal with a second company "I Got Worms". Crews are working hard to make the changes around the stadium and at the 50 yard line where they must remove the old logo. We were able to get a word with the co-owners of I Got Worms Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunbar.

"We heard that this cooking show needed some more money for more Sugar and we love Salts and Sugars and figured...Why not. I have a few more I-OWN-YOUS to hand out so figured might as well help another in need"

It is now officially the All State/I Got Worms Sugar Bowl.

Michigan only has four spots left in the 2012 recruiting class. After the coaches gained a commitment from Drake Johnson and  missed out on Brionte Dunn and a few other running back prospects, they seem to be done with RB recruiting this year. Theres nothing to worry about, though. Hoke and Co. are already looking forward to what the running backs in the 2013 class have to offer.

Kamani Thomas(Photo Courtesy of Rivals)

One 2013 prospect to look out for on the recruiting trail next year is Dallas (Ga) East Paulding High School RB Kamani Thomas. Thomas is a 5-foot-9 190 pound running back has been compared by some to Alabama's current running back, Trent Richardson. It's a general consensus that Thomas will be the number one running back prospect in Georgia for next year. Thomas is the complete package at his respected position. He is extremely elusive, which gives him the "shake and bake ability" that leaves defenders in the dust. He has enough top-end speed to outrun almost everyone that he faces on the turf. Lastly, he has the physicality and strength to plow defenders over while running in the open field. He doesn't shy away from contact whether it's on the edge of the field or between the hasmarks. He also resembles Richardson mainly because of his pass-catching ability out of the backfield, which may be Thomas's most valuable asset.Thomas said in an article a few months back that Michigan was his 'dream school'. "If it was my choice, I’d sign with Michigan,” Thomas told the AJC. “I’ve always been a Michigan fan. My dad is a Michigan fan. I’ve got a lot of family up there.”

Kamani Thomas runs around a defender(Photo Courtesy of Dallas-Hiram Patch)

I recently got in contact with Kamani and he agreed to talk with me and do a quick interview.

SimplyComplex: You've come out and said that Michigan is your outright leader, what do you like the most about Michigan?

Kamani Thomas: I've always liked michigan and now that there back to the I-Formation I like them even more.

SC: How did your Michigan visit go?

KT: The visit was okay, expected a little more out of it,though. (Me:What do you mean?)
I just figured we would be able to talk to the coaches more than what we did and really look at things around the campus or facilities.


SC: Did you talk to any of the coaches? If so, what about?

KT: I talked to Coach Montgomery for a second, but thats about it.

SC: Any you good friends with any other players in Georgia?

KT: Yes, I'm good friends with Shaq Wiggins. He's a great cornerback.

SC: What are you looking for in a university and coaching staff?

KT: In the coaching staff I'm just looking for that winning environment and that want for me as much as me for them.

SC: How does it feel to be the number one RB in the state of Georgia?

KT: Being No. 1 RB is humbling just gotta keep working hard to stay there.

SC: What kind of runner would you describe yourself?

KT: I would describe myself as a power runner, but fast enough to out-run a defender if I have to.

SC: What other schools have been recruiting you?
KT: Alabama, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Duke, Southern Miss, Troy, and LSU.

Kamani Thomas Sophomore Highlights

As you can see, Thomas will be one of the premiere backs in the entire country come next year. As a sophomore, Thomas ran for 1,901 yards in 13 games, averaged 8 yards a game, ran an average 22 times a game, and scored 22 total touchdowns. Thomas visited Michigan a few weeks back, and came away thoroughly impressed. Thomas hasn't received a Michigan offer yet, but I'm positive that the coaches will be in contact with him soon enough to give him that prestigious Michigan offer.

I am sure you noticed but we have new contributor to the site. Brook Banks. He will give us some deeper looks at commits and prospects that Michigan will be bringing or going after. I think this will be a great addition to the site since with High School prospects were never really know much about their game other then the stats they put up or the "they are so fast they can catch a chicken" memes. Brooks first post was on Jehu Chesson  and it was a dandy.

So everyone welcome him and follow this dude, he is what I call "legit".

Also I will have a live blog up this Saturday Night(12am). It will be the only pre-bowl Live blog. Be there or else.

Here's my plan, I'm going to watch the highlight films of current Michigan commits, and do a deep breakdown of what I see. My hope is to give you a better understanding of what makes each player so talented. Also I hope to be more specific and less general.

Each player is unique in the way they play the game. For example Junior Hemingway is a much different receiver than Jeremy Gallon. Junior Hemingway is a physical receiver who is great at boxing out a DB on a jump ball, whereas Jeremy Gallon is a quick, elusive receiver who is good at running with the ball after the catch. My point is that every player has those attributes that make them unique and affect how they are used. After reading these articles I hope you feel like you know exactly what kind of player Michigan is getting.

