The Michigan football team has been on a roll when it comes to recruiting, especially with linebackers. Michigan already had three linebacker commits after Joe Bolden committed last Friday, and now they have a fourth with James Ross announcing his decision to commit to the Wolverines on Monday morning.
Ross is a middle linebacker from Orchard Lake St. Mary's high school. He is a four-star recruit on Scout and is ranked as the No. 2 MLB in the nation. Rivals and ESPN haven't evaluated him yet, but, like Bolden, he is on the ESPNU 150 watch list.
According to Rivals, Ross' offer list includes Michigan and these schools: Arizona State, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue and USC.
Based on Scout's ratings, Michigan not only has four linebacker commits, but they have four linebacker commits that are four-star recruits. Ross is the highest at No. 2 in the nation, and right behind him at MLB is Royce Jenkins-Stone at No. 3. Kaleb Ringer is ninth and Bolden is 27th. Brady Hoke has clearly made it a point to recruit talent on defense, and he is doing just that with the 2012 recruiting class.
Michigan Football Recruiting Class Of 2012
- OT Ben Braden (Rockford, MI) - 6'6", 285 lbs., NR
- OG Caleb Stacey (Cincinnati, OH) - 6'4", 275 lbs., NR
- MLB Kaleb Ringer (Clayton, OH) - 6'0", 219 lbs., NR
- OLB Royce Jenkins-Stone (Detroit, MI) - 6'2", 215 lbs., NR
- TE Devin Funchess (Farmington Hills, MI) - 6'5", 205 lbs., NR
- TE A.J. Williams (Cincinnati, OH) - 6'6", 260 lbs., NR
- OLB Joe Bolden (Cincinnati, OH) - 6'2", 225 lbs., NR
- MLB James Ross (Orchard Lake, MI) - 6'0", 209 lbs., NR
(Height, weight and stars from Rivals.com)