Re-ranking the in-state Class of 2009
It's time to carve into what we plan to be an annual Thanksgiving Weekend tradition at SpartanMag.com - re-ranking the in-state recruiting class from five years earlier.
It's too soon to re-rank the class of 2010, as fifth-year senior members of that recruiting class are still at work in their college careers.
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The recruits of 2009 were fifth-year seniors last year, true seniors in 2012 and some (such as Edwin Baker) turned pro after a true junior year in 2011.
In compiling our re-ranking of the state of Michigan high school recruiting class of 2009, we put high emphasis on coach voting for all-conference teams, followed by criteria such as statistical production, winning starts, starts, depth chart history and NFL Draft status. All-conference voting by media is considered a footnote and possibly a tiebreaker, but nothing more.
The No. 1 pick in this list is a no-brainer, offensive tackle Eric Fisher. He was a tremendous college player at Central Michigan, and was the No. 1 pick overall in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Players ranked No. 2 through No. 8 can be shuffled in any order, with each of these players having an argument to be No. 2: TE Jacob Pedersen of Wisconsin, TE Dion Sims of Michigan State, WR Jeff Janis of Saginaw Valley State, OL Reid Fragel of Ohio State, OL Blake Treadwell of Michigan State, WR Bennie Fowler of Michigan State, LB Chris Norman of Michigan State and RB Edwin Baker of Michigan State. When in doubt, we deferred to coaches All-Big Ten voting, and which players finished their careers the strongest.
First Tier
1. Eric Fisher OL, Stoney Creek, Central Michigan University.
Fisher, 6-8, 315, made a legendary rise at CMU, becoming the first player taken in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Don't rip Rivals.com, or the other recruiting analysts, for underrating Fisher, unless you also point out that the other 50-plus schools in BCS conference missed out on him as well.
Fisher played only one year of o-line in high school. He had offers from Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan after camping at those schools.
Second Tier
2. Jacob Pedersen TE, Menominee, University of Wisconsin
The two-star recruit prepped in remote regions of the Upper Peninsula, eight hours from East Lansing but just an hour and 45 minutes from Madison, Wis.
Pedersen is the only player on this list that became first-team All-Big Ten by coaches, earning that honor as a junior (ahead of second-team Dion Sims). He was honorable mention as a senior (behind Iowa's C.J. Fiedorowicz and Michigan's Devin Funchess).
Pedersen had 104 career receptions and 1,394 yards as an impact player for a run-oriented program.
3. Dion Sims TE, Orchard Lake St. Mary's, Michigan State
Sims was second-team All-Big Ten by coaches voting in 2012 and became a fourth-round NFL Draft pick.
11 catches as a true freshman in 2009, earning a place on the Rivals.com Big Ten All-Freshman team.
He sat out 2010 due to legal troubles.
In 2011, he had 12 catches but played the second half of the season with a broken hand.
In 2012, he finally enjoyed a breakthrough, with 36 catches for 475 yards.
He finished his college career with 59 receptions for 707 yards and eight touchdowns.
4. Jeff Janis WR, Tawas City, Saginaw Valley State
Janis was a no-star, unranked recruit coming out of Tawas City, which is located halfway up the index finger on Lake Huron. He became a record-setting receiver at Saginaw Valley, an NFL Combine curiosity and a 7th-round NFL Draft pick.
He was 6-3, 219 when he finished at Saginaw Valley State, but was 6-2, 183 coming out of high school.
He had a school record 106 catches in 2012, and 83 as a senior in 2013.
For his career, Janis had 246 catches, 4,305 receiving yards and 46 touchdowns.
He was clocked at 4.42 at the NFL Combine with a 37-inch vertical and the fourth-best 20-yard shuttle time among WRs.
He has had an impact this year with the Packers as a return man, with a possibility to develop into a playing-group receiver in the future.
As a senior at Tawas City High School, Janis sustained a broken finger and had to move to running back.