We will start this series with commit 24, Jehu Chesson. As a Wide Receiver five skills determine how successful a player is: hands, route running, speed/acceleration, athleticism, and physicality/separation.

Highlights
Junior Year http://youtu.be/OUbwWqLOFOg
Senior Year http://youtu.be/y64PkHcuhrM

Hands- First thing that jumps out at me is the way he catches the ball, it's textbook. He catches the ball using his hands and fingers with his arms extended away from his body. This kind of technique leads me to believe he rarely drops passes. Rarely, if ever, does he catch the ball with his body. He is not afraid to catch the ball over the middle of the field. This is where catching the ball with your hands is very important. If you catch the ball with your body it's harder to maintain possession of the ball. If you have a firm grip on the ball with your hands it's easier to control. I also like the ability to catch under thrown balls near the ground, this shows great hand-eye coordination. He has multiple catches like this and is a valuable skill. Lastly, the first play of his junior highlight tape, you cant catch a jump ball any better than that. He high points the ball very well, (catches the ball at the highest point of his jump). In all, Chesson looks to have excellent technique catching the football.

Route Running- To me this is the area of Chesson's game that needs to improve the most. Running good routes is all about timing, especially in Michigan's offense. There are a couple different plays where Jehu gets pushed off his route or cuts off a route early and this causes him to be in the wrong spot of the field. That leads to inaccurate passes. Because these are highlight tapes this only leads to the sliding or diving ground catches I already talked about. I am assuming this caused a few incompletions that we don't see on his tapes. He needs to do a better job of breaking off his routes to get separation too. When making a cut you need to drop your hips, get low, and explode out of your break. Jehu doesn't really do any of that, more simply he just runs his routes from point A to point B to point C. I would say that isn't much different than most other high school wide receivers. One positive is that route running is something that can be coached and I'm sure the coaches at Michigan can't wait to teach him the correct way to run routes.

Speed/Acceleration- When talking about this I am only going by one thing, what I see. No forty times, track times, or any other measure of speed other than how fast a player looks on film. I will start by saying Jehu's speed is good not great. Jehu is a player that is great at catching screens and turning them into a lot of yards. His running motion is very fluid and he can absolutely be a threat at getting yards after the catch. However, too many times you expect him to hit that next level and just take off from the rest of the pack. That rarely happens with him and that is against high school level talent, players will be much faster in college. Luckily with his height at 6'3, he doesn't need to be a burner. He has plenty of speed to stretch the field and be a real deep threat without being a true game breaker.

Athleticism- This is what makes Jehu such an intriguing prospect to me, he really is a great athlete. At 6'3, body control and leaping ability can make an average player look like a superstar. And the first play in his junior year highlight screams superstar, that is an amazing play at any level of football. When he gets the ball he doesn't look to be explosive, but instead elusive. He is very good at making one or two cuts that get an extra 5-10 yards, that should carry over into college. What makes him great in my opinion is his leaping ability and body control while in the air. I already talked about the first play of his junior tape, but on many occasions he out jumps a defender or catches the ball and adjusts in the air. One play that to me really shows off his athleticism is at 3:05 on his senior highlight tape, he catches the ball and as soon as he lands he makes a cut away from the defender in front of him. You just can't teach that kind of athleticism.

Physicality/Separation- Jehu looks like a different player in his senior season compared to his junior season, this says to me that he is still developing physically. Watch the play at 2:30 of his Senior highlight tape and that will tell you everything you need to know about his physicality. At 6'3 and 185 lbs, he has the frame to add 20 pounds and be just as effective and athletic. Separation is always the overlooked skill every wide receiver needs to succeed. Separation is basically the ability to get off the line of scrimmage and get space between yourself and the corner back. There are two ways to do this. First one is to be quicker and faster than the corner. The second is to be more physical and out muscle the corner. Jehu has enough speed to get separation from some corners but his size and ability to put a defender on his back hip is what makes him special. That natural ability is what makes guys like Zack Novak good rebounders in basketball or how Junior Hemingway has saved all of us from doing a lot of cussing at Denard this past season.

In Conclusion- Jehu Chesson to me looks like a very complete wide receiver. He will never be a game breaker in the sense of a Mario Manningham or Steve Breaston. He is a taller receiver that can go up over a defense to make a catch and get some yards after the catch. In my mind I am seeing a Jason Avant type player. I am not sure how he is only a 3 star. I think we found a very good player that I am excited to see in the Maize and Blue.

Oh By The Way- Since this is my first post ever, I would love to hear feedback and opinions be them positive or negative. Also if you would like, please follow me on twitter @iAmBrookBanks
(Be advised, that is a personal account and is not Michigan sports based. I am a theatre student who performs stand up comedy and from time to time I like to make jokes. I just need more followers.)

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