Visit Reactions: M Winning Solomon Back?

yeah, still want

After gaining a commitment, losing it, looking out of the picture, and then crawing their way back in, Michigan made their latest push for four-star GA DT Aubrey Solomon on his official visit for the Maryland game. Solomon was accompanied by his mother, who came very prepared, and the most critical aspect of the visit from M's perspective was winning over—Solomon's interest in Michigan has always been very strong while his mom has been a skeptic. According to Sam Webb, they pulled out all the stops:

Front and center for most of the visit were Gwen Bush and Devin Bush Sr.  They were with mom a ton with one observer offering, “Gwen hardly left his mom’s side.”  And as we speculated heading into the visit… “Momma Gwen” having sent her own questionnaire out during her son Wayne Lyons’ recruitment before deciding to send him to school on the other side of the country (from Florida to Stanford) really appeared to help forge a connection. For good measure Wayne was also on hand for the Solomons to meet.

The vibe between Mom and Bush Sr. was noticeable.  One observer said, "they went back and forth like they've known each other for years."

Rashan Gary and his mother, who was visiting for the weekend, hosted Solomon, though his mom wasn't able to get together with Gary's; she did, however, have lunch with Greg Harden, Michigan's director of academic counseling—he played a big role in landing Gary.

Both Sam and Steve Lorenz believe Aubrey himself wants to go to Michigan, but they still have work to do to win over his mother. Lorenz:

If the choice was 100% his, there would likely be some 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions coming back the Wolverines' way. However, it appears to not be fully his decision. We reported on Sunday that mom was impressed with what Michigan had to offer. That remains the case in the grand scheme of things, but according to a second source we spoke with on Monday, the visit reportedly could have gone better from Michigan's standpoint regarding impressing Solomon's mother. 

Also of note: Sam is getting the "distinct impression" that Clemson, not Alabama or Georgia, is the school closer to home with the best shot at Solomon. I'm not sure how to take that: on one hand, that looks like some tough competition is taking a step back; on the other, well, head-to-head recruiting against Clemson can be quite the experience. Michigan made progress this weekend; we'll see if it sticks after more visits.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]

More Visit Reactions: Collins, Becton

The video above from Lorenz covers what you need to know from four-star AL WR Nico Collins's offical visit: his whole family was in tow, and the strong belief is still that he winds up at Michigan.

I mentioned in Friday's roundup that I wasn't sure three-star VA OT Mekhi Becton would be a take for the staff. Lorenz helpfully cleared that up after Becton's official visit:

One thing is for certain: Becton has established himself as a current take for the staff. A second thing is for certain: Michigan is the leader for Becton right now. In speaking with him last night, he said Michigan gave themselves a "slight edge" following the official visit. This almost always means said school has much more than a slight edge. 

For those concerned Becton could take a higher-rated lineman's spot, he told Scout's Michael Clark he's waiting to make a decision until Signing Day, so Michigan will have a much clearer picture of their recruiting board by then—Alex Leatherwood and Cesar Ruiz will both enroll early at the schools of their choice, and Jedrick Wills has gone back and forth on making a decision sooner rather than later. Rumblings that Michigan could take as many as eight offensive linemen should assuage those fears, too. As the big-timers start committing in December, my guess is the recruiting board mostly takes care of itself.

In the same post, Steve mentions that the picture is less clear for four-star CA OT Aaron Banks, another planned early enrollee who took his official to Ann Arbor over the weekend. Steve's not alone in his uncertainty: the only Crystal Ball selection for Banks is a shot-in-the-dark USC pick from last year.

While there are no post-visit reaction quotes yet, it's worth noting that top-100 FL CB Josh Jobe, a Miami (YTM) commit, made a surprise trip for the Maryland game, as first reported by Scout's Allen Trieu. Jobe is on flip watch—he recently said Alabama is his top school ahead of Miami—and there is a Michigan connection: he's from the same high school as freshman OLB Josh Uche.