Janis was asked by the Milwaukee Journal in September if he was ever ticked off that bigger in-state schools didn't recruit him.
"When I look back at it, not really," he said. "I try to put myself in the position of a Division I coach, I don't think I would've really looked at me either just because I was really small and hadn't started growing yet. I was from a small town and didn't put up any crazy numbers or anything like that. So I think the Division II route was destined for me.
Did any of the Division I in-state schools show interest?
"I went on a couple visits to Central Michigan," he said. "That's where I thought I was going to go. But I broke my finger my senior year and played running back, so they really weren't sure. They didn't think I was big enough, fast enough. But once I went to a few D-II schools, they thought I could produce. Saginaw Valley was the last place I visited. I just felt something with the coaches. They really thought that I could turn into something big."
5. Blake Treadwell OL, East Lansing, Michigan State University
Treadwell amassed 22 winning starts, became team captain for MSU's Big Ten and Rose Bowl championship team. He was consensus second-team All-Big Ten.
Treadwell retired after his senior season and is pursuing a career in coaching.
Treadwell was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 9 in the state by Rivals.com and No. 5 by SpartanMag.com.
6. Edwin Baker RB, Oak Park, Michigan State University
Baker broke through with an outstanding sophomore year, rushing for 1,201 yards and earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors from league coaches. (Media voted him first-team All-Big Ten). He became a seventh-round NFL Draft pick in 2012, choosing to enter the draft after his junior year. He is currently on the Saints practice squad.
He ranked No. 30 in the nation in rushing as a sophomore, averaging 92.4 yards per game.
He rushed for 665 yards as a junior in 2011 as part of a Spartan team that won the Big Ten Legends Division, the Outback Bowl, and finished No. 10 in the country.
Baker had 18 winning starts, 19 career TDs, six 100-yard rushing games and 2,293 rushing yards.
Baker, a four-star recruit, was ranked No. 2 in the state by Rivals.com, No. 57 in the nation. He was ranked No. 3 in the state by SpartanMag.com.
7. Bennie Fowler WR, Detroit Country Day, Michigan State University
Fowler had 93 career receptions, 1341 yards, 15 total starts and 11 winning starts.
He never gained All-Big Ten mention and did not get drafted.
He is tied for 16th in MSU history with 11 touchdown receptions.
He led MSU's Big Ten and Rose Bowl championship team in receiving yards with 622, and TD receptions with six.
He led the team in receiving yards in the 100th Rose Bowl game with 97 on two catches, including a deep 27-harder late in the first half which proved to be a pivotal moment in the game.
Fowler was ranked No. 15 in the state by Rivals.com and No. 6 by SpartanMag.com.
8. Reid Fragel OL, Grosse Pointe South, Ohio State University
Fragel did very little in his first four years as a tight end at Ohio State, then had a good year as a one-year starter at offensive tackle and became an NFL Draft pick. He had an award named after him at Ohio State, given annual to the player who comes out of nowhere and becomes a star.
However, he wasn't named All-Big Ten or honorable mention All-Big Ten by league coaches (media voted him honorable mention). He is currently on the Falcons practice squad.
Fragel was drafted and Fowler wasn't, but so what. NFL general managers make mistakes all the time. These two players had similar experiences on NFL practice squads. Fowler had a more productive college career. Neither player gained an All-Big Ten vote by a league coach.
Fragel was ranked No. 13 by Rivals.com and No. 8 by SpartanMag.com.
9. Chris Norman LB, Detroit Renaissance, Michigan State University
Norman had a fast beginning to his college career, but finished slowly, losing his starting job to Taiwan Jones, due largely to injuries. But Norman had 22 winning starts along the way, nearly twice as many as Fragel and Fowler. As a footnote, he was honorable mention All-Big Ten by media as a sophomore.
He started for MSU's Big Ten Legends Division and Outback Bowl championship team. He had 197 career tackles.
