andrew thomas

The Latest On Rashan Gary

Michigan is widely believed to be one of the favorites—if not the favorite—to land the nation's top overall prospect, Paramus Catholic (NJ) DT Rashan Gary. Gary was expected to make a return trip to Ann Arbor this month, and while Sam Webb reports that trip has been delayed, Michigan is still making progress in Gary's recruitment—especially by connecting with his mom ($):

“I talked to Coach Harbaugh and he is a very personable entertaining guy,” Gary’s mother Jennifer Coney said.  “We talked for a long while and it wasn’t even about football.  It wasn’t about recruiting even though it was a recruiting call.  We didn’t need to talk much football because I can find out most of that stuff when I get over there. He talked about wanting to build the man, not just the football player.  He talked about academics.  He talked about his family.  He has six kids and he talked about trying to figure out how he was going to get his family moved over (to Ann Arbor).  He doesn’t whether they were going to fly or drive. That’s why he has work all of those hours… to take care of six kids! (Laughter).

“He is an entertaining guy.”

Gary and his mother are eyeing a late June visit, after Rashan gets out of school. He has three unofficial visits lined up for mid-June: Ole Miss, Auburn, and Alabama. Michigan looks to be in very good shape, but they'll have to fend off a long list of power programs.

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Hoosier Leader Now?

Michigan hosted a pair of four-star Indiana prospects on Monday, and it was well-known that the Wolverines were working from behind on each. Wide receiver Austin Mack, considered an Ohio State lean, forged a stronger connection with the new coaching staff, per Scout's Josh Newkirk ($):

"This visit really helped a lot," Mack said. "This is the second time I was able to get down and speak with the coaches and build that relationship. It definitely ranks them a lot higher in my eyes.

"Seeing how beneficial the education and the coaches are at Michigan. Knowing that the next few years they won't be losing like they have been. Success is going to come and it's definitely going to come from hard work. They have definitely moved up and are team to think about."

Mack told Newkirk that he has no leader heading into his June 7th decision; the general consensus, however, is that Michigan made a move but still has ground to make up on the Buckeyes.

That's also the case with defensive end Auston Robertson and Michigan State, though Michigan managed to replace another rival in his top three, per ESPN's TomVH ($):

“I don’t really have a relationship like that with Ohio State anymore, so why keep them in the top three,” he said. “So now it’s Michigan State, Notre Dame and Michigan."

Robertson admits the Wolverines have some ground to make up on the other two schools on the list, but says he will give them a shot to do so. 

Robertson wants his mother to visit each of his top three schools before he also decides on June 7th, so while Michigan still needs to make a push, they should get that opportunity.

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