kedrick bingley-jones

2020

VA TE Matthew Hibner committed to Michigan after visiting last week, and the services are starting to catch up with content on a guy who was a three-star whose name was just beginning to find its way into articles prior to said visit; he barely had his offer a week before committing. Rivals posted one-on-one highlights of Hibner from their 3 Stripe Camp in D.C. and he looks long and strong, and there’s a particularly fun catch at 00:16. The Wolverine’s Brandon Brown wrote a piece about the impact of Hibner’s commitment and in it noted that Hibner has put on almost 40 pounds since the end of last season without losing his speed, which is clear in the highlight tape linked above and presages a likely ratings riser as this season progresses. In a separate piece, Brown compares Hibner to Jake Butt at similar stages in their playing career because of their frame, athleticism, and tenacity.

HI WR Roman Wilson is not yet committed, but he would be if his father got to make the call. The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb asked Wilson’s dad for his top five schools and Wilson did not mince words.

“Well, I like Michigan, probably at no. 5,” Mr. Wilson said. “Then probably the University of Michigan at no. 4. Then that school in Ann Arbor is a close no. 2. And I would have to put that Harbaugh team at no 1. I really like what he’s doing up there (Laughter).”

Wilson’s father said he was sold by the time they hit the cafeteria. His mother said she likes Michigan along with Cal and UCLA, the other schools thought to be serious contenders for Wilson. She did say that she was impressed by the strength and conditioning staff, as they allayed concerns she had about how past coaching has impacted Wilson’s speed. (Makes sense when your son is Hawaii’s reigning state champ in the 100-meter dash at 10.68 seconds.) For his part, Wilson said Michigan’s resources were on par with Cal or UCLA, but Michigan had more space and therefore more things. Weather could understandably be an issue for a kid from Hawaii who’s strongly considering California schools and Michigan, but Wilson doesn’t mind the cold.

“And I’ve been in snow before. It ain’t that bad. You just gotta throw in some extra clothes.”

One guy who apparently won’t need to pack a coat is NC DE Kedrick Bingley-Jones. Per 247’s Steve Lorenz, Bingley-Jones wanted to reschedule his official visit to Michigan last weekend but visited Florida, and now it seems that recruitment is done after he was a priority for a hot minute.

A fair amount of news broke this weekend regarding prospects Michigan has been recruiting for a long time but who had been flying under the radar a bit. Steve Lorenz CB’d MA ATH Eamonn Dennis to Michigan, joining Brian Dohn and Sam Webb. Lorenz writes that Dennis’ recruitment is similar to fellow east-coaster Mike Sainristil in that he’s a bigger target for the staff than has been publicized. Dennis, who told 247’s Brian Dohn he was told by Josh Gattis that he would be used in the backfield and in the slot as an “all-purpose back type of player,” is scheduled to be on campus this weekend. He also told Dohn that Michigan is his leader, he has no return visits set to the other two schools in his top-three (Syracuse and Duke), and he would like to commit before the season. Writing, meet wall. Wall, writing.

[After THE JUMP: hush-hush visits, crystal balls, and JJ McCarthy's construction project]

2020

With June expected to be a huge month for visits, it seems this week is the calm before the storm. We start with leftovers from last week’s big news, as The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich spoke with MI DE Braiden McGregor’s family about their stories from the recruiting trail. They detail when they knew McGregor had decided he would go to Michigan, share some Jim Harbaugh stories (for example, he told McGregor he has go-go-gadget arms), and talk Shaun Nua and what he did to impress them.

There was some commitment-day tension as it was reported that the staffs at both Notre Dame and Michigan, McGregor’s presumed leaders, had heard nothing from the nation’s 89th-raked player all week. Turns out Michigan’s staff may not have heard anything because there was nothing they needed to hear; McGregor was already committed. He told Marich he silently committed to Michigan on a recent visit to Ann Arbor a couple of weeks ago. He told WolverinesWire’s Brandon Knapp it’s always been Michigan for him; he realized this in part when he started using Michigan as his point of comparison for all other schools.

The Wolverine’s Brandon Brown wrote a piece on the impact of McGregor’s commitment, and one of those ways is allowing the staff to focus on interior DL now. Brown says to keep an eye on AL DT Jayson Jones, TN DT Omari Thomas, CA DT Kobe Pepe, and CN DT Jaedon Roberts. 247’s Steve Lorenz also wrote about where the staff goes from here with regard to defensive line recruiting, and he thinks the top priority on their list is VA DE Antwaun Powell. On the interior, NC DT Kedrick Bingley-Jones has an official scheduled for next weekend and appears to be a priority. He also clarified that, though they’re listed as defensive ends on 247, FL UCHE Jaylen Harrell and GA UCHE Choe Bryant-Strother are being recruited as Uche-like ‘tweeners, hence the new designation.

[The headline and caption make sense if you hit THE JUMP]

2020

The biggest 2020 event on the horizon comes from inside the state, as longtime top overall defensive target DE Braiden McGregor is set to announce his decision tonight. He was defensive line coach Shaun Nua’s first priority as soon as Nua got the job, though the entire staff has been involved in his recruitment. If you’re looking to frame how big this decision is for Michigan, he’s one of the recruits the staff FaceTimed from South Africa. McGregor’s decision is likely to come down to Michigan and Notre Dame, and Michigan is the overwhelming crystal ball favorite with 82%. WolverinesWire’s Evan Petzold wrote a McGregor decision primer in which he reports one source close to the Notre Dame side of things believes they’re out, while a source close to Michigan says they have no idea which school he’ll pick.

Even if Michigan misses they at least have a visit scheduled with top-200 NC DT Kedrick Bingley-Jones and actually they don’t play the same position and so it’s really not consolation and now this is an atrocious segue. Anyway, Bingley-Jones is 6’4”, 266 pounds, and 247’s Steve Lorenz says that his recruitment is pretty open right now. Bingley-Jones’ visit is an official, so we’ll have to wait for post-visit reports to gauge how serious the interest is. He wants to be an orthodontist and told The Wolverine’s Adam Ghabour he likes that Michigan had big-time football and the nation’s #3 dental school, so maybe he’ll also be a member of the Pre-Dental Association. I still have my t-shirt somewhere.

One player who’s actually a defensive end and recently picked up an offer is NC WDE Desmond Evans. Evans is the #2 WDE in the class (and is sandwiched between an Alabama commit and a player whose crystal ball is 100% Bama) and an important player to watch for a few reasons. The first is roster construction; Michigan’s taken one true WDE in the last two classes. The other is the stage of Evans’ recruitment. Though Michigan’s been involved with some players (like McGregor) for over a year and are just jumping into Evans’ recruitment in the past two weeks, they’re doing so with a player who has no clear-cut favorite. Lorenz made a point of noting Evans’ crystal ball was 67% cloudy, while Michael Clark, 247’s NC State reporter, writes that he thinks Evans’ decision will come down to NC State and UNC. In other words, it doesn’t seem like they have an overwhelming amount of ground to make up. Clark also provided a helpful timeline; he expects Evans to have a top seven by the end of the month and take all five officials, making a decision before November or December unlikely.

[After THE JUMP: on 2020 LBs and RBs, plus some quick 2021 and 2022 updates]