He had 76 tackles as a sophomore in 2011. he had five tackles, including 1.5 TFLs, in the Outback Bowl victory over Georgia. He had nine tackles in the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin.
Norman, a four-star recruit, was ranked the No. 3 player in the state by Rivals.com and No. 118 nationally. He was ranked the No. 1 player in the state by SpartanMag.com.
Third Tier
10. Micajah Reynolds DT, Lansing Sexton, Michigan State University
Reynolds had 16 winning starts, and 37 tackles as a senior for the No. 2-ranked defense in the country, including 3.5 for losses. He had two TFLs in the Rose Bowl.
Reynolds had 58 career tackles, with 11 of his stops coming in the last three games of his career - Senior Day at Spartan Stadium, the Big Ten Championship Game and the Rose Bowl.
Reynolds doesn't have as many winning starts as Thomas Gordon, but he played for a better defense and better teams. Secondly, Gordon played a position at which it's easier to earn a starting job as a freshman and sophomore. Reynolds spent his freshman and sophomore years valuably moving back and forth from o-line to d-line. In a rare feat, he was listed as an MSU second-string offensive tackle and defensive tackle for the 2011 Capital One Bowl.
Reynolds was ranked the No. 20 player in Michigan by Rivals.com, and No. 11 by SpartanMag.com.
11. Thomas Gordon DB, Detroit Cass Tech, University of Michigan
Gordon had 26 winning starts, starting for portions of four seasons. He had 229 career tackles.
Gordon was ranked No. 24 in the state by Rivals.com and No. 16 by SpartanMag.com.
12. Zurlon Tipton RB, Sterling Heights, Central Michigan University
Tipton rushed for 1,492 yards and 19 TDs as a junior. He was on the Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award watch lists heading into his senior year, but he went down with a broken ankle in the season opener. He returned to play in three games, totaling 398 yards as a senior.
For his career, he rushed for 2,463 yards with 34 touchdowns.
Tipton bounced around practice squads for two years, and was promoted to the Indianapolis Colts active roster last week.
Tipton was an unranked, two-star recruit.
13. Garrett Hoskins TE, Grand Rapids Creston, Eastern Michigan University
Hoskins, an unranked, two-star recruit, was first-team All-Mid-America Conference for the Eagles. He signed with the Cleveland Browns as an NFL free agent, and then was waived.
Hoskins had 74 career catches at EMU, including a splendid, eight-reception game at MSU in 2012 for 102 yards.
Hoskins had 38 catches as a senior for 542 yards. He started for portions of four seasons, good for 1,135 yards receiving.
14. Andrew Maxwell QB, Midland, Michigan State University
Maxwell was a promising prospect who had to wait his turn through three seasons on the bench, quarterbacked MSU to a disappointing 7-6 season in 2012 as a junior, and then lost his starting job in 2013 to Connor Cook, a player who could end up being a high-round NFL Draft pick.
One of Maxwell's best contributions was accepting Mark Dantonio's decision to go with Cook and not pouting or conniving to divide the locker room.
Maxwell had 14 career starts, including eight winning starts.
He threw for 3,014 yards, 14 TDs and nine interceptions.
He is No. 13 in school history in pass completions and 14th in passing yards. He was team captain as a junior.
Maxwell was ranked No. 4 by Rivals.com and SpartanMag.com.
15. William Campbell DT, Detroit Cass Tech, University of Michigan
Campbell was regarded as a bust through his first three seasons at Michigan, but emerged as a starter during his senior year. He finished with eight winning starts, the same figure as Maxwell, and 11 career starts.
He had 63 career tackles and five career TFLs. He was voted honorable mention All-Big Ten by media.
He was drafted in the seventh round by the New York Jets, moved to offensive guard and then waived. He is currently on the Bills practice squad as an offensive guard. He has never seen action in an NFL game.
