Recruiting Update: Jaren Mangham

ALLENDALE, Mich. - For a big running back with plenty of bruising aspects to his game, Detroit Cass Tech’s Jaren Mangham always makes a smooth transition to the finesse world of summer tee shirt camps, and he did it again Sunday at the Grand Valley State Best of the Midwest Camp.

Without pads and helmets, running backs aren’t able to show all of their talents at a summer camp such as this one, but Mangham’s background includes work as a wide receiver as an underclassman, and it served him well in running pass routes on Sunday.

At 6-2, 220, Mangham showed the quick change of direction and agility of a scat back, and the ball skills to finish deep passes downfield while working against some of the top linebackers in the region.

“I’ve grown with my speed,” Mangham said. “I feel like I’ve gotten a lot faster, just working on my footwork, agility and all of that. I really try to perfect my footwork, every little detail.”

Mangham is ranked the No. 215 player in the country by Rivals.com, and No. 8 in Michigan.

He will take his first official visit, on June 22, to the University of Colorado. He has taken unofficial visits to Boulder in the past, but the work of the Buffs’ staff, especially assistant coach Darian Hagan, put Colorado in position to gain Mangham’s first visit.

“I talk with Coach Hagan almost every day,” Mangham said. “He reaches out, always on the phone, just talking, just normal stuff, just normal life.”

After Mangham’s second unofficial visit to Colorado for the Buffalos’ spring game, he said he knew he would be back for an official.

“I like the coaching staff,” Mangham said. “They don’t bullcrap me. They just keep it honest with me. I can come in there and be that guy. It’s basically building from the ground up so you can build your own legacy rather than going to someone else’s legacy.

“Talking to the coaching staff, I can go in there and play as a freshman, so that’s always big.”

Michigan State has been running strong with Mangham for more than a year.

When asked about his feelings on Michigan State, Mangham said: “Oh, awesome. I talk with Coach Dantonio all the time, going back and forth. Coach Warner (MSU’s running backs coach and offensive coordinator) actually came to the school to see me a while back.

“At Michigan State, I’ve got a lot of different relationships. Mark Staten has been knowing my dad since they were little. I was really talking back and forth with him and Coach Dantonio, but now Coach Warner and I are starting to cook things up and everything is starting to get going.”

Tennessee, Texas A&M and Oregon on in good position to get an official visit, with Texas closing ground considerably since the Longhorns offered earlier this spring.

New Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt was Mangham’s recruiting contact at Alabama when Pruitt was an assistant for the Tide. Pruitt texted Mangham and told him he had an offer from the Vols less than an hour after Pruitt took the head coaching job in Knoxville. That scored points with the Manghams.

Oregon sent two coaches to Sunday’s camp to watch Mangham, including the Ducks’ running backs coach, who has visited Detroit Cass Tech more than once, and former Michigan State head coach Bobby Williams, who is now special teams coordinator with the Ducks after coaching for 10 seasons at Alabama.

Mangham spent his younger years in the state of Texas, where his mother and father met and married. Mangham’s mother ran track at Texas A&M.

Mangham’s father, Artie Mangham, grew up in northern Oakland County a fan of Lorenzo White and Michigan State, and became an All-Mid America Conference linebacker at Bowling Green.

The Manghams continue to have an affinity for Michigan State, but the Spartans will have to work to keep pace with Oregon, Colorado, Tennessee and others in this race.

Mangham’s father indicated that he would like to see a decision made by mid-summer. Jaren told Rivals.com’s Josh Helmholdt that a decision may wait until his senior year.

“It’s always a blessing to go to college for free, but (it) the recruiting process is hard,” Mangham said. “Sometimes it can get overwhelming but you have to remember that every kid doesn’t get to experience this, so you don’t take it for granted.

“I think it’s going to be hard,” Mangham said of his eventual decision. “It’s just a matter of breaking it down. It’s in God’s hands. God has blessed me with a lot of opportunities, 50-plus (scholarship offers). It means a lot to me and I just want to make the best of it.”

I've had MSU as the favorite for months, but Mangham's appreciation for Colorado, Oregon, Tennessee and the Texas schools is legitimate. He has yet to visit Tennessee since Pruitt took over, so the Vols hold some cards that have yet to be played.

MSU is still the program to beat, but I have moved MSU's confidence meter below 50 percent for the first time. I have MSU at 40 percent for now, and 60 percent for the field. I'm not sure which school will emerge as the top dog in that field, but the opportunity is open for someone to steal his heart.
MSU is capable of tipping the confidence meter back over 50 percent, but the Spartans have work to do.