J.T. Turner, offensive linemen among the standouts on Michigan's scout team

Rodriguez singled out cornerback J.T. Turner, safety Thomas Gordon and receivers Jeremy Gallon and Cam Gordon when asked what freshmen currently redshirting have caught his eye. He also said Michigan has "some really talented young offensive lineman" in Taylor Lewan, Quinton Washington and Michael Schofield.

"We haven’t talked about it a lot because we haven’t had time to catch our breath during the season," Rodriguez said. "But we feel pretty good about this last year’s recruiting class as far as guys that fit here both athletically and academically and (can) be the type of guys we want to go forward with."

Turner, one of the jewels of the class, was expected to have an early impact but missed the first few days of practice with an NCAA Clearinghouse issue and never caught up. He hasn't played this year.

"We still think he’s going to be a really good player," Rodriguez said.

While coaches typically don't have much time to evaluate freshmen during the season, Rodriguez said his scout team scrimmaged for 15 to 20 minutes during Delaware State week.

"I tell the players when they’re on the scout team or demo team or look team that we are looking at them, that they’re position coaches are looking at them," Rodriguez said. "You can usually tell throughout the course of a season which young guys are going to be ready sooner rather than later."

Michigan has played 10 of 21 true freshmen this year, though linebacker Brandin Hawthorne has not seen the field since September and is in position to get his redshirt back.

Rodriguez said he expects a similar impact from his 2010 class.

"We need to have another two years and three years of really good recruiting classes that fit our needs and they pan out the way we hope," Rodriguez said. "The whole key is you’re recruiting the right student-athletes and developing them. And there’s always mistakes made along the way, but you want to minimize those mistakes and bring the kind of recruiting classes in over the next few years that you can help win championships."

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.