Choosing between Campbell and Maxwell is an interesting decision. Campbell toiled as a disappointing reserve for three years and had a decent season as a senior. Maxwell had a decent season as a junior, and toiled as a reserve in his other three years. Campbell was voted honorable mention All-Big Ten by media, which means next to nothing in our estimation. He was drafted, based on size and explosive measureables, the same things that allowed him to be ranked high as a high school prospect to begin with. But his raw contributions as a college player, in our estimation, do not eclipse Maxwell's.
Campbell was a five-star recruit, ranked No. 1 in the state by Rivals.com. SpartanMag.com staff members took abuse from Michigan fans for ranking Campbell No. 12 in the state.
16. Cameron Gordon LB, Inkster, University of Michigan
Gordon had 15 career starts, with 138 tackles and 15 TFLs. He started two games as a senior. He started 10 games in Rich Rodriguez's last season as head coach.
Gordon was ranked No. 6 in the state by Rivals.com and No. 14 by SpartanMag.com.
17. Shamari Benton LB, Brother Rice, Central Michigan University
Benton was a three-star recruit, ranked No. 21 by Rivals.com, making him the highest-ranked recruit to sign with an in-state MAC school.
He became third-team All-MAC and a team captain.
He had 126 tackles as a junior and 111 as a senior.
He was unranked by SpartanMag.com.
Fourth Tier
18. Kyler Elsworth LB, Goodrich, Michigan State University
Elsworth was a good second-string middle linebacker who never got a chance to show his true value for an entire game until the 100th Rose Bowl Game when he replaced the dismissed Max Bullough.
Elsworth had four tackles and 1.5 TFLs in the Rose Bowl.
He had 7.5 career TFLs, more than William Campbell, working mostly as a third down specialist.
Elsworth had 73 career tackles.
Elsworth, a walk-on, was an unranked recruit.
19. Larry Caper RB, Battle Creek Central, Michigan State University
Caper rushed for 836 yards in his career, with nine touchdowns. He had 1,242 all-purpose yards, including 318 receiving and 88 on kickoff returns. He had 12 career TDs.
Caper led MSU in rushing as a true freshman with 468 yards in 2009, earning Big Ten All-Freshman status.
Caper, a four-star recruit, was ranked No. 7 in Michigan by Rivals.com, and No. 2 by SpartanMag.com.
The Rest
20. Donald Coleman LB, Orchard Lake St. Mary's and then The Hun School, Princeton, NJ
Coleman signed with North Carolina State and then transferred to Eastern Michigan as a graduate student for the 2012 season.
He started for two years and had 160 career tackles.
He was a two-star recruit with offers from NC State, Iowa and Minnesota.
21. Jamonne Chester RB, Redford, Indiana University
He had 40 catches in his first three seasons, occasionally as a starter. Then he left the tea to transfer to Lake Erie College, where he barely played. It's unclear whether he was dismissed from Indiana or left voluntarily.
Chester was ranked No. 28 by Rivals.com and No. 20 by SpartanMag.com.
22. Robert Bell LB, East Grand Rapids, University of Toledo
Bell had 200 career tackles for Toledo. He was invited to the NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.85 in the 40 and went undrafted.
Bell was ranked the No. 19 player in Michigan by Rivals.com, making him the highest-ranked in-state player to sign with a MAC school.
Bell did not make SpartanMag.com's Top 25.
23. Jeremy Gainer DE, Clarenceville, Michigan State University/Central Michigan University
Gainer was a third-stringer at Michigan State for three years and then transferred to Central Michigan as a graduate for his senior year. He had 41 tackles and two sacks for CMU in 2013.
24. Charlie Walker DL, Sterling Heights Stevenson, Bowling Green State University
Walker was a two-year starter at Bowling Green. He had 18 tackles in 2013.
25. Zac Matthias Hemlock, University of Wisconsin
Matthias was a two-year second stringer. He had two career starts.
Matthias was ranked No. 14 by Rivals.com and No. 13 by SpartanMag.com