Fun With Quotes: Ambry Thomas Edition

Ambry Thomas (left) and Jaylen Kelly-Powell at SMSB. [Bill Rapai]

The insider word on four-star Detroit King CB Ambry Thomas is much the same as it has been: it's a tight race between Michigan and MSU, but one the Wolverines are expected to win. Thomas told TomVH this week that the two are tied at the top, but the full quote is illuminating (and hilarious):

"There's a lot of opportunity for me up at Michigan State," Thomas said. "I would say right now Michigan and Michigan State have the lead and I can't tell which one leads out of the two. I know I can play early at MSU, but I know at Michigan they're winning and they're going to continue to win." Thomas said he feels Michigan can provide him a lot after football as well, but he also knows Michigan State is just having a bad year and will bounce back. The Detroit prospect is planning to enroll early so he will make his decision by late December. 

Unless the only thing Thomas really wants in a program is early playing time, that looks pretty good.

Take All The Linebackers?

MGoUser Corky Cole has a useful summary of Sam Webb's WTKA recruiting segment that includes an updated figure for the number of linebackers the staff will take in the class:

As far as linebacker recruiting goes, Sam stated he has a "GUT FEELING" that now it looks like the staff will take up to 5(!!!) Linebackers in this year's class. This includes the two committed guys Ben Mason and Josh Ross as well as Willie Gay out of Mississippi, Drew Singleton out of Paramus Catholic New Jersey, and Jordan Anthony who plays at IMG in Florida. The "gut feeling" is on the number of LB's Michigan would take, not specifically that a specific player will come to Michigan. Sounds like a source (probably a coach)  told him that they'd take all five.

There's much more regarding the LBs in the post. Also in that roundup: four-star IA WR Oliver Martin is closing in on a decision between Michigan and MSU—he could decide as soon as this month—and the Wolverines are a "big time leader" at the moment.

Lorenz is getting similar info regarding the linebackers; he put in a Crystal Ball pick for four-star IMG OLB Jordan Anthony this morning (we did the same a few days ago), and he had a positive update on four-star MS OLB Willie Gay, who's named Michigan as his leader to multiple outlets:

The good news is that there's more good news: As we first reported heading into his official visit a few weeks ago, Gay had a little bit of work to do in the classroom before he would be considered a qualifier for Michigan. First, the two parties are on the same page, and Gay knows what he has to do to get where he needs to be. Secondly, according to our sources, Michigan believes Gay is the type of kid who is going to do what he can do to get himself in that position. In short, there remains a real shot for the Wolverines in this one, and they're all of a sudden in a race they didn't necessarily expect to be in a month ago. 

Gay looks like he's well worth waiting on. The general stance of this blog is we'll believe a Mississippi recruit signs with Michigan right around the time they're throwing their graduation cap in the air at the Big House; that said, this keeps moving in the right direction.

Etc.

Five-star CA CB Darnay Holmes has set his first two official visits, per Scout: Ohio State for The Game and Michigan on December 10th. UCLA will also get a visit; Miami, Nebraska, and USC are battling for the other two OVs. Holmes made it sound like Michigan could make a major move when talking to Rivals's Adam Gorney:

“That could be a momentum-changer,” Holmes said. “That might be a momentum-changer for me. They have great things going on up there. They’re using Jabrill Peppers in a way I feel I could be used in that scheme.”

Four-star UT RB Sione Lund has been admitted to Stanford, where he's committed, but he told Scout's Blair Angulo that Michigan could get a shot to sway him:

"I definitely see myself visiting," Lund said. "What I love about Michigan is that they use their big backs. They have big, quick guys, and I just love the scheme. And obviously with Jim Harbaugh -- if you want to be the best player you can be, why not go play for one of the best coaches? They also have a Polynesian community growing and that really sticks out to me with Michigan."

UCLA and USC are the two other schools under consideration, though Lund sounds pretty happy with Stanford right now.

Brad Hawkins and the coaching staff consider Hawkins a commit and, yeah, I'm cool with that.

It is with profound sadness that I wish happy trails to four-star 2018 LB BUMPER POOL, who committed to Arkansas